{"product_id":"kick-the-latch","title":"Kick the Latch","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAbout one woman’s fine, hard life at the racetrack, \u003cem\u003eKick the Latch\u003c\/em\u003e – with its ruthless concision and artful mysteries – is lightning in a bottle.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKathryn Scanlan’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eKick the Latch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e vividly captures the arc of one woman’s life at the racetrack – the flat land and ramshackle backstretch; the bad feelings and friction; the winner’s circle and the racetrack bar; the fancy suits and fancy boots; and the ‘particular language’ of ‘grooms, jockeys, trainers, racing secretaries, stewards, pony people, hotwalkers, everybody’ – with economy and integrity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBased on transcribed interviews with Sonia, a horse trainer, the novel investigates form and authenticity in a feat of synthesis reminiscent of Charles Reznikoff’s Testimony. As Scanlan puts it, ‘I wanted to preserve – amplify, exaggerate – Sonia’s idiosyncratic speech, her bluntness, her flair as a storyteller. I arrived at what you could call a composite portrait of a self.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhittled down with a fiercely singular artistry, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eKick the Latch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e bangs out of the starting gate and carries the reader on a careening joyride around the inside track.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Kathryn Scanlan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45376577569025,"sku":"9781914198250","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/8600\/8738\/files\/websitecovertemplate-1065.png?v=1720447229","url":"https:\/\/rarebirdsbooks.pro\/products\/kick-the-latch","provider":"Rare Birds Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}