A dark, moving, and beautifully written novel about family, honor, and justice - exploring the world of young Russian immigrant Slava Gelman who stumbles from one tragicomic incident to another.

From the bestselling author of Prague comes a witty, inventive, brilliantly constructed novel about an Egyptologist obsessed with finding the tomb of an apocryphal king. This darkly comic labyrinth of a story opens on the desert plains of Egypt in 1922, then winds its way from the slums of Australia to the ballrooms of Boston, by way of Oxford, the battlefields of the First World War, and a royal court in turmoil. Just as Howard Carter unveils the tomb of Tutankhamun, making the most dazzling find in the history of archaeology, Oxford-educated Egyptologist Ralph Trilipush is digging himself into trouble, having staked his professional reputation and his fiancŽe's fortune on a scrap of hieroglyphic pornography. Meanwhile, a relentless Australian detective sets off on the case of his career, spanning the globe in search of a murderer. And another murderer. And possibly another murderer. The confluence of these seemingly separate stories results in an explosive ending, at once inevitable and utterly unpredictable. Arthur Phillips leads this expedition to its unforgettable climax with all the wit and narrative bravado that made Prague one of the most critically acclaimed novels of 2002. Exploring issues of class, greed, ambition, and the very human hunger for eternal life, this staggering second novel gives a glimpse of Phillips's range and maturity, and is sure to earn him further acclaim as one of the most exciting authors of his generation.

"When Adam Freedman--a skinny, immature, and lackluster high school student from Piedmont, California--is sent by his parents to join his older sister Casey in New York City, he is hopeful that his life is about to change. And it sure does. It is the Summer of 2006--the year of gay marriage demonstrations and the rise of transgender rights--and Casey has thrust herself into New York's fringe lesbian, sexual, and political scene. Accustomed to being a social misfit, Adam now finds himself part of a wild subculture complete with underground clubs, drinking, and friendly women who take a surprisingly intense interest in him. It takes some time for him to realize many in this new crowd assume he is transgendered--a boy who was born a girl--or else why would he always be around? But then he meets Gillian, the girl of his dreams. If only she weren't a lesbian! And if only she didn't believe he was really (sort of) a girl. Ariel Schrag's scathingly funny and poignant debut novel puts a fresh spin on questions of love, attraction, self-definition, and what it takes to be at home in your own skin"--

In an ambitious departure from her usual form, Anita Brookner expands her canvas in Family and Friends to create a richly textured novel about the life of a wealthy Jewish family in London, focusing on the generation that came to maturity between the two World Wars. Presiding over the Dorn household is the formidable Sofka, an elegant and circumspect widow who watches as her four children find their way into adulthood. Frederick, the sybaritic eldest son, escapes to the comforts of the Riviera while stern, dutiful Alfred runs the family business and burns with unrealized longings; Betty—pleasure-loving, vain, and selfish—makes her ambitious way from Paris to Hollywood, leaving her dreamy, passive sister Mimi to languish at home. A brilliant social novel of lost innocence and the complex nature of family bonds, Family and Friends meticulously portrays the emotional cost of everyday life.

Klavan's novel, a small treasure, recounts the psychosexual odyssey of Samantha Bradford, an obsessive poet in search of sanity and sexual fulfillment. His sentences are richly allusive, evidencing his mastery of the literary and psychoanalytic canons -- Small Press

World known Russian writer Anatoly Rybakov, the author of the Dirk, Bronze Bird, Children of Arbat, Heavy Sand and many other stories, novels, screenplays and TV serials was the founding President of the Russian PEN Centre. Harrison Salisbury says: "The epic tragedy of Stalin's Russia has never been written with such pervasive and dramatic terror as by Anatoli Rybakov in his semi-fictional novel, Fear". "Once read, it is a tale which will be engraved on the mind of the reader for life." .... The San Francisco Chronicle says: " A landmark in Soviet literary history.... Rybakov is a major talent."

Alfred Bester, author of the classic science fiction novels "The Demolished Man" and "The Stars My Destination," also penned this "lost" mainstream novel. "Who He?" is a lunatic variety show.one that started out as a panel quiz show and ended as comedy.

Relationships are tricky, even for gods. As writer Alan Zelenetz begins his run scribing THOR, the son of Odin faces challenges ranging from cosmic-powered adversaries to the pains of love! Can Sif assimilate to life on Midgard with Dr. Don Blake? Thor's complicated relationship soon becomes even more so with the arrival of Dracula. Will Sif become the Lord of the Vampires' latest victim, turned to an undead existence of bloodsucking? And how will Jane Foster's return complicate matters? It's a love triangle, Asgardian-style! Plus: An Annual adventure gorgeously drawn by Bob Hall, a never-before reprinted THOR graphic novel and a host of material from the fan-favourite Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe! Collecting: Thor (1966) #328-336 and Annual #11, and Marvel Graphic Novel: Thor - I, Whom The Gods Would Destroy

Written soon after the founding of the state of Israel, "The Second Scroll" is A.M. Klein's most innovative and visionary work. The five "books" of the novel are a modern testament of Jewish experience to which are appended "glosses" or commentaries in the form of drama, epistle, poetry, and psalm. The action centres on a young writer from Montreal, whose search for his legendary Uncle Melech becomes a journey of revelation through Italy, Morocco, and the Holy Land. Dissident and exile, reformer and scholar, Melech is a messianic figure who enacts the destiny of his people and embodies the spiritual yearnings of everyman. "The Second Scroll," Klein's only novel, combines the lyric genius of his poetic works with compelling reportage to create one of the most eloquent and original works in Canadian fiction.

Anzia Yezierska's "Children of Loneliness" explores the complex experiences of Jewish immigrants in New York City. This literary work delves into the challenges of social alienation and the struggles inherent in cultural assimilation. Through compelling prose, Yezierska examines the conflicts that arise between generations as they navigate new identities in a rapidly changing world. A poignant portrayal of the immigrant experience, "Children of Loneliness" offers a powerful glimpse into the lives of those seeking a new home while grappling with the loss of their traditions. The novel masterfully portrays the universal themes of identity, belonging, and the search for connection in an unfamiliar land, ensuring its enduring relevance. This carefully prepared print republication makes this important historical fiction accessible to all. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Classics of Modern Fiction - Eight Short Novels

From acclaimed author Alan Cheuse comes a trio of provocative novellas. In the title piece, Paradise, or, Eat Your Face, we meet travel writer Susan Wheelis and follow her exotic journey to Bali, and into her own frustrated soul. Care centers on Rafe Santera, a recent stroke victim who was once a vibrant, intellectual romantic. Attended by one of his many female admirers, we find ourselves in the midst of an unusual and politically incorrect love story. Cheuse takes us into Santera's erotic past, set against the daily struggles of a harrowing decline. The third novella, When The Stars Threw Down Their Spears and Watered Heaven with Their Tears, follows author Paul Brunce as he grapples with art, life, and family. Publisher's Weekly has praised Cheuse's "impressive command of many voices" and, in this collection, he is once again in top form and in possession of a powerful range of literary gifts.

ALEKSANDAR TISMA was born in 1924 in Vojvodina, Yugoslavia, to a Serbian father and a Hungarian mother. He experienced the Holocaust in his native town of Novi Sad. After the war he worked as a journalist in Novi Sad and Belgrade, and later became an editor, writer, and translator. He has written sixteen works of fiction, of which the last five--what he calls a pentateuch of novels and stories--have been devoted to the subject of the Holocaust.

Eleven-year-old Andi Carillo quickly becomes the star of her school's new co-ed tennis team, and when her talent attracts sports agents who want her to play professionally, Andi's best friend Jeff Michaels helps her thwart the agents by uncovering their underhanded schemes.

A world where "the family" stood above all else...where murder was a cure for treachery...where respectability could be purchased for vast sums of money...where love struggled to survive in a climate of corruption and violence...where memories of a penniless immigrant past still fired his consuming ambition...and vengeance could still come suddenly, totally, from friends, from family, from the most unexpected places.

"A propulsive debut political thriller set in the aftermath of a global nuclear weapons crisis -- from the acclaimed filmmaker of The Fugitive and an award-winning journalist A plot to disrupt a global peace summit in Chicago collides with a civil rights case breakthrough at a mysterious archaeological site "Andrew Davis is a cinematic master, and Jeff Biggers is a brilliant scribe of wild places. Together, they have created a thriller that will keep you up all night." --Luis Urrea, NY Times bestselling author of Good Night, Irene. Chicago detective Randall Jenkins has not been back home to the historic Civil Rights hotspot of Cairo, Illinois since the disappearance of his mother, a well-known journalist, several decades ago. That all changes the day Dr. Molly Moore, an ambitious young archaeologist in the national spotlight for her groundbreaking high-tech discoveries, uncovers a set of strange bones at a huge 12,000-year-old site at a highway construction project. With retired military general and contractor William Alexander breathing down her neck to cover up the dig, Molly and Randall soon find themselves in the middle of a wild military conspiracy. The detective and archaeologist's entwined family mysteries suddenly thrust them into the central position as the only people who can ensure the safety of the ongoing Chicago global peace summit. They must take on the rogue general who views any disarmament agreement as a clear and present danger to the United States. The fate of global peace and the lives of Molly and Randall hang in the balance"--

"Quiet Street" is the story of Edith and Jacob Hirsch and their two children, Dinah and Teddy, who live in a suburb of Jerusalem among neighbors they have known for many years. Edith's protected life comes to an end when she must face the bitter fact that her beautiful daughter at eighteen is more a soldier than a farmer and that the kibbutz where Dinah now lives is a military fortress, despite its newly planted orchards. The heroic sacrifices, the well-meaning mistakes, and the suspicions of a people living through the grueling 1948 siege of Jerusalem weave together into a dramatic portrayal of ordinary people in times of deep unrest. Originally published in 1951, "Quiet Street" was one of the first American novels published about the Israeli war for independence. Told from the mother's perspective, "Quiet Street" shows the devotion and wrenching cost required to make an ancient dream of a new state into a modern reality.

Warren Adler is the acclaimed author of 25 novels, published in 30 languages. Two of his books, "The War of the Roses" and "Random Hearts" were made into major motion pictures. He lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and New York City. Fiona FitzGerald, senator's daughter turned Washington, D.C., homicide detective, is called in to investigate when the daughter of a prominent lawyer is found murdered. All clues begin to point to a revered Supreme Court Justice with a sadomasochistic fetish. The Ties That Bind is the sixth book in Warren Adler's Fiona FitzGerald series. The first mystery, American Quartet, was on The New York Times list of top ten crime novels of the year. Try the other Fiona mysteries: American Quartet, American Sextet, Senator Love, Immaculate Deception, and The Witch of Watergate. "Adler sets well-connected Washington homicide dick Fiona FitzGerald another high profile puzzle most satisfying." .Kirkus Reviews "The Welcome return of an intense, likeable heroine." .St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Joseph Roth (1894-1939) was a superb writer whose compact yet lambent fiction deserves the highest praise (and a much wider readership). The Legend of the Holy Drinker, written and published in the year of his death, is a deeply affecting tale of Andreas, an alcoholic like Roth, who drinks himself to death in the rough houses of Paris. Michael Hoffman's superb translation has rightly garnered much praise. Hoffman stresses that, although often esteemed for the simplicity of his style, Roth is no brutalist: it is the economy and the directness of his writing that is so moving and makes his work so special. Despite its melancholic subject matter The Legend is an uplifting novella. Throughout the tale Andreas, previously an impoverished vagrant, is continuously visited by miraculous good fortune that illuminates the last days of his mendicant existence and lift him, and the reader, to a new understanding of his (our) dissolution.