{"product_id":"how-the-world-began","title":"How the World Began","description":"\u003cp\u003eSharp, thoughtful and mysterious, \u003ci\u003eHow the World Began\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful story about an outsider in a close-knit, devastated community. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSusan, a science teacher from Manhattan, starts work in a small rural Kansas town that's been ripped apart by a tornado. When one of her pupils - the damaged, articulate Micah - takes offence at an off-the-cuff remark about how life on Earth began, Susan is thrown into an ethical firestorm about science and faith that leads to her fearing for her safety. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCasting light on the tension between religion and secular liberalism, \u003ci\u003eHow the World Began\u003c\/i\u003e explores the debate between creationism and evolution, and how this is taught in schools. With hints of American classics like \u003ci\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Catcher in the Rye\u003c\/i\u003e, the play traces the inexorable, fatalistic momentum from a single casual act into an all-encompassing dispute. A dispute which then threatens the very foundations of a community still reeling from a colossal disaster. In addition to its relevant and complex themes, the play is also about human psychology and what drives people to extreme ideological positions in times of duress. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith writing which is provocative, moving and intelligent, Catherine Trieschmann asks important questions alongside in-depth character studies. This shrewd and compassionate drama is astute, perceptive and controversial.","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48833524433101,"sku":"9781408172315","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0557\/1529\/9533\/files\/imageloader_32763dc1-7bb9-41ed-80b7-954d23cccec4.jpg?v=1790887512","url":"https:\/\/booksatmidnight.com\/products\/how-the-world-began","provider":"Books At Midnight","version":"1.0","type":"link"}