What is it about J. D. Salinger and his body of work that has left such a lasting mark on American fiction? And who better to answer that question than the current generation of writers?Here are fourteen of the most vital voices in the contemporary American fiction scene pulling no punches in response to a writer who continues to beguile, charm, fascinate, and frustrate generations of readers. Contributors Walter Kirn, Ren? Steinke, Charles D’Ambrosio, Emma Forrest, Aleksander Hemon, Lucinda Rosenfeld, Amy Sohn, John McNally, Karen E. Bender, Thomas Beller, Benjamin Anastas, Aimee Bender, Joel Stein, and Jane Mendelsohn turn themselves inside out as they discuss their personal reactions to reading Salinger classics–not only The Catcher in the Rye but also Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters, and the short stories–and explore, with begrudging gratitude, how Salinger helped to form the deepest reaches of their literary imaginations.

    

    From the stirrings of his adolescent libido to his eventual death from AIDS, Oscar Moore's hero confronts his destiny with raw candour, shocking self-awareness, and frightening fatalism.

    published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

    A collection of seven critical essays discussing Tolstoy's novel, arranged in chronological order of their original publication.

    For novelist and critic Gabriel Josipovici, the contemporary novel in English is profoundly disappointing—a poor relation of its groundbreaking Modernist forebears. This agile and passionate book asks why.Modernism, Josipovici suggests, is only superficially a reaction to industrialization or a revolution in diction and form; essentially, it is art coming to consciousness of its own limits and responsibilities. And its origins are to be sought not in 1850 or 1800, but in the early 1500s, with the crisis of society and perception that also led to the rise of Protestantism. With sophistication and persuasiveness, Josipovici charts some of Modernism’s key stages, from Dürer, Rabelais, and Cervantes to the present, bringing together a rich array of artists, musicians, and writers both familiar and unexpected—including Beckett, Borges, Friedrich, Cézanne, Stevens, Robbe-Grillet, Beethoven, and Wordsworth. He concludes with a stinging attack on the current literary scene in Britain and America, which raises questions about not only national taste, but contemporary culture itself.Gabriel Josipovici has spent a lifetime writing, and writing about other writers. What Ever Happened to Modernism? is a strident call to arms, and a tour de force of literary, artistic, and philosophical explication that will stimulate anyone interested in art in the twentieth century and today.

    in this off-kilter, coming-of-age romantic comedy.Abbie, a twenty-something free spirit who is dreading her looming parent-mandated enrollment in graduate school, makes a semi-annual pilgrimage to visit her perfectly well meaning and perfectly boring grandfather, Henry. But Abbie is roused out of her quarter-life crisis when she meets her grandfather's persnickety, oddball friend, Johnson. With his cane and elderly clothing, he is the very picture of a bitter old man. The problem is, Johnson is 23 years old, and apparently completely delusional. Also a problem: Abbie is falling in love with him. The first novel from screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, OLD MAN JOHNSON is for the old (and young) at heart.Cover design by Kristen Radtke.Cover painting by Mark Allison.

    Morgan is a new kind of male hero, imperfect and uncertain, who—like his favorite football team—is fumbling forward into uncertainty. The 2013 Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex. Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. "Williams has written a terrific novel. His book pulls back the curtain on male masculinity--showing us what a guy really goes through when dealing with the difficult mess of his beloved spouse's infidelity and the ensuing divorce. Williams' characters give us the real-deal: a gut wrenching and often humorous look, showing us the everyday horrors of what it's like to start all over again as one approaches middle age." - Suzan-Lori Parks, winner Pulitzer Prize for Drama "Robert Steven Williams has written a novel of tremendous honesty, humor, and insight. His story of Chuck Morgan, cast adrift on the rocky shoals of dating when his wife of twenty years suddenly leaves him, does for men what Bridget Jones's Diary did for women." - Joy Johannessen, editor for Alice Sebold, Amy Bloom, Michael Cunningham and My Year as a Clown "When we first meet Chuck Morgan, he's broken, twisted and confused. And that's what makes him so interesting. Like other intriguing literary heroes, he is at his best after life has knocked him to the ground, forcing him to find a new way to be strong again; damaged maybe, but more confident this time, with a kinder, more open heart." - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, The Flatlanders

    Jekyll and Mr. HydeTreasure Island

    Her father, determined to improve the family’s lot, relocates to Georgia.Ezekiel Salter scrimps to buy a ticket in Georgia’s 1807 Land Lottery, wins, and he and his impoverished family head west to newly-created Murcheson County.Prominent since colonial times, the Underwoods foresee the growing demand for cotton and acquire extensive acreage in newly-opened lands in central Georgia. Dispatched by his father, Jacob Underwood begins construction of Poplar Grove plantation.And, the slave known as Gant, his wife and daughter, Lucey, have no say as to their destination…the highest bidder will decide for them…and if the family remains intact.Spanning over fifty years, Murcheson County chronicles the four families’ fortunes against the backdrop of the most turbulent time in American history.An epic saga of slavery, emancipation, war and hardship, Murcheson County will remain in your heart long after the winds of war have stopped blowing.

    In this superb anthology can be found the best of the English-speaking world’s inspirational and reassuring verse, including such classics as Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ and W.H. Davies’ ‘Leisure’. This beautifully illustrated collection of over 120 poems is sure to offer solace, hearten the soul and motivate the human spirit.

    Chapters focus on the supernatural elements of the work, as well as the author´s treatment of the physical self.

    The writer ignores him. But a month later, a package arrives containing, among discs, sunglasses and other trinkets, a photograph of the writer aged eight. So he listens to the discs and emerges amazed and shaken. He then transcribes this heartbreaking story which traces Desiree's life as a bullied youth in South Ronaldsay to the streets of Soho where he reduces his grateful clients to tears with his astonishing gift of sex...

    Additional narrators include Geoffrey Palmer O.B.E., Sir Donald Sinden, and Elaine Stritch. Music: 'Reverie De Sebastian' by Steve Davies.

    As with all Emily Hayes books, you can guarantee some hot scenes and a Happy Ever After.Dr Nicole Graham is a hardworking Pediatrician at Forest Vale hospital. She meets a beautiful newcomer to Forest Vale at a Christmas party and is immediately drawn to her.But, the newcomer has her own complex story and Nicole doesn't do relationships, so it would never work, right?What will it take for Nicole to finally give her heart to another?Join Nicole and Suzie for Christmas parties, carols and festivities. Will Nicole get all she wants for Christmas?