Tells the story of Charles Smithson's infatuation with the unusual Sarah Woodruff, whilst being engaged to a young lady of a good family and a considerable dowry. The author re-creates the feel of a Victorian novel. He also wrote "The Collector" and "The Magus".
'Vladimir Nabokov was a literary genius' David Lodge'Of all my novels this bright brute is the gayest', Nabokov wrote of King, Queen, Knave. Comic, sensual and cerebral, it dramatizes an Oedipal love triangle, a tragi-comedy of husband, wife and lover, through Dreyer the rich businessman, his ripe- lipped ad mercenary wife Martha, and their bespectacled nephew Franz. 'If a resolute Freudian manages to slip in' - Nabokov darts a glance to the reader - 'he or she should be warned that a number of cruel traps have been set here and there...
An epic tale of three generations of an American family--and the ambition, violence, deceptions and hard-won love that shapes their lives. Rich in vivid details and masterfully crafted characters' lives, and narrated in a voice of great emotional power and sensitivity, Flesh and Blood is an unforgettable, moving and stunning portrait of contemporary America.
Two bodies, their throats cut with brutal precision, lie in a waste of blood in the dingy vestry of St Matthew's Church, Paddington. One is an alcoholic tramp; the other, Sir Paul Berowne, a recently resigned Minister of the Crown. Dalgliesh arrives to begin his investigations.
Uncle Petros is a family joke - an ageing recluse in a suburb of Athens, playing chess and gardening. His young nephew soon discovers his uncle was once a celebrated mathematician who staked all on solving the problem of Goldbach's Conjecture. schovat popis
Ohijské kluky Jonathana a Bobbyho spojuje od dětství silné pouto, které by nezasvěcenec mohl považovat za pouhé přátelství. Jak však s Michaelem Cunninghamem odhalujeme jejich tragické ztráty a každodenní obavy, přidává se k nim v New Yorku ironický hlas jejich společnice Clare. Kniha se zaměřuje na víc než jen na postavení menšiny, jejíž touhy a přání zůstávají často nepochopeny. Když hrdinové vytvoří s Clare nonkonformní "rodinu", autor dosahuje svého cíle. Prostřednictvím monologů postav a jejich různých pocitů se před námi odhaluje rozpor mezi tím, jak chceme být vnímáni, a tím, jak nás vidí ostatní. Druhý román autora známého díky "Hodinám" překvapuje lehkostí a množstvím originálních metafor, stejně jako otevřeností, s jakou autor zkoumá krizi svých třicátých let a hledání dalšího směru. Cunninghamova kronika generace třicátníků z 80. a 90. let ukazuje, že budoucnost si vytváříme z materiálu, který máme k dispozici. Klíčové je, jak se přiblížíme k druhým, jak přísní budeme na sebe a své blízké a kolik ze svého ega obětujeme pro místo, které nazýváme domovem. Cíl cesty a její prostředek se odráží v myšlence, že bez lásky nemáme nic, což potvrzuje i legendární víkend ve Woodstocku.
Pat Conroy returns with a sprawling novel that serves as a love letter to Charleston and lifelong friendship. Set against the lush backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, the story follows Leopold Bloom King, the son of a loving science teacher and a well-known Joyce scholar. After the tragic suicide of his older brother, Leo grapples with the profound impact of loss and seeks connection. He eventually finds solace in a close-knit group of high school seniors, including the glamorous twins Sheba and Trevor Poe, the resourceful Niles and Starla Whitehead, socialite Molly Huger, and her boyfriend Chadworth Rutledge X. Their relationships evolve over two decades, navigating the complexities of the 1960s counterculture to the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. The bonds among this diverse group withstand the tests of time, enduring through marriages, unrequited loves, and Charleston's deep-rooted issues of racism and class. However, a final challenge awaits them in San Francisco, one that none of them are prepared for. This novel showcases Conroy's unparalleled passion for life and language, highlighting the enduring nature of friendship amidst life's trials.
Testi successivi alla raccolta dei Quarantanove Racconti pubblicati in volumi e riviste, pubblicati originariamente come "Part II" e "Part III" de "The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway"
Photographs are everywhere. From high art to family albums to legal evidence, they capture and document the world around us. And whether we use them to expose, reveal or remember, they hold an enduring power. In this essential and revelatory volume, Susan Sontag confronts important questions surrounding power dynamics between photographer and subject, the blurred boundary between lived events and recreated images, and the desires that lead us to record our lives.
Handsome Cambridge dropout Mark Callender died hanging by the neck with a faint trace of lipstick on his mouth. When the official verdict is suicide, his wealthy father hires fledgling private investigator Cordelia Gray to find out what led him to self-destruction. What she discovers instead is a twisting trail of secrets and sins, and the strong scent of murder. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman introduces P. D. James's courageous but vulnerable young detective, Cordelia Gray, in a top-rated puzzle of peril that holds you all the way (The New York Times).
Majstrovsky vyrozprávaný príbeh od autora Jurského parku! Upršaný Londýn polovice devätnásteho storočia. Kým jedni sa tu kúpu v okázalom bohatstve, iní sa plahočia v odpudzujúcej špine a biede. Medzi obidvoma extrémami sa s dokonalou ľahkosťou pohybuje tajuplný džentlmen. Bohatý, príjemný a vynachádzavý tridsiatnik Edward Pierce si berie na mušku tých, čo netrú núdzu, spriadajúc pritom zločin storočia. Komu by čo i len napadlo, že džentlmen z lepšej spoločnosti môže zosnovať takú trúfalú lúpež?
One of the most controversial and acclaimed novels ever written, The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie’s best-known and most galvanizing book. Set in a modern world filled with both mayhem and miracles, the story begins with a bang: the terrorist bombing of a London-bound jet in midflight. Two Indian actors of opposing sensibilities fall to earth, transformed into living symbols of what is angelic and evil. This is just the initial act in a magnificent odyssey that seamlessly merges the actual with the imagined. A book whose importance is eclipsed only by its quality, The Satanic Verses is a key work of our times.
At forty-eight, Tim Cranmer is a retired secret servant living in rural England, enjoying his manor house, vineyard, and young mistress, Emma. However, his past looms large, embodied in Larry Pettifer, a bored radical don and Tim's former double agent during the Cold War. Their rivalry, rooted in their shared boyhood, resurfaces when both Larry and Emma mysteriously vanish. Tim is left to wonder if they have run off together or if Larry has ensnared Emma in a dangerous game. As he embarks on a search for them, Tim finds himself pursued by his former masters, turning the tables on his role as the hunter. He delves into his past, following Larry and Emma through the perilous terrain of their new alliance. As he navigates the moral complexities of post-Cold War Europe—through the remnants of England after Thatcher and the chaotic landscapes of Moscow and Southern Russia—Tim faces a profound dilemma. Stripped of his past and future, he grapples with his humanity as the values he once fought for begin to erode, and the specter of a reinvigorated Russian empire haunts the remnants of the Soviet dream. This narrative showcases John le Carré at his finest.
Rukopis Ibn Fadlána o jeho zážitkoch medzi Severanmi v roku 922 nášho letopočtu
Crichton vychádzal z útržkov arabského veľvyslanaca Ahada Ibn Fadlána, poslaného ku kráľovi Bulharov na Volgu v roku 922 nášho letopočtu, aby im priniesol slovo Alahovo a postavil mešitu. Cestou zažíva niekoľko prekérnych situácií a nakoniec uviazne na hraniciach krajiny Bulharov u Severanov...
Román Sféra označujú viaceré recenzie za najlepšie autorovo dielo po Smrti Andromeda. Crichton tu nastoľuje mravné a psychologické problémy na ostrí vedeckej fantázie, keď sa prevratný vynález stáva hrozbou pre celé ľudstvo. V tieni, čo vrhá prekvapujúci objav na morskom dne, pochádzajúci z budúcnosti, ktorá je zároveń minulosťou, rozhodujú sa hrdinovia, za nezvyčajne dramatických udalostí, keď im pred očami hynú hrôzostrašnou smrťou ich druhovia, pre jedinú správnu alternatívu.
Kongo – tato část Afriky nebyla nikdy důkladně prozkoumána, obchodní cesty zde zanikly už před několika tisíciletími. V osmdesátých letech dvacátého století zde byly nalezeny diamanty. Výpravu, která se za nimi vydala, čekalo v džungli velké překvapení…
Odveká polarita života a smrti s násilím okolitého sveta i vlastnými slabosťami, veľkoleposti žitia - k týmto témam sa autor vracia neustále. Dej jeho románu je situovaný do intelektuálneho prostredia Paríža a francúzskej povojnovej bohémy. Americký novinár Jake Barnes, ako mnohí jeho rovesníci traumatizovaní vojnou, hľadá šťastie na potulkách v západnej Európe. I keď ho do istej miery nachádza v cite k lady Brett, ich vzťah nemôže byť naplnený pre jeho zranenie. Fascinujúcu atmosféru parížskych bulvárov a kaviarničiek striedajú žiarivé obrazy španielskej Pamplony a býčích zápasov, kam sa Jake s priateľmi vyberie hľadať životnú inšpiráciu. Nachádza ju nielen v živom pulze exotického kúta Európy, ale i v ľudsky čistých, opravdivých charakteroch, typických pre južné kraje, kde lásku, život a smrť spája iba krehké ohnivko.
