In Like Life's eight exquisite stories, Lorrie Moore's characters stumble through their daily existence. These men and women, unsettled and adrift and often frightened, can't quite understand how they arrived at their present situations. Harry has been reworking a play for years in his apartment near Times Square in New York. Jane is biding her time at a cheese shop in a Midwest mall. Dennis, unhappily divorced, buries himself in self-help books about healthful food and healthy relationships. One prefers to speak on the phone rather than face his friends, another lets the answering machine do all the talking. But whether rejected, afraid to commit, bored, disillusioned or just misunderstood, even the most hard-bitten are not without some abiding trust in love.

Following his widely acclaimed Project X and Love and Hydrogen—“Here is the effect of these two books,” wrote the Chicago Tribune: “A reader finishes them buzzing with awe”—Jim Shepard now gives us his first entirely new collection in more than a decade.Like You’d Understand, Anyway reaches from Chernobyl to Bridgeport, with a host of narrators only Shepard could bring to pitch-perfect life. Among them: a middle-aged Aeschylus taking his place at Marathon, still vying for parental approval. A maddeningly indefatigable Victorian explorer hauling his expedition, whaleboat and all, through the Great Australian Desert in midsummer. The first woman in space and her cosmonaut lover, caught in the star-crossed orbits of their joint mission. Two Texas high school football players at the top of their food chain, soliciting their fathers’ attention by leveling everything before them on the field. And the rational and compassionate chief executioner of Paris, whose occupation, during the height of the Terror, eats away at all he holds dear.Brimming with irony, compassion, and withering humor, these eleven stories are at once eerily pertinent and dazzlingly exotic, and they showcase the work of a protean, prodigiously gifted writer at the height of his form. Reading Jim Shepard, according to Michael Chabon, “is like encountering our national literature in microcosm.”

Marilynne Robinson, one of the greatest novelists of our time, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe, and wonder.Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church — the only available shelter from the rain — and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the days of suffering that preceded her newfound security.Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by Doll, a canny young drifter, and brought up by her in a hardscrabble childhood. Together they crafted a life on the run, living hand-to-mouth with nothing but their sisterly bond and a ragged blade to protect them. But despite bouts of petty violence and moments of desperation, their shared life is laced with moments of joy and love. When Lila arrives in Gilead, she struggles to harmonize the life of her makeshift family and their days of hardship with the gentle Christian worldview of her husband that paradoxically judges those she loves.Revisiting the beloved characters and setting of Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead and Home, a National Book Award Finalist, Lila is a moving expression of the mysteries of existence that is destined to become an American classic.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle

Maintenance was like a first child. Maybe that will always be the best-loved

one. But this second child is the bright one. I think a lot of people will

argue with some of the ideas in Lila. There may be controversy. But if people

are still reading these two books a hundred years from now, I predict Lila will

be the one they consider the more important.Robert M. Pirsig

As Dickens and Balzac did for their time, so John Berger does for ours, rendering the movement of a people and the passing of a way of life in his masterwork, the Into Their Labours trilogy. With Lilac and Flag, the Alpine village of the two earlier volumes has been forsaken for the mythic city of Troy. Here, amidst the shantytowns, factories, and opulent hotels, fading heritages and steadfast dreams, the children and grandchildren of rural peasants pursue meager livings as best they can. And here, two young lovers embark upon a passionate, desperate journey of love and survival and find transcending hope both for themselves and for us as their witnesses.

Huxley’s first collection of short stories contains seven visionary and satirical tales, which introduces themes that will go on to form the basis of his entire works. The events and the protagonists of these stories, with their personalities falling between the explicit and the elusive, are also rich in parallels and points in common with the life of their author. In The Death of Lully a woman is struck by breast cancer, the disease that killed the young author’s mother to whom he was very close; and suicide as that of his brother, recurs in Eupompus Gave Splendour To Art By Numbers. Among all, however, Farcical History Of Richard Greenow takes the form of an autobiography, from the setting to the events described, there are many points of contact between the protagonist and that of the author: like a new Dr Jekyll’s alter ego protagonist (and the same Huxley) will face his personal Mr. Hyde, in the staging of the struggle between two different and irreconcilable ways of thinking about literature and civic engagement.

A novel about a bloodthirsty cowgirl with hallucinogenic toadsucking properties, this is the story of Justine Trimble — a 1950s movie star — who is brought back to life in modern-day Soho. Problem is, she has a lust for blood, and when people start to drop dead the curiosity of the police is soon aroused.

Gripping, provocative, and revelatory, Links is a novel that will stand as a classic of modern world literature. Jeebleh is returning to Mogadiscio, Somalia, for the first time in twenty years. But this is not a nostalgia trip — his last residence there was a jail cell. And who could feel nostalgic for a city like this? U.S. troops have come and gone, and the decimated city is ruled by clan warlords and patrolled by qaat-chewing gangs who shoot civilians to relieve their adolescent boredom. Diverted in his pilgrimage to visit his mother’s grave, Jeebleh is asked to investigate the abduction of the young daughter of one of his closest friend’s family. But he learns quickly that any act in this city, particularly an act of justice, is much more complicated than he might have imagined.

A “Book You Should Read This April” at Literary Hub

By the winner of the Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s most prestigious literary award

How does a shy, traumatized boy overcome the shame, anger, and sadness that silence him?

In Lion Cross Point, celebrated Japanese author Masatsugu Ono turns his gentle pen to the mind of ten-year-old Takeru, who arrives at his family’s home village amid a scorching summer, carrying memories of unspeakable acts against his mother and brother. As Takeru befriends Mitsuko, his new caretaker, and Saki, his spunky neighbor, he meets more of his mother’s old friends, discovering her history and inching toward a new idea of family and home. All the while he begins to see a strange figure called Bunji—the same name as a delicate young boy who mysteriously vanished long ago on the village’s breathtaking coastline at Lion Cross Point.

At once a subtle portrayal of a child’s sense of memory and community, an empowering exploration of how we find the words to encompass our trauma, and a spooky Japanese ghost story, Lion Cross Point is gripping and poignant, reminiscent of Kenzaburō Ōe’s best work. Acts of heartless brutality mix with surprising moments of pure kindness, creating this utterly truthful, cathartic tale of an unforgettable young boy.

Lionel Asbo — a very violent but not very successful young criminal — is going about his morning duties in a London prison when he learns that he has just won £139,999,999.50 on the National Lottery. This is not necessarily good news for his ward and nephew, the orphaned Des Pepperdine, who still has reason to fear his uncle's implacable vengeance.Savage, funny, and mysteriously poignant, Lionel Asbo is a modern fairytale from one of the world's great writers.

Bonnie Nadzam — author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning debut, Lamb—returns with this scorching, haunting portrait of a rural community in a "living ghost town" on the brink of collapse, and the individuals who are confronted with either chasing their dreams or — against all reason — staying where they are.Lions is set on the high plains of Colorado, a nearly deserted place, steeped in local legends and sparse in population. Built to be a glorious western city upon a hill, it was never fit for farming, mining, trading, or any of the illusory sources of wealth its pioneers imagined. The Walkers have been settled on its barren terrain for generations — a simple family in a town otherwise still taken in by stories of bigger, better, brighter.When a traveling stranger appears one day, his unsettling presence sets off a chain reaction that will change the fates of everyone he encounters. It begins with the patriarch John Walker as he succumbs to a heart attack. His devastated son Gordon is forced to choose between leaving for college with his girlfriend, Leigh, and staying with his family to look after their flailing welding shop and, it is believed, to continue carrying out a mysterious task bequeathed to all Walker men. While Leigh is desperate to make a better life in the world beyond the desolation of Lions, Gordon is strangely hesitant to leave it behind. As more families abandon the town, he is faced with what seem to be their reasonable choices and the burden of betraying his own heart.A story of awakening, Lions is an exquisite novel that explores ambition and an American obsession with self-improvement, the responsibilities we have to ourselves and each other, as well as the everyday illusions that pass for a life worth living.

Teresa, znana dziennikarka, podczas wakacji na Cape Code znajduje na plaży butelkę, a w niej wzruszający list miłosny napisany do zmarłej żony przez mężczyznę o imieniu Garett. Przejęta do głębi wymową listu, pragnie poznać człowieka, który potrafi tak mocno i wiernie kochać. Spotkanie tych dwojga zaowocuje wielką miłością.Autor o książce:"Uważam 'List w butelce' za historię bardzo osobistą. Źródłem inspiracji były losy mojego ojca, kompletnie zdruzgotanego po śmierci mojej matki. 'List w butelce' stanowi studium konfliktu uczuciowego, jaki przeżywał ojciec, a mianowicie czy można zakochać się ponownie po utracie prawdziwej miłości""List w butelce" to kolejna powieść Nicholasa Sparksa, która zastała przeniesiona na ekran. W filmie zagrali m. in. Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn i Paul Newman.Zanim zabierzecie się do lektury polecam uzbroić się w chusteczki higieniczne. Najlepiej całą paczkę. Dlaczego? Bo "List" jest smutną książką, jak większość autorstwa Sparksa z resztą. Ale warto przeczytać, zwłaszcza, jeżeli lubicie czytać o morzu, bo nie bez powodu Garett wysyłał listy w butelkach. Miał własny jacht i na nim właśnie narodziła się miłość Garetta i Teresy. Główną i w zasadzie jedyną inicjatorką ich spotkania była Teresa, gdyż bardzo chciała poznać autora pięknych listów, które miała okazję przeczytać. Jeden znalazła sama, przeczytała go i napisała o nim artykuł do gazety, w której pracowała. Zapragnęła odnaleźć mężczyznę, który potrafi tak pięknie pisać o swoich uczuciach. Gdy jej poszukiwania nie przyniosły żadnego efektu i chciała się poddać jedna z jej czytelniczek, przysłała jej kolejny, który znalazła nad brzegiem morza. To dało Teresie siłę, by szukać dalej. Wykorzystała wszystkie możliwe środki, nawet książkę telefoniczną, aby odszukać tego mężczyznę i móc z nim chwilę porozmawiać. Nie przypuszczała, że odnajdzie miłość swego życia.Niestety, szczęście nie trwa wiecznie. Garett w końcu dowiedział się, że Teresa czytała jego listy i pisała o tym artykuły. To, że mu o tym nie powiedziała, potraktował bardzo poważnie. W jakiś sposób zapewne poczuł się zdradzony tym, że kobieta zainicjowała ich spotkanie, już coś o nim wiedziała, podczas, gdy on musiał poznawać ją od podstaw. I tak kończy się szczęście. Głupio, nieprawdaż?To jeszcze nie koniec książki. Gdyby tak właśnie było, nie dowiedzielibyście się o tym. Zdarzy się coś, co jeszcze bardziej zachwieje życiem Teresy.

A modern gothic about a marriage and road trip gone hauntingly awry.Mark and Maggie's annual drive east to visit family has gotten off to a rocky start. By the time they're on the road, it's late, a storm is brewing, and they are no longer speaking to one another. Adding to the stress, Maggie — recently mugged at gunpoint — is lately not herself, and Mark is at a loss about what to make of the stranger he calls his wife. When they are forced to stop for the night at a remote inn, completely without power, Maggie's paranoia reaches an all-time and terrifying high. But when Mark finds himself threatened in a dark parking lot, it’s Maggie who takes control.

Większość książek Bukowskiego zawiera wątki autobiograficzne. Tak jest też w powieści Listonosz, w której autor przedstawia dość długi epizod ze swojego życia, kiedy jako doręczyciel przemierzał codziennie ulice Los Angeles z torbą przewieszoną przez ramię. Choć szczerze nienawidził tej pracy, trzymał się jej, jak żadnej innej potem, przez wiele lat. Ta mieszanka niechęci i fascynacji zaowocowała książką pełną pasji, przypominającą reportaż. Z właściwym sobie dystansem i cierpkim humorem Bukowski – krytyczny obserwator rzeczywistości – przygląda się funkcjonowaniu instytucji poczty i panującym w niej stosunkom, z wrażliwością reagując na ludzką krzywdę.

Brilliant, inspired, and gloriously erudite, Literature and the Gods is the culmination of Roberto Calasso’s lifelong study of the gods in the human imagination. By uncovering the divine whisper that lies behind the best poetry and prose from across the centuries, Calasso gives us a renewed sense of the mystery and enchantment of great literature.From the banishment of the classical divinities during the Age of Reason to their emancipation by the Romantics and their place in the literature of our own time, the history of the gods can also be read as a ciphered and splendid history of literary inspiration. Rewriting that story, Calasso carves out a sacred space for literature where the presence of the gods is discernible. His inquiry into the nature of “absolute literature” transports us to the realms of Dionysus and Orpheus, Baudelaire and Mallarmé, and prompts a lucid and impassioned defense of poetic form, even when apparently severed from any social function. Lyrical and assured, Literature and the Gods is an intensely engaging work of literary affirmation that deserves to be read alongside the masterpieces it celebrates.

«Lithium» – роман о 1990-х. В нем есть криминал, наркотики, капитализм и практически неограниченная свобода. Действие происходит между Питером и Москвой, а история развивается на фоне музыкального андеграунда, попсового шоу-бизнеса, первых рейвов и клубов.В книге присутствует нецензурная брань.

Lithium for Medea is a tale of addiction: to drugs, physical love, and dysfunctional family chains. It is also a tale of mothers and daughters, their mutual rebellion and unconscious mimicry. Rose grew up with an emotionally crippled, narcissistic mother while her father, a veteran gambler, spent his waking hours in the garden cut off from his wife's harangues. Now an adult, Rose works her way through a string of unhealthy love(less) affairs. After a brief, unhappy marriage, she slips more deeply and dangerously into the lair of a parasitic, cocaine-fed artist whose sensual and manipulative ways she grows addicted to in the bohemian squalor of Venice.

The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple-journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday-who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day-with the right papers-and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state.

The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple-journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday-who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day-with the right papers-and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state.

A.J. dreams of graduating high school and entering the U.S. Air Force Academy. But when he falls in love with Maria, his life and his dreams are changed forever.