The story of K., the unwanted Land Surveyor who is never to be admitted to the Castle nor accepted in the village, and yet cannot go home, seems to depict, like a dream from the deepest recesses of consciousness, an inexplicable truth about the nature of existence. In his introduction, Idris Parry shows that duality-to Kafka a perpetual human condition-lies at the heart of this essentially imaginative magnum opus: dualities of certainty and doubt, hope and fear, reason and nonsense, harmony and disintegration. Thus, The Castle is an unfinished novel that feels strangely complete, in which a labyrinthine world, described in simple language and absurd fantasy, reveals a profound truth. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Written with burning intensity in the last years of Roberto Bolano's life, "2666" has been greeted across the world as the great writer's masterpiece, surpassing everything in imagination, beauty and scope. It is a novel on an astonishing scale from a passionate visionary. 'The best book of 2008 ...A masterpiece, the electrifying literary event of the year' - "Time". 'Readers who have snacked on Haruki Murakami will feast on Roberto Bolano'- "Sunday Times". 'Bolano makes you feel changed for having read him; he adjusts your angle of view on the world' - "Guardian".

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain, is part ofthe "Barnes and Noble Classics" series, which offers qualityeditions at affordable prices to the student and the generalreader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages ofcarefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable featuresof "Barnes and Noble Classics": New introductions commissioned fromtoday's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authorsChronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and culturalevents Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations,parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, andfilms inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Studyquestions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectationsBibliographies for further reading Indices and Glossaries, whenappropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed tosuperior specifications; some include illustrations of historicalinterest. "Barnes and Noble Classics "pulls together aconstella

Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen, is part of the Barnes Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordableprices to the student and the general reader, including newscholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully craftedextras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers andscholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporaryhistorical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes andendnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired bythe work Comments by other famous authors Study questions tochallenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographiesfor further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriateAlleditions are beautifully designed and are printed to superiorspecifications; some include illustrations of historical interest.Barnes Noble Classics pulls together a constellation ofinfluences—bi

From the seemingly trivial postponement of a visit to a nearbylighthouse, Virginia Woolf constructs a remarkable and movingexamination of the complex tensions and allegiances of family life,and the conflict between male and female principles, in what isprobably her most popular novel.

Swann's Way, by Marcel Proust, is part of the Barnes Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordableprices to the student and the general reader, including newscholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully craftedextras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers andscholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, andcultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books,plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by thework Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints andexpectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superiorspecifications; some include illustrations of historical interest.Barnes Noble

An intense, vibrant debut novel set among the back roads of Pennsylvania's mining country Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is. With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series o

"The Good Terrorist" follows Alice Mellings, a woman whotransforms her home into a headquarters for a group of radicals whoplan to join the IRA. As Alice struggles to bridge her ideology andher bourgeois upbringing, her companions encounter unexpectedchallenges in their quest to incite social change againstcomplacency and capitalism. With a nuanced sense of theintersections between the personal and the political, Nobellaureate Doris Lessing creates in "The Good Terrorist" a compellingportrait of domesticity and rebellion.

The bestselling tale of Romanov intrigue from the author of"The Kitchen Boy" Book groups and historical fiction buffs havemade Robert Alexanderas two previous novels word-of-mouth favoritesand national bestsellers. Set against a backdrop of ImperialRussiaas twilight, "The Romanov Bride" has the same enduringappeal. The Grand Duchess Elisavyetaas story begins like a fairytaleaa German princess renowned for her beauty and kind heartmarries the Grand Duke Sergei of Russia and enters the Romanovaslavish court. Her husband, however, rules his wife as he doesMoscowawith a cold, hard fist. And, after a peaceful demonstrationbecomes a bloodbath, the fires of the revolution link Elisavyetaasdestiny to that of Pavelaa young Bolshevikaforever.

A fascinating look at the history and grandeur of bullfighting,Death in the Afternoon is also a deeper contemplation on the natureof cowardice and bravery, sport and tragedy, and is enlivenedthroughout by Hemingway's pungent commentary on life andliterature. Seen through his eyes, bullfighting becomes an art, arichly choreographed ballet, with performers who range from awkwardamateurs to masters of great grace and cunning.

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.

A Guide to Genetic Disorders and Inherited Disease and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family. Much in the news, inherited disease and genetic testing are complex and confusing issues that leave most people asking "So, what can I do with this promising information?" A powerfully helpful and authoritative guide, Your Genetic Destiny has the answers. From what tests to have taken to what the results mean and when further genetic counseling is in order; from what foods to avoid to which medications to take and what other medical options are available, world-renowned geneticist Aubrey Milunsky demonstrates how knowledge of our genetic makeup can save our lives. Covering heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, mental illness, Alzheimer's disease, obesity, longevity, and infertility, Your Genetic Destiny is the most comprehensive, compassionate, and informed guide available for all concerned about the risks of inherited disease. 作者简介 Aubrey Milunsky, M.D., D.Sc., is Profess

The Trial is one of the most important novels of the twentiethcentury: the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bankofficer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defendhimself against a charge about which he can get no information.Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy ofthe excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness oftotalitarianism, Kafka's nightmare has resonated with chillingtruth for generations of readers. This new edition is based uponthe work of an international team of experts who have restored thetext, the sequence of chapters, and their division to create aversion that is as close as possible to the way the author left it.In his brilliant translation, Breon Mitchell masterfully reproducesthe distinctive poetics of Kafka's prose, revealing a novel that isas full of energy and power as it was when it was firstwritten.

Italo Calvino was due to deliver the Charles Eliot Nortonlectures at Harvard in 1985-86, but they were left unfinished athis death. The surviving drafts explore of the concepts oflightness, quickness, multiplicity, exactitude and visibility(Constancy was to be the sixth) in serious yet playful essays thatreveal Calvino's debt to the comic strip and the folktale. With hiscustomary imagination and grace, he sought to define the virtues ofthe great literature of the past in order to shape the values ofthe future. This collection is a brilliant precis of the work of agreat writer whose legacy will endure through the millennium headdressed.

These essays, reviews and articles illuminate the life and workof one of the most individual writers of this century - a man whocreated a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloudand who elevated political writing to an art.

Herzog is alone, now that Madeleine has left him for his bestfriend. Solitary, in a crumbling house which he shares with rats,he is buffeted by a whirlwind of mental activity. People rumouredthat his mind had collapsed. But was it true? Locked for days inthe custody of his rambling memories, Herzog scrawls franticletters which he never mails. His mind buzzes with conundrums andpolemics, writing in a spectacular intellectual labyrinth. Is hecrazy, or is he a genius?..

'The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself a gift of anight of wild love with an adolescent virgin' He has never married,never loved and never gone to bed with a woman he didn't pay. Buton finding a young girl naked and asleep on the brothel owner'sbed, a passion is ignited in his heart - and he feels, for thefirst time, the urgent pangs of love. Each night, exhausted by herfactory work, 'Delgadina' sleeps peacefully whilst he watches herquietly. During these solitary early hours, his love for herdeepens and he finds himself reflecting on his newly found passionand the loveless life he has led. By day, his columns in the localnewspaper are read avidly by those who recognise in his outpouringsthe enlivening and transformative power of love. The publication of"Memories of My Melancholy Whores" spearheads "Penguin's"celebration of Marquez's 80th birthday in 2007.

This is the story of an artist as an aging man, strugglingthrough the wreckage of Japan's World War II experience. Ishiguro'sfirst novel.

Laurence is a young ex-sailor who can't resist the lure of the good life, and when he finds a job as chauffeur to the wealthy Mr and Mrs Bannister, his occasional work leaves him free to indulge. Bannister himself is bitter - his twisted leg keeps him on the sidelines while his ravishingly beautiful wife endures his moods with saintly patience. Or does she? It's the Bannisters' closest friend, Grisby, who starts stirring, getting Laurence to agree to a crazy plot. It will net him thousands, no strings attached. But is it all too easy?

Joyce Carol Oates’s Wonderland Quartet comprises fourremarkable novels that explore social class in America and theinner lives of young Americans. As powerful and relevant today asit on its initial publication, them chronicles the tumultuous livesof a family living on the edge of ruin in the Detroit slums, fromthe 1930s to the 1967 race riots. Praised by The Nation for her“potent, life-gripping imagination,” Oates traces the aspirationsand struggles of Loretta Wendall, a dreamy young mother who isfilled with regret by the age of sixteen, and the subsequentdestinies of her children, Maureen and Jules, who must fight tosurvive in a world of violence and danger. Winner of the National Book Award, them is an enthralling novelabout love, class, race, and the inhumanity of urban life. It is,raves The New York Times, “a superbly accomplished vision.” Them is the third novel in the Wonderland Quartet. The books thatcomplete this acclaimed series, A Garden of Earthly Delights,Expensive Peo

Every year, Ceyala "Lala" Reyes' family--aunts, uncles,mothers, fathers, and Lala's six older brothers--packs up threecars and, in a wild ride, drive from Chicago to the LittleGrandfather and Awful Grandmother's house in Mexico City for thesummer. Struggling to find a voice above the boom of her brothersand to understand her place on this side of the border and that,Lala is a shrewd observer of family life. But when she startstelling the Awful Grandmother's life story, seeking clues to howshe got to be so awful, grandmother accuses Lala of exaggerating.Soon, a multigenerational family narrative turns into a whirlwindexploration of storytelling, lies, and life. Like the cherished"rebozo," or shawl, that has been passed down through generationsof Reyes women, Caramelo is alive with the vibrations of history,family, and love.

When Meaulnes first arrives at the local school in Sologne,everyone is captivated by his good looks, daring and charisma. Butwhen Meaulnes disappears for several days, and returns with talesof a strange party at a mysterious house and a beautiful girlhidden within it, he has been changed forever. In his restlesssearch for his Lost Estate and the happiness he found there,Meaulnes, observed by his loyal friend Francois, may risk losingeverything he ever had. Poised between youthful admiration andadult resignation, Alain-Fournier's compelling narrator carries thereader through this evocative and unbearably poignant portrayal ofdesperate friendship and vanished adolescence.