Λογοτεχνία

Written as an act of revenge against the 17 year-old who came between her and Jean-Paul Sartre, She Came to Stay is Simone de Beauvoir's first novel - a lacerating study of a young, naive couple in love and the usurping woman who comes between them. 'It is impossible to talk about faithfulness and unfaithfulness where we are oncerned. You and I are simply one. Neither of us can be described without the other.' It was unthinkable that Pierre and Francoise should ever tire of each other. And yet, both talented and restless, they constantly feel the need for new sensations, new people. Because of this they bring the young, beautiful and irresponsible Xaviere into their life who, determined to take Pierre for herself, drives a wedge between them, with unforeseeable, disastrous consequences... Published in 1943, 'She Came to Stay' is Simone de Beauvoir's first novel. Written as an act of revenge against the woman who nearly destroyed her now legendary, unorthodox relationship with the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, it fictionalises the events of 1935, when Sartre became infatuated with seventeen-year old Olga Bost, a pupil and devotee of de Beauvoir's. Passionately eloquent, coolly and devastatingly ironic, 'She Came to Stay' is one of the most extraordinary and powerful pieces of fictional autobiography of the twentieth century, in which de Beauvoir's 'tears for her characters freeze as they drop.'

1895: ο νέος πελάτης του Σέρλοκ Χολμς, δικαστής του Ανώτατου Δικαστηρίου, ζητά τη βοήθειά του για την εξαφάνιση της γοητευτικής, καλλιεργημένης και εξαιρετικά φιλελεύθερης κόρης του. Ο κύριος Χολμς και ο δόκτωρ Γουάτσον ανακαλύπτουν ότι και η αγνοούμενη κοπέλα, η Χάνα Γούλφσον, αναζητούσε τη Σοφία, μια στενή φίλη της η οποία εξαφανίστηκε χωρίς να αφήσει ίχνη. Από την έρευνα διαπιστώθηκε ότι η Σοφία είχε στρατολογηθεί από την ομάδα των "Ηλυσίων", μια σχεδόν θρησκευτική σέχτα παθιασμένη με τους αρχαιοελληνικούς μύθους και τελετές, επικεφαλής της οποίας ήταν ο χαρισματικός σερ Φίλιπ Μπιουκάναν. O Χολμς ανακαλύπτει ότι η Χάνα, θέλοντας να βρει τι απέγινε η φίλη της, έχει ήδη εισχωρήσει στην ομάδα των Ηλυσίων με ψεύτικο όνομα. Και ενώ ο Σέρλοκ Χολμς συμφωνεί ότι η κοπέλα μπορεί να παραμείνει ως "πράκτοράς" του στη μυστικιστική αλλά φαινομενικά ακίνδυνη αίρεση, ο δόκτωρ Γουάτσον επιμένει ότι η Χάνα διατρέχει θανάσιμο κίνδυνο. Εν τω μεταξύ, ο σερ Φίλιπ οραματίζεται την αναμόρφωση της ανθρωπότητας σύμφωνα με τα κλασικά ιδεώδη, χωρίς να αναλογίζεται το ολέθριο τίμημα... Ένα απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου με εξαιρετικές στιγμές αγωνίας και έντασης.

The much anticipated prequel to bestseller Wool that takes us back to the beginnings of the silo. In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away. A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us. They are setting us on a path from which we can never return. A path that will lead to destruction; a path that will take us below ground. The history of the silo is about to be written. Our future is about to begin. ________________'We have been mesmerised with Hugh Howey's silo stories since we first laid eyes on book one in the trilogy...' Grazia Daily'An epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' Justin Cronin

Selected and Introduced by David Stuart Davies. Short Stories from the Nineteenth Century is a wonderful collection of classic stories specially selected and introduced by David Stuart Davies. These are tales from the golden age of the great storytellers presenting evocative snapshots from that bygone era while at the same time providing engaging entertainment and stimulation for the modern reader. All emotions are catered for in the offerings by Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, H.G.Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mrs Gaskell, O Henry, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Charlotte Perkins Gillman and Charles Lamb. Through their words the rich pageant of yesterday springs to vibrant life. Each story has its own introduction and there is a set of informative notes. This volume is ideal reading for the student as well as those who relish a good tale well told.

A fun, feel-good romantic comedy to read on the beach this summer, from Queen of Greek romance Mandy Baggot. Tess Parks has made up her mind: love isn't for her. When it comes to dating she has one rule: after six weeks with a guy, she ends it. So when her heartbroken best friend invites her for a girly getaway in Corfu, Tess is sure she can stick to their pact to stay single for the summer. But then she meets the gorgeous restaurateur Andras... To keep his overbearing mother off his back, Tess agrees to pretend to date him. But as the two spend time together, Tess begins to realise that this fake relationship is starting to feel like the best one she's ever had... A feel-good escapist beach read set against a beautiful Greek island backdrop, perfect for fans of Jo Thomas's My Lemon Grove Summer.

To live with the Skiathans is to know them, for they hide nothing and are quite generous with themselves. The sketches in this book are an attempt to capture the spirit of this ancient people living on this small island in the modern world. "Strong, sturdy, hard working, optimistic, religious, and capable of enduring hardships after millennia of occupation and foreign rule, like most people on the planet, Skiathans love, they hate, they dream, they compete, they help each other, they have talents and frailties, they join together in sorrow and celebration. In short, they have all of those qualities which we think of as human, except Skiathans have few pretensions. Fashion is not an issue. Clothes are casual and practical. Produce, meat, and fish are an issue. They must be fresh. Class is not a concern. On a small island everyone grew up with everyone else and they all depend on each other for survival, the great equalizer. The police are present but not intrusive, in fact they are quite helpful and understanding. In the winter they look away while the people all become scofflaws. But it’s their island and they’ll manage it their way. Everyone has patience with everyone else. You might sit in your car for a minute while a car and a motorbike in front of you are having a conversation blocking your way, but you don’t honk your horn or complain. No stress. Greeks eat more, smoke more, and drink more but live longer than any other citizens of the European Union. They also work harder and longer hours than the others, but they also party harder and are fully capable of celebrating like children. Just as when you peel the layers of an onion you get more onion, so as you peel back the centuries, one suspects the people on this island have essentially been the same for two millennia. Substituting the Most Holy Virgin for Dionysus, and motorbikes for donkeys, the people seem to know where they’re going. It’s quite simple. Because since at least 34 BC it has ever been thus."

'There are times in the theatre when you suddenly find yourself in the grip of silence. There is no fidgeting or coughing, no shifting about in seats: the audience's attention is so tense it is almost palpable. This is because it is both thrilling and dangerous: a fight to the death, or the dawning of salvation. David Hare's new play, Skylight, is punctuated by such moments. They are the signs that a dramatist of the first rank is writing at full stretch, in complete command of his material, undogmatic and unafraid, unforgiving and compassionate.' Sunday Times Skylight was revived in a new production at the Wyndham's Theatre, London, in June 2014, which received the Evening Standard Revival of the Year Award.

Philip Swallow, Morris Zapp, Persse McGarrigle and the lovely Angelica are the jet-propelled academics who are on the move, in the air and on the make in David Lodge's satirical Small World. It is a world of glamorous travel and high excitement, where stuffy lecture rooms are swapped for lush corners of the globe, and romance is in the air...

An exquisite new short story from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Small Things Like These and Foster. 'A genuine once-in-a-generation writer.' The TimesAfter an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently. All evening, with only the television and a bottle of champagne for company, thoughts of this woman and others intrude - and the true significance of this particular date is revealed. From one of the finest writers working today, Keegan's new story asks if a lack of generosity might ruin what could be between men and women. 'Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.' Hilary Mantel'Claire Keegan makes her moments real - and then she makes them matter.' Colm Toibin