Category Archives: Travel Guides
Little Birds
Anais Nin`s second volume of erotic short stories is broader in scope, encompassing the entire breadth of human sensuality. Each of the 13 stories captures a moment of pure desire, in all its complexity and paradoxical simplicity.
Tender is the Night: A Romance
F. Scott Fitzgerald`s last completed novel, “Tender is the Night” is edited by Arnold Goldman with an introduction and notes by Richard Godden in “Penguin Modern Classics”. Between the First World War and the Wall Street Crash the French Riviera was the stylish place for wealthy Americans to visit. Among the most fashionable are psychoanalyst
Lucky Jim
Kingsley Amis` witty campus novel, `Lucky Jim` is a comedy that skewers the hypocrisies and vanities of 1950s academic life. Jim Dixon has accidentally fallen into a job at one of Britain`s new red brick universities. A moderately successful future in the History Department beckons – as long as Jim can stave off the unwelcome
At Swim-two-birds
Flann O`Brien`s first novel is a brilliant impressionistic jumble of ideas, mythology and nonsense. Operating on many levels it incorporates plots within plots, giving full rein to O`Brien`s dancing intellect and Celtic wit. The undergraduate narrator lives with his uncle in Dublin, drinks too much with his friends and invents stories peopled with hilarious and
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story
When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
`Seven Pillars of Wisdom` recreates epic events with extraordinary vividness; for anyone enraptured by David Lean’s classic vision of this tumultuous time in Middle Eastern history, this book is an absolute must.Although `continually and bitterly ashamed` that the Arabs had risen in revolt against the Turks as a result of fraudulent British promises of self-rule,
Sea and Sardinia
Written after the First World War when he was living in Sicily, Sea and Sardinia records Lawrence`s journey to Sardinia and back in January 1921. It reveals his delighted response to a new landscape and people and his uncanny ability to transmute the spirit of place into literary art. Like his other travel writings the
Decline and Fall
With his distinctive dark wit, Evelyn Waugh`s `Decline and Fall` is a masterful social satire sending up the social mores of 1920s England.Expelled from Oxford for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, including Prendy (plagued
Italian Folktales
Meticulously selected and artfully recreated, the selection of stories in Italian is vast and ranges geographically from Corsica and Sicily to Venice and the Alps. Calvino is himself clearly captivated by the folkloric imagination and communicates this in what is a fascinating and rich addition to folk literature.
The Myth Of Sisyphus,
The summation of the existentialist philosophy threaded throughout all his writing, Albert Camus` The Myth of Sisyphus is translated by Justin O`Brien with an introduction by James Wood in Penguin Classics. In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the fundamental question: is life worth living? If human existence holds no significance, what can
Under the Volcano
It is the Day of the Dead. The fiesta in full swing. In the shadow of Popocatepeti ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made of chocolate…and the ugly pariah dogs roam the streets. Geoffrey Firmin, HM ex-consul, is drowning himself in liquor and Mescal, while his ex-wife and half brother look on powerless to
A Month in the Country
In the summer of 1920 two men, both war survivors meet in the quiet English countryside. One is living in the church, intent upon uncovering and restoring an historical wall painting while the other camps in the next field in search of a lost grave. Out of their meeting, comes a deeper communion and a
Vanished Kingdoms
From Norman Davies, the acclaimed author of “Europe: A History”, comes the magical history of Europe`s lost realms, selected as a Book of the Year by the “Sunday Times”, “Daily Telegraph”, “New Statesman”, “Independent”, “Guardian” and “Financial Times”. Europe`s history is littered with kingdoms, duchies, empires and republics which have now disappeared but which were
Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat
This is the story of how we have tamed fire and ice, wielded whisks, spoons, graters, mashers, pestles and mortars, all in the name of feeding ourselves. Bee Wilson takes us on an enchanting culinary journey through the incredible creations, inventions and obsessions that have shaped how and what we cook. From huge Tudor open
Russia`s War 1941-1945
“In Russia`s War”, Richard Overy re-creates the Soviet Union`s apocalyptic struggle against Germany from the point of view both of the troops and of the ordinary civilians.In the course of human history there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-5. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the
Stones Into Schools
In this dramatic first-person narrative, Greg Mortenson picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in 2003, recounting his relentless, ongoing efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan. His work details his extensive voluntary work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after a massive earthquake hit the region in 2005 and the unique ways
Deep Country – Five Years In The Welsh Hills
Neil Ansell spent five years living between the back of beyond and the middle of nowhere, on his own, with no electricity, gas or water and effectively only the wildlife around him for company.His dilapidated cottage, rented for ยฃ100 per year, is so exposed to the elements that it appears to rain uphill, and so
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
This book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014. “The Catch-22 of dentistry”. (Stephen King). Joshua Ferris` dazzling new novel To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is about the meaning of life, the certainty of death, and the importance of good oral hygiene. There`s nothing like a dental chair to remind a man
On China
In 1971 Henry Kissinger took the historic step of reopening relations between China and the West, and since then has been more intimately connected with the country at the highest level than any other western figure. This book distils his unique experience, examining China`s history from the classical era to the present day, describing the
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ is a revealing insight into a culture that remains something seen mostly through the headlines by most people.Hooman Majd, acclaimed journalist and New York-residing grandson of an Ayatollah, has a unique perspective on his Iranian homeland. In this vivid, warm and humorous insider`s account, he opens our eyes to an
