{"product_id":"the-forgiven-a-novel-9780307889034","title":"The Forgiven: A Novel","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Forgiven: A Novel\u003c\/strong\u003e by Osborne, Lawrence. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780307889034.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this stylish, haunting novel, journalist and novelist Lawrence Osborne explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of Moroccan Muslims and Western visitors who converge on a luxurious desert villa for a decadent weekend-long party.\n\nDavid and Jo Henniger, a doctor and childrens book author, in search of an escape from their less than happy lives in London, accept the invitation of their old friends Richard and Dally to attend their annual bacchanal at their home deep in the Moroccan desert – a ksar they have acquired and renovated into a luxurious retreat. On the way, the Hennigers stop for lunch, and the bad-tempered David cant resist consuming most of a bottle of wine. Back on the road, darkness has descended, David is groggy, and the directions to the ksar are vague. Suddenly, two young men spring from the roadside, apparently attempting to interest passing drivers in the fossils they have for sale. Panicked, David swerves toward the two, leaving one dead on the road and the other running into the hills.\n\nAt the ksar, the festivities have begun: Richard and Dally’s international friends sit down to a lavish dinner prepared and served by a large staff of Moroccans. As the night progresses and the debauchery escalates, the Moroccans increasingly view the revelers as the godless \"infidels\" they are. When David and Jo show up late with the dead body of the young man in their car, word spreads among the locals that David has committed an unforgivable act.\n\nThus the stage is set for a weekend during which David and Jo must come to terms with Davids misdeed, Jos longings, and their own deteriorating relationship, and the flamboyant Richard and Dally must attempt to keep their revelers entertained despite growing tension from their staff and the Moroccan Berber father who comes to claim his sons body.\n\nWith spare, evocative prose, searing eroticism, and a gift for the unexpected, Osborne memorably portrays the privileged guests wrestling with their secrets amidst the remoteness and beauty of the desert landscape. He also gradually reveals the jolting back-story of the young man who was killed and leaves David’s fate in the balance as the novel builds to a shattering conclusion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44946048745525,"sku":"ByrdShop_0307889033","price":30.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780307889034_b533ba1e-e0d3-4314-b48c-d0e745a37c75_86cc9de6-bdff-4e82-9dac-cba9d32ee95c.jpg?v=1792348593","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-forgiven-a-novel-9780307889034","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}