Download or read book The High Mountains of Portugal written by Yann Martel and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Lost in Portugal. Lost to grief. With nothing but a chimpanzee. A man thrown backwards by heartbreak goes in search of an artefact that could unsettle history. A woman carries her husband to a doctor in a suitcase. A Canadian senator begins a new life, in a new country, in the company of a chimp called Odo. From these stories of journeying, of loss and faith, Yann Martel makes a novel unlike any other: moving, profound and magical. A New York Times Bestseller An Australian Independent Bookseller Bestseller #1 on The Globe & Mail's Bestseller List #1 on Toronto Star's Bestseller List #1 on Maclean's Bestseller List #1 on National Post's Bestseller List #1 on McNally Robinson's Bestseller List An ABA Indie Bestseller

Download or read book Beatrice And Virgil may 10 written by Yann Martel and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2010 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey--named Beatrice and Virgil--and the epic journey they undertake together.

Download or read book Self written by Yann Martel and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern-day Orlando—edgy, funny and startlingly honest—Self is the fictional autobiography of a young writer and traveller who finds his gender changed overnight.

Download or read book What Is Stephen Harper Reading written by Yann Martel and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “I know you’re very busy, Mr. Harper. We’re all busy. But every person has a space next to where they sleep, whether a patch of pavement or a fine bedside table. In that space, at night, a book can glow. And in those moments of docile wakefulness, when we begin to let go of the day, then is the perfect time to pick up a book and be someone else, somewhere else, for a few minutes, a few pages, before we fall asleep.” From the author of Life of Pi comes a literary correspondence—recommendations to Canada’s Prime Minister of great short books that will inspire and delight book lovers and book club readers across our nation. Every two weeks since April 16th, 2007, Yann Martel has mailed Stephen Harper a book along with a letter. These insightful, provocative letters detailing what he hopes the Prime Minister may take from the books—by such writers as Jane Austen, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Stephen Galloway—are collected here together. The one-sided correspondence (Mr. Harper’s office has only replied once) becomes a meditation on reading and writing and the necessity to allow ourselves to expand stillness in our lives, even if we’re not head of government.

Download or read book Snappsy the Alligator Did Not Ask to Be in This Book written by Julie Falatko and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snappsy the alligator is having a normal day when a pesky narrator steps in to spice up the story. Is Snappsy reading a book ... or is he making CRAFTY plans? Is Snappsy on his way to the grocery store ... or is he PROWLING the forest for defenseless birds and fuzzy bunnies? Is Snappsy innocently shopping for a party ... or is he OBSESSED with snack foods that start with the letter P? What's the truth? Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) is an irreverent look at storytelling, friendship, and creative differences, perfect for fans of Mo Willems.

Download or read book This is London written by Ben Judah and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-01-28 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is London in the eyes of its beggars, bankers, coppers, gangsters, carers, witch-doctors and sex workers. This is London in the voices of Arabs, Afghans, Nigerians, Poles, Romanians and Russians. This is London as you've never seen it before. Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction 2016 Shortlisted for the Ryszard Kapuscinski Award for Literary Reportage 2019 'An eye-opening investigation into the hidden immigrant life of the city' Sunday Times 'Full of nuggets of unexpected information about the lives of others . . . It recalls the journalism of Orwell' Financial Times 'Ben Judah grabs hold of London and shakes out its secrets' The Economist

Download or read book The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon written by Richard Zimler and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2000-03-15 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International Bestseller: “A moody, tightly constructed historical thriller . . . a good mystery story and an effective evocation of a faraway time and place.” —The New York Times After Jews living in sixteenth-century Portugal are dragged to the baptismal font and forced to convert to Christianity, many of these New Christians persevere in their Jewish prayers and rituals in secret and at great risk; the hidden, arcane practices of the kabbalists, a mystical sect of Jews, continue as well. One such secret Jew is Berekiah Zarco, an intelligent young manuscript illuminator. Inflamed by love and revenge, he searches, in the crucible of the raging pogrom, for the killer of his beloved uncle Abraham, a renowned kabbalist, discovered murdered in a hidden synagogue along with a young girl in dishabille. Risking his life in streets seething with mayhem, Berekiah tracks down answers among Christians, New Christians, Jews, and the fellow kabbalists of his uncle, whose secret language and codes by turns light and obscure the way to the truth he seeks. A marvelous story, a challenging mystery, and a telling tale of the evils of intolerance, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon both compels and entertains. “The story moves quickly . . . a literary and historical treat.” —Library Journal ''Remarkable . . . The fever pitch of intensity Zimler maintains is at times overwhelming but never less than appropriate to the Hieronymous Bosch-like landscape he describes. Simultaneously, though, he is able to capture, within the bedlam, quiet moments of tenderness and love.” —Booklist (starred review)

Download or read book Night Train to Lisbon written by Pascal Mercier and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2008-10-07 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling novel of love and sacrifice under fascist rule, and “a treat for the mind. One of the best books I have read in a long time” (Isabel Allende). Raimund Gregorius, a professor of dead languages at a Swiss secondary school, lives a life governed by routine. Then, an enigmatic Portuguese woman stirs his interest in an obscure, and mind-expanding book of philosophy that opens the possibility of changing Raimund’s existence. That same night, he takes the train to Lisbon to research the book’s phantom author, Amadeu de Prado, a renowned physician whose principles led him to confront Salazar’s dictatorship. Raimund, now obsessed with unlocking the mystery behind the man, is determined to meet all those on whom Prado left an indelible mark. Among them: his eighty-year-old sister, who maintains her brother’s house as if it were a museum; an elderly cleric and torture survivor confined to a nursing home; and Prado’s childhood friend and eventual partner in the Resistance. The closer Raimund comes to the truth of Prado’s life, and eventual fate, an extraordinary tale takes shape amid the labyrinthine memories of Prado’s intimate circle of family and friends, working in utmost secrecy to fight dictatorship, and the betrayals that threaten to expose them. “A meditative, deliberate exploration of loneliness, language and the human condition” (The San Diego Union-Tribune), Night Train to Lisbon “call[s] to mind the magical realism of Jorge Amado or Gabriel Garcia Marquez . . . allusive and thought-provoking, intellectually curious and yet heartbreakingly jaded,” and inexorably propelled by the haunting mystery at its heart (The Providence Journal). Night Train to Lisbon was adapted into Bille August’s award-winning 2013 film starring Jeremy Irons, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee, and Charlotte Rampling.

Download or read book A Brief History of Italy written by Jeremy Black and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Jeremy Black skilfully sketches social, cultural and political trends' - Christina Hardyment, Times audiobook of the week 'A remarkable mixture of cold history, wide culture and personal experience' Ciro Paoletti, Secretary General of the Italian Commission of Military History Despite the Roman Empire's famous 500-year reign over Europe, parts of Africa and the Middle East, Italy does not have the same long national history as states such as France or England. Divided for much of its history, Italy's regions have been, at various times, parts of bigger, often antagonistic empires, notably those of Spain and Austria. In addition, its challenging and varied terrain made consolidation of political control all the more difficult. This concise history covers, in very readable fashion, the formative events in Italy's past from the rise of Rome, through a unified country in thrall to fascism in the first half of the twentieth century right up to today. The birthplace of the Renaissance and the place where the Baroque was born, Italy has always been a hotbed of culture. Within modern Italy country there is fierce regional pride in the cultures and identities that mark out Tuscany, Rome, Sicily and Venice to name just a few of Italy's many famous regions. Jeremy Black draws on the diaries, memoirs and letters of historic travellers to Italy to gain insight into the passions of its people, first chronologically then regionally. In telling Italy's story, Black examines what it is that has given Italians such cultural clout - from food and drink, music and fashion, to art and architecture - and explores the causes and effects of political events, and the divisions that still exist today.

Download or read book Tales from the Mountain written by Miguel Torga and published by QED Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first English edition of the prize-winning writings of Portugal's premiere writer, who has been nominated twice for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Download or read book Pillars of Light written by Jane Johnson and published by Doubleday Canada. This book was released on 2016-01-05 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diana Gabaldon meets Ken Follett in this epic story of love, war and redemption. In the Syrian city of Akka, Nathanael, a young Jewish doctor, and a Muslim girl called Zohra are about to fall in love, unaware that Jerusalem has just been taken by Saladin's army and that their city will soon be engulfed by war. Meanwhile in England, John Savage, a foundling boy, runs away from his cruel life in a priory with The Moor, a mysterious man driven by a dream of perfection. John and The Moor become members of a band of conmen travelling through the English countryside faking religious miracles for cash, until they are recruited in Richard the Lionheart's drive to regain the Latin Kingdom from the infidel. Akka awaits. It will be the site of the greatest--and cruellest--siege of its time. But even in the midst of war, lovers find ways to make transactions of beauty. Pillars of Light is a powerful and moving novel about the triumph of the human spirit against all the odds. It will delight fans of Philippa Gregory, Ken Follett and Diana Gabaldon.

Download or read book The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis written by José Saramago and published by HMH. This book was released on 1992-04-27 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Nobel Prize-winning author: “A capacious, funny, threatening novel” of wandering souls and political upheaval in 1930s Portugal (The New York Times Book Review). The year is 1936, and the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is establishing himself in Portugal, edging his country toward civil war. At the same time, Dr. Ricardo Reis has returned home to Lisbon after a long sojourn in Brazil. What’s brought him back is word that the great poet, Fernando Pessoa, has died. With no intention of resuming his practice, Reis now dabbles in his own poetry, wastes his days strolling the boulevards and back streets, engages in affairs with two different women—and is followed through each excursion by Pessoa’s ghost. As a fascist revolution roils, and as Reis’s path intersects with three relative strangers—two living, one dead—Reis may finally discover the reality of his own chimerical existence. “A rich story about human relationships and dreams.”—The New York Times Called “a magnificent tour-de-force, perhaps one of the best novels published in Europe since World War II” (The Bloomsbury Review) and “altogether remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal), The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis is a PEN Award winner and stands among the finest works by the author of Blindness. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero

Download or read book Hunting Midnight written by Richard Zimler and published by Parthian Books. This book was released on 2023-02-08 with total page 579 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Zimler is an honest, powerful writer' The Guardian 'pacey and accessible... deeply moving' The Observer At the dawn of the nineteenth century, John Stewart Zarco lives out an inquisitive, naive childhood in his idyllic Porto community. But societal prejudices against his family's Jewish faith shatter his innocence and even come to threaten his life. Following the tragic death of his dearest friend, it is only his unlikely bond with Midnight, an African healer and freed slave, that restores a sense of safety. But this fragile, fleeting peace is destroyed when Napoleon's armies invade Portugal and John suffers another devastating loss – one rooted in unspeakable betrayal and authored by those closest to him. The revelation sets John on course for antebellum America, in what might ultimately prove to be a doomed quest for hope amid unspeakable cruelty and sin. Rich in historical detail and mysticism, Hunting Midnight is Richard Zimler's mesmerising tale of deception, guilt, forgiveness and devotion, played out against a backdrop of war, slavery and religious oppression. 'I defy anyone to put this book down. It is a wonderful novel; a big, bold-hearted love story that will sweep you up and take you, uncomplaining, on a journey full of heartbreak and light.' Nicholas Shakespeare 'A gripping adventure story, which can also be read at deeper levels' The Independent 'Zimler packs his tale with exotic detail... absorbing' Publishers Weekly

Download or read book Bream Gives Me Hiccups written by Jesse Eisenberg and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2015-08-31 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The wildly inventive debut collection of stories by the Oscar-nominated star of The Social Network. “Hilarious . . . It’s a hoot” (People, The Best New Books). Jesse Eisenberg, known for his iconic film roles, his regular pieces in the New Yorker and two critically acclaimed plays, proves himself “a deeply original comic voice” in these 28 stories” about the funniness, sadness, and strangeness of everyday life and they really made me laugh” (Roz Chast). Moving from contemporary LA to the dorm rooms of an American college to ancient Pompeii, Eisenberg throws the reader into a universe of social misfits, reimagined scenes from history, and ridiculous overreactions; a college freshman forced to live with a roommate is stunned when one of her ramen packets goes missing (“She didn’t have ‘one’ of my ramens. She had a chicken ramen.”); Alexander Graham Bell has teething problems with his invention (“I’ve been calling Mabel all day, she doesn’t pick up! Yes, of course I dialed the right number—2!”); and in the title story, a precocious and privileged nine-year-old boy finds himself in the uncomfortable position as an amateur restaurant critic. Featuring illustrations by award-winning cartoonist Jean Jillian, this “alphabet soup of sketches, riffs, and innovations” (Seattle Times) explores the various insanities of the modern world, “playfully bringing both familiar and wholly original scenarios to life” (Marie Claire). A Fall Books Preview Selection by Audible One of the Wall Street Journal’s 15 Books to Read This Fall One of USA Today’s Weekend Picks for Book Lovers One of People Magazine’s Best New Books

Download or read book A Small Death in Lisbon written by Robert Wilson and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 2000 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A girl's death leads Inspector Zé Coelho to unsolved crimes from Portugal's past.

Download or read book Mountains of the Moon written by I J Kay and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A woman in her thirties is released from prison, with a new name and not much else. She begins to make a fresh start but the present is soon invaded by fragments from her past. Unsettling, hallucinatory and without precedent, Mountains of the Moon is the tragic account of a broken life, but, against all expectation, it amounts to something utterly beautiful.

Download or read book Escape to Portugal written by David Gardner and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-04 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Another marvellous story from best selling travel writer, David Gardner. Join David and his wife Wendy as they take on the wonders of Portugal in all its glory. Its history, culture, natural beauty, and myriad idiosyncrasies are brought to life with feeling and humour as this couple travels through the heart of an inspiring country. Explore the beauty of Porto, the evocative Douro Valley, the frenetic energy and charm of Lisbon, and the history of Tomar and its Knights Templar. Then journey on to the grand city of Coimbra, the Medieval town of Obidos and the regal splendour of Sintra. It is a book that will captivate and inspire any who have ever thought of travelling to this Iberian wonderland.