Family Life Classics

Pressato dagli editori, Fëdor Dostoevskij scrisse "Il giocatore" in poche settimane 'per necessità'...

Aged 13, Joan Ashby drew up a list of How to Become a Successful Writer: 1. Do not waste time. 2. Ignore Eleanor Ashby* when she tells me I need friends [*J. A.'s mother]. 3. Read great literature every day. 4. Write every day. 5. Rewrite every day. 6. Avoid crushes and love. 7. Do not entertain any offer of marriage. 8. Never ever have children. 9. Never allow anyone to get in my way.

Ethan Frome (1911), relata la vida de un hombre rodeado de condiciones adversas que demuestran su amargo destino. Él se convierte en un fantasma viviente que deambula su pena por el pueblo de Starkfield. Ethan se encuentra atrapado en un matrimonio sin amor y resignado a su aciaga existencia, hasta la llegada de la prima de su esposa, Mattie Silver, a quien comienza a amar en silencio. En 1993 se realizó una adaptación cinematográfica con el mismo título, protagonizada por el actor Liam Neeson.

Two families. Two faces of America. An act of violence with far-reaching consequences. Gus Voorhees is a pioneer in the advancement of women's reproductive rights and a controversial abortion provider in the American Midwest. One morning as he arrives at his clinic, he is ambushed by a hardline Christian, Luther Dunphy, and shot dead. The killing leaves in its wake two fatherless families: the Voorheeses, who are affluent, highly educated, secular and pro-choice, and the Dunphys, their opposite on all counts.

Vor dem Hintergrund des aufkommenden Faschismus in Italien entfaltet Franz Werfel die Familiengeschichte eines Witwers mit 6 Kindern. Die Diktatur des "pater familias" altrömischer Schule lässt den Kindern kaum die Luft zum Atmen. Doch das Schicksal erbarmt sich. Die dramatischen Ereignisse überschlagen sich und bringen den Patriarchen durch schwere Schicksalsschläge zu später Einsicht. Neapolitanisches Lokalkolorit und liebevoll gezeichnete Charaktere machen diesen Roman, bei dem auch eine Prise Humor nicht fehlt, zu einem ungetrübten Hörvergnügen.

Ta niewielkich rozmiarów powieść Dostojewskiego, przenosi nas do fikcyjnego Ruletenberga, w którym ważą się losy arystokratycznej rodziny i osób z nią związanych. Wszyscy grają: sami ze sobą, z najbliższymi, z losem; grają pasjami, zatracając się całkowicie. Nawet stareńka "la baboulinka", 75-letnia Antonida Wasiliewna, która – mogłoby się wydawać – bezbłędnie demaskuje zakłamanie bliskich i ukazuje ich prawdziwe motywy, sama daje się porwać emocjom gry w kasynie przegrywając pieniądze przeznaczone na remont cerkwi. Autor z niezwykłą precyzją opisuje wir uczuć, w jaki wpadają hazardziści.

With an introduction by the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James. Oreo has been raised by her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia. Her black mother tours with a theatrical troupe, and her Jewish deadbeat dad disappeared when she was an infant, leaving behind a mysterious note. Oreo’s quest is to find her father and discover the secret of her birth. What ensues in Fran Ross' opus is a playful, modernised parody of the classical odyssey of Theseus with a feminist twist, immersed in '70s pop culture and mixing standard English, black vernacular and Yiddish with wisecracking aplomb.

This delightful true story, written in the first person by the spouse of the title character, will have readers reliving their own pasts. Baby boomers will surely savor references to the pop culture, history, and politics of their collective youth as they get caught up in the personal lives of the author and his spouse. In an afternoon you will learn how a speeding ticket and an interest in four-part a cappella harmony intersected with the Cold War to start the protagonists on the road to holy matrimony.

Zauberhaft und geheimnisvoll ist Astrid Lindgrens Märchenwelt. Petra und Peter, zwei Kinder so groß wie Puppen, tauchen plötzlich in der Schule auf...

Set at the outbreak of World War II, Lady Sophia Garfield dreams of becoming a beautiful spy but manages not to notice a nest of German agents right under her nose. Until the murder of her maid and the kidnapping of her beloved bulldog force them on her attention, with heroic and absurd results. One of Mitford's earliest novels and written before Christmas 1939, Pigeon Pie is delivered with a touch lighter than that of her later masterpieces but no less entertaining. This comedy combines glamour, wit and a fiendishly absurd plot into an irresistible literary confection.

Blanche, lady Chester, una joven bella, recién casada y embarazada, y también un poco engreída, se traslada a regañadientes junto con su hermana Aileen a una casa adosada de las afueras mientras su marido, Charles, se encuentra de misión diplomática en Berlín. Al llegar, descubre horrorizada que sus vecinos, los que ocupan la casa adosada a la suya, son de una clase social inferior a la suya.

When Jada Jinks finds a box of magic tricks in her granny’s flat, she uncovers her granny’s secret dream of becoming a magician. Jada soon decides that she’s going to help Granny Jinks fulfil her dreams, but one thing stands in her way - her dad, Jonny Jinks, who hates magic! Will Jada be able to help Granny Jinks pass the auditions for Dalton Green Magic Society, and will she learn some tricks of her own along the way?

Michail Saltykov, (1826-1889) nacque in uno sperduto villaggio russo, sesto di sette figli, figlio di un tipico nobile di provincia, proprietario di terre che lasciava amministrare alla moglie, di venticinque anni più giovane di lui, figlia di mercanti, avarissima, ignorante e spietata fustigatrice dei figli, che Michail odiò per tutta la vita e che rappresenterà nel suo capolavoro, «La famiglia Golovlev», nella figura della madre.

Il testo integrale del romanzo reso celeberrimo dall’adattamento a cartoni animati avvenuto nel 1974 ll romanzo fu in realtà pubblicato nel 1880 ed è ambientato fra la Svizzera e la Germania intorno alla fine dell'Ottocento. La storia racconta di come Heidi, una bambina di cinque anni, orfana e priva di qualsiasi istruzione, venga allevata sulle montagne svizzere, e sia poi costretta a confrontarsi con una realtà cittadina, che, pur nella sofferenza, le darà il dono di apprendere la lettura e di credere in Dio.

Seventeen years after falling from a stolen car into a remote northern town, Billie Jean Fontaine is still an outsider. She may follow the stifling rules of this odd place, but no one will forget that she came from elsewhere. When Billie Jean vanishes one cold October night in her bare feet and track suit with only her truck keys, those closest to her begin a frantic search. Her daughter, Pony, a girl struggling against being a teen in the middle of nowhere; her killer dog to whom she cannot tell a lie; her husband, The Heavy, a man haunted by his past; and more....

When Lilia, an English widow, marries a penniless Italian while on vacation, her dead husband's relatives are not amused. That the marriage should fail and Lilia die tragically are to be expected. But that she should have a baby, and that the baby should be raised Italian, of all things, are matters requiring immediate correction. E.M. Forster's first novel addresses cultural collisions and English middle-class sterility.

Pubblicato a Zurigo nel 1880, Heidi è un tipico romanzo di formazione la cui protagonista, rimasta orfana in tenera età, viene affidata da una zia alle cure del nonno paterno, il burbero e misantropo Zio dell'Alpe che si è ritirato a vivere in una baita alpina. Tra le alpi svizzere la bambina cresce libera e spensierata fino al giorno in cui la zia viene a riprenderla per affidarla ad una ricca famiglia di Francoforte la cui figlia, Clara, è immobilizzata su di una sedia a rotelle. Le bambine diventano subito molto amiche.

Um die Gerüchte zu verdrängen, dass seine geliebte Tochter Klara in der fernen Stadt auf die schiefe Bahn geraten sei, erfindet Jan Andersson eine wahnhafte Scheinwelt: Dort ist die Tochter eine Kaiserin, er selbst der "Kaiser von Portugallien". Als Klara nach fünfzehn Jahren in die Heimat zurückkehrt, erträgt sie ihren geisteskranken Vater nicht – ein Familiendrama beginnt. Es sind Romane wie dieser, mit denen Selma Lagerlöf berühmt wurde. 1909 erhielt sie als erste Frau den Literaturnobelpreis.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar knows how special grandpas are, and this celebratory audiobook is the perfect way to honor them. Give the gift of love and show Grandpa how much you care with sweet sentiments from Eric Carle.

"Out on the islands that poke their rocky shores above the waters of Penobscot Bay, you can watch the time of the world go by, from minute to minute, hour to hour, from day to day..." So begins this classic story of one summer on a Maine island from the author of One Morning in Maine and Blueberries for Sal. The spell of rain, the gulls and a foggy morning, the excitement of sailing, the quiet of the night, the sudden terror of a hurricane, and, in the end, the peace of the island as the family packs up to leave are shown in McClosky's poetic language brought to life.