{"product_id":"muscle-man","title":"Muscle Man","description":"\u003cb\u003eA hilarious, suspenseful metaphysical thriller following a day in the life of an English professor who would rather be lifting weights from the author of the cult hit \u003ci\u003eThe Novelist \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHarold, a middling literature professor at a liberal arts college, lives in a state of dissatisfaction and fear. His colleagues and students evoke nothing but disgust and disdain. None of them understand strength, power, and spiritual actualization like he does. His university's campus--seemingly picturesque--constantly threatens to reveal something sinister. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOver the course of a single afternoon, he wanders the halls, sits in meetings, steals from a student, and goes to the gym--all while reflecting on his professional and existential situation. With every line of Harold's frenetic consciousness, his mundane routine transforms into something more foreboding, culminating in an ingenious twist. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrilliantly imagined and darkly funny, \u003ci\u003eMuscle Man\u003c\/i\u003e is as much a critique of resentment and contemporary masculinity as a satire on the state of higher education, exploring weakness and strength, rationality and irrationality, the spirit and the flesh, and the individual and the collective. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith his minute-to-minute occupation of Harold's existential disquietude, Castro imbues the novel's philosophical inquiries with thrilling suspense. Is Harold a raving lunatic whose disdain stems from his own perilous inadequacies, or is there something truly sinister about his colleagues? When all is said and done, is strength a virtue, or a mirage?","brand":"Jordan Castro","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47480834687212,"sku":"9781646222773","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47480834719980,"sku":"9781646223565","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9781646222773.jpg?v=1775625138","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/muscle-man","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}