{"product_id":"steady-diet-of-nothing-paperback","title":"Steady Diet of Nothing - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCynthia Cruz\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this stunning novel, Cynthia Cruz administers an IV drip of capitalist entropy that keeps us rapt: \u003ci\u003e Steady Diet of Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e compels readers to consume it in one headlong sitting. Charting the dissolution of an adolescent runaway community, the book follows a teenage girl, Candy, after her arrival at the Blue House -- an abandoned home inhabited by other children seeking shelter from the world. Here, she falls in love with Toby, a boy from elsewhere whose companionship interrupts the perpetual alienation of the status quo. \"He didn't explain, but I knew,\" Candy says. \"I knew as soon as he'd started talking, that we'd come from the same place.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Beyond their den's walls, the market reigns, and the societal structure of infinite calculation and infinite exchange has rendered contemporary life meaningless. As Toby and Candy separately descend into drug addiction and prostitution, they find their efforts to defy the American economic superstructure futile, and Candy, again, is alone. \"I'm going to die in here, I say, to no one.\" The transcription of a mute prayer, \u003ci\u003eSteady Diet of Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e is a stark, vital work that requires our attention. \"I'm awake or else I'm dreaming,\" Candy narrates. \"There's a knock on the door. The phone rings forever but I can't put the receiver down.\" It keeps the line open as long as it can. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Cruz is the author of eight collections of poems: \u003ci\u003eBack to the Woods \u003c\/i\u003e(Four Way Books, 2023), \u003ci\u003eHotel Oblivion\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2022), \u003ci\u003eGuidebooks for the Dead\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2020), \u003ci\u003eDregs\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2018), \u003ci\u003eHow the End Begins\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2016), \u003ci\u003eWunderkammer\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2014), \u003ci\u003eThe Glimmering Room\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2012) and \u003ci\u003eRuin\u003c\/i\u003e (Alice James Books, 2006). \u003ci\u003eDisquieting: Essays on Silence\u003c\/i\u003e, a collection of critical essays exploring the concept of silence, was published by Book*hug in the spring of 2019. \u003ci\u003eThe Melancholia of Class\u003c\/i\u003e, an exploration of melancholia and the working class, was published by Repeater Books in July of 2021. \u003ci\u003eSteady Diet of Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2023), is Cruz's debut novel. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Cruz earned a BA in English Literature at Mills College, an MFA in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA in Art Writing from the School of Visual Arts, and an MA in German Language and Literature from Rutgers University. She is the recipient of fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony and a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University.\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eHer collection, \u003ci\u003eHotel Oblivion, \u003c\/i\u003ewas a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Award and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the European Graduate School where her research focuses on Hegel and madness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 148\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.7 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 15, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51765043757344,"sku":"9781954245662","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/bb647f9790f9e035a4071be0e7a3c300.webp?v=1780261139","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/steady-diet-of-nothing-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}