{"product_id":"friday","title":"Friday","description":"\u003cb\u003eA provocative retelling of \u003ci\u003eRobinson Crusoe\u003c\/i\u003e, this classic of twentieth-century French literature depicts the explorer's struggle to tame nature and the transformative power of his relationship with the indigenous character, Friday. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of the most commonly assigned books in French high schools, \u003ci\u003eFriday\u003c\/i\u003e mines the philosophical underpinnings of Defoe's original story, exploring concepts of imperialism, world-building, and existentialism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFriday is the Friday of \u003ci\u003eRobinson Crusoe\u003c\/i\u003e, and Michel Tournier's retelling of Defoe's tale of solitude and survival turns it on its head. Cast away on a tropical island, the God-fearing Crusoe hasn't the least doubt what he must do: tame the wilderness and stamp it with the sign of civilization, a fool's errand to which he devotes years and in which he comes close to succeeding. Then Friday shows up, infuriating him with his \"irrepressible, lyrical, and blasphemous\" laugh, and a new, more challenging task confronts the island's self-proclaimed master. But after an unforeseen event destroys all of Crusoe's work, it is up to Friday to teach him just how ignorant he is and always has been. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFriday\u003c\/i\u003e was Tournier's first novel, and it quickly found a wondering and delighted readership. Writing about the book in his autobiography, Tournier asks, \"What was Friday to Daniel Defoe? Nothing: an animal, at best a creature waiting to receive his humanity from Robinson Crusoe, who as a European was in sole possession of all knowledge and wisdom.\" In \u003ci\u003eFriday\u003c\/i\u003e, Tournier steps out of the secular world of the Western novel into the sacred precincts of universal mythology. The result is radiant, sensual, funny, and utterly unexpected--a modern masterpiece.","brand":"Norman Denny, Michel Tournier","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47286306930924,"sku":"9781681379814","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9781681379814.jpg?v=1770439932","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/friday","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}