BENITO CERENOHerman Melville's controversial 1855 short story Benito Cereno retains its power to move the reader over a century and a half after its publication. The story - which ends with a haunting twist - centers on a slave rebellion aboard a Spanish merchant ship in 1799 and because of its ambiguity has been read by some as racist and pro-slavery and by others as anti-racistThe novella follows a sea captain, Amasa Delano, and his crew on the Bachelor's Delight as it is approached by another, rather battered-looking ship, the San Dominick.Upon boarding the San Dominick, Delano is immediately greeted by white sailors and black slaves begging for supplies. An inquisitive Delano ponders the mysterious social atmosphere aboard the badly bruised ship and notes the figurehead which is mostly concealed by a tarpaulin revealing only the inscription "Follow your leader." Delano soon encounters the ship's noticeably timid but polite Spanish captain, Don Benito Cereno. Delano believes Cereno's assertion that he and his crew have recently gone through a debilitating series of troubles, having been at sea now for an unsettingly long time. Cereno tells of these tribulations, including horrendous weather patterns and the fate of the slaves' master, Alexandro Aranda, who Cereno claims took fever aboard the ship and died. Gradually, however, Delano's suspicions increase, based on his noting Cereno's sudden waves of dizziness and anxiety, the crew's awkward movements and whisperings, and the unusual interaction of the ship's white and black residents.BARTLEBY THE SCRIVENERBartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street first appeared anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 editions of Putnam's Magazine, and was reprinted with minor textual alterations in The Piazza Tales in 1856.The narrator, an elderly Manhattan lawyer with a very comfortable business helping wealthy men deal with mortgages, deeds, and bonds, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist named Bartleby.One day Bartleby declines the assignment his employer gives him with the inscrutable "I would prefer not." The utterance of this remark sets off a confounding set of actions and behavior, making the unsettling character of Bartleby one of Melville's most enigmatic and unforgettable creations. Views: 1 129
“The short dirk in the hands of Muriel Spark has always been a deadly weapon,” said The New York Times, and “never more so than in The Abbess of Crewe.” An elegant little fable about intrigue, corruption, and electronic surveillance, The Abbess of Crewe is set in an English Benedictine convent. Steely and silky Abbess Alexandra (whose aristocratic tastes run to pâté, fine wine, English poetry, and carpets of “amorous green”) has bugged the convent, and rigged her election. But the cat gets out of the bag, and—plunged into scandal—the serene Abbess faces a Vatican inquiry. Views: 1 128
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Views: 1 128
In these seven interrelated stories we are again invited to Port William, Kentucky. Rich with humor and wisdom, this collection describes the depth of affection and tolerance for eccentricity that these neighbors bear toward one another, and highlights the comic and often poignant ways they cope with the intrusions of the 20th century into their idyllic, agrarian world. Views: 1 126
'Happiness beyond all words! A life of peace and love, entire and whole!'
A collection of cantos from Paradiso, the most original and experimental part of the Divina Commedia.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants. Views: 1 125
This novel tells the story of Kimball O\' Hara (Kim), who is the orphaned son of a soldier in the Irish regiment stationed in India during the British Raj. It describes Kim\'s life and adventures from street vagabond, to his adoption by his father\'s regiment and recruitment into espionage. Views: 1 125
Finnegans Wake is the most bookish of all books. John Bishop has described it as 'the single most intentionally crafted literary artefact that our culture has produced'. In its original format, however, the book has been beset by numerous imperfections occasioned by the confusion of its seventeen-year composition. Only today, by restoring to our view the author's intentions in a physical book designed, printed and bound to the highest standards of the printers' art, can the editors reveal in true detail James Joyce's fourth, and last, masterwork. This edition is the summation of thirty years' intense engagement by textual scholars Danis Rose and John O'Hanlon verifying, codifying, collating and clarifying the 20,000 pages of notes, drafts, typescripts and proofs comprising James Joyce's 'litters from aloft, like a waast wizzard all of whirlwords' (fw2, 14.16-17). The new reading text of Finnegans Wake, typographically re-set for the first time in its publishing history, incorporates some 9000 minor yet crucial corrections and amendments, covering punctuation marks, font choice, spacing, misspellings, misplaced phrases and ruptured syntax. Although individually minor, these changes are nonetheless crucial in that they facilitate a smooth reading of the book's allusive density and essential fabric.
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In this beautiful, deeply moving poem, Maya Angelou inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. “Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward,” she writes, “and speak the word aloud. Peace.”
Read by the poet at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House on December 1, 2005, Maya Angelou’s celebration of the “Glad Season” is a radiant affirmation of the goodness of life and a beautiful holiday gift for people of all faiths.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 1 120
This carefully crafted ebook: "The Complete Novels of Sir Walter Scott: Waverly, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, The Pirate, Old Mortality, The Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, The Heart of Midlothian and many more (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.Table of Contents:Introduction:SIR WALTER SCOTT AND LADY MORGAN by Victor HugoMEMORIES AND PORTRAITS by Robert Louis StevensonSCOTT AND HIS PUBLISHERS by Charles DickensWAVERLY NOVELS:WAVERLEYGUY MANNERINGTHE ANTIQUARYROB ROYIVANHOEKENILWORTHTHE PIRATETHE FORTUNES OF NIGELPEVERIL OF THE PEAKQUENTIN DURWARDST. RONAN'S WELLREDGAUNTLETWOODSTOCKTHE FAIR MAID OF PERTHANNE OF GEIERSTEINTales of My LandlordOLD MORTALITYBLACK DWARFTHE HEART OF MIDLOTHIANTHE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOORA LEGEND OF MONTROSECOUNT ROBERT OF PARISCASTLE DANGEROUSTales from Benedictine SourcesTHE MONASTERYTHE ABBOTTales of the CrusadersTHE BETROTHEDTHE TALISMANBiographies:SIR WALTER SCOTT by George SaintsburySIR WALTER SCOTT by Richard H. HuttonMEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT by J. G. LockhartSir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. He was the first modern English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. Views: 1 119
An early selection of stories from one of Britain’s best-loved writers, The Wintry Peacock is a powerful portrayal of the devastating effects of the First World War.Disillusioned in his role as a husband and father, Egbert strives to find his identity as a soldier. Yet the brutality of war leaves no room for such romantic notions, and everything that Egbert sought to avoid is suddenly visited upon him with renewed urgency. So begins the first in a series of stories in which men and women struggle to reconcile the demands of family and freedom in the midst of injuries and deaths, infidelities, and absences brought on by the Great War. Most famous for his last novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and for the furor it provoked, D. H. Lawrence is universally regarded as one of the foremost figures in 20th-century literature. Views: 1 117
Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. "Christos Iesus" is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, "I want to believe."
Translated from the Swedish by Alan Blair
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 1 116
Beginning with his debut masterpiece, The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer has repeatedly told the truth about war. Why Are We at War? returns Mailer to the gravity of the battlefield and the grand hubris of the politicians who send soldiers there to die. First published in the early days of the Iraq War, Why Are We at War? is an explosive argument about the American quest for empire that still carries weight today. Scrutinizing the Bush administration’s words and actions, Mailer unleashes his trademark moral rigor: “Because democracy is noble, it is always endangered. . . . To assume blithely that we can export democracy into any country we choose can serve paradoxically to encourage more fascism at home and abroad.”
Praise for Why Are We at War?
“We’re overloaded with information these days, some of it possibly true. Mailer offers a provocative—and persuasive—cultural and intellectual frame.”—Newsweek
“[Mailer] still has the stamina to churn out hard-hitting criticism.”—Los Angeles Times
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“Penetrating . . . There’s plenty of irreverent wit and fresh thinking on display.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Eloquent . . . thoughtful . . . Why Are We at War? *pulls no punches.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
*Praise for Norman Mailer
“[Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation.”—The New York Times
“A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent.”—The New Yorker
“Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure.”—The Washington Post
“A devastatingly alive and original creative mind.”—Life
“Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance.”—The New York Review of Books
“The largest mind and imagination [in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book.”—Chicago Tribune
“Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream.”—*The Cincinnati Post
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 1 115
Miguel Guzman isn't exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family—a father, his three daughters, and their dog—live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair for creativity and fun, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp for Miguel, his little sister, and the three Sword girls, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise!
The warm and funny third book in the Tía Lola Stories is sure to delight young readers and leave them looking forward to their own summer fun!
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 1 115
Praised as "exuberantly engaging" by the Los Angeles Times and a "beautiful, beautiful piece of writing" by the Houston Post, acclaimed artist Ntozake Shange brings to life the story of a young girl's awakening amidst her country's seismic growing pains. Set in St. Louis in 1957, the year of the Little Rock Nine, Shange's story reveals the prismatic effect of racism on an American child and her family. Seamlessly woven into this masterful portrait of an extended family is the story of Betsey's adolescence, the rush of first romance, and the sobering responsibilities of approaching adulthood. Views: 1 114
