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"This fascinating, massive, wide-ranging collection that editors
Christopher K. Coffman and Daniel Lukes have gathered together into
William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion will soon be recognized
as one of those rare critical books for which that egregiously
overused term 'groundbreaking' is fully justified." -Larry
McCaffery, from the preface of William T. Vollmann: A Critical
Companion The essays in this collection make a case for regarding
William T. Vollmann as the most ambitious, productive, and
important living author in the US. His oeuvre includes not only
outstanding work in numerous literary genres, but also global
reportage, ethical treatises, paintings, photographs, and many
other productions. His reputation as a daring traveler and his
fascination with life on the margins have earned him an
extra-literary renown unequaled in our time. Perhaps most
importantly, his work is exceptional in relation to the literary
moment. Vollmann is a member of a group of authors who are
responding to the skeptical ironies of postmodernism with a
reinvigoration of fiction's affective possibilities and moral
sensibilities, but he stands out even among this cohort for his
prioritization of moral engagement, historical awareness, and
geopolitical scope. Included in this book in addition to twelve
scholarly critical essays are reflections on Vollmann by many of
his peers, confidantes, and collaborators, including Jonathan
Franzen, James Franco, and Michael Glawogger. With a preface by
Larry McCaffery and an afterword by Michael Hemmingson, this book
offers readings of most of Vollmann's works, includes the first
critical engagements with several key titles, and introduces a
range of voices from international Vollmann scholarship.
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Martin Kacur (Paperback)
Ivan Cankar; Translated by John K. Cox
bundle available
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R446
Discovery Miles 4 460
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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The novel Martin Kačur, which dates from 1907, tells the engrossing
story of a young schoolteacher who moves from one provincial
Slovene town to the next, trying to enlighten his countrymen and
countrywomen but instead receiving only the mistrust and scorn of
the traditional-minded and petty population. The novel is ruthless
in its analysis and self-analysis of the failure of this abstract
idealist. Brilliant descriptions of Slovenia's natural beauty
alternate with the haze of alcoholic despair, rural violence,
marital alienation, and the death of a young and beloved child. The
Slovene prose writer, poet, and dramatist Cankar's
characterizations of duplicitous political and religious leaders
(the village priest, the mayor, other teachers, doctors, etc.) and
the treacherous social scene are remarkable in their engaging
clarity. No doubt the raw emotional impact of Martin Kačur derives
partly from Cankar's portrayal of the way society isolates people,
denying them sympathy and solidarity. Cankar's style here owes a
debt both to naturalism and to symbolism and contains, in its
sometimes frantic pace and associative interior monologues, hints
of early expressionism.
"This fascinating, massive, wide-ranging collection that editors
Christopher K. Coffman and Daniel Lukes have gathered together into
William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion will soon be recognized
as one of those rare critical books for which that egregiously
overused term 'groundbreaking' is fully justified." -Larry
McCaffery, from the preface of William T. Vollmann: A Critical
Companion The essays in this collection make a case for regarding
William T. Vollmann as the most ambitious, productive, and
important living author in the US. His oeuvre includes not only
outstanding work in numerous literary genres, but also global
reportage, ethical treatises, paintings, photographs, and many
other productions. His reputation as a daring traveler and his
fascination with life on the margins have earned him an
extra-literary renown unequaled in our time. Perhaps most
importantly, his work is exceptional in relation to the literary
moment. Vollmann is a member of a group of authors who are
responding to the skeptical ironies of postmodernism with a
reinvigoration of fiction's affective possibilities and moral
sensibilities, but he stands out even among this cohort for his
prioritization of moral engagement, historical awareness, and
geopolitical scope. Included in this book in addition to twelve
scholarly critical essays are reflections on Vollmann by many of
his peers, confidantes, and collaborators, including Jonathan
Franzen, James Franco, and Michael Glawogger. With a preface by
Larry McCaffery and an afterword by Michael Hemmingson, this book
offers readings of most of Vollmann's works, includes the first
critical engagements with several key titles, and introduces the
work of several foreign Vollmann scholars to American audiences.
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A Tale of Two Worlds (Paperback)
Vjenceslav Novak; Translated by John K. Cox; Commentary by John K. Cox
bundle available
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R464
Discovery Miles 4 640
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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n this novel, written by the esteemed novelist in 1901, a
provincial composer and organist from Croatia struggles to find his
way along the perilous frontier between the worlds of artistic
vocation and humdrum family life. The local kapellmeister---a
Czech, in good Habsburg tradition, and a confidant of Gaj and
Palacky, influential politicians of the time---recognizes young
Amadej Zlatanic as a prodigy and persuades the stingy mayor and
stubborn parish priest to pack the teenager off to the conservatory
in Prague. After several years of sordid student purgatory, Amadej
returns to Croatia---ready for love and ready to make great art.
The world of Central Europe in the 1860s flows past, and Amadej
tries to keep abreast of political change. At the same time he
ducks and dodges predatory relatives and townspeople in his native
district, to which he has returned for the sake of employment.
Despite his marriage to the impressionable and vulnerable local
beauty, Adelka, and his devotion to their daughter Veruska, Amadej
is sorely troubled by the political corruption and isolation of
Croatia. His wife takes ill and his family is poor. Yet ultimately
it is the vulgar, populist notion of Croatian
"identity"---symbolized by the worship of the tamburica, a local
musical instrument---that crushes Amadej's career. As it does so,
he contemplates the two worlds of national greatness, amidst the
Croatian national awakening, and international fame. Finally,
frustrated beyond relief by unsuccessful affairs both amorous and
professional, and tortured by the philistinism surrounding him,
Amadej leaves the world of sanity for a mind-blowing descent into
the maniacal and inescapable world of hallucination, paganism, and
paranoia.
A clear and concise introduction to contemporary Slovenia. It
examines the country's rapid transition from a collection of
provinces in the southern part of the Habsburg Empire, to a
republic within Yugoslavia, to an independent state and analyzes
the major political and economic developments since 1991. The
perfect introduction to one of Europe's most fascinating nations.
Contents: Preface Chronology Glossary and Abbreviations 1. Historical and Cultural Background 2. Political Background, Recent/Current Politics and Political Outlook 3. Economic Background, Recent/Current Economics and Outlook 4. Regional and International Relations 5. Slovene National Identity Bibliography Index
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Avala is Falling (Paperback)
Biljana Jovanovic; Translated by John K. Cox
bundle available
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R488
R429
Discovery Miles 4 290
Save R59 (12%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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In Avala Is Falling, Jovanovic's breakout success in 1978, a young
woman challenges the expectations that teachers, parents, bus
drivers, and doctors have for her. The "Avala" of the title refers
to a mountain south of Belgrade which is home to some of Serbia's
most important nationalist monuments and shrines; it is also the
site of the main mental hospital for the region, and its "falling"
is the unexpected fulfillment of a prophecy from a traditional
Serbian folk song. Jovanovic's use of stream of consciousness in
her characters' thinking and speaking, as well as of
intertextuality in description and plot advancement heralded the
arrival of an innovative new writer who was determined to break
with the of traditional concerns of earlier women writers. This
book is now recognized as much more than "jeans prose," although
the fame the book achieved under that characterization eventually
pushed it to cult status. Jovanovic is now considered a major
avant-garde writer, whose stylistic innovations were as challenging
as her women-centered themes.
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Psalm 44 (Hardcover)
Danilo Kis; Translated by John K. Cox; Preface by Aleksandar Hemon
bundle available
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R352
Discovery Miles 3 520
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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"Psalm 44" is the last major work of fiction by Danilo Kiš to
be translated into English, and his only novel dealing explicitly
with Auschwitz (where his own father died). Written when he was
only twenty-five, before embarking on the masterpieces that would
make him an integral figure in twentieth-century letters, Psalm 44
shows Kiš at his most lyrical and unguarded, demonstrating that
even in "the place of dragons... covered with the shadow of death,"
there can still be poetry. Featuring characters based on actual
inmates and warders -- including the abominable Dr. Mengele --
"Psalm 44" is a baring of many of the themes, patterns, and
preoccupations Kiš would return to in future, albeit never with the
same starkness or immediacy.
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The Attic (Paperback)
Danilo Kis; Translated by John K. Cox
bundle available
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R391
R322
Discovery Miles 3 220
Save R69 (18%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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"The Attic" is Danilo Kiš's first novel. Written in 1960,
published in 1962, and set in contemporary Belgrade, it explores
the relationship of a young man, known only as Orpheus, to the art
of writing; it also tracks his relationship with a colorful cast of
characters with nicknames such as Eurydice, Mary Magdalene,
Tam-Tam, and Billy Wise Ass. Rich with references to music,
painting, philosophy, and gastronomy, this bohemian "Bildungsroman"
is a laboratory of technique and style for the young Kiš -- at once
a depiction of life in literary Belgrade, a register of stylistic
devices and themes that would recur throughout Kiš's oeuvre, and an
account of one young man's quest to find a way to balance his life,
his loves, and his art.
With the outbreak of war in the former Yugoslavia in 1991,
interest in Balkan history has increased and become emotionally
charged. This balanced and engagingly written history of Serbia
will help readers to understand the complex web of Serbian history,
politics, society, and culture and how the Serbs have dealt with
the many political, military, and socioeconomic challenges in their
history. It attempts to remove the veil of stereotypes and myths
obscuring the significant details and developmental processes in
the history of Serbia and in its relations with its neighbors. In
addition to examining the political history of Serbia in the
context of Central Europe, the author, a specialist in Balkan
history, shows how societal and cultural developments affected
Serbian history and reflected political and economic events.
A timeline of significant events in the history of Serbia and an
introductory chapter on Serbia today are followed by 12
chronologically organized narrative chapters that tell the story of
this land from the splendor of medieval Serbia to a new beginning
after the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. Four historical maps,
brief biographies of key figures in Serbian history, a glossary of
terms, and a bibliographic essay provide valuable resource material
for readers. Every library should update its collection of
materials on Serbia with this current history.
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