{"title":"Simon Van Der Velde","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"backstories-book-simon-van-der-velde-9781838296407","title":"Backstories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan \u003cem\u003eyou\u003c\/em\u003e find the famous person hidden in every story? And once found, can you relate to their struggles?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Ingenious idea, brilliantly executed.' (Daily Mirror)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackstories\u003c\/strong\u003e - 'the stand-out most original book of the year' - is a collection of stories each told from the point of view of one of my personal heroes, (or villains) back when they were just another Jew or black, or queer - back when they were nobody. Bullied, assaulted or psychologically abused, their road to redemption was never easy, and for some there would be no redemption, only a descent into evil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e These are the stories of people you know. The settings are mostly 60's and 70's UK and USA, the driving themes are inclusion and social justice - but the real key to these stories is that\u003cstrong\u003e I withhold the protagonists' identities.\u003c\/strong\u003e This means that your job is to find them - leading to that Eureka moment when you realise who's mind you've been inhabiting for the last twenty minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I should also add that this is a book that operates on two levels. Yes, there's the game of identifying the mystery activist or actor, singer or murderer, but there is then the more serious business of trying to understand them. This in turn leads to the challenge of overlaying what you now know about these famous people onto what you thought you knew - not to mention the inherent challenge to your moral compass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eThese are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This book is dedicated to the victims of violent crime, the struggle against discrimination in all its forms and making the world a better place for our children. That is why 30% of all profits will be shared between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Backstories is published by Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49509384454417,"sku":"GOR012546607","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1838296409.jpg?v=1751456263"},{"product_id":"silent-brother-book-simon-van-der-velde-9781915179074","title":"The Silent Brother","description":"When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic mam, a violent step-dad, and his guilt. He tries to be good, to live-up to his brothers increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49516454510865,"sku":"GOR013178213","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49597773873425,"sku":"GOR013292569","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50415162229009,"sku":"CIN1915179076VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51057916379409,"sku":"NIN9781915179074","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52111439659281,"sku":"NGR9781915179074","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52330136666385,"sku":"CIN1915179076G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52716035834129,"sku":"GOR014593837","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1915179076.jpg?v=1751186950"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-simon-van-der-velde.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}