{"product_id":"what-we-dont-talk-about-paperback","title":"What We Don't Talk about - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Janko\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrville, Illinois, is bucolic, charming, and almost Norman Rockwellesque--if you're white. But like many midwestern cities in the 1960s, it is a \"sundown\" town--a place where Black Americans are prohibited from entering or remaining after dark. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The town's most adventurous woman, Cassie Zeul, is an outcast because she has no husband and takes an occasional lover. Her son, Gus, guided by Sister Damien, aspires to be a priest, but he is increasingly overwhelmed by his infatuation with Pat Lemkey--who is herself drawn to Jenny Biel, considered by many to be the most beautiful girl in town. Gus's best friend, Fenza Ryzchik Jr., a somewhat notorious bully desperate for his father's attention, hates \"colored people,\" doesn't think he knows any, and is certain he can convince Jenny to marry him one day--without realizing that her devout mother has been passing for white her entire life. Events come to a head when a visiting nun from the South brings an African American friend with her to Midnight Mass one Christmas Eve. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The dreams and desires of these characters collide and intersect as they navigate life and coming of age in the rural Midwest. In Janko's masterful hands, the darkness--of prejudice, privilege, and power--that they don't even recognize threatens to overwhelm their lives and their plans for the future. This novel forces us, as well as its characters, to acknowledge the cost of hiding our true selves, and of judging others based on the color of their skin or the longing of their hearts.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames Janko is the author of \u003ci\u003eBuffalo Boy and Geronimo\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Clubhouse Thief\u003c\/i\u003e. His short stories have been published in \u003ci\u003eThe Sun\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMassachusetts Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eEureka Literary Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, among others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.79 x 8.43 x 5.51 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 01, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51760887890208,"sku":"9780299340049","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/d60ddba0c6c648a952284e900d73a2a8.webp?v=1780193120","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/what-we-dont-talk-about-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}