A rediscovered masterwork from the famed Hungarian novelist Sándor Márai, Portraits of a Marriage is in fact a startling exploration of a triangle of entanglement.
A wealthy couple in bourgeois society, Peter and Ilonka appear to enjoy a fine union. Their home is tastefully decorated; their clothes are well tailored; they move in important circles. And yet, to hypersensitive Ilonka, her choice in décor is never good enough, and her looks are never fair enough to fully win the love of her husband, who has carried with him a secret that has long tormented him: Peter is in love with Judit, a peasant and servant in his childhood home. For Judit, however, even Peter’s affection cannot transcend that which she loves most—the prospect of her own freedom and a future without the constraints of the society that has ensnared all three in a vortex of love and loss.
Set against the backdrop of Hungary between the wars, Portraits of a Marriage offers further “posthumous evidence of [Márai’s] neglected brilliance” (Chicago Tribune) and his exquisite, acutely observed evocations of sacrifice and longing.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 279
In Naked in Garden Hills, Karate Is a Thing of the Spirit, and Car, Harry Crews, with his superb novelistic gifts, wrote of the demonic and the bizarre, in what The New York Times Book Review has called a “Hieronymus Bosch landscape.” Now, in The Hawk Is Dying, he moves to a different landscape, populated by men and women who are above all ordinary, whose battle against the “nothing period” of being alive makes them at once recognizable, familiar, and real.At the heart of the book is George Gattling of Gainesville, Florida, fighting the boredom, the excruciating unimportance, of his existence. He has a successful custom-seatcover business, a $60,000 ranch-style home, a family of sorts—his sister Precious, who lies in bed reading aloud the “Ask Them Yourselves” questions in Family Weekly, her son Fred, who every now and then utters one word like “cork” or “toe” and is definitely either retarded or a genius; and Betty, a psychology major whose actual study is copulation.And he has his hawk.The hawk is the mirror for all of George’s held-in passions. It goes with him everywhere—to breakfast, to Betty’s bed, to a funeral home at four in the morning. When the hawk at last springs from his arm, prompted by the thought of freedom, swooping for its prey, life will become exciting! animated! tumultuous! . . . and George will have finally escaped the expected and the everyday entering into the immediate, where the senses are quickly awakened and emotions are unrestrained.In a story filled with scenes that are funny and touching and wonderfully bawdy, Harry Crews has captured the human spirit searching for that Supreme Something which will banish all “dead ends” forever, which will promise—virtually guarantee— the rapturous beginning of Life. Views: 279
Raised to take the place of her dead brother, Carlota de Zubaran can do anything that Carlos could have done. She races her stallion through the California lowlands, dives into shark-infested waters searching for gold, and fights in the battles that rage between the Mexicans and the Americans. At sixteen, she is fearless--and that pleases her father very much.
Yet while Carlota throughly enjoys her freedom, she wants to be more than her father's "son." She wants to be herself, brave and courageous but free to show feelings of tenderness and compassion as well. Her father thinks such feelings are shameful, so Carlota must defy him. That will be the most difficult battle of all. Views: 279
'Well, little people, what's the news?'
Meet the big, happy Bell family who live in the vicarage at St Marks. Father is a reverend, Mother is as kind as kind can be. Then there's all the children - practical Paul, dancing Jane, mischievous Ginnie, and finally the baby of the family, Angus, whose ambition is to own a private zoo (he has already begun with his six boxes of caterpillars). And not forgetting Esau, a sure fire competitor for the most beautiful dog in Britain.
Follow their eventful lives from tense auditions to birthday treats; from troubled times to hilarious escapades.
Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can find out which one of the Bell children you most resemble!
Vintage Children's Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from Peter Pan and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Views: 278
Introduced by Magnus Linklater. Angelo, a private in Mussolini’s ‘ever-glorious’ Italian army, may possess the virtues of love and an engaging innocence but he lacks the gift of courage. However, due to circumstances beyond his control, he ends up fighting not only for Italy but also for the British and German armies. With his patron the Count, the beautiful Lucrezia, the charming Annunziata, and the delightful Major Telfer, Angelo’s fellow characters are drawn with humour, insight and sympathy, making the book a wittily satirical comment on the grossness and waste of war. Eric Linklater, who served with the Black Watch in Italy in World War II, is one of Scotland’s most distinguished writers. In Private Angelo he has written a book which demonstrates that honour is not solely the preserve of the brave. ‘He writes not only of an angel, but like one . . . Private Angelo is now a permanent portrait in the heavenly gallery of human frailty.’ Observer ‘The drollest medley of muddle... Views: 278
By the author of A Lesson Before Dying and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Catherine Carmier is a compelling love story set in a deceptively bucolic Louisiana countryside, where blacks, Cajuns, and whites maintain an uneasy coexistence.
After living in San Francisco for ten years, Jackson returns home to his benefactor, Aunt Charlotte. Surrounded by family and old friends, he discovers that his bonds to them have been irreparably rent by his absence. In the midst of his alienation from those around him, he falls in love with Catherine Carmier, setting the stage for conflicts and confrontations which are complex, tortuous, and universal in their implications. Views: 277
The third novel from the international bestselling author of Judas. "A profusion of delightful passages couched in unfailingly lovely language." —The New York Times Book Review1939. As the Nazis advance into Poland, a Jewish mathematician and watchmaker named Pomeranz escapes into the wintry forest, leaving behind his beautiful, intelligent wife, Stefa. After the war, having evaded the concentration camps, they begin to build new lives; Stefa in Stalin's Russia and Pomeranz in Israel, where, as they move toward reunion, another war is brewing. An intricate tale of people seeking escape from a hostile world in thrillingly fantastical ways."Lyrical . . . Its youthfulness and energy are exhilarating." —The New Yorker"A masterful aggregate of philosophical speculation, witty social commentary and solid story telling." —Kirkus Reviews"An outstandingly rich book . . . a pleasure to read."... Views: 277
Contents:
- The Children of Night
- The Ghost Maker
- Let the Ants Try
- Pythias
- The Mapmakers
- Rafferty's Reasons
- Target One
- Grandy Devil
- The Tunnel Under the World
- What to Do Till the Analyst Comes Views: 277
TROY LIVES AGAIN!The famous Trojan Horse ploy is revived in the 21st Century. This time, though the "horse" is blueprinted on Terra and built on Zalit, its destination is: Arkon. For Khrest reveals that his ancient ancestors provided the Robot Regent with, one might say, an Achilles heel. Meanwhile, unknowing of the plot strands being drawn against it, the Giant Brain, the positronic robot of Arkon, analysing the war against the inhabitants of Druufon, reaches the conclusion that robots are not enough and what is needed are living human beings as— RECRUITS FOR ARKON! Views: 277
Veterinarian James Herriot recalls life in England during World War II, when the great forces of the modern world came even to his sleepy Yorkshire hamlet
Only a couple of years after settling into his new home in northern England, James Herriot is called to war. In this series of poignant and humorous episodes, the great veterinarian shares his experiences training with the Royal Air Force, pining for a pregnant wife, and checking in on the people back home who made his practice so fascinating. As the young men of Yorkshire are sent into battle and farmers consider the broader world they’re a part of, Herriot reflects on the lives—human and animal alike—that make his home worth fighting for.
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French master detective Maigret investigates the murder of the wife of Francois-Francis and discovers many puzzling circumstances surrounding it. Views: 277
An independent island state in the North Atlantic has fallen under the sway of Rolph Mylchraine, a landowner who has gained ascendancy by stage-managing witchcraft orgies and purveying cheap liquor. Opposing him is Keig, a peasant of extraordinary physical strength who gradually emerges leader on the grand scale. Through their developing struggle, which becomes a guerrilla war in the classic mould, echoes the sombre theme of the fatal tendency of power to corrupt. Mr Keating, already acknowledged as a writer of distinguished crime novels, has produced at perhaps the height of his powers a book that is not only a new departure for himself but also genuinely original. Views: 276
