Marco Papi Boeken

This biography of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and playwright is a monumental work of scholarship, arguably the most significant book about Beckett ever published. It offers a compelling narrative of Beckett's life, from his upper-middle-class Irish childhood to his early years in Paris and his complex relationship with Joyce. The book reveals Beckett's psychological struggles through over 300 previously unknown letters to confidant Thomas McGreevy, his heroic service with the French Resistance, and the extraordinary post-World War II period that birthed his first masterpieces. It chronicles his tumultuous family relationships, the psychosomatic illnesses that hindered his writing, and the autobiographical elements in his work. The narrative also delves into his connections with publishers, actors, directors, and friends, painting a portrait of Beckett as the poet of despair and an enigmatic artist who transformed modern man's destitution into exaltation. Despite Beckett's initial refusal to authorize the book, Deirdre Bair conducted extensive research across multiple countries and interviewed countless individuals, resulting in a literary biography that meets the highest scholarly standards. Bair, an accomplished academic, has taught at prestigious institutions and continues to contribute to the field of literature.

In an extraordinary period immediately before the first non-racial election and the beginning of majority rule in South Africa, Vera Stark, the protagonist of Nadine Gordimer's passionate novel, weaves a ruthless interpretation of her own past into her participation into the present as a lawyer representing blacks in the struggle to reclaim the land. None to Accompany Me is arresting and reverbant - perhaps the most powerful novel to date by one of the world's most commanding writers.

Dat Anita Brookners roman Hotel du Lac in 1984 de belangwekkende Booker Prize won, veroorzaakte literaire commotie. Want hoe kon juist dit boek dat door velen werd afgedaan als een ‘vrouwenromannetje geschreven door een oude vrijster’ zo’n prestigieuze prijs winnen? De vooringenomen snobs hadden ongelijk: in werkelijkheid was Brookner een enorm belezen en begaafd auteur en de faam van Hotel du Lac groeide tot ongekende hoogte. Velen benoemen het boek tot misschien wel de meest tijdloze roman van de twintigste eeuw. Hotel du Lac vertelt het verhaal van Edith Hope, intelligent en vol idealen, maar tegelijkertijd eenzaam en in de liefde telkens teleurgesteld. Edith vertrekt naar een afgelegen hotel aan het Meer van Genève om haar leven te overdenken. In deze geïsoleerde setting, omringd door verwende vrouwen en hautaine mannen, zoekt Edith een uitweg in haar vastgelopen bestaan: moet ze haar idealen behouden of zich conformeren aan haar omgeving? Met Hotel du Lac toont Anita Brookner haar messcherpe inzicht in de menselijke ziel en relaties.