{"product_id":"9781681375106","title":"The Open Road","description":"By: Jean Giono     \u003chr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA nomad and a swindler embark on an eccentric road trip in this picaresque, philosophical novel by the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Planted Trees\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe south of France, 1950: A solitary vagabond walks through the villages, towns, valleys, and foothills of the region between northern Provence and the Alps. He picks up work along the way and spends the winter as the custodian of a walnut-oil mill. He also picks up a problematic companion: a cardsharp and con man, whom he calls “the Artist.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe action moves from place to place, and episode to episode, in truly picaresque fashion. Everything is told in the first person, present tense, by the vagabond narrator, who goes unnamed. He himself is a curious combination of qualities—poetic, resentful, cynical, compassionate, flirtatious, and self-absorbed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile \u003ci\u003eThe Open Road \u003c\/i\u003ecan be read as loosely strung entertainment, interspersed with caustic reflections, it can also be interpreted as a projection of the relationship of author, art, and audience. But it is ultimately an exploration of the tensions and boundaries between affection and commitment, and of the competing needs for solitude, independence, and human bonds. As always in Jean Giono, the language is rich in natural imagery and as ruggedly idiomatic as it is lyrical.","brand":"NYRB Classics","offers":[{"title":"US - Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":46415134589155,"sku":"DTRPRUS-9781681375106","price":109.0,"currency_code":"HKD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1778\/4925\/files\/9781681375106.jpg?v=1749303674","url":"https:\/\/buybookbook.com\/zh-mo\/products\/9781681375106","provider":"買書書 BuyBookBook","version":"1.0","type":"link"}