{"title":"Charles Bock","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"beautiful-children-book-charles-bock-9780812977967","title":"Beautiful Children","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller by the author of the forthcoming novel \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver \u003c\/i\u003e Winner of the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e One word: bravo.--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Truly powerful . . . \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e dazzles its readers on almost every page. . . .  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Equally distraught, the boy's father, Lincoln, finds himself wanting to comfort his wife even as he yearns for solace, a loving touch, any kind of intimacy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As the Ewings navigate the mystery of what's become of their son, the circumstances surrounding Newell's vanishing and other events on that same night reverberate through the lives of seemingly disconnected strangers: a comic book illustrator in town for a weekend of debauchery; a painfully shy and possibly disturbed young artist; a stripper who imagines moments from her life as if they were movie scenes; a bubbly teenage wiccan anarchist; a dangerous and scheming gutter punk; a band of misfit runaways. The people of \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e are urban nomads, each with a past to hide and a pain to nurture, every one of them searching for salvation and barreling toward destruction, weaving their way through a neon underworld of sex, drugs, and the spinning wheels of chance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this masterly debut novel, Charles Bock mixes incandescent prose with devious humor to capture Las Vegas with unprecedented scope and nuance and to provide a glimpse into a microcosm of modern America. \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e is an odyssey of heartache and redemption heralding the arrival of a major new writer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Exceptional . . . This novel deserves to be read more than once because of the extraordinary importance of its subject matter.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Magnificent . . . a hugely ambitious novel that succeeds . . . \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e manages to feel completely of its moment while remaining unaffected by literary trends. . . . Charles Bock is the real thing.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A wildly satisfying and disturbing literary journey, led by an author of blazing talent.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Dallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wholly original--dirty, fast, and hypnotic. The sentences flicker and skip and whirl.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e An anxious, angry, honest first novel filled with compassion and clarity . . . The language has a rhythm wholly its own--at moments it is stunning, near genius.\u003cb\u003e--A. M. Homes\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From start to finish, Bock never stops tantalizing the reader.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Rich and compelling . . . captures the hallucinogenic setting like a fever dream.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49593501974801,"sku":"GOR012826423","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49653302919441,"sku":"GOR009467038","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49850554351889,"sku":"CIN0812977963G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368929562897,"sku":"CIN0812977963A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51395366125841,"sku":"GOR002395102","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0812977963.jpg?v=1750818739"},{"product_id":"beautiful-children-book-charles-bock-9780719596209","title":"Beautiful Children","description":"One Saturday night, in a city surrounded by desert and oversaturated with glitter is Newell Ewing. With his older, socially maladjusted mate Kenny, the two embark on Newell's first Saturday night out on the town in Vegas. Newell is twelve years old. Before the sun rises Newell has disappeared, never to be seen again. Newell's suburbanite parents, Lincoln and Lorraine, are racked with mounting grief as their marriage begins to unravel during the unfathomable year that follows his disappearance. Bing Biderbixxe is an illustrator on a professional visit to Sin City on a hot summer day. He meets Cheri Blossom, a stripper known for her eye-popping pyrotechnic stage performance. Offstage, her drug- and porn-running boyfriend, Pony Boy, is cheating on her. With exacting suspense and original technique, Bock's panoply of Vegas dispossessed quietly exert their influence on Newell's fate. From the new suburban shimmer of the Ewing home, to the gaudy misery of Vegas strip clubs, to the desperate holes and punk-rock desert parties where an underclass of the marginal and meek are ignored and forgotten, Charles Bock takes us on a trip to the dark heart of America. Beautiful Children mines the humanity of its characters as it rushes head on towards a spectacular tragedy and powerful redemption.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49606032589073,"sku":"GOR003829491","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0719596203.jpg?v=1751426579"},{"product_id":"beautiful-children-book-charles-bock-9780719596308","title":"Beautiful Children","description":"One Saturday night, in a city surrounded by desert and oversaturated with glitter is Newell Ewing. With his older, socially maladjusted mate Kenny, the two embark on Newell's first Saturday night out on the town in Vegas. Newell is twelve years old. Before the sun rises Newell has disappeared, never to be seen again.   Newell's suburbanite parents, Lincoln and Lorraine, are racked with mounting grief as their marriage begins to unravel during the unfathomable year that follows his disappearance.   Bing Biderbixxe is an illustrator on a professional visit to Sin City on a hot summer day. He meets Cheri Blossom, a stripper known for her eye-popping pyrotechnic stage performance. Offstage, her drug- and porn-running boyfriend, Pony Boy, is cheating on her.    With exacting suspense and original technique, Bock's panoply of Vegas dispossessed quietly exert their influence on Newell's fate.   From the new suburban shimmer of the Ewing home, to the gaudy misery of Vegas strip clubs, to the desperate holes and punk-rock desert parties where an underclass of the marginal and meek are ignored and forgotten, Charles Bock takes us on a trip to the dark heart of America.     Beautiful Children mines the humanity of its characters as it rushes head on towards a spectacular tragedy and powerful redemption.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49610851680529,"sku":"GOR001497149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49661354180881,"sku":"GOR001745665","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52110687142161,"sku":"GOR014470210","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0719596300.jpg?v=1776160798"},{"product_id":"beautiful-children-book-charles-bock-9781400066506","title":"Beautiful Children","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller by the author of the forthcoming novel \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver \u003c\/i\u003e Winner of the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e One word: bravo.--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Truly powerful . . . \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e dazzles its readers on almost every page. . . .  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The people of \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e are urban nomads, each with a past to hide and a pain to nurture, every one of them searching for salvation and barreling toward destruction, weaving their way through a neon underworld of sex, drugs, and the spinning wheels of chance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this masterly debut novel, Charles Bock mixes incandescent prose with devious humor to capture Las Vegas with unprecedented scope and nuance and to provide a glimpse into a microcosm of modern America. \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e is an odyssey of heartache and redemption heralding the arrival of a major new writer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Exceptional . . . This novel deserves to be read more than once because of the extraordinary importance of its subject matter.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Magnificent . . . a hugely ambitious novel that succeeds . . . \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e manages to feel completely of its moment while remaining unaffected by literary trends. . . . Charles Bock is the real thing.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A wildly satisfying and disturbing literary journey, led by an author of blazing talent.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Dallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wholly original--dirty, fast, and hypnotic. The sentences flicker and skip and whirl.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e An anxious, angry, honest first novel filled with compassion and clarity . . . The language has a rhythm wholly its own--at moments it is stunning, near genius.\u003cb\u003e--A. M. 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Alice Culvert is a caring wife, a doting new mother, a loyal friend, and a soulful artist--a fashion designer who wears a baby carrier and haute couture with equal aplomb. In their loft in Manhattan's gritty Meatpacking District, Alice and her husband, Oliver, are raising their infant daughter, Doe, delighting in the wonders of early parenthood. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Their life together feels so vital and full of promise, which makes Alice's sudden cancer diagnosis especially staggering. In the span of a single day, the couple's focus narrows to the basic question of her survival. Though they do their best to remain brave, each faces enormous pressure: Oliver tries to navigate a labyrinthine healthcare system and handle their mounting medical bills; Alice tries to be hopeful as her body turns against her. 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I loved this novel.\u003cb\u003e--Marion Winik, \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e shows that, even in a situation that's about as terrible as it can be, there can still exist happiness, surprise, and life, that strange strong spirit that's with us until the end.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe most honest, unsentimentally powerful novel about cancer that I've ever read.\u003cb\u003e--Michael Christie, \u003ci\u003eThe Globe \u0026amp; Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wrenchingly powerful . . . Bock chronicles the daily struggles of a young wife and mother facing her own imminent mortality. 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Alice Culvert is a caring wife, a doting new mother, a loyal friend, and a soulful artist--a fashion designer who wears a baby carrier and haute couture with equal aplomb. In their loft in Manhattan's gritty Meatpacking District, Alice and her husband, Oliver, are raising their infant daughter, Doe, delighting in the wonders of early parenthood. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Their life together feels so vital and full of promise, which makes Alice's sudden cancer diagnosis especially staggering. In the span of a single day, the couple's focus narrows to the basic question of her survival. Though they do their best to remain brave, each faces enormous pressure: Oliver tries to navigate a labyrinthine healthcare system and handle their mounting medical bills; Alice tries to be hopeful as her body turns against her. Bracing themselves for the unthinkable, they must confront the new realities of their marriage, their strengths as partners and flaws as people, how to nourish love against all odds, and what it means to truly care for another person. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Inspired by the author's life, \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e is a deeply affecting novel written with stunning reserves of compassion, humor, and wisdom. Alice Culvert is an extraordinary character--a woman of incredible heart and spirit--who will remain in memory long after the final page. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis hauntingly powerful novel follows a family's fight for survival in the face of illness. A stirring elegy to a marriage.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eO: The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A rewarding reading experience . . . a testament to the resilience of humans and our willingness to forgive.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe novel's power is in its two characters' messy negotiation of their fears, errors and shifting affections. . . . Bock offers a forceful reminder that there are plenty of roiling emotions underneath that till-death-do-us-part.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e A] heart-wrenching story of a young couple whose lives change when Alice gets diagnosed with cancer . . . a refreshingly unsentimental look at the vicious disease.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver \u003c\/i\u003e has a] tough-minded commitment to truth-telling.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEven more than the meticulous details of drugs, treatments and side effects, Bock's tender portrayal of  his characters] in all their desolation gives  \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e] its ring of truth. . . . I loved this novel.\u003cb\u003e--Marion Winik, \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e shows that, even in a situation that's about as terrible as it can be, there can still exist happiness, surprise, and life, that strange strong spirit that's with us until the end.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe most honest, unsentimentally powerful novel about cancer that I've ever read.\u003cb\u003e--Michael Christie, \u003ci\u003eThe Globe \u0026amp; Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wrenchingly powerful . . . Bock chronicles the daily struggles of a young wife and mother facing her own imminent mortality. This is a soul portrait of a family in crisis, written with a fearless clarity and a deep understanding of the bonds that can hold two people together even in the darkest hour.\u003cb\u003e--Richard Price\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50012305490193,"sku":"CIN140006838XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/140006838X.jpg?v=1750890855"},{"product_id":"i-will-do-better-book-charles-bock-9781419774423","title":"I Will Do Better","description":"\u003cb\u003eBy turns comical and heartbreaking, \u003ci\u003eI Will Do Better\u003c\/i\u003e is the remarkable journey of two defiant and wounded people, and their personal growth in the name of love.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Named one of the Best Books of the Fall by Oprah Daily and \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"A uniquely forthright and powerful addition to the literature of fatherhood.\" \u003ci\u003e(Kirkus)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The novelist Charles Bock was a reluctant parent, tagging along for the ride of fatherhood, obsessed primarily with his dream of a writing career.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e But when his daughter Lily was six months old, his wife, Diana, was diagnosed with a complex form of leukemia. 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