Pădurea spânzuraţilor is a profound exploration of the psychological and moral dilemmas faced by individuals during the tumultuous times of World War I. Authored by Liviu Rebreanu, this novel delves into the tragic condition of the Transylvanian intellectual forced to fight under a foreign flag against his own people.
The narrative is a realistic and objective portrayal of the war, emphasizing the internal conflicts and national identity crises experienced by the characters. The novel is often described as a "monograph of harrowing uncertainty", capturing the essence of the human psyche caught in the throes of war.
Rebreanu is celebrated as an analyst of consciousness, skillfully depicting the chaos of thoughts and tyrannical obsessions that plague individuals. The book is a testament to the enduring spirit of those who listen to the call of blood and choose to stand by their own.
It was an icy morning in January 1945 when the patrol came for seventeen-year-old Leo Auberg to deport him to a camp in the Soviet Union. Leo would spend the next five years in a coke processing plant, shoveling coal, lugging bricks, mixing mortar, and battling the relentless calculus of hunger that governed the labor colony: one shovel load of coal is worth one gram of bread.
In her novel, Nobel laureate Herta Müller calls upon her unique combination of poetic intensity and dispassionate precision to conjure the distorted world of the labor camp in all its physical and moral absurdity. She has given Leo the language to express the inexpressible, as hunger sharpens his senses into an acuity that is both hallucinatory and profound.
In scene after disorienting scene, the most ordinary objects accrue tender poignancy as they acquire new purpose—a gramophone box serves as a suitcase, a handkerchief becomes a talisman, an enormous piece of casing pipe functions as a lovers' trysting place. The heart is reduced to a pump, the breath mechanized to the rhythm of a swinging shovel, and coal, sand, and snow have a will of their own.
Hunger becomes an insatiable angel who haunts the camp day and night, but also a bare-knuckled sparring partner, delivering blows that keep Leo feeling the rawest connection to life. Müller has distilled Leo's struggle into words of breathtaking intensity that take us on a journey far beyond the Gulag and into the depths of one man's soul.
Nearing her one-hundredth birthday, Roseanne McNulty faces an uncertain future, as the Roscommon Regional Mental hospital where she's spent the best part of her adult life prepares for closure. Over the weeks leading up to this upheaval, she talks often with her psychiatrist Dr. Grene, and their relationship intensifies and complicates.
Told through their respective journals, the story that emerges is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne's story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland's changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance, and yet marked still by love and passion and hope.
Beauty's Punishment is the delicious and erotically charged sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, from the author of Beauty's Kingdom. This sequel continues the explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire.
Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village," as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard.
Once again, Rice's tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal and well-hidden desires of the human heart.
The Voyage Out is Virginia Woolf's first novel, offering a haunting exploration of a young woman's mind. Join Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose and their niece, Rachel, on a sea journey from London to the South American coast. This is not just any voyage; it is a voyage into the depths of the soul, capturing the mysteries and complexities of the inner life.
Rachel Vinrace, a young girl innocent and wholly ignorant of the world of politics, society, books, sex, love, and marriage, embarks on this journey. She encounters Terence Hewet, an aspiring writer, and her greatest discovery will be her own self.
Woolf began work on The Voyage Out by 1910 and completed it by 1912. The novel had a long and difficult gestation and was finally published in 1915. The resultant work contained the seeds of all that would blossom in her later work: the innovative narrative style, the focus on feminine consciousness, sexuality, and death.
"Appointment in Samarra" is a profound exploration of small-town life and the unraveling of a man's existence over the course of just 72 hours around Christmas. Julian English is a man who squanders what fate gave him. He lives on the right side of the tracks, with a country club membership and a wife who loves him.
His decline and fall is a matter of too much spending, too much liquor, and a couple of reckless gestures. This story is powerful because his calamity is both petty and preventable. Unlike Faulkner's Olympus-like tragedies, in O'Hara, they could be happening to you.
Brimming with wealth and privilege, jealousy and infidelity, O’Hara’s iconic first novel is an unflinching look at the dark side of the American dream—and a lasting testament to the keen social intelligence of a major American writer.
First U.S. Publication
A major literary event—the complete, uncensored journals of Sylvia Plath, published in their entirety for the first time. Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in a heavily abridged version authorized by Plath's husband, Ted Hughes. This new edition is an exact and complete transcription of the diaries Plath kept during the last twelve years of her life.
Sixty percent of the book is material that has never before been made public, more fully revealing the intensity of the poet's personal and literary struggles, and providing fresh insight into both her frequent desperation and the bravery with which she faced down her demons.
The complete Journals of Sylvia Plath is essential reading for all who have been moved and fascinated by Plath's life and work.
In the Country of Last Things is a gripping dystopian epistolary novel by Paul Auster. The story unfolds through a letter written by a young woman named Anna Blume to a childhood friend. Anna ventures into an unnamed city that has descended into chaos and disorder.
In this bleak environment, no industry thrives, and most of the population survives by collecting garbage or scavenging for objects to resell. The city governments are unstable, focusing only on collecting human waste and corpses for fuel. Amidst this turmoil, Anna searches for her brother William, a journalist, suggesting that the Blumes hail from an eastern world that has not yet collapsed.
Auster explores themes of the modern city, the mysteries of storytelling, and the elusive and unstable nature of truth. This novel is a tense, psychological take on the dystopian genre, echoing some of our darker societal legacies.
Letter to His Father is a profound piece of writing by the iconic author Franz Kafka. In this autobiographical letter, Kafka delves into the complex and often tumultuous relationship he had with his father.
Written with intense emotion and unflinching honesty, Kafka's letter provides deep insights into his psyche and the familial dynamics that shaped his life.
This edition offers a bilingual format, presenting the text in both German and English, making it a valuable resource for readers interested in linguistic nuances and cultural context.
Explore the psychological depth and historical significance of Kafka's reflections in this compelling work.
It is the winter of 1945, the last dark days of World War II in occupied Holland. A Nazi collaborator, infamous for his cruelty, is assassinated as he rides home on his bicycle. The Germans retaliate by burning down the home of an innocent family; only twelve-year-old Anton survives.
Based on actual events, The Assault traces the complex repercussions of this horrific incident on Anton’s life. Determined to forget, he opts for a carefully normal existence: a prudent marriage, a successful career, and colorless passivity. But the past keeps breaking through, in relentless memories and in chance encounters with others who were involved in the assassination and its aftermath, until Anton finally learns what really happened that night in 1945—and why.
The Thin Red Line is James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal. This gripping narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company, including commanding officer Capt. James Stein, his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh, and the young privates they send into battle.
The descriptions of combat conditions—and the mental states it induces—are unflinchingly realistic, painting a vivid picture of the chaos and brutality of war. This novel delves deep into the psychological impacts of combat and the nature of male identity in the face of such adversity.
More than just a classic of combat fiction, The Thin Red Line stands as one of the most significant explorations of identity and survival in American literature.
Najznačajniji roman hrvatskog pisca Vladana Desnice, koji je po samom autorovom priznanju nastajao punih dvadeset godina od 1936. do same objave romana 1957. godine.
Fabula romana prilično je jednostavna; riječ je o prisjećanjima glavnog lika Ivana Galeba, glazbenika, za vrijeme njegova boravka u bolnici između dva proljeća.
Riječ je o ispovjednoj prozi, psihoanalitičkoj autoanalizi gdje se iznosi čitav život glavnog junaka, od djetinstva do boravka u bolnici, sa svim proživljanjima koje jedan intelektualac doživljava i osjeća.