{"product_id":"autoportrait-book-jesse-ball-9781646221387","title":"Autoportrait","description":"\u003cb\u003eNominated for the Chicago Review of Books Award\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A work of unflinching honesty, \u003ci\u003eAutoportrait\u003c\/i\u003e is a hypnotic memoir of reflection, loss, and everyday joy from one of America's best contemporary novelists\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Jesse Ball has produced fourteen acclaimed works of deeply empathetic absurdism in poetry and fiction. Now, he offers readers his first memoir, one that showcases his \"humane curiosity\" (James Wood) and invites the reader into a raw and personal account of love, grief, and memory. Inspired by the memoir Édouard Levé put to paper shortly before his death, \u003ci\u003eAutoportrait\u003c\/i\u003e is an extraordinarily frank and intimate work from one of America's most brilliant authors.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The subtle power of Ball's voice conjures the richness of everyday life. On each page, half-remembered moments are woven together with the joys and triumphs--and the mistakes and humiliations, too--that somehow tell us who we are, why we are here. Held at the same height as tragic accounts of illness or death are moments of startling beauty, banality, or humor: \"I wake in the morning, I sit, I walk long distances. If there is somewhere to swim, I may swim. If I have a bicycle, I will ride it, especially to meet someone. There is no more preparing for me to do, other than preparing for death, and I do that by laughing. Not laughing at death, of course. Laughing at myself.\" \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e An extraordinary memoir that reminds us what is possible and builds to the kind of power one might feel reading Anne Carson's \u003ci\u003eGlass Essay\u003c\/i\u003e, or Joe Brainard's \u003ci\u003eI Remember\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eAutoportrait\u003c\/i\u003e will leave you feeling utterly invigorated, inspired, and a little afraid.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49541293048081,"sku":"GOR012863119","price":13.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50446266106129,"sku":"CIN1646221389VG","price":13.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52106877665553,"sku":"CIN1646221389G","price":6.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53184053051665,"sku":"GOR014796285","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1646221389.jpg?v=1750992871","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/autoportrait-book-jesse-ball-9781646221387","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}