Книги издательства «Emereo Publishing»

While I naturally have long admired Jules Verne for his outstanding scientific vision and prodigious talent as a writer, I really had no idea that he could also write in such an entertaining and humorous fashion as revealed in this short novel. My memories of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea consist to a large degree of stretches of pages devoted to pure scientific language that could be hard to get through, but this book is an easy read full of action and laugh-out-loud commentary. Dont get me wrong, though--the science is here, and Verne goes into a lot of details concerning the project from conception to reality, walking us through all of the steps involved in constructing the cannon and its projectile.

Surely, though, Verne knew that the very idea of launching men to the moon via a superhuge cannon was not really an idea that could work; as such, he lets the story and especially his characterizations of the main players in the drama, take center stage over the science. What we end up with is a study of sorts of the American character, a tribute to the power of imagination and dreaming, the glorification of science, and a very funny story about some really amazing characters.

I can not begin to relate the number of truly humorous anecdotes and observations filling the pages of this story. Barbicane, J. T. Maston, and Michel Ardan are quite memorable characters, and their acts and exploits will entertain you to no end. Verne introduces subtle but hilarious remarks and observations throughout the entire book that will make you laugh out loud.

If the idea of hard scientific theorizing has scared you away from Verne, pick this book up and be wholly entertained.

While I naturally have long admired Jules Verne for his outstanding scientific vision and prodigious talent as a writer, I really had no idea that he could also write in such an…

You will be fully engrossed day after day in a world of ideas, people and places once you open this book. Its ideas are many: atheism vs. Christianity; nihilism vs. a dying social order; Eros vs. charity; truth vs. artifice; id vs.ego and superego. It will captivate you.

The characters in this novel, though usually explained as symbolic of the ideas they represent, are yet the most vividly realized characters you will ever read. The real-time manner in which they are drawn and followed is as if the author simply recorded their actions and conversations as and where they happened. We get to know who these people are, not through narrative description, but, as if by candid camera, observing what they say, withhold, do, and fail to do. What emerges are fascinating, at times frightening and at times affectionate portraits of real and troubled humans: Lizaveta, the flighty, but loving society mother; General Epanchin, the successful but utterly conventional man of the house; Aglaya, the childish but delightful beauty who resents her sisters and parents expectation for her; Ganya, who wants money and love, but plays the wounded martyr while more obviously blaming his father for his failures at both; Ivolgin, the pathetic figure of an aging man who aches for dignity and respect but whos former glory is long gone and mostly imagined; and Lebedev, the likeable sycophant and name-dropper.

The more central characters to the events, the murderously passionate Rogozhin, and the self-scorning beauty Nastasya, are more starkly drawn. But even those portraits are created not through direct thought narration or narrative description, but by the authors leading us to read between and behind the lines of their words, conversations with others, and public displays.

One comes away with the strong impression (reinforced by the portrait of Aloysha, hero of Brothers Karamazov) that Dostoevsky saw children as embodying the ideal of spirit that we strive to maintain or regain as adults. The princes obvious affection for the loyal young boy Kolya and the compassionate young girl Vera, in this book, and similar bonds between his hero Aloysha and the children in Karamozov Brothers, show Dostoevskys admiration for the child in man.

The Idiot shows what happens when a simple, trusting and exceptionally compassionate child-man enters the more corrupt world of human adulthood without the experience to navigate, or even to perceive, the traps and snares laid by more worldly humans whose innocence has been chipped or stripped bare by ambition, envy, greed, despair or old age.

On another level, The Idiot is an allegory for the Christ story itself- with Prince Myshkin coming from the Swiss sanatorium into the the world of Petersburg with a mission to live among, love and save its people. The complications of heart and mind when his human emotions unexpectedly collide with the more selfish and less willing of those around him are at the center of this story of a second coming re-imagined.

Crime and Punishment, a psychological crime story, showed Dostoevskys incredible genius for writing the inside of the human mind. Brothers Karamozov was a morality tale that laid out, on a grand scale, yet in great detail, the most essential questions of good and evil, id and ego, life and after-life. The Idiot does what both of these other great novels did, but was the most captivating of the three, because it is so human, intimate and real in its characters discourse, actions and exposition. It is much less overt than the Brothers Karamazov, and less psychologically analytical than Crime and Punishment. But of the three, the timeless characters of The Idiot last most indelibly in the mind.

You will be fully engrossed day after day in a world of ideas, people and places once you open this book. Its ideas are many: atheism vs. Christianity; nihilism vs. a dying social…

All the Conan Doyle stories together - fantastic : Sherlock Holmes? What can one say about these stories that has not already been said? They provide a glimpse into London at the turn of the 19th century.

The ingenuity of the plots, the clever criminals, Holmes reasoning, Dr. Watsons amazement: these are all fascinating to read and experience. Holmes is part of English literature and worthwhile reading for anyone. What is even more fascinating is that for some plots, no crime was involved.

Yes, some stories involved interesting schemes without a murder or a theft. In one, Holmes even let a murderer go because he thought the crime was justified. Dr. Watson, never pictured in film as being a husband, marries one of the female characters in one of the stories.

Youve seen the more criminally sensational tales in film; but there is much more and their reading is even better. Even more interesting is that you will recognize many of Doyles plots in contemporary cinema.

This collection is a must have for anyones reading list, it contains:

Tales of Terror, The Horror of the Heights, The Leather Funnel, The New Catacomb, The Case of Lady Sannox, The Terror of Blue John Gap, The Brazilian Cat, Tales of Mystery, The Lost Special, The Beetle-Hunter, The Man with the Watches, The Japanned Box, The Black Doctor, The Jew's Breastplate.

All the Conan Doyle stories together - fantastic : Sherlock Holmes? What can one say about these stories that has not already been said? They provide a glimpse into London at the…

We owe 1902s The Hound of the Baskervilles to Arthur Conan Doyles good friend Fletcher Bobbles Robinson, who took him to visit some scary English moors and prehistoric ruins, and told him marvelous local legends about escaped prisoners and a 17th-century aristocrat who fell afoul of the family dog. Doyle transmogrified the legend: generations ago, a hound of hell tore out the throat of devilish Hugo Baskerville on the moonlit moor. Poor, accursed Baskerville Hall now has another mysterious death: that of Sir Charles Baskerville. Could the culprit somehow be mixed up with secretive servant Barrymore, history-obsessed Dr. Frankland, butterfly-chasing Stapleton, or Selden, the Notting Hill murderer at large? Someones been signaling with candles from the mansions windows. Nor can supernatural forces be ruled out. Can Dr. Watson–left alone by Sherlock Holmes to sleuth in fear for much of the novel–save the next Baskerville, Sir Henry, from the hounds fangs?



Many Holmes fans prefer Doyles complete short stories, but their clockwork logic doesnt match the authors boast about this novel: its a real Creeper! What distinguishes this particular Hound is its fulfillment of Doyles great debt to Edgar Allan Poe–its full of ancient woe, low moans, a Grimpen Mire that sucks ponies to Dostoyevskian deaths, and locals digging up Neolithic skulls without next-of-kins consent. The longer one stays here the more does the spirit of the moor sink into ones soul, Watson realizes. Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay … while a false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet … it was as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths. Read on–but, reader, watch your step!

We owe 1902s The Hound of the Baskervilles to Arthur Conan Doyles good friend Fletcher Bobbles Robinson, who took him to visit some scary English moors and prehistoric ruins, and…

Out of the entire collection of Holmes stories by Doyle, this is the only story in which a police inspector (specifically, Inspector Baynes) is as competent as Holmes. Holmes has nothing but praise for Inspector Baynes, believing that he will rise high in his profession, for he has instinct and intuition. Inspector Lestrade never received this kind of appreciation from Holmes.

Holmes is visited by a perturbed proper English gentleman, John Scott Eccles, who wishes to discuss something ?grotesque?. No sooner has he arrived at 221B Baker Street than Inspector Gregson also shows up, along with Inspector Baynes of the Surrey Constabulary. They wish a statement from Eccles about the murder near Esher last night. A note in the dead man?s pocket indicates that Eccles said that he would be at the victim?s house that night...

Out of the entire collection of Holmes stories by Doyle, this is the only story in which a police inspector (specifically, Inspector Baynes) is as competent as Holmes. Holmes has…

I came to know about Arthur Machen and his work through the brilliant mastermind of H.P.Lovecraft; his references, both in fiction (The Dunwich Horror makes a very clear statement about Machens influence in his body of work) and non-fiction (Supernatural Horror in Literature), ultimately inspired me to go search something about this author. Needless to say, I found virtually nothing in any bookstore. It was during a trip to Madrid, Spain, where I finally found a book by Machen containing The Great God Pan and many others. I was shocked. The Great God Pan was the first story I read by Arthur Machen, and I only had to read the first few pages to know I was going to like it. Indeed, I did, although it was a little short for my taste. The ideas Machen makes you travel through are some of the finest in horror literature, and the Cosmic view of Pan, is very near the likes of Lovecraft. One can easily see where the influence Machen exerted over Lovecraft is. The only difference is that Machen did believe in some supernatural force existing within the Universe, whereas Lovecraft was the complete opposite. Dark Pagan Horror is what Machen delivers, and he does so with such a style, elegance and wit, you just cant help but to stay with it until you are done.

I came to know about Arthur Machen and his work through the brilliant mastermind of H.P.Lovecraft; his references, both in fiction (The Dunwich Horror makes a very clear statement…

I really think the only reason not to find Rainbow Valley one of L. M. Montgomerys better novels in the Anne series is because it obviously has the least to do with Anne or her children. Once Anne finally married Gilbert in Annes House of Dreams (1917), Montgomery seemed to be at a loss as what to do with her delightful red-headed orphan now that she was a mother. So when this book was written in 1919 she focused on the four Meredith children who beloned to new Presbyterian minister, John Meredith, who was a widower. I can certainly see where some readers would be less than pleased with this particular direction, but the scene near the end of the novel where little Una Meredith communes with her late mothers wedding dress before going off to get her father a wife is as touching as anything Montgomery ever wrote. To be clear, Rainbow Valley is the fifth of the original six Anne books written by Montgomery, which ended in 1920 with Rilla of Ingleside. It would not be until 1936 that she would write Anne of Windy Poplars, which became the fourth book in the series and took us back to when Anne was engaged to Gilbert and waiting for him to finish medical school. In 1939 she wrote her final novel, Anne of Ingleside, which is the least of the Anne books, taking place before Rainbow Valley and engaging in some heavy handed foreshadowing as to what would happen to her characters. This 1919 book is dedicated: To the memory of Goldwin Lapp, Robert Brookes and Morley Shier who made the supreme sacrifice that the happy valleys of their home land might be kept sacred from the ravage of the invader. So clearly Montgomery was thinking of the next book she would write, that would take place during the First World War. At this point in time Anne Shirley has been married to Gilbert Blythe for 15 years and is now the mother of six children: James (called Jem), Walter, Nan, Diana (Di), Shirley, and Marilla (Rilla). The Mrs. and the Doctor return home to Four Winds Harbor from a trip to Europe and discover the new minister and his four children: Jerry, Faith, Una and Carl. Without a mother and a father given over to deams, the manse children tend to run a bit wild. However, it seems that when they try to do their very best, it occasions the most local gossip, and the children are worried they will cost their father his job. Of course the Meredith and Blythe children become good friends, and the manswe children have Annes stamp of approval, which is good enough for us. Two major plots in the novel involve Mary Vance, an orphan girl who finds an unexpected home and continues to cause trouble for all concerned, and Rosemary West, a young woman who John Meredith falls for but whose sister Ellen does not want to be alone and causes romantic complications that Una needs to iron out in the end. All in all, Rainbow Valley reminds me more of The Story Girl and The Golden Road than any of the other Anne books, with the Meredith children having a series of humorous misadventures. I am also impressed because as you can tell from the ending when Walter Blythe speaks of The Piper, that Montgomery is already committed to writing about what happens to these children during World War I in her next Anne book, Rilla of Ingleside. Even though it is atypical Rainbow Valley is my second favorite book in the Anne series. Highly recommended.

I really think the only reason not to find Rainbow Valley one of L. M. Montgomerys better novels in the Anne series is because it obviously has the least to do with Anne or her…

More Than A Book – The Continuing Adventures of a Friend: Anne of the Island is no less wonderful than the books preceeding it or following it. Like all the books, it has a blend of humour and poignancy; joy and sorrow. The key drawcards of the Anne books are the characters. They are lovable, good, kind, wholesome folk who make you care about them and want to know what happens next. Incredibly vivid characters, it was no exaggeration to say that Anne was my childhood best friend – she was as real to me as any person I knew. The cast includes all kinds of interesting guests including the wonderful Miss Patty and Maria with their china dogs, Miss Ada and her cushions, Mrs Skinner and her romance (Jog along, black mare)… the list goes on. Best of all, our old friends are back – Anne, Gilbert, Pricilla, Diana, Davy and Dora, Marilla and Mrs Lynde, Charlie Sloane, and all those we knew and loved in earlier books. There are also some fabulous new additions to the circle of friends – Stella, Aunt Jimsie and the irrepressible Philippa Gordon. Anne of the Island takes us away from Avonlea to Kingsport, where Anne is attending Redmond College. This new setting doesnt mean that we miss out on Green Gables altogether, as Anne does return home for vactions, but it does give one a sense of moving on. Never again will Anne be a child living under Marillas roof – she is an adult, and in this book she is beginning to break away from Green Gables in preparation for the next chapter in her life. Many of the events in this book shape Anne for the rest of her life, and it is an important book for those wishing to read the whole series. L.M. Montgomery kept Anne consistant throughout the entire series, and there are few authors who have done so successfully. While Anne does grow and mature throughout, she is always the Anne we knew and loved.

More Than A Book – The Continuing Adventures of a Friend: Anne of the Island is no less wonderful than the books preceeding it or following it. Like all the books, it has a blend…

Youth is an early Asimov story written in 1952. It is a short story, lots of fun with a surprising twist at the end. Safe for kids to read too. Youth is one of the rare Asimov stories with alien characters. Slim is a boy whose astronomer father is visiting the country estate of an important industrialist. The industrialists son, Red, has found two strange animals, and he enlists Slim in a plan to turn the animals into a circus act. The astronomer, meanwhile, tells the industrialist that he has been in contact with space aliens who want to open up their world to interstellar trade. Their world needs help, the astronomer says; ever since the atomic wars that destroyed their old civilization, the world has been regressing. Unless something is done, their culture may be facing total collapse. When they dont hear from the aliens, the astronomer and the industrialist go out looking for them. They find a small crashed spaceship with a number of tiny dead aliens in it, and the astronomer is convinced that the aliens all died in the crash.

Youth is unusual in that none of the characters are given names, or physical descriptions until the very end. All the adults, including the two humans, are known by their professions, and the two young aliens are known by their nicknames. This is necessary to preserve the twist at the end, but it has the effect of giving the story a certain artificiality compared to Asimovs usual style.

Youth is an early Asimov story written in 1952. It is a short story, lots of fun with a surprising twist at the end. Safe for kids to read too. Youth is one of the rare Asimov…

At first all the stories are just depressing. Some memorably so, others humorously so, others still just morosely so. Many are about poverty, vices, the lusts of money, fear of the cold, or loneliness, oppression, and cruelty, but each of them seems to focus very strongly on the crappiness of life. They stay with you, and they keep pulling you along. Best of all, they can be taken in at length- most short stories collections get tiring after three or four stories, here its possible to read them all in a sitting and enjoy every one of them. At first you are depressed, being hammered with these themes, but about 60% of the way through these very well written pieces you realize that these Russians understand something our modern Western culture doesnt: people are rotten; and somehow this formerly depressing literature becomes a masterpiece of art. They are painting you a picture of life that you dont want to hear, the truth that when the veneer of life is stripped away people are just no good, even down to the smallest child we are one and alike worthless. Counter-intuitively, its very refreshing to see the honest truth, and as a consequence you will remember these stories for the rest of your life. These Russian writers, they *get* it, they make it hit home in a way that doesnt happen very often from new books or television or movies. Alas, by in large the writers are a post Christian bunch, so instead of celebrating their brokenness and the kindness of God they are left with a void, but unlike Camus who decides to fill his philosophy with nonsense words the Russian masters quietly abstain in favor of just showing you life through their eyes. They just stare at the void in humanity. They dont explain it, nor mourn it, nor fantasize on what might make it go away, nor do they really accept it, they just show you to it. They show you real life, a life without redemption, without long term goals, and its frankly brilliant. Really it is. This is a high quality book of the original classic edition. This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.

At first all the stories are just depressing. Some memorably so, others humorously so, others still just morosely so. Many are about poverty, vices, the lusts of money, fear of…

Although Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is justifiably famous as the creator of Tarzan of the Apes, that uprooted Englishman was not his only popular hero. Burroughss first sale (in 1912) was A Princess of Mars, opening the floodgates to one of the must successful--and prolific--literary careers in history.

This is a wonderful scientific romance that perhaps can be best described as early science fiction melded with an epic dose of romantic adventure. A Princess of Mars is the first adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who unexpectedly find himself transplanted to the planet Mars. Yet this red planet is far more than a dusty, barren place; its a fantasy world populated with giant green barbarians, beautiful maidens in distress, and weird flora and monstrous fauna the likes of which could only exist in the authors boundless imagination.

Sheer escapism of the tallest order, the Martian novels are perfect entertainment for those who find Tarzans fantastic adventures arent, well, fantastic enough. Although this novel can stand alone, there are a total of 11 volumes in this classic series of otherworldly, swashbuckling adventure.

Although Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is justifiably famous as the creator of Tarzan of the Apes, that uprooted Englishman was not his only popular hero. Burroughss first sale…

From the Editior: This volume does not aim to contain all ?the best American humorous short stories?; there are many other stories equally as good, I suppose, in much the same vein, scattered through the range of American literature. I have tried to keep a certain unity of aim and impression in selecting these stories. In the first place I determined that the pieces of brief fiction which I included must first of all be not merely good stories, but good short stories. I put myself in the position of one who was about to select the best short stories in the whole range of American literature, but who, just before he started to do this, was notified that he must refrain from selecting any of the best American short stories that did not contain the element of humor to a marked degree. But I have kept in mind the wide boundaries of the term humor, and also the fact that the humorous standard should be kept second?although a close second?to the short story standard. &t;br/&t; In view of the necessary limitations as to the volume?s size, I could not hope to represent all periods of American literature adequately, nor was this necessary in order to give examples of the best that has been done in the short story in a humorous vein in American literature. Probably all types of the short story of humor are included here, at any rate. Not only copyright restrictions but in a measure my own opinion have combined to exclude anything by Joel Chandler Harris?Uncle Remus?from the collection. Harris is primarily?in his best work?a humorist, and only secondarily a short story writer. As a humorist he is of the first rank; as a writer of short stories his place is hardly so high. His humor is not mere funniness and diversion; he is a humorist in the fundamental and large sense, as are Cervantes, Rabelais, and Mark Twain.

From the Editior: This volume does not aim to contain all ?the best American humorous short stories?; there are many other stories equally as good, I suppose, in much the same…

This is a high quality book of the original classic edition. This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you. Enjoy this classic work. These few paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside: &t;br/&t; One time Tom sent a boy to run about town with a blazing stick, which he called a slogan (which was the sign for the Gang to get together), and then he said he had got secret news by his spies that next day a whole parcel of Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs was going to camp in Cave Hollow with two hundred elephants, and six hundred camels, and over a thousand sumter mules, all loaded down with dimonds, and they didnt have only a guard of four hundred soldiers, and so we would lay in ambuscade, as he called it, and kill the lot and scoop the things. &t;br/&t; …WE was feeling pretty good after breakfast, and took my canoe and went over the river a-fishing, with a lunch, and had a good time, and took a look at the raft and found her all right, and got home late to supper, and found them in such a sweat and worry they didnt know which end they was standing on, and made us go right off to bed the minute we was done supper, and wouldnt tell us what the trouble was, and never let on a word about the new letter, but didnt need to, because we knowed as much about it as anybody did, and as soon as we was half up stairs and her back was turned we slid for the cellar cupboard and loaded up a good lunch and took it up to our room and went to bed, and got up about half- past eleven, and Tom put on Aunt Sallys dress that he stole and was going to start with the lunch, but says: &t;br/&t; &t;br/&t; …And then when I went up to bed she come up with me and fetched her candle, and tucked me in, and mothered me so good I felt mean, and like I couldnt look her in the face; and she set down on the bed and talked with me a long time, and said what a splendid boy Sid was, and didnt seem to want to ever stop talking about him; and kept asking me every now and then if I reckoned he could a got lost, or hurt, or maybe drownded, and might be laying at this minute somewheres suffering or dead, and she not by him to help him, and so the tears would drip down silent, and I would tell her that Sid was all right, and would be home in the morning, sure; and she would squeeze my hand, or maybe kiss me, and tell me to say it again, and keep on saying it, because it done her good, and she was in so much trouble. &t;br/&t; …When I got to where I found the boy I see I couldnt cut the bullet out without some help, and he warnt in no condition for me to leave to go and get help; and he got a little worse and a little worse, and after a long time he went out of his head, and wouldnt let me come a-nigh him any more, and said if I chalked his raft hed kill me, and no end of wild foolishness like that, and I see I couldnt do anything at all with him; so I says, I got to have HELP somehow; and the minute I says it out crawls this nigger from somewheres and says hell help, and he done it, too, and done it very well.

This is a high quality book of the original classic edition. This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to…

A Book With a Heart: A ROOM WITH A VIEW depicts a young Englishwomans adventure trying to come to grips with the conflict between her desires and societys expectations. Lucy Honeychurch is a well-bred young middle class girl on holiday in radiant Florence.

She comes from a family overconcerned with respectability and is therefore overprotected by a dessicated spinster named Charlotte Bartlett. One wonders if Forster had in mind a more famous Charlotte B. when he drew Lucys protector, a woman much discomfited by [any] unpleasant scene[s]. Forster playfully tosses barbs at this dont-let-the-servants-hear-you world the English try to maintain on foreign soil. Less playful with sanctimonious Puritans or hypocritical clergymen, Forster lets them foil themselves.

Under no circumstances will Miss Bartlett allow Lucy to pursue (or even examine) her affection for the handsome young George Emerson--his father is far too unconventional with his modern notions about honesty and freethinking. Duty must reign . . . mustnt it? Ah, that wild transitional phase between the late-Victorians and the early-Moderns!

Forster writes gently and calmly, but with a passion for life and love welling up beneath the surface. A ROOM WITH A VIEW is a lovely book, vital with the force of a sensitive and empathetic mind. Theres even more to this book than it seems--highly recommended!

A Book With a Heart: A ROOM WITH A VIEW depicts a young Englishwomans adventure trying to come to grips with the conflict between her desires and societys expectations. Lucy…

This is a beautifully-designed new edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles novel, A Study in Scarlet, which marked the very first appearance of Sherlock Holmes.

This is a high quality book of the original classic edition.

This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.

Enjoy this classic work. These few paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside:

You mustnt blame me if you dont get on with him, he said; I know nothing more of him than I have learned from meeting him occasionally in the laboratory.

...Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him; but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night.

...A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it.

...If I can only find what the fellow is driving at by reconciling all these accomplishments, and discovering a calling which needs them all, I said to myself, I may as well give up the attempt at once.

...There is nothing like first hand evidence, he remarked; as a matter of fact, my mind is entirely made up upon the case, but still we may as well learn all that is to be learned.

This is a beautifully-designed new edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles novel, A Study in Scarlet, which marked the very first appearance of Sherlock Holmes.

This is a high…

Nikolai Gogols Dead Soul launches the great Russian novel form with a satire, so apt and so funny, that the novel remains as one of the most popular Russian text ever. Gogols own personal life may have been a dire disaster, but as a novelist he stands next to only Tolstoy and Dostovesky, as short story writer only Chekov comes close to his fame, and mind you, he preceded them and their writing. He was, alongside Pushkin, one of the major early forces in Russian literary scene. Since all other major novelists from Russia have delved into tragedies and melodramas, going down to philosophical and religious questions, Dead Souls comes as a relief fun read, rather one of the funniest reads. In Dead Souls, he provides a cast of unforgettable and hilarious characters in episodes that leave you reeling with laughter. The hero or the anti-hero Chichikov or Tchichikov drives from town to town, buying dead souls i.e. dead peasants, assuring landowners that this will benefit them as they would pay less tax on their workforce. The tax was based on census numbers, and since many peasants died between two census years, landowners ended up paying taxes on people who didnt exist. Chichikovs brilliant idea was to collect a long list of (dead) peasants he had bought, and use that for getting a estate for himself. The novel tells us a story after story of his meeting his landowners and getting his purchase by a mix of tact, sweet talk, and so on, each purchase is full of absurd and funny details. Beyond the obvious laughters, the novel provides a very detailed description of Russia in early nineteenth century. The sketches of nature bring alive similes and metaphors that Gogol (who was a failed poet) uses remarkably well. While the observations related to people, customs, bureaucracy and Russia are full of brilliant wit, they in fact recreate a lively and throbbing world to us. The world as it was. The bureaucracy has not changed much since then. Nor have the quacks and hacks and cheats who make fortunes by buying and selling dubious things. Hence Dead Souls has this undying and translatable humor that will keep this book in publication forever. I would rank Dead Souls alongside Three Men in a Boat, Catch 22, A House for Mr Biswas and The Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy as the novels that made me laugh the most. It has shades of Tolstoy in details it provides about rural life and rich landowners, shades of both Tolstoy and Dostovesky in pointing to certain moral issues (but that is at most an undertone) and maybe he was the one who influenced the style of his more famous successors. If you havent read Gogol, you definitely need to pick him next.

Nikolai Gogols Dead Soul launches the great Russian novel form with a satire, so apt and so funny, that the novel remains as one of the most popular Russian text ever. Gogols own…

Originally published in 1906 by Upton Sinclair, THE JUNGLE sent shockwaves throughout the United States that resulted in cries for labor and agricultural reforms. It is indeed rare that a book should have such a political impact, but although Sinclair may have been surprised at the results, it is apparent while reading this novel that his words form a political agenda of its own. It should be noted that Sinclair was a devout Socialist who traveled to Chicago to document the working conditions of the world-famous stockyards. Sinclair originally published this book in serial form in the Socialist newspaper, The Appeal to Reason. But as a result of the popularity of this series Sinclair decided to try to publish in a form of a novel. Sinclair widely utilized the metaphor of the jungle (survival of the fittest, etc.) throughout this book to reflect how the vulnerable worker is at the mercy of the powerful packers and politicians. Mother Nature is represented as a machine who destroys the weak and protects the elite powerful. To illustrate his sentiments Sinclair wrote of family of Jurgis and Ona who immigrated to Chicago from Lithuania in search of the American dream. They arrive in all innocence and believe that hard work would result in a stable income and security. But they soon realize that all the forces are against them. During the subsequent years Jurgis tries to hold on what he has but he is fighting a losing battle. It is not until he stumbles upon a political meeting that his eyes upon the evils of capitalism and the sacredness of socialism. If one is to read THE JUNGLE, then they should do themselves a favor and seek out this version. It is the original, uncensored version that Sinclair originally intended to publish. It contains much more details of the horrifying conditions of the meatpacking industry that Jurgis and his family were subjected to. THE JUNGLE is an important book on the labor history of the United States, the non-fairytale immigration of foreigners into the melting pot, and the history of Chicago. Recommended, but not for the faint of heart.

Originally published in 1906 by Upton Sinclair, THE JUNGLE sent shockwaves throughout the United States that resulted in cries for labor and agricultural reforms. It is indeed…

The stories contained in the following pages are taken from the collections published by Afanasief, Khudyakof, Erlenvein, and Chudinsky.

I had misgivings when I started this book, as its as much more a book about fairy tales than a book OF fairy tales. But by the end I was totally won over, and am seriously considering reading more by W. S. Ralston.

It is set up so that theres a tale followed by a brief (the authors word, not mine) discussion of the storys merits, meanings, possible origins and closest relatives, with many of those being summarized and discussed in turn. Its undeniably informative, and incredibly well-written; the more I read of it, the more I wanted to read of it.

The fifty or so tales included are well-told and interesting, and can be easily accessed from the active Table of Contents. Footnotes were included for further discussions and citations, and were all properly linked to throughout the text.

I have to recommend this book because I learned more about fairy tales than I ever thought there was to learn. A merry collection of folktales stretching from Murmansk to Ugolnyye Kopi. I enjoyed the simple Cinderella stories and learned more about the culture than I ever hoped I would. Classic tales from Russia in the beautiful way told that I remember from Saratov summers on the Volga.

The stories contained in the following pages are taken from the collections published by Afanasief, Khudyakof, Erlenvein, and Chudinsky.

I had misgivings when I started this…

This is one of those books that anybody who has been through high school should have been exposed to. I remember being assigned this book as a junior or senior and bluffing my way through without really reading it. I even got a literature degree without reading it. Finally, after many years, I felt that I should give the novel its due, and picked up a copy. The novel is the story of Jim, an overly romantic seaman, who during a moment of crisis loses his courage. He is first mate on a pilgrim ship bound for Mecca and after the ship collides with an unseen object and is in danger of sinking, he abandons ship leaving the human cargo to fend for its own. He is dogged by his guilt and spends years drifting around the East trying to find the right occasion by which he might redeem himself. Eventually he ends up in the forests of Malaysia where he becomes a god-like protector of the indigenous people and is given the title of Lord. But no matter how successful Jim might appear to his followers, and to the omnipresent narrator of the novel, he still cannot forget his moment of weakness. Jims self-centeredness prevents him from moving forward with his life and condemns him to a life of voluntary exile, all the time proclaiming that he is not good enough to live in the outside world. He is willing to risk all future happiness and fortune to be able to face his demons once again without losing his nerves. Ironically, it is his last heroic act that destroys all the good that Jim has painstakingly built up, essentially bringing chaos to his Eden like world. Published at the very beginning of the twentieth century, Lord Jim, in many ways anticipated the experimental writing techniques that would be brought to fruition in the works of Joyce, Faulkner, and others. Conrad is not only interested in telling a tale, he is interested in different points of view, nonlinear narrative techniques, and solving the complexities inherent in a tale within a tale formula. Although some readers might find Conrads prose a little tedious, perseverence and careful reading will reveal passages of unexpected beauty that will cause the reader to pause – then slowly re-read.

This is one of those books that anybody who has been through high school should have been exposed to. I remember being assigned this book as a junior or senior and bluffing my way…

Joseph Conrads 1907 novel, The Secret Agent, is a difficult little book. Its story is difficult and its characters are largely unpleasant. By difficult and unpleasant, I dont mean to say the novel isnt any good. Far from it. These terms I mean to denote the impenetrability of motive, of sense. The story of a group of anarchists, police, and a family caught in the middle in late Victorian England, The Secret Agent is far from Conrads subtitle, A Simple Tale. The novel, for me, is about hatred, mistrust, and breakdowns in communication. The Secret Agent begins early one morning in 1886. Mr. Verloc, a secret agent for a foreign embassy, who lives in a small apartment with his wife Winnie, her mentally ill brother, Stevie, and their mother. Keeping an eye on a particularly ineffectual anarchist community in London, Verloc pretends to be an anarchist revolutionary himself. As the novel opens, Verloc is called in by his new employer Mr. Vladimir. Vladimir, discontented with the apparent lack of production out of his secret agent, and even further with the lackadaisical English police, wants Verloc to act as an agent provocateur, and arrange for a bomb to spur the English government to crack down on the legal system. As religion and royalty are, according to Vladimir, no longer strong enough emotional ties to the people, an attack must be made upon Science, and he selects the Greenwich Observatory as the appropriate site for action. The novel introduces us to a range of wholly unsympathetic characters. The anarchist collective roughly consists of Doctor Ossipan, who lives off his romantic attachments to women barely able to take care of themselves; The Professor, explosives expert, who is so insecure, he is perpetually wired with a detonator in case he is threatened by police capture; and Michaelis, the corpulent writer, engaged upon his autobiography after a mitigated sentence in prison. Conrads portrayal of this cabal is wholly ludicrous – a band of anarchists that are better at talking than doing anything to achieve their undeveloped goals. No better than these are their nemeses, the London police, here represented by Inspector Heat, who identifies so much with the common criminal element, youd think he was one himself; and the Assistant Commissioner, who is so dissatisfied with his desk job, that he would do anything to get out on the streets – but not so ambitious as to upset his nagging wife and her social circle. As the Greenwich Bomb Outrage is an early, but central moment in the novel, it would not be spoiling anything to tell you that this is where Conrad really earns his paycheck. His mode of bringing all the disparate characters and subplots of the novel together throughout the rest of the book is both reminiscent of and radically undercutting the influence of Charles Dickens in Conrads social critique. The Secret Agent is a clever novel, but exceptionally bleak. Thinking about other early 1900s British novels like Samuel Butlers The Way of All Flesh or Virginia Woolfs To the Lighthouse, Conrads The Secret Agent is another of these works where a British writer tries to assess the state of the Empire in the aftermath of Victorias demise – examining past follies to be overcome, and peering without optimism at what lies ahead.

Joseph Conrads 1907 novel, The Secret Agent, is a difficult little book. Its story is difficult and its characters are largely unpleasant. By difficult and unpleasant, I dont mean…