Anthologies & Short Stories

Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1949, Tomato Cain and Other Stories is the sole collection of short fiction by Nigel Kneale. Drawing on his experiences of growing up on the Isle of Man, many of Kneale's tales conjure up a remote, old-fashioned community where mythology and superstition are part of everyday life. Several stories go further, making imaginative leaps into the kind of weird, eerie territory with which Kneale would go on to make his name, as the writer of TV's Quatermass, The Road, Beasts and The Stone Tape. Though garlanded with praise on publication - it won its author the 1950 Somerset Maugham Award - Tomato Cain has long since been out of print. This new edition is published to mark the centenary of Kneale's birth, uniting the stories from both the original UK and US editions for the first time ever. It's sure to delight Kneale's legions of fans and indeed all admirers of skilfully-crafted short stories.Trade ReviewWinner of the 1950 Somerset Maugham Award

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Book Synopsis"I had been called to pick up Jeje from a karaoke bar in Jongno district..."A deftly expressive short modern love story concerning the misadventures of Hyoung and Jeje as they navigate the Seoul underworld in search of something more from life with lots to say about our contemporary moment; how people use and are used by others, but find solace in each other despite.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE JOHN LEONARD PRIZE AT THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS AND THE FERRO-GRUMLEY AWARD FOR LGBTQ FICTIONTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'So's distinctive voice is ever-present: mellifluous, streetwise and slightly brash, at once cynical and bighearted...unique and quintessential' Sunday Times'So's stories reimagine and reanimate the Central Valley, in the way that the polyglot stories in Bryan Washington's collection Lot reimagined Houston and Ocean Vuong's novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous allowed us to see Hartford in a fresh light.' Dwight Garner, New York Times '[A] remarkable début collection' Hua Hsu, The New YorkerA Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club Pick!Named a Best Book of Summer by: Wall Street Journal * Thrillist * Vogue * Lit Hub * Refinery29 * New York Observer * The Daily Beast * Time * BuzzFeed * Entertainment Weekly Seamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tender-hearted, balancing acerbic humour with sharp emotional depth, Afterparties offers an expansive portrait of the lives of Cambodian-Americans. As the children of refugees carve out radical new paths for themselves in California, they shoulder the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide and grapple with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship and family.A high school badminton coach and failing grocery store owner tries to relive his glory days by beating a rising star teenage player. Two drunken brothers attend a wedding afterparty and hatch a plan to expose their shady uncle's snubbing of the bride and groom. A queer love affair sparks between an older tech entrepreneur trying to launch a 'safe space' app and a disillusioned young teacher obsessed with Moby-Dick. And in the sweeping final story, a nine-year-old child learns that his mother survived a racist school shooter.With nuanced emotional precision, gritty humour and compassionate insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities, the stories in Afterparties deliver an explosive introduction to the work of Anthony Veasna So.Trade ReviewSo's distinctive voice is ever-present: mellifluous, streetwise and slightly brash, at once cynical and bighearted...unique and quintessential * Sunday Times *witty and sharply expressed...the reader senses that [So] had a vast amount of soul and spirit in his account, and that he'd only just begun to draw from it...So's stories reimagine and reanimate the Central Valley, in the way that the polyglot stories in Bryan Washington's collection Lot reimagined Houston and Ocean Vuong's novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous allowed us to see Hartford in a fresh light. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *[A] remarkable début collection...The young people in Afterparties spill forth with language. His stories are chatty and crass, as characters incessantly tease one another, make jokes,...talk back and talk trash -- Hua Hsu * The New Yorker *A bright and fearless debut, full of heart, joy and unforgettable characters. -- Douglas StuartThe sheer richness and energy of So's narratives can't be overstated - his characters are full of love, and full of longing, and full of laughter, and full of the possibilities that life offers them and also the ones it hides. It's rare and magical and wild to find queer life, as it's actually lived, on the page - or on any pages - with all its multiplicities and creases and paradoxes and curves, and yet So lays it out for us, sparing nothing and giving everything. I was in awe through the entire collection -and you will be, too. Afterparties is an actual marvel. -- Bryan Washington, author of LOT and MEMORIALA wildly energetic, heartfelt, original debut by a young writer of exceptional promise. These stories, powered by So's skill with the telling detail, are like beams of wry, affectionate light, falling from different directions on a complicated, struggling, beloved American community. -- George SaundersAfterparties weaves through a Cambodian-American community in the shadow of genocide, following the children of refugees as they grapple with the complexities of masculinity, class and family. Anthony Veasna So explores the lives of these unforgettable characters with bracing humour and startling tenderness. A stunning collection from an exciting new voice. -- Brit Bennett, author of THE VANISHING HALFThe mind-frying hilarity of Anthony Veasna So's first book of fiction settles him as the genius of social satire our age needs now more than ever. Few writers can handle firm plot action and wrenching pathos in such elegant prose. This unforgettable new voice is at once poetic and laugh-out-loud funny. These characters kept talking to me long after I closed the book I'm destined to read again and cannot wait to teach. Anthony Veasna So is a shiny new star in literature's firmament and Afterparties his first classic. -- Mary Karr, author of THE LIARS' CLUBAnthony Veasna So is a terrific writer. These wild, complex and funny stories are brilliant in every way. They also speak in profound ways to this troubled American moment. One of the most exciting debuts of the past decade. -- Dana Spiotta, author of INNOCENTS AND OTHERSKaren Russell, Carmen Maria Machado, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - you can count on one hand the authors of this century whose debut short-story collections are as prodigious and career-making as Afterparties. This lovingly specific, history-haunted comedy of Cambodian-American manners should put Anthony Veasna So on smart readers' radar to stay. -- Jonathan Dee, author of THE PRIVILEGES

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Book SynopsisWith stories from modern writers, and the founding fathers of horror fiction, weird or cosmic horror combines the dark brooding shadows of the night with the presence of elder gods at the edges of our world. Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James, H.P. Lovecraft and Ramsey Campbell sit alongside new tales by new writers from open submissions. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Ramsey Campbell, Daniel Carpenter, Micah Castle, Kevin M. Folliard, Anastasia Garcia, Timothy Granville, Steve Hanson, Maria Haskins, Nyx Kain, Shona Kinsella, Lena Ng, Reggie Oliver, Jason Parent, Bonnie Quinn, Eric Reitan, Cody Schroeder, Lucy A. Snyder, Richard Thomas, Chris Wheatley, and Maria Wolfe. These appear alongside classic stories by Louisa May Alcott, Robert Bloch, William Hope Hodgson, Fritz Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith and more. 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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Book SynopsisTwenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction. The second annual instalment to the 'rare and wonderful' (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection of twenty-nine stories, including eight original and exclusive additions, represents the state of the art in international science fiction. Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Grenada, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Taking us into space – Mars at first, then the stars – and then back to a strange, transformed Earth via AI, gods, aliens and the undead, the collection traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some of the most exciting voices writing today. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it's never been more exciting. Reviews for The Best of World SF series: 'We need this anthology, and we need editors like Tidhar' The Times 'Just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world' LA Review of Books 'An excellent, lovingly curated collection' Financial Times 'This wonderful anthology should be a hit with any sci-fi fan' Publishers Weekly 'Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches' The Times ‘An outstanding assortment of international sci-fi shorts… a bold and powerful argument for non-Anglophone SF’s potential to push the genre’s boundaries.’ Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewTrade ReviewAn outstanding assortment of international sci-fi shorts... A bold and powerful argument for non-Anglophone SF's potential to push the genre's boundaries * Publishers Weekly Starred Review *We need this anthology, and we need editors like Tidhar * The Times (Science Fiction Book of the Month) *Tidhar has collected an excellent range here... this collection of stories shows that good genre writing transcends international boundaries' * Locus Magazine *A rich blend of stories that mix traditional SF concerns within different cultural matrixes... in ranging further abroad, SF has come closer to home in stories dealing with domestic and personally intimate concerns' * Toronto Star *A different take on familiar science fiction tropes shaped by the life, circumstances and experiences of the contributors. Recommended * Concatenation *

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Book SynopsisCollecting the exclusive short story fiction from Star Trek Magazine tying into the Star Trek online game. Collecting the exclusive short story fiction from Star Trek Magazine tying into the Star Trek online game. This incredible collection features 19 illustrated stories exclusively written for the Star Trek Magazine. It features action-packed tales starring iconic characters such as Data, Seven of Nine, and Scotty, plus alien enemies including the Klingons and the Jem'Hadar.

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Book SynopsisRuchama, a wigmaker from an ultra-orthodox Brooklyn enclave, journeys into Manhattan for inspiration, frequenting a newsstand where she flips through forbidden fashion magazines. An elderly Jew with a long, white beard reluctantly works as a department store Santa Claus every year - until he can take it no longer. And a Hasidic man, frustrated by his wife''s lack of interest, gets a dispensation from a rabbi to see a prostitute for the relief of unbearable urges.

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of cutting-edge science fiction from the hit podcast, Escape Pod. Escape Pod has been bringing the finest short fiction to millions of ears all over the world, at the forefront of a new fiction revolution. This anthology gathers together fifteen stories, including new and exclusive work from writers such as from Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, Mary Robinette Kowal, T. Kingfisher and more. From editors Mur Laffterty and S.B. Divya comes the science fiction collection of the year, bringing together bestselling authors in celebration of the publishing phenomenon that is, Escape Pod.Trade Review'A major new sci-fi anthology' – New Scientist.'The 15 pieces in this diverse, enjoyable anthology…showcase the wide variety of ideas the short science fiction story can accommodate…The result is sure to please” – Publishers Weekly“[Mur Lafferty is] …one of the worst-kept secrets in science fiction and fantasy publishing.” – Cory Doctorow "Podcast fans will undoubtedly enjoy this book, as they experience stories written by their favorite “escape artists.” For the uninitiated in the Escape Pod universe, consider this anthology as an invitation to the new fiction revolution." - Portland Book Review"Excellently curated and arranged, this collection really does provide a nice range of the best that SF has been offering, from a variety of voices and perspectives" – Skiffy and Fanty"If Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Anthology is any indication to the quality of the work found in the podcast, it is certainly worth checking out."SF Book Review"As subversive as it is excellent."Amazing Stories"One of the strongest anthologies I’ve ever read... All science fiction fans should add Escape Pod to your “must read” list immediately!"Books, Bones & Buffy"Hugely satisfying and well worth your attention.”Runalong the Shelves"Not only is it a book that shows the beauty and versatility of the science fiction genre, but it’s one that will leave you wanting to read more."Trans-Scribe Review"A great anthology ... Escape Pod delivers it all."Liis Thinks Review"I can fully recommend [Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Anthology]"ReiBwolf Review"Something for everyone!"Lisa's Books, Gems & Tarot"I would definitely recommend this anthology."The Curious Reader"There is something for everyone in this collection."Chain Interaction"A marvellous collection, and one I wholeheartedly recommend" – Sci-Fi & Fantasy Reviews

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Book SynopsisA remarkable collection of short stories set in Wyoming from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘The Shipping News’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’.Trade Review‘Proulx writes in wonderful stews, everything thrown in together…the stories demand a second reading.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Her keen eye for idiosyncrasy ensures her continuing reputation as one of the shrewdest chroniclers of contemporary America.’ David Robson, Sunday Telegraph ‘Vivid and evocative…as [the stories] gather force, you find yourself being drawn in to their momentum.’ Financial Times ‘Proulx['s]…stories’ sour sometimes brutal folksiness gains a singular resonance from the fine, sinewy prose in which they are rendered.’ The Times ‘Packed with grittily persuasive detail, they feel both modern and as timeless as the Wyoming plains.’ Marie Claire ‘Performs inspired imaginative feats.’ Alex Clark, Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisNot since Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber have old stories been made to feel so electrically new.Not since Wim Winders' Wings of Desire have the numinous and the everyday been so magically combined.It''s in the nature of myth to be infinitely adaptable.Each of these startlingly original stories is set in modern Britain. Their characters include a people-trafficking gang-master and a prostitute, a migrant worker and a cocksure estate agent, an elderly musician doubly befuddled by dementia and the death of his wife, a pest-controller suspected of paedophilia and a librarian so well-behaved that her parents wonder anxiously whether she'll ever find love.They're ordinary people, preoccupied, as we all are now, by the deficiencies of the health service, by criminal gangs and homelessness, by the pitfalls of dating in the age of #metoo. All of their stories, though, are inspired by ones drawn from Graeco-Roman myth, from the Bible or from folk-lore.The ancients invented myths to express wTrade Review Praise for Fabulous: 'Once you have entered the world of Fabulous, you are unlikely to leave until you're done … there is a magnetic quality to the writing … Hughes-Hallett uses myth to get at the shimmering violence underneath the dowdy trappings of little England' TLS ‘A surprisingly exhilarating collection of ancient stories … retold and refigured for modern times … Lucy Hughes Hallett’s acute eye for appearances and her ear for modern speech make the surface drama compelling. Her greatest achievement is to bring out the underlying tragedies of the workings of fate’ The Tablet ‘Brilliant fantasies that blend the power of the ancient myths with the immediacy of real life’ John Carey, author of William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies 'Familiar yet strange, its modern characters wittily observed, the narrative charged with emotion. These eight incantatory tales, like the fables they’re based on, enthral’ Tatler ‘Lucy Hughes-Hallett is a wonderfully versatile writer and her enthralling modern reworkings of ancient myths shows her at the absolute top of her game. Hughes-Hallett’s new book is playful and moving, sharply observed and hauntingly mysterious. Fabulous indeed’ Fiona McCarthy, author of Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus ‘Fabulous is enchanting. The sort of book you can't stop reading, even though you never want it to end’ Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche ‘The writing in Fabulous is fabulous. So is the imagination, the wit and the storytelling. This is such a marvellous book, and with each chapter I became more astonished that ANYONE could know so much about the detritus and edges of our modern life’ Carmen Calil, author of Bad Faith: A History of Family and Fatherland

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Book SynopsisThis annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand.Mystery stories have been around for centuriesthere are whodunits, whydunits and howdunits, including locked-room puzzles, detective stories without detectives, and crimes with a limited choice of suspects.Countless volumes of such stories have been published, but some are still impossible to find: stories that appeared in a newspaper, magazine or an anthology that has long been out of print; ephemeral works such as plays not aired, staged or screened for decades; and unpublished stories that were absorbed into an author's archive when they died . . .Here for the first time are three never-before-published mysteries by Edmund Crispin, Ngaio Marsh and Leo Bruce, and two pieces written for radio by Gladys Mitchell and H. C. Baileythe latter featuring Reggie Fortune.Together with a newly uneTrade Review‘In this trip down memory lane, familiar names from the golden age, such as Ngaio Marsh, Gladys Mitchell and Edmund Crispin, share the honours with lesser lights claiming their overdue recognition as gifted contributors to classic crime. The centrepiece is a novella by Christianna Brand who, after years of neglect, is now enjoying a revival. Other snappier tales of criminal intent, gathered for the first time in book form, testify to Tony Medawar’s skill as an excavator of lost treasures of crime fiction. This, the fourth in the series of Bodies From The Library, is the best yet.’—Daily Mail 'An annual treat – almost like the summer version of a Christie for Christmas.'—Kate Jackson, author of The Pocket Detective and Cross Examining Crime ‘One of the best mixed anthologies I’ve come across … If you’re already a vintage crime fan, then this is one to grab; and if you’re new to the genre, then you’ll find this a very enjoyable way to introduce yourself to some of the greats. Highly recommended!’—FictionFanBlog

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Book Synopsis''Fast paced and packed with the Yorkshire duo's trademark humour' Daily MirrorThese stories will make a perfect Christmas present for mystery fiction aficionados' Guardian'Fast paced and packed with the Yorkshire duo's trademark humour' Daily MirrorThese stories will make a perfect Christmas present for mystery fiction aficionados' GuardianA vicar nailed to a tree in Yorkshire.The theft of a priceless artefact during a fire.A detective forced to tell the truth for 24 hours. A body hidden in a basement.From the restless streets of London to the wilds of the Lake District, displaying all his trademark humour, playfulness and clever plotting, this landmark collection brings together the very best of Reginald Hill's short stories for the first time, complete with a foreword from Val McDermid.PRAISE FOR REGINALD HILLOne of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists'The TimesA real treat. The characters are deftly drawn, the plot constantly delivers, surprises and the assured narrative demonstrates again what a terrific writer he is''Observer''Reginald Hill''s novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories intertwining''Ian Rankin''The finest male English contemporary crime writer''Val McDermidTrade Review“Fast paced and packed with the Yorkshire duo’s trademark humour” Daily Mirror ‘As well as being a highly skilled crime novelist, the late Reginald Hill (1936-2012) was an accomplished short story writer. This collection… showcases both Hill’s virtuosity and his continual experimentation with the genre … All are explored in Hill’s trademark playful but sharply observed style as he conjures up multifaceted characters with economical ease … these stories will make a perfect Christmas present for mystery fiction aficionados’ Guardian PRAISE FOR REGINALD HILL Fast paced and packed with the Yorkshire duo’s trademark humour The Times 'Reginald Hill's novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories intertwining'Ian Rankin 'The finest male English contemporary crime writer'Val McDermid 'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder'Sunday Telegraph 'Few writers in the genre today have Hill's gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace'Donna Leon, Sunday Times 'One of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists'The Times ‘Altogether an enjoyable performance, one of Mr Hill’s best’Financial Times 'These novels last, like a grand malt whisky – rounded, rich, intoxicating… Here is an author at his formidable best'Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday 'He is probably the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world'Andrew Taylor, Independent 'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction'Observer

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Book SynopsisChosen as one of the best new book releases' by COSMOPOLITANA best summer read' by ELLE MAGAZINEWhen you look at a woman, who do you see?Every aspect of her body or personality was up for inspection: too big, too small, too available, too hidden, too much, not enough.A wedding day brings back memories of sisterhood and betrayals; a motorway service station is the site of explosive violence, but also strange bonds; a trip home forces a reminder of a life-changing, lost friendship; a woman confronts her own infidelity; an artist celebrates a life spent in observation.This debut collection movingly explores how women and girls are looked at, look at one another, and look at themselves, and how living as an object can shape their passions, fears, and joys. With a clear eye and dark humour, Danielle Pender considers sex, parenting, grief and class as lenses for the ways in which the world watches women and how women are always watching back.Trade Review‘Watching Women and Girls is a searing meditation on the moments that make, and break, us. As canny as they are entertaining, these stories are packed with emotional intelligence, capturing the dark and the light of the female experience in a series of vignettes that every one of us will in some way relate to. I loved it.’CHARLOTTE PHILBY, AUTHOR OF THE SECOND WOMAN Vibrant, intense and darkly comic this is a powerful and thoughtful collection told through closely observed, spellbinding characters that stay with you.’ABIGAIL BERGSTROM, AUTHOR OF WHAT A SHAME ‘A page-flipping joy of a read. Pender is a generous writer and observer of society who incisively captures what it is to be a woman in our times.’CHARLOTTE JANSEN, AUTHOR OF GIRL ON GIRL ‘Smart and astute, funny and wry; a catalogue of the modern conditions of dating, working and being. It encouraged me to pay more attention to the world around me and the secret lives of those in it.’AMELIA ABRAHAM, AUTHOR OF QUEER INTENTIONS ‘To see, be seen and know that you are, always, being watched. That is the experience of being a woman today. This thoughtful, meditative and, at times, absurdly funny collection is a reminder that someone is, always, looking right back.’VICKY SPRATT, AUTHOR OF TENANTS ‘A beautifully written exploration of woman and girlhood, with all of its contradictions and quirks. Danielle is a sharp new talent.’SIRIN KALE Chosen as one of the ‘best new book releases’ by COSMOPOLITAN A ‘best summer read’ by ELLE MAGAZINE

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Book SynopsisClassic crime fiction''s ''Indiana Jones'' Tony Medawar unearths more unpublished and uncollected stories from the Golden Age of suspense, including John Bude, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L. Sayers and Julian Symons.Five books in, and the selection here might well be the strongest yet. This series continues to delight with the high standard of forgotten gems that Medawar uncovers, and there's sufficient range to ensure that all fans of the genre will find something to enjoy. Book 6 can't come soon enough.'Jim Noy, author of The Red Death MurdersThe end of the First World War saw the rise of an insatiable public appetite for clever and thrilling mystery fiction and a new kind of hero the modern crime writer. As the genre soared in popularity, so did the inventiveness of its best authors, ushering in a Golden Age of detective fiction two decades of exemplary mystery writing: the era of the whodunit, the impossible crime and the locked-room mystery, with stories that have thrilled and baTrade Review‘An annual treat – almost like the summer version of a Christie for Christmas.’—Kate Jackson, author of The Pocket Detective and Cross Examining Crime ‘One of the best mixed anthologies I’ve come across … If you’re already a vintage crime fan, then this is one to grab; and if you’re new to the genre, then you’ll find this a very enjoyable way to introduce yourself to some of the greats. Highly recommended!’—FictionFanBlog ‘A veritable treasure trove of classic short stories’—Daily Mail ‘Tony Medawar triumphs again with this treasure trove of lost Golden Age gems.’—John Curran, author of The Hooded Gunman ‘In bringing to public awareness some of the forgotten, neglected, or simply unknown stories that the great and the good of the form produced, these collections have become a source of great excitement, and a must-read for even the most ardent student of the Golden Age.’—The Invisible Event

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"You're going to laugh, you're going to gasp, you're going to wonder if you're allowed to enjoy this book and then you're going to be laughing all over again. This is Black satire with bite, like Zora Neale Hurston used to do, with a smile and a sharp elbow. A touch of Paul Beatty, a dose of Dolemite, and a serving of Dorothy Parker, too. Give My Love to the Savages announces Chris Stuck as a fearless talent, a debut that'll make your sides and your heart hurt." — Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling “Give My Love To The Savages is a wildly inventive collection of provocative stories about navigating the minefield of black masculinity in America. Stuck’s fresh and fearless perspective overturns assumptions about race and identity to reveal complex layers of absurdity. At times merciless, always darkly funny, these are stories of unexpected communion, connection, and compassion.” — Chanelle Benz, author of The Gone Dead “Stuck’s debut collection, Give My Love to the Savages, is both hilarious and harrowing. This is a collection full of movement, of intelligent people traveling to new places or returning to old ones, leading to discoveries about themselves, about family and about the places they call home. Chris Stuck is a writer who has spent much time pondering the human condition, and we are the beneficiaries of his labor.” — New York Times “With these sharp and searching stories about black people adrift in America, Chris Stuck makes invisible men feel seen. In this great book, I saw myself through many lenses.” — Chris L. Terry, author of the novels Black Card and Zero Fade “Stuck brings uncompromising humor and judicious characterizations, offering piercing insights on the complexity of his characters’ experiences. The author’s perfect balance of absurdism and realism makes these stories shine.” — Publishers Weekly "Stuck presents us with a strong, focused debut collection. He creates nuanced characters, crafts varied perspectives on race and gender in America, and shows off his talent for economy of words and sharp dialogue throughout the book." — Chicago Review of Books “Stuck is unafraid to tackle and illuminate the absurdities that accompany how we perceive and react to race.” — Time magazine “At once absurd and shot through with startling reality, Chris Stuck’s Give My Love to the Savages will rattle around in your head and your heart long after you finish reading it.” — Essence “Chris Stuck's short-story collection comes together as a harrowing portrait of race relations in America, as beautiful as it is urgent.” — Entertainment Weekly

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Book SynopsisIn the whole delightful world of Wodehouse, the English clergy offers some of the richest sources of good-natured good humour. Confronted by burglars or belted earls, they plough serenely on with the Advent sermon or the opening of the village fete - until that is, they are swept uncontrollably into fiendish plots which only a well-disposed devil or member of the Drones Club could have contrived.No bishop is more endearingly plump and pompous than a P.G. Wodehouse bishop, no vicar more a pillar of his community (provided his sermons aren''t too long), and in this collection of short stories we watch as they are plunged into one hilarious scenario after another.Trade ReviewYou don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour -- Stephen FryThe greatest comic writer ever * Douglas Adams *The funniest writer ever to put words to paper -- Hugh LaurieP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century -- Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius -- Ben Elton

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Book SynopsisIn the same delectable format as The Matisse Stories, this collection deals with betrayal and loyalty, quests and longings, loneliness and passion - the mysterious absences at the heart of the fullest lives. A scholar pursues an elusive biographer, stumbling upon buried fragments of distant lives; a woman walks out of her previous existence and encounters an ice-blond stranger from a secretive world; a schoolgirl draws a blood-filled picture of jael; a swimming pool reveals a beauteous monster in its depths. The settings range from the heart of Provence in summer to the cold forests of Scandinavia, form chalk-strewn classrooms to herbscented hillsides, from suburban streets to rocky wilds.Trade ReviewRich physical details, lush sensual descriptions of people and places...Byatt's engaging message is that art, curiosity and stories and save us. Now read on -- Michèle Roberts * Independent on Sunday *Byatt weaves myth and art into bewitching fables...an astonishing display of imagination. The whole collection has a kaleidoscopic beauty -- Mark Sanderson * Time Out *Drenched in colour, spangled with optical effects, the yarns and parables in Elementals pay rapt attention to a world of light -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *"Cold", the story at the centre of Elementals is entirely fabulous...Its tenor is voluptuous and melancholy, like that of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories, with some of the erotic edge of Angela Carter's...These stories are full of colour and light -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Sunday Times *In a sparkling year for short stories, A.S. Byatt takes all the prizes...A wonderful series of reflections on the harsh realities of life (loneliness, death and betrayal) overlaid with a goassamer-light cloak of passion, mystery and ancient magic -- Carolyn Hart * Marie Claire *

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Book SynopsisKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. During the Second World War he served in Europe and, as a prisoner of war in Germany, witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired the canonic war novel Slaughterhouse-Five. He is the author of thirteen other novels, which include Cat's Cradle, Jailbird, Deadeye Dick, Galápagos and Bluebeard, two collections of stories, and three non-fiction books. He died in 2007.Trade ReviewA brilliant wacky ideas-monger * Observer *A cool writer, at once throwaway and passionate and very funny * Financial Times *One of the 20th century's finest humorists and humanists, a writer who has inherited HG Wells's visionary imagination and his gift for social commentary * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisMurder, perversion, corruption, blackmail, secret terrors that lead to unspeakable acts, hidden fears that erupt in irrational violence...All these, of course, are part of someone else''s world. They happen out there, far from the ordinary streets and ordinary people who live in your neighbourhood, your town. They have nothing to do with the everyday lives of people like you.Or do they?The New Girlfriend and Other Stories - an extraordinary collection of sleek and sinister stories from the writer described by Scott Turow as ''one of the greatest novelists presently at work in our language''.''Flesh creeping skill'' - OBSERVER''Her range is extraordinary... a shocking fusillade of finales'' - SUNDAY TIMES

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the bestselling Suite Française.Le Bal is a sharp, brittle story of a girl who sets out to ruin the mother she hates. The Kampfs have risen swiftly up the ranks of 1930s Parisian society. Painfully aware of her working-class roots, and desperate to win acceptance, Madame Kampf decides to throw a huge ball to announce her arrival to society. Her daughter Antoinette, who has just turned fourteen, dreams of attending, but Madame Kampf is resolved not to present her daughter to potential admirers. In a fury of adolescent rage and despair, Antoinette exacts a swift and horrible revenge...Snow in Autumn pays homage to Némirovsky''s beloved Chekhov and chronicles the life of a devoted servant following her masters as they flee Revolutionary Moscow and emigrate to a life of hardship in Paris. As the crisis pushes the family to the brink of dissolution, Tatiana struggles to adapt to life in Paris and waits in vain for her cherishTrade ReviewWith its cool, understated prose and sharp psychological accuracy, this is perfect for a train journey... A reminder of what good writing can achieve in a very few words * The Times *A cruel, sophisticated tale making the terrible beautiful without diminishing for one moment the horrors of displacement and war * Guardian *A genuine artist -- Julian BarnesThis book is a masterpiece * Sunday Express *It is quite outstanding, full of beauty, pain and truth... We are lucky to have this book * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisKurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. During the Second World War he served in Europe and, as a prisoner of was in Germany, witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired his classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five. He is the author of thirteen other novels, three collections of stories and five non-fiction books. Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007.Trade ReviewVonnegut is masterful at quickly sketching a character who you instantly recognise and immeadiately are willing to follow... no matter the plot, you as the reader know that by the end of the story, you will get somewhere. That Vonnegut will tell you something with candour and clarity -- Dave EggersA cool writer, at once throwaway and passionate and very funny * Financial Times *A satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion, a cynic who wants to believe -- Jay McInerneyUnimitative and inimitable social satirist * Harper's *A laughing prophet of doom * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThis is a collection of the very best of William Faulkner's short stories. Included are classics of short-form fiction such as A Bear Hunt', A Rose for Emily', Two Soldiers' and The Brooch'. Faulkner's ability to compress his epic vision into narratives of such grace and tragic intensity defines him as one of the finest and most original writers America has ever produced.

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Book SynopsisThese dazzling and utterly satisfying stories explore varieties and degrees of love - filial, platonic, sexual, parental, and imagined - in the lives of apparently ordinary folk.Complete, complex, and brilliantly structured' Daily TelegraphIn fact, Munro''s characters pulse with idiosyncratic life. Under the polished surface of these unsentimental dispatches from the small-town and rural front lies a strong undertow of violence and sexuality, repressed until something snaps, with extraordinary force in some of the stories, sadly and strangely in others.Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWinner of the Man Booker International Prize 2009Trade ReviewShe has a touch of genius * Mail on Sunday *Whatever it is that makes some writing come alive in every phrase and sentence, Alice Munro has it... I wouldn't willingly miss one of her stories * Sunday Times *Munro has been compared with Proust, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and remains - though dazzling - quite unperturbed and unaffected, her writing smooth and supple * Financial Times *A work of great brilliance and depth... Munro's power of analysis, of sensation, and thoughts, is almost Proustian in its sureness * New Statesman *Only a few writers continue to create those full-bodied miniature universes of the old school. Some of her short stories are so ample and fulfilling that they feel like novels. They present whole landscapes and cultures, whole families of characters -- Anne Tyler

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Book SynopsisRead Alice Munro's dark and powerful exploration of the human heart in this ten-story collection.Brilliant at evoking life''s diversity and unpredictability...an unrivalled chronicler of human nature under a vast span of aspects, moods, and pressures' Sunday TimesA woman haunted by dreams of her dead mother. An adulterous couple stepping over the line where the initial excitement ends, and the pain begins. A widow visiting a Scottish village in search of her husband''s past - and instead, discovering unsettling truths about a total stranger. The ten stories in this collection not only astonish and delight but also convey the unspoken mysteries at the heart of all human experience.Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWinner of the Man Booker International Prize 2009Trade ReviewRead not more than one of her stories a day, and allow them to work their spell: they are made last * Observer *Alice Munro's stories, Friend of My Youth, are wonderful: intricate, deep, full of absorbing and funny detail, and opening into painful and tender memories with cunningly concealed skill * Independent on Sunday *She is our Chekhov, and is going to outlast most of her contemporaries -- Cynthia OzickBrilliant at evoking life's diversity and unpredictability...an unrivalled chronicler of human nature under a vast span of aspects, moods and pressures * Sunday Times *The particular brilliance of Alice Munro is that in range and depth her short stories are almost novels * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe Hill Bachelors - a remarkable collection of stories from the master storyteller William Trevor''There is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world'' The Wall Street JournalThe Hill Bachelors is a stunning meditation on men and women and the heartbreak of missed opportunities: three people are frozen in a conspiracy of silence that prevents love''s consummation; a nine-year-old dreams that a movie part will heal her fragmented family life; a brother and sister forge a new life amid the terrible beauty of Ireland after the Rebellion; and in the title story, a young man chooses between his longtime love and a life of solitude on the family farm. These twelve beautifully rendered tales reveal Trevor''s unrivalled compassion for the human condition.''His tight, perfected short stories - each an astonishing performance in which melodramatic situations are turned, by acute psychological insight, into classic drama - make him

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Book SynopsisStories of comedy and character from one of Britain's greatest novelistsThis witty and amusing collection of short pieces shows Dickens liberated from the more formal and sustained demands of the novel and experimenting with a diverse range of fictional techniques. In his tales of the supernatural, he creates frighteningly believable, spine-tingling stories of prophetic dreams and visions, as well as more fantastical adventures with goblins and apparitions. Impressionistic sketches combine imaginatively heightened travel journals with wry observations of home and abroad, while in his dramatic monologues, Dickens demonstrates his talent for exploring the secret workings of the human mind. These short works display Dickens's exuberant sense of comedy and character as his imagination is given free rein.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Cla

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Book SynopsisThis unflinching portrayal of the squalor and brutality of New York life produced a scandal when it was published in 1893. Crane''s novel tells the story of Maggie Johnson, a young woman who, seduced by her brother''s friend and then disowned by her family, turns to prostitution. More than the tale of a young woman''s tragic fall, this is a powerful exploration of the destructive forces underlying urban society and human nature. Also included here is ''George''s Mother'', along with eleven other tales and sketches of New York written between 1892 and 1896.Table of ContentsEdited and with an Introduction by Larzer Ziff with the Assistance of Theo DavisIntroduction: Stephen Crane's New York by Larzer ZiffSuggestions for Further ReadingNote on the TextsMaggie: A Girl of the Streets (A Story of New York) (1893)George's Mother (1896)Tales of New YorkThe Broken-Down Van (1892)An Ominous Baby (1893, 1894)A Great Mistake (1893, 1896)A Dark-Brown Dog (1893, 1901)An Experiment in Misery (1894)An Experiment in Luxury (1894)Mr. Binks' Day Off (1894)The Men in the Storm (1894)When Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers (1894)An Eloquence of Grief (1896, 1898)Adventures of a Novelist (1896)

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Book SynopsisThese short works, ranging from Tolstoy's earliest tales to the brilliant title story, are rich in the insights and passion that characterize all of his explorations in love, war, courage, and civilization.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsHow Much Land Does a Man Need?Introduction by A. N. WilsonThe WoodfellingTwo HussarsHow Much Land Does a Man Need?Where Love Is, God IsWhat Men Live ByNeglect a Spark and the House Burns DownThe Two Old MenThe RaidA Prisoner of the Caucasus

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Book SynopsisTales of madness, alienation, and insight from a master of the short storyWard No. 6 and Other Stories 1892-1895 collects stories which show Anton Chekhov beginning to confront complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions in his short fiction. These stories from the middle period of Chekhov''s career include - influenced by his own experiences as a doctor - ''Ward No. 6'', a savage indictment of the medical profession set in a mental hospital; ''The Black Monk'', portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity; ''Murder'', in which religious fervour leads to violence; while in ''The Student'', Chekhov''s favourite story, a young man recounts a tale from the gospels and undergoes a spiritual epiphany. In all the stories collected here, Chekhov''s characters face madness, alienation and frustration before they experience brief, ephemeral moments of insight, often earned at great cost, where they confront the reality of tTable of ContentsWard No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895IntroductionFurther ReadingChronologyNote on TextPatronymicsThe GrasshopperWard No. 6AriadnaThe Black MonkMurderA Woman's KingdomThe Two VolodyasThree YearsThe StudentPublishing History and Notes

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Book SynopsisSet in the Paris of society women, prostitutes and small-minded bourgeousie, and the isolated villages of rural Normandy that de Maupassant knew as a child, the thirty-three tales in this volume are among the most darkly humorous and brilliant short stories in nineteenth-century literature. They focus on the relationships between men and women, as in the poignant fantasy of 'A Parisian Affair', between brothers and sisters, and between masters and servants. Through these relationships, Maupassant explores the dualistic nature of the human character and his stories reveal both nobility, civility and generosity, and, in stories such as 'At Sea' and 'Boule de Suif', vanity, greed and hypocrisy. Maupassant's stories repeatedly lay humanity bare with deft wit and devastating honesty.Siân Miles's vibrant new translation is accompanied by an Introduction discussing Maupassant's stpries as a reflection of the rapidly changing beliefs of his society. This edition includes the famo

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Book SynopsisBorges'' first collection of stories (1935). In his writing, Borges always combined high seriousness with a wicked sense of fun. Here he reveals his delight in re-creating (or making up) colorful stories from the Orient, the Islamic world, and the Wild West, as well as his horrified fascination with knife fights, political and personal betrayal, and bloodthirsty revenge. Spark-ling with the sheer exuberant pleasure of story-telling, this collection marked the emergence of an utterly distinctive literary voice.

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Book SynopsisPrimo Levi was one of the most astonishing voices to emerge from the twentieth century: a man who survived one of the ugliest times in history, yet who was able to describe his own Auschwitz experience with an unaffected tenderness.Levi was a master storyteller but he did not write fairytales. These stories are an elegy to the human figures who stood out against the tragic background of Auschwitz, ''the ones in whom I had recognized the will and capacity to react, and hence a rudiment of virtue''. Each centres on an individual who - whether it be through a juggling trick, a slice of apple or a letter - discovers one of the ''bizarre, marginal moments of reprieve''.

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Book SynopsisCollecting five stories of suspense, mystery and slow, creeping horror, Daphne Du Maurier''s Don''t Look Now and Other Stories includes an introduction by Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black, in Penguin Modern Classics.John and Laura have come to Venice to try and escape the pain of their young daughter''s death. But when they encounter two old women who claim to have second sight, they find that instead of laying their ghosts to rest they become caught up in a train of increasingly strange and violent events. The four other haunting, evocative stories in this volume also explore deep fears and longings, secrets and desires: ''Not After Midnight'', in which a lonely teacher investigates a mysterious American couple; ''A Border Line Case'', in which a young woman confronts her father''s past and his associations with the IRA; ''The Way of the Cross'', in which a party of pilgrims to Jerusalem encounter strange phenomena in the Garden of Gethsemane; and ''Th

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Book SynopsisPrimo Levi was one of the most astonishing voices to emerge from the twentieth century. This landmark selection of his short stories opens up a world of wonder, love, cruelty and curious twists of fate, where nothing is as it seems. In ''The Fugitive'' an office worker composes the most beautiful poem ever with unforeseen consequences, while ''Magic Paint'' sees a group of researchers develop a paint that mysteriously protects them from misfortune. ''Gladiators'' and ''The Knall'' are chilling explorations of mass violence, and in ''The Tranquil Star'' a simple story of stargazing becomes a meditation on language, imagination and infinity.

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Book SynopsisA collection of stories.

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Book SynopsisThis selection of Poe''s critical writings, short fiction and poetry demonstrates an intense interest in aesthetic issues and the astonishing power and imagination with which he probed the darkest corners of the human mind. The Fall of the House of Usher describes the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past. In The Tell Tale Heart, a murderer''s insane delusions threaten to betray him, while stories such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Cask of Amontillado explore extreme states of decadence, fear and hate.

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Book SynopsisIn this unique collection of short stories composed between 1910-62, Evelyn Waugh''s early juvenilia are brought together with later pieces, some of which became the inspirations for his novels. ''Mr Loveday''s Little Outing'' is a blackly comic tale of a mental asylum and its favourite resident; ''Cruise'' sees a hilarious series of letters from a naïve young woman as she travels with her family; ''A House of Gentlefolks'' observes a group of elderly eccentric aristocrats and their young heir; and in ''The Sympathetic Passenger'' a radio-loathing retiree picks up exactly the wrong hitchhiker. These witty and immaculately crafted stories display the finest writing of a master of satire and comic twists.

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Book SynopsisMargaret Drabble is one of the major literary figures of her generation. In this collection of her complete short fiction from across four decades, she examines the intense private worlds and passions of everyday people.From one man''s honeymooning epiphany in ''Hassan''s Tower'' to the journeying fantasies of ''A Voyage to Cythera'', and from the sharp joy of ''The Merry Widow'' to the bloody reality of the collection''s title story, these are moving, witty and provocative tales, exploring cruel and loving relationships, social change and personal obsessions, and confirming her status as a leading practitioner of the art of the short story.Trade ReviewBrims with sharply observed life and the author's seemingly infinite sympathy for "ordinary women" -- Joyce Carol OatesDrabble writes so penetratingly about the female condition that it is impossible not to laugh, wince and admire -- Amanda Craig * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisDarkly funny, searingly honest short stories from Hans Fallada, author of bestselling Alone in BerlinIn these stories, criminals lament how hard it is to scrape a living by breaking and entering; families measure their daily struggles in marks and pfennigs; a convict makes a desperate leap from a moving train; a ring - and with it a marriage - is lost in a basket of potatoes.Here, as in his novels, Fallada is by turns tough, darkly funny, streetwise and effortlessly engaging, writing with acute feeling about ordinary lives shaped by forces larger than themselves: addiction, love, money.Trade ReviewA powerful chronicler of human weakness shot through with hope * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThis collection of short stories traces D. H. Lawrence''s development as a writer. His early tales often draw on personal experiences, as in ''Odour of Chrysanthemums'', a work he described as ''full of my childhood''s atmosphere'', while the horror of the First World War haunts ''England, My England''. Later stories, such as ''Things'', powerfully express his evolving ideas about the duality of our lives. With their complex characters, these stories illuminate emotional lives and, above all, illustrate Lawrence''s passionate belief about the destructive forces in modern society and their effect on love.With an Introduction by Louise Welsh and Notes by Sue Wilson

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Book SynopsisA landmark selection of the works one of the greatest Greek writers of the twentieth centuryStripped of their ancestral lands and persecuted by other proud dynasties, the once illustrious Eumorphopoulos family have been brought low. But when their rivals begin to falter, two Eumorphopoulos brothers, Aristodemus and Dimitrakis, resolve to restore their line''s ancient glory. Yet they disagree about the best path forward: do they look to the ancient past - to long-lost language and culture - or to the ideology and technology of the present. . . The Archeologist, Andreas Karkavitsas'' masterpiece, is at once a powerful allegory for the questions facing Greek nationalism at the turn of the century, as well as a vision of Europe that, conceived on the precipice of the First World War, now resounds with tragedy.Also included in this edition are a selection of ''sea tales'' - folk stories told to Karakvitas by sailors, fishermen and sponge-divers during his travels in the Mediterranean. Staples of Greek literature, these four sea stories are considered some of Karakvitsas'' greatest achievements.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2023 PEN Translation PrizeWinner of the 2023 NSW Premier’s Translation Prize An eerie, alienating, yet comic and profoundly sympathetic short story collection about Americans in America by one of Indonesia’s most prominent writers, now in an English translation for its fortieth anniversary, with a foreword by Intan ParamadithaA Penguin ClassicIn these seven stories of People from Bloomington, our peculiar narrators find themselves in the most peculiar of circumstances and encounter the most peculiar of people. Set in Bloomington, Indiana, where the author lived as a graduate student in the 1970s, this is far from the idyllic portrait of small-town America. Rather, sectioned into apartment units and rented rooms, and gridded by long empty streets and distances traversable only by car, it’s a place where the solitary can all too easily remain solitary; where people can at once be obsessively curiousTrade Review“First published in Indonesia 40 years ago, this story collection from celebrated author Darma gets a second life—and an English translation—as a Penguin Classic. Across seven stories set in the gridded streets and rented rooms of Bloomington, Ind., Darma’s characters navigate their morbidly funny lives in this meditation on alienation, failed connection, and the universal strangeness of the human mind.”—The Millions “Despite his assertion that that the characters from People from Bloomington could have been drawn from any place in the world, Darma perceived, as an outsider, an emerging attitude towards the recluses on the edges of an ordinary Midwestern city. People from Bloomington feels like a report from the early days of the great American unwinding of civic responsibility and sense of interconnectedness. His characters are unsettling because they are recognizable—if not in our communities, then in ourselves. Darma doesn’t let us look away.”—David Kobe, The Rumpus

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Book SynopsisEdgar Allan Poe's extraordinary Gothic tales are classics of horror fiction, and created many of the conventions which still dominate the genre of detective fiction. This selection places the most popular against travel narrative, essays, and political satires.Trade ReviewI picked up The Pit and The Pendulum and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe, a collection which just got a convenient small hardcover reprint from Oxford University Press. * John DeNardo, Kirkus Reviews *With scholarly annotations and bibliography, an informative introduction, and useful chronology, Oxford University Press has produced a highly attractive volume suitable for all species of reader. * Chris Hill, The Fortean Times *Bound in glorious purple, this new edition of Edgar Allan Poe's tales from Oxford World's Classics reprints some neglected Poe tales among the usual classics. * Oliver Tearle, Interesting Literature *This is a fine introduction to not only the man himself but also the genre of Gothic fiction... Check it out if you have not already. * Ian Macleod, Frightfest *Table of ContentsIntroductionMS Found in a BottleBerenicëMorellaLigeiaThe Man That Was Used UpThe Fall of the House of UsherWilliam WilsonThe Man of the CrowdThe Murders in the Rue MorgueEleonoraThe Masque of the Red DeathThe Pit and the PendulumThe Mystery of Marie RogêtThe Tell-Tale HeartThe Gold-BugThe Black CatA Tale of the Ragged MountainsThe Purloined LetterThe Systems of Doctor Tarr and Professor FetherThe Imp of the PerverseThe Cask of AmontilladoThe Domain of ArnheimHop-FrogVon Kempelen and his DiscoveryExplanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisThis volume contains new translations of four of Pushkin's best works of fiction. The Queen of Spades has long been acknowledged as one of the world's greatest short stories, in which Pushkin explores the nature of obsession. The Tales of Belkin are witty parodies of sentimentalism, while Peter the Great's Blackamoor is an early experiment with recreating the past. The Captain's Daughter is a novel-length masterpiece which combineshistorical fiction in the manner of Sir Walter Scott with the devices of the Russian fairy-tale. The introduction provides close readings of the stories and places them in their European literary context.Trade ReviewHe is a great story-teller, the Toby Litt of his day, you might say, and this translation knocks all the others I have seen (two) into a cocked hat. Terrific. * Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian *The Queen of Spades is surely Pushkin's prose masterpiece, one of the greatest short stories ever written and the source of Tchaikovsky's opera. * The Irish Times (Dublin) *Table of ContentsTales of The Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin ; The Queen of Spades ; The Captain's Daughter ; Peter The Great's Blackamoor

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'there is no doubt that the French-born Merimee was one of the earlier masters of the short story' Cape Times'A very good edition and a solid translation.' Dr Lance Butler, University of StirlingTable of ContentsCarmen; Mateo Falcone; The Storming of the Redoubt; Tamango; The Etruscan Vase; The Game of Backgammon; The Venus of Ille; Colomba; Lokis

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