Andrew Sean Greer je americký prozaik a poviedkar, ktorého diela sú známe svojou lyrickou kvalitou a inšpiráciou. Jeho písanie často skúma ľudskú skúsenosť s jedinečným hlasom, ktorý zaujme čitateľov. Greerov štýl sa vyznačuje starostlivým skúmaním postáv a ich vnútorných svetov. Jeho literárny prínos spočíva v jeho schopnosti vytvárať príbehy, ktoré sú intelektuálne podnetné aj emocionálne rezonujúce.
A collection of the year's best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor. Andrew Sean Greer, "an exceptionally lovely writer, capable of mingling humor with sharp poignancy" (Washington Post), selects twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
For Arthur Less, life is surprisingly good: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a crisscrossing adventure across the US. Less roves across the "Mild Mild West," across the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty, camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true "Unitedstatesian" ... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a "bad gay." We can not, however, escape ourselves-even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made LESS a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way
Receiving an invitation to his ex-boyfriend's wedding, Arthur, a failed novelist on the eve of his fiftieth birthday, embarks on an international journey that finds him falling in love, risking his life, reinventing himself, and making connections with the past.
Arthur Less je neúspešný spisovateľ, ktorému nemilosrdne klope na dvere päťdesiatka. Vníma to ako hroznú nespravodlivosť – veď len teraz sa ako-tak naučil žiť! A akoby toho nebolo dosť, dostane pozvánku na svadbu svojho bývalého priateľa, s ktorým prežil posledných deväť rokov a dúfal v lásku až za hrob. Prepadne ho zúfalstvo a šialený smútok, s ktorým si nevie rady. Svadby sa rozhodne nemieni zúčastniť, a aby si to ospravedlnil aj sám pred sebou, prijme pozvánky na všetky konferencie, literárne podujatia a tvorivé pobyty, ktoré predtým veselo ignoroval. Naplánuje si tak cestu okolo sveta, počas ktorej oslávi aj obávané narodeniny. Veď napokon, čo už môže stratiť? Čoskoro sa však ukáže, že postrácať môže naozaj všeličo – od kufra cez zvyšky ilúzií až po dôstojnosť. Jeho cesta sa zmení na odyseovskú púť plnú šialenstva na letiskách, podivných stretnutí a tragikomických dobrodružstiev, ktoré však majú nečakane liečivý účinok.
It is 1985, and Greta Wells wishes she lived in any time but this one: she has lost her brother to AIDS, her lover Nathan to another woman, and can not seem to go on alone. To ease her sadness, her doctor suggest an unusual procedure, one that opens doors of insight into the relationships in her life, her conflicting affections, and the limitations put on a woman's life. Throughout, Greta glimpses versions of war, history, herself, and the people she loves, and as the procedures come to an end, she realizes she must make a choice: one which will close every door but one, forever.
From Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author Andrew Sean Greer comes The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, a rapturously romantic story of a woman who finds herself transported to the “other lives” she might have lived. After the death of her beloved twin brother and the abandonment of her long-time lover, Greta Wells undergoes electroshock therapy. Over the course of the treatment, Greta finds herself repeatedly sent to 1918, 1941, and back to the present. Whisked from the gas-lit streets and horse-drawn carriages of the West Village to a martini-fueled lunch at the Oak Room, in these other worlds, Greta finds her brother alive and well—though fearfully masking his true personality. And her former lover is now her devoted husband…but will he be unfaithful to her in this life as well? Greta Wells is fascinated by her alter egos: in 1941, she is a devoted mother; in 1918, she is a bohemian adulteress. In this spellbinding novel by Andrew Sean Greer, each reality has its own losses, its own rewards; each extracts a different price. Which life will she choose as she wrestles with the unpredictability of love and the consequences of even her most carefully considered choices?
Pearlie pense vivre un bonheur paisible. En 1949, à San Francisco, elle a retrouvé et épousé Holland Cook, son amour d’adolescence. Holland a survécu à la guerre et refuse d’en parler. Une chose est certaine : il n’est plus le même... Le passé ressurgit le jour où un homme d’affaires, Charles Drummer, s’immisce dans la vie du couple et propose à Pearlie un étrange marché.
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less. 'A riveting and fascinating novel full of stunning observations and brilliant moments of truth and sympathy.' Colm Tóibín It is 1953, and in San Francisco Pearlie, a dutiful housewife, finds herself caring for both her husband's fragile health and her polio-afflicted son. Then one morning someone from her husband's past appears on their doorstep. His arrival throws all the certainties by which Pearlie has lived into doubt, and is brought face to face with the desperate measures people are prepared to take to escape the confines of their lives.
"Myslíme si, že ty, které milujeme, známe.“ Touto myšlenkou začíná spletitá a zničující cesta Pearlie Cookové za odpovědí na tajemnou otázkou, zda jsme skutečně schopni poznat člověka, kterého milujeme - svého životního partnera. Pearlie je oddanou ženou v domácnosti a žije se svým manželem a synem v nově vybudované čtvrti na okraji San Francisca. Nečekaná sobotní návštěva neznámého muže změní celý její život. Všechny Pearliny životní jistoty jsou náhle ohroženy. Co od ní onen cizinec chce? Co jí vlastně za svých sto tisíc dolarů nabízí? Zná vůbec svého vlastního muže? Po celých šest měsíců se Pearlie snaží konečně pochopit svět, který ji obklopuje mimo bezpečný domov. Její příběh není jen uvažováním nad zákonitostmi lásky a vztahu, ale také nad následky válek. Příběh jednoho manželství popisuje životy tří osobností odehrávajících se v čase politické nejistoty, rasových nepokojů a sexuálního útlaku. Každý z hlavních představitelů příběhu je chycený v pasti své doby a dokazuje, co všechno je schopen obětovat a kam až zajít, aby se ze své pasti vymanil.
