The Lady Bandit
2.490 kr.Priests with shotguns, scheming lovers and a necrophiliac gravedigger haunt the fables of Emilia Pardo Bazán, the formidable Spanish aristocrat, intellectual and feminist. These stories paint a rich and variegated image of Old Spain – sometimes tender, often provocative, always entertaining. But if you decide to visit, beware the Lady Bandit, whose strong, rough hands might grab your neck, and squeeze and squeeze and squeeze .
The House of Hunger
2.490 kr.‘No, I don’t hate being black. I’m just tired of saying it’s beautiful. No, I don’t hate myself.
I’m just tired of people bruising their knuckles on my jaw.’A novella with the force of a screaming trumpet flare, Dambudzo Marechera’s seminal literary debut explores a body and spirit exiled from the land and the self. An inimitable and internationally admired writer, his profound ambivalence and wry, existential sensibility was forged in this iconic book.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
2.490 kr.Many years ago there lived an Emperor who was so terribly fond of beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money on dressing elegantly… Jewels in storytelling, these magical fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen were inspired by his own life as an outsider. From ‘The Little Mermaid’ to ‘The Red Shoes’, his fables show the ugliest of humanity – its power, greed, vanity – but also how suffering can lead to beauty.
Tristessa
2.490 kr.Tristessa is a strange fever-dream of morphine sickness and belly-deep sadness. Or, in the words of Allen Ginsberg: ‘a narrative meditation studying a hen, a rooster, a dove, a cat, a chihuahua dog, family meat, and a ravishing, ravished junky lady, first in their crowded bedroom, then out to drunken streets, taco stands, and pads at dawn in Mexico City slums’.
The Genius
2.490 kr.Known as Ireland’s Chekhov, Frank O’Connor was a master of the modern short story, with an eye for capturing the spaces between our selves and our surroundings. The Genius brings together some of his very best stories, often told from the perspective of young children and forming a revealing portrait of coming of age in postwar Ireland. Humorous and poignant in equal parts, these stories are a lesson in craft from a celebrated, prolific author.
Why I am a Stoic
2.490 kr.Plagued by ill-health, violently sick at sea, irritated by renovation costs: Seneca is never less than sympathetically human. In these letters written 2000 years ago, the ancient philosopher speaks to the reader today with lucidity and warmth. Whether advising on how to live a good life, spend time alone or free oneself from fears of death, Seneca is the wise and compassionate friend we all need now.
The Prose Edda
2.490 kr.Composed in Iceland in the 13th Century, The Prose Edda is the most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature, taking readers on a voyage through an enthralling world of gods, giants, dwarfs and monsters. From the beginning of the universe to the dreaded Twilight of the Gods, this is the most extensive source of Norse mythology surviving today.
The Sagas and Shit
3.490 kr.The sagas may seem old and boring af but the real talk is that they also have assloads of the same sex, violence, comedy, and timeless lessons that fill our brains and TV screens today.
This book retells the most famous masterpieces of Icelandic literature alongside some of the weird¬est, most fucked-up sagas and skips straight to the good shit.
Loaded with vulgarity, slang, and pop culture, this modern take on the sagas will either have you shaking with laughter or shaking your head in dis¬taste. Or both, whatever.
Illustrated by Elín Elísabet Einarsdóttir.
On Dogs: An Anthology
4.390 kr.Dogs throughout history have enjoyed a special relationship with humankind, and our favourite four-legged creatures continue to grow in popularity. The writers and poets collected within this anthology reflect on the joys and pitfalls of dog ownership with brilliant wit, insight, and affection. From Roald Amundsen’s account of using and eating sled dogs in his expedition to the South Pole, to J.R. Ackerley’s tender portrayal of his ill-behaved dog Tulip, ON DOGS traces the canine’s journey from working animal to pampered pet. With a humorous introduction by Tracey Ullman (an inveterate adopter of strays), and 6 characterful dog portraits by animal photographer Rhian ap Gruffydd and a cover image by Picasso of his dog Lump. Contributors include Alice Walker, Charles Dickens, James Thurber, Miranda Hart, Brigitte Bardot, A.A. Gill, David Sedaris, Barbara Woodhouse, and many more.
Essays on the Self
4.390 kr.Things I Don’t Want to Know is a unique response to George Orwell from one of our most vital contemporary writers. Taking Orwell’s famous list of motives for writing as the jumping-off point for a sequence of thrilling reflections on the writing life, this is a perfect companion not just to Orwell’s essay, but also to Levy’s own, essential oeuvre.
Kudos
3.490 kr.A woman on a plane listens to the stranger in the seat next to hers telling her the story of his life: his work, his marriage, and the harrowing night he has just spent burying the family dog. That woman is Faye, who is on her way to Europe to promote the book she has just published. Once she reaches her destination, the conversations she has with the people she meets – about art, about family, about politics, about love, about sorrow and joy, about justice and injustice – include the most far-reaching questions human beings ask. These conversations, the last of them on the phone with her son, rise dramatically and majestically to a beautiful conclusion.
Following the novels Outline and Transit, Kudos completes Rachel Cusk’s trilogy with overwhelming power.
The Whispering Muse
3.490 kr.Valdimar Haraldsson is an eccentric Icelander with dubious ideas about the relationship between fish consumption and Nordic superiority. To his delight, in the spring of 1949, he is invited to join a Danish merchant ship on its voyage to the Black Sea.
He is less delighted with the lack of fish on the menu. Worse, his fellow travellers show no interest in his ‘Fish and Culture’ lecture. They prefer the enthralling tales of the second mate, Caeneus, who every evening regales them with his adventures aboard the Argo, on Jason’s legendary quest for the Golden Fleece.
A master storyteller, Sjón weaves together Greek and Nordic myths with the legacies of the Second World War in this mesmerising novel, which reminds us that everything is capable of change.