{"product_id":"sweetness-9-paperback","title":"Sweetness #9 - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephan Eirik Clark\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Funny and moving. After this, nothing will ever taste the same again.\" --T. C. Boyle\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's 1973, and David Leveraux has landed his dream job as a Flavorist-in-Training, working in the secretive industry where chemists create the flavors for everything from the cherry in your can of soda to the butter on your popcorn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile testing a new artificial sweetener--\"Sweetness #9\"--he notices unusual side-effects in the laboratory rats and monkeys: anxiety, obesity, mutism, and a generalized dissatisfaction with life. David tries to blow the whistle, but he swallows it instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears later, Sweetness #9 is America's most popular sweetener--and David's family is changing. His wife is gaining weight, his son has stopped using verbs, and his daughter suffers from a generalized dissatisfaction with life. Is Sweetness #9 to blame, along with David's failure to stop it? Or are these just symptoms of the American condition?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid's search for an answer unfolds in this expansive novel that is at once a comic satire, a family story, and a profound exploration of our deepest cultural anxieties. Wickedly funny and wildly imaginative, \u003cem\u003eSweetness #9\u003c\/em\u003e questions whether what we eat truly makes us who we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephan Eirik Clark\u003c\/b\u003e was born in West Germany and raised between England and the United States. He is the author of the short story collection \u003ci\u003eVladimir's Mustache\u003c\/i\u003e. A former Fulbright Fellow to Ukraine, he teaches English at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Sweetness #9 is his first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 01, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67972589322547,"sku":"9780316278775","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/B_h00zUloD9780316278775.webp?v=1794430435","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/sweetness-9-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}