{"product_id":"the-joy-of-funerals-paperback","title":"The Joy of Funerals - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAlix Strauss\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e20th Anniversary Edition\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the very first page, readers are drawn into the strange, often humorous world where nine women grapple with sex, power, love, and death. Meet a widow who lusts...a daughter who aches...a lover who obsesses...a shopaholic who hungers... a daredevil who desires...a single woman who longs...an outsider who hopes...an artist who craves...and a funeral-junkie who needs. These are the women who inhabit the eerily honest, often heartbreaking world Alix Strauss has created in \u003cem\u003eThe Joy of Funerals.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout this powerful and provocative collection, these characters explore the basic need for human connection while seeking to understand themselves better. It is the 'where do I belong' and the 'how do I fit in' that these sad, bright and amazingly strong women seek to answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \"Recovering Larry,\" a woman mourns for her dead husband by having sex with grieving men. In \"Shrinking Away,\" a woman pays a daring shiva call on her psychiatrist's widow. \"Swimming Without Annette\" explores a woman's obsession with her wife's killer, while \"Still Life\" peers into the life of a pregnant artist who wishes to paint herself out of a bad marriage and into a prettier world. In \"Post-Dated,\" a single woman wonders if her recently defunct date was perhaps the perfect man.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRead independently, these vivid and raw stories stand on their own. When read as a collection, they are anchored together by the novella, \"The Joy of Funerals,\" which follows the life of Nina, a lonely, single thirty-something woman who attends the funerals of the deceased characters in the previous stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBegun as an essay in the \u003cem\u003eLives\u003c\/em\u003e column of \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003emagazine\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Joy of Funerals\u003c\/em\u003e is written with raw wit, mordant humor and a uniquely penetrating voice as Strauss turns the spotlight on the unattractive subjects of loss, grief and loneliness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Joy of Funerals is an Ingram Award winner and was named Best Debut Novel by The New York Resident.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 294\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.66 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 02, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52613832966426,"sku":"9798988500018","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1005\/5604\/6618\/files\/LOyvBepptT9798988500018.webp?v=1785419361","url":"https:\/\/j-s-five-and-dime.myshopify.com\/products\/the-joy-of-funerals-paperback","provider":"J \u0026 S Five and Dime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}