{"product_id":"the-empty-chair-isbn-9780142181232","title":"The Empty Chair","description":"A profound and heart-wrenching work of spiritual storytelling from the internationally acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eDead Stars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCelebrated for his “up-to-the-nanosecond insider’s knowledge of the L.A. scene” (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e), Bruce Wagner takes his storytelling in a radically new direction with two linked novellas. In \u003ci\u003eFirst Guru,\u003c\/i\u003e a gay Buddhist living in Big Sur achieves enlightenment in the horrific aftermath of his child’s suicide. In \u003ci\u003eSecond Guru,\u003c\/i\u003e Queenie, an aging wild child, returns to India to complete the spiritual journey of her youth.\u003cbr\u003eTold in ravaged, sensuous detail to a fictional Wagner by two strangers on opposite sides of the country, years apart from each other, these stories illuminate the random, chaotic nature of human suffering and the miraculous strength of the human spirit.\"[Wagner] possesses a fluent ability to move aback and forth between the satiric and the sympathetic, the scabrous and the tender.\"\u003cbr\u003e—Michiko Kakutani,\u003ci\u003e The New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Wagner’s book deftly illustrates how the quest for spirituality and self-realization underscore one’s understanding of the purpose of life.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublisher’s Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“While Wagner’s trademark scathing satirical skills are in full force thanks to his sprightly word play and jaundiced observations, his purposeful exploration of the nature and importance of storytelling takes him in a subtly nuanced new direction.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Lushly embroidered with allusions to the Beat Generation…Wagner meditates on our fundamental cravings for connections—both human and divine—and meanings—both personal and cosmic—with wit, compassion and a sharp eye for the lies we tell ourselves.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus, \u003c\/i\u003eSTARRED reviewBruce Wagner is the author of \u003ci\u003eDead Stars, Memorial, The Chrysanthemum Palace \u003c\/i\u003e(a PEN\/Faulkner fiction award finalist), \u003ci\u003eStill Holding, I’ll Let You Go, I’m\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eLosing You, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eForce Majeure\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003cb\u003epreface \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI’ve spent a good part of the last fifteen years traveling around the country listening to people tell stories. Each spoke voluntarily and without compensation; none were public figures. Sometimes I went looking for storytellers, other times they seemed to come looking for me. Regardless of our methods we managed to find each another. The stories that interested me most were those that described a pivotal event or time in the teller’s life. My plan was to stitch together excerpts that moved me or made me laugh, until I had the proverbial American quilt.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy plan changed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI decided to publish a book—the one in your hands—that holds just two narratives, unabridged. Both share a leitmotif of “diet Buddhism” (again, distinctly American) that serves as a backdrop for a variety of seekers slouching toward spiritual redemption. Though told years apart by a man and woman of divergent social classes, in many ways the tales are complementary. But there’s something else, far more compelling: an extraordinary bridge from one to the other, a missing link whose apprehension came as a shock, a \u003ci\u003ecoup de foudre\u003c\/i\u003e, an almost traumatic epiphany. From that moment of illumination, the idea of binding both together was non-negotiable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome of the material is a little dated. I had no inclination to excise or contemporize, so let once-topical references stand. While I tried to leave most repetitions, lacunae and narrative tics intact, editorial liberties were exercised under the flag of general readability. I am solely responsible for divvying up the transcripts, with the added benefit of being able to listen to the original tapes, into suitable paragraphs; for occasionally relegating parenthetical remarks to footnote status so as not to break the flow of narrative; for carving indents, spaces, and yes, parentheticals from the text (when doing so wouldn’t break the flow), the better for it to breathe; and responsible too for inadvertent—and sometimes advertent—wholesale homogenizations. I’m certain there are times when I went too far or didn’t go far enough, and if a heavy hand left too many fingerprints I offer my sincere apologies. I ask the persnickety reader to let narrative trump style. The “authors” here are vessels, not virtuosos. But you can’t please all of the people all of the time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThough if it \u003ci\u003ewere \u003c\/i\u003epossible to hold all of the people’s stories all of the time in one’s head, heart and hands, there is no doubt that in the end each would be unvanquishably linked by a single, breathtaking detail, as are the two presented here . . . what I really wanted to write was “single, \u003ci\u003ereligious\u003c\/i\u003e detail,” but stopped myself. There’s been so much sound and fury around that word these days that I hesitate to join the fray. At my age, one doesn’t have too many fighting\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewords left. Still, I wonder. Have I let myself be bullied?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI suppose if one needs to ask, the answer may be obvious.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, then. Allow me to clear my throat and revise:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf it \u003ci\u003ewere \u003c\/i\u003epossible to hold all of the people’s stories all of the time in one’s head, heart and hands, there is no doubt that in the end each would be unvanquishably linked by a single, \u003ci\u003ereligious\u003c\/i\u003e detail . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e•\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI wish to thank all of those who shared their stories through the years with such abundance and openness of spirit. Not incidentally, I want to give thanks to the unknowable Mystery that made us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI don’t wish to offend anyone this early on, but I call that force God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere—I said it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy not go out on a limb?","brand":"Plume","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303134712037,"sku":"NP9780142181232","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780142181232.jpg?v=1767739165","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-empty-chair-isbn-9780142181232","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}