Book picks similar to
The Virtues of Hell by Pierre Boulle
addiction
drogue
psychology
a-america
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
Robert Louis Stevenson - 1879
This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
The Charterhouse of Parma
Stendhal - 1839
Stendhal narrates a young aristocrat's adventures in Napoleon's army and in the court of Parma, illuminating in the process the whole cloth of European history. As Balzac wrote, "Never before have the hearts of princes, ministers, courtiers, and women been depicted like this...one sees perfection in every detail."With beautiful illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker.
The Roots of Heaven
Romain Gary - 1956
When he fails, do like me: think about free elephant ride through Africa for hundreds and hundreds of wonderful animals that nothing could be built—either a wall or a fence of barbed wire—passing large open spaces and crush everything in its path, and destroying everything—while they live, nothing is able to stop them—what freedom and! And even when they are no longer alive, who knows, perhaps continue to race elsewhere still free. So you begin to torment your claustrophobia, barbed wire, reinforced concrete, complete materialism imagine herds of elephants of freedom, follow them with his eyes never left them on their run and will see you soon feel better ... "For the novel The Roots of Heaven, Gary received the Prix Goncourt for fiction. Translated and republished in many countries around the world, the novel was finally published in Bulgarian. A film version by John Huston starring Juliette Gréco, Errol Flynn, and Howard Trevard was released in 1958.
A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick - 1977
It is the most toxic drug ever to find its way on to the streets of LA. It destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres, causing, first, disorientation and then complete and irreversible brain damage.The undercover narcotics agent who calls himself Bob Arctor is desperate to discover the ultimate source of supply. But to find any kind of lead he has to pose as a user and, inevitably, without realising what is happening, Arctor is soon as addicted as the junkies he works among...
The John Carter of Mars Collection (7 Novels/Bonus Audiobook Links)
Edgar Rice Burroughs - 2012
Our team has experience producing thousands of ebooks since 2011 for discerning authors and readers alike. We know what readers expect from their ebook purchases. We avoid distracting formatting inconsistencies and annoying glitches too often found in ebooks.We adhere to the highest standards in producing our ebooks—regardless of the sale price. (Low or value pricing should never be an excuse for second-rate work!)We want readers of our ebooks to get lost in the story just as easily as readers of print books. Our promise is a pleasant reading experience.10% of all Digital Papyrus profits are donated to charity every month.
Forever Valley
Marie Redonnet - 1992
Gradually she embarks upon a "personal project": she digs pits in the rectory garden and "looks for the dead." Her story, which has brevity and magical intensity of a fairy tale, is marked equally by tragedy and dark humor.Forever Valley is one of three novels that are the first works to appear in English by Marie Redonnet, one of France's most original new authors (the other novels are Hôtel Splendid and Rose Mellie Rose, both also available from the University of Nebraska Press). Translator Jordan Stump notes that these books "unmistakably fit together, although they have neither characters nor setting in common." In all three novels, Redonnet has said, "it is the women who fight, who seek, who create."
Boone Shepard
Gabriel Bergmoser - 2016
You might have heard the rumours—whispers of an evil plot involving time travel, dangerous experiments, a secret fortress, a terrible book, famous authors and, regrettably, murder. You might also have heard of heroes who were caught up in this plot, fighting to do the right thing. That sounds a lot more impressive than it actually was. My name is Boone Shepard. I’m here to set the record straight.”Boone is taking a break from writing for The Chronicle newspaper to hunt down and destroy every last copy of a very rare, very dangerous book. But then his editor calls to demand he investigate a missing persons case deep in the Scottish Highlands—in the company of his rival, photographer Promethia Peters—and he is forced to abandon his personal goals and get back to work. Restless and begrudging, Boone is unprepared when this hunt leads him back to the one story that won’t stop chasing him—his own. Boone Shepard is the first in a series of young adult novels following the adventures of an Australian expat, errant journalist and accidental hero.
The First Day
Marc Levy - 2009
Together they embark on an extraordinary adventure which takes them from the banks of Lake Turkana in the heart of Africa to the mountains of China. They seek to reveal the object's hidden secrets and answer the age-old question: how did life begin?Keira is a passionate and ambitious archaeologist leading her first dig in the isolated Omo Valley in Ethiopia. When a sand storm destroys the site, she has no choice but to abandon her field work and go home: to Paris, to her sister and to the mundane city life she despises. She returns with an unusual stone, which was given to her by a local orphan boy. While visiting the museum where her sister works, a probing elderly professor takes a particular interest in Keira and above all in the talisman she wears around her neck. Adrian is an accomplished astrophysicist, who has taken a leave of absence from the illustrious Academy of Sciences in London to pursue his study of the stars in a remote observatory on the Atacama plateau in Chile. Ill-adapted to the altitude, he has to be rushed back to England before he can fully pursue his bold and unconventional research. Keira and Adrian's paths briefly cross while competing for an illustrious grant in London. Years earlier they had spent one brief, romantic summer together before going their separate ways. Keira leaves her necklace behind in Adrian's apartment, sparking his interest as a scientist and fuelling his hopes for a rekindling of old passions. With the help of a hapless administrator from the Academy, Adrian begins his own investigation of the stone's origins, but it quickly becomes apparent that he is not the only one interested in the mysterious object, and that the other party is determined to get hold of it at any cost. Adrian seeks out Keira who has returned to Africa. What innocently begins as a common pursuit of knowledge soon takes a dangerous turn when their guide is found dead. Despite heightening threats to their own safety, Keira and Adrian continue their search, which takes them across the world, from cutting edge laboratories to venerable museums, from forgotten Greek islands to monasteries hidden in the mountains. They follow maps written in the stars and clues buried within the earth, always guided by the slowly unraveling secrets of the strange object from Ethiopia. But the professor and his cohorts are always on their tracks and one step ahead... "A wonderful read" - Le Parisien "Over the years, Marc Levy has seduced millions of readers. What's his secret? He writes about quintessential themes, such as love, friendship, and the mysteries of life, in an accessible way." - Paris Match "A page-turning adventure story." - Nice Matin
Moravagine
Blaise Cendrars - 1926
Heir to an immense aristocratic fortune, mental and physical mutant Moravagine is a monster, a man in pursuit of a theorem that will justify his every desire. Released from a hospital for the criminally insane by his starstruck psychiatrist (the narrator of the book), who foresees a companionship in crime that will also be an unprecedented scientific collaboration, Moravagine travels from Moscow to San Antonio to deepest Amazonia, engaged in schemes and scams as, among other things, terrorist, speculator, gold prospector, and pilot. He also enjoys a busy sideline in rape and murder. At last, the two friends return to Europe—just in time for World War I, when "the whole world was doing a Moravagine."This new edition of Cendrars's underground classic is the first in English to include the author's afterword, "How I Wrote Moravagine."
The Lady and the Little Fox Fur
Violette Leduc - 1965
Told with a feather-light touch and masterful compassion, this is a story for those moments when we catch ourselves talking to the furniture.
Candide
Voltaire - 1759
Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distinguished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, Candide has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.
The Strangers in the House
Georges Simenon - 1940
Once a successful lawyer, Loursat now guzzles burgundy and buries himself in books, taking little notice of his teenage daughter or the odd things going on in his vast and ever-more-dilapidated mansion. But one night the sound of a gunshot penetrates the padded walls of Loursat’s study, and he is forced to investigate. What he stumbles on is a murder.Soon Loursat discovers that his daughter and her friends have been leading a dangerous secret life. He finds himself strangely drawn to this group of young people, and when one of them is accused of the murder, he astonishes the world by taking up the young man’s defense.In The Strangers in the House, Georges Simenon, master chronicler of the dark side of the human heart, gives us a detective story that is also a tale of an improbable redemption.
A Winter's Promise
Christelle Dabos - 2013
Known now as Arks, each has developed in distinct ways; each seems to possess its own unique relationship to time, such that nowadays vastly different worlds exist, together but apart. And over all of the Arks the spirit of an omnipotent ancestor abides. Ophelia lives on Anima, an ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, the young girl hides the ability to read and communicate with the souls of objects, and the power to travel through mirrors. Her peaceful existence on the Ark of Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, from the powerful Dragon clan. Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancée to the floating capital on the distant Ark of the Pole. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity? Though she doesn’t know it yet, she has become a pawn in a deadly plot.
The Complete Essays
Michel de Montaigne
This Penguin Classics edition of The Complete Essays is translated from the French and edited with an introduction and notes by M.A. Screech.In 1572 Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'assays', inspired by the ideas he found in books contained in his library and from his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. But, above all, Montaigne studied himself as a way of drawing out his own inner nature and that of men and women in general. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature and provide an engaging insight into a wise Renaissance mind, continuing to give pleasure and enlightenment to modern readers.With its extensive introduction and notes, M.A. Screech's edition of Montaigne is widely regarded as the most distinguished of recent times.Michel de Montaigne (1533-1586) studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection.If you enjoyed The Complete Essays, you might like Francois Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel, also available in Penguin Classics.'Screech's fine version ... must surely serve as the definitive English Montaigne'A.C. Grayling, Financial Times'A superb edition'Nicholas Wollaston, Observer