Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Dead Souls

  Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

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  Regarded as the first great masterpiece of Russian literature, Dead Souls mixes realism and symbolism for a vivid and highly original portrait of Russian life. Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town with a bizarre but seductive proposition for local landowners. He proposes to buy the names of their serfs who have died but who are still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them. But what collateral will Chichikov receive for these souls ? Full of larger-than-life Dickensian characters rogues and scoundrels, landowners and serfs, conniving petty officials, and the wily antihero Chichikov Dead Souls is a devastating comic satire on social hypocrisy.

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  The Coffin Merchant

  Richard Middleton

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  Richard Barham Middleton (1882-1911) was an English poet and author who is remembered mostly for his supernatural tales and ghost stories, in particular 'The Ghost Ship', 'The Coffin Merchant' and 'On the Brighton Road'.'The Coffin Merchant' is the peculiar tale of Eustace Reynolds, who is handed a handbill by a stranger one day. The flyer reads: "You will soon be wanting a coffin! At 606 Gray's Inn Road, your order will be attended to with civility and despatch. Call and see us!"Eustace is curious enough to go to see the coffin merchant, and what happens next is unexpected, to say the least.

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  The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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  While contemplating his life and deeming himself ridiculous, a man on the verge of suicide is interrupted by a young girl begging for his help. In his dark mood, he brushes her away, but when he returns home to commit the act he cannot move past his feelings of guilt over his treatment of the girl. 
    
  The Dream of a Ridiculous Man was adapted into a 1990 BBC production entitled The Dream, starring Jeremy Irons.

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  A Hunger Artist

  Franz Kafka

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  A Hunger Artist is a short story by Franz Kafka.     The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is an archetypical creation of Kafka: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. The title of the story has been translated also to "A Fasting Artist" and "A Starvation Artist".    A Hunger Artist explores the familiar Kafka themes of death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure and the corruption of human relationships.    There is a sharp division among critical interpretations of "A Hunger Artist". Most commentators concur that the story is an allegory, but they disagree as to what is represented. Some critics, pointing to the hunger artist's asceticism, regard him as a saintly or even Christ-like figure. In support of this view they emphasize the unworldliness of the protagonist, the priest-like quality of the watchers, and the traditional religious significance of the forty-day period. Other critics insist that A Hunger Artist is an allegory of the misunderstood artist, whose vision of transcendence and artistic excellence is rejected or ignored by the public. This interpretation is sometimes joined with a reading of the story as autobiographical. According to this view, this story, written near the end of Kafka's life, links the hunger artist with the author as an alienated artist who is dying.    The moral of the story, says literature critic Maud Ellmann, is that it is not by food that we survive but by the gaze of others and "it is impossible to live by hunger unless we can be seen or represent doing so".

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  The Heart of It - Hamlet and...

  Elizabeth McNamer

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  Hamlet and Macbeth are two dramas by William Shakespeare that have been thrilling audiences for centuries. Both have been adapted to radio and film and continue to be taught in high schools and universities. But as with most of Shakespeare'             s works, modern audiences sometimes need some help absorbing elements of both plays. In a series of lectures, literary scholar Elizabeth McNamer provides engaging insights into these two Shakespeare classics. Providing glimpses into each play'             s most compelling moments, Dr. McNamer first focuses on Hamlet, regarded by many as the greatest drama ever written. Because he is given much to philosophizing, the Danish prince fails to act—             and this procrastination becomes Hamlet'             s downfall. McNamer then tackles Shakespeare's most gruesome tragedy. Macbeth, who has murdered his way to the crown, finds there only a murderer's reward—             no peace, no love, no honor, no friends—             only curses. While these lectures are grounded in scholarly research, they are also accessible for contemporary audiences, helping them appreciate more fully these two great works.

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  Pudd'nhead Wilson

  Mark Twain

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  At the beginning of Pudd'nhead Wilson a young slave woman, fearing for her infant's son's life, exchanges her light-skinned child with her master's.  From this rather simple premise Mark Twain fashioned one of his most entertaining, funny, yet biting novels.  On its surface, Pudd'nhead Wilson possesses all the elements of an engrossing nineteenth-century mystery:  reversed identities, a horrible crime, an eccentric detective, a suspenseful courtroom drama, and a surprising, unusual solution.  Yet it is not a mystery novel.  Seething with the undercurrents of antebellum southern culture, the book is a savage indictment in which the real criminal is society, and racial prejudice and slavery are the crimes.  Written in 1894, Pudd'nhead Wilson glistens with characteristic Twain humor, with suspense, and with pointed irony:  a gem among the author's later works

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