"Life is fury. Fury-sexual, Oedipal, political, magical, brutal- drives us to our finest heights and coarsest depths. This is what we are, what we civilize ourselves to disguise-the terrifying humananimal in us, the exalted, transcendent, self-destructive, untrammeled lord of creation. We raise each other to the heights of joy. We tear each other limb from bloody limb."
Malik Solanka, historian ofideas and dollmaker extraordinaire, steps out of his life one day, abandons his family without a word of explanation, and flees London for New York. There's a fury within him, and he fears he has become dangerous to thosehe loves. He arrives in New York at a time of unprecedented plenty, in the highest hour of America's wealth and power, seeking to "erase" himself. Eat me, America, he prays, and give mepeace.
But fury is all around him. Cabdrivers spout invective. A serial killer is murdering women with a lump of concrete. The petty spats and bone-deep resentments of the metropolis engulf him. His own thoughts, emotions, and desires, meanwhile, are also running wild. A tall, green-eyed young blonde in a D'Angelo Voodoo baseball cap is in store for him. As is another woman, with whom he will fall in love and be drawn toward adifferent fury, whose roots lie on the far side of the world.
Fury is a work of explosive energy, at once a pitiless and pitch-black comedy, a profoundly disturbing inquiry into the darkestside of human nature, and a love story of mesmerizing force. It is also an astonishing portrait of New York. Not since the Bombay of Midnight's Children have a time and place been so intensely andaccurately captured in a novel.
In his eighth novel, Salman Rushdie brilliantly entwines moments of anger and frenzy with those of humor, honesty, and intimacy. Fury is, above all, a masterlychronicle of the human condition. Views: 964
Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena is critically acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this well known, and amazing fourteenth-century saint. Known for her historical fiction, which won her the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928, Undset based this factual work on primary sources, her own experiences living in Italy, and her profound understanding of the human heart. One of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century, Undset was no stranger to hagiography. Her meticulous research of medieval times, which bore such fruit in her multi-volume masterpieces Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, acquainted her with some of the holy men and women produced by the Age of Faith. Their exemplary lives left a deep impression upon the author, an impression Undset credited as one of her reasons for entering the Church in 1924. Catherine of Siena was a particular favorite of Undset, who also was a Third Order Dominican. An extraordinarily active, intelligent, and courageous woman, Catherine at an early age devoted herself to the love of God. The intensity of her prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor won her a reputation for holiness and wisdom, and she was called upon to make peace between warring nobles. Believing that peace in Italy could be achieved only if the Pope, then living in France, returned to Rome, Catherine boldly traveled to Avignon to meet with Pope Gregory XI. With sensitivity to the zealous love of God and man that permeated the life of Saint Catherine, Undset presents a most moving and memorable portrait of one of the greatest women of all time. Views: 964
Caribbean dive guide Gage Hoase woos and wins a beautiful dive guest, then sends her packing. All is good until Gabi returns, with happily-ever-after in mind. Now Gage has to figure a way to let her down gently before she offs him in his sleep.A Tale From Blacktip Island by award-nominated novelist Tim W. JacksonAndrew and Steven were two troubled teenagers. Outcasts from their family, their classmates, and most of the support groups that are available for kids their age; they endured a very lonely existence. Their world changed when each was sentenced to a boy's reformatory by juvenile courts in different areas of the state. After a short stay at the reform school they were transferred to a diagnostic center where they enjoyed a certain amount of freedom.They attended school there and participated in the periodic social events that were designed help the kids develop interpersonal relationship skills. The Center could not provide the therapy that the boys provided each other.The day Andrew and Steven met, their worlds became one. They had the opportunity to shine and they did, together they were like the brightest star in the sky. But would their star burn out and go dark, or would it become a supernova? Views: 964
This is the first book (of 40, counting two big-little books) in the original Tom Swift series. Although in later volumes Tom invents some fantastic stuff (for the period, 1910 - 1938), but in this one, he starts amall, buying a motorcycle (relatively new stuff in 1910) from the eccentric Mr. Wakefield Damon, who accidently tried to climb a tree with it. Tom improves the machine and uses it to attempt to bring a model and papers of his father\'s latest invention to Albany where the family\'s corporate lawyer was. Tom is waylaid but a gang intent on stealing the invention, and does some detective work tracking the men down after they succeed in their theft. He starts after them alone, but meets Mr. Damon and his friends, and they succeed in regaining the model and papers - the crooks manage to get away, to come back in "Tome Swift and his Motor Boat", the 2nd book of the series. We briefly meet Mary Nestor, whose horse runs away with her, but she figures more prominently in later volumes. With a more significant role, we also meet Eradicate "Rad" Sampson, and African-American man-of-all-work. Unfortunately he is given the stereotypical speech patterns given to black characters in the period this is written, but his characterization is usually quite positive (he often provided some comic relief, as he\'s reluctant to go on some of Tom\'s inventions later on). Rad, in this first book, is shown as industrious and repeatedly acquires better tools throughout the book (although Tom either fixes or improves the tools), and it is Rad that gives Tom the clue that tracks down the thieves. Ned Newton, Tom\'s friend, and Andy Foger, Tom\'s enemy, are also introduced, but their parts are small; like Mary, they become more significant later. American boys\' fiction under pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate who produced Tom Swift series, Nancy Drew mysteries, the Hardy Boys, Dave Fearless and many others.A number of scientists, inventors, and science fiction writers have also credited Tom Swift with inspiring them, including Ray Kurzweil, Robert A. Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov. The Tom Swift, Jr. adventures were Steve Wozniak\'s favorite reading as a boy and inspired him to become a scientist. According to Wozniak, reading the Tom Swift books made him feel "that engineers can save the world from all sorts of conflict and evil." Views: 964
In late 1950s London, something uncanny besets a group of elderly friends: an insinuating voice on the telephone informs each, "Remember you must die." Their geriatric feathers are soon thoroughly ruffled by these seemingly supernatural phone calls, and in the resulting flurry many old secrets are dusted off. Beneath the once decorous surface of their lives, unsavories like blackmail and adultery are now to be glimpsed. As spooky as it is witty, poignant and wickedly hilarious, Memento Mori may ostensibly concern death, but it is a book which leaves one relishing life all the more. Views: 964
A Jeeves and Wooster collection
These marvellous stories introduce us to Jeeves, whose first ever duty is to cure Bertie's raging hangover ('If you would drink this, sir... it is a little preparation of my own invention. It is the Worcester Sauce that gives it its colour. The raw egg makes it nutritious. The red pepper gives it its bite. Gentlemen have told me they have found it extremely invigorating after a late evening.')
And from that moment, one of the funniest, sharpest and most touching partnerships in English literature never looks back... Views: 964
Forever Days is the hilarious story of 5 friends. They meet at University and have the time of their lives. Upon graduating, they all make a pact: To meet at the same pub, on the same day every year, until one of them dies...Forever Days is the hilarious story of 5 friends. They meet at University and have the time of their lives. Upon graduating, they all make a pact: To meet at the same pub, on the same day every year, until one of them dies...Forever Days is a lighthearted look at the choices we make in life and the journeys we take.A heartwarming comedy which explores life's trials and tribulations from the bottom of a glass. Views: 964
IN A WICKEDLY WORLDLY AGE, SHE LOVED A MOST UNLIKELY LORD-- HER HUSBAND
Bride to a stranger, the lovely Chelynne is swept into the intrigues of the sumptuous royal court. Quickly she comes to adore her dashing husband, the future Earl of Bryant... yet he spurns her love, so haunting are the shadows of his turbulent past.
Chelynne vows to kindle his silent passion, risking her reputation, even her life. Now the Earl must tell her of the secret that has kept him from her bed--or risk the loss of his Chelynne forever! Views: 964
Fifteen years after the publication of Push, one year after the Academy Award-winning film adaptation, Sapphire gives voice to Precious's son, Abdul.
In The Kid bestselling author Sapphire tells the electrifying story of Abdul Jones, the son of Push's unforgettable heroine, Precious.
A story of body and spirit, rooted in the hungers of flesh and of the soul, The Kid brings us deep into the interior life of Abdul Jones. We meet him at age nine, on the day of his mother's funeral. Left alone to navigate a world in which love and hate sometimes hideously masquerade, forced to confront unspeakable violence, his history, and the dark corners of his own heart, Abdul claws his way toward adulthood and toward an identity he can stand behind.
In a generational story that moves with the speed of thought from a Mississippi dirt farm to Harlem in its heyday; from a troubled Catholic orphanage to downtown artist's lofts, The Kid tells of a twenty- first-century young man's fight to find a way toward the future. A testament to the ferocity of the human spirit and the deep nourishing power of love and of art, The Kid chronicles a young man about to take flight. In the intimate, terrifying, and deeply alive story of Abdul's journey, we are witness to an artist's birth by fire. Views: 963
A look at what might happen if the roles were reversed and cats were in charge of judging humans.This micro book features two poems about freedom. "The first, Twenty Is Not Enough" is told from a mother's point of view about a son that tends to shackle her to disrespect and stress as he looks to forward his agenda in opposition to hers. The second, "Free Indeed" is about some of the racial tensions in today's world told from a woman's perspective. Both poems look deeply into circumstances that bound one to their current conditions as a cry for aid and liberty can be heard from within the text. Views: 963
New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter is acclaimed for her novels of heart-stopping suspense, edge-of-your-seat intrigue, and richly imagined characters. And when Slaughter created detective Will Trent she broke the mold. While displaying an uncanny knack for reading people, solving puzzles, and cracking cases at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Detective Trent navigates the varied relationships with the women in his life: vice cop Angie Polaski, supervisor Amanda Wagner, partner Faith Mitchell, and Dr. Sara Linton. This gripping eBook bundle contains seven novels in the Will Trent series, including:
TRIPTYCH
FRACTURED
UNDONE
BROKEN
FALLEN
CRIMINAL
UNSEEN
Also includes the eBook novellas Snatched and Busted as well as a preview of Karin Slaughter’s highly anticipated thriller Cop Town!
Praise for Karin Slaughter and her Will Trent thrillers
“One of the best crime novelists in America.”—The Washington Post
“Crime fiction at its finest.”—Michael Connelly
“Slaughter writes with a razor. . . . Better than Cornwell can ever hope to be.”—The Plain Dealer
“Slaughter will have you on the edge of your seat.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Slaughter’s gift for building multilayered tension while deconstructing damaged personalities gives this thriller a nerve-wracking finish.”—USA Today*, on Triptych
“Heart-pounding . . . Trent and Mitchell, a pair of complex and deeply flawed heroes, will leave fans clamoring for the next installment.”—Publishers Weekly* (starred review), on Fractured
“A complicated spider web of secrets and tangles.”—Los Angeles Times*, on Undone
“Addictive . . . Slaughter is a terrific writer, and she keeps the emotional tension high throughout.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution*, on Broken
“An absolute master . . . Slaughter creates some wonderfully complex and mature female characters, a distinctive achievement in the world of thrillers.”—Chicago Tribune*, on Fallen
“[A] hold-on-to-your-hat, nail-biting story . . . What raises Slaughter way above the sensational is her wonderful way with characters.”—The Washington Post*, on Criminal
“No one writes like Slaughter.”—The Huffington Post, on Unseen Views: 962
The fourth book in bestselling author Kathryn Lasky's stunning foray into paranormal romance. Views: 962
Erotic Romance Serial Novel | ~17,000 words | Part 4 of 5
"There is more than one way to be strong, Julia. You know one of them, I can teach you the other."
Julia has found out the secret that Mark has been keeping from her all this time. The photos of Mark sleeping with Valerie have shocked her to her core and now the ball is in her court.
Is there any hope for their relationship? Is there any hope for saving Lynx? Is there any hope for Julia?
Excerpt:
“Son of a bitch!” I shout, throwing the pictures down on the table as if they burn my fingers. Truth is, they are burning my eyes and incinerating my heart. Mark and Valerie? Under my nose? Behind my back? In front of my face? How can this be happening?
My mind snaps back and forth so quickly I’m worried I might get the bends. One minute I’m revelling in the joy of breaking down the walls that have held my passion in check for so long and the next I am cast into the cold light of this ugly reality. I turn away from the table and walk to the window hoping to see some sun, or smog, or children playing or an old woman getting mugged – anything but those pictures. Then, before I get halfway across the room I go back and look at them. Mark and Valerie James making love, his hands on her hips, his cock in her mouth, her playful, disgusting smile and his deep beautiful eyes looking at her – the way I thought he only looked at me.
Am I mad because he’s the jerk who used me or am I mad because I’m the fool who loved him for it? Views: 962
