{"product_id":"mule-boy-paperback","title":"Mule Boy - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAndrew Krivak\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn elegiac novel of men lost in a coal mining disaster and the boy who survives to tell the story\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn New Year's Day, 1929, Ondro Prach, the thirteen-year-old son of Slovak immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country, begins a new job as mule boy. He knows the danger--his father died in the mines--but he is proud of his position handling the animal that hauls cartloads of coal from shafts deep within the earth to the surface. After Ondro earns the trust of the miners and the mule in his charge, the room the men are working collapses and their fate is sealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom that moment onward, Ondro carries the hard memory of that day, a burden that leads to addiction and imprisonment, costing him his family. But, years later, when the miners' loved ones come searching for answers, he finds the strength to share what the men spoke of and prayed for in the pitch black.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTold in incantatory prose set to the rhythm of human breath, this sublime novel turns the \u003ci\u003ememento mori\u003c\/i\u003e into a meditation not only on death but on what it takes to tunnel through darkness and live.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Krivak\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning writer whose books include \u003ci\u003eMule Boy\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Bear\u003c\/i\u003e, a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read selection; and the freestanding novels of the Dardan Trilogy: \u003ci\u003eThe Sojourn\u003c\/i\u003e, a National Book Award finalist and winner of both the Chautauqua Prize and Dayton Literary Peace Prize; \u003ci\u003eThe Signal Flame\u003c\/i\u003e, a Chautauqua Prize finalist; and \u003ci\u003eLike the Appearance of Horses\u003c\/i\u003e, a \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \"Best Book of the Year\" and Indie Next List for Reading Groups selection. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts and Jaffrey, New Hampshire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 192\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.1 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 24, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51988944126253,"sku":"9781954276468","price":19.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/fWZTWDi6XN9781954276468.webp?v=1776239428","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/mule-boy-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}