{"product_id":"9781911648529","title":"Pearl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Pearl\u003c\/i\u003e, an exceptional debut novel, is both a mystery story and a meditation on grief, abandonment and consolation, evoking the profundities of the haunting medieval poem. The degree of difficulty in writing a book of this sort – at once quiet and hugely ambitious – is very high. It’s a book that will be passed from hand to hand for a long time to come.\" —Booker Prize judges \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA haunting debut novel inspired by the medieval poem of the same name\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeft behind with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, she clings to the fragmented memories of her mother’s love; the smell of fresh herbs, the games they played, and the songs and stories of her childhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs time passes, Marianne struggles to adjust, fixated on her mother’s disappearance and the secrets she’s sure her father is keeping from her. Discovering a medieval poem called \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e and trusting in its promise of consolation, Marianne sets out to make a visual illustration of it, a task that she returns to over and over but somehow never manages to complete.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTormented by an unmarked gravestone in an abandoned chapel and the tidal pull of the river, her childhood home begins to crumble as the past leads her down a path of self-destruction. But can art heal Marianne? And will her own future as a mother help her find peace?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Siân Hughes","offers":[{"title":"The Indigo Press |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2023-09-19","offer_id":44229828280575,"sku":"9781911648529","price":24.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_3a76b018-7c05-44b4-95de-e9f2eab6b05d.jpg?v=1692983805","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781911648529","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}