{"product_id":"the-game-for-real-9781931883443","title":"The Game for Real","description":"\u003cdiv\u003eCompared to Kafka and a member of the Surrealists, Richard Weiner is one of European literature’s best-kept secrets. \u003ci\u003eThe Game for Real\u003c\/i\u003e marks the long overdue arrival of his dreamlike, anxiety-ridden fiction into English.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book opens with \u003ci\u003eThe Game of Quartering,\u003c\/i\u003e where an unnamed hero discovers his double. Surely, he reasons, if \u003ci\u003ehe\u003c\/i\u003e has a double, then his double must also have a double too, and so on . . . What follows is a grotesquely hilarious, snowballing spree through Paris, where real-life landmarks disintegrate into theaters, puppet shows, and, ultimately, a funeral.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollowing this, \u003ci\u003eThe Game for the Honor of Payback\u003c\/i\u003e neatly inverts things: instead of a branching, expanding adventure, a man known as “Shame” embarks on a quest that collapses inward. Slapped by someone he despises, he launches a doomed crusade to return the insult. As the stakes grow ever higher, it seems that Shame will stop at nothing — even if he discovers he’s chasing his own tail.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlending metaphysical questions with farcical humor, bizarre twists, and acute psychology, \u003ci\u003eThe Game for Real\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting exploration of who we are — and why we can’t be so sure we know.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Richard Weiner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42956037750902,"sku":"9781931883443","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_1d3f8ec3-99cb-429d-8e5e-668001bb38d8.jpg?v=1767712999","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/the-game-for-real-9781931883443","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}