{"product_id":"the-sewing-machine-and-other-stories-paperback","title":"The Sewing Machine and Other Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHumor, suspense, crime, and mischief abound in this highly imaginative collection of nine short stories and two novellas. As in his first book, \u003cem\u003eGrandpa Gets a Tattoo and Other Stories\u003c\/em\u003e (2025), Michael Massee's page-turning stories are rich with unexpected turns, red herrings, and surprise endings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA mysterious visual disturbance leads to a missing person, then to a shocking revelation. One sewing machine changes three lives-first for an abandoned Mormon wife, then for a talented teenage boy, and finally for a girl in an oppressive Indian boarding school. Difficult questions are asked: How do we relate to a neighbor with an intractable mental illness? Is \"mercy killing\" ever justified? What if we could choose what happens when we die?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \"Affliction,\" a crusty, old-time newspaperman meets a warehouse clerk beset by messages from beyond, a midlife crisis, and a very overbearing mother; they team up to solve two mysteries-and along the way reinvigorate their own lives. This collection also serves up a sitcom actor with delusions of grandeur, a teenage Christmas prank gone wrong, a neighborhood murder mystery, crime-fighting birds-and a Great American Novel you can finish in only eight minutes!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMassee's stories are by turns poignant and witty, thoughtful and irreverent, displaying his flair as a natural storyteller.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101867249887,"sku":"9798993827827","price":25.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/YRyty6rNya9798993827827.webp?v=1781075790","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/the-sewing-machine-and-other-stories-paperback","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}