Between Parentheses: Essays, Articles & Speeches, 1998 - 2003
Roberto Bolano
Picador, Pb, 9780330510684
Roberto Bolano is most widely known for his groundbreaking novels and irreverent poetry, but as he became increasingly famous he found himself in great demand as a writer of non-fiction. Between Parentheses collects most of the newspaper columns and articles Bolano wrote during the last five years of his life, as well as the texts of some of his speeches and ... More/Buy
Diary
Witold Gombrowicz
Yale University Press, PB, 9780300118063
Just before the outbreak of World War II, young Witold Gombrowicz left his home in Poland and set sail for South America. In 1953, still living as an expatriate in Argentina, he began his "Diary" with one of literature's most memorable openings: Monday - Me; Tuesday - Me; Wednesday - Me; and, Thursday - Me. Gombrowicz's "Diary" grew to become a ... More/Buy
The Dickens Dictionary: An A-Z of England's greatest novelist
John Sutherland
Icon Books, HB, 9781848313910
For the bicentenary of Dickens' birth, Victorian literature expert John Sutherland has created a gloriously wide-ranging alphabetical companion to Dickens' work, excavating the hidden links between his characters, themes, and preoccupations, and the minutiae of his endlessly inventive wordplay. Covering America, Bastards, Childhood, Christmas, Empire, Fog, Larks, London, Madness, Murder, Orphans, Pubs, Punishment, Smells, Spontaneous Combustion and Zoo to name but ... More/Buy
Farther Away: A Collection
Jonathan Franzen
Harper Collins, PB, 9780007463084
In FARTHER AWAY, which gathers together essays and speeches written mostly in the past five years, Jonathan Franzen returns with renewed vigor to the themes, both human and literary, that have long preoccupied him. Whether recounting his violent encounter with bird poachers in Cyprus, examining his mixed feelings about the suicide of his friend and rival David Foster Wallace, or offering ... More/Buy
The Library Book
Alan Bennett et al
Profile Books, HB, 9781781250051
From Alan Bennett's Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan's Ten Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Tom Holland writes about libraries in the ancient world, while Seth Godin describes what a library will look like in 2020. Lionel Shriver thinks books are the best investment, Hardeep Singh Kohli shares his ... More/Buy
The Literary Lacan: From Literature to 'Lituraterre' and Beyond
Literary Lacan: From Literature to 'Lituraterre' and Beyond Santanu Biswas
Seagull Books, HB, 9780857420374
The relationship between literature and psychology is long and richly complex, and no more so than in the work of Jacques Lacan, the most controversial psychoanalyst since Freud. The Literary Lacan is dedicated to assessing Lacan's significant contribution to literary studies and the contribution, in turn, of literature to Lacanian psychoanalysis. The first essays in this collection provide close readings of ... More/Buy
Reading for My Life: Writings, 1958 - 2008
John Leonard
Knopf, HB, 9780670023080
A passionate, erudite, and wide-ranging critic, John Leonard helped shape the landscape of modern literature. He reviewed the most celebrated writers of his age—from Kurt Vonnegut and Joan Didion to Toni Morrison and Thomas Pynchon. He championed Morrison’s work so ardently that she invited him to travel with her to Stockholm when she accepted her Nobel Prize. He also contributed many ... More/Buy
Reflections: On the Magic of Writing
Diana Wynne Jones
David Fickling Books, HB, 9780385654036
Diana Wynne Jones was known for more than forty books of magical fantasy, written mainly for children. These include Howl's Moving Castle, which was adapted as an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. But she was also a witty, entertaining speaker, and a popular guest at science fiction and fantasy conventions, as well as having a scholarly side. This collection ... More/Buy