Tim Winton is Australia’s best-loved novelist. His new work, Breath, is an extraordinary evocation of an adolescence spent resisting complacency, testing one’s limits against nature, finding like-minded souls, and discovering just how far one breath will take you. It’s a story of extremes—extreme sports and extreme emotions.
On the wild, lonely coast of Western Australia, two thrillseeking and barely adolescent boys fall into the enigmatic thrall of veteran big-wave surfer Sando. Together they form an odd but elite trio. The grown man initiates the boys into a kind of Spartan ethos, a regimen of risk and challenge, where they test themselves in storm swells on remote and shark-infested reefs, pushing each other to the edges of endurance, courage, and sanity. But where is all this heading? Why is their mentor’s past such forbidden territory? And what can explain his American wife’s peculiar behavior? Venturing beyond all limits—in relationships, in physical challenge, and in sexual behavior—there is a point where oblivion is the only outcome. Full of Winton’s lyrical genius for conveying physical sensation, Breath is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale from one of world literature’s finest storytellers. Views: 309
He grimaced. He had drawn a greedy old character, a tough old male whose mind was full of slobbering thoughts of food, veritable oceans full of half-spoiled fish. Father Moontree had once said that he burped cod liver oil for weeks after drawing that particular glutton, so strongly had the telepathic image of fish impressed itself upon his mind. Yet the glutton was a glutton for danger as well as for fish. He had killed sixty-three Dragons, more than any other Partner in the service, and was quite literally worth his weight in gold. The little girl West came next. She drew Captain Wow. When she saw who it was, she smiled. "I like him," she said. "He\'s such fun to fight with. He feels so nice and cuddly in my mind." "Cuddly, hell," said Woodley. "I\'ve been in his mind, too. It\'s the most leering mind in this ship, bar none." "Nasty man," said the little girl. She said it declaratively, withou Views: 309
The third volume of Somerset Maugham's Collected Short Stories, introduced by the author, contains the celebrated series about Ashenden, a secret service agent in World War I. Based on Maugham's own experiences with the British Intelligence service in Switzerland, the stories are vignettes in which he dramatises both the romance and absurdity of espionage as well as its ruthlessness and brutality. Accountable only to 'R', Ashenden travels all over the Continent on assignments which entangle him with such characters as the traitor Grantley Caypor, the passionate Guilia Lazzari, and the sinister 'hairless Mexican'. Views: 309
When eighth grader Abby Lovitt looks out at those pure-gold rolling hills, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than her family’s ranch—even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some chores are no work at all, like grooming young Jack. At eight months, his rough foal coat has shed out, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a good horse, it turns out he’s a natural jumper. When he and Abby clear four feet easy as pie, heads start to turn at the ring—buyers’ heads—and Abby knows Daddy won’t turn down a good offer.
Then a letter arrives from a private investigator, and suddenly Abby stands to lose not one horse but two. The letter states that Jack’s mare may have been sold to the Lovitts as stolen goods. A mystery unfolds, more surprising than Abby could ever expect. Will she lose her beloved Jack to his rightful owners?
Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley raises horses of her own, and her affection and expertise shine through in this inviting horse novel for young readers, set in 1960s California horse country and featuring characters from The Georges and the Jewels.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 309
Joyce Carol Oates’s Wonderland Quartet comprises four remarkable novels that explore social class in America and the inner lives of young Americans. In Expensive People, Oates takes a provocative and suspenseful look at the roiling secrets of America’s affluent suburbs. Set in the late 1960s, this first-person confession is narrated by Richard Everett, a precocious and obese boy who sees himself as a minor character in the alarming drama unfolding around him.
Fascinated by yet alienated from his attractive, self-absorbed parents and the privileged world they inhabit, Richard incisively analyzes his own mismanaged childhood, his pretentious private schooling, his “successful-executive” father, and his elusive mother. In an act of defiance and desperation, eleven-year-old Richard strikes out in a way that presages the violence of ever-younger Americans in the turbulent decades to come.
A National Book Award finalist, Expensive People is a stunning combination of social satire and gothic horror. “You cannot put this novel away after you have opened it,” said The Detroit News. “This is that kind of book–hypnotic, fascinating, and electrifying.”
Expensive People is the second novel in the Wonderland Quartet. The books that complete this acclaimed series, A Garden of Earthly Delights, them, and Wonderland, are also available from the Modern Library.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 309
To rendezvous with her archeologist fiance in Jordan, Barbara Vaughn must first pass through the Mandelbaum Gate--which divides strife-torn Jerusalem. A half-jewish convert to Catholicism, an Englishwoman of strong and stubborn convictions, Barbara will not be dissuaded from her ill-timed pilgrimage despite a very real threat of bodily harm and the fearful admonishments of staid British diplomat Freddy Hamilton. Views: 308
A lush, feminist re-imagining on what happened to Wendy after Neverland, for fans of Circe and The Mere Wife.Find the second star from the right, and fly straight on ’til morning, all the way to Neverland, a children’s paradise with no rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who will never grow old. But Wendy Darling grew up. She has a husband and a young daughter called Jane, a life in London. But one night, after all these years, Peter Pan returns. Wendy finds him outside her daughter’s window, looking to claim a new mother for his Lost Boys. But instead of Wendy, he takes Jane. Now a grown woman, a mother, a patient and a survivor, Wendy must follow Peter back to Neverland to rescue her daughter and finally face the darkness at the heart of the island… Views: 308
Louis L'Amour's long-lost first novel, faithfully completed by his son, takes readers on a voyage into danger and violence on the high seas. Fate is a ship. As the shadows of World War II gather, the SS Lichenfield is westbound across the Pacific carrying eighty thousand barrels of highly explosive naphtha. The cargo alone makes the journey perilous, with the entire crew aware that one careless moment could lead to disaster. But yet another sort of peril haunts the Lichenfield. Even beyond their day-to-day coexistence, the lives of the crew are mysteriously intertwined. Though each has his own history, dreams and jealousies, longing and rage, all are connected by a deadly web of chance and circumstance. Some are desperately fleeing the past; others chase an unknown destiny. A few are driven by the desire for adventure, while their shipmates cling to the Lichenfield as their only true home. In their... Views: 308
On childhood holidays to the beach the sun and surf kept Tim Winton outside in the mornings, in the water; the wind would drive him indoors in the afternoons, to books and reading. This ebb and flow of the day became a way of life.
In this beautifully delicate memoir, Tim Winton writes about his obsession with what happens where the water meets the shore – about diving, dunes, beachcombing – and the sense of being on the precarious, wondrous edge of things that haunts his novels.
Complemented by the breathtaking photographs of Narelle Autio, Land's Edge is a celebration of the coastal life and those who surrender themselves to it. Views: 307
One of the most outstanding Persian writers of the last century is represented in this unique collection of stories, most appearing here for the first time in English
This collection of short stories, previously unpublished in English, displays the disturbing and evocative force of Hedayat’s writing, and confirms his place in the literary canon. They depict a world of revelation, uncanny similarity, grotesquery, and insanity.
The title story, “Three Drops of Blood”, follows the protagonist’s increasingly unstable mental state through the repeated occurrence of three drops of blood, while “Hadji Murat” depicts an almost Joycean epiphany in classically understated terms, as a man mistakes another woman for his wife.
These are stories that, though set in a distinctive milieu, deal with universal truths and cut to the very essence of humanity. Views: 307
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: 306
Armchair Fiction presents extra-large editions of classic science fiction double novels with original illustrations. The first novel is "Sinbad: Through Time and Space," written by a very underrated science fiction and fantasy author, Chester S. Geier. American Singleton Bade would have never imagined that gigantic bird-like creatures could exist in the cold, hard reality of the 20th Century. Furthermore, Bade never would have dreamed that one of these creatures would take him on a roller coaster ride back through time, to a place reminiscent of the fanciful worlds of “The Arabian Nights.” Was he hallucinating or was it real? He soon realized that not only was this new world real, but that his winged companion, a mythical creature known simply as a “roc,” had brought him there for a purpose—there was only one man who could thwart the plans of the evil prince, Meznir—and that man was Singleton Bade, known to his comrades simply as “Sinbad.” Before long Bade found himself caught up in a web of deadly intrigue—an intrigue that would pit the forces of good against evil and send him hurtling into the depths of outer space. The second novel is “The Enormous Room” by science fiction icons, H.L. Gold and Robert W. Krepps. “The Enormous Room” was first published in Amazing Stories, the November issue, 1953. Howard Browne was the editor, having taken over the position from Raymond A. Palmer at the beginning of 1950. Browne was given the job of taking Amazing away from the pop gun style of sci-fi that had been Palmer’s stock and trade for many years. “The Enormous Room” was a fine example of the new direction the magazine had taken. Here’s his original blurb: One big name per story is usually considered to be sufficient. So when two of them appear in one by-line, it can certainly be called a scoop; so that’s what we’ll call it. H. L. Gold and science-fiction go together like a blonde and a henna rinse. Robert Krepps is also big time. You may know him also under his other label—Geoff St. Reynard, but a Krepps by any name can write as well. Views: 306
In a frigate stolen from his own navy, Captain Favian Markham races to New Orleans with the dispatches he's captured from a British warship— dispatches making it clear that the city will soon be the target of a British fleet and an invading army.But Favian finds New Orleans a city of intrigue, where Creoles conspire against the Americans, where streetfighters cloak their murders under the Code Duello, the pirate Jean Laffite battles the Navy, and a cabal of elite soldiers conspire to hand the city to the enemy— and where two sensuous Creole women, Eugenie and Campaspe, vie for his favor.In order to resist the coming invasion, Favian must fight his way clear of conspiracy and unite the divided city, and soon discovers that in order to buy time for the defenders, he must sacrifice his own ship, and his own career, in a hopeless fight against an overwhelming power . . . Views: 306
Jacobs was born in Wapping, London; his father was a wharf manager at the South Devon wharf at Lower East Smithfield. He was educated at a private school in London and later at Birkbeck College (then called Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the University of London) SEA URCHINS (15 STORIES) SPEAKING O\' MONEY," SAID the night-watchman thoughtfully, as he selected an empty soapbox on the wharf for a seat, "the whole world would be different if we all \'ad more of it. It would be a brighter and a \'appier place for everybody." He broke off to open a small brass tobacco-box and place a little quid of tobacco tenderly into a pouch in his left cheek, critically observing at the same time the efforts of a somewhat large steamer to get alongside the next wharf without blocking up more than three parts of the river. He watched it as though the entire operation depended upon his attention, and, the steamer fast, he turned his eyes back again and resumed his theme. Views: 305
An Inches of Trust storyThe time has finally come for cop Tristan Blake and architect Brian Townsend to get married. The guys have been through a lot over the past months, one way or another, so hopefully the service will go smoothly.Brian's family is on board with puns and enthusiasm. But Tristan's family is less than supportive, and his mother makes her feelings known.Fortunately, it will take more than an angry, bigoted, selfish parent to stop this ceremony from going forward. Love will have its day, and a life together leads them to the future and all the possibilities that it holds. Views: 305
