The Shoe Tester of Frankfurt(Excerpt)
作者 : 威廉·格纳齐诺
This brief and poignant novel from Germany explores existential questions as its 46-year-old narrator reflects on broken relationships and other failures, and struggles to come to terms with life.The Shoe Tester of Frankfurt by Wilhelm Genazino, 2004 recipient of the Georg-Büchner-Preis, Germanys highest literary honor, is finally available to English-speaking readers in a pitch-perfect translation by Philip Boehm.Employed by a high-end shoe manufacturer to test new products, the narrator spends his days wandering through his native city, encountering faces from his past (primarily female) and experiencing anew the many manifestations of the mystery of life. In the grand tradition of literary flaneurs, he takes note of his surroundings, from the significant to the mundane, and assembles them into a sort of mental collage that is at once self-portrait and cityscape.Most remarkable in Genazinos work is the humor with which he invests this melancholic character. Though at times he fears that he teeters on the brink of insanity, he good-naturedly pursues the strange twists of fate that land him variously behind a table at the flea market, in a newspaper office, by the banks of a flooded river, or in a friends bed. As Peter von Matt wrote in Der Spiegel, Indeed, there is hardly a subtler humorist among todays writers than Genazino.
最近更新 2019-11-21
The Bloody chamber And Other Stories
作者 : 安吉拉·卡特
Published in 1979, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, which received the Cheltenham Festival Literary Prize, retells classic fairy tales. Angela Carter revises Puss-in-Boots and Sleeping Beauty, for example, from an adult, twentieth-century perspective. Her renditions are intended to disturb and titillate her audience, instead of lulling it to sleep. The title story recasts the legend of Bluebeard, the mysterious French nobleman who murders his many wives. The legend, as recorded by the seventeenth-century author Charles Perrault, begins with the marriage of a girl to an eccentric, wealthy man. Called away on business, the newlywed husband leaves his wife the keys to every room and cabinet in the house. This keyring includes one key that she must not use: the one to the room at the end of the great gallery. Of course, she eventually enters the room forbidden to her. In it she finds the corpses of her husband's previous wives, all with their throats cut. Startled, the girl drops the key, which is enchanted and permanently stained by the blood on the floor. From this stain, Bluebeard discovers her disobedience. He raises his scimitar, but just in time, her brothers arrive to slay the murderer.Though it follows the original tale in basic structure, The Bloody Chamber adds details of character and setting that raise issues of sexual awakening and sexual depravity, of the will to live, and of life in hell. In having the young bride be the one to tell her story and in having her courageous mother come to the rescue, moreover, Carter revisits an age-old tale with her feminist viewpoint.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 弗兰克·鲍姆
L. Frank Baum never imagined the impact The Wonderful Wizard of Oz would have on children's writing or the appeal the book would have to generations of readers. Although he wrote numerous books, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is easily his most enduring. Baum wanted to write a fairy tale that was American, not European, although he introduced elements of traditional European fairy tales (witches, castles, forests) into the story. By presenting a female protagonist, casual language, characters such as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and settings such as Kansas, Baum created a new approach to children's writing that is distinctly American.Before The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, children's books were stilted morality tales designed to instruct or to frighten readers into behaving properly. Baum, however, presented a thrilling adventure from a child's point of view, showing the child's ability to solve her own problems and return to the security of her home.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz received praise from critics and readers alike. Critics applauded Baum's simple storytelling, his message, and his imaginative, believable characters. Readers fell in love with the wonders of Oz and demanded more books about this enchanted land. Although the book did not win any awards during Baum's lifetime, it was given the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1968.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 玛雅·盎格鲁
Maya Angelou是美国文坛最耀眼的黑人女作家和诗人,成名作是一部名为I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings的自传体小说。1993年她在美国总统Bill Clinton的就职仪式上特邀朗诵献诗On the Pulse of the Morning,从而成为美国历史上继Robert Frost之后的官方诗人。Still I Rise是Maya Angelou的诗歌代表作,是继Martin Luther King的I Have a Dream之后美国黑人争取民权的又一纪念碑式的作品。Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman. Being a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, Dr. Angelou continues to travel the world making appearances, spreading her legendary wisdom. A mesmerizing vision of grace, swaying and stirring when she moves, Dr. Angelou captivates her audiences lyrically with vigor, fire and perception. She has the unique ability to shatter the opaque prisms of race and class between reader and subject throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies. Dr. Angelou has authored twelve best-selling books including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, A Song Flung Up to Heaven and Even the Stars Look Lonesome In 1981, Dr. Angelou was appointed to a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University. In January 1993, she became only the second poet in U.S. History to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at the Presidential Inauguration.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 叶芝
Here ends 'Four Years,' written by William Butler Yeats. Four hundred copies of this book have been printed and published by Elizabeth C. Yeats on paper made in Ireland, at the Cuala Press, hurchtown, Dundrum, in the County of Dublin, Ireland. Finished on All Hallows' Eve, in the year nineteen hundred and twenty one.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 吉卜林
A just-so story, also called the ad hoc fallacy, is a term used in academic anthropology, biological sciences, and social sciences. It describes an unverifiable and unfalsifiable narrative explanation for a cultural practice or a biological trait or behavior of humans or other animals. The use of the term is an implicit criticism that reminds the hearer of the essentially fictional and unprovable nature of such an explanation. Such tales are common in folklore and mythology (where they are known as etiological myths)《远古传奇》是吉卜林创作的儿童作品中最有名的故事集之一。在吉卜林所有的著作当中,他自己最喜欢的就是这本《远古传奇》。每一个故事都称得上是吉卜林的代表作。他对动物的热爱仿佛与生俱来,并从中获得巨大灵感。本书所收集的大象的孩子、花豹身上的斑点是怎么长出来的、独来独往的猫和其他寓言故事最初是吉卜林讲给他孩子的女护理员听的。前者讲得津津有味,后者听得如痴如醉。这些故事按照主题和描述的环境,从动物讲到字母的起源,从史前山洞讲到非洲热带丛林。本书以离奇而丰富的想象,细腻而生动的描写,讲述着很久很久以前人类与动物的种种变故。
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 约翰·弥尔顿
Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.Marked by Milton's characteristic erudition is a work epic both in scale and, notoriously, in ambition. For nearly 350 years it has held generation upon generation of scholars, students and readers in rapt attention and its profound influence can be seen in almost every corner of Western culture.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 谢尔·希尔弗斯坦
The Land of Happy Have you been to the land of happy,Where everyones happy all day,Where they joke and they singOf the happiest things,And everythings jolly and gay?Theres no one unhappy in HappyTheres laughter and smiles galore.I have been to The Land of Happy-What a bore
最近更新 2019-11-21
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
作者 : 路易斯·卡罗尔
Down the Rabbit-Hole Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sisteron the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she hadpeeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had nopictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,'thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'
最近更新 2019-11-21
Chuangtse: Mystic and Humorist
作者 : 林语堂
《庄子》十一篇英译 译者:林语堂Table:A Happy ExcursionLevelling All ThingsPreservation of LifeThis Human WorldDeformitiesThe Great SupremeJoined ToesHorses' HoovesOpening TrunksOn ToleranceAutumn FloodsTranslator's Notes
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 谭恩美
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's saying the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable. Forty years later the stories and history continue.With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
最近更新 2019-11-21
Overnight to Many Different Cities
作者 : 唐纳德·巴塞尔姆
Kaleidoscopically mesmerizing... Powerfully illuminating -- Village VoiceFrom New York to Tokyo to Copenhagen to the Radiant City of Le Corbusier, this sophisticated and surreal collection of short stories and brief visionary texts takes us on an exhilarating tour of the modern urban -- and psychological -- landscape. Alexandra, a designer of artificial ruins, creates a ruined wall with classical columns and a number of broken urns for a park in Arizona; a journalist for a magazine called Folks sets out to interview nine people who have been struck by lightning; and a retired messman steals fifty-three mothballed ships from the U.S. government.Like a master magician, working with control and illusion, Barthelme breaks all rules. Manipulating language with irony, humor, and imagination, he captures the essence of our disorienting times.Dizzying and enjoyable -- Publishers WeeklyEnticing. . . flecked with charm, surprise, and challenge -- Kirkus Reviews
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 蓝斯顿·休斯
蓝斯顿休斯是美国中上最伟大的诗人之一。就像其他许许多多的作家,他的写作题材来自于他的生活经验,即他身边的人、事、地。虽然休斯对来自于社会各阶层的人都很友善,如:富人、中产阶级及贫穷人,而这些所谓的低下阶层的人们对他的诗作影响深远 。休斯将这个措辞视为某种类型的赞赏,他欣赏这些人,因为「他们毫无疑问的接受美丽就是己身的想法。」您认为这句话代表了什么意义?也许这句话意指低下阶层的人们能够领会存在他们生活中的美好事物。休斯热爱黑人音乐尤其是表达悲伤主题的蓝调音乐。他在芝加哥、纽约、堪萨斯市及华盛顿特区内的俱乐部聆听这 种音乐。他听的歌是讲述人们决心征服艰难。在「称为蓝调的歌曲」(Songs Called the Blues,1941)中,休斯形容这类音乐是「深受打击却打不垮的黑人唱腔」;1958年,在爵士及蓝调音乐家(如:查尔斯明格斯Charles Mingus)的伴奏下,休斯将他的诗作录制出版 。您曾听过随音乐吟诵的诗作吗?藍斯頓休斯藉由創作作品來表達對政治及不公的感受。他到他國旅行以學習他人是如何處理種族議題。儘管他是非常自由派的,休斯仍為持有保守觀點的非裔美人說話。例如1941年的「布克的敘事歌謠」(Ballad of Booker T.)即是休斯為前奴隸及保守的平等提倡者布克華盛頓 (Booker T. Washington) 所作的詩。這首詩將焦點放在華盛頓為爭取種族和平所做出的努力,而未對其做出任何批評:Sometimes he hadcompromise in his talk--for a man must crawlbefore he can walkand in Alabama in '85a joker was luckyto be alive. 休斯以不得不「妥協」來解釋華盛頓的立場。為達目的,您是否曾妥協或改變您的觀點過?Langston Hughes is one of America's greatest poets. Like so many writers, he wrote about what he knew -- the people, places and events around him. Although Hughes was friendly with people from all walks of life, the rich, the middle class and the poor, it was the people he called the low-down folks who had the greatest influence on his poetry. Hughes used this expression as a form of praise. He admired these people because they accept what beauty is their own without question. What do you think this means? Perhaps the phrase means that the low-down folks appreciated the beauty that existed in their lives. Hughes loved the music of his people, especially the blues, songs that express sad themes. He heard this music in clubs in Chicago, New York, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. The songs he heard were about people who were determined to overcome hardships. In Songs Called the Blues (1941), Hughes said this music was sung by black, beaten but unbeatable throats. In 1958, Hughes recorded his poetry to the accompaniment of the music of jazz and blues artists such as Charles Mingus. Have you ever heard poetry recited to music? Langston Hughes believed in using his art to get across his feelings about politics and injustice. He traveled to other countries to learn how they dealt with racial issues. Despite his own very liberal beliefs, Hughes defended African American activists who held more conservative views. For example, in the 1941 poem Ballad of Booker T., Hughes defends Booker T. Washington, a former slave and more conservative advocate for equality. Rather than criticize him, the poet focused on Washington's strategy to gain racial equality:Sometimes he hadcompromise in his talk--for a man must crawlbefore he can walkand in Alabama in '85a joker was luckyto be alive.Hughes explained Washington's position by saying he had to compromise. Have you ever had to compromise, or change your point of view, to get what you wanted?
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : Jack London
JACK LONDON WAS born on January12,1876,in san Francisco,California,as John Griffith Chaney.His mother,Flora Wellman,was a teacher and spiritualist,and his father,Willian left them not long after,and Jack took his stepfather''s last name ,London.The family moved to Oakland and ,by the time he was ten,London was an avid reader,checking books out of the public library.London left school at age thirteen to work a number of odd jobs-as a cannery worker ,sailor ,oyster pirate,and fish patroller.In1893,unemloyed workers marched in protest against the econormic crisis,and London,age seventeen,joined them.Arrested for vagerancy,he spent a month in jail.When he was released,he resolved to get his education.He earned his high school equivalency degree in a year and enrolled in the Univer-sity of California at Berkeley,where he read voraciously.London embraced the wroks of Darwin,Nietzsche,and Marx and became a socialist.In1897,he dropped out to join the gold rush in the Klondike region of Alaska and Canada.JACK LONDON WAS born on January12,1876,in san Francisco,California,as John Griffith Chaney.His mother,Flora Wellman,was a teacher and spiritualist,and his father,Willian left them not long after,and Jack took his stepfather''s last name ,London.The family moved to Oakland and ,by the time he was ten,London was an avid reader,checking books out of the public library.London left school at age thirteen to work a number of odd jobs-as a cannery worker ,sailor ,oyster pirate,and fish patroller.In1893,unemloyed workers marched in protest against the econormic crisis,and London,age seventeen,joined them.Arrested for vagerancy,he spent a month in jail.When he was released,he resolved to get his education.He earned his high school equivalency degree in a year and enrolled in the Univer-sity of California at Berkeley,where he read voraciously.London embraced the wroks of Darwin,Nietzsche,and Marx and became a socialist.In1897,he dropped out to join the gold rush in the Klondike region of Alaska and Canada.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 约翰·弥尔顿
Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.Marked by Milton's characteristic erudition is a work epic both in scale and, notoriously, in ambition. For nearly 350 years it has held generation upon generation of scholars, students and readers in rapt attention and its profound influence can be seen in almost every corner of Western culture.
最近更新 2019-11-21
作者 : 尼古拉斯·斯帕克斯
It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon never would have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood.
最近更新 2019-11-21