Publisher: e4491
Carlos gets an invite to be a participant in a public tickling show. Will he meet the man of his dreams and be tickled wildly , or will he not put himself on display in front of thousands?
O, The Oprah Magazine's 20 Best Titles of the Year Time Magazine's 100 Books to Read in 2020 Financial Times' Best Books of 2020 Esquire's Best Books of 2020 New York Times Editors' Choice Lit Hub's Best Books of 2020 Bustle's Best Short Story Collections of 2020 Electric Literature's Favorite Short Story Collections of 2020 Library Journal's Best Short Stories of 2020 “Superb. . . . Krauss’s depictions of the nuances of sex and love, intimacy and dependence, call to mind the work of Natalia Ginzburg in their psychological profundity, their intellectual rigor. . . . Krauss’s stories capture characters at moments in their lives when they’re hungry for experience and open to possibilities, and that openness extends to the stories themselves: narratives too urgent and alive for neat plotlines, simplistic resolutions or easy answers.” —Molly Antopol, New York Times Book Review “From a contemporary master, an astounding collection of ten globetrotting stories, each one a powerful dissection of the thorny connections between men and women. . . . Each story is masterfully crafted and deeply contemplative, barreling toward a shimmering, inevitable conclusion, proving once again that Krauss is one of our most formidable talents in fiction.” —Esquire In one of her strongest works of fiction yet, Nicole Krauss plunges fearlessly into the struggle to understand what it is to be a man and what it is to be a woman, and the arising tensions that have existed from the very beginning of time. Set in our contemporary moment, and moving across the globe from Switzerland, Japan, and New York City to Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, and South America, the stories in To Be a Man feature male characters as fathers, lovers, friends, children, seducers, and even a lost husband who may never have been a husband at all. The way these stories mirror one other and resonate is beautiful, with a balance so finely tuned that the book almost feels like a novel. Echoes ring through stages of life: aging parents and new-born babies; young women’s coming of age and the newfound, somewhat bewildering sexual power that accompanies it; generational gaps and unexpected deliveries of strange new leases on life; mystery and wonder at a life lived or a future waiting to unfold. To Be a Man illuminates with a fierce, unwavering light the forces driving human existence: sex, power, violence, passion, self-discovery, growing older. Profound, poignant, and brilliant, Krauss’s stories are at once startling and deeply moving, but always revealing of all-too-human weakness and strength.Show book
Thirteen new stories of the Port William membership spanning the decades from World War II to the present momentFor those readers of his poetry and inspired by his increasingly vital work as advocate for rational land use and the right-size life, these stories of Wendell Berry's offer entry into the fictional place of value and beauty that is Port William, Kentucky. Berry has said it's taken a lifetime for him to learn to write like an old man, and that's what we have here, stories told with grace and ease and majesty. Wendell Berry is one of our greatest living American authors, writing with the wisdom of maturity and the incandescence that comes of love.These thirteen new works explore the memory and imagination of Andy Catlett, one of the well-loved central characters of the Port William saga. From 1932 to 2021, these stories span the length of Andy's life, from before the outbreak of the Second World War to the threatened end of rural life in America.Show book
Sit back and listen to these light-hearted witty rhymes and see the world Jonathan Swift saw -- and maybe recognize your own. Think there is such a thing as corrupt rich guys who pretend they're God's gift to the world? So did Swift. Think some of these types strut around as if calls of nature don't apply to them? So did Swift. In one hilarious poem, he even describes gold diggers fighting over the loaded gentleman's gaseous offerings! His poem On Poetry, A Rhapsody, censored for treasonous mocking of the royal family, is in its rare uncensored form here. As free as he himself is with his sharp tongue against the blackened rich and corrupt , he knows others might have to kiss up to eat. So he includes many verses of advice on how to go about lying for a living, for example, "Your interest lies to learn the knack Of whitening what before was black." Despite the decay and hypocrisy he sees all around him he stays upbeat throughout -- even making fun out of his own tragic onset of deafness. You already know this giant of English literature for the great feast of prose he left us. Think of these delicious poems here as your sinful dessert. - Summary by Arthur KrolmanShow book
The narrator, Zaleukos, a native of Constantinople, studied medicine in Paris and, following his father's death, develops a successful business as a travelling merchant and healer.Arriving in Florence, he sets up shop as usual. But after he has been in town a few days, he finds a small handwritten note from an unknown stranger, asking to meet him at midnight on the Ponte Vecchio. Curious, he goes to the bridge in question, but ends up tussling with the stranger and comes away with the man's red cloak. Attempting to lure the cloak's owner, by putting it on sale for an extortionate price in his shop a new incident soon occurs which results in him being passed another mysterious note, again asking for a meeting on the same bridge as before. This time, the purpose of the meeting becomes clear...but it is a very odd request, indeed, although financially well rewarded. But as Zaleukos is drawn into the intrigue, his mission takes on a far more horrible character, and before long he has committed an awful crime and is in imminent peril of his life.Show book
Nightfall is the prime time for terror… In the jungles of Vietnam, Hell on earth awaits a troop of unsuspecting GIs. A greedy gravedigger faces deadly repercussions for stealing from the dead. And love comes with a terrible price when a lonely woman turns to a witch to fulfill her heart’s desires… Plunge into darkness with Scare Street’s new collection of bone-chilling terror. This demonic volume contains thirteen sinister tales of supernatural horror. Enough to keep you reading into the darkest hours of the night. Things look different in the moonlight. The branches of a tree become a monster’s claws. The shadows around your window seem like wraiths, rising from the underworld. And the space beneath your bed becomes the perfect spot for a snarling beast to hide… But don’t worry. Soon the sun will rise, and everything will go back to normal. Assuming you make it through the night… This collection contains: 1. Search and Destroy by Richard Beauchamp 2. As Seen from Above by Dustin Walker 3. The Gravedigger by Daniel J. Bickley 4. Cuckoo, Cherry Tree by R.G. Evans 5. The Sanction by Damir Salkovic 6. The Old Man's Neighbor by Gordon Dunleavy 7. The Witch of the Woods by Jamie Zaccaria 8. Ōsuzumebachi by Matthew McKiernan 9. With Lying Tongues, With Words of Hatred by Spencer Koelle 10. Silver Maples by Tim Jeffreys 11. The Strange Journey of James Booth by Justin Boote 12. The Summer with No Tourists by Alethea Avery 13. Children's Home by Ron RipleyShow book
David Herbert Lawrence was born into a mining family in Nottinghamshire in 1885. He created his finest work shortly after the finish of the First World War. Two of the themes in his writing are the gradual disintegration of the class system and the customs and sexual mores of people across class divisions. What made Lawrence unusual was the combination of this subject matter with the style of his direct, modern prose. He was a great believer in instinct and intuition and this has the effect, as you listen to his stories, of not knowing what his characters will do nor knowing where they will arrive as a result of their ambivalence. The short stories in this collection reflect Lawrence’s broad experience of love in all its beauty and anguish. They are presented in this order: "The Horse-Dealer’s Daughter" "Women In Love" "Tickets Please" "Shades of Spring" "Two Blue Birds" "Fannie and Annie" "Samson and Delilah" "The White Stocking"Show book
