{"title":"William Kowalski","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"somewhere-south-of-here-paperback","title":"Somewhere South of Here - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI'd wondered about my mother all my life -- what she looked like, how she smelled and sounded and acted. Lately this wondering had grown to encompass a curiosity about the kind of people she herself came from, because they were my family, too, after all, even though I knew nothing about them. I'd no idea whether they were loud or soft-spoken, funny or boring, preferred chocolate to vanilla, if they liked movies over books or the other way around. I wondered whether any of them had ever done anything magnificent in their lives, or if they were the kind of folks who were satisfied with just getting by. These things were important -- knowing them would help me to know myself, and the only way that would happen was if I went and looked for her.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith all his possessions on his motorcycle, Billy Mann sets off on a cross-country odyssey from New York to Santa Fe in search of a mother who deserted him long ago. What Billy discovers, however, is a life rich with possibility -- the chance for love, friendship, and, finally, a family to call his own.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104473649375,"sku":"9780060084370","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/rmMGS1Gmrk9780060084370.webp?v=1781108388"},{"product_id":"eddies-bastard-paperback","title":"Eddie's Bastard - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Eddie's Bastard\" is William Amos Mann IV, known as Billy -- the son of a heroic pilot killed in Vietnam and an unknown woman. The last in a line of proud, individualistic Irish-American men, Billy is discovered in a basket at the door of the dilapidated mansion where his bitter, hard-drinking grandfather, Thomas Mann, has exiled himself. Astonished and moved by the arrival of his unexpected progeny, Thomas sets out to raise the boy himself -- on a diet of love, fried baloney, and the fascinating lore of their shared heritage. Listening to his sets out to capture the stories on paper. He is a Mann, Grandpa reminds him daily, and thus destined for greatness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough the tales of his ancestors, his own experiences, and the unforgettable characters who enhance and enliven his adolescence, Billy learns of bravery and cowardice, of life and death, of the heart's capacity for love and for unremitting hatred, eventually grasping the meaning of family and history and their power to shape destiny. Steeped in imagery and threaded with lyricism, \u003cem\u003eEddie's Bastard\u003c\/em\u003e is a novel of discovery, of a young man's emergence into the world, and the endless possibilities it offers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104867553503,"sku":"9780061098253","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/RsILrpkJZi9780061098253.webp?v=1781111483"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/william-kowalski.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}