{"product_id":"welcome-to-hard-times-9780394731070","title":"Welcome to Hard Times","description":"\u003cp\u003eHard Times is the name of a town in the barren hills of the Dakota Territory. To this town there comes one day one of the reckless sociopaths who wander the West to kill and rape and pillage. By the time he is through and has ridden off  Hard Times is a smoking ruin. The de facto mayor  Blue  takes in two survivors of the carnage a boy  Jimmy  and a prostitute  Molly  who has suffered unspeakably and makes them his provisional family. Blue begins to rebuild Hard Times  welcoming new settlers  while Molly waits with vengeance in her heart for the return of the outlaw. Here is E. L. Doctorow s debut novel  a searing allegory of frontier life that sets the stage for his subsequent classics.   A forceful  credible story of cowardice and evil.  The Washington Post   We are caught up with these people as real human beings.  Chicago Sun-Times   Dramatic and exciting.  The New York Times   Terse and powerful.  Newsweek   A taut  bloodthirsty read.  The Times Literary Supplement   A superb piece of fiction.  The New Republic  From the Trade Paperback edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67932743237685,"sku":"ByrdShop_0394731077","price":64.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780394731070.jpg?v=1794229480","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/welcome-to-hard-times-9780394731070","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}