The son of a high-ranking former Soviet diplomat, Erofeyev rebelled against Soviet values, and his works were banned until the Gorbachev era. His first translated novel, Russian Beauty, was published to great critical acclaim, and his writings in the New Yorker have won many American fans. Here, for the first time in English, is a collection of short stories written between 1978 and 1990, some of which have already acquired classic status in Russia. Written during the death-throes of the Soviet Union, though still relevant today, they have implications that are not restricted to Russia alone. In a nimble translation that preserves the dazzle and nuance of Erofeyev's rich language, Life with an Idiot will introduce Victor Erofeyev to a new generation of readers.

    A brilliant collection of stories set in the tenements and cheap casinos of Glasgow, Manchester and London.

    What we have here in this big fat volume is a cockeyed chrestomathy of 37 Algren pieces... with his hallmark stamped on every link." —The New York Times Book Review"The range of the book is satisfying—rich, will titillate even the most fastidious dilettante or culture vulture... also contains pieces that will make you laugh your head off. Once you begin reading it, you will not be able to put it aside." —The Chicago Tribune"Essential Algren." —The Washington Post"Very good, fast, funny and tough... Algren, where have you been hiding?" —The San Francisco ChronicleHere again is Algren's rich output from the 1960s and '70s, tough, streetwise stories and travelogues from around the world: accounts of brothels in Vietnam and Mexico, stories of the boxing ring, and reminiscences of his beloved Chicago White Sox, among other subjects.

    ContentsDummyDistanceThe LieSo Much Water So Close to HomeThe FlingPastoralMineFurious Seasons

    Complete with the screenplay and photos from the new film starring Peter O'Toole and Sam Neill.

    But Bunin's other stories are not to be missed. In Sunstroke, Graham Hettlinger has selected the "Gentleman" and twenty-four other stories and translated them afresh—several for the first time in English. The result is a collection that is remarkable in its crystalline prose, surprising in its vibrancy. It includes, among others, "Raven," "Cold Fall," "Muza," "Styopa," "Antigone," "In Paris," and "Late Hour." Never has the last of the great "gentry" writers and the first Russian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature received a more caring and passionate translation. The lyric impulse that motivated so much of Bunin's writing is evident throughout the stories in Sunstroke. In the prose miniatures, such as "Summer Day" and "Sky Above a Wall," he seeks only to capture a momentary impression or a passing scene rather than to write a traditional narrative. And even in his longer works, Bunin displays little interest in exploring the psychology of his characters or creating detailed plots. Instead these stories are primarily shaped by an urge to express both the intense, sensual pleasure of existence and the tragic fleetingness of life. Thus, even as they depict a wide range of affairs, seductions, betrayals, and deaths, they tend to read more like poetry than potboilers, delivering their most powerful effects through the rhythms and pacing of their sentences, their highly detailed, sensuous imagery, and the connotative richness of their language.Sunstroke confirms Bunin's stature as one of the greatest—and most neglected—Russian writers of the twentieth century.

    Culled from tapes made by Bukowski at his Los Angeles home in 1968 for biographer and rock critic Barry Miles, long before the author had begun regular public readings. Bukowski was so shy he insisted that he record alone. He reads both poetry and prose, gets thoroughly drunk during the recording, and bitches about his life, his landlord, and his neighbours.

    He is one of the most celebrated writers from India. Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand". His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi. Do Bailon Ki Katha (दो बैलों की कथा) is a touching and humourus tale of two bullocks - Heera and Moti who had lived together for a very long time and are passed on from one owner to the other. (Note: This story is in Hindi language and is rendered for Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle for iPhone and Ipad and all Kindle devices released after Kindle DX).

    A new arrival, Miss Gomez, lives for her postal correspondence with the Church of the Brethren of the Way in Jamaica. No one will believe Miss Gomez when she announces her revelation of a hideous sex crime soon to be committed in Crow Street. Until Prudence Tuke disappears, the police arrive, and the newspapers herald a 'Sex Crime Prophecy'...

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    Here lie the foundations of his unique genius"--from the foreword by Peter Ackroyd. "I have a new story..."--when Oscar Wilde uttered those words, even his enemies leaned in close to listen, for his legendary wit and wisdom enchanted everyone in person as on the printed page. (Some even thought he was better in conversation than in writing.) For the first time, a century after his death, a collection of Wilde's spoken stories reveals the true scope of his genius. 42 bite-size literary gems shine with humor, intelligence, and surprising twists and turns. Some were set on paper by Wilde himself, others were jotted down by friends, family, and guests at Wilde's table. Painstakingly researched, each with an illuminating introduction, and illustrated with prints and photographs of the period, these tales weave pure magic. They include modern stories and anecdotes, fantasies (often based on Irish folktales), biblical sagas, and prose poems. A treasured invitation to "dinner" with Wilde that no lover of literature would miss!

    A failed writer meets an ageing gin-queen who claims he was once visited by an angel; a little girl finds a delirious, dying explorer from the Congo at the bottom of her back garden; a night-club is terrorized by a strange libidinous hand; and a young Victorian lady sails to India to find her fiance Cecil horribly transformed...

    Baltisberger, the fourteen stories in Romance showcase the breadth of Bohumil Hrabal’s considerable gifts: his humor of the grotesque, his often surprising warmth, and his hard-edged, fast-paced style. In the story "Romance," a plumber’s apprentice and a gypsy girl reach toward a tentative connection across the chasm that separates their worlds. Another unlikely love story, "World Cafeteria," features a romance between a young man whose girlfriend has just committed suicide and a bride whose husband lands in jail on their wedding night. The tone turns to the absurd in "The Death of Mr. Baltisberger," where a crippled ex-motorcyclist and three people he meets at the track exchange wildly improbably reminiscences, while a fatal Grand Prix motorcycle race rages around them. Hrabal’s psychological insight into quotidian interactions saturates stories such as "A Dull Afternoon," where a mysterious, self-absorbed stranger disrupts the psychic calm of a neighborhood tavern and becomes the silent catalyst for an unwanted truth. Throughout the collection, noted translator Michael Henry Heim captures the quirky speech patterns and idiosyncratic takes on life that have made Hrabal’s characters an indispensable part of world literature.

    Though things start slowly, Ivan wins her over after a strong pursuit, and the two marry, agreeing never to inflict any “irreparable wounds.” But though Ivan proves to be a fine father, he is a distant husband, and Caroline finds herself daydreaming of other men. So as the years pass, the couple finds ways to bend but not break their cardinal rule. Rough Strife, the first novel from Lynne Sharon Schwartz, was nominated for the National Book Foundation Award. In this sensational debut, Schwartz depicts a marriage that grows painfully into the modern era, despite the changes—both political and personal—that challenge it.

    Her mission is to emotionally reunite them. She organises a festival to bring them together, during which an amazing story unfolds, often funny, sometimes sad, always compelling, and with a twist in the tail!