De zwarte humor, de absurde logica en onvergetelijke personages als Yossarian, de bommenrichter die denkt dat de vijand erop uit is hem te vermoorden, en de gewiekste messofficier Milo Minderbinder, maken Joseph Hellers Catch-22 tot een indrukwekkend boek. Catch-22 is de oorlogsroman die alle andere oorlogsromans overbodig maakt: origineel, bitter, vulgair, geestig, spitsvondig en ontroerend.
When faced with the reality of potential death, the concepts of courage and life itself become meaningless. The protagonist grapples with the futility of existence, questioning the significance of even the simplest observations, such as a tree. This sense of pointlessness extends beyond his personal experience, affecting everyone around him, and ultimately, when he ceases to exist, it will have been pointless all along. This profound exploration of war's impact on life and identity is at the heart of the narrative. The story unfolds through various perspectives within C-for-Charlie Company, including Capt. James Stein, his unstable first sergeant Eddie Welsh, and the young privates thrust into battle. The depiction of combat and its psychological toll is strikingly realistic, with dialogue reflecting the rawness of their experiences. This work transcends traditional combat fiction, offering a significant examination of male identity in American literature, positioning the author alongside literary giants like Herman Melville and Stephen Crane.
Diamond Head, Hawaii, 1941. Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion welterweight and a fine bugler. But when he refuses to join the company's boxing team, he gets "the treatment" that may break him or kill him. First Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he's risking his career to have an affair with the commanding officer's wife. Both Warden and Prewitt are bound by a common bond: the Army is their heart and blood . . .and, possibly, their death. In this magnificent but brutal classic of a soldier's life, James Jones portrays the courage, violence and passions of men and women who live by unspoken codes and with unutterable despair. . .in the most important American novel to come out of World War II, a masterpiece that captures as no ther the honor and savagery of men.
Portrays the contrasting personalities and nostalgic reminiscences of a platoon of young American soldiers as they fight their way across the Japanese-held Pacific island of Anopopei.
Portrays the lives of eight women graduated from the same class at Vassar.
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, commonly known as Fanny Hill, has been shrouded in mystery and controversy since John Cleland completed it in 1749. The Bishop of London called the work 'an open insult upon Religion and good manners' and James Boswell referred to it as 'a most licentious and inflaming book'. The story of a prostitute's rise to respectability, it has been recognized more recently as a unique combination of parody, sensual entertainment and a philosophical concept of sexuality borrowed from French libertine novels. Modern readers will appreciate it not only as an important contribution to revolutionary thought in the Age of Enlightenment, but also as a thoroughly entertaining and important work of erotic fiction, deserving of a place in the history of the English novel beside Richardson, Fielding and Smollett.
Dies ist die Geschichte des weißen Mannes Mahoney, der im schwarzen Erdteil zur Welt kam. Vitalität zeichnet ihn aus: Unruhe und Leidenschaft. Seine Beute findet er nicht nur als Jäger in Steppe und Urwald, sondern auch auf der Jagd nach Liebe. Vor seiner Leidenschaft flieht die schöne Suzie de Villiers, um immer wieder glückliche Beute zu sein. Ein Roman von wildem Verlangen, von Verweigerung und Hingabe, Flucht und Rückkehr vor dem grandilsen Hintergrund Afrikas. Während die Medizinmänner um Regen bitten, erhitzt die Glut der ewigen Sonne die Sinne von Mensch und Tier. «Es ist heiß im Tal des Sambesi. Elefantenbullen bespringen ihre Kühe, Löwen knurren an der Seite ihre schlanken Löwinnen.
This omnibus contains two books and a short story: "Dood op de ijzeren trap", "Onrust in Oxford", en "De cyperse kat". The original titles are <i>Murder must advertise</i>, <i>Gaudy Night</i>, and <i>In the teeth of the evidence.</i>
Roman over het na-oorlogse Duitsland
In augustus '44 beval Hitler de vernietiging van de lichtstad. Het dramatische verslag van de gebeurtenissen die leidden tot de bevrijding van Parijs
Evenals Davis' eerste succesroman "De hete vallei" is ook zijn nieuwste boek een monumentaal werk. Het verhaal speelt beurtelings aan boord van een walvisvaarder in de Zuidelijke Ijszee en in Zuid-Afrika. Tegen een achtergrond van een rauwe mannengemeeschap, een allegaartje van rassen, types en sexuele voorkeuren, groeit een prachtig beschreven liefdesverhouding tussen de hoofdpersonen McQuade en de knappe verpleegster Victoria. Daar Victoria niet voor honderd procent blank is, slaat deze romance een golf van haat los bij de kleurlingen aan boord van de walvisvaarder en later bij de autoriteiten in Kaapstad.
