Literary Realism

Author Kevin Brockmeier counts the O. Henry Prize among the many accolades his speculative fiction has earned. In The Illumination he offers “an inspiring take on suffering and the often fleeting nature of connection” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review). When physical pain suddenly manifests itself as shining light, the wounded nature of humanity is revealed.

I've never been one to play by the rules. It's my world, my life and I do things my way. I see the way they stare at my body covered in tattoos and my lavender hair; I just don't give a damn. There is only one thing in this world that can get me fired up, that's screwing with my daughter. As a single mom, it's my job to protect her, fight for her. She is and will always be my top priority. So, when I get a call that she's in trouble at school, with a boy—no less, my claws are out and ready to strike. And the boy's father, some high society stockbroker, isn't about to deter me.

Ein unzufriedener Mann von dreißig Jahren, gerade ohne Arbeit und von seiner tüchtigen Frau zur Selbsterforschung ermutigt, so einer ist Murakamis Held Toru Okada in diesem schillernden Roman. Wenn er fliegen kann, dann eher wie ein Spielzeugvogel, von wer weiß wem aufgezogen. Vor diesem Herrn Aufziehvogel tun sich plötzlich Wirklichkeiten auf, von denen er bisher nichts ahnte. Erotische, ökonomische und politische.

“In villages where women bore most of the weight of a constricted life, witches flew by night on broomsticks,” said Italo Calvino of the way imagination bridges the gap between everyday existence and an idealized alternative. The 15 stories of Animal Wife are each about girls and women who cross this threshold seeking liberation from family responsibilities, from societal expectations, from their own minds.

Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend. But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray....

In a postapocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the colour of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different - special - she names her Onyesonwu, which means 'who fears death?' in an ancient language.

Magdalena has an unsettling gift. She sees writing on the body of everyone she meets - names, dates, details both banal and profound - and her only relief from the onslaught of information is to take off her glasses and let the world recede. Mercifully, her own skin is blank. When she meets Neil, she is intrigued to see her name on his cheek. He's in Paris for the summer, studying a medieval pilgrimage to the rocky coast of Spain, where the body of Saint Jacques was said to have washed ashore, covered in scallop shells.

One morning, Anders wakes to find that his skin has turned dark, his reflection a stranger to him. At first he tells only Oona, an old friend, newly a lover. Soon, reports of similar occurrences surface across the land. Some see in the transformations the long-dreaded overturning of an established order, to be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders's father and Oona's mother, a sense of profound loss wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance to see one another, face to face, anew.

Anthropologist Calliope Santiago awakens to find herself in a strange and sinister wasteland, a shadow of the New Mexico she knew. Empty vehicles litter the road. Everyone has disappeared - or almost everyone. Calliope, heavy-bellied with the twins she carries inside her, must make her way across this dangerous landscape with a group of fellow survivors in search of answers. Long-dead volcanoes erupt, the ground rattles and splits, and monsters come to ominous life. Calliope will be forced to reconcile the geological record with the heritage she once denied.

It’s the 1950s, and Lorrie is unimpressed when her family moves to the remote Scottish island where her grandad runs a whisky distillery. She befriends Sylvie, the shy girl next door: ‘The slightest smile from Sylvie was a fluffy elephant at the fair. It had to be won with a clear aim,’ writes Lorrie. Yet fun-loving Lorrie isn’t sure Sylvie’s is the friendship she wants to win.

Introducing "Evolving Perspectives," the ultimate eBook for literature enthusiasts and curious minds! Take a thrilling journey into the fascinating world of written works as we delve into a wide array of topics ranging from timeless masterpieces to contemporary literary innovations. Embark on a multidisciplinary adventure through 30 captivating chapters that explore the depths of various literary genres and techniques. Unleash the power of language as you learn about word choice, narrative styles, and how the cultural contexts provide a global perspective on literature. Dive into historical...

Helen and Rachel McCallister, who live in a town called Roam, are as different as sisters can be: Helen older, bitter, and conniving; Rachel beautiful, naïve - and blind. When their parents die an untimely death, Rachel has to rely on Helen for everything, but Helen embraces her role in all the wrong ways, convincing Rachel that the world is a dark and dangerous place she couldn’t possibly survive on her own... or so Helen believes until Rachel makes a surprising choice that turns both their worlds upside down.

Tornado et June sont deux chats nourris de poésie et de musique qui se sont mis à penser et se racontent, à tour de rôle. Ils vivent sur une péniche avec " Ceux-qui-se-croient-leurs-maîtres ". Depuis que ces derniers ont perdu un enfant après une fausse couche, ils peinent à se reconstruire. Et June abrite en son cœur le fantôme de Macha, cette petite fille qui aurait pu naître. Quand le récit commence, un autre drame menace. Tornado est malade et n’a peut-être plus que quelques jours à vivre.

“Is me - Bob. Bob Marley.” Reincarnated as homeless Fall-down man, Bob Marley sleeps in a clock tower built on the site of a lynching in Half Way Tree, Kingston. The ghosts of Marcus Garvey and King Edward VII are there too, drinking whiskey and playing solitaire. No one sees that Fall-down is Bob Marley, no one but his long-ago love, the deaf woman, Leenah, and, in the way of this otherworldly book, when Bob steps into the street each day, five years have passed.

30-year-old Bronwyn Artair, feeling out of place in her doctoral program in Atmospheric Sciences at MIT, drops out and takes a job as a TV meteorologist, much to the dismay of her mentor, Diane Fenwick. After a year of living alone in Southern New Hampshire, enduring the indignities of her job, dumped by her boyfriend, she discovers her deep connection to the natural world has given her an ability to affect natural forces. When she finally accepts she really possesses this startling capability, she must then negotiate a new relationship to the world. Who will she tell?

In Jos, Nigeria, Dareng Pamson is slowly winning back the trust of his pregnant wife after his infidelity shook their marriage. When a young Muslim woman comes in out of the rain looking for work in Dareng’s auto repair shop, Dareng cautiously agrees—against his better judgment. She’s passionate and willing to learn. Besides, it’s time he started doing things differently. After being back in her hometown for only a week, Murmula Denge finds who she’s looking for: Dareng, the Christian man whose coldhearted ambition and greed shattered her family.

With the warm embrace of New Orleans behind her, Mimi Daquin, a young, fair-skinned African American woman, moves to Atlanta with her father and stepmother. There, for the first time, Mimi is awakened both to the reality of racism in America and the relative privilege that her fair skin affords her. Amid segregation, racial tension, and escalating violence, Mimi chooses to pass as white—but that choice has costs of its own. And as she travels from Atlanta to Philadelphia to Harlem in search of a place to belong, her sense of self begins to break down.

Marisol vanished during the Cuban Revolution, disappearing with hardly a trace. Now, shaped by atrocities long-forgotten, her foul-mouthed spirit visits her nephew, Ramon, in modern-day New Jersey. Her hope: That her presence will prompt him to unearth their painful family history. Ramon launches a haphazard investigation into the story of his ancestor, unaware of the forces driving him on his search. Along the way, he falls in love, faces a run-in with a murderous gangster, and uncovers the lives of the lost saints who helped Marisol during her imprisonment.

Ayosa is a wandering spirit – joyous, exuberant, filled to the brim with longing. Her only companions in the Kenyan town she calls home are as lonely as Ayosa herself: the ghostly Fatumas, the sullen milkman and Sindano, the owner of a café that no one ever visits. But a curse hangs over the women in Ayosa's family, a curse which has blighted the life of her mother, Nabumbo Promise. When her new friend Mbui offers her an alternative life, one that would involve leaving Nabumbo Promise behind, Ayosa must decide how much she owes her fearsome, mercurial mama.

What if the remarkable story of Ebenezer Scrooge was true? What if the account was relayed to Dickens, and he turned it into A Christmas Carol? What if the ghostly visitations did not begin or end with Scrooge, but the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come visit one misanthropic soul in need of reclamation every Christmas Eve? This modern-day sequel to the Charles Dickens classic assumes all of the above. And this time, the spiritual trio’s attentions have been directed to a not-so-nice woman in Philadelphia.