Engelska

Perspectives On Aesthetics, Art And Culture - Essays In Honour Of Lars-olof Åhlberg [Bok / Häftad]

'Tawada's <b>strange, exquisite</b> book toys with ideas of language, identity and what it means to own someone else's story or one's own' <i><b>The New Yorker</b> </i>on Tawada's <i>Memoirs of a Polar Bear</i><br/><br/>How perfect that Tawada's first essay collection in English dives deep into her lifelong fascination with the possibilities opened up by cross-hybridizing languages. Tawada famously writes in both Japanese and German, but her interest in language reaches beyond any mere dichotomy. The term 'exophonic', which she first heard in Senegal, has a special allure for the author: 'I was already familiar with similar terms, 'immigrant literature,' or 'creole literature,' but 'exophonic' had a much broader meaning, referring to the general experience of existing outside of one's mother tongue.'<br/><br/>Tawada revels in explorations of cross-cultural and intra-language possibilities (and along the way deals several nice sharp raps to the global primacy of English). The accent here, as in her fiction, is the art of drawing closer to the world through defamiliarization. Never entertaining a received thought, Tawada seeks the still-to-be-discovered truths, as well as what might possibly be invented entirely whole cloth.<br/><br/><i>Exophony </i>opens a new vista into Yoko Tawada's world, and delivers more of her signature erudite wit - at once cross-grained and generous, laser-focused and multidimensional, slyly ironic and warmly companionable.

Margaret Atwood has established herself as one of the most visionary and canonical authors in the world. This collection of fifteen extraordinary stories-some of which have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine-explore the full warp and weft of experience, speaking to our unique times with Atwood&apos;s characteristic insight, wit and intellect. The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; &quot;Impatient Griselda&quot; explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and &quot;My Evil Mother&quot; touches on the fantastical, examining a mother-daughter relationship in which the mother purports to be a witch. At the heart of the collection are seven extraordinary stories that follow a married couple across the decades, the moments big and small that make up a long life of uncommon love-and what comes after. Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in these remarkable tales which by turns delight, illuminate, and quietly devastate.

A collection of sparkling award-winning stories from Maggie Shipstead, epic storyteller and astonishing chronicler of the daring and the damaged. Diving into eclectic and vivid settings, from an Olympic village to a deathbed in Paris to a Pacific atoll, and illuminating a cast of unforgettable characters, Shipstead traverses the ordinary and extraordinary with cunning, compassion, and wit. Meet the silent cowgirl looking for a quiet life on a remote ranch in Montana, only to fall into a triangle of unrequited love; a self-aggrandizing male novelist who comes to terms with the girlfriend he never had just as his literary debut goes to print; a honeymoon couple&apos;s time in the hills of Romania builds into a moment of shattering tragedy. In the title story, a famous child actress breaks away from a religious cult, as she tells - with brittle candour - her tale of childhood damage and the dark side of fame.

Margaret Atwood is celebrated as one of the most gifted storytellers in the world. These stories explore the full warp and weft of experience, from two best friends disagreeing about their shared past, to the right way to stop someone from choking; from a daughter determining if her mother really is a witch, to what to do with inherited relics such as World War II parade swords. They feature beloved cats, a confused snail, Martha Gellhorn, George Orwell, philosopher-astronomer-mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, a cabal of elderly female academics, and an alien tasked with retelling human fairy tales. At the heart of the collection is a stunning sequence that follows a married couple as they travel the road together, the moments big and small that make up a long life of love -- and what comes after. The glorious range of Atwood&apos;s creativity and humanity is on full beam in these tales, which by turns delight, illuminate and quietly devastate.

<b>In his timely new book, Mikhail Shishkin, argues that Russia is not a 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma': we just don't know enough about it. So what is the real story behind Putin's autocratic regime and its invasion of Ukraine?</b><br/><br/>In <i>My Russia: War or Peace? </i>Shishkin traces the roots of Russia's problems, from the 'Kievan Rus' via the Grand Duchy of Moscow, empire, revolution and Cold War, to the now thirty-year-old Russian Federation. He explores the uneasy relationship between state and citizens, explains Russian attitudes to people's rights and democracy, and proposes that there are really two Russian peoples: the disillusioned and disaffected, who suffer from 'slave mentality', and those who embrace 'European' values and try to stand up to oppression.<br/><br/>Both deeply personal and taking a broader historical view, <i>My Russia</i> is a passionate, eye-opening account of a state entangled in a complex and bloody past, as well as a love letter to a conflicted country. Will Russia continue its vicious circle of upheaval and autocracy, or will its people find a way out of history - and how can we help?

<b>This volume is an in-depth and exquisitely illustrated guide to the Second Age of Middle-earth, one of the least-explored periods of Arda's history.</b><br/><br/><i>The Illustrated World of Tolkien: The Second Age</i>, is the follow up companion to the best-selling <i>The Illustrated World of Tolkien</i>, and gathers together artwork, charts, and fascinating and scholarly writing from renowned Tolkien expert David Day. Exploring the languages, poetry and elements of the heroic ages of Norse, Greek and Roman mythologies that may have influenced Tolkien's writing, it is a reference guide for any fan of Tolkien's work, Tolkien's world and the imaginative brilliance his vision inspired.<br/><br/>The Second Age is made up of two great narrative channels: on the one hand the rise and cataclysmic downfall of the island-kingdom of Numenor and its aftermath, and on the other the forging of the Rings of Power and the rise to power of the new dark lord.<br/>Tolkien's sources for his Second Age are, of course, as rich and varied as ever and this book delves into some of these influences and shows how the power of Tolkien's imagination is manifest even in the lesser-known parts of his legendarium.<br/><br/><i>This work is unofficial and is not authorised by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.</i>