{"product_id":"a-thing-is-only-known-when-it-is-gone-paperback-softback-9780299348946","title":"A Thing Is Only Known When It Is Gone (Paperback \/ softback) 9780299348946","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eA Thing Is Only Known When It Is Gone\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJoe Baumann (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780299348946\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 31 March 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e232 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eFlowers bloom from the body of a man after his lover’s touch. Grieving parents find a way to communicate with their lost children. A teacher with water in his veins is held accountable when the extracurricular club he advises goes rogue. In these and other fantastical stories, Joe Baumann explores relationships, mostly queer, through the lens of the bizarre. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The stories in \u003ci\u003eA Thing Is Only Known When It Is Gone\u003c\/i\u003e are told in lyrical, often startling prose. Baumann’s experimentation with the surreal avoids gimmick and easy metaphor, keeping the complexity of the characters at the center. The strange worlds of these protagonists distort and reflect our own back to us, like the funhouse mirrors in “Morphology” that begin to change the fabric of reality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ultimately, we may not want to live in a world in which our broken hearts are on display in external birdcages attached to our bodies. But Baumann’s sophisticated, nuanced storytelling makes us wonder, however briefly, whether such a world might be preferable to ours. The emotional poignancy at the heart of each of these stories reaches across the strangeness of all of our possible worlds, tying us together in the universal search for connection.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExoskeleton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo to Me What I Can Do to You\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStill Life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKiss Blossoms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA River in Your Chest\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMessage\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Forgetter\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfter Glow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTake Me Somewhere, Bring Me Back\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBefore Something Else Is Gone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSnow Birds\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe House on the Edge of the Canyon\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMorphology\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSons of the Sleeping Mothers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDelicate Creature\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInflation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhere You Go, I’\u003cbr\u003ell Follow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHome Wrecker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Thing Is Only Known When It Is Gone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwilight in Heroland\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Wisconsin Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52530915901720,"sku":"9780299348946","price":14.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/a-thing-is-only-known-when-it-is-gone-paperback-softback-9780299348946","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}