{"product_id":"9781968209100","title":"Manual for How to Live Magnificently : Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis debut collection turns the ordinary into sweeping tragicomedy, probing the small, daily confrontations that shape a life well lived.   In a debut collection at once deeply felt and delightfully playful, Ernie Wang presents ordinary people struggling with challenges that confront many today: how to find steady, meaningful work; how to manage when our healthcare system fails us; how to navigate thorny relationships with lovers, with friends, with children; how to keep one’s dreams alive, and how to let them go. The thirteen stories in Manual for How to Live Magnificently are intriguingly linked, with narrators becoming players and players becoming narrators. Several stories feature cameos by the irrepressible seventy-something Mabel Rogerson, who serves by turns as catalyst, comic relief, and means to catharsis. The book toggles among dramatically different locales—Dayton, Ohio; Las Vegas; Disneyland; Kamisoshigaya, Japan—drawing them thematically into a shared orbit. Though each of Wang’s offerings has heft and poignancy, the stories also serve up superb comic set pieces. A fake fortuneteller forgoes his crystal ball in favor of a snow globe; a priest moonlights as a professional wrestler named the Grim Preacher; a troubled lawyer who reluctantly cat-sits for a friend winds up finding solace with Killer and Hoedaddy. Revelations are reached at the male strip club Dayton Dix, or during a ritual spanking at Hofbräuhaus just off the Las Vegas Strip, or on Captain Hook’s flying galleon during a theme park ride. And almost everyone eventually ends up at Applebee’s. When storylines converge in a terrifying tragedy, Wang takes the opportunity to explore the complexity of family, to deepen our understanding of sacrifice and the many ways people demonstrate love for one another.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product__accordion accordion quick-add-hidden\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdetails id=\"Details-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003csummary role=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-controls=\"ProductAccordion-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdiv class=\"summary__title\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003ch2 class=\"h4 accordion__title inline-richtext\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProduct Information\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003csvg class=\"icon icon-caret\" viewbox=\"0 0 10 6\"\u003e\u003cpath fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M9.354.646a.5.5 0 0 0-.708 0L5 4.293 1.354.646a.5.5 0 0 0-.708.708l4 4a.5.5 0 0 0 .708 0l4-4a.5.5 0 0 0 0-.708\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\u003e\u003c\/path\u003e\u003c\/svg\u003e\n\t\t\u003c\/summary\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdiv class=\"accordion__content rte\" id=\"ProductAccordion-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"metafield-multi_line_text_field\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ernie Wang\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDate of Publication:\u003c\/b\u003e 15\/09\/2026\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePagination:\u003c\/b\u003e 208 pages\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e N\/A\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eImprint:\u003c\/b\u003e Acre Books\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePublished By:\u003c\/b\u003e Acre Books\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBook Classification:\u003c\/b\u003e Modern \u0026amp; contemporary fiction (post c 1945)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/b\u003e 216 x 140\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eISBN13\/EAN\/SKU:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781968209100\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\u003c\/details\u003e\n\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Ernie Wang","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57006350434690,"sku":"9781968209100","price":16.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/mountfloridabooks.com\/products\/9781968209100","provider":"Mount Florida Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}