{"product_id":"9780141392325-spectator-bird-the","title":"The Spectator Bird","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLiterary agent Joe Allston, is now retired and, in his own words, just killing time until time gets around to killing me. His parents and his only son are long dead, leaving him with neither ancestors nor descendants, tradition nor ties.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eLiterary agent Joe Allston, the central character of Stegner's novel \u003ci\u003eAll the Little Live Things\u003c\/i\u003e, is now retired and, in his own words, 'just killing time until time gets around to killing me.' His parents and his only son are long dead, leaving him with neither ancestors nor descendants, tradition nor ties. His job, trafficking the talent of others, had not been his choice. He passes through life as a spectator. A postcard from an old friend causes Allston to return to the journals of a trip he and his wife had taken years before, a journey to his mother's birthplace, where he'd sought a link with the past. The memories of that trip, both grotesque and poignant, move through layers of time and meaning, and reveal that Joe Allston isn't quite spectator enough.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWallace Stegner was the author of, among other works of fiction, \u003ci\u003eRemembering Laughter\u003c\/i\u003e (1973); \u003ci\u003eThe Big Rock Candy Mountain \u003c\/i\u003e(1943); \u003ci\u003eJoe Hill\u003c\/i\u003e (1950); \u003ci\u003eAll the Little Live Things\u003c\/i\u003e (1967, Commonwealth Club Gold Medal); \u003ci\u003eA Shooting Star\u003c\/i\u003e (1961); \u003ci\u003eAngle of Repose\u003c\/i\u003e (1971, Pulitzer Prize); \u003ci\u003eRecapitulation \u003c\/i\u003e(1979); \u003ci\u003eCrossing to Safety\u003c\/i\u003e (1987); and \u003ci\u003eCollected Stories\u003c\/i\u003e (1990). His nonfiction includes \u003ci\u003eBeyond the Hundredth Meridian\u003c\/i\u003e (1954); \u003ci\u003eWolf Willow\u003c\/i\u003e (1963); \u003ci\u003eThe Sound of Mountain Water\u003c\/i\u003e (essays, 1969); \u003ci\u003eThe Uneasy Chair: A Biography of Bernard deVoto\u003c\/i\u003e (1964); \u003ci\u003eAmerican Places\u003c\/i\u003e (with Page Stegner, 1981); and \u003ci\u003eWhere the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West \u003c\/i\u003e(1992). Three short stories have won O.Henry prizes, and in 1980 he received the Robert Kirsch Award from the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e for his lifetime literary achievements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40888535023713,"sku":"9780141392325","price":9.58,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_26927113.jpg?v=1727674293","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780141392325-spectator-bird-the","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}