A magical story of love and the isolation that defines the modern condition - Andrew Kaufman pulls off the near impossible and creates a wholly original allegorical tale that is both emotionally resonant and outlandishly fun. Rebecca Reynolds is a young woman with a most unusual and inconvenient problem: no matter how hard she tries, she can't stop her emotions from escaping her body and entering the world around her. Luckily she's developed a nifty way to trap and store her powerful emotions in personal objects - but how many shoeboxes can a girl fill before she feels crushed by her past? Three events force Rebecca to change her ways: the unannounced departure of her husband, Stewart; the sudden death of Lisa, her musician sister; and, while on her way to Lisa's funeral, a near-crash with what appears to be a giant frogwoman recklessly speeding in a Honda Civic.Meanwhile, Lisa's inconsolable husband skips the funeral and flies to Winnipeg where he begins a bizarre journey that strips him of everything before he can begin to see a way through his grief… all with the help of a woman who calls herself God.From the Hardcover edition.Review“A quirky, tender, fantastical page-turner that makes even the most torrential of feelings––despair, doubt and desperation––feel good. . . . The Waterproof Bible is a witty, poignant stroke of beauty that deftly explores deluges of desire and need, fear and faith. The Kaufman current is powerful.” — Lisa Foad, The Globe and Mail“Kaufman is in total control of his universe. He doesn’t put quotation marks on either the realistic or fantastic, and the transition between the two states is always smooth.”— Brian Joseph David, EYE WEEKLY“There are very few Canadian authors, other than Sheila Heti, Yann Martel and occasionally Atwood, willing to submerge that deeply into magic. . . . His prose is so refreshingly heartfelt and natural that he makes it easy to believe.” — The Coast (Halifax)“Elegantly written literary novel, packed with plot. . . . The great pleasure is in the story and its permutations. . . . How it plays out, as opposed to what it may finally mean, is Kaufman’s chief achievement, as [is] his fluid technique in crosscutting the strands of the novel into its many resolutions. . . . Bizarre as the story grows, it never unravels, or becomes inconsistent. All goes, well, swimmingly.”— Winnipeg Free Press“Those who enjoyed All My Friends Are Superheroes . . . should be similarly taken with his sophomore effort, The Waterproof Bible, which retains the romance, humour and inventive allegory of the earlier book.” — Quill & QuireFrom the Hardcover edition.About the AuthorANDREW KAUFMAN's critically acclaimed first book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, was a cult hit and has been translated into six languages. Kaufman is also an accomplished screenwriter and has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 53
The extraordinary story of two generations in a Lisbon family of carpenters and of a father’s attempt to outrun his fate in the marathon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. Set in the working-class district of Benfica in Lisbon, The Piano Cemetery tells the story of a family, and especially of the hopes and fears of the fathers who pass the baton of the generations on to their sons. The Lazaro family are cabinet-makers who would rather be piano-makers. They have a carpentry shop in the Benfica district of Lisbon and there at the back is the ‘piano cemetery’ piled high with broken-down pianos that provide the spare parts needed for repairing pianos all over the city. It is a mysterious and magical place, a place of solace, a dreaming place and, above all, a trysting place for lovers. The Piano Cemetery is a wonderfully accomplished novel in which the true story of the Portuguese marathon-runner, Francisco Lazaro, is woven into a rich narrative of love, betrayal, domestic happiness and dashed hopes. Narrated in part by the father of Francisco Lazaro on the day his grandson is born and the day he himself dies and in part by his son as he runs the Stockholm marathon of 1908, remembering his family and his loves as he struggles against the heat and strives to outrun death itself. It is a beautifully constructed tale, that is by turns, violent and tender, funny and moving, with flashes of true insight, startling imagery and an instinctive understanding of families and their ways. The Piano Cemetery establishes José Luís Peixoto not only as the leading Portuguese novelist of his generation, but as a major figure on the international literary scene. Views: 53
Strike the Anvil of Time! Vanderjack is a mercenary with a troubled past and a sword haunted by ghosts. Hired to rescue a nobleman's daughter from behind enemy lines, the sellsword finds himself a pivotal player in the liberation of Nordmaar from the Red Dragon army. The Chronicler is charged to use the ancient Anvil of Time to travel back along the river of time and find the lost stories that fell between the pages of the history books of Krynn in this new series created and guided by the creative mind of Tracy Hickman. Together with a group of exciting new voices for the fantasy genre, Tracy Hickamn Presents the Bridges of Time breathes all new life into the venerable Dragonlance world.From the Paperback edition. Views: 53
The war is over between the neighboring realms of Canderis and Marchmont. But another and perhaps far deadlier battle still rages on. The discovery that Marchmont is home to the Resonants—men and women gifted with the ability to read and control the minds of others—has badly shaken the people of Canderis. For while they value their own Seekers—humans who empathically bond with the catlike ghatti to read truth—they are deathly afraid of the rogue Resonants known as Gleaners. And their fears are well-founded, for one faction of Gleaners has for years preyed upon the innocent and defenseless, transforming those around them into mindless, soulless slaves. And even as Seeker Jenret under takes a mission to find the Resonants of Canderis and bring them to safety, Seeker Doyce is about to embark on a far different path—a ghatti-led journey into the past. For as a new vigilantes' reign of terror threatens the lives of Seekers and Resonants... Views: 53
Mild, harmless and ugly to behold, the impoverished Pons is an ageing musician whose brief fame has fallen to nothing. Living a placid Parisian life as a bachelor in a shared apartment with his friend Schmucke, he maintains only two passions: a devotion to fine dining in the company of wealthy but disdainful relatives, and a dedication to the collection of antiques. When these relatives become aware of the true value of his art collection, however, their sneering contempt for the parasitic Pons rapidly falls away as they struggle to obtain a piece of the weakening man's inheritance. Taking its place in the Human Comedy as a companion to Cousin Bette, the darkly humorous Cousin Pons is among of the last and greatest of Balzac's novels concerning French urban society: a cynical, pessimistic but never despairing consideration of human nature. Views: 53
