{"product_id":"the-chalk-artist","title":"The Chalk Artist","description":"\u003cb\u003eA tender affair and the redemptive power of art are at the core of this compelling novel from National Book Award finalist Allegra Goodman\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003e\"a romantic realist who dazzles with wit [and] compassion\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Collin James is young, creative, and unhappy. A college dropout, he waits tables and spends his free time beautifying the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his medium of choice: chalk. Collin's art captivates passersby with its vibrant colors and intricate lines--until the moment he wipes it all away. Nothing in Collin's life is meant to last. Then he meets Nina. . . . \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The daughter of a tech mogul who is revolutionizing virtual reality, Nina Lazare is trying to give back as a high school teacher--but her students won't listen to her. When Collin enters her world, he inspires her to think bigger. Nina wants to return the favor--even if it means losing him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Against this poignant backdrop, Allegra Goodman paints a tableau of students, neighbors, and colleagues: Diana, a teenage girl trying to make herself invisible; her twin brother, Aidan, who's addicted to the games produced by Nina's father; and Daphne, a viral-marketing trickster who unites them all, for better or worse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wise, warm, and enchanting, \u003ci\u003eThe Chalk Artist \u003c\/i\u003eis both a finely rendered portrait of modern love and a celebration of all the realms we inhabit: real and imagined, visual and virtual, seemingly independent yet hopelessly tangled. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Chalk Artist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The virtual world Goodman conjures is as feverishly vivid as it is mysterious and alluring. Not since I pushed my way through C. S. Lewis's fusty mothballed wardrobe and stepped out into the frozen, pine-scented forests of Narnia can I remember being so effectively transported into a viscerally, sometimes terrifyingly plausible alternate universe. . . . This is a novel full of wit and spark. . . . Irresistible and arresting.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Enjoyably sharp dialogue and convincing portraits of multiple mindsets and terrains . . . One can't help but marvel at how Goodman has captured the atmosphere of this virtual fantasy land so effectively in words.\"\u003cb\u003e--NPR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Mesmerizing depictions of virtual-reality landscapes of 'Neverwhen' and 'Underworld' make the games' dangerous power over one of Nina's students very real.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Goodman's latest combines fantastical flourishes (an imagined video game called 'Underworld') and realistic Cambridge details . . . in a narrative about art and ambition.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Allegra Goodman creates suspense where you might least expect to find it.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Dial Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48856001609933,"sku":"9781400069873","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0557\/1529\/9533\/files\/imageloader_78a4077f-e70d-481f-89b6-1bef85d4ae0b.jpg?v=1794509784","url":"https:\/\/booksatmidnight.com\/products\/the-chalk-artist","provider":"Books At Midnight","version":"1.0","type":"link"}