{"product_id":"sweetness-9-9780316278775","title":"Sweetness #9","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephan Eirik Clark\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Back Bay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/04\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780316278775\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/23\/2015 pg. 36\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Back Bay Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39955582320755,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_0c3417a9-87d1-46bc-b42c-bb87c804bcb0.jpg?v=1648652524","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/sweetness-9-9780316278775","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}