{"product_id":"the-pleasure-was-mine-paperback-1","title":"The Pleasure Was Mine - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTommy Hays\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrate Marshbanks proposed to his future wife on a muggy July night at Pete's Drive-in back in '52. She said yes to me between bites of a slaw burger all-the-way. A college graduate and daughter of a prominent lawyer, Irene was an unlikely match for Prate, a high school dropout. He lived his married life aware of the question on people's minds: How in the world did a tall, thin, fair-skinned beauty and one of the most respected high school English teachers in all of Greenville County, in all of South Carolina for that matter, wind up married to a short, dark, fat-faced, jug-eared house painter? That their marriage not only survived for fifty years, but flourished, is a source of constant wonder to Prate. Now he faces a new challenge with Irene. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eIn The Family Way\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel the Atlanta Constitution called an instant classic and the \u003ci\u003eCharlotte Observer\u003c\/i\u003e praised as a lovely, moving book, comes a powerful story of hard-earned hope. \u003ci\u003eThe Pleasure Was Mine\u003c\/i\u003e takes place during a critical summer in the life of Prate Marshbanks, when he retires to care for his wife, who is gradually slipping away. To complicate things, Prate's son, Newell, a recently widowed single father, asks Prate to keep nine-year-old Jackson for the summer. Though Prate is irritated by the presence of his moody grandson, during the summer Jackson helps tend his grandmother, and grandfather and grandson form a bond. As Irene's memory fades, Prate, a hardworking man who has kept to himself most of his life, has little choice but to get to know his family. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith elegance and skillful economy of language, Tommy Hays renders an unforgettable character in Prate Marshbanks. \u003ci\u003eThe Pleasure Was Mine\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a quietly wrenching portrayal of grief, a magical and romantic story about the power of love, and an unexpectedly moving take on the resilience of family.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTommy Hays\u003c\/b\u003e is executive director of the Great Smokies Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and creative writing chair for the Academy at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. His novel \u003ci\u003eIn The Family Way\u003c\/i\u003e received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award in 2000 and was a choice of the Book-of-the-Month Club. He is a graduate of Furman University and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.\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 0.7 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 21, 2006\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42134545105031,"sku":"9780312339333","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/484fa01ba96f7233de06087cc3dd75cd_eced03bb-dc24-46fb-848e-5667df6c1912.webp?v=1732642621","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/the-pleasure-was-mine-paperback-1","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}