Search results for ""Whereabouts Press""

The latest book in the acclaimed series of literary travel guides brings together a delightful sampling of short fiction from one of the world's most diverse, multicultural, and storied civilizations. India: A Traveler's Literary Companion features 14 short stories from some of India's best writers, collectively offering an insightful portrait of the beauty and complexity of Indian landscape, culture, and society. Travel to the Taj Mahal with Kunal Basu, as the humble accountant of his story becomes, in another incarnation, the architect of one of the world's most resplendent monuments. Let Vikram Chandra leads readers by the hand into the ghettos of Mumbai (Bombay), where a small-time thug fences some gold bars he has stolen and then decides to find out what pleasures his money can buy. Journey with Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay's silver-tongued salesman of medicated oil as he travels the trains around Calcutta, the city he loves more than anything else. And Nazir Mansuri's Melvillian "The Whale" transports readers to a small fishing village on the west coast of India, where an embittered sailor makes every whale he sees the object of his fury. Stories from nine languages and more than a dozen distinct cultures and regions -- from north, south, east, west, and even from India's remote northeast -- are brought together in this vibrant collection.

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Some of Italy's best-known writers, including Luigi Pirandello, Natalia Ginzburg, Alberto Moravia, and Antonio Tabucchi, join Italy's rising literary stars to take the reader on a panoramic tour of both city and countryside, across the social spectrum, surveying the country's rich cultural history. Explore Italy's popular tourist destinations and out-of-the-way spots under the fresh and even startling light cast by these eighteen diverse and exciting stories, most of which are available here in English for the first time. Italy is consistently one of the top five travel destinations in the world for American travellers. For those who wish to reach beyond the stereotypes and discover an Italy that's off the beaten path, as well as new insights along familiar, well-travelled roads, these stories -- arranged geographically for the traveller, armchair or otherwise -- is an excellent place to start.

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Whether revealing small-town superstitions or exposing Beijing’s underworld, these works of literary fiction offer insights to modern China and its myriad of social, cultural, and human concerns. An expansive country, China is made up of numerous ethnic groups with a dizzying array of local dialects and subcultures. In addition, China is experiencing staggering change, which is explored in contemporary literature. From the idyllic mountains of West Hunan to the picturesque water town of Zhejiang, from the high plateau of western Sichuan to the harsh landscape of the northeast — this compelling collection of short fiction represents the incredible diversity that is China.

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Travel to one of the most dynamic cities in the world in the company of its finest writers. The stories in this volume will take you on a personal odyssey through the city's rich past to its dynamic present. Arranged by the areas of Amsterdam they illuminate. These stories offer up a rich literary banquet to the traveller who wishes to experience the character and soul of this great city. Join better-known Dutch writers such as Harry Mulisch and Cees Nooteboom, along with those whose writing appears in English here for the first time, as they lead you along the canals, through the neighbourhoods, and from the past to the present in this rare collection of twentieth-century Dutch literature.

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This vital collection is as eclectic and electric as Brazil itself. These stories -- ranging from vignettes, sketches, and prose poems to traditional narratives -- cover a wide geography, physically, thematically, and stylistically. Tales of nature and magic, humor and tragedy, brutality and delicacy, sex and violence are played out against every corner of this vast and diverse land: the Amazon, the Northeast, the Central West, and the South, as well as in Brazil's two metropolises, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The earliest story, Machado de Assis' "The Wallet," was written at the end of the nineteenth century. The most recent were written especially for this book. Brazil is noted for its vibrant music and celebrations; this book shows an equally rich literary scene for the traveler or fan of world -- and world-class -- fiction.

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Noted for its literary legacy, Ireland has long been a top travel destination. This latest in the "Whereabouts Press Traveler's Literary Companions" series features Ireland's top writers as guides to the natural beauties and cultural nuances of the Emerald Isle.Ireland has consistently been in the top fifteen international travel destinations for Americans. Its immense appeal rests largely on the fact that it offers, even in the twenty-first century, a warm and inviting combination of ancient sites and modern cities. To help prospective visitors get an immediate feel for Ireland's lingering past and stylish present, this collection of short stories features some of Ireland's greatest (and newest) writers as engaging tour guides for all those who would like to better understand the prodigious literary heritage of an island which has produced the likes of James Joyce, Sean O'Faolain, Edna O'Brien, Frank O'Connor, Elizabeth Bowen, and William Trevor. These writers, plus an impressive line-up of other contributors, will take readers on an unprecedented journey across Ireland's four provinces - Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught - introducing them, en route, to the natural beauties and cultural nuances of the Emerald Isle.

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Mexico has long been the top travel destination for Americans. But until now, there has not been such a panoramic vision of offered by some of Mexico's finest contemporary writers of fiction and literary prose. Here are writings -- many translated for the first time -- that bring you to the people of the beaches, the deserts, jungles, snow-capped mountains, and megacities. The voices are rich and diverse, the stories enthralling and strange. These writings shatter stereotypes as they provide a rollicking journey from the Pacific to the Gulf, from Yucatan to the U.S.-Mexico border, from humble ranchos to a fabulous mountaintop castle. Contributors include Daniel Reveles, Carlos Fuentes, Ines Arredondo, Jesus Gardea, Elizondo Elizondo, Agustin Cadena, C. M. Mayo, Carlos Monsivais, Juan Villoro, Guadalupe Loaeza, Fernando del Paso, Monica Lavin, Pedro Angel Palou, Angeles Mastretta, Raul Mejia, Martha Cerda, Araceli Ardon, Bruno Estanol, Ilan Stavans, Raymundo Hernandez-Gil, Julieta Campos, Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Rosario Castellanos, and Laura Esquivel.

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This guide for literature enthusiasts and travelers alike reveals what Francophiles have long known: France is so much more than the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées. Including contributions from such celebrated French writers as Colette, Gabriel Chevallier, and Emmanuelle Laborit, this lively anthology takes readers through France in literary style. In Paris, walk down twisty Rue Ferrière, take a spin on a Franco-Arab carousel, and eavesdrop on a Jewish funeral party. In the suburbs, meet a pint-sized book thief and a gritty ghetto gang. Then visit Provence, Brittany, Normandy, and Alsace-Lorraine, and even witness the Tour de France. Organized by region, these charming stories are often funny, occasionally surreal, and always compelling.

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A companion to the literature of Australia, this book takes the reader on a journey through the continent in 25 stories, ranging from the colonial period to contemporary Australia. The stories evoke the mysterious outback, the gum trees, kangaroos and dingoes, and the busy streets of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, as well as some colourful Australian characters.

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