"MARVELOUS . . . BREATHTAKING."--The New York Times Book Review"MAILER SHINES . . . Explaining Kennedy's assassination through the flaws in Oswald's character has been attempted before, notably by Gerald Posner in Case Closed and Don Delillo in Libra. But neither handled Oswald with the kind of dexterity and literary imagination that Mailer here supplies in great force. . . . Oswald's Tale weaves a story not only about Oswald or Kennedy's death but about the culture surrounding the assassination, one that remains replete with miscomprehensions, unraveled threads and lack of resolution: All of which makes Oswald's Tale more true-to-life than any fact-driven treatise could hope to be. . . . Vintage Mailer."--The Philadelphia Inquirer"FASCINATING . . . A MASTER STORYTELLER . . . Mailer gives us our clearest, deepest view of Oswald yet. . . . Inside three pages you are utterly absorbed."--Detroit Free Press"MAILER AT HIS BEST . . . LIVELY AND CONVINCING . . . EXTREMELY LUCID . . . Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance. . . . [He] has found a way to make the dry bones of KGB tapes and his own interviews stand up and perform. . . . From the American master conjurer of dark and swirling purpose, a moving reflection."--Robert StoneThe New York Review of Books"THIS IS A NARRATIVE OF TREMENDOUS ENERGY AND PANACHE; THE AUTHOR AT THE TOP OF HIS FORM."--Christopher HitchensFinancial Times"Mailer has written some pretty crazy books in his time, but this isn't one of them. Like its predecessor, Harlot's Ghost, it is the performance of an author relishing the force and reach of his own acuity."--Martin AmisThe London Sunday TimesFrom the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 9
Though raised Catholic, in the early 1950s Jack Kerouac became fascinated with Buddhism, an interest that would have a profound impact on his ideas of spirituality and their expression in his writing from Mexico City Blues to The Dharma Bums. Published for the first time in book form, Wake Up is Kerouac's retelling of the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who as a young man abandoned his wealthy family and comfortable home for a lifelong search for Enlightenment. As a compendium of the teachings of the Buddha, Wake Up is a profound meditation on the nature of life, desire, wisdom, and suffering. Distilled from a wide variety of canonical scriptures, Wake Up serves as both a concise primer on the concepts of Buddhism and as an insightful and deeply personal document of Kerouac's evolving beliefs. It is the work of a devoted spiritual follower of the Buddha who also happened to be one of the twentieth century's most influential novelists. Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha will be... Views: 9
Over the past three years Alice Oswald has been recording conversations with people who live and work on the River Dart in Devon. Using these records and voices as a sort of poetic census, she creates a narrative of the river, tracking its life from source to sea. The voices are wonderfully varied and idiomatic - they include a poacher, a ferryman, a sewage worker and milk worker, a forester, swimmers and canoeists - and are interlinked with historic and mythic voices: drowned voices, dreaming voices and marginal notes which act as markers along the way. Views: 8
A post-9/11 literary spy thriller from the National Book Award–winning author of Tree of SmokeRoland Nair calls himself Scandinavian but travels on a U.S. passport. After ten years' absence, he returns to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, to reunite with his friend Michael Adriko. They once made a lot of money here during the country's civil war, and, curious to see whether good luck will strike twice in the same place, Nair allows himself to be drawn back to a region he considers hopeless. Adriko is an African who styles himself a soldier of fortune and who claims to have served, at various times, the Ghanaian army, the Kuwaiti Emiri Guard, and the American Green Berets. He's probably broke now, but he remains, at thirty-six, as stirred by his own doubtful schemes as he was a decade ago. Although Nair believes some kind of money-making plan lies at the back of it all, Adriko's stated reason for inviting his friend to Freetown is for... Views: 8
It's the great Circus of Circuses competion, and Fizzlebert Stump has no act. He's no longer the Boy Who Puts His Head In The Lion's Mouth (the lion retired) and putting his head in a crocodile's mouth instead didn't work out for some reason. Can Fizz find a new act in time? Can the Bearded Boy find his long-lost parents? And can their new friend Alice, professional flower-arranger and secret Strongwoman, find her rightful place in the circus?A story of circus rivalry, learning who you really are, and the problem of oddly-shaped vegetables. Brilliantly bonkers and perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Lemony Snicket. Views: 8
Brough and Miller and the rest of the Serious team are back for their eighth case. When local dignitaries start turned up murdered, the Dedley detectives are plunged into the world of the occult while suffering the effects of budget cuts. Supermarket megalomaniac Dennis Lord is a target - Can the team protect him? Will they even bother? Fans of the series will not be disappointed by this acerbic, funny and surprising story from prolific author, William Stafford. Views: 8
The Australian Outback is a vast and empty place, hiding many secrets. When Alec, a young geologist, impatient to start his field work for university research, takes his beautiful young wife, Katherine, and their baby to the edge of the South Australian desert he fails to recognise the hidden dangers. On a lonely track their vehicle breaks down and he goes for help, leaving his family alone. On his return his family has vanished. What happened to Alec's family? What is Katherine's fate? Views: 8
From acclaimed historical novelist Deborah Swift, Pleasing Mr Pepys is the story of Deb Willet, Samuel Pepys's servant, told from a fresh perspective. Well-educated but, due to circumstances beyond her control, not quite respectable, Deb Willet is desperate to escape her domineering aunt and takes a position as companion to Elisabeth Pepys, Samuel's wife. Deb believes it will give her the respectability it craves – but it proves far more complicated than she could ever have imagined. London during the 1660s is a time of turmoil. Although Charles II has been restored to the throne, there is the prospect of war with the Dutch – the world's great power of the era. In the midst of this tumult strides Samuel Pepys – diarist and man of note. Pepys' influence in Restoration London means that the Dutch are keen to get their hands on his secrets – even if that means murder, espionage and blackmail to get them... Deb is soon caught up in the middle of a dangerous... Views: 8
Rudyard Kipling was a major figure of English literature, who used the full power and intensity of his imagination and his writing ability in his excursions into fantasy. This Masterwork, edited by Stephen Jones, Britain's most accomplished and acclaimed anthologist, collects all Kipling's weird fiction for the first time; the stories range from traditional ghostly tales to psychological horror. Views: 8
