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Showing 81 - 100 of 16888 items
By Scott Campbell. 1996
Robbie Young is an ordinary twelve-year-old boy about to drop a bombshell that will devastate his small town family. One…
day he rides his bike home after school, finds his mother in the kitchen making dinner, and speaks aloud the secret he's been keeping for a year, "Jerry Houseman's been touching me. " Robbie has been molested and the Young family will never be the same. From that moment on, the novel unfolds with inexorable power. The story is narrated in four parts: first by Robbie's mother, then by Jerry Houseman himself, then by Houseman's wife Linda, and concluded by Robbie himself fifteen years later, when he has returned to town for a high school reunion. Each voice is remarkably persuasive and utterly convincing, and the result is a novel that is impossible to put down as it is impossible to forget.By Paolo Sorrentino. 2015
In a luxury spa hotel in the Swiss Alps, octogenarian friends Fred Ballinger and Mick Boyle look back on their…
eventful and successful lives as composer and film director, surrounded by a host of colorful and eccentric fellow guests, ranging from a South American soccer star to a famous Californian actor and a reigning Miss Universe. Ballinger is there simply to enjoy his retirement, while Boyle is working with five scriptwriters on his last film, which he hopes will be his masterpiece. When Ballinger is invited by Buckingham Palace to conduct his most famous piece at Prince Philip's birthday celebration and accept a knighthood in return, he refuses, citing personal reasons. As for Mick Boyle, he eventually receives a visit from Brenda Morel, his signature actress, who comes all the way from California to give her opinion of this latest film in which she is to star. At the same time as these two men face these turning points, the marriage of Fred's daughter to Mick's son brings further complications.Only by reconciling with their muses, and by coming to terms with old age and the weight of memory that comes with it, can the two friends move forward with what remains of their lives.By Naguib Mahfouz. 1975
By Arthur Phillips. 2004
From the bestselling author of Prague comes a witty, inventive, brilliantly constructed novel about an Egyptologist obsessed with finding the…
tomb of an apocryphal king. This darkly comic labyrinth of a story opens on the desert plains of Egypt in 1922, then winds its way from the slums of Australia to the ballrooms of Boston by way of Oxford, the battlefields of the First World War, and a royal court in turmoil. Just as Howard Carter unveils the tomb of Tutankhamun, making the most dazzling find in the history of archaeology, Oxford-educated Egyptologist Ralph Trilipush is digging himself into trouble, having staked his professional reputation and his fiancée's fortune on a scrap of hieroglyphic pornography. Meanwhile, a relentless Australian detective sets off on the case of his career, spanning the globe in search of a murderer. And another murderer. And possibly another murderer. The confluence of these seemingly separate stories results in an explosive ending, at once inevitable and utterly unpredictable. Arthur Phillips leads this expedition to its unforgettable climax with all the wit and narrative bravado that made Prague one of the most critically acclaimed novels of 2002. Exploring issues of class, greed, ambition, and the very human hunger for eternal life, this staggering second novel gives us a glimpse of Phillips's range and maturity-and is sure to earn him further acclaim as one of the most exciting authors of his generation.By Arthur Phillips. 2002
A first novel of startling scope and ambition, Prague depicts an intentionally lost Lost Generation as it follows five American…
expats who come to Budapest in the early 1990s to seek their fortune--financial, romantic, and spiritual--in an exotic city newly opened to the West. They harbor the vague suspicion that their counterparts in Prague, where the atmospheric decay of post-Cold War Europe is even more cinematically perfect, have it better. Still, they hope to find adventure, inspiration, a gold rush, or history in the making. What they actually find is a deceptively beautiful place that they often fail to understand. What does it mean to fret about your fledgling career when the man across the table was tortured by two different regimes? How does your short, uneventful life compare to the lives of those who actually resisted, fought, and died? What does your angst mean in a city still pocked with bullet holes from war and crushed rebellion? Journalist John Price finds these questions impossible to answer yet impossible to avoid, though he tries to forget them in the din of Budapest's nightclubs, in a romance with a secretive young diplomat, at the table of an elderly cocktail pianist, and in the moody company of a young man obsessed with nostalgia. Arriving in Budapest one spring day to pursue his elusive brother, John finds himself pursuing something else entirely, something he can't quite put a name to, something that will draw him into stories much larger than himself. With humor, intelligence, masterly prose, and profound affection for both Budapest and his own characters, Arthur Phillips not only captures his contemporaries but also brilliantly renders the Hungary of past and present: the generations of failed revolutionaries and lyric poets, opportunists and profiteers, heroes and storytellers.By Anna Quinn. 2018
This breathtaking debut novel examines the impact of traumatic childhood experiences and the fragile line between past and present. Exquisitely…
nuanced and profoundly intimate, The Night Child is a story of resilience, hope, and the capacity of the mind, body, and spirit to save itself despite all odds.Nora Brown teaches high school English and lives a quiet life in Seattle with her husband and six-year-old daughter. But one November day, moments after dismissing her class, a girl’s face appears above the students’ desks—“a wild numinous face with startling blue eyes, a face floating on top of shapeless drapes of purples and blues where arms and legs should have been. Terror rushes through Nora’s body—the kind of raw terror you feel when there’s no way out, when every cell in your body, your entire body, is on fire—when you think you might die.”Twenty-four hours later, while on Thanksgiving vacation, the face appears again. Shaken and unsteady, Nora meets with neurologists and eventually, a psychiatrist. As the story progresses, a terrible secret is discovered—a secret that pushes Nora toward an even deeper psychological breakdown.“The Night Child is a powerful, beautifully written, transformative novel that struck a rare chord with me. When I recall Nora’s journey, I am affected viscerally, as if I were reliving her painful memories alongside her. ‘Must-read’ is not a phrase I use often; I am using it now: you must read this book!”—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain“Anna Quinn writes with bright and assured authority, making this a remarkable debut novel you won’t soon forget. Her haunting story, expertly and lovingly crafted, leaves you breathless with both terror and hope.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author“I loved this book so much…I entered Quinn’s book and lost myself and exited her book changed. She is hanging with the big dogs with this work…like Jodi Picoult and Ann Patchett.”—Lidia Yuknavitch, bestselling author of The Book of Joan“The Night Child is an exhilarating debut: Quinn immediately pulls the reader in and doesn’t let go until the final scene. She commands each page and expertly dives into the inner working of a broken mind. This fast-paced, riveting novel of coping with the past while trying to salvage life in the present is hard to put down.” —BooklistBy Daniel Glattauer. 2011
It begins by chance: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite he replies, and…
Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest in each other, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and longings. The erotic tension simmers, and, despite Emmi being happily married it seems only a matter of time before they will meet in person. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter? And if so, what then? Love Virtually is a funny, fast-paced and absorbing experience, with plenty of twists and turns, about a love affair conducted by email.By Derek Robinson. 2012
1943. British Intelligence has finally got to grips with the Eldorado Network, Germany's most successful spy ring. It turns out…
to be one man in a small room in Lisbon, inventing phony (but convincing) reports. For two years he pulled the wool over German Intelligence's eyes, and made a killing.The British soon find that Eldorado's a real handful. They bring him to England, so they can manage his dispatches, and discover that living with a genius can be a headache. Eldorado rapidly creates a team of top sub-agents around him. None of them exists. But power--even imaginary power--is intoxicating, and he begins to treat his fake sub-agents as if real. Big trouble ahead.Artillery of Lies is the hair-raising sequel to The Eldorado Network, all the more funny for being soundly based on the true story of a real Second World War spy.By Jon Kalman Stefansson. 2016
After coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a…
fishing community at the edge of the world.Taken in by the village doctor, the boy once again has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame-haired Álfhei?ur, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnhei?ur, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village to which he must now inexorably return.Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north, The Human Heart is a profound exploration of life, love, and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Stefánsson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.By Lloyd Jones, Angharad Price. 2002
In the early years of the last century, Rebecca is born into a rural community in the Maesglasau valley in…
Wales; her family have been working the land for a thousand years, but the changes brought about by modernity threaten the survival of her language, and her family's way of life. Three of her siblings are afflicted with a genetic blindness, and it is they who have the opportunity to be educated elsewhere and to find work, while Rebecca and her remaining brother maintain the family farm amidst a gradual influx of new technologies, from the waterpipe to the tractor and telephone, and ultimately to television. Rebecca's reflections on the century are delivered with haunting dignity and a simple intimacy, while her evocation of the changing seasons and a life that is so in tune with its surroundings is rich and poignant. The Life of Rebecca Jones has all the makings of a classic, fixing on a vanishing period of rural history, and the novel's final, unexpected revelation remains unforgettable and utterly moving.By Jaroslav Kalfar. 2017
An intergalactic odyssey of love, ambition, and self-discoveryOrphaned as a boy, raised in the Czech countryside by his doting grandparents,…
Jakub Procházka has risen from small-time scientist to become the country's first astronaut. When a dangerous solo mission to Venus offers him both the chance at heroism he's dreamt of, and a way to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer, he ventures boldly into the vast unknown. But in so doing, he leaves behind his devoted wife, Lenka, whose love, he realizes too late, he has sacrificed on the altar of his ambitions. Alone in Deep Space, Jakub discovers a possibly imaginary giant alien spider, who becomes his unlikely companion. Over philosophical conversations about the nature of love, life and death, and the deliciousness of bacon, the pair form an intense and emotional bond. Will it be enough to see Jakub through a clash with secret Russian rivals and return him safely to Earth for a second chance with Lenka?Rich with warmth and suspense and surprise, Spaceman of Bohemia is an exuberant delight from start to finish. Very seldom has a novel this profound taken readers on a journey of such boundless entertainment and sheer fun.By Jack Kerouac Edited by Todd Tietchen. 2014
In late 1944, under rather mysterious circumstances, aspiring writer Jack Kerouac lost a novella-length manuscript titled The Haunted Life. …
Set in Galloway, a fictionalized version of Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, the coming-of-age story of Peter Martin--a character based on the author's recently departed friend Sebastian Sampas--tackles the pressing issues of the day. At home in the working-class town the summer before his sophomore year at Boston College, Peter finds himself conflicted. Like many Americans, Peter is unsure, suspended between the economic crisis of the previous decade and the impending US entry into World War II. In The Haunted Life, Peter struggles to define what he believes to be intellectually true and worthy of his life and talents. Skillfully edited by Todd F. Tietchen, assistant professor of English at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell,The Haunted Life is rounded out by sketches, notes, and reflections Kerouac kept during the novella's composition as well as a revealing selection of correspondence with his father, Leo.By W. Somerset Maugham. 1951
24 stories from the master: THE VESSEL OF WRATH, THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, THE ALIEN CORN, THE…
CREATIVE IMPULSE, VIRTUE, THE MAN WITH THE SCAR, THE CLOSED SHOP, THE BUM, THE DREAM, THE TREASURE, THE COLONEL'S LADY, LORD MOUNTDRAGO, THE SOCIAL SENSE, THE VERGER, IN A STRANGE LAND, THE TAIPAN, THE CONSUL, A FRIEND IN NEED, THE ROUND DOZEN, THE HUMAN ELEMENT, JANE, FOOTPRINTS IN THE JUNGLE, THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITYBy Derek Robinson. 2010
North Africa, 1942. Dust, heat, thirst, flies. A good clean fight, for those who like that sort of thing, and…
some do. From an advanced landing field, striking hard and escaping fast, our old friends from Hornet Squadron (Piece of Cake) play Russian roulette, flying their clapped-out Tomahawks on ground-strafing forays. Meanwhile, on the ground, the men of Captain Lampard's S.A.S. patrol drive hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to plant bombs on German aircraft. This is the story of a war of no glamor and few heroes, in a setting often more lethal than the enemy.By O. R. Melling. 2013
Olwen Mellory is called away from her life as a writer of fairy tales to take part in a week-long…
retreat on a remote Scottish island The Great Journey promises to be full of magical wisdom and visionary experiences It s an invitation she can t resist But within hours of arriving at the imposing Dunesfort House and meeting her companions in the circle Olwen s adventure takes an unexpected turn Before long her daytime explorations of mystical practices are paired with night-time dreams and phantasms that blur the line between the real and the imaginary As the enigmatic but vaguely sinister course director asserts his authority in a bid to create an act of modern alchemy Olwen begins to wonder in whom she can trust After a shocking event in the circle Olwen flees across the moors to the Callanish Stones only to find herself caught in an ancient moon rite Will this final calling free her from her personal demons forever or will it be the beginning of a new nightmareBy Brock Thoene. 2002
In this bestselling series Bodie and Brock Thoene have thrilled readers with an epic tale chronicling the struggle for the…
world's holiest and most turbulent city. As Jerusalem's Hope opens, strategist Moshe Sachar remains hidden in a secret tunnel beneath the Temple Mount, safely removed from the chaos of Israel's 1948 war of independence, while the funeral of an elder rabbi proceeds above him. Using the instructions the rabbi gave him before his death, Moshe opens another sacred scroll and is once again transported to the dramatic biblical story of a charismatic but mysterious prophet. As word of the miracles performed by this seer spreads, bloody violence erupts, threatening the future of the Roman state and revealing the prophet's surprising identity. .By W. Somerset Maugham. 2007
In 1897, after spending five years at St Thomas's Hospital I passed the examinations which enabled me to practise medicine.…
While still a medical student I had published a novel called Liza of Lambeth which caused a mild sensation, and on the strength of that I rashly decided to abandon doctoring and earn my living as a writer; so, as soon as I was 'qualified', I set out for Spain and spent the best part of a year in Seville. I amused myself hugely and wrote a bad novel. Then I returned to London and, with a friend of my own age, took and furnished a small flat near Victoria Station. A maid of all work cooked for us and kept the flat neat and tidy. My friend was at the Bar, and so I had the day (and the flat) to myself and my work. During the next six years I wrote several novels and a number of plays. Only one of these novels had any success, but even that failed to make the stir that my first one had made. I could get no manager to take my plays. At last, in desperation, I sent one, which I called A Man of Honour, to the Stage Society, which gave two performances, one on Sunday night, another on Monday afternoon, of plays which, unsuitable for the commercial theatre, were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience.By Adam Mansbach. 2013
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Go the F*** to Sleep, a rollicking, frenetic and hilarious jaunt”…
(San Francisco Chronicle) Raised in the shadow of two graffi ti legends from New York’s golden era” of subway bombing, Dondi Vance is less than thrilled to learn his father, Billy Rage, is back aft er sixteen years on the lam. But the transit cop who ruined Billy’s life and shattered his crew is running for mayorand must be brought down. Welcome to the Great American Graffi ti Novel. .By Karen Mack. 2013
His theories would change the worldand tear hers apart. A page-turning novel inspired by the true-life love affair…
between Sigmund Freud and his sister-in-law. It is fin-de-siècle Vienna and Minna Bernays, an overeducated lady’s companion with a sharp, wry wit, is abruptly fired, yet again, from her position. She finds herself out on the street and out of options. In 1895, the city may be aswirl with avant-garde artists and revolutionary ideas, yet a woman’s only hope for security is still marriage. But Minna is unwilling to settle. Out of desperation, she turns to her sister, Martha, for help. Martha has her own problemssix young children and an absent, disinterested husband who happens to be Sigmund Freud. At this time, Freud is a struggling professor, all but shunned by his peers and under attack for his theories, most of which center around sexual impulses. And while Martha is shocked and repulsed by her husband’s pornographic” work, Minna is fascinated. Minna is everything Martha is notintellectually curious, engaging, and passionate. She and Freud embark on what is at first simply an intellectual courtship, yet something deeper is brewing beneath the surface, something Minna cannot escape. In this sweeping tale of love, loyalty, and betrayalbetween a husband and a wife, between sistersfact and fiction seamlessly blend together, creating a compelling portrait of an unforgettable woman and her struggle to reconcile her love for her sister with her obsessive desire for her sister’s husband, the mythic father of psychoanalysis. .By Rilla Askew. 1997
Few first novels garner the kind of powerful praise awarded this epic story that takes place on the dusty, remorseless…
Oklahoma frontier, where two brothers are deadlocked in a furious rivalry. Fayette is an enterprising schemer hoping to cash in on his brother's talents as a gunsmith. John, determined not to repeat the crime that forced both families to flee their Kentucky homes, doggedly follows his tenacious brother west, while he watches his own family disintegrate. Wondrously told through the wary eyes of John's ten-year-old daughter, Mattie, whose gift of premonition proves to be both a blessing and a curse, The Mercy Seat resounds with the rhythms of the Old Testament even as it explores the mysteries of the Native American spirit world. Sharing Faulkner's understanding of the inescapable pull of family and history, and Cormac McCarthy's appreciation of the stark beauty of the American wilderness, Rilla Askew imbues this momentous work with her tremendous energy and emotional range. It is an extraordinary novel from a prodigious new talent. Strange Business, a collection of linked stories that won the 1993 Oklahoma Book Award, is available from Penguin. .