{"product_id":"private-novelist-fiction","title":"Private Novelist: Fiction","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the brilliant and incisive author of \u003cem\u003eMislaid\u003c\/em\u003e—\"a writer of extraordinary talent and range\" (Jonathan Franzen) whose \"capacity for inventions is immense\"  \u003cem\u003e(BookForum\u003c\/em\u003e)—comes a new collection of her earliest work: two wildly funny novellas (\u003cem\u003eSailing Towards the Sunset by Avner Shats\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEuropean Story for Avner Shats\u003c\/em\u003e) available in one compact volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears ago, Nell Zink resolved to write a book for her friend, the Israeli novelist Avner Shats, that would mirror his remarkable style. Unable to read his Hebrew, she was forced to start from scratch. Now, this tongue-in-cheek homage is available to Nell’s growing readership for the first time, accompanied by a second dazzling and imaginative work that breathes—at Shats’s request—the perfumed air of the Old Europe and stars a figure very much like Shats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSailing Towards the Sunset by Avner Shats\u003c\/em\u003e is Zink’s faux-translation of Shats’s 1998 novel \u003cem\u003eLashut El Hashkia\u003c\/em\u003e (\"Sailing Towards the Sunset\"). It flows with a narrative spin only the singular Zink could pull off—including both authentic and fictional versions of characters from Shats’s life and work such as the author herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA fast-moving portrait of expat artists, authors, and academics on fellowships at the Villa Romana in Florence, \u003cem\u003eEuropean Story for Avner Shats\u003c\/em\u003e centers on a trio of three indelible characters: an Israeli writer vaguely reminiscent of Shats, a German specialist in ancient lint, and a beautiful and fraudulent Russian performance artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemonstrating the hallmarks of Zink’s unique talent, \u003cem\u003ePrivate Novelist\u003c\/em\u003e is an intimate look into this acclaimed novelist’s early work that will please her coterie of admirers and further burnish her lustrous reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nell Zink","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":55252924727587,"sku":"9780062458308","price":12.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062458308.jpg?v=1781806627","url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/products\/private-novelist-fiction","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}