(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.
Written in 1852, this grand indictment of Victorian society--on its surface a mystery story-- deals with the themes of thevagaries of the High Court of Chancery and misplaced children. Fromthe Inside Flap Introduction by Barbara Hardy
In No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy simultaneouslystrips down the American crime novel and broadens its concerns toencompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodilycontemporary as this morning’s headlines.
No matter what the occasion, this collection of poems is theperfect gift to cheer up a friend or family member. Here, in thiscompact volume, are 100 poems written by the world's greatestpoets, some inspiring, some hilarious, and all memorable. Eachdelightful poem is preceded by an illuminating headnote. Among thepoems included are classics, such as Schiller's "Ode to Joy,"Wordsworth's "My Heart Leaps Up," Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life,"and Dickinson's "'Hope is the Thing with Feathers." This collectionincludes many more captivating works that take as theirexhilarating theme the limitless possibilities of human existence.Whether it's through inspired nonsense or insightful commentary,these poems will leave readers feeling happier and enriched forhaving read them.
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
Llewlyn Moss, hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, stumblesupon a transaction gone horribly wrong. Finding bullet-riddenbodies, several kilos of heroin, and a caseload of cash, he faces achoice – leave the scene as he found it, or cut the money and run.Choosing the latter, he knows, will change everything. And sobegins a terrifying chain of events, in which each participantseems determined to answer the question that one asks another: howdoes a man decide in what order to abandon his life? ‘No Country for Old Men is a compelling,harrowing, disturbing, sad, endlessly surprising and resonantnovel’ Robert Edric, Spectator ‘No Country for Old Men is a severed head andshoulders over anything else written in America this year’Independent on Sunday ‘A Western thriller with a racy plot and punchydialogue, perfect for a lazy Sunday’ Sarah Emily Miano, TheTimes ‘[An] utterly absorbing, chilling tale . . . Oneof the most sinister characters in modern American fiction’Herald ‘A f
The timeless classic of love and sacrifice during the FrenchRevolution! With insight and compassion, Dickens casts his talewith such memorable characters as the evil Madame Defarge and herknitted patterns of death, the gentle Lucie Manette and herunfailing devotion to her downtrodden father, and the courageousSydney Carton, who would give his own love--and life--for a womanthat would never be his.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) Graham Greene's passion formoral complexity and his stylistic aplomb were perfectly suited tothe cat-and mouse game of the spy novel, a genre he practicallyinvented and to which he periodically returned while fashioning oneof the twentieth century's longest, most triumphant literarycareers. Written late in his life, "The Human Factor" displays hisgift for suspense at its most refined level, and his understandingof the physical and spiritual vulnerability of the individual atits deepest.
This is the story of an artist as an aging man, strugglingthrough the wreckage of Japan's World War II experience. Ishiguro'sfirst novel.
Ranked among the classic novels of the English language andthe inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early workof H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest fromreviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted toknow more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in hisfirst book, "The Time Machine, "not its potential for misuse andterror. In "The Island of Dr. Moreau" a shipwrecked gentleman namedEdward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by thenotorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures,and a reason to run for his life. While this riveting tale wasintended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and thetension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiarwith genetic engineering will marvel at Wells's prediction of theethical issues raised by producing "smarter" human beings orbringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add arichness to Prendick's adventures on Dr. Moreau's island o
High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler’s pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author’s award-winning, widely read work.
Whether you've lost weight by doing Atkins and want to make your success permanent, or you're new to Atkins and are concerned about your health and weight control, Atkins for Life is for you. Filled with advice and tips on navigating the everyday challenges that can come with eating low carb in a high carb world, this book provides a simple and straightforward lifetime program that anyone can follow. With Atkins for Life, finding your goal weight and staying there has never been so easy--or so tasty!
To me,' D. H. Lawerence once wrote to E. M. forster, 'you arethe last Englishman.' Indeed, Forster's novels offer contemporaryreaders clear, vibrant portraits of life in Edwardian England.Published in 1908 to both critical and popular acclaim, A Room witha View is a whimsical comedy of manners that owes more to JaneAusten that perhaps any other of his works. The central characteris a muddled young girl named Lucy Honeychurch, who runs away fromthe man who stirs her emotions, remaining engaged to a rich snob.Forster considered it his 'nicest' novel, and today it remainsprobably his most well liked. Its moral is utterly simple. Throwaway your etiquette book and listen to your heart. But it wasForster's next book, Howards End, a story about who would inhabit acharming old country house (and who, in a larger sense, wouldinherit England), that earned him recognition as a major writer.Centered around the conflict between the wealthy, materialisticWilcox family and the cultured, idealistic Schlegel sisters-andinfor
Like Kafka's The Castle, Invitation to a Beheading embodies avision of a bizarre and irrational world. In an unnamed dreamcountry, the young man Cincinnatus C. is condemned to death bybeheading for andquot; gnostical turpitude.andquot; an imaginarycrime that defies definition. Cincinnatus spends his last days inan absurd jail, where he is visited by chimerical jailers. anexecutioner who masquerades as a fellow prisoner, and by hisin-laws. who lug their furniture with them into his cell. WhenCincinnatus is led out to be executed. he simply wills hisexecutioners out of existence: they disappear, along with the wholeworld they inhabit.
“It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn’t knowit.” So begins the new novel, his first since winning the NobelPrize, from the universally acclaimed author of Snow and My Name IsRed.It is 1975, a perfect spring in Istanbul. Kemal, scion of oneof the city’s wealthiest families, is about to become engaged toSibel, daughter of another prominent family, when he encountersFüsun, a beautiful shopgirl and a distant relation. Once thelong-lost cousins violate the code of virginity, a rift begins toopen between Kemal and the world of the Westernized Istanbulbourgeosie—a world, as he lovingly describes it, with opulentparties and clubs, society gossip, restaurant rituals, picnics, andmansions on the Bosphorus, infused with the melancholy ofdecay—until finally he breaks off his engagement to Sibel. But hisresolve comes too late.For eight years Kemal will find excuses tovisit another Istanbul, that of the impoverished backstreets whereFüsun, her heart now hardened, lives with her parents, and w
In many ways this is a wonderful novel with interesting,alive, characters. The medical aspects are absorbing and relevant,and the plot, the story, is grandiose, immense, and fascinating.Before you read the book, read the author's acknowledgements at theend. Irving's grandfather was a leading gynecologist, and he hadhis medical facts checked by experts. (There are other interestingtidbits in the acknowledgements.) John Irving is obviously a masternovelist and he has lavished intense energy and creativity on thisbook. I just cannot help carping a bit. My qualm is that the"political" aspects are all a little too pat and comforting. Amongthe many characters we have the active, involved, and livelycripple (opps, sorry, I mean "differently abled person"); theabusive husband; the dignified, poor but honest negroes; thelovable orphans; the tough but ultimately gentle and sexuallyconfused lesbian; the sad but dedicated and kindly illegalabortionists; and so on. For anyone other than a devoutanti-abortion
A mix of writers historical and modern, male and female, thisanthology includes works by such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin,Martin Luther King, Jr., Erma Bombeck, Sandra Cisneros, AlbertEinstein, Abigail Adams, Mark Twain, Eudora Welty, and John F.Kennedy.
In the "brilliant novel" ("The New York Times") V.S. Naipaultakes us deeply into the life of one man--an Indian who, uprootedby the bloody tides of Third World history, has come to live in anisolated town at the bend of a great river in a newly independentAfrican nation. Naipaul gives us the most convincing and disturbingvision yet of what happens in a place caught between thedangerously alluring modern world and its own tenacious past andtraditions.
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.
