Jonathan Lethem Knihy

Tato variace na klasický detektivní román je dílem jednoho z nejvýznamnějších současných amerických autorů, Jonathana Lethema, který je v České republice poprvé představen. Hlavní postavou je Lionel Essrog, brooklynský sirotek s Tourettovým syndromem, jehož neovladatelné tiky a neobvyklé chování jej činí jedinečným. Spolu s dalšími třemi sirotky pracuje pro detektivní kancelář gangstera Franka Minnyho, jehož přítomnost je pro Lionela klíčová, i když jejich úkoly často překračují zákon. Když je Frank smrtelně pobodán, Lionelův život se rázem změní a on se pustí do rozplétání složitého případu, přičemž se snaží překonat své vlastní komunikační překážky. Kniha je originální poctou klasické detektivce a zároveň hlubokým lidským příběhem. Lionel Essrog se stává jednou z nejzajímavějších postav moderní americké literatury. Dílo získalo prestižní National Book Critics Circle Award za fikci a Gold Dagger Award za nejlepší detektivku roku. V současnosti se připravuje filmová adaptace, kterou by měl režírovat a hrát v ní Edward Norton.

Phoebe Sieglerová chce pomoci své kamarádce a najít její dceru, která po zkušenosti s drogami odešla od nudné a komandující matky. Na Charlese Heista poprvé narazí v ošuntělém přívěsu v poušti za Los Angeles. Heist je svéráz, prý ale mimořádně úspěšný při hledání lidí, kteří se někde v Kalifornii skrývají. Prostořekou, otevřenou Phoebe tenhle málomluvný, neproniknutelný člověk přitahuje, třebaže očividně nehraje s otevřenými kartami. Nesouměrný pár putuje rozsáhlým kalifornským vnitrozemím, prochází málo obydlenými enklávami, kde žijí jen tuláci a hippies, kteří mají odpor ke konvenčně spořádanému životu. Tihle lidé stojící mimo společnost jsou rozděleni do nenávistně soupeřících kmenů Králíků a Medvědů. Ukáže se, že Arabellu – hledanou dívku – drží právě v centru vzájemných konfliktů kdesi v poušti a ve skalách. Dvojice ji dokáže najít a Phoebe se Arabellu pokusí tajně odvést uprostřed divoké rituální volby nového náčelníka, jenže její únik je dramaticky zkomplikován faktem, že Heista váže k těm podivným lidem neuzavřená minulost. Uvězní je v klecích zrezivělého pouťového ruského kola a jim i Heistovi hrozí vážné nebezpečí, pravděpodobně smrt…

Celebrating a milestone, this hardcover omnibus edition brings together two acclaimed novels by a highly inventive American author. It showcases a unique narrative style and rich character development, inviting readers into a world that blends mystery and wit. The collection honors the legacy of Motherless Brooklyn, emphasizing the author's distinctive voice and storytelling prowess. This edition is a must-have for fans and newcomers alike, highlighting the enduring impact of the author's work over the past 25 years.

Having stormed mainstream literature from the outskirts, Lethem has won a readership both wide and deep, all of whom appreciate his literary excellence, his mordant but compassionate humor, and the cultish attentiveness of his SF origins. He has earned the right to tread anywhere, and his many admirers are ready to follow. This collection compiles his intensely personal takes on the most interesting and deplorable topics in post-postmodern America. From original new fiction to incites on popular culture, cult and canonical authors, and problem performers. The "Furry-Girl School of American Fiction" is a personal true adventure, as Lethem tries (with the help of a seeming expert) to elbow his way into literary respectability. "The Narrowing Valley" is a brand-new fictional journey into an ominous new unmapped realm. In an intimate encounter with a literary legend, Calvino's Italy and Lethem's Brooklyn meet cute. Stanislaw Lem's Poland and Snowden's Exile both explore courage, art, and the search for truth, with wildly different results. A bibliography is also provided as well as our usual Outspoken Interview.

An unexpected visitor in a man's apartment pens a peculiar confession intended for the host who is not present. This intriguing scenario unfolds into a deeper exploration of secrets and personal revelations, as the guest's thoughts reveal insights into both his own character and the absent host's life. The narrative invites readers to ponder themes of identity, connection, and the impact of uninvited intrusions on one's private world.

'A detective novel of winning humour and exhilarating originality.' - Sunday TimesLionel Essrog is Brooklyn's very own self-appointed Human Freakshow, an orphan whose Tourette's Disease drives him to bark, count, and rip apart our language in startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St Vincent's Home for Boys, he works for mobster Frank Minna. But when Frank is fatally stabbed and his widow skips town, Lionel attempts to untangle the threads of the case.

A New York Times Book Review EDITORS' CHOICE. From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Motherless Brooklyn, comes the vividly told story of Dylan Ebdus growing up white and motherless in downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s. In a neighborhood where the entertainments include muggings along with games of stoopball, Dylan has one friend, a black teenager, also motherless, named Mingus Rude. Through the knitting and unraveling of the boys' friendship, Lethem creates an overwhelmingly rich and emotionally gripping canvas of race and class, superheros, gentrification, funk, hip-hop, graffiti tagging, loyalty, and memory. "A tour de force.... Belongs to a venerable New York literary tradition that stretches back through Go Tell It on the Mountain, A Walker in the City, and Call it Sleep." --The New York Times Magazine "One of the richest, messiest, most ambitious, most interesting novels of the year.... Lethem grabs and captures 1970s New York City, and he brings it to a story worth telling." --Time

Exploring a diverse range of subjects, the book delves into themes such as sex in cinema, drugs, and cyberculture, while reflecting on significant events like 9/11. The author challenges conventional wisdom and shares deep insights into the multifaceted nature of artistic vision. Personal experiences serve as a catalyst for creative expression, making the narrative both provocative and introspective.

The first novel by Jonathan Lethem (author of the award-winning Motherless Brooklyn) is a science-fiction mystery, a dark and funny post-modern romp serving further evidence that Lethem is the distinctive voice of a new generation. Conrad Metcalf has problems. He has a monkey on his back, a rabbit in his waiting room, and a trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. (Maybe evolution therapy is not such a good idea). He's been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an Oakland urologist. Maybe falling in love with her a little at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, Metcalf finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the Inquisitor's Office and gangsters who operate out of the back room of the Fickle Muse.

Jonathan Lethem is perhaps our most active literary voice mining the genre margins of our culture. In this unique collection he creates an anthology that no one else could. He draws on the work of such unforgettables as Julio Cortazar, who presents a man caught between the ancient and modern worlds unable to say which is real; Philip K. Dick, who tells the story of a man trapped on a spaceship of the somnolent, unable to sleep and slowly losing his mind; Shirley Jackson, who takes us on a nightmarish trip across town with a young secretary; and Oliver Sacks, who presents us with an aging hippie who possesses no memory of anything that has taken place since the early seventies. What Lethem has done is nothing less than define a new genre of literature-the amnesia story-and in the process he invites us to sit down, pick up the book, and begin to forget. Also including: John Franklin Bardin, Donald Barthelme, Thomas M. Disch, Karn Joy Fowler, David Grand, Anna Kavan, Haruki Murakami, Flann O'Brien, Edmund White, and many others.