Anthologies & Short Stories

From six bestselling authors, including New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, comes a vividly imagined novel following the lives of those in ancient Pompeii on the fateful day Mount Vesuvius erupts.Pompeii was a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire. When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens died in the chaos, some escaped the mountain’s wrath . . . and these are their stories:A boy loses his innocence in Pompeii’s flourishing streets.An heiress dreads her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire.An ex-legionary stakes his entire future on a gladiator bout destined never to be finished.A crippled senator welcomes death, until a tomboy on horseback comes to his rescue.A young mother faces an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls.A priestess and a prostitute seek redemption and resurrection as the town is buried.Six authors bring to life overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross each other’s paths during Pompeii’s fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for eternity?

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Following her own brilliant short story collection Multitudes, Lucy Caldwell guest edits the sixth volume of Faber's long running series of new Irish short stories, continuing the great work started by the late David Marcus and subsequent guest editors Kevin Barry, Deirdre Madden and Joseph O'Connor. Contributors to this richly diverse collection include: Kevin Barry, Eimear McBride, Lisa McInerney, Stuart Neville, Sally Rooney, Kit de Waal and Belinda McKeon'BEING VARIOUS has a brilliant array of writers making waves in the twenty-first century, from lauded names to newcomers ranging from their twenties to their sixties; Irish by birth, by parentage, or residence.' Lucy Caldwell

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HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him. Cats have long been considered creatures of mystery and magic. Worshipped as deities in some cultures, feared as harbingers of bad fortune in others, it's little surprise that their enigmatic charm continues to capture our imaginations today. This classic collection of the most beloved cat tales includes Saki's ‘Tobermory’, in which a straight-talking cat leaves dinner guests aghast yet entranced; a Norse fairy tale involving a spectacular feline rescue; ‘The Dragon Tamers’ by E. Nesbit; and H. P. Lovecraft's strange story ‘The Cats of Ulthar’; amongst many others to enjoy for years to come.

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The first ever edition of The Tea-Table Miscellany, the seminal collection in defining eighteenth-century Scottish song Detailed examination of the musical archaeology for each of the songs, providing for the first time comprehensive antecedents for almost all the songs in this critical contribution to the establishment of a Scottish song 'tradition' Uniquely comprehensive survey of early sources for the tunes of Ramsay's songs Detailed collation of texts against all extant manuscript sources and relevant printed editions and comprehensive explanatory annotations offering new insights into Ramsay's cultural, historical, political, literary and theatrical contexts This edition of The Tea-Table Miscellany is the first ever produced, bringing together the four volumes of this collection of songs published between 1723 and 1737. The Tea-Table Miscellany combines traditional Scottish song, works by Allan Ramsay and his contemporaries, together with material from D'Urfey, Playford and the English stage and broadside, in a collection of 399 songs. This edition offers, for the first time, annotations, background, and a study of origins for all the songs and tunes examining both Ramsay's categorisation of the authorship and origin of the song texts and tunes to which it was most likely he was referring. As such, the edition consists of a detailed introduction, the clearly presented song texts, notes on the songs that identify both their print and musical antecedents, musical illustrations that show major variations in the contemporary tunes with which the songs are associated, illustrations of the title pages, and the main design features and ornaments used in Ruddiman's original edition.

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LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024 Chloe enters the local talent show, seeking fame, fortune and a ticket out of town. Meanwhile, her mother, Angie, wakes up hungover on the morning of her fourth wedding day. William ponders his impending autism diagnosis through the lenses of Descartes and Hollywood heartthrob Clive Owen. Jimmy, the hot-headed proprietor of a firework shop, rages at the emergence of a rival store, as his ex-wife considers the existential ramifications of her uncanny resemblance to TV cleaning personality Kim Woodburn. Local Fires sees debut writer Joshua Jones turn his acute focus to his birthplace of Llanelli, South Wales. Sardonic and melancholic, joyful and grieving, these multifaceted stories may be set in a small town, but they have reach far beyond their locality. From the inertia of living in an ex-industrial working-class area, to gender, sexuality, toxic masculinity and neurodivergence, Jones has crafted a collection versatile in theme and observation, as the misadventures of the town's inhabitants threaten to spill over into an incendiary finale. In this stunning series of interconnected tales, fires both literal and metaphorical, local and all-encompassing, blaze together to herald the emergence of a singular new Welsh literary voice.

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'Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence' George Steiner. It is impossible to overstate the influence world literatures have had in defining each other. No culture exists in isolation; all writers are part of the intertwining braid of literature. Found In Translation brings together one hundred glittering diamonds of world literature, celebrating not only the original texts themselves but also the art of translation. From Azerbijan to Uzbekistan, by way of China and Bengal, Suriname and Slovenia, some of the greatest voices of world literature come together in a thunderous chorus. If the authors include Nobel Prize winners, some of the translators are equally famous – here, Saul Bellow translates Isaac Beshevis Singer, D.H. Lawrence and Edith Wharton translate classic Italian short stories, and Victoria Hislop has taken her first venture into translation with the only short story written by Constantine P. Cavafy. This exciting, original and brilliantly varied collection of stories takes the reader literally on a journey, exploring the best short stories the globe has to offer.

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Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. A family sets out on a road trip in the American South. The grandmother suggests they change course in order to avoid "The Misfit", an escaped convict who's reportedly heading towards Florida. But when their car turns over in a ditch, who should they flag down for help but the very man whose picture they recognise from the paper . . .Flannery O'Connor's famous fifties story evokes heat and dust, family and feuding, God and grace - and is utterly uncompromising in its brutality.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

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Under the pseudonym Myles na Gopaleen, Flann O’ Brien wrote a daily column in the ‘Irish Times’ called ‘Cruiskeen Lawn’ for over twenty years which hilariously satirised the absurdities and solemnities of Dublin life. With shameless irony and relentless high spirits Myles' 'Cruiskeen Lawn' became the most feared, respected and uproarious newspaper column in the whole of Ireland from its first appearance in 1940 until his death in 1966. This wonderful selection from the 'Cruiskeen Lawn' columns is a modern classic that will appeal to lovers of absurdity and sharp comic observation everywhere.

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M.R. James's celebrated ghost stories resonate still, their chilling narratives drawing us unsuspecting into the deadly shadows. His tales are haunted, bleak disturbances of the soul, carefully crafted from the stuff of human fears. A towering presence in literature, TV and the movies, his work is much admired today. A deluxe edition, this sinister new collection offers many of his most famous tales, with some of the less well known, including: 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad', 'Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book', 'The Mezzotint', 'The Fenstanton Witch', 'The Experiment' and 'Wailing Well'. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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* THE UNMISSABLE SHORT STORY COLLECTION FEATURING MODESTY BLAISE * 'The finest escapist thrillers ever written' THE TIMES 'Before Buffy, before Charlie's Angels, before Purdy and Emma Peel, there was Modesty Blaise' OBSERVER Discover new Modesty Blaise stories in the final collection from legend Peter O'Donnell, spanning his heroine's career from running her criminal empire, the Network, to working for British Intelligence. Including 'Bellman', 'The Dark Angels', 'Old Alex', The Girl With the Black Balloon' and 'Cobra Trap', this collection reveals the untold tales of the world's most famous agent. From her youth in the criminal underworld, to fighting rebels in the jungles of central America and pitched battles on board a moving train, this collection featuring the classic duo of Modesty Blaise and her loyal lieutenant Willie Garvin is an essential part of any Modesty fan's library.

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American Gothic remains an enduringly fascinating genre, retaining its chilling hold on the imagination. This revised and expanded anthology brings together texts from the colonial era to the twentieth century including recently discovered material, canonical literary contributions from Poe and Wharton among many others, and literature from sub-genres such as feminist and ‘wilderness’ Gothic. Revised and expanded to incorporate suggestions from twelve years of use in many countries An important text for students of the expanding field of Gothic studies Strong representation of female Gothic, wilderness Gothic, the Gothic of race, and the legacy of Salem witchcraft Edited by a founding member of the International Gothic Association

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'A deft, satisfying and poignant collection of stories . . . I loved it' Pandora Sykes'Huma Qureshi is a writer I know I'll be reading for years and years and years' Natasha Lunn, author of Conversations on Love A breathtaking collection of stories about our most intimate relationships, and the secrets, misunderstandings and silences that haunt them.A daughter asks her mother to shut up, only to shut her up for good; an exhausted wife walks away from the husband who doesn't understand her; on holiday, lovers no longer make sense to each other away from home.Set across the blossoming English countryside, the stifling Mediterranean and the bustling cities of London and Lahore, Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love illuminates the parts of ourselves we rarely reveal.*Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize**Longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize*'These are stories of fierce clarity and tenderness - I loved them' Lucy Caldwell, author of Intimacies

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No Sanskrit poet is more interesting, original, or greater than Bana. His prose poem Princess Kadámbari is his supreme achievement. His patron, King Harsha, ruled much of northern India from 606 to 647 CE from his capital at Kannauj. Princess Kadámbari, a work of fiction set in keenly observed royal courts, has everything. A love story doubled and redoubled in rebirth, the romance was so influential that its title became the word for a novel in some modern Indian languages. In free form verse, the experimental poem embodies enormous originality. Animals, flowers and mythology, as well as humans are presented in sympathetic detail. The complex coherent structure will culminate in a breathtaking conclusion. The two love affairs that dominate the poem have not yet begun in this first volume, where we hear of rituals to obtain a son, and the upbringing of a prince. Altogether the reader is given perhaps the fullest presentation of classical India available in a single work.

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A fantastic mystery short story collection, the perfect Christmas gift for crime fiction lovers A beloved detective dies in a fire Sherlock Holmes takes a trip to Italy A disastrous case of mistaken identity From his well-loved detective duo, DCI Dalziel and DI Pascoe to his own reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, Reginald Hill’s unforgettable characters and unique blend of humour and suspense make him one of Britain’s greatest crime writers. Complete with a foreword by Mick Herron, this collection of short stories showcases the very best of this iconic mystery writer.

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The Length of Days: An Urban Ballad is set mostly in the composite Donbas city of Z—an uncanny foretelling of what this letter has come to symbolize since February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Several embedded narratives attributed to an alcoholic chemist-turned-massage therapist give insight into the funny, ironic, or tragic lives of people who remained in the occupied Donbas after Russia’s initial aggression in 2014.With elements of magical realism, Volodymyr Rafeyenko’s novel combines a wicked sense of humor with political analysis, philosophy, poetry, and moral interrogation. Witty references to popular culture—Ukrainian and European—underline the international and transnational aspects of Ukrainian literature. The novel ends on the hopeful note that even death cannot have the final word: the resilient inhabitants of Z grow in power through reincarnation.

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A paperback anthology of essential Greek and Latin texts with facing English translations.This selection of lapidary nuggets drawn from thirty-three of antiquity’s major authors includes poetry, dialogue, philosophical writing, history, descriptive reports, satire, and fiction—giving a glimpse at the wide range of arts and sciences, thought and styles, of Greco-Roman culture.The selections span twelve centuries, from Homer to Saint Jerome. The texts and translations are reproduced as they appear in Loeb volumes.The Loeb Classical Library is the only existing series that, through original text and English translation, gives access to all that is important in Greek and Latin literature. A Loeb Classical Library Reader offers a unique sampling of this treasure trove.In these pages you will find, for example: Odysseus tricking the Cyclops in order to escape from the giant’s cave; Zeus creating the first woman, Pandora, cause of mortals’ hardships ever after; the Athenian general Nicias dissuading his countrymen from invading Sicily; Socrates, condemned to die, saying farewell; a description of Herod’s fortified palace at Masada; Cicero’s thoughts on what we owe our fellow men; Livy’s description of the rape of the Sabine women; Manilius on the signs of the zodiac; and Pliny’s observation of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.Here you can enjoy looking in on people, real and imaginary, who figure prominently in ancient history, and on notable events. Here, too, you can relish classical poetry and comedy, and get a taste of the ideas characteristic of the splendid culture to which we are heir.

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The Sea Cloak is a collection of 11 stories by the author, journalist, and campaigner, Nayrouz Qarmout. Drawing from her own experiences growing up in a Syrian refugee camp, as well as her current life in Gaza, these stories stitch together a patchwork of different perspectives into what it means to be a woman in Palestine today. Whether following the daily struggles of orphaned children fighting to survive in the rubble of recent bombardments, or mapping the complex, cultural tensions between different generations of refugees in wider Gazan society, these stories offer rare insights into one of the most talked about, but least understood cities in the Middle East. Taken together, the collection affords us a local perspective on a global story, and it does so thanks to a cast of (predominantly female) characters whose vantage point is rooted, firmly, in that most cherished of things, the home. Translated from the Arabic by Perween Richards.

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This book presents Chinese short-short stories in English and Chinese, integrating language learning with cultural studies for intermediate to advanced learners of Mandarin Chinese and students of contemporary Chinese literature. Each chapter begins with a critical introduction, followed by two or more stories in parallel Chinese and English texts; each story is followed by a vocabulary list, discussion questions, and a biography of the author. The chapters are organized around central concepts in Chinese culture such as li (ritual), ren (benevolence), mianzi (face/prestige), being filial, and the dynamics of yin and yang, as well as the themes of governance, identity, love, marriage, and change. The stories selected are short-shorts by important contemporary writers ranging from the most literary to everyday voices. Specifically designed for use in upper-level Chinese language courses, Contemporary Chinese Short-Short Stories: A Parallel Text offers students a window onto China today and pathways to its traditions and past as they gain language competence and critical cultural skills.

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Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: one of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth - Sarah WatersElizabeth Taylor, highly acclaimed author of classic novels such as Angel, A Game of Hide and Seek and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, is also renowned for her powerful, acutely observed stories. Here for the first time, the stories - including some only recently rediscovered - are collected in one volume. From the awkward passions of lonely holiday-makers to the anticipation of three school friends preparing for their first dance, from the minor jealousies and triumphs of marriage to tales of outsiders struggling to adapt to the genteel English countryside, with a delicate, witty touch Elizabeth Taylor illuminates the nuances of ordinary lives.Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include: Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor; and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame

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Quiver Full of Arrows is a collection of twelve exciting short stories from bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer.Two friends fall under the spell of a New York beauty – with an unexpected outcome. A casual remark is taken seriously by a Chinese sculptor, and the British Ambassador becomes the owner of a priceless work of art . An insurance claims adviser has a most surprising encounter on the train home to Sevenoaks. This marvellous collection of twelve stories ends with a hauntingly written, atmospheric account of two undergraduates at Oxford in the 1930s, a tale of bitter rivalry that ends in a memorable love story.

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A Treasury of Virtues is a collection of sayings, sermons, and teachings attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40/661), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, the first Shia Imam and the fourth Sunni Caliph An acknowledged master of Arabic eloquence and a sage of Islamic wisdom, 'Ali was renowned for his eloquence: his words were collected, quoted, and studied over the centuries, and extensively anthologized, excerpted, and interpreted. Of the many compilations of 'Ali’s words, A Treasury of Virtues, compiled by the Fatimid Shafi'i judge al-Quda'i (d. 454/1062), arguably possesses the broadest compass of genres and the largest variety of themes. Included are aphorisms, proverbs, sermons, speeches, homilies, prayers, letters, dialogues, and verse, all of which provide instruction on how to be a morally upstanding human being. The shorter compilation included here, One Hundred Proverbs, is attributed to the eminent writer al-Jahiz (d. 255/869). This volume presents the first English translation of both of these important collections. An English-only edition.

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'A gripping and satisfyingly scary' (Sunday Telegraph) bumper collection of RIVETING, DARK STORIES from the No. 1 bestselling master of the form, now with a stunning new cover look.Just after sunset, as darkness grips the imagination, is the time when you feel the unexpected creep into the every day. As familiar journeys take a different turn, ordinary objects assume extraordinary powers.A blind intruder visits a dying man - and saves his life, with a kiss. A woman receives a phone call from her husband. Her late husband. In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Emily starts running. And running. Her curiosity leads her right into the hands of a murderer . . . and soon her legs are her only hope for survival.Enter a world of masterful suspense, dark comedy and thrilling twists which will keep you riveted from the first page.Enter the world of No. 1 bestseller Stephen King.Stories include:-Willa-The Gingerbread Girl-Harvey's Dream-Rest Stop-Stationary Bike-The Things They Left Behind-Graduation Afternoon-N.-The Cat from Hell-The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates-Mute-Ayana-A Very Tight Place

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An imprisoned man is certain that his supposed murder victim is very much alive . . . A female driver is pursued relentlessly by a menacing figure in another vehicle . . . A young artist gets the biggest break of her career . . . A restless beauty manages the perfect birthday celebration . . . An escaped Iraqi on Saddam Hussein's death list pays an involuntary visit to his homeland . . . How will they react? How would you? Twelve Red Herrings is the third collection of irresistible short stories from master storyteller, Jeffrey Archer. Cleverly styled, with richly drawn characters and ingeniously plotted story lines, each of the twelve tales ends with a delightfully unexpected turn of events.

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The first collection of stories from the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Porpoise.'Terrifically compelling' GuardianA seaside pier collapses. An expedition to Mars goes terribly wrong. A thirty-stone man is confined to his living room. One woman is abandoned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Another woman is saved from drowning. Two boys discover a gun in a shoebox. A group of explorers find a cave of unimaginable size deep in the Amazon jungle. A man shoots a stranger in the chest on Christmas Eve.'The real redemption in these superbly gripping stories comes from their canny human detail, and the vivid, unsettling clarity they bring to our lives’ Sunday Times

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Winner of the 2007 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award'Blisteringly good' GuardianIn her remarkable stories of seemingly ordinary people living extraordinary lives, Miranda July reveals how a single moment can change everything. Whether writing about a middle-aged woman's obsession with Prince William or an aging bachelor who has never been in love, the result is startling, tender and sexy by turns. One of the most acclaimed and successful short-story collections, No One Belongs Here More Than You confirms Miranda July as a spectacularly original, iconic and important voice today.

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The Country Waif (Françoise le Champi) is the second of the three pastoral novels which rank along with George Sand's autobiographical writing as her finest work. Although simple in themselves, these tales have behind them much of the complex experience of her extraordinary life. As Mrs. Zimmerman writes in the introduction, they reflect Sand's "youthful romanticism, her later championing of the working classes, and her desire to record in fiction that was both poetic and factual the lives of the people and the region she knew best."Set in the countryside of the author's native province of Berry, The Country Waif tells the story of François, an orphan boy placed in a rural foster home, and Madeline, the miller's wife who befriends him. Sand's contemporary, Turgenev, wrote that it was "in her best manner, simple, true, affecting." The book has been admired by writers as diverse as Willa Cather (she found it "supremely beautiful") and André Malraux, who considered it a masterpiece.As well as examining the setting, language, and narrative mode of the novel, the introduction looks at Sand's life, in part from the feminist perspective, with attention to the sociopolitical background of the post-Napoleonic era, when Aurore Dudevant felt impelled to rebel against her status as a country wife and to become George Sand.

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SPECIAL COMMENDATION in Africa's 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century. The series is illustrated throughout with maps and black and white photographs. Africa has moved from international conflict under foreign domination to struggles for political sovereignty and economic independence. Looking at the changes in Africa's fortunes since 1935, this volume examines the challenges ofnation-building and socio-cultural changes affecting the continent. The series is co-published in Africa with seven publishers, in the United States and Canada by the University of California Press, and in association with the UNESCO Press.

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Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkíndha to seek help in finding Sita, and meets Hánuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. There are two claimants for the monkey throne, Valin and Sugríva; Rama helps Sugríva win the throne, and in return Sugríva promises to help in the search for Sita. The monkey hordes set out in every direction to scour the world, but without success until an old vulture tells them she is in Lanka. Hánuman promises to leap over the ocean to Lanka to pursue the search. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org

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The chance to join 'the Revival of the Great Lucia Berlin' (New York Times)From the author of A Manual for Cleaning Women.Ranging from Texas, to Chile, to New Mexico and New York, in Evening in Paradise Berlin writes about the good, the bad and everything in between: struggling young mothers, husbands who pack their bags and leave in the middle of the night, wives looking back at their first marriage from the distance of their second . . .The publication of A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin’s dazzling collection of short stories, marked the rediscovery of a writer whose talent had gone unremarked by many. The incredible reaction to Lucia’s writing – her ability to capture the beauty and ugliness that coexist in everyday lives, the extraordinary honesty and magnetism with which she draws on her own history to breathe life into her characters – included calls for her contribution to American literature to be as celebrated as that of Raymond Carver.Evening in Paradise is a careful selection from Lucia Berlin’s remaining stories – a jewel-box follow-up for her hungry fans.

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In this brilliant collection of stories Lorrie Moore addresses herself to a contemporary emotional dilemma - the widening gulf between men and women, and the simultaneous yearning for and fear of closeness.

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A landmark event: the collected stories of 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the Irish novelist everyone should read' (Colm Tóibín).'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg'Gentle, lyrical, an amorist of language, a natural historian of the soul.' Irish Times'Exquisite stories . . . Here is a Dublin of tatty dancehalls and uneasy courtships, of kisses in damp doorways and unfulfilled hungerings . . . Writing of extraordinary beauty.' Guardian

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Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. An unnamed protagonist is on holiday with her new, much-married lover, in the company of the monstrously rich.'How long would she last? It would be uppermost in all their minds.'Each day, while the others are out at sea, she is taught to swim. Eventually, she will be expected to perform. The pressure mounts; it is only a matter of time before she snaps.Edna O'Brien crafts a quietly horrifying scene of eroticism and insecurity, and makes one woman's near-fatal discomfort stand for society's larger trap.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

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AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR AN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR The first-ever collection of short stories from Jeffrey Eugenides, the bestselling author of Middlesex, The Virgin Suicides and The Marriage Plot, explores characters in the midst of personal and national emergencies. Kendall has failed as a poet, and now embezzlement seems like his next-best career option. Rebecca has failed to find customers for her mouse figurines, now the bailiffs are coming for her husband. Diane has failed to meet ‘the one’, but is thrilled to have found her path to motherhood through a turkey baster. With his trademark humour, compassion and complex understanding of what it is to be human, Jeffrey Eugenides’ stories elevate muddling through into something triumphant.

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"Captivating...Drager’s plot is ambitious and emotionally resonant, making for a clever, beguiling novel." —Publishers Weekly starred review Tracking the evolution of Hansel and Gretel at seventy-five-year intervals that correspond with earth’s visits by Halley’s Comet, The Archive of Alternate Endings explores how stories are disseminated and shared, edited and censored, voiced and left untold. In 1456, Johannes Gutenberg’s sister uses the tale as a surrogate for sharing a family secret only her brother believes. In 1835, The Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm revise the tale to bury a truth about Jacob even he can’t come to face. In 1986, a folklore scholar and her brother come to find the record is wrong about the figurative witch in the woods, while in 2211, twin space probes aiming to find earth's sister planet disseminate the narrative in binary code. Breadcrumbing back in time from 2365 to 1378, siblings reimagine, reinvent, and recycle the narrative of Hansel and Gretel to articulate personal, regional, and ultimately cosmic experiences of tragedy. Through a relay of speculative pieces that oscillate between eco-fiction and psychological horror, The Archive of Alternate Endings explores sibling love in the face of trauma over the course of a millennium, in the vein of Richard McGuire's Here and Lars von Trier's Melancholia.

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