{"product_id":"a-calling-for-charlie-barnes-1","title":"Calling for Charlie Barnes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Booker-shortlisted author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTo Rise Again at a Decent Hour \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003ecomes a \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ehilarious\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e novel about fathers, sons, thwarted dreams and confronting the reality of who we really are\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'This is a fine American novel about family, love, and a decent but flawed man trying to be better. In dark times like these, I can't recommend this book too highly. It's strong' Stephen King on Twitter\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e___________________________________\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCharlie Barnes is a mid-century man devoted to his newspaper and his landline. But Charlie is about to get dragged into our troubled age by his storyteller son, who has a different idea of him than he has of himself. Then there are his other children, his ex-wives, present wife, business clients, friends and acquaintances, all of whom have \u003ci\u003etheir \u003c\/i\u003ecompeting opinions of Charlie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe certainly seems simple enough: he's a striver, a romantic, and a thoroughgoing capitalist. But suddenly blindsided by the Great Recession and a dose of bad news, he might have to rethink his life from top to bottom, and on short notice. What makes a man real? What makes him good? And how does the story we tell about ourselves line up with the lives that we actually live?\u003cbr\u003e___________________________________\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Funny, moving, and formally a work of genius, \u003ci\u003eA Calling for Charlie Barnes\u003c\/i\u003e is quite literally the book Joshua Ferris was born to write'\u003c\/b\u003e Garth Risk Hallberg, author of \u003ci\u003eCity on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Dazzling. Mind-blowing. About as much fun as you can have without risking arrest'\u003c\/b\u003e Richard Russo, author of \u003ci\u003eEmpire Falls\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wonderful\u003c\/b\u003e: \u003cb\u003efast and deep, urgent and brilliant\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eA hilarious, intimate, and scathing takedown of so many American vanities'\u003c\/b\u003e Dana Spiotta, author of \u003ci\u003eStone Arabia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39636252196947,"sku":"9780241972953","price":15.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780241972953_05f2eb23-c375-48b2-a701-6ac64b79e0e4.jpg?v=1764421216","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/a-calling-for-charlie-barnes-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}