{"product_id":"the-end-of-the-alphabetbooks","title":"The End of the Alphabet","description":"Ambrose Zephyr and his wife Zappora Ashkenazi (“Zipper”) have achieved a happy and  balanced life together. The two live contentedly in a narrow London terrace full of books.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That contentment is thrown into turmoil on Ambrose’s fiftieth birthday,  when they receive the news that he has contracted a mysterious illness that will  most certainly lead to his death within the month. In panicked delirium, from beneath  their bed Ambrose withdraws an oxblood suitcase containing the ephemera of his long-suppressed  life’s ambition: to travel the world in a pilgrimage through the alphabet, from Amsterdam  to Zanzibar. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Scuttling the responsibilities of their respectably successful careers,  the two set off on an urgent voyage through real and imagined geographies of place,  of history, of art, and of love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In Amsterdam, they revisit past debates on beauty and art. In Berlin, they weigh  the burdens of history. In the glow of the Chartres windows, they explore the stations  of life. In Deauville, they fondly recall their youthful love. At “E,” Ambrose adjusts  his long-drafted itinerary, crossing out Elba and replacing it with the Eiffel Tower  of Zipper’s beloved Paris, the city of their first predestined encounter. While resting  in Florence beside the youthfully vital David, they meet a chivalrous old man who  shares his insight into enduring romance. It is in Giza that Ambrose begins to falter  as he climbs a pyramid, and they miss Haifa thanks to a sandstorm. In Istanbul, they  realize that Ambrose can go no further and they must return to their London terrace. But their voyage is not over. The two continue their odyssey, no longer via plane  and rail, but now through the power of shared desire and love. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the tradition of romantic legend and fable,  \u003ci\u003eThe End of the Alphabet\u003c\/i\u003e is a lovingly rendered, richly nuanced treatise on the nature  of true and enduring love. The story of Ambrose and Zappora is a precious gift, one  that illuminates a pathway to the return of balance and joy after unthinkable loss.","brand":"Richardson, CS","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback Trade paperback (US) (Adult Fiction)","offer_id":46085465702624,"sku":"","price":10.8,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0330\/3125\/8248\/files\/BNCImageAPI_7261f34f-ecc8-4e85-b75d-e00d0f5cffe2.jpg?v=1721834723","url":"https:\/\/agricola-street-books.myshopify.com\/products\/the-end-of-the-alphabetbooks","provider":"Agricola Street Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}