{"title":"Ben Lerner","description":"\u003cp\u003eBen Lerner’s work explores the intricate intersections of art, identity, and language, inviting readers into richly textured narratives that blend emotional insight with intellectual depth. His novels often navigate the complexities of contemporary life, delving into themes of creativity, memory, and self-perception with a distinctive and reflective voice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in both \u003cem\u003eGeneral Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e, Lerner's writing challenges conventional storytelling, offering a blend of poetic prose and sharp cultural observation. Readers can expect a thoughtful examination of modern existence, framed through compelling characters and innovative narrative structures.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"10-04","title":"10:04","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e10:04\u003c\/i\u003e by Ben Lerner is a remarkable exploration of the complexities of modern life through the existential musings of its unnamed narrator. The novel unfolds in a precarious New York City, increasingly besieged by superstorms and political upheaval. Amidst this backdrop, the narrator grapples with his own sudden literary success, an ominous heart condition that threatens his life, and his best friend's unconventional request to help her conceive a child.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs he navigates these personal crises, he ponders the fragility of human existence and the possibility of achieving a literary legacy. Lerner's protagonist is not just dealing with his potentially fatal condition, but he is also coming to terms with the prospect of fatherhood and the intricate web of relationships in his life, all while living in a city that might soon find itself underwater.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrative is rich with introspection and intellectual discourse, drawing the reader into a journey through the intersecting realms of art, memory, friendship, and sexuality. In \u003ci\u003e10:04\u003c\/i\u003e, Lerner's prose is imbued with wit and perspicacity, creating a tapestry that is at once poignant and amusing. As Jonathan Franzen has remarked, the novel is 'hilarious, cracklingly intelligent, and original in every sentence,' a testament to Lerner's unique voice and storytelling prowess.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLerner masterfully captures the essence of contemporary life, presenting a snapshot of what it feels like to be alive in an age marked by environmental precariousness and sociopolitical instability. The novel challenges readers to reflect on their own lives and the ever-changing world around them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45760004489452,"sku":"9781847088932","price":22.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781847088932.jpg?v=1726983681"},{"product_id":"leaving-the-atocha-station-by-ben-lerner-9781847086914","title":"Leaving the Atocha Station","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLeaving the Atocha Station\u003c\/em\u003e follows Adam Gordon, a brilliant yet highly unreliable young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid. He struggles to establish his sense of self and his attitude towards art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFuelled by strong coffee and self-prescribed tranquillizers, Adam's 'research' soon becomes a meditation on the possibility of authenticity. He finds himself increasingly troubled by the uncrossable distance between himself and the world around him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt's not just his imperfect grasp of Spanish that concerns him, but the underlying suspicion that his relationships, his reactions, and his entire personality are just as fraudulent as his poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46531860824300,"sku":"9781847086914","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17596593482845.jpg?v=1749288220"},{"product_id":"the-childrens-bach-by-helen-garner-9781925773040","title":"The Children's Bach","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA captivating and deeply personal novel from one of Australia’s most respected authors.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAthena and Dexter live a happy but insular life, bound by routine and the care of their young sons. When Elizabeth, an old friend from Dexter’s university days, turns up with her much younger sister, Vicki, and her lover, Philip, she brings an enticing world to their doorstep. Athena finds herself straining at the confines of her life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHelen Garner portrays her characters with a clear eye for their dreams, their insecurities, and their deep humanity in this intimate and engaging short novel, which was first published in 1984. \u003ci\u003eThe Children’s Bach\u003c\/i\u003e is ‘a jewel’, in Ben Lerner’s description, ‘beautiful, lapidary, rare’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHelen Garner\u003c\/b\u003e is one of Australia’s finest authors. In 2006 she received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, and in 2016 she won the prestigious Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction. Her novels include \u003ci\u003eMonkey Grip\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Children’s Bach\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCosmo Cosmolino\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Spare Room\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere was a piano in the kitchen and during the day Athena would shut herself in there under the portrait of Dexter’s father and pick away at Bartok’s Mikrokosmos or the easiest of Bach’s Small Preludes. Preludes to what? Even under her ignorant fingers those simple chords rang out like a shout of triumph, and she would run to stick her hot face out of the window.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532936794348,"sku":"9781925773040","price":34.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18055733482873.jpg?v=1749352493"},{"product_id":"the-topeka-school-by-ben-lerner-9781783785377","title":"The Topeka School","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of '97. His parents are psychologists, his mum a famous author in the field. A renowned debater and orator, an aspiring poet, and—although it requires a lot of posturing and weight lifting—one of the cool kids, he's also one of the seniors who brings the loner Darren Eberheart into the social scene, with disastrous effects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDeftly shifting perspectives and time periods, \u003ci\u003eThe Topeka School\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting story about the challenges of raising a good son in a culture of toxic masculinity. It is also a startling prehistory of the present: the collapse of public speech, the tyranny of trolls and the new right, and the ongoing crisis of identity among white men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46534020989164,"sku":"9781783785377","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2468603482823.jpg?v=1749403507"},{"product_id":"leaving-the-atocha-station-by-ben-lerner-9781803510040","title":"Leaving the Atocha Station","description":"Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his attitude towards art. Fuelled by strong coffee and self-prescribed tranquillizers, Adam's 'research' soon becomes a meditation on the possibility of authenticity, as he finds himself increasingly troubled by the uncrossable distance between himself and the world around him. It's not just his imperfect grasp of Spanish, but the underlying suspicion that his relationships, his reactions, and his entire personality are just as fraudulent as his poetry.","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46844350398700,"sku":"9781803510040","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3114703482830.jpg?v=1758837908"},{"product_id":"transcription-by-ben-lerner-9781803513898","title":"Transcription","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrator of Ben Lerner's new novel has travelled to Providence, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor, and the father of his college friend, Max. But after the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink, he arrives at Thomas's house with no recording device, a fact he is mysteriously unable to confess.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is both the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to each other, that store or obliterate the memories that make us who we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47269764858092,"sku":"9781803513898","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/c0c9f095850c00f0dd1316b9fb76190a.jpg?v=1769994240"},{"product_id":"transcription-by-ben-lerner-9781803513805","title":"Transcription","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrator of Ben Lerner's new novel has travelled to Providence, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor, and the father of his college friend, Max. But after the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink, he arrives at Thomas's house with no recording device, a fact he is mysteriously unable to confess.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is both the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to each other, that store or obliterate the memories that make us who we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47496827207916,"sku":"9781803513805","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781803513805-transcription.jpg?v=1775800382"},{"product_id":"the-lights-by-ben-lerner-9781915051080","title":"The Lights","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Lights\u003c\/em\u003e is a constellation of verse and prose, voice memos and vignettes, songs and silences, that brings the personal and the collective into startling relation. These are poems at once alive to the forces that shape human society and to the rhythms of the natural world, to the power of new technologies and the wonder of our timeless planet. Sometimes the scale is intimate and quiet and sometimes the poems are sweeping, Orphic experiments in the 'collectivization of feeling': 'I want everybody out there to sing along, even the stones.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten over a span of fifteen years, \u003cem\u003eThe Lights\u003c\/em\u003e records the pleasures, risks, and absurdities of making art and family and meaning against a backdrop of interlocking, accelerating crises. And, even while alert to the darkness, it is the light in the book that remains, in dusk, in images from space, in old poems, in power cuts, in the flickering connections between people. From one of the most celebrated writers of his generation, the poems in this collection come to us as beacons, illuminating new possibilities of thought and feeling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599578677484,"sku":"9781915051080","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2f7ec1c3595c149b3d4bfe4bfd9ea363.jpg?v=1778037256"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/ben-lerner.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}