{"product_id":"asphalt-paperback","title":"Asphalt - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCarl Hancock Rux\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlready a celebrated performance artist, vocalist, poet, playwright, and visionary, Carl Hancock Rux now presents a brilliant debut novel--a profound and lyrical portrait of urban life that will take its place among the classics of American literature. Racine is a reserved young man, but his passion for music lights him up inside. He's just returned from Paris where he'd been invited by a friend to produce music, make recordings, and earn a living. The plan didn't quite pan out, and now he's back in New York, where fate, providence, or just plain chance leads him to a once-glorious brownstone turned into a squat by a few eccentric loners. There's Manny, who wears sarongs and glitter but has no trouble attracting beautiful women, and Couchette, a gorgeous second-generation dancer whose mother has gone to Bali to live and bear a child with a man who built her a house in the midst of a rice paddy. What binds the characters is a deep sense of loss. Each is--like the city they live in--wounded and seeking healing and connection with and through the other housemates. Rux's poetic fiction blurs the lines between characters' dreams, memory, and reality. Asphalt--the name representing the essence of the city and the hard, layered, yet vulnerable sensibility of its inhabitants--is part post-modern parable, part urban mythology, and altogether relevant to contemporary reality. Asphalt is daring and unforgettable, marking the arrival of an original and astounding new voice in American literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarl Hancock Rux\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright, and performance and recording artist. He is the author of the \u003ci\u003eVillage Voice\u003c\/i\u003e Literary Prize winning collection of poetry and prose \u003ci\u003ePagan Operetta, \u003c\/i\u003e and the Obie award-winning play \u003ci\u003eTalk.\u003c\/i\u003e His fiction, poetry, essays, articles, and plays have been widely anthologized in the U.S. and abroad. Mr. Rux is also a New York City Foster Care alumnus and now lives in Brooklyn\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.68 x 8.49 x 5.52 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 05, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42694035013695,"sku":"9780743474016","price":22.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/5fecaa564c6f8451a75cc534d27ce08a.webp?v=1765000806","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/asphalt-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}