Zhongshu Qian was one of twentieth-century China's most ingenious literary stylists, the author of short stories, essays, and a brilliant comedic novel that has inspired generations of Chinese readers. Writing between the early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Communist takeover in 1949, Qian was a pioneering modernist and extraordinary satirist whose insight into the irony and travesties of modern China remains stunningly fresh.This eagerly awaited translation joins Qian's collection of iconoclastic essays on life, language, and literature, Written on the Margins of Life (1941), with his masterful short story collection, Man, Beast, Ghost (1946). Qian's essays elucidate substantive issues through deceptively simple subjects-the significance of windows versus doors, for example, or the blind spots of literary critics-and assert the primacy of critical and creative independence. His humorous stories blur the boundaries between various incarnations of... Views: 21
It's been two years since fifteen-year-old Roberto was kidnapped and forced to work in a German labor camp. After finally escaping, he's made his way back to Italy. Roberto is desperate to return to the safety of his family, but how can he turn his back on the war while so many people are suffering? Roberto joins the resistance movement, and smuggles guns and secret information to rebel fighters. Every mission takes him closer to home, but every mission is even more dangerous than the last. Will Roberto survive and make his way home? Views: 21
Her most important duty—serve the master’s pleasure. Emily’s dreams are simple: a life of dedicated service at a respectable estate, and a strong marriage filled with love and devotion for one man. Portage Place, the manor where her parents apprenticed, seems the perfect place to start. Though it is whispered that all is not as it seems behind its grand façade. The rumors, it turns out, ring with truth. The halls are saturated with sensuality, desire and lust. Despite the scandalous duties she is asked to perform, she is determined not to stumble on what could be her first step toward her dreams. Dreams that, lately, have included the manor’s fiery haired groomsman. A promise to watch over his younger half-brother brought Adam to Portage Place. For the first time in five years of enjoying the delights of the manor’s unbridled debauchery, Emily’s innocence touches the protector that still lives deep in his core. This house of sin may have ruined him, but he will see to it that it doesn’t ruin her. It seems, however, that behind every door lurks a conspiracy to bind Emily in velvet chains of desire. Until the only way out is for Adam to take the biggest risk of all… Warning: If servants sleeping with servants, who are sleeping with all the peers and guests at the house upset you…you won’t like this book. Contains explicit sex scenes, threesomes and a whole lot more! Views: 21
Fresh-squeezed Lexicology, with TwistsNo man of letters savors the ABC’s, or serves them up, like language-loving humorist Roy Blount Jr. His glossary, from ad hominy to zizz, is hearty, full bodied, and out to please discriminating palates coarse and fine. In 2008, he celebrated the gists, tangs, and energies of letters and their combinations in Alphabet Juice, to wide acclaim. Now, Alphabetter Juice. Which is better.This book is for anyone—novice wordsmith, sensuous reader, or career grammarian—who loves to get physical with words. What is the universal sign of disgust, ew, doing in beautiful and cutie? Why is toadless, but not frogless, in the Oxford English Dictionary? How can the U. S. Supreme Court find relevance in gollywoddles? Might there be scientific evidence for the sonicky value of hunch? And why would someone not bother to... Views: 21
Somewhere between wishes and reality...lie dreams. Her mother, father, and nephew all need her--but have Cass's dreams gotten lost in the crunch?They call it the "sandwich generation." Daughter, sister, auntie, innkeeper, employer--but has Cass herself gotten lost in the crunch?The proud proprietor of her own bed-and-breakfast in sleepy Seaside, New Jersey, Cass Merton is intrigued by Dan Harmon who arrives at SeaSong for an extended stay. After witnessing the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City, the godly finance specialist is rethinking his life, career, and relationships--or lack of them. God, Dan laments, I can't do this! Forty-four is too old to have no plan for the future! Whatever possessed me to think I could do this? Cass asks, questioning her consent to care for her easygoing nephew and feisty teenage niece for a whole year while their parents work in the Middle East. Add Cass's four brothers, who don't take Dad's... Views: 21
Is Hamish and Kate the greatest love story ever told? Whether it is or not, it is certainly one of the more elaborate and heartfelt tales.
Forty years of interruptions and resumptions would test all but the greatest of loves. Each twist and turn is disquieting and unexpected.
Hamish and Kate is a haunting story of dissatisfaction with the spoils of love and of a life lived with regret. Views: 21
This is an extraordinary story about a 13-year-old boy named Lee who loves setting personal and odd records. He's obsessed by them in fact - from tracing the annual public marathon with his dog Santiago to bouncing a basketball in the school playground for 12 hours straight with no one around - but he's not interested in going public with them.Along the way Lee collects famous quotes from all manner of famous people whose lives and words have encouraged him - and provided inspiration during trying times. In addition he sees himself as the director of the definitive movie about his life, focusing on the light and dark moments he experiences as he seeks a raison d'etre for his life.Above all, he seeks to escape being ordinary, and when he's confronted with the greatest challenge of his young life - saving his pesky friend from certain death - his strength of character and purpose demonstrate that he is anything but ordinary. Views: 21
