Peter Brooks Ordine dei libri

The narrative centers on Henry James' transformative ten-month journey across the United States during the Gilded Age, as recounted by critic Peter Brooks. After years abroad, James returns to a rapidly changing America, exploring its diverse landscapes and cultures. His observations, which culminate in the ethnographic work "The American Scene," reveal his evolving perspective on American identity, materialism, and democracy. Brooks blends biography and literary criticism to highlight the lasting significance of James's insights in contemporary society.

A book on the experience of reading Honore de Balzac's La Comedie humaine which recounts the process of Peter Brooks's own discovery of Balzac.

In this spiritual sequel to his influential Reading for the Plot, Peter Brooks examines the dangerously alluring power of storytelling. “There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can defeat it.” So begins the scholar and literary critic Peter Brooks’s reckoning with today’s flourishing cult of story. Forty years after publishing his seminal work Reading for the Plot, his important contribution to what came to be known as the “narrative turn” in contemporary criticism and philosophy, Brooks returns to question the unquestioning fashion in which story is now embraced as an excuse or explanation and the fact that every brand or politician comes equipped with one. In a discussion that ranges from The Girl on the Train to legal argument, Brooks reminds us that among the powers of narrative is the power to deceive.

Enter the mind of French literary giant Honoré de Balzac through a study of nine of his greatest characters and the novels they inhabit. Balzac's Lives illuminates the writer's life, era, and work in a completely original way. Balzac, more than anyone, invented the nineteenth-century novel, and Oscar Wilde went so far as to say that Balzac had invented the nineteenth century. But it was above all through the wonderful, unforgettable, extravagant characters that Balzac dreamed up and made flesh—entrepreneurs, bankers, inventors, industrialists, poets, artists, bohemians of both sexes, journalists, aristocrats, politicians, prostitutes—that he brought to life the dynamic forces of an era that ushered in our own. Peter Brooks’s Balzac’s Lives is a vivid and searching portrait of a great novelist as revealed through the fictional lives he imagined.

Set against the backdrop of 1963 Nottingham, the story revolves around the brutal murder of George Wilson, the landlord of the Fox and Grapes pub, infamously known as "The Pretty Windows." This chilling event not only shocked the local community but also left an indelible mark on the city's history, transforming the pub's name into a symbol of one of Nottingham's most notorious crimes. The narrative delves into the impact of this frenzied act of violence on the town and its residents.

From a distinguished literary historian, a look at Gustave Flaubert and his correspondence with George Sand during France's terrible year - summer 1870 through spring 1871

A mysterious egg hatches a unique bird called a "chunkwing," who refuses to eat worms and embarks on an adventure to find the food that will help him grow wings. His journey takes him beyond his nest, where he meets an eclectic group of friends, including a cat, a priest, and a friendly witch. The enchanting narrative, complemented by Sarah Oliver's beautiful illustrations, captivates readers of all ages. Additionally, the book offers access to an audio version read by the author, enhancing the storytelling experience.

Exploring the intricate dynamics of character relationships, this analysis critiques the notion of "realism" in the works of Crébillon, Marivaux, Laclos, and Stendahl. Peter Brooks delves into how these authors portray personal worth and social interactions within a cultivated coterie. By providing in-depth readings of their novels, he also connects their themes to the seventeenth-century moralistes and the literary forms that emerged in the refined drawing rooms of the time, highlighting the dramatic essence of social existence.

Focusing on the contemporary fascination with identity, this work by renowned critic Peter Brooks delves into how personal and cultural identities are constructed and perceived. It examines the complexities of selfhood in a rapidly changing world, drawing on various disciplines to illuminate the ongoing dialogue surrounding identity. Through insightful analysis and engaging prose, Brooks encourages readers to reflect on their own identities and the societal influences that shape them.