The year is 1937. On a remote hilltop some distance from Vienna stands a hotel called The Retreat. Founded by a man who is determined to cleanse himself and his guests of all "Jewish traits," it is a resort of assimilation, with daily activities that include lessons in how to look, talk, act—in short, how to pass—as a gentile. But with Hitler on the march, the possibilities of both assimilation and retreat are quickly fading for the hotel's patrons, men and women who are necessarily—and horrifically—blind to their fate. Mordant, shrewd, and elegantly written, The Retreat is a moving story of people forbidden to retreat from themselves, by the writer whom Irving Howe called "one of the best novelists alive." Views: 55
Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 is an enduring masterwork of twentieth-century American literature—a chilling vision of a dystopian future built on the foundations of ignorance, censorship, and brutal repression. The origins and evolution of Bradbury’s darkly magnificent tale are explored in A Pleasure to Burn, a collection of sixteen selected shorter works that prefigure the grand master’s landmark novel. Classic, thematically interrelated stories alongside many crucial lesser-known ones—including, at the collection’s heart, the novellas “Long After Midnight” and “The Fireman”—A Pleasure to Burn is an indispensable companion to the most powerful work of America’s preeminent storyteller, a wondrous confirmation of the inimitable Bradbury’s brilliance, magic . . . and fire. Views: 55
Forty of the most famous and celebrated stories from the Brothers Grimm translated and edited by a leading professor of folklore.Even after two hundred years, the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm remain among our most powerful stories. Their scenes of unsparing savagery and jaw-dropping beauty remind us that fairy tales, in all their simplicity, have the power to change us. With some of the most famous stories in world literature, including "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Hansel and Gretel," "Snow White," as well as some less well known stories like "The Seven Ravens," this definitive collection promises to entrance readers with the strange and wonderful world of the Brothers Grimm.Maria Tatar's engaging preface provides readers with the historical and cultural context to understand what these stories meant and their contemporary resonance. Fans of all ages will be drawn to this elegant and accessible collection of stories that have cast their magical... Views: 55
EDITORIAL REVIEW: LORA LEIGH “Hannah’s Luck” When burglars try to break into her home, kindergarten teacher Hannah Brookes is lucky to have Sheriff Rick Grayson on her side. Especially when their mutual attraction leads to distraction… RED GARNIER “Reckless” Police detective Zach Rivers isn’t the only man in Phoenix who’s obsessed with the beautiful Paige Avery—but he’s definitely the sexiest and, quite possibly, the most dangerous… ALEXIS GRANT “Tempt Me” R&B star Anita has beauty, talent, fame—and her very own stalker—which is why she needs a professional bodyguard. But can she resist mixing business with pleasure when the hired muscle is to die for? LORIE O’CLARE “Love Me ’til Death” Homicide detective Ashley Jones hates working with the FBI. But Chase Reed is one special agent whose rule-breaking methods, razor-sharp mind, and rock-hard body make for one killer combination Views: 55
The Revolt of Aphrodite consists of two novels, Tunc ('then', 'next') and its sequel Numquam ('never'). When Felix Charlock, an inventor, is approached by Merlin's, an influential and successful firm with interests everywhere, something about the extremely generous offer makes him hesitate. But as time goes on, he finds himself tied to 'the Firm' both personally and contractually - and disentangling himself will cost more than he knows... With a cast of tantalising characters, the two novels take the reader from Turkey to Greece, from Switzerland to England. Enigmatic and engrossing, with a marvellous sweep of action and ideas, the novels show Durrell is at his most gothic and comic, and most widely allusive. Views: 55
The first Amanda Sutter knew of the pumpkin, the strange pumpkin, was a day in late September. Something was wrong with the pumpkin. Amanda felt it. There was an aura, a Sense of something emanating from the pumpkin that made her uneasy, brought primitive little stirrings of fear and disgust into her mind. Amanda remembered something her uncle, who had been a Presbyterian minister, had said to her when she was a child: Evil takes many forms, Mandy. Evil shares our bed and eats at our own table. Evil is everywhere, in every size and shape... Views: 55
When Silas House made his debut with Clay's Quilt last year, it touched a nerve not just in his home state (where it quickly became a bestseller), but all across the country. Glowing reviews-from USA Today (House is letter-perfect with his first novel), to the Philadelphia Inquirer (Compelling. . . . House knows what's important and reminds us of the value of family and home, love and loyalty), to the Mobile Register (Poetic, haunting), and everywhere in between-established him as a writer to watch.His second novel won't disappoint. Set in 1917, A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES tells the story of Vine, a beautiful Cherokee woman who marries a white man, forsaking her family and their homeland to settle in with his people and make a home in the heart of the mountains. Her mother has strange forebodings that all will not go well, and she's right. Vine is viewed as an outsider, treated with contempt by other townspeople. Add to that her brother-in-law's fixation on her, and Vine's life becomes more complicated than she could have ever imagined. In the violent turn of events that ensues, she learns what it means to forgive others and, most important, how to forgive herself.As haunting as an old-time ballad, A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES is filled with the imagery, dialect, music, and thrumming life of the Kentucky mountains. For Silas House, whose great-grandmother was Cherokee, this novel is also a tribute to the family whose spirit formed him.From Publishers WeeklyHouse offers a poignant, evocative look at the turmoil that plagues a rural Kentucky family during WWI in his solid second novel, which begins when Saul Sullivan takes a shine to a mysterious, beautiful Cherokee woman named Vine. Courtship quickly leads to marriage and a newborn girl named Birdie, but trouble surfaces when Saul's younger brother, Aaron, an unfocused dreamer who longs for a more fulfilling life than his country existence as a laborer, also becomes attracted to Vine. Aaron's opportunity to express his longings comes when Saul leaves to work at a logging camp, hoping to provide some luxuries for his family while supporting the war effort. Vine spurns Aaron's initial advances and manages to drive him away, but the younger brother returns with a young mixed-race bride from East Tennessee who looks exactly like Vine, and soon he is drinking heavily and exercising his formidable temper on his newly pregnant wife. Saul returns briefly to try to straighten out his brother but, when he departs, Aaron turns his attentions on Vine again, who shoots Aaron after he rapes her and goes after Birdie, then buries the body on top of a mountain near the family homestead. A slightly more original story line would have made this an exceptional novel, but House's lovely storytelling, graceful prose, strong characters and his feel for Southern rural life distinguish it. Agent, ICM. (Oct. 18) Forecast: Solid local sales are the bedrock on which this novel's success will rest, but strong reviews, a 15-city author tour and House's NPR connection (he is a frequent contributor) are certain to broaden House's audience. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalIn 1917 rural Kentucky, a young Cherokee woman named Vine, rumored to cast spells on unsuspecting men, falls in love with local Irishman Saul Sullivan, whom she eventually marries. This second novel by Appalachian writer House (Clay's Quilt) tells the story of Vine and Saul's tender relationship and the prejudice they face and eventually overcome. While Vine was not raised according to Cherokee customs, she is still aware of being seen as an outsider when she leaves her Cherokee community to be with her husband. People are drawn to her gentle and generous personality, however, and soon she forms enduring friendships with her hard-working mother-in-law, Esme, and feisty and independent midwife Serena. When World War I erupts and Saul temporarily takes a better-paying job far from home, Vine finds herself trying to ward off the unwanted advances of Saul's restless younger brother, Aaron, who declares his own love for Vine. A deep respect for the natural world and the enduring spirit of the human heart are what make this book worth reading and remembering. Recommended for all fiction collections.Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 55
Lafcadio Hearn was one of the most extraordinary figures in America literature, a journalist and novelist who became, later in life, a major literary icon in his adopted nation of japan. Some Chinese Ghosts (1887), a stylized retelling of ancient legends, was one of his earliest books, a foreshadowing of his later fascination with Asian themes. This collection of six stories reveals his deep fascination with the "weird beauty" of Chinese folk-tales. Because he himself knew little of the Chinese language, Hearn relied on European Sinologists to help him create his own versions and understand the historical and linguistic allusions. "To such great explorers," he acknowledged in a preface, "the realm of Cathayan story belongs by right of discovery and conquest; yet the humbler traveller who follows wonderingly after them into the vast and mysterious pleasure-grounds of Chinese fancy may surely be permitted to cull a few of the marvellous flowers there growing." Views: 55
Bodies that won't stay buried—is it a practical joke? Or murder?Lord Fitzroy-Hammond of Resurrection Row has been dead and buried three weeks when he turns up sitting atop a hansom cab. Grave robbing, though a crime, isn't Inspector Thomas Pitt's usual fare. But when the macabre joke is repeated, and the man's corpse is found sitting in the family pew the Sunday following his second interment, Pitt begins to wonder if perhaps there's some message in it. The case grows increasingly bizarre as other disinterred bodies appear.A new mother, Charlotte Pitt only takes a cursory interest in the grave robbing case until she hears Thomas mention the name of her late sister's husband, Dominic Corde, as a possible suspect. As Pitt follows leads into the slums and rookeries, Charlotte, too, is drawn into the politics and horrors of greed and exploitation.For Pitt and Charlotte, what begins as a mysterious case of musical corpses, becomes a deadly pursuit through the London... Views: 55
