b>b>Named a Best Book of the Year by The Times (UK) and the Los Angeles Public Library/b> br>br>Winner of the 2018 Goncourt Prize, this poignant coming-of-age tale captures the distinct feeling of summer in a region left behind by global progress./b>br>br>August 1992. One afternoon during a heatwave in a desolate valley somewhere in eastern France, with its dormant blast furnaces and its lake, fourteen-year-old Anthony and his cousin decide to steal a canoe to explore the famous nude beach across the water. The trip ultimately takes Anthony to his first love and a summer that will determine everything that happens afterward.br> br> Nicolas Mathieu conjures up a valley, an era, and the political journey of a young generation that has to forge its own path in a dying world. Four summers and four defining moments, from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to the 1998 World Cup, encapsulate the hectic lives of the inhabitants of a France far removed from the centers of globalization, torn between decency and rage.
An impressive coming-of-age novel and a gripping investigation into the life of a mysterious author. A prolific novel and a true ode to literature in the vein of Roberto Bolaños
A poignant, incisive meditation on Israels longstanding rejection of peace, and what the war on Gaza means for Zionism.
When apartheid in South Africa ended, dismantled by internal activism and global pressure, why did Israel continue to pursue its own apartheid policies against Palestinians? In keeping with a history of antagonism, the Jewish state established settlements in the Occupied Territories as extreme right-wing voices gained prominence in Israeli government, with comparatively little international backlash--in fact, these policies were boosted by the Oslo Accords.
Condensing this complex history into a lucid essay, Raja Shehadeh examines the many lost opportunities to promote a lasting peace and equality between Israelis and Palestinians. Since the creation of Israel in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe, each sides perception of events has strongly diverged. What can this discrepancy tell us about Israels undermining of a two-state solution? And will the current genocide in Gaza finally mark a shift in the worlds response?;
With graceful, haunting prose, Shehadeh offers insights into a defining conflict that could yet be ameliorated.
Given a second chance with an old love, a coolly detached archivist questions the life he could have had, and whether its not too late to live it.
A poignant, ingeniously constructed new novel from one of Europes most exciting writers ( Forty years ago--almost a lifetime--he confessed his love to a classmate and close friend, Franziska. Now, living in his late mothers house with the obsolete archive of the newspaper he once worked for, he looks back on days spent poring over files and clippings, increasingly withdrawn from the world. His occasional relationships never amounted to anything, and the memory of Franziska--who became pop singer Fabienne--continues to haunt him as she appears in the media.
When the two cross paths again, the possibility of a different life feels achingly real. But should he risk the comfort of his ordered existence for a romance that might never match what he imagined?
A subtle, mesmerizing portrait of late-blooming passion,
A breathtaking story of unfulfilled dreams, unexpected second chances, and love in a present-day France turning against itself, from the Goncourt Prize-winning author of
Hélène is approaching 40. Born in a small town in the east of France, she worked hard to leave it behind and achieve a life worthy of the glossy magazines she pored over as a teen. But now that she seemingly has it all-a husband and two daughters, a successful career, and a custom-designed house near Nancy-she feels unfulfilled, as though the years have passed her by.
Christophe just turned 40 and has never left his little corner of France, where he grew up with Hélène. No longer as handsome as he used to be, he's led an unassuming life, preferring to party with friends than to apply himself. These days, he's selling dog food, dreaming of playing hockey again like he did when he was 16, and living with his father and son-a quiet, indecisive existence, which could be seen as failure. And yet he fully believes that anything is still possible.
Through the story of how their two disparate lives intersect once more,
In 1980s South Korea, 20-something Jung Yoon is forced to re-live the most intense period of her life, including the death of her beloved mother, first love and friendship, when she receives a distressing phone call from her ex-boyfriend after eight years of separation. Original.
A brutal fable full of poetry, desire, and blood, where the naïveté of a young Haitian girl struggling against impossible odds collides with the unrelenting cruelty of the world.
"You will be alone in the great night." That's what Papa has always prophesied to her. Papa, who isn't her real father--he disappeared when she was born. Since then, her mother has been forced to walk the streets to provide for herself and her daughter, while Papa robs and murders for the local gang leader, to ensure his access to ganja and alcohol, but also for the sheer pleasure of it.
Often finding herself alone within the four walls of a hovel in a Haitian slum with corrugated iron for a roof, the young girl tirelessly tries to compose a letter that will capture what is in her heart and soul. She is consumed with love for a classmate, the daughter of her teacher, and struggles to find words to faithfully express her feelings and her dreams.
;
In a poetic language that encompasses poverty and idealism, she quietly observes the violence, the shortcomings, and the addictions of the adults around her. Her love and passion make her resilient, nurturing her character and helping her to invent a destiny that enables her to escape the fate to which she seemed doomed.
In this poignant account of a classmates suicide, the acclaimed Moroccan author gives both a biting critique of small-town bigotry in the 1960s and a moving tribute to the fleeting beauty of adolescence.
In Settat in the 1960s, when it was still a tiny village, a young man leapt to his death in front of his stunned class and their teacher, left holding a brief, devastating suicide note. Among the students was Mohamed Leftah. Haunted by the uncommon grace of that desperate act, and the tragic image of his body lying in the courtyard, Leftah penned this chronicle of life at the time, marked by repressed desire and shame.
A fiery yet thoughtful meditation on taboo acts--homosexuality, adultery, suicide--and the hypocrisy and cruelty often found in those who judge them,
In this unique work, Thomas Piketty presents a synthesis of his historical and comparative research on inequalities. Addressing topics as varied as education, inheritance, the climate crisis, the taxation of wealth, and gender disparities, it challenges the idea that there could be natural inequalities and shows that the march toward equality has always depended on political and social struggles.
;;;;;;;;;;; Adapted from Piketty's 2022 lecture at the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac,
Working her way up at a storied Stockholm publisher, a young woman develops an ambiguous, shifting relationship with her boss, in this shrewd novel about the tension between tradition and modernity, and expectations and reality.
The publishing house is anchored like a ship along Stockholm's main street, a large, bright building with an impressive rooftop terrace. The facade is a grid of wood and granite; flags with a cursive R sway in the wind. R as in Rydéns.
A young woman starts as an intern at this venerated institution, and over many years gains more and more responsibility for its authors and books. All under the supervision of Gunnar, publishing director of the most prestigious imprint behind the finest literature, Andromeda.
Over time their work relationship transforms into something neither of them can truly define. Perhaps built on mutual trust? Or is it something else?
B>This intimate account offers a new, unexpected understanding of the artists work and of the vibrant 1930s surrealist scene./b>br> br> In 1938, just as she was leaving Mexico for her first solo exhibition in New York, Frida Kahlo was devastated to learn from her husband, Diego Rivera, that he intended to divorce her. This latest blow followed a long series of betrayals, most painful of all his affair with her beloved younger sister, Cristina. In early 1939, anxious and adrift, Kahlo traveled from the United States to France--her only trip to Europe, and the beginning of a unique period of her life when she was enjoying success on her own.br> br> Now, for the first time, this previously overlooked part of her story is brought to light in exquisite detail. Marc Petitjean takes the reader to Paris, where Kahlo spends her days alongside luminaries such as Pablo Picasso, André Breton, Dora Maar, and Marcel Duchamp.br> br> Using Kahlos whirlwind romance with the authors father, Michel Petitjean, as a jumping-off point, The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris provides a striking portrait of the artist and an inside look at the history of one of her most powerful, enigmatic paintings.
B>b>From the internationally bestselling author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, a moving tale of forbidden love and extraordinary courage in the face of disaster. /b>/b>br>br>Eighteen-year-old Niri and his family live a modest but secure life working in the villa of the wealthy Benzes. But when the pandemic comes, they are all let go, and left staring into the abyss of abject poverty. As their situation grows increasingly desperate, the once rule-abiding monastery student decides he wont wait at the mercy of a corrupt, indifferent government, and rebels against his fathers resigned acceptance.br>;;;;;;;;;;; Sneaking through the locked-down city at night, past the military patrols, Niri returns to the villa to take what his family needs to survive. Waiting for him there is his childhood friend--and the Benzes daughter--Mary, who has a bigger plan that will change their lives forever.br>A universal story of love across social classes, The Rebel and the Thief poignantly shows how adversity can teach us what matters most: courage to resist, will to change, and unconditional trust in each other.
A billionaire Holocaust survivor hires a writer to uncover the truth of Salvador Allendes death, and they must confront their own dark histories to find a path forward--for themselves and for our ravaged planet.
An expansive, engrossing mystery for fans of Isabel Allende, Jeff;VanderMeer, and Bill McKibben, from the acclaimed author of Ariel needed money, and Joseph;Hortha;had it. Bound by gratitude toward the late Chilean president and a persistent need to know whether murder or suicide ended his life during the 1973 coup, the two men embark on an investigation that will take them from Washington DC and New York, to Santiago and Valparaiso, and finally to London. They encounter an unforgettable cast of characters: a wedding photographer who can predict a couples future; a policeman in pursuit of the serial killer targeting refugees; a revolutionary caught trying to assassinate a dictator; and, above all, the complex women who support them along the way, for their own obscure reasons.;
;;;;Before Ariel and Joseph can resolve a quest full of dangers and enigmas, they must help each other come to terms with guilt and trauma from personal catastrophes hidden deep in the past. What begins as an intriguing literary caper unfolds into a propulsive, philosophical saga about love, family,;machismo, fascism, and exile that asks what we owe the world, one another, and ourselves. By;boldly mixing fiction and reality, imagination and history,
Five cutting-edge scientists compete for 100 million and control of a new institute dedicated to eradicating Alzheimers in this edifying, Spurred by his wifes Alzheimers diagnosis and disenchanted with the slow progress in finding a cure, a rich Swiss businessman launches a contest for promising young neuroscientists who can think outside the box. Chosen for their scientific excellence and originality, they must travel throughout Europe in search of the answers to five fiendishly difficult riddles, each combining an enigmatic neuroscientific question with a geographical and historical challenge.
As their personal stories unfold, the competitors share their moments of elation and disappointment when they solve a riddle or reach a dead end. Soon a conspiracy materializes to threaten and endanger the scientists, which at first seems random, but then becomes increasingly deliberate and targeted.
The nature of the riddles and the talents of the competitors open a world of discovery for us too as we learn about some of the most pressing areas in current brain research, such as neurodegenerative diseases, stem cell grafts, artificial intelligence, drug addiction, genetics, and the mechanisms of memory. And as the candidates visit some of the great European cities--Prague, Vienna, Cordoba, Cambridge, Geneva, Venice--we also experience their beauty and intrigue.
These dazzling stories from the internationally acclaimed author of
In the 1990s, a woman makes a living as a rental girlfriend for gay men. In a Harlem den, a travesti gets to know none other than Billie Holiday. A group of rugby players haggle over the price of a night of sex, and in return they get what they deserve. Nuns, grandmothers, children, and dogs are never what they seem...
These 9 stories are inhabited by extravagant and profoundly human characters who face an ominous reality in ways as strange as themselves.
A literary tour-de-force, this vivid account of an infamous Ottoman sultans life in exile is also a powerful indictment of the hypocrisies of the West, from the internationally bestselling author of
Abdülhamid II ruled the Ottoman Empire for thirty-three years, from 1876 to 1909, when he was deposed following the Young Turk Revolution and sent into exile in Thessaloniki. Now, more than a century after that fateful night of April 27, Zülfü Livaneli brings to life the fascinating later days of the overthrown sultan, who precipitated the empires collapse.
Based on the memoirs of Atf Hüseyin Bey, personal physician to Abdülhamid and his entourage in exile, this vibrant historical novel explores the nature of power while painting a nuanced psychological portrait of the man who oversaw progressive reforms yet became known as the Red Sultan for the Armenian massacres during his reign.
He was the brother of «the Arab» killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus's classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name-Musa-and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach.
B>b>From the acclaimed author of Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, a deeply personal and insightful account of being a girl, woman, and mother in a world that sees the feminine as less than./b>/b>br>br>Born in 1959 to a middle-class family, Laurence Barraqué grows up with her sister in the northern city of Rouen. Her father is a doctor, her mother a housewife. She understands from an early age, by way of language and her parents example, that a girls place in life is inferior to a boys: Asked for the 1964 census whether he has any children, her father promptly responds, No. I have two daughters. When Laurence eventually becomes a mother herself in the nineties, she grapples with the question of what it means to be a girl, to have a girl, and what lessons she should try to pass down or undo.br>;br>Masterful in her analysis of the subtle and obvious ways women are undermined by a sexist society, Camille Laurens lays out her experiences of the past forty years in this poignant, powerful book. Girl is at once intimate and sweeping in its depiction of the great challenges we face, such as equalizing the education system and transmitting feminist values to the younger generations.
When her boyfriend, Elias, dies from a serious soccer injury, Masha, a young immigrant living in Germany who is studying to become an interpreter, must finally confront a past that has haunted her for years. Original.
A timely, deeply personal biography of a Jewish leader whose questions for Israel have come back to haunt us with a vengeance.
Born in what is now Lviv, Ukraine, in 1869, Marcus Ehrenpreis was the secretary of Theodor Herzl at the first Zionist Congress in Basel;in 1897, a grand rabbi of Bulgaria during two Balkan wars, a diplomat in defense of Europe's minorities, a Swedish;author;compared to Joseph Conrad, the chief rabbi of one of Europe's few unscathed Jewish communities through the Nazi era. More than a biography of a man''s life and work, this book is a literary journey by award-winning Swedish Jewish writer and public intellectual Goran Rosenberg (
In this enchanting novel from the Booker Prizewinning author, a group of world-weary travelers discover the meaning of life in a mysterious Swiss mountain village.
Andreas returns to his hometown in Switzerland to escape the monotony of his life in Paris and to rekindle a romance with his first love after his doctor reveals he may have lung cancer.
Alex has spent the majority of his adult life between two very different women--and he can’t make up his mind. Sonia, his wife and business partner, is everything a man would want. Intelligent, gorgeous, charming, and ambitious, she worked tirelessly alongside him to open their architecture firm and to build a life of luxury. But when the seven-year itch sets in, their exhaustion at working long hours coupled with their failed attempts at starting a family get the best of them. Alex soon finds himself kindling an affair with his college lover, Ivona. The young Polish woman who worked in a Catholic mission is the polar opposite of Sonia: dull, passive, taciturn, and plain. Despite having little in common with Ivona, Alex is inexplicably drawn to her while despising himself for it. Torn between his highbrow marriage and his lowbrow affair, Alex is stuck within a spiraling threesome. But when Ivona becomes pregnant, life takes an unexpected turn, and Alex is puzzled more than ever by the mysteries of his heart.Peter Stamm, one of Switzerland’s most acclaimed writers, is at his best exploring the complexities of human relationships. Seven Years is a distinct, sobering, and bold novel about the impositions of happiness in the quest for love.
