{"product_id":"a-few-perfect-hours-and-other-stories-from-southeast-asia-and-central-europe","title":"A Few Perfect Hours And Other Stories From Southeast Asia And Central Europe","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith gentle humor and a keen eye for revelatory detail, Neufeld explores religion and spirituality, politics and personalities, and the mysteries of everyday life. From the creator of\u003ci\u003eA.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge\u003c\/i\u003e and the illustrator of the\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller\u003ci\u003eThe Influencing Machine: Brook Gladstone On the Media\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories from Southeast Asia and Central Europe), autobiographical cartoonist Josh Neufeld takes us on a dramatic tour of places as exotic and different as Thailand, Singapore, and the former Yugoslavia. Highlights include Neufeld and traveling companion Sari Wilson's stint as extras in a Chinese-language Singaporean soap opera, a train trip through war-torn Serbia, and a near-disastrous cave adventure in Thailand.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With gentle humor and a keen eye for the revelatory detail, Neufeld explores religion and spirituality, politics and personalities, and the mysteries of everyday life. His stories reflect the backpacker's conflicted feelings: a yearning for adventure mixed with homesickness and a sense of disconnection, trapped in a reality constantly in flux.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In the collection's title story, Neufeld illustrates how the tensions and fears involved in travel through a strange country are dispelled by a Thai monk's blessing. In \"On a Mission,\" Neufeld contrasts the viewpoints of American Baptist missionaries in northern Thailand with the traditions of a Buddhist festival. And the book's longest story, \"Cremations, Cubicles, and Cant,\" is a brand-new 20-page tale about the death of Neufeld's grandmother,which contrasts her Jewish funeral service with a Balinese cremation ceremony; it forms the emotional heart of the book.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Evoking both Tintin-creator Hergé and \"comics journalist\" Joe Sacco, \"Neufeld's stories operate on a very human level, and his art reflects that with its careful depictions of people from different cultures and backgrounds.\" [iComics] Throughout the collection, Neufeld uses the comics form to experiment with narrative and point-of-view. The themes and conventions of the eight stories in\u003ci\u003eA Few Perfect Hours\u003c\/i\u003e will resonate with readers both within and outside the comics world.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Comics Worth Reading observes that Neufeld's comics \"provide a street-level view of other cultures, with nothing whitewashed. . . . The stories often remind us of the point of travelling -- to experience and come to terms with the unknown.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Alternative Comics\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781891867798\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Alternative Comics","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £13.98","offer_id":47918774452401,"sku":"SB-1891867792-C3","price":13.98,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/1891867792.jpg?v=1789271208","url":"https:\/\/sellbooks.co.uk\/products\/a-few-perfect-hours-and-other-stories-from-southeast-asia-and-central-europe","provider":"Sell Books .co.uk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}