European Literature

À la fin de la guerre fédérale des États-Unis, les fanatiques artilleurs du Gun-Club (Club-Canon) de Baltimore sont bien désœuvrés. Un beau jour, le président, Impey Barbicane, leur fait une proposition qui, le premier moment de stupeur passé, est accueillie avec un enthousiasme délirant. Il s'agit de se mettre en communication avec la Lune en lui envoyant un boulet, un énorme projectile qui serait lancé par un gigantesque canon !

À dire vrai il n'est pas question de Pékin dans ce roman, et d'automne guère plus - mais seulement d'un homme qui, ayant raté son autobus, se retrouve à construire des voies de chemin de fer en plein désert. Ils seront d'ailleurs plusieurs, bientôt, à s'en mêler : archéologue, médecin, abbé... chacun venu là pour des raisons qui restent à élucider mais avec une vision des choses bien précise, des rêves et des désirs bien singuliers. Flirtant avec l'absurde de façon aussi drôle que poignante, ce roman est enchanté par la lecture magistrale de Denis Lavant.

"Lorsque Irène, sortant de l'appartement de son amant, descendit l'escalier, de nouveau une peur subite et irraisonnée s'empara d'elle. Une toupie noire tournoya devant ses yeux, ses genoux s'ankylosèrent et elle fut obligée de vite se cramponner à la rampe pour ne pas tomber brusquement la tête en avant... Quand elle s'en retournait chez elle, un nouveau frisson mystérieux la parcourait auquel se mêlaient confusément le remords de sa faute et la folle crainte que dans la rue n'importe qui pût lire sur son visage d'où elle venait et répondre à son trouble par un sourire insolent."

Conrad, the Corsair, is the chieftain of a pirate band, and plans to attack the Pacha, Seyd, and seize his possessions. Conrad's wife, Medora, prevails upon her husband to abandon his plan and remain at home. Confident in his plan and assured of his safe return, Conrad and his pirate crew set sail for the Pacha's island.

C'est le premier portrait de femme profondément destructrice, rancunière et laide que Balzac ait produit. Elle se voit apparentée à un animal malfaisant : "ses sourcils épais réunis par un bouquet, sa face longue et simiesque laissent deviner derrière la paysanne des Vosges un caractère de sauvage". Et c'est bien d'une sauvage dont il s'agit. La cousine est animée d'une rage et d'une passion impuissante. Telle une araignée tissant sa toile, elle gaspille une énergie folle à nuire sans recueillir les fruits de ses intrigues, pourtant patiemment élaborées.

Since the tragic loss of her parents, Enid has lived alone in a coastal cottage in Jersey. But this year someone new has come into her life: Fred, who truly gets her, and who knows how to make her happy. The only problem is that Enid has Asperger’s and doesn’t like to leave her comfort zone - and Fred lives in Australia. Like Enid, Fred has survived heartbreak and is searching for a way to start again. Could a stranger on the other side of the world really bring new meaning to his life, or is he just setting himself up for another fall?

Por supuesto que alguien puede vivir en 445 m2, y seguro que conoces a mucha gente así. Personas que se desplazan por una celda sin estar presas; que se levantan cada día sabiendo que todo va a ser igual que ayer, igual que mañana; personas que a pesar de estar vivas se sienten muertas.

1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame - and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life. 2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss - the hope, the trust, the joy - Bess knows it is time to face her own demons.

Theodora: Actress, prostitute, mistress, feminist. And Byzantine Empress of the civilized world. Stephen: Handsome Syrian boy, wizard's apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress. How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography? From a very young age, Theodora, daughter of a circus bearkeeper in Constantinople, sets her sights well above her station in life. Her exquisite beauty sets her apart on stages and in the eyes of men.

Der Zauberer und der König der Vorleser. Gert Westphal ist eine Legende: Die wohlklingende, modulationsreiche Stimme, sein untrügliches Gespür für Rhythmus, die souveränen Tempo- und Rollenwechsel, die kräftigen Dialektfarben - nicht umsonst hat die ZEIT ihn zum "König der Vorleser" gekürt. Besonders berühmt wurden seine Rezitationen Thomas Manns, dessen "oberster Mund" (Katja Mann) er war. In dieser Edition kann man wieder und wieder dessen großen Erzählungen und Romanen lauschen.

Hace diez años, la reconocida revista literaria inglesa Granta hizo una selección de los 22 mejores novelistas jóvenes en español y publicó sus obras en una colección especial, destacando a toda una generación emergente de escritores y sirviendo como una importante herramienta para promover el talento. La edición española de Granta lanzó su primera lista de los mejores escritores jóvenes en lengua española en 2010 con una repercusión internacional muy amplia.

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce. Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

At thirty-three, nurse Heather is desperately waiting for her romantic life to begin. Then she meets handsome, strong Anthony and is sure she’s found the one. Brushing any doubts aside, she projects all her hopes for true love onto him. Meanwhile, at a yoga retreat in Spain, happy-go-lucky Joe can’t believe his luck when he meets vivacious, witty Amy. She’s the sharpest, most beautiful woman he has ever dated, and the fact that she’s interested in him feels like a dream come true.

Pietro Paladini è un uomo apparentemente realizzato, con un ottimo lavoro, una donna che lo ama, una figlia di dieci anni. Ma un giorno, mentre salva la vita a una sconosciuta, accade l'imprevedibile, la sua compagna di sempre muore all'improvviso, e tutto cambia. Pietro si rifugia nella sua auto, parcheggiata davanti alla scuola della figlia. Abitato da una sorprendente calma, osserva il mondo dal punto in cui s'è inchiodato, e diventa suo malgrado un punto di riferimento per familiari, amici e colleghi che accorrono da lui per rovesciargli addosso le proprie ansie...

"Beyond" (1917) is a romance novel by John Galsworthy. Excerpt from the book: "On this grey February day he wore no overcoat; faithful to the absolute, almost shamefaced quietness of that wedding, he had not even donned black coat and silk hat, but wore a blue suit and a hard black felt. The instinct of a soldier and hunting man to exhibit no sign whatever of emotion did not desert him this dark day of his life.

At the height of its power, the elven court of Queen Emerelle relishes in the joyful, wintry Festival of Light. Yet, as tribes gather to reaffirm their loyalty to the queen, treachery festers within the nobility. An assassination attempt leaves Emerelle severely injured and plunges the realm back into the throes of an ancient war. While an army of trolls ravages the kingdom, the elves seek aid from Alfadas, the human hero who was raised among them. Back in the land of men, Alfadas has settled into a quiet life as his village's protector.

Den amerikanske præsident udsættes for et kupforsøg, da han besøger en hemmelig base i Utah. En lille gruppe marinesoldater, der er med som præsidentens sikkerhedsstyrke, må tage kampen op mod overmagten, for at forsvare præsidenten.

Theodora Goss's first major short story collection showcases such stories as "The Rose in Twelve Petals," "The Rapid Advance of Sorrow," "Lily, With Clouds," "In the Forest of Forgetting," "Sleeping With Bears," and many more.

Jacobo y Wilhelm Grimm, dos estudiosos alemanes, dedicaron buena parte de su vida a recopilar cuentos y leyendas tradicionales, y esa inmensa coleccion ha sido imitada por muchos otros escritores, y asi dejaron bases para una literatura infantil que, sin embargo, atrae igualmente a los mayores, puesto que los cuentos tienen interes argumental y estan narrados con conocimiento. Algunos de los personajes, como Caperucita, Blanca Nieves y la Cenicienta, son vivos retratos de lo que puede pasar en la vida real.

Noora Nieminen was destined to become a world champion. But when the sixteen-year-old skating sensation is found slain with her own skates, her promising career is unexpectedly cut short. Detective Maria Kallio is seven months pregnant, but that isn't going to stop her from putting everything she has into solving the murder. With a promotion on the line and her arrogant adversary, Pertti Ström, vying for the new job, Maria is determined to make an arrest.