{"product_id":"ghost-traps-stories-paperback","title":"Ghost Traps: Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert Abel\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGhost Traps\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of twelve stories about characters who are on the edge and under duress, individuals backed against a wall as they try to free themselves from their own limitations, habits, and destructive desires. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the title story, Harper learns to fish from a man whose son is \"catching hell\" in the Korean War. When the son returns, he begins stealing lobsters from Harper's traps, and Harper, out of a sense of obligation and guilt, teaches him to fish, vainly hoping it will help the man put together the pieces of a life that war shattered. In \"The Connoisseur,\" a wealthy collector on an archeological dig in the Himalayan foothills realizes he \"knows how to stay out of jail, charge rent, build hotels, and pass Go,\" but has not spiritual life. Unlike his guide, a Sherpa, who could remain content with nothing but the Himalayas, the collector finds himself wanting in all but material success. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhether they win or lose, Robert Abel's characters make the best of circumstance with creativity, wit, passion, and endurance. In \"Lawless in New York,\" Professor Alice Reinquist, the sole woman in her university's delegation to an academic conference, maintains her sense of humor by thinking of Wonder Woman's Gold Lasso, which makes \"even the most cunning of evildoers unable to prevaricate.\" Tracey Wynn, a woman who considers herself on loan to her aloof boyfriend, keeps her options open by always leaving a portion of her neck exposed because she \"cannot stand being closed in by anything and because she knows it invites at least a fantasy kiss.\" In \"Appetizer,\" a man fishing in Alaska resourcefully asks two hungry grizzly bears, \"How much love can $600 worth of salmon buy?\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough many of these characters inhabit a world in which the bottom is about to fall out, they invariably find good reason--and courage--to take the next treacherous step. From the salty waters of Cape Cod Canal to the mountains of Tibet; from a Puerto Rican pub to an elegant New York bar where \"Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer had no doubt insulted each other,\" \u003ci\u003eGhost Traps\u003c\/i\u003e is filled with people hustling for survival and fighting for identity in a world reluctant to give anyone an even break.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eROBERT ABEL (1941-2017) was the author of\u003ci\u003e Full-tilt Boogie\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Progress of a Fire\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eFreedom Dues, or, A Gentleman's Progress in the New World\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eSkin and Bones\u003c\/i\u003e. His stories have appeared in \u003ci\u003ePlaygirl\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eContact\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eDenver Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 168\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.42 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 01, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42130397429895,"sku":"9780820344911","price":25.87,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/55b18038f6e74b63f44930adcae9c018.webp?v=1732610463","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/ghost-traps-stories-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}