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Ellis Island: And Other Stories
Par Mark Helprin. 2005
This award-winning short story collection by the acclaimed author of Winter&’s Tale &“ascends to the peak of literary achievement&” (The…
Boston Globe).Winner of the Prix de Rome and the National Jewish Book Award, these eleven stories demonstrate Mark Helprin&’s mastery of fiction across a diverse spectrum of styles. The stories in this collection range from children caught in a Vermont blizzard to an English sea captain who encounters an ape adrift in the Indian Ocean. The title novella tells the tale of a Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York City with little more than an ivory pen—and an unflagging determination to survive the indignities of Ellis Island&’s many protocols.In the worlds of The Philadelphia Inquirer, this collection presents &“stories beyond compare…[Helprin&’s] imagination should be protected by some intellectual equivalent of the National Park Service.&”"Such an ambitious reach is almost unheard of in our short fiction."—New York Times Book ReviewLies, Inc.
Par Philip Dick. 2011
The solution to Earth&’s overpopulation holds a dark secret in this science fiction novel from the author of Do Androids Dream…
of Electric Sheep?When catastrophic overpopulation threatens Earth, one company offers to teleport citizens to Whale&’s Mouth, an allegedly pristine new home for happy and industrious émigrés. But there is one problem: the teleportation machine only works in one direction. When Rachmael ben Applebaum discovers that some of the footage of happy settlers may have been faked, he sets out on an eighteen-year journey to see if anyone wants to come back.Lies, Inc. is one of Philip K. Dick&’s final novels, which he expanded from his novella The Unteleported Man shortly before his death. In its examination of totalitarianism, reality, and hallucination, it encompasses everything that Dick&’s fans love about his oeuvre.&“Philip K. Dick knew better than anyone how to recognize the disturbances of exile.&”—Roberto Bolaño, bestselling author of The Spirit of Science FictionBody & Soul: A Novel
Par Frank Conroy. 1993
This saga of a son of the working class who grows into a piano prodigy is &“hypnotically readable . . . The best story…
I know of in a long, long time&” (Vanity Fair). As a boy, Claude Rawlings looks up through the grated window of his basement apartment to watch the world go by. Poor, lonely, supported by a taxi-driver mother whose eccentricities spin more and more out of control, he faces the terrible task of growing up on the margins of life, destined to be a spectator of that great world always hurrying out of reach. But there is an out-of-tune piano in the small apartment, and in unlocking the secrets of its keys, as if by magic, Claude discovers himself. He is a musical prodigy. Body & Soul is the story of a young man whose life is transformed by a gift. The gift is not without price—the work is relentless, the teachers exacting—but the reward is a journey that takes him to the drawing rooms of the rich and powerful, private schools, a gilt-edged marriage, and Carnegie Hall. Claude moves through this life as if he were playing a difficult composition, swept up in its drama and tension, surprised by its grace notes. Music, here, becomes a character in its own right, equaled in strength only by the music of Frank Conroy&’s own unmistakable and true voice. Bristling with character and invention, Body & Soul is Dickensian in its range and richness. This is a novel with all the emotional appeal and moral gravity of a classic bildungsroman, but with a tone as contemporary as a jazz riff—an unforgettable achievement by one of the great writers of our time.Chicano: A Novel
Par Richard Vasquez. 1970
A bestseller when it was published in 1970 at the height of the Mexican-American civil rights movement, Chicano unfolds the…
fates and fortunes of the Sandoval family, who flee the chaos and poverty of the Mexican Revolution and begin life anew in the United States.Patriarch Hector Sandoval works the fields and struggles to provide for his family even as he faces discrimination and injustice. Of his children, only Pete Sandoval is able to create a brighter existence, at least for a time. But when Pete's daughter Mariana falls in love with David, an Anglo student, it sets in motion a clash of cultures. David refuses to marry Mariana, fearing the reaction of his family and friends. Mariana, pregnant with David's child, is trapped between two worlds and shunned by both because of the man she loves. The complications of their relationship speak volumes -- even today -- about the shifting sands of racial politics in America.In his foreword, award-winning author Rubén Martínez reflects on the historical significance of Chicano's initial publication and explores how cultural perceptions have changed since the story of the Sandoval family first appeared in print.From a Sealed Room
Par Rachel Kadish. 2006
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Ink, &“a tale of war and peace that moves us from Jerusalem to…
New York and back again&” (San Francisco Chronicle). In this affecting, perceptive novel, Rachel Kadish reflects on the ghosts of the past, the tensions of war, and the difficult bonds of family. When Maya enrolls at Hebrew University in Jerusalem shortly after the Gulf War, she hopes to leave New York and a fraught relationship with her mother behind her. In Israel, she gets to know her older cousin Tami, a housewife whose home has a room sealed against the war&’s Scud missile attacks. Like Maya, Tami feels distanced from the people closest to her—her mother, her husband, her only son. But it will ultimately be Maya&’s visits with Shifra, an elderly recluse and Holocaust survivor who lives in the apartment below her, that give Maya the courage to confront her problems and break free of the burdens of her past. Praise for Rachel Kadish and From a Sealed Room &“A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion.&”—Toni Morrison &“Brilliantly braids history, religion, family, and eros. I was moved . . . and very impressed.&”—Russel Banks &“An intense, ambitious story that explores the chasms between the truth and falsehood, past and present.&”—The New York Times Book Review &“What makes this book so rich and historically resonant is the skill and boldness with which Kadish weaves the intersecting stories of three women representing three generations.&”—Chicago Tribune &“A poignant and a surprisingly powerful tale.&”—The Boston GlobeIlluminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
Par Mary Sharratt. 2012
From the author of Ecstasty, a novel of a girl who triumphed against impossible odds to become the most extraordinary woman…
of the Middle Ages.Hildegard von Bingen—Benedictine abbess, healer, composer, saint—experienced mystic visions from a very young age. Offered by her noble family to the Church at the age of eight, she lived for years in forced silence. But through the study of books and herbs, through music and the kinship of her sisters, Hildegard found her way from a life of submission to a calling that celebrated the divine glories all around us. In this brilliantly researched and insightful novel, Mary Sharratt offers a deeply moving portrait of a woman willing to risk everything for what she believed, a triumphant exploration of the life she might well have lived.&“Sharratt brings one of the most famous and enigmatic women of the Middle Ages to vibrant life in this tour de force, which will captivate the reader from the very first page.&” —Sharon Kay Penman, New York Times–bestselling author of The Land Beyond the Sea&“One could not anticipate this majesty and drama…Illuminations is riveting, following von Bingen through…to emerge as one of the significant voices of the 12th century…Unforgettable.&” —January Magazine&“Gripping…Like Ann Patchett&’s Bel Canto, [Illuminations] is primarily about relationships forged under pressure.&”—Publishers Weekly&“Masterful.&”—Saint Paul Pioneer PressWe Can Build You (Super Ficcion. 2a. E Ser.)
Par Philip Dick. 2012
A man enters the android-making business and falls in love with a mysterious woman in this novel from the author…
of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?In this lyrical and moving novel, Philip K. Dick intertwines the story of a toxic love affair with one about sentient robots, and unflinchingly views it all through the prism of mental illness—which spares neither human nor robot. The end result is one of Dick&’s most quietly powerful works.When Louis Rosen&’s electronic organ company builds a pitch-perfect robotic replica of Abraham Lincoln, they are pulled into the orbit of a shady businessman, who is looking to use Lincoln for his own profit. Meanwhile, Rosen seeks Lincoln&’s advice as he woos a woman incapable of understanding human emotions—someone who may be even more robotic than Lincoln&’s replica.&“In his top form, Philip K. Dick rivals Kurt Vonnegut.&”—New York TimesThis &“brilliantly conceived&” novel imagines a devastating nuclear attack on America and the official government report of the calamity (Eric…
Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Command and Control). &“The skies over the Korean Peninsula on March 21, 2020, were clear and blue.&” So begins this sobering report by the Commission on the Nuclear Attacks against the United States, established by Congress and President Donald J. Trump to investigate the horrific events of the following three days. An independent, bipartisan panel led by nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis, the commission was charged with finding and reporting the relevant facts, investigating how the nuclear war began, and determining whether our government was adequately prepared. Did President Trump and his advisers understand North Korean views about nuclear weapons? Did the tragic milestones of that fateful month—North Korea's accidental shoot-down of Air Busan flight 411, the retaliatory strike by South Korea, and the tweet that triggered vastly more carnage—inevitably lead to war? Or did America&’s leaders have the opportunity to avert the greatest calamity in the history of our nation? Answering these questions will not bring back the lives lost in March, 2020. It will not rebuild New York, Washington, or the other cities reduced to rubble. But at the very least, it might prevent a tragedy of this magnitude from occurring again. It is this hope that inspired The 2020 Commission Report. &“I couldn&’t put the book down, reading most of it in the course of one increasingly intense evening. If fear of nuclear war is going to keep you up at night, at least it can be a page-turner.&”—New ScientistThe History of the Siege of Lisbon: A Novel
Par José Saramago. 1998
A proofreader realizes his power to edit the truth on a whim, in a &“brilliantly original&” novel by a Nobel…
Prize winner (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Raimundo Silva is a middle-aged, celibate clerk, proofing manuscripts for a respectable publishing house. Fluent in Portuguese, he has been assigned to work on a standard history of the country, and the twelfth-century king who laid siege to Lisbon. In a moment of subversive daring, Raimundo decides to change just one single word of text—a capricious revision that completely undoes the past. When discovered, his insolent disregard for facts appalls his employers—save for his new editor, Maria Sara. She suggests that Rainmundo take his transgressions even further. Through Rainmundo and Maria&’s eyes, what transpires is an alternate view of history and a colorful reinvention of a debatable truth. It&’s a serpentine journey through time where past and present converge, fact becomes myth, and fiction and reality blur—especially for Rainmundo and Maria themselves, who begin to find themselves erotically drawn to each other. &“Walter Mitty has nothing on Raimundo Silva . . . this hypnotic tale is a great comic romp through history, language and the imagination.&” —Publishers Weekly Translated by Giovanni PontieroAn &“affecting tale&” of a romantic reunion and a midlife affair from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Pilot&’s…
Wife (Publishers Weekly). Out of the blue, Siân Richards receives a letter from her first love, a boy she met at summer camp—and she sees no reason why she can&’t write back to Charles Callahan. After all, it&’s been thirty years and they are both married with families. But when they decide to meet again, an innocent correspondence becomes a dangerous intimacy. Swept up in the past and consumed by an obsessive love, Charles and Siân risk everything to be together. A heart-wrenching, suspenseful story with an unforgettable conclusion, Where or When is also a &“thoughtful, beautifully written contemporary romance&” from the acclaimed author of The Stars are Fire and The Weight of Water (The Washington Post). &“Who hasn&’t dreamed about reuniting with one&’s first love? Where or When indulges the fantasy, then sets it afire . . . A seductive read.&” —VogueThe Stone Raft
Par José Saramago. 1996
A &“marvelously amusing&” political fable in which part of the European continent breaks off and drifts away on its own…
(Publishers Weekly, starred review). A Nobel Prize winner who has been called &“the García Márquez of Portugal&” (New Statesman) chronicles world events on a human scale in this exhilarating allegorical novel. One day, quite inexplicably, the Iberian Peninsula simply breaks free from the European continent and begins to drift as if it were a sort of stone raft. Panic ensues as residents and tourists attempt to escape, while crowds gather on cliffs to watch the newly formed island sail off into the sea. Meanwhile, five people on the island are drawn together—first by a string of surreal events and then by love. Taking to the road to explore the limits of their now finite land, they find themselves adrift in a world made new by this radical shift in perspective. As bureaucrats ponder what to do about their unusual predicament, the intertwined lives of these five strangers are clarified and forever changed by a physical, spiritual, and sexual voyage to an unknown destination. At once an epic adventure and a profound fable about the state of the European project, The Stone Raft is a &“hauntingly lyrical narrative with political, social, and moral underpinnings&” (Booklist) that &“may be Saramago&’s finest work&” (Los Angeles Times). Translated from the Portuguese by Giovanni PontieroA Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman: Complete Short Stories
Par Margaret Drabble. 2011
Short fiction from &“a fastidious chronicler of the vagaries of women&’s lives in England since the early nineteen-sixties&” (Joyce Carol…
Oates, The New Yorker). In stories that explore marriage, female friendships, the English tourist abroad, love affairs with houses, peace demonstrations, gin and tonics, cultural TV programs, and more, Margaret Drabble showcases her insight into the lives of women. This decade-spanning collection not only reveals how the female experience has—and hasn&’t—changed; it also demonstrates the talent that has earned Drabble multiple literary honors, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and a Golden PEN Award, and made her &“one of the United Kingdom&’s finest contemporary fiction writers&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).Memoir From Antproof Case: A Novel
Par Mark Helprin. 2007
An old man recounts the raucous adventure of his life through war, obsession and the 20th century in this &“rapturous…
and melancholy new novel&” (The New York Times).An old American who lives in Brazil is writing his memoirs. Call him Oscar Progresso—or whatever else you like. He sits in a mountain garden in Niterói, overlooking the ocean. As he reminisces and writes, placing the pages carefully in his antproof case, an epic adventure unfolds. We learn that he was a World War II ace who was shot down twice, an investment banker who met with popes and presidents, and a man who was never not in love.But that doesn&’t begin to cover our narrator&’s immense and fascinating journey through the 20th century. He was also the thief of the century, a murderer, and a protector of the innocent. All his life he waged a valiant, losing, one-man battle against the world&’s most insidious enslaver: coffee. The acclaimed author of Winter&’s Tale and A soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin now offers &“a tour de force that combines adventure, romance and an overview of the 20th century into a bittersweet narrative&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).The Complete Cosmicomics
Par Italo Calvino. 2014
The complete collection of &“nimble and often hilarious&” short stories exploring the cosmos by the acclaimed author of Invisible Cities…
(Colin Dwyer, NPR). Italo Calvino&’s beloved cosmicomics cross planets and traverse galaxies, speed up time or slow it down to the particles of an instant. Through the eyes of a &“cosmic know-it-all&” with the unpronounceable name of Qfwfq, Calvino explores natural phenomena and tells the story of the origins of the universe. Relating complex scientific and mathematical concepts to our everyday world, they are an indelible and delightful literary achievement. Originally published in Italian in three separate volumes—including the Asti d&’Appello Prize-winning first volume, Cosmicomics—these thirty-four dazzling stories are collected here in one definitive English-language anthology.&“Trying to describe such a diverse and entertaining mix, I have to admit, just as Calvino does so often, that my words fail here, too. There&’s no way I—or anyone, really—can muster enough of them to quite capture the magic of these stories . . . Read this book, please.&” —Colin Dwyer, NPR&“A wonderful tragicomedy&” of a Mississippi family, a vast inheritance, and an impulsive heir, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of…
Delta Wedding (The New York Times). Daniel Ponder is the amiable heir to the wealthiest family in Clay County, Mississippi. To friends and strangers, he&’s also the most generous, having given away heirlooms, a watch, and so far, at least one family business. His niece, Edna Earle, has a solution to save the Ponder fortune from Daniel&’s mortifying philanthropy: As much as she loves Daniel, she&’s decided to have him institutionalized. Foolproof as the plan may seem, it comes with a kink—one that sets in motion a runaway scheme of mistaken identity, a hapless local widow, a reckless wedding, a dim-witted teenage bride, and a twist of dumb luck that lands this once-respectable Southern family in court to brave an embarrassing trial for murder. It&’s become the talk of Clay County. And the loose-tongued Edna Earle will tell you all about it. &“The most revered figure in contemporary American letters,&” said the New York Times of Eudora Welty, which also hailed The Ponder Heart—a winner of the William Dean Howells Medal which was adapted into both a Broadway play and a PBS Masterpiece series—as &“Miss Welty at her comic, compassionate best.&”Too Loud a Solitude: A Novel
Par Bohumil Hrabal. 1992
A fable about the power of books and knowledge, &“finely balanced between pathos and comedy,&” from one of Czechoslovakia&’s most…
popular authors (Los Angeles Times). A New York Times Notable Book Haňtá has been compacting trash for thirty-five years. Every evening, he rescues books from the jaws of his hydraulic press, carries them home, and fills his house with them. Haňtá may be an idiot, as his boss calls him, but he is an idiot with a difference—the ability to quote the Talmud, Hegel, and Lao-Tzu. In this &“irresistibly eccentric romp,&” the author Milan Kundera has called &“our very best writer today&” celebrates the power and the indestructibility of the written word (The New York Times Book Review).Orlando: A Biography
Par Virginia Woolf. 2006
An annotated edition of &“Woolf&’s most intense work,&” a fantastical biography that spans from the court of Elizabeth I to…
the year 1928 (Jorge Luis Borges). Begun as a &“joke,&” Orlando is Virginia Woolf&’s fantastical biography of a poet who first appears as a sixteen-year-old boy at the court of Elizabeth I, and is left at the novel&’s end a married woman in the year 1928. From Orlando&’s early days as a page in the Elizabethan court, through first love, heartbreak, and gender transformation, we follow Woolf&’s protagonist across centuries, through adventures in Constantinople and friendship with the poet Alexander Pope. All along, Orlando pursues literary success with her long poem, The Oak Tree. Part love letter to Vita Sackville-West, part exploration of the art of biography, Orlando is one of Woolf&’s most enduringly popular and entertaining works. It has inspired a number of adaptions, including a film version starring Tilda Swinton. This edition, annotated and with an introduction by Maria DiBattista, author of Imagining Virginia Woolf, will deepen readers&’ understanding of Woolf&’s brilliant creation.Thirteen Stories
Par Eudora Welty. 1965
&“I&’ve read her Thirteen Stories many times, and I&’m always awed by how much comedy, pathos, satire and lyricism she…
manages to squeeze into her stories.&” —Sue Monk Kidd A strong sense of place—in this case Mississippi—along with often larger-than-life characterizations of ordinary folk with all their glorious eccentricities and foibles, and above all a completely distinctive voice, come together in Eudora Welty&’s fiction to offer us a world that is sometimes sad, sometimes comic, often petty, and always compassionate. Here is a baker&’s dozen of Welty&’s very best, including: &“The Wide Net,&” in which a pregnant wife threatens to drown herself, despite fear of the water, and a communal dragging of the river turns into a celebratory fish-fry; &“Petrified Man,&” revealing the savagery of small-town gossip; &“Powerhouse,&” Welty&’s prose answer to jazz improvisation and the emotional heart of the blues; and &“Why I Live at the P.O.&”, the hilariously one-sided testimony of a postmistress who believes herself wronged by her family. With her highly tuned ear and sharp insight into human behavior, Eudora Welty has crafted stories as vital and unpredictable as they are artful and enduring. &“Miss Welty has written some of the finest short stories of modern times.&” —The New York Times &“Eudora Welty is one of our purest, finest, gentlest voices.&” —Anne TylerSharp Teeth: A Novel
Par Toby Barlow. 2008
“Barlow’s imagery is magnificent . . . [A] kooky combo of grit, goofiness, and gusto . . . demonstrates that…
fantasy . . . may just be the place to find true exuberance and stylistic innovation.” — Los Angeles Times Book ReviewAn ancient race of lycanthropes has survived to the present day, and its numbers are growing as the initiated convince L.A.’s down and out to join their pack. Caught in the middle are Anthony, a kind-hearted, besotted dogcatcher, and the girl he loves, a female werewolf who has abandoned her pack.Blending dark humor and epic themes with card-playing dogs, crystal meth labs, surfing, and carne asada tacos, Sharp Teeth captures the pace and feel of a graphic novel while remaining “as ambitious as any literary novel, because underneath all that fur, it’s about identity, community, love, death, and all the things we want our books to be about” [Nick Hornby, The Believer].Seeing
Par José Saramago. 2007
A strange protest triggers a descent into paranoia and chaos in this &“illuminating parable&”—a sequel to the Nobel Prize-winning author&’s…
Blindness (Ursula K. Le Guin, The Guardian, UK).On election day in the capital, it is raining so hard that no one has bothered to come out to vote. The politicians are growing jittery. Should they reschedule the elections for another day? Around three o&’clock, the rain finally stops. Voters promptly rush to the polling stations, as if they had been ordered to appear. But when the ballots are counted, more than 70 percent are blank.In response to this mass act of rebellion, a state of emergency is declared. But are the authorities acting blindly? The word evokes terrible memories of the plague of blindness that hit the city four years before, and of the one woman who kept her sight. Perhaps she is the one behind the blank ballots. A police superintendent is put on the case. What begins as a satire on governments and the dubious efficacy of the democratic system turns into something far more sinister. As the story unfolds, &“the humor is still tender but the tone darkens, tension rises&” (Ursula K. Le Guin, The Guardian, UK).