Andrew O'Hagan is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author celebrated for his perceptive explorations of society and individual lives. His narratives delve into complex themes with a distinctive voice, capturing the nuances of human experience. O'Hagan's critical acclaim stems from his masterful prose and his ability to illuminate profound truths through compelling storytelling. His work consistently engages readers with its intellectual depth and emotional resonance.
'An utter joy to read.' Monica Ali 'A barnstorming novel.' Observer'A masterpiece.' John Lanchester From the author of Mayflies, an irresistible, unputdownable, state-of-the-nation novel - the story of one man's epic fall from grace. May 2021.
From the widely renowned author Andrew O'Hagan, a heartbreaking novel of an extraordinary lifelong friendship.
How much do we keep from the people we love? Why is the truth so often buried in secrets? Can we learn from the past or must we forget it? Standing one evening at the window of her house by the sea, Anne Quirk sees a rabbit disappearing in the snow. Nobody remembers her now, but this elderly woman was in her youth a pioneer of British documentary photography. Her beloved grandson, Luke, now a captain with the Royal Western Fusiliers, is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, part of a convoy taking equipment to the electricity plant at Kajaki. Only when Luke returns home to Scotland does Anne's secret story begin to emerge, along with his, and they set out for an old guest house in Blackpool where she once kept a room.
In November 1960, Frank Sinatra gifted Marilyn Monroe a dog named Maf, who had a keen instinct for 20th-century politics, psychoanalysis, literature, and interior design. Andrew O'Hagan's canine hero provides a humorous perspective on his complex life and Monroe's, revealing insights into her life and the extraordinary 1960s.
Oceňovaný skotský autor předkládá pohled do světa newyorských celebrit 60. let 20. století očima maltézského pinče. Vypravěčem románu je maltézský pinč Maf, jehož majiteli bylo postupně několik celebrit hollywoodského showbusinessu 60. let. Z rodiny herečky Natalie Woodové se dostává k Franku Sinatrovi, který jej vzápětí věnuje hvězdě z nejzářivějších – Marilyn Monroe. S ní Maf absolvuje eskapády bouřlivého a nešťastného života, z psího pohledu komentuje dění lidského světa, s nímž přichází do styku, ať už jde o umění, politiku nebo osobní peripetie příslušníků newyorské smetánky. Jeho pohled je ozvláštněn tím, že jde o zvíře velmi vzdělané, hýřící přiléhavými citacemi a odkazy na díla světových umělců a myslitelů. Kultivovanou učeností zde oplývají všechna zvířata, včetně much či včel, kočky jsou zase na slovo vzatými odborníky na poezii. Jejich rozmluvy tak mnohdy výrazně kontrastují s povrchními hovory lidských snobů, k nimž zvířata pociťují vlídnou, pohrdavou lítost. Sarkastický román je i sám o sobě několikanásobnou literární citací, mimo jiné románu Virginie Woolfové Flush nebo satiry Laurence Sterna z 18. století Život a názory blahorodého Tristrama Shandyho.
The Scottish poet Robert Burns has been idolised and eulogised. He has been sainted, painted, tarted up and toasted. He is famous as the author of 'Auld Lang Syne', and he has long since become the patron saint of the heart-sore and the hung-over.
Příběh faráře, jenž vzpomíná na ideály svého mládí, které jsou nenávratně pryč, zatímco se v jeho blízkosti začíná strhávat náboženská válka. Je to román o umění a politice, lásce, samotě, změnách a o tom, jaký život dnes lidé vedou. Kniha se objevila v širší nominaci na prestižní Bookerovu cenu v roce 2006.
Dopo l'esperienza africana di Weekenders, ancora una volta il Daily Telegraph ha riunito lrvine Welsh, Monica Ali, Michel Atherton, Bella Bathurst, Jenny Colgan, Simon Garfield, W. F. Deedes, Tony Hawks, Victoria Glendinning, Sam Millet e Colm Toibin per catapultarli a Calcutta: dal confort e dalla modernità delle loro occidentalissime città, Londra e Edimburgo, a un luogo dove il passato parla ancora e il futuro chiama più forte che mai. Da quell'esperienza sono nati i racconti compresi in questa antologia che, mescolando la fiction al reportage di viaggio, riflettono modi diversi di vedere una metropoli che è nel mondo simbolo di povertà e miseria e che i suoi abitanti chiamano la Città della Gioia.
Calum MacLeod had lived on the northern point of Raasay since his birth in 1911. He tended the Rona lighthouse at the very tip of his little archipelago, until semi-automation in 1967 reduced his responsibilities. ‘So what he decided to do,’ says his last neighbour, Donald MacLeod, ‘was to build a road out of Arnish in his months off. With a road he hoped new generations of people would return to Arnish and all the north end of Raasay . . .’ And so, at the age of 56, Calum MacLeod, the last man left in northern Raasay, set about single-handedly constructing the ‘impossible’ road. It would become a romantic, quixotic venture, a kind of sculpture; an obsessive work of art so perfect in every gradient, culvert and supporting wall that its creation occupied almost twenty years of his life. In Calum’s Road, Roger Hutchinson recounts the extraordinary story of this remarkable man’s devotion to his visionary project.
Dopo l'esperienza africana di Weekenders, ancora una volta il Daily Telegraph ha riunito lrvine Welsh, Monica Ali, Michel Atherton, Bella Bathurst, Jenny Colgan, Simon Garfield, W. F. Deedes, Tony Hawks, Victoria Glendinning, Sam Millet e Colm Toibin per catapultarli a Calcutta: dal confort e dalla modernità delle loro occidentalissime città, Londra e Edimburgo, a un luogo dove il passato parla ancora e il futuro chiama più forte che mai. Da quell'esperienza sono nati i racconti compresi in questa antologia che, mescolando la fiction al reportage di viaggio, riflettono modi diversi di vedere una metropoli che è nel mondo simbolo di povertà e miseria e che i suoi abitanti chiamano la Città della Gioia.
