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Will Self

    26 settembre 1961

    William Self è un romanziere, critico e editorialista inglese. È noto per i suoi romanzi e racconti satirici, grotteschi e fantastici, spesso ambientati in universi apparentemente paralleli. La sua opera esplora gli aspetti più oscuri della natura umana e della società. Lo stile distintivo di Self fonde magistralmente il realismo crudo con elementi soprannaturali, creando esperienze di lettura inquietanti ma affascinanti. La sua scrittura è apprezzata per la tagliente critica sociale e l'acuta esplorazione delle debolezze umane.

    Will Self
    Why Read
    A Little Box of Penguins, Ten Volumes, Including The Rock of Crack as Big as the Ritz, Umney's Last Case, Lizzie Borden, Scenes from the Dwarf Etc - Special Limited Edition, only available from Blackwells Bookshops
    Complete Tales and Poems
    Second Lives
    Little people in the city
    Una sfortunata mattina di mezza estate
    • Una sfortunata mattina di mezza estate

      • 347pagine
      • 13 ore di lettura

      Durante una vacanza in un insolito continente-isola non meglio specificato, Tom Brodzinski decide di smettere di fumare. Ma una banale disattenzione si trasforma nella sua rovina. Il mozzicone dell’ultima sigaretta lanciato dalla finestra della camera d’albergo atterra sulla testa di un suo conterraneo, l’anziano Reggie Lincoln. Per le leggi del Paese si tratta di una grave aggressione intenzionale. Ma il peggio deve ancora arrivare: la giovane moglie di Lincoln fa parte di una fiera tribù mistica del deserto le cui usanze sono sancite e riconosciute dallo Stato. Come gesto riparatore Tom intraprende un pericoloso viaggio attraverso il continente-isola, addentrandosi nell’arido cuore di quella strana terra. Sarebbe tutto più facile se la pena non gli imponesse come compagno di viaggio Brian Prentice, anche lui colpevole di un crimine e sospettato da Brodzinski di essere un pedofilo. Il loro viaggio di redenzione attraverso un territorio devastato da una folle guerra e' dominato da complesse logiche tribali assumerà sempre di più i contorni surreali di un inquietante e paradossale incubo.

      Una sfortunata mattina di mezza estate
      2,4
    • Little people in the city

      • 128pagine
      • 5 ore di lettura

      He's like Banksy -- but not as big...They're Not Pets, Susan,' says a stern father who has just shot a bumblebee, its wings sparkling in the evening sunlight; a lone office worker, less than an inch high, looks out over the river in his lunch break, 'Dreaming of Packing it all In'; and a tiny couple share a 'Last Kiss' against the soft neon lights of the city at midnight. Mixing sharp humour with a delicious edge of melancholy, Little People in the City brings together the collected photographs of Slinkachu, a street-artist who for several years has been leaving little hand-painted people in the bustling city to fend for themselves, waiting to be discovered. . . 'Oddly enough, even when you know they are just hand-painted figurines, you can't help but feel that their plights convey something of our own fears about being lost and vulnerable in a big, bad city.' The Times

      Little people in the city
      4,7
    • Second Lives

      Tales From Two Cities

      • 264pagine
      • 10 ore di lettura

      What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.

      Second Lives
      5,0
    • Complete Tales and Poems

      • 1092pagine
      • 39 ore di lettura

      This collection features a diverse array of poetry and fiction, showcasing the author's mastery of language and themes. The poetry section includes works such as "O, Tempora! O, Mores!" and "To Helen," exploring emotions and existential musings. Notable pieces like "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" delve into love, loss, and the supernatural, while "The Conqueror Worm" and "Dream-land" reflect on mortality and dreams. In the fiction segment, the author presents captivating stories like "Metzengerstein" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," blending horror and psychological depth. Other tales, such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," exemplify the author's pioneering contributions to the mystery and detective genres. The collection also includes whimsical narratives like "The Duc De L'Omelette" and thought-provoking fables such as "Silence: A Fable." Throughout, the author explores themes of identity, reality, and the human condition, employing a rich tapestry of characters and settings. The interplay of poetry and prose invites readers to reflect on the complexities of life, making this a compelling anthology for lovers of literature.

      Complete Tales and Poems
      4,4
    • Why Read

      • 336pagine
      • 12 ore di lettura

      From the Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella, a world-girdling collection of writings inspired by a life lived in and for literature.

      Why Read
      4,3
    • Notes from Underground

      • 128pagine
      • 5 ore di lettura

      How far would you go to escape the real world? The underground man had always felt like an outsider. He doesn't want to be like other people, working in the 'ant-hill' of society. So he decides to withdraw from the world, scrawling a series of darkly sarcastic notes about the torment he is suffering. Angry and alienated, his only comfort is the humiliation of others. Is he going mad? Or is it the world around him that's insane?

      Notes from Underground
      4,2
    • Elaine

      • 290pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      Set in 1950s America, the story follows Elaine as she grapples with her dissatisfaction in a seemingly perfect life with her Ivy League husband and child. Standing by her mailbox, she questions her choices and ultimately seeks freedom through a reckless affair. This decision leads to the unraveling of her marriage and forces her to confront the consequences of her actions, exploring themes of identity, desire, and the constraints of societal expectations.

      Elaine
      3,7
    • 1982, Janine

      • 352pagine
      • 13 ore di lettura

      The unforgettable, challenging and experimental second novel from the author of Lanark. Introduced by Will Self schovat popis

      1982, Janine
      4,0
    • The Red Hourglass

      Lives of the Predators

      • 259pagine
      • 10 ore di lettura

      Snake venom that digests human flesh, a building cleared of life by tiny spiders, and an infant insect consuming its prey from within are just a few examples of the deadly natural engineering explored in this masterful, poetic, and often humorously dry examination of predators encountered in rural Oklahoma. The author serves as a witty and intrepid guide through a world where mating can lead to cannibalism and where lethal toxins challenge our notions of a benevolent God. Spider remains scattered like "the cast-off coats of untidy children" tell a story of violent self-extermination, revealing a familiar yet exotic world. Grice immerses himself in this realm, abandoning objectivity with dark humor—collecting spiders, decorating a tarantula's terrarium, or orchestrating insect battles, deeming one "too stupid to live." Through starkly graceful essays, he charts the brutal lives of these predators, leading us to startling truths about our own predatory nature. The narrative confronts the inadequacy of our distinctions between normal and abnormal, dead and alive, innocent and evil, ultimately bringing us face to fanged face with the complexities of existence.

      The Red Hourglass
      4,0