Search results for ""Author Richard Dixon""

A sparkling new translation of the classic work on violence and revolution as seen through mythology and artThe Ruin of Kasch takes up two subjects: "the first is Talleyrand, and the second is everything else," wrote Italo Calvino when the book first appeared in 1983. Hailed as one of those rare books that persuade us to see our entire civilization in a new light, its guide is the French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, who knew the secrets of the ancien régime and all that came after, and was able to adapt the notion of "legitimacy" to the modern age. Roberto Calasso follows him through a vast gallery of scenes set immediately before and after the French Revolution, making occasional forays backward and forward in time, from Vedic India to the porticoes of the Palais-Royal and to the killing fields of Pol Pot, with appearances by Goethe and Marie Antoinette, Napoleon and Marx, Walter Benjamin and Chateaubriand. At the centre stands the story of the ruin of Kasch, a legendary kingdom based on the ritual killing of the king and emblematic of the ruin of ancient and modern regimes.'Startling, puzzling, profound . . . a work charged with intelligence and literary seduction' The New York Times'Unique, idiosyncratic and vaultingly ambitious... essential reading' Independent'A great fat jewel-box of a book, gleaming with obscure treasures' John Banville

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In this four-story suite, a modern master of Italian literature delves into the wonder and strangeness of the human condition.Eerie, fabulist, and elegant, each of Moresco’s stories features a central character at a different time of his life: childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. In these beautiful and unsettling narratives, a dreamlike logic governs a vivid and strange physical world. In “Blue Room,” the adolescent protagonist carries on a voyeuristic relationship with a blind old woman in a mysterious house. In “The Hole,” a young boy becomes fascinated by an outhouse toilet, a portal through which he observes bodily wastes, curiosities, and portents. In the title story, an act of violence deepens the nightmarish tones and mood of disorientation. And in “The King,” a child narrator—who may or may not be present—witnesses a horrific visit from an exiled ruler.Full of bodily parts, functions, and desires, Moresco’s stories distort time and reality to summon a world of carnal immediacy and uncanny haziness. A spectral and unnerving work of art, expertly translated by Richard Dixon, Clandestinity is a testament to Moresco’s genius.

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Nineteenth-century Europe abounds with conspiracy both ghastly and mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies, lies just one man?

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As a boy growing up in rural Italy in the 1930s, Damin is experiencing the first stirrings of adolescence when he accidentally sees his mother having sex with the local Fascist commandant. His pain, anger, and confusion are uncomfortably intertwined with a compulsion to watch them, which becomes an obsession. Isolating himself from anyone who might help him understand what he's feeling, he channels his fury into his javelin, getting better and better until he is a local champion. But his success is fleeting, as wholly confused and caught up in his own anger, he ends up betraying and humiliating his friends. The Javelin Thrower is the story of an erotic education turned tragic, poisoned by the darkness running through Mussolini's Italy.

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The novel in verse that inspired the sensational West End and Off-Broadway play, The Lehman Trilogy is the story of a family and a company that changed the world. On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside, dreaming of a new life in the new world. Sensing opportunity in the Deep South, he opens a textile shop in Alabama, and then he and his two brothers begin investing in anything and everything that will turn a profit, from cotton to coal to railroads to oil to airplanes.163 years later, the Lehman Brothers firm spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, and triggers the largest financial crisis in history. Spanning three generations and 150 years, The Lehman Trilogy is a moving epic that tells the story of modern capitalism through the saga of the Lehman brothers and their descendants. Surprising and exciting, brilliant and inventive, Stefano Massini’s masterpiece – like Hamilton – is a story of immigration, ambition, and success. It is the story of America itself, from a daring and original perspective.

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The gripping new conspiracy thriller by the bestselling author of The Name of the Rose1945, Lake Como. Mussolini and his mistress are captured and shot by local partisans. The precise circumstances of Il Duce’s death remain shrouded in confusion and controversy.1992, Milan. Colonna takes a job at a fledgling newspaper financed by a powerful media magnate. There he learns the paranoid theories of Braggadocio, who is convinced that Mussolini’s corpse was a body-double and part of a wider Fascist plot.Colonna is sceptical. But when a body is found, stabbed to death in a back alley, and the paper is shut down, even he is jolted out of his complacency. Fuelled by conspiracy theories, Mafiosi, love, corruption and murder, Numero Zero reverberates with the clash of forces that have shaped Italy since the Second World War. This gripping novel from the author of The Name of the Rose is told with all the power of a master storyteller.

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Nineteenth-century Europe abounds with conspiracy both ghastly and mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies, lies just one man?

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The novel in verse that inspired the sensational West End and Off-Broadway play, The Lehman Trilogy is the story of a family and a company that changed the world. On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside, dreaming of a new life in the new world. Sensing opportunity in the Deep South, he opens a textile shop in Alabama, and then he and his two brothers begin investing in anything and everything that will turn a profit, from cotton to coal to railroads to oil to airplanes.163 years later, the Lehman Brothers firm spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, and triggers the largest financial crisis in history. Spanning three generations and 150 years, The Lehman Trilogy is a moving epic that tells the story of modern capitalism through the saga of the Lehman brothers and their descendants. Surprising and exciting, brilliant and inventive, Stefano Massini’s masterpiece – like Hamilton – is a story of immigration, ambition, and success. It is the story of America itself, from a daring and original perspective.

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We are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that 'they' must never do it again. But who are 'they'?HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance - including Eco's iconic essay 'Ur-Fascism', which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini. Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times. If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future. Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Do not forget.''He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' Guardian

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A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year A Marginal Revolution Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year A Seminary Co-op Notable Book of the Year A Times Higher Education Book of the WeekA Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the YearMarco Santagata’s Dante: The Story of His Life illuminates one of the world’s supreme poets from many angles—writer, philosopher, father, courtier, political partisan. Santagata brings together a vast body of Italian scholarship on Dante’s medieval world, untangles a complex web of family and political relationships for English readers, and shows how the composition of the Commedia was influenced by local and regional politics.“Reading Marco Santagata’s fascinating new biography, the reader is soon forced to acknowledge that one of the cornerstones of Western literature [The Divine Comedy], a poem considered sublime and universal, is the product of vicious factionalism and packed with local scandal.”—Tim Parks, London Review of Books“This is a wonderful book. Even if you have not read Dante you will be gripped by its account of one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of literature, and one of the most dramatic periods of European history. If you are a Dantean, it will be your invaluable companion forever.”—A. N. Wilson, The Spectator

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The final collection of essays from the internationally acclaimed and bestselling author of The Name of the Rose and The Prague Cemetery, on the subjects of art and culture.In this collection of essays we find Umberto Eco’s perennial areas of interest explored in a lively and engaging style, accompanied by beautiful reproductions of the art he discusses. In these wide-ranging pieces he explores the roots of our civilization, changing ideas of beauty, our obsession with conspiracies and the emblematic heroes of the great narrative, amongst other fascinating topics.Umberto Eco was one of the most influential, and entertaining, intellectuals of the last century, as well as being a critically acclaimed and bestselling writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

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When Michelangelo, a young autistic child, goes missing, Commissario Sergio Striggio is put in charge of the investigation. Searches turn up nothing, but there is an interesting connection with the mother's past: when she was a child, her twin brother also went missing, never to be found. However, Striggio is finding it difficult to concentrate on the case. He is waiting for his father, Pietro, to come and stay. The idea of the visit is torturing him. He fears having to reveal that he is gay - most of all he fears that his partner, Leo, will reveal his sexuality to his father. Pietro, however, has other matters on his mind: he has news of a devastating diagnosis to share with his son.And when his life with Leo unexpectedly collides with his investigation into Michelangelo's disappearance, it seems that in the complicated web of the small town of Bolzano, the truth behind the mystery cannot hide for long.Valse Triste is one of those rare novels in which the quality of the writing is matched by the pace of the narrative. Fois' language is precise and poetic, and the reader is kept guessing by twist after twist.Translated from the Italian by Richard DixonRichard Dixon is a former barrister, and a literary translator from Italian. His previous translations include works by Umberto Eco and Giacomo Leopardi, and poetry by Franco Buffoni and Eugenio De Signoribus.With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union

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