{"product_id":"unless-a-novel-isbn-9780060874407","title":"Unless: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Nothing short of astonishing.” — \u003cem\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“A thing of beauty—lucidly written, artfully ordered, riddled with riddles and undergirded with dark layers of philosophical meditations.” — \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe final book from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields, \u003cem\u003eUnless,\u003c\/em\u003e is a harrowing but ultimately consoling story of one family's anguish and healing, proving Shields's mastery of extraordinary fiction about ordinary life.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all of her life, 44 year old Reta Winters has enjoyed the useful monotony of happiness: a loving family, good friends, growing success as a writer of light 'summertime' fiction. But this placid existence is cracked wide open when her beloved eldest daughter, Norah, drops out to sit on a gritty street corner, silent but for the sign around her neck that reads 'GOODNESS.' Reta's search for what drove her daughter to such a desperate statement turns into an unflinching and surprisingly funny meditation on where we find meaning and hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e | \u003cp\u003eForty-four-year-old Reta Winters, wife, mother, writer, and translator, is living a happy life until one of her three daughters drops out of university to sit on a downtown street corner silent and cross-legged with a begging bowl in her lap and a placard round her neck that says \"Goodness.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe final book from Pulitzer Prize-winner Carol Shields, Unless is a candid and deeply moving novel from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and beloved authors.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A brave, profound, and quirky novel with an undercurrent of the deeply amusing.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnita Shreve, author of Sea Glass\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A wonderful, powerful book, written in a style which combines simplicity and elegance. I found it deeply moving.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoanne Harris, author of Chocolat\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A landmark book...yet another noteworthy addition to Shields’s impressive body of work.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Marvelously idiosyncratic, passionate and wise, Shields’ tenth novel rollicks from beginning to end with sauciness and wit.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBook Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All novelists worth their fictional salt can create fine characters; Carol Shields creates lives. ” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A superb new novel...a graceful coda, an arabesque performed over an abyss.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All novelists worth their fictional salt can create fine characters; Carol Shields creates lives. ” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An illuminating novel. [Shields is]…unsparing as she explores the black holes of uncertainty in women’s lives.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A raw, subtle, inspiring novel about feminism, femininity, virtue, oppression and motherhood...I was inexpressibly moved by it.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRachel Cusk, Daily Telegraph (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Her wisdom and generosity of spirit are visible at every turn.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLondon Times (Sunday)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Finely detailed, thoughtful and sometimes even humorous, this book is highly recommended for all fiction collections.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Often quietly heartbreaking...often, bitingly humorous.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nothing short of astonishing.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All  the trademark Shields delights are robustly present: idiosyncratic plotting; limber prose...deep compassion...tart commentary and irreverent wit.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOrlando Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Entirely satisfying… Shields’ voice, tender and moderated at all times, remains wise and very readable.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Shields’s novels and short stories are intensely imagined, humanely generous, beautifully sustained and impeccably detailed.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“With a poet’s precision, Shields dissects grief and makes coping with bad luck feel like domestic heroism.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Relentlessly fine...imagined with style and vigor, melancholoy and wisdom.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Diego Union-Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Some hefty perceptions, fortunately shared with us in this fine novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Unless succeeds beautifully...Shields [is] an expert at illuminating the complicated dynamics of off-kilter families.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Closely observed moments create the kind of subtle textures and elegant prose that won Ms. Shields the Pulitzer Prize.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichmond Times-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Truly, a miracle of language and perception.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Oregonian (Portland)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“When Shields is good she is very good. There are nuggets of pure gold in Unless.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNewark Star Ledger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nothing short of astonishing.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A novel of...assured intelligence and defiant vivacity.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fitting farewell from an author revered for her graceful, insightful writing...sparkles with wry humor and elegant irony.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHartford Courant\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An engaging, memorable novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCleveland Plain Dealer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A superb new novel...a graceful coda, an arabesque performed over an abyss.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The best of her novels...fearless, smart, funny, beautifully written.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Orleans Times-Picayune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fine book, poignant, witty, rich in character, vivid in its sense of place...surprisingly suspenseful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSt. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Remarkably subtle and unsettling...one of those books that make you regret that reading is a solitary pleasure.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A thing of beauty—lucidly written, artfully ordered, riddled with riddles and undergirded with dark layers of philosophical meditations.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Luminous ... Shields is a consummate master of tone and acute psychological insight.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePittsburgh Post-Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A luminous novel ...Shields writes with clarity, intelligence and generosity, finding meaning in most mundane details of home life.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMilwaukee Journal Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887714332901,"sku":"NP9780060874407","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060874407.jpg?v=1730227301","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/unless-a-novel-isbn-9780060874407","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}