Hermit In Paris

"The posthumously published collection Hermit in Paris draws together an array of Italo Calvino's autobiographical writings that provide an illuminating and unexpectedly intimate portrait of one of the postwar era's most inventive and fascinating writers. In these pages, Calvino recounts his experiences in Italy's antifascist resistance, pays homage to his influences, traces the evolution of his literary style, and, in one of the book's most humorous and entertaining sections, provides a wry commentary on his travels in the United States in 1959 and 1960"--

With a Preface by Esther Calvino 'These pages are distinguished by a sly philosophic humour . . . a sensuous immediacy of detail and a droll wit' Guardian In this elegant collection of essays, one of modern literature's most enchanting masters reminisces about Italy's antifascist resistance and the whirl of ideas that blossomed in the post-war era. In America, Calvino follows Nixon's election hopes while marvelling at colour television and American cars, but describes with loathing his first experience of mass racism, when he is lucky enough to meet Martin Luther King in Alabama. He also writes brilliant short pieces on his Italian dialect, the final day of the Second World War, and the rich joys of living in Paris. A stylish assortment of memoir and wit, Hermit in Paris includes the very finest of Calvino's superb work. 'Beautifully written . . . the work of an extraordinary mind, one that is worth exploring from every angle' Independent on Sunday

A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year: “Uniformly excellent” stories about our relationships with each other and with the treacherous natural world (Publishers Weekly). In the title story, a man and woman travel across an eerily frozen lake—under the ice. “The Distance” casts a skeptical eye on Thomas Jefferson through the lens of a Montana man’s visit to Monticello. “Eating” begins with an owl being sucked into a canoe and ends with a man eating a town out of house and home, and “The Cave” is a stunning story of a man and woman lost in an abandoned mine. Other stories include “The Fireman,” “Swans,” “The Prisoners,” “Presidents’ Day,” “Real Town,” and “Two Deer.” Each is remarkable in its own way, sure to please both new readers and avid fans of Rick Bass’s passionate, unmistakable voice. “Bass focuses a naturalist’s eye not only on the frozen lakes and interplay of predator and prey often found in his work but also on the ebb and flow of human emotions and relationships . . . Thought-provoking and entertaining, these stories move along quickly but continue to resonate long after the reader is done; several have been anthologized in award collections.” —Library Journal “Beautiful in their magical imagery, dramatic in their situations, and exquisitely poignant in their insights, these stories of awe and loss are quite astonishing in their mythic use of place and the elements of earth, air, fire, and water.” —Booklist “Bass puts his talent as a nature writer to terrific use.” —The New York Times Book Review “Bass’s language glistens with the beauty of the landscapes he evokes.” —San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

From the author of the Charmed Life and It’s Raining Cupcakes series comes a novel of family, friends, and a French adventure you’ll never forget! Nora loves everything about Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to chocolat chaud. Of course, she’s never actually been there—she’s only visited through her Grandma Sylvia’s stories. And just when they’ve finally planned a trip together, Grandma Sylvia is suddenly gone, taking Nora’s dreams with her. Nora is crushed. She misses her grandmother terribly, but she still wants to see the city they both loved. So when Nora finds letters and a Paris treasure map among her Grandma Sylvia’s things, she dares to dream again . . . She’s not sure what her grandma wants her to find, but Nora knows there are wonderful surprises waiting for her in Paris. And maybe, amongst the croissants and macarons, she’ll even find a way to heal her broken heart. “This love letter to the City of Light will have readers believing that everything’s better in Paris. Schroeder lets the city’s romance shine in a thoughtful story, laced with mystery and French vocabulary, about losing family and gaining individuality in a place where curiosity can bloom.” —Publishers Weekly “A light and frothy Parisian adventure with hints of emotional heft.” —School Library Journal “Nora’s hopeful, openhearted character is beautifully depicted.” —Kirkus Reviews

Discover one of the world's most fascinating and beautiful cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning the rich history of Paris. John Baxter takes readers through 2,000 years of French history with tales of the kings, queens, saints, and sinners who shaped the city. Essays explore the major historic events from the martyrdom of Saint Denis near today's Abbesses Métro station to the epic romances of Heloise and Abelard, Josephine and Napoleon, and George Sand and Frédéric Chopin. Learn about the labyrinth of catacombs snaking under all of Paris and the artists who called the seedy Montmartre home in the 19th century. Then see it all for yourself with guided walking tours of each of Paris's historic neighborhoods, illustrated with color photographs and period maps.

Colette is thrilled in Paris for the first time. But a series of gruesome murders are taking place around the city. The murder victims are all descendants of people who brought about Marie Antoinette's beheading. The queen's ghost has been awakened, and now she's wreaking her bloodthirsty revenge. And Colette may just be one of those descendants...

This is the first collection in English of the extraordinary letters of one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Italy's most important postwar novelist, Italo Calvino (1923-1985) achieved worldwide fame with such books as Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. But he was also an influential literary critic, an important literary editor, and a masterful letter writer whose correspondents included Umberto Eco, Primo Levi, Gore Vidal, Leonardo Sciascia, Natalia Ginzburg, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Luciano Berio. This book includes a generous selection of about 650 letters, written between World War II and the end of Calvino’s life. Selected and introduced by Michael Wood, the letters are expertly rendered into English and annotated by well-known Calvino translator Martin McLaughlin. The letters are filled with insights about Calvino’s writing and that of others; about Italian, American, English, and French literature; about literary criticism and literature in general; and about culture and politics. The book also provides a kind of autobiography, documenting Calvino’s Communism and his resignation from the party in 1957, his eye-opening trip to the United States in 1959-60, his move to Paris (where he lived from 1967 to 1980), and his trip to his birthplace in Cuba (where he met Che Guevara). Some lengthy letters amount almost to critical essays, while one is an appropriately brief defense of brevity, and there is an even shorter, reassuring note to his parents written on a scrap of paper while he and his brother were in hiding during the antifascist Resistance. This is a book that will fascinate and delight Calvino fans and anyone else interested in a remarkable portrait of a great writer at work.

Now back in print, this heartbreaking novel by Romain Gary has inspired two movies, including the Netflix feature The Life Ahead Momo has been one of the ever-changing ragbag of whores’ children at Madame Rosa’s boarding house in Paris ever since he can remember. But when the check that pays for his keep no longer arrives and as Madame Rosa becomes too ill to climb the stairs to their apartment, he determines to support her any way he can. This sensitive, slightly macabre love story between Momo and Madame Rosa has a supporting cast of transvestites, pimps, and witch doctors from Paris’s immigrant slum, Belleville. Profoundly moving, The Life Before Us won France’s premier literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.