Czechoslovakia, 1968. The Soviet troops have just invaded and, for the young orphan Ilya, life is suddenly turned on its head. At first there is relief that the mean-spirited nuns who run his orphanage have been driven out by the Red Army, but as...
"A short but intense novel. Big, believe me." — Joan Josep Isern, Avui
"A little masterpiece." — Giancarlo Montalbini, Lettera
"A refined book. One of those books one should add to one's book collection, that one should re-read when...
"An Icelandic-punk version of Catcher in the Rye." — Dallas Morning News
"If there were more people like Jón Gnarr the world wouldn't be in such a mess." — Oliver Sacks
The second book in a trilogy chronicling the troubled childhood...
This indispensable volume, which includes the classic stories “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” and “Mr. Arcularis,” is a testament to the dazzling artistry of one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers.
A young woman passes...
Set in a fictitious African nation, this novel by the distinguished writer Sony Labou Tansi takes aim at the corruption, degeneracy, violence, and repression of political life in Africa. At the heart of The Shameful State is the story of Colonel...
Three early stories about myth, power, and sex by the acclaimed author of The Flamethrowers.
An explorer’s unknown whereabouts keep a queen in anticipation; a faith healer’s illegal radio broadcasts give hope to an oppressed people; a...
“It was…unnecessary for me to fret about who the murderer was: Everybody was.”
A haunting, never-before-translated, autobiographical novella by the 2002 Nobel Prize winner.
An unnamed narrator recounts a simple anecdote, his sighting...
On one hand, beautiful Celanire — a woman mutilated at birth and left for dead — appears today to be a saint; she is a tireless worker who has turned numerous neglected institutions into vibrant schools for motherless children. But she is also a...
The Dark, widely acclaimed, yet infamously banned, is John McGahern’s sensitive, perceptive, and beautifully written portrayal of a young man’s coming-of-age in rural Ireland. Imaginative and introverted, the boy is successful in school, but...
What happens when a trained killer discovers that his true vocation is love? Having survived the killing fields of World War I, Fidelis Waldvogel returns home to his quiet German village and marries the pregnant widow of his best friend who was...