In his debut novel， The Kite Runner， Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do。 He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country’s political turmoil--in this case， Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over。 And he does this on his first try。 The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir， the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul， and Hassan， the son of Amir’s father’s servant。 As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s， the boys are inseparable。 They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever， and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted。 Even after Amir and his father flee to America， Amir r

Pride & Prejudice Jane Austen constructed Pride & Prejudice, with wit, social precision and an irresistible heroine. Beginning with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, it is a perfect ironic novel of manners. Persuasion Jane Austen's question 'What is persuasion?' - a firm belief, or the action of persuading someone to think something else? - is the force behind this novel. Anne Elliot, one of Austen's quietest yet strongest heroines, is also open to change. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte's poor, plain, but plucky heroine, possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte's tale is a wild, passionate story of intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and the adopted foundling Heathcliff. Humiliated by Hindley, Catherine's brother, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights, but in time he returns to exact a terrible revenge. Tess of the d'Urbervill

' This is the most astonishing piece of writing, lyrical in itsemotion and spare in its construction ...Toibin has crafted anunmissable read' - "Sunday Herald". In Blackwater in the early1990s, three women - Dora Devereux, her daughter Lily and hergranddaughter Helen - have come together after years of strife andreached an uneasy truce. Helen's adored brother Declan is dying.Two friends join him and the women in a crumbling old house by thesea, where the six of them, from different generations and withdifferent beliefs, must listen and come to terms with oneanother.'It is in his emotional choreography that Toibin showshimself to be an exceptional writer. Helen is estranged from bothher mother and grandmother ...Toibin helps them make peace - and hedoes it beautifully' - "Sunday Telegraph". 'He writes in spare,powerful prose and he is truly perceptive about familyrelationships which, at times, makes reading his stories incrediblypainful. But this is a beautiful novel' - "Belfast News". 'We shallbe readin

Née en 1967 au Japon, Amélie Nothomb est l'auteur de plusieursautres romans dont Hygiène de l'assassin (1992), Les Catilinaires(1995), Stupeur et tremblements (Grand Prix du roman de l'Académiefran?aise 1999 et Grand Prix des lecteurs du Livre de Poche 2001).Amélie Nothomb conna?t une constance dans le succès qui est en soiun phénomène rare : quinze livres, quinze best-sellers. Célèbrequoique discrète, elle est indiscutablement l'auteur le pluspopulaire de sa génération.

Hailed as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, TheValleys of the Assassins firmly established Freya Stark as oneof her generation's most intrepid explorers. The book chroniclesher travels into Luristan, the mountainous terrain nestled betweenIraq and present-day Iran, often with only a single guide and on ashoestring budget. Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic peoples who inhabit theregion's valleys and brings to life the stories of the ancientkingdoms of the Middle East, including that of the Lords of Alamut,a band of hashish-eating terrorists whose stronghold in the ElburzMountains Stark was the first to document for the RoyalGeographical Society. Her account is at once a highly readabletravel narrative and a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait of apeople told from their own compelling point of view. This edition includes a new Introduction by Jane FletcherGeniesse, Stark's biographer.

Ken Follett has 90 million readers worldwide. The Pillars of theEarth is his bestselling book of all time. Now, eighteen yearsafter the publication of The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett haswritten the most-anticipated sequel of the year, World WithoutEnd. In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillarsof the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century Englandcentered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds oflives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you,fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readerseverywhere hoped for a sequel. World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, twocenturies after the townspeople finished building the exquisiteGothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth.The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web oflove and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but thissequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of anextraordinary cast of charact

Seventeen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller's life was turnedupside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from NewYork City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, sheremains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interestif she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, aformer concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in thebeach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become thecenterpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is anunforgettable story about love in its myriad forms - first love,the love between parents and children - that demonstrates, as onlya Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply feltrelationships can break our hearts ...and heal them.

Captain Gault has decided that his family must leave Lahardane. They are after all Protestants living in the big house in rural Cork, and the country is in turmoil. It is 1921. But 8-year-old Lucy can't bear to leave the seashore, the old house, the woods - so she hatches a plan. It is then that the calamity happens - an accident almost, but so vicious in its consequences that it blights the lives of the Gaults for years to come. Trevor's new novel beautifully evokes rural Ireland and the tensions existing there, but also is Hardy-like in its portrayal of the impact of mere chance on a life.

The second book in Robert Jordan's internationally bestsellingepic fantasy series, THE WHEEL OF TIME, now reissued with astunning new cover design. The Forsaken are loose, the Horn ofValere has been found and the Dead are rising from their dreamlesssleep. The Prophecies are being fulfilled - but Rand al' Thor, theshepherd the Aes Sedai have proclaimed as the Dragon Reborn,desperately seeks to escape his destiny. Rand cannot run forever.With every passing day the Dark One grows in strength and strivesto shatter his ancient prison, to break the Wheel, to bring an endto Time and sunder the weave of the Pattern. And the Patterndemands the Dragon. Look out for more information on this title andothers at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief... or will it? The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and d

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is ...but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans and he's never around during the day ...Yep, Bill's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim ...

Originally subtitled "An Adventurous Education, 1935-1946",this book is a key volume in Kerouac's lifework, the series ofautobiographical novels he referred to as The Legend of Duluoz. Awonderfully unassuming look back at the origins of his career--aprehistory of the Beat era, written from the perspective of thepsychedelic '60s.

When successful young Manhattan attorney Emily Haxby ends her happy relationship, just as her boyfriend is on the verge of proposing, she can’t explain to even her closest friends why she did it. As Emily contemplates whether she made a huge mistake, the rest of her world begins to unravel: she is assigned to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit where she must defend the very values she detests by a boss who can’t keep his hands to himself; her grandfather, a feisty octogenarian and the person she cares most about, is losing it, while her emotionally distant father has left her to cope with this alone; and her fading memories of her deceased mother continue to remind her that love doesn’t last forever. How this brave young heroine finally decides to take control of her life and face the fears that have long haunted her ,is the great achievement of Julie Buxbaum’s marvelous first novel. Written with the authority, grace, and wisdom of an author far beyond her years, The Opposite of Love heralds the debu

It's winter break at St Vladimir's, and a massive Strigoi vampire attack has put the school on high alert. This year's trip away from the academy to the wintery peaks of Idaho has suddenly become mandatory. But Rose's troubles seem to follow her wherever she goes - dealing with the pain of knowing that her relationship with her tutor Dimitri can never be, things get even more complicated when one of her closest friends admits his feelings for her. The glittering winter landscape may create the illusion of safety but Rose - and her heart - are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...

Karen Wynn Fonstad's THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essentialvolume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitiveguide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in theElder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo,Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Authentic and updated --nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised-- the atlas illuminates the enchanted world created in THESILMARILLION, THE HOBBIT, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Hundreds oftwo-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principalcharacters day by day -- including all the battles and keylocations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans andde*ions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms aregiven, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation,languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughoutits history. An extensive appendix and an index help readerscorrelate the maps with Tolkien's novels.

Sookie's got just a month, before the next full moon, to find out who wants her brother dead - and to stop the fiend! Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her life, mostly. She's a great cocktail waitress in a fun bar; she has a love life, albeit a bit complicated, and most people have come to terms with her telepathy. The problem is, Sookie wants a quiet life - but things just seem to happen to her and her friends. Now her brother Jason's eyes are starting to change: he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. She can deal with that, but her normal sisterly concern turns to cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population. She afraid not just because Jason's at risk, but because his new were-brethren suspect Jason may be the shooter. Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks - unless the killer decides to find her first. The Sookie Stackhouse books are delightful Southern Gothic supernatural mysteries, starring Sookie, the telepathic cocktail

La mer abrite des millions de poissons, mais le vieux pêcheurn'a rien pris depuis quatre-vingt-cinq jours. Elle s'étend àl'infini, les c?tes cubaines s'éloignent inexorablement, etpourtant, il s'agit d'un roman de l'enfermement. Le Vieil Hommeet la mer , durant trois jours entiers, se retrouvent face àface. Rare élément féminin dans ce récit qui oppose deux volontésviriles et où la douceur maternelle provient d'un gamin, la mer estle lieu du lien. Lien entre le vieil homme et l'espadon, entre lepêcheur et la vie, lien entre le retour et le départ, l'eau est unlieu de séjour transitoire entre la vie et la mort. A peine unpurgatoire, car l'on imagine mal cet homme à l'?me sublime avoircommis aucun péché, la mer fait surgir en lui des sentimentsd'amour profond, de respect pour la vie, mais aussi de manque et delassitude. Les expressions reviennent sans cesse, les images sontrécurrentes et la voix parle à l'esprit dont elle émane. Lespoissons volent, comme mus par la tension incessante de l'

Drawing on her investigative and literary talents, JuliaKeller offers a riveting account of the invention of the world'sfirst working machine gun. Through her portrait of itsmisunderstood creator, Richard Jordan Gatling-who naively hopedthat the overwhelming effectiveness of a multiple-firing weaponwould save lives by decreasing the size of armies and reducing thenumber of soldiers needed to fight-Keller draws profound parallelsto the scientists who would unleash America's atomic arsenal half acentury later. The Gatling gun, in its combination of ingenuity,idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplifies the paradoxof America's rise in the nineteenth century to a worldsuperpower.

Tertuliano Maximo Afonso is a divorced, depressed historyteacher. To lift his spirits, a colleague suggests he rent acertain video. Tertuliano watches the film, unimpressed. But duringthe night, when he is awakened by noises in his apartment, he goesinto the living room to find that the VCR is replaying the video.He watches in astonishment as a man who looks exactly like him-or,more specifically, exactly like he did five years before,mustachioed and fuller in the face-appears on the screen. He sleepsbadly. Against his better judgment, Tertuliano decides to pursuehis double. As he roots out the man's identity, what begins as awhimsical story becomes a "wonderfully twisted meditation onidentity and individuality" (The Boston Globe). Saramago displayshis remarkable talent in this haunting tale of appearance versusreality.

Passionate and perceptive, the three short novels that make upBalzac's "History of the Thirteen" are concerned in part with theactivities of a rich, powerful, sinister and unscrupulous secretsociety in nineteenth-century France. While the deeds of "TheThirteen" remain frequently in the background, however, theindividual novels are concerned with exploring various forms ofdesire. A tragic love story, Ferragus depicts a marriage destroyedby suspicion, revelation and misunderstanding. The Duchess deLangeais explores the anguish that results when a society coquettetries to seduce a heroic ex-soldier, while "The Girl with theGolden Eyes" offers a frank consideration of desire and sexuality.Together, these works provide a firm and fascinating foundation forBalzac's many later portrayals of Parisian life in his greatnovel-cycle "The Human Comedy".

Offers a detailed, fact-filled examination of the AirborneTask Force, complete with exclusive photographs, illustrations,diagrams, and an extensive interview with the commander of the 18thAirborne Corps, General John Keen. Original."

The Second Edition of the Norton Critical Edition of Robinson Crusoe is based on the Shakespeare Head Press reprint of the first edition copy in the British Museum, with the "errata" listed by Defoe’s publisher, William Taylor, incorporated into Michael Shinagel has collated the reprint with all six authorized editions published by Taylor in 1719 to achieve a text that is faithful to Defo’ís original edition. Annotations assist the reader with obscure words and idioms, biblical references, and nautical terms. "Contexts" helps the reader understand the novel’s historical and religious significance. Included are four contemporary accounts of marooned men, Defoe’s autobiographical passages on the novel’s allegorical foundation, and aspects of the Puritan emblematic tradition essential for understanding the novel’s religious aspects. "Eighteenth-and Nineteenth-Century Opinions" is a comprehensive study of early estimations by prominent literary and political figures, including Alexa

Elena Gilbert is once again at the centre of magic and dangerbeyond her imagining. And once more, Stefan isn't there to help!Elena is forced to trust her life to Damon, the handsome but deadlyvampire who wants Elena, body and soul. They must journey to theslums of the Dark Dimension, a world where vampires and demons roamfree, but humans must live as slaves of their supernatural masters.Damon's brother, the brooding vampire Stefan whom Elena loves, isimprisoned here, and Elena can only free him by finding the twohidden halves of the key to his cell. Meanwhile, the tensionbetween Elena and Damon mounts until Elena is faced with a terribledecision: which brother does she really want to be with? The drama,danger and star-crossed love that fills each Vampire Diaries bookis in full effect here, with Elena Gilbert once again filled withsupernatural powers.