{"product_id":"the-heart-of-it-all-paperback","title":"The Heart of It All - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eChristian Kiefer\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Deeply moving and beautifully written. I couldn't put it down.\" -- Jesmyn Ward, author of\u003ci\u003e Sing, Unburied, Sing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"For anyone who believes, as I do, that the best hope for our fractured country is local, not national, Christian Kiefer's new novel \u003ci\u003eThe Heart of it All \u003c\/i\u003ewill provide a welcome balm for the spirit. Here are people worth spending time with, not because they're perfect, but because they're not. What's wrong with them isn't nearly as consequential as how hard they fight for a better life, and not just for themselves. You set the book down and think, 'This is what we're made of.' Or should be.\"--Richard Russo, author of \u003ci\u003eSomebody's Fool\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA small, declining town in Ohio. A family bereaved by terrible loss. A searing narrative about how American lives touch each other across divides both real and imagined... \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSet in failing small town in central Ohio, \u003ci\u003eThe Heart of It All\u003c\/i\u003e asks how one manages, in an America of increasing division, to find a sense of family and community. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFocusing on the members of three families: the Baileys, a white family who have put down deep roots in the community; the Marwats, an immigrant family that owns the town's largest employer; and the Shaws, especially young Anthony, an outsider whose very presence gently shakes the town's understanding of itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA gorgeous, stirring novel in the classic vein of Richard Ford, Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Kent Haruf, \u003ci\u003eThe Heart of It All\u003c\/i\u003e asks the reader to consider an America both divided and bound by its differences.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian Kiefer has a PhD in American literature from the University of California-Davis and directs the low-residency MFA at Ashland University. He is the author of three novels: \u003ci\u003eThe Infinite Tides, The Animals\u003c\/i\u003e, and most recently \u003ci\u003ePhantoms\u003c\/i\u003e which was one of Kirkus Reviews and BBC's Best Books of 2019. He lives with his family in Placer County, California.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.18 x 8.19 x 5.51 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 12, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764441415968,"sku":"9781685890810","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/7951c3c91d29819ad1c65f534498b32b.webp?v=1780248345","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-heart-of-it-all-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}