In this celebrated novel, Nobel Prize-winning author ToniMorrison created a new way of rendering the contradictory nuancesof black life in America. Its earthy poetic language and strikinguse of folklore and myth established Morrison as a major voice incontemporary fiction. Song of Solomon begins with one of the most arresting scenes inour century's literature: a dreamlike tableau depicting a manpoised on a roof, about to fly into the air, while cloth rosepetals swirl above the snow-covered ground and, in the astonishedcrowd below, one woman sings as another enters premature labor. Thechild born of that labor, Macon (Milkman) Dead, will eventuallycome to discover, through his complicated progress to maturity, themeaning of the drama that marked his birth. Toni Morrison's novelis at once a romance of self-discovery, a retelling of the blackexperience in America that uncovers the inalienable poetry of thatexperience, and a family saga luminous in its depth, imaginativegenerosity, and universality. I
For this novel of French bourgeois life in all its ingloriousbanality, Flaubert invented a paradoxically original and whollymodern style. His heroine, Emma Bovary, a bored provincialhousewife, abandons her husband to pursue the libertine Rodolphe ina desperate love affair. A succA]s de scandale in its day, "MadameBovary" remains a powerful and arousing novel. Translated with anIntroduction by Geoffrey Wall New Preface by MichA]le Roberts
With the publication of her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELYHUNTER, Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literarysensation. With its profound sense of moral isolation and itscompassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novelis considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece firstpublished by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is thedeaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various typesof misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearnsfor escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goesinsane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, thebook's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace inher music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation thatunderlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racialtensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettablestory that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and themistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet,in
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) One of the most swiftly movingand unified of Charles Dickens's great novels, "Oliver Twist" isalso famous for its re-creation-through the splendidly realizedfigures of Fagin, Nancy, the Artful Dodger, and the evil BillSikes-of the vast London underworld of pickpockets, thieves,prostitutes, and abandoned children. Victorian critics took Dickensto task for rendering this world in such a compelling, believableway, but readers over the last 150 years have delivered analternative judgment by making this story of the orphaned OliverTwist one of its author's most loved works. This edition reprintsthe original Everyman's introduction by G. K. Chesterton andincludes twenty-four illustrations by George Cruikshank.
One of Shakespeare's most thought-provoking comedies in whichhigh-born Lord Bertram learns humility and the true worth of hiswife.
Gentle linen weaver Silas Marner is wrongly accused of aheinous theft, and he exiles himself from the world-until he findsredemption and spiritual rebirth through his unselfish love for anabandoned child who mysteriously appears one day at his isolatedcottage. Somber, yet hopeful, Eliot's realistic depiction of anirretrievable past, tempered with the magical elements of myth andfairy tale, remains timeless in its understanding of human natureand is beloved by every generation.
Generally believed to be the last play written solely byShakespeare, The Tempest centers on a banished noble who usessorcery to confront his foes. In this play, Shakespeare offers someof his most insightful meditations on themes ranging from vengeanceand forgiveness to nature and nurture. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars,this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts andauthoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Eachplay includes an Introduction, as well as an overview ofShakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and currentproductions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, anddesigners; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; achronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-whiteillustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers,these modern and accessible editions set a new standard in
After defeat at the Battle of Shrewsbury the rebels regroup. ButPrince Hal’s reluctance to inherit the crown threatens to destroythe ailing Henry IV’s dream of a lasting dynasty. Shakespeare’sportrait of the prodigal son’s journey from youth to maturityembraces the full panorama of society. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bateand Eric Rasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespeareanscholars, this Modern Library series incorporates definitive textsand authoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works.Each play includes an Introduction as well as an overview ofShakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and currentproductions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, anddesigners; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; achronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-whiteillustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, andgeneral readers, these modern and accessible editions from theRoyal Shakespeare Company
One of Kipling's most enduringly popular works, CaptainsCourageous is both a stirring tale of the sea and a fable of aboy's initiation into the world of men.
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romanticexpressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and redroses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful incommunicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in thefoster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and heronly connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go,Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through theflowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with amysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in herlife. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from herpast, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for asecond chance at happiness.
In his widely acclaimed new collection of stories, JulianBarnes addresses what is perhaps the most poignant aspect of thehuman condition: growing old. The characters in The Lemon Table are facing the ends of theirlives–some with bitter regret, others with resignation, and othersstill with defiant rage. Their circumstances are just as varied astheir responses. In 19th-century Sweden, three brief conversationsprovide the basis for a lifetime of longing. In today’s England, aretired army major heads into the city for his regimentaldinner–and his annual appointment with a professional lady namedBabs. Somewhere nearby, a devoted wife calms (or perhaps torments)her ailing husband by reading him recipes. In stories brimming with life and our desire to hang on to it oneway or another, Barnes proves himself by turns wise, funny, clever,and profound–a writer of astonishing powers of empathy andinvention.
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed) An immediate success on itspublication in 1726, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS was read, as John Gay putit, "from the cabinet council to the nursery." Dean Swift's greatsatire is presented here in its unexpurgated entirety.
《伊利亚特》主要内容简介：特洛伊人打到围墙前、向阿基里斯提议、夜曲、阿基里斯看见了、赫克特猛攻围墙、船前的厮杀、宙斯上当了、派楚克拉斯出战和阵亡、派楚克拉斯尸体的争夺战等。 Humans and gods wrestling with towering emotions. Men fighting tothe death amidst the devastation and destruction of the Trojan War.To this day, the heroism and adventure in The Iliad have remainedunmatched in song and story.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) By 1854, when Hard Times waspublished, Charles Dickens' magisterial progress as a writer hadcome to incorporate a many-sided, coherent vision of Englishsociety, both as it was and as he wished it to be. Hard Times. aclassic Dickensian story of redemption set in a North of Englandtown beset by industrialism, everywhere benefits from this vision -in the trenchancy of its satire, in its sweeping indignation atsocial injustice, and in the persistent humanity with which itsauthor enlivens his largest and smallest incidents.
On a windy spring day in the Chilterns, the calm, organizedlife of science writer Joe Rose is shattered when he witnesses atragic accident: a hot-air balloon with a boy trapped in its basketis being tossed by the wind, and in the attempt to save the child,a man is killed. A stranger named Jed Parry joins Rose in helpingto bring the balloon to safety. But unknown to Rose, somethingpasses between Parry and himself on that day--something that givesbirth to an obsession in Parry so powerful that it will test thelimits of Rose's beloved rationalism, threaten the love of hiswife, Clarissa, and drive him to the brink of murder and madness.Brilliant and compassionate, this is a novel of love, faith, andsuspense, and of how life can change in an instant.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) Three classic crime novels by amaster of the macabre appear here together in hardcover for thefirst time. Suave, agreeable, and completely amoral, PatriciaHighsmith's hero, the inimitable Tom Ripley, stops at nothing--noteven murder-- to accomplish his goals. In achieving for himself theopulent life that he was denied as a child, Ripley shows himself tobe a master of illusion and manipulation and a disturbinglysympathetic combination of genius and psychopath. As Highsmithnavigates the mesmerizing tangle of Ripley's deadly and sinistergames, she turns the mystery genre inside out and takes us into themind of a man utterly indifferent to evil. The Talented Mr.RipleyIn a chilling literary hall of mirrors, Patricia Highsmithintroduces Tom Ripley. Like a hero in a latter-day Henry Jamesnovel, is sent to Italy with a commission to coax a prodigal youngAmerican back to his wealthy father. But Ripley finds himself veryfond of Dickie Greenleaf. He wants to be like him--exactly likehim.
The real Life of Sebastian Knight is a perversely magicalliterary detective story--subtle, intricate, leading to atantalizing climax--about the mysterious life of a famouswriter.
Hermann Hesse's classic novel "Siddhartha" has delighted,inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, andthinkers. Though set in a place and time far removed from theGermany of 1922, the year of the book's debut, the novel is infusedwith the sensibilities of Hesse's time, synthesizing disparatephilosophies-Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Westernindividualism-into a unique vision of life as expressed through oneman's search for meaning. It is the story of the quest ofSiddhartha, a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life ofprivilege and comfort to seek spiritual fulfillment and wisdom. Onhis journey, Siddhartha encounters wandering ascetics, Buddhistmonks, and successful merchants, as well as a courtesan namedKamala and a simple ferryman who has attained enlightenment.Traveling among these people and experiencing life's vitalpassages-love, work, friendship, and fatherhood-Siddharthadiscovers that true knowledge is guided from within. SusanBernofsky's magnificent new translation br
In The Paradiso, Dante explores the goal of human striving:the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of thetowering creations of world literature, this epic discovery oftruth is a work of mystical intensity- an immortal hymn to God,Nature, Eternity, and Love.
At once a romantic history of a mighty river, anautobiographical account of Twain’s early steamboat days, and astorehouse of humorous anecdotes and sketches, here is the rawmaterial from which Mark Twain wrote his finest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed) Introduction by E. S.Shaffer
Written at the pinnacle of Shakespeare’s career and featuringhis most soaring poetic idiom, Antony and Cleopatra is both animmortal love story and a political drama played out on a globalscale. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars,this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts andauthoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Eachplay includes an Introduction as well as an overview ofShakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and currentproductions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, anddesigners; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; achronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-whiteillustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, and generalreaders, these modern and accessible editions from the RoyalShakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literaturefor the twenty-first century.
