James Crace je britský autor, jehož díla se vyznačují pronikavým stylem a zkoumáním lidské povahy. Jeho romány se často zabývají tématy společenských změn a dopadů civilizace na jednotlivce i společnost. Crace mistrně používá jazyk k vytváření živých obrazů a hlubokých psychologických portrétů, čímž čtenářům nabízí podnětné a nezapomenutelné literární zážitky. Jeho jedinečný autorský hlas a hloubka jeho děl z něj činí významnou postavu současné britské literatury.
Román originálního anglického spisovatele se skládá ze sedmi částí ze smyšleného sedmého světadílu; dílo plné symbolů se zaměřuje na konflikt mezi tradičním a pokrokovým, a to jak už v materiální, intelektuální, tak duchovní sféře. Všechny části jsou velmi svérázné, strhující, promyšlené a mistrovsky napsané.
The stoneworkers remain oblivious to the winds of change in the outside world--until a storyteller returns with a strange, angry woman whose death foretells the coming of metal and the end of stone.
A literary feast of sheer imagination and indulgence, from the Booker- shortlisted author of Quarantine
From the Booker-shortlisted author of Quarantine.
Set in the early-19th century, this novel tells of the effects on a small kelping village, when two ships caught in storms are forced to discharge their very different cargoes onto their beaches. This novel won the 1995 Royal Society of Literature's Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize.
So this is happiness, she thought. Or this, at least, is what adds up to happiness. The prospect of never running after men and camels any more, of being Miri without shame or hesitation, of letting drop her headscarf for a change so that nothing intervened between her and the sky. Five travellers venture into the Judean wilderness in search of redemption. Instead, amidst the barren rocks, they are met by a dangerous man, Musa, and fall under his dark influence. As the unforgiving days and bitter nights erode their resolve, it becomes clear that one among them will go further than the rest: a fervent, solitary figure, he denies the temptations of his neighbours, and, ultimately, the needs of his own body
In a remote English village, the morning after harvest begins with anticipation of rest and celebration, but the appearance of two mysterious columns of smoke disrupts the peace. This unsettling phenomenon ignites alarm and suspicion among the villagers, hinting at deeper troubles that may unravel their idyllic lives. The story explores themes of community, fear, and the unknown as the villagers confront the implications of this ominous sign.
`A celebration of the modern city . . . in such vivid prose that you can almost see the bloom on the peaches, taste the sun-ripened oranges and smell the coffee at the market traders' stalls' Sunday Times
As late summer steals in and the final pearls of barley are gleaned, a village comes under threat. A trio of outsiders - two men and a dangerously magnetic woman - arrives on the woodland borders triggering a series of events that will see Walter Thirsk's village unmade in just seven days: the harvest blackened by smoke and fear, cruel punishment meted out to the innocent, and allegations of witchcraft. But something even darker is at the heart of Walter's story, and he will be the only man left to tell it ...
Hell is other people... Two thousand years ago four travellers enter the Judean desert to fast and pray for their lost souls. In the blistering heat and barren rocks they encounter the evil merchant Musa - madman, sadist, rapist, even a Satan - who holds them in his tyrannical power. Yet there is also another, a faint figure in the distance, fasting for 40 days, a Galilean who they say has the power to work miracles... Here, trapped in the wilderness, their terrifying battle for survival begins.
