{"product_id":"year-of-the-monkey-the-new-york-times-bestseller","title":"Year of the Monkey: The New York Times bestseller","description":"\u003cp\u003eA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids 'Magical' GUARDIAN 'A gripping tale of the search for meaning in times of turbulence - expressed with Smith's signature poetic flair' VOGUE 'Extraordinary ... A tense, teasing mix of reality and dream' SUNDAY TIMES 'Her willingness to look closely at life's closing chapters makes for a magical book' WASHINGTON POST, 'The 10 books to read in September' Following a run of New Year's concerts at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland, with no design yet heeding signs, including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger's words, \"Anything is possible: after all, it's the year of the monkey.\" For Patti Smith - inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life's gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America. Smith melds the Western landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from Southern California to the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered and imagined places - this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment. But as Patti Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope of a better world. Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times. Read more\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GENRES BSTIN Arts, Film \u0026 Photography","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":62421214822770,"sku":"1526614766 - PB","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":62421214855538,"sku":"1526614766 - HB","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0914\/6889\/0482\/files\/71KsR8ofbRL.jpg?v=1790674990","url":"https:\/\/universalreads.com\/products\/year-of-the-monkey-the-new-york-times-bestseller","provider":"Universal reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}