De la amplia obra de Stefan Zweig, celebrada por generaciones de lectores alrededor del mundo, quizá sus biografías son las que mejor dan muestra de la destreza del escritor para el retrato, de su agudeza psicológica y de la profunda comprensión del alma humana.

V13: viernes 13 de noviembre de 2015. En tres puntos diferentes de París se producen atentados yihadistas. El más grave es el de la sala Bataclan, donde están actuando los Eagles of Death Metal. El resultado de los ataques en el corazón de Francia es de ciento treinta muertos y más de cuatrocientos heridos. Años después, durante nueve meses –entre septiembre de 2021 y junio de 2022–, se celebra el juicio en el Palacio de Justicia de la capital. Hay catorce acusados: el principal es el único superviviente de entre los terroristas de Estado Islámico que participaron en la masacre.

Schopenhauer escribió El arte de tener razón (o Dialéctica erística) para sistematizar «las astucias, ardides y bajezas» que empleamos cuando discutimos con la única finalidad de hacer prevalecer nuestras ideas. En la época en que Hegel señalaba la dialéctica como el único camino para alcanzar la culminación del Espíritu, Schopenhauer, su irreductible antagonista, la entendía como el florete a blandir en el particular combate de esgrima que es cualquier discusión.

Por primera vez, William Faulkner introduce el monólogo interior y revela los diferentes puntos de vista de sus personajes: Benjy, deficiente mental, castrado por sus propios parientes; Quentin, poseído por un amor incestuoso e incapaz de controlar los celos, y Jason, monstruo de maldad y sadismo.

Dios y Mefisófeles discuten sobre la valía del humano favorito del Todopoderoso, Fausto, un hombre que se ha propuesto aprender todo lo que puede ser conocido. Finalmente, Dios y el diablo hacen una apuesta: ¿Mefistófeles será capaz de desviar a Fausto del camino del bien?

Esta es la historia de Hans Castorp, un joven y modesto ingeniero que llega a un sanatorio ubicado en los Alpes suizos para visitar a su primo. La estancia que preveía corta se dilata en el tiempo y acaba formando parte de esta nueva forma de vida en la que se relativiza el transcurso del tiempo. Sentado en el balcón del sanatorio y envuelto en una manta, Hans reflexiona acerca de la vida, la muerte y el amor. El resultado es una de las grandes obras maestras de la literatura universal.

EL LIBRO QUE CELEBRA LA ENTRADA DEL PREMIO NOBEL MARIO VARGAS LLOSA EN LA ACADEMIA FRANCESA.

El 16 de julio de 1945, en el desierto de Nuevo México, se detonaba en secreto la primera bomba atómica. Impactado por el poder destructivo de su creación, J. Robert Oppenheimer, director del Proyecto Manhattan, se comprometería desde entonces a luchar contra el desarrollo de la bomba de hidrógeno y contra la guerra nuclear.

Oskar Matzerath, uno de los personajes literarios más entrañables de nuestro tiempo, es un niño que se resiste a crecer porque la sociedad pequeñoburguesa del nazismo no le gusta. También es un malévolo enano que destroza cristales; un ser vulnerable, enamorado siempre de alguna mujer a la que idealiza; un superdotado obsesionado por el sexo; un ser de pestañas negras y bellas manos y un repulsivo jorobado; un asesino por encima de cualquier moralidad que no vacila en eliminar a quien lo molesta pero consigue crear con su tambor una música arrebatadora.

El ancho mundo narra las aventuras, desventuras, peripecias y secretos de los Pelletier, una familia propietaria de una fábrica de jabones en Beirut, ciudad bajo influencia francesa, con la Guerra de Indochina y el París de la posguerra y la reconstrucción como telón de fondo. Y todo con un toque de exotismo y varios asesinatos.

Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.

Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?

Life’s not going well for forty-year-old Abby. When her beautiful and charismatic best friend dies suddenly, she’s left reeling. Hetty’s always been such a dominant force in her life; now Abby must figure out who she is – and who she wants to be – without Hetty by her side. Abby has always been the odd one out in Hetty’s wealthy, privileged friendship group. Despite their differences, Abby has managed to carve out a place for herself. But Hetty isn’t an easy friend to have. She blows hot and cold, alternating between fierce loyalty and unwarranted cruelty.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.

Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car - strange for a frigid night. Her World War I veteran husband and her daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.

Every year, Caroline Reed takes a trip with her best friend, Esme Lamont. They’re usually accompanied by their spouses - but this year, everything’s changed. Esme has just gone through a bitter divorce, and Caroline's wondering if her own marriage is reaching its breaking point as she and her husband, John, cope with the discovery that their son has been abusing drugs. Still, the inseparable duo books a weeklong stay at a beach-front home in Shoreham, Florida, inviting Esme’s brother, Nick, and his new husband. After a blissful first night in the vacation home, tragedy strikes.