{"product_id":"a-feast-of-peonies-9781599970301","title":"A Feast of Peonies","description":"This novel is written in the second person singular in a way that gives it more immediacy than the first person, and certainly more than the third. It is set in present day Chicago. The protagonist is a middle-aged black man, Ashanti Ra, who, because he is on the run from the law accused of a crime he did not commit, is forced to live with a young Puerto Rican gay man, Phillip a.k.a. Phyllis, whom he met at a Latin bar a couple of days earlier. He was at the bar because he had just had an argument with his white girlfriend of several years. She wanted to get married; he did not.The story concerns Ashanti's slow realization that, although he himself is not gay, he does care for Phyllis, and eventually accepts Phyllis as a lover.The theme of the book is that things in life happen, often with no explanation or apparent reason, and the story is laced with philosophical and religious musings.There is a subplot obliquely told in alternate chapters of Ashanti's sexual abuse as a boy by an older male cousin. Much of the protagonist's childhood characterization is revealed in these chapters.This novel is for adults only, as some scenes depict explicit sex.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Redmond, Larry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penknife Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781599970301\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 170\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.49lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.51w x 0.39d","brand":"Larry Redmond","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32749484113995,"sku":"9781599970301","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0021\/1697\/6715\/products\/img_8ddc868b-71af-4506-b993-ee7c10e84b04.jpg?v=1597790297","url":"https:\/\/blackbookstore.com\/products\/a-feast-of-peonies-9781599970301","provider":"Black Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}