{"product_id":"this-is-what-we-do-isbn-9781619029415","title":"This Is What We Do","description":"\u003cb\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eThis Is What We Do\u003c\/i\u003e] is...\u003ci\u003eAtlas Shrugged\u003c\/i\u003e jammed in reverse and with the tires smoked. It's Ayn Rand for people with a brain. And a gun. It's a kick. Read it.” —Sean Beaudoin, author of \u003ci\u003eYou Killed Wesley Payne\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Infects\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJames Nethery is at the end of his rope. Unable to find meaning in his comfortable life, he has cut himself off from everyone and fled to Paris. His mission; to rid himself of a lifetime of baggage, erase the past, and start over. He wanders Paris aimlessly until he meets Lily, a Ukrainian model and hooker. They form a unique bond, and together take the first steps toward writing new stories of their lives. Soon, Lily’s past catches up with her and they are forced to go on the lam in a strange country. Together they must decide between justice and vengeance, and, when forced to take action, between what is too much—and not enough.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis Is What We Do\u003c\/i\u003e is part neo–noir thriller, part love story, and part cautionary tale of the perils of trying to write a new life from nothing—and the stories that will be written for you by others if you find yourself in the public eye.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThis Is What We Do\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A compelling, existential thrill ride.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A tight retro noir that's as equally comfortable channeling \u003ci\u003eThe Stranger\u003c\/i\u003e as it is George V. Higgins. But there's also a sly anarchic subtext rumbling below the drugs–and–molls narrative, a welling need to bring plutocrat America to its knees. Where, of course, it belongs. \u003ci\u003eThis Is What We Do\u003c\/i\u003e is a love story. Or, to be more accurate, it's a story that's in love with its own existential indifference. But it's also \u003ci\u003eAtlas Shrugged\u003c\/i\u003e jammed in reverse and with the tires smoked. It's Ayn Rand for people with a brain. And a gun. It's a kick. Read it.” —Sean Beaudoin, author of \u003ci\u003eYou Killed Wesley Payne\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Infects\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hansen's debut novel covers even wilder, trickier ground than his memoir, \u003ci\u003eAmerican Junkie\u003c\/i\u003e. Anti–hero James Nethery seems an ordinary, lonely man drinking Coke at the bar, until he meets \"Lily,\" a Ukrainian prostitute, and what began as a quiet, atmospheric meditation on down–and–out expats in Paris explodes into a nonstop, genre–blending noir–crime–vigilante–political–sexy–nihilistic–almost surreal thrill ride, infused in equal measures with brutality and beauty.\" —Gina Frangello, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Sister’s Continent\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSlut Lullabies\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eA Life in Men\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There’s what people say, and then there’s \u003ci\u003ewhat they do\u003c\/i\u003e. The phrase will infect your consciousness, contorting and twisting itself around to take on more and more dimensions. What does it mean to act on our desires when one person’s wish fulfillment means another’s nightmare? What does it mean to be free, or to escape? At its core, \u003ci\u003eThis Is What We Do\u003c\/i\u003e gives us two people left with nothing, cutting close to the uncoolness of loving without fear.\" —Grace Krilanovich, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Orange Eats Creeps\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Hansen\u003c\/b\u003e was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. As a musician in the late 70’s and early 80’s, he was a pioneer in the punk rock scene in Seattle. Eventually, music gave way to heroin and he turned to dealing to support his habit. He got clean in 1999, returned to school and received an MFA from the University of British Columbia in 2008. He published his first book, the memoir \u003ci\u003eAmerican Junkie\u003c\/i\u003e, in 2010.","brand":"Counterpoint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303559614693,"sku":"NP9781619029415","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781619029415.jpg?v=1767742504","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/this-is-what-we-do-isbn-9781619029415","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}