Matthew Kneale Knihy

Silný příběh, na němž román stojí, má svůj původ v touhách několika lidí: kapitán Illiam Quillian Kewley z ostrova Man touží zbohatnout na pašování brandy a tabáku do Anglie, lékař Potter hledá materiály a důkazy pro své rasistické teorie a reverend Geoffrey Wilson chce dokázat ˝bezbožnost geologie˝, neopodstatněnost tvrzení o stáří Země a najít místo, kde se rozkládal původní ráj - po bádání v knihách se rozhoduje pro výpravu do Tasmánie. Tyto tři osoby svede osud dohromady v Londýně, kde reverend hledá lidi pro svou výpravu a kapitán je zde zrovna zadržován anglickou celní stráží - pod tlakem okolností musí reverendovu nabídku přijmout a k protinožcům se vypravit. Tak začíná dlouhá cesta....

V příběhu mladého Angličana, který uvízl při svých cestách v Japonsku, zpracovává autor ironicky vlastní zkušenost s obtížným poznáváním cizí kultury. Fotograf a cestovatel Daniel se na svých cestách zastavil v Tokiu, aby si vydělal na další cesty po Asii. Ztratí ale pas a zaplete se do vztahu s ženou, jejíž rodina se rozhodla, že ji za Daniela provdá. Daniel, který toho dosud o Japonsku mnoho nevěděl, nebyl jím nikterak uchvácen a který se především rozhodně nehodlal v Japonsku oženit, je - přes své pokusy o odpor - vtahován do rodiny a jejího podivného podniku a tak je náhle konfrontován se zcela odlišnými způsoby komunikace, pojetím hodnot, mezilidskými vztahy a vůbec vnímáním okolního světa v této pro něj zcela cizí kultuře. Komplikace vyrůstající z vzájemného neporozumění tak občas z příběhu dělají poněkud černou komedii, místy až thriller. Hrdina objevuje nejen světlé, ale ve značné míře i stinné stránky Japonska, ale zpětně také své rodné západní kultury.

Exploring the origins of spirituality, this book delves into the motivations behind prehistoric man's early calls to the spirit world and examines how these beliefs evolved over time. It highlights the influence of spirituality on various cultures and leaders, from shamans and pharaohs to modern religious movements, illustrating the profound impact of faith on human history and society. The narrative investigates the enduring nature of belief and its role in shaping civilizations across millennia.

A fascinating history of the city of Rome, seen through the eyes of its most significant sackings, from the Gauls to the Nazis and everything in between.

What first prompted prehistoric man, sheltering in the shadows of deep caves, to call upon the realm of the spirits? And as our dreams and nightmares have changed over the millennia, so have our beliefs - from shamans to Aztec priests, from Buddhists to Christians: the gods we created have evolved with us.

A warm and affectionate portrait of a city and a people under lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis, from the award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings.

How do you cope when your family is falling apart?

A well-intentioned English family unwittingly becomes complicit in state violence while traveling through China. A ploddingly respectable London lawyer chances upon a stash of cocaine and realizes it offers the wealth and status he's always hungered for. A salesman in Africa gets caught up in a riot, and a Palestinian suicide bomber has a moment of self-doubt. Kneale transports readers across continents in a nanosecond, reaching to the heart of faraway societies with rare perceptiveness. With wry humor and razor-sharp satire, these twelve thought-provoking stories illuminate the moral uncertainty of our time.

The year 1289. A rich farmer fears he'll go to hell for cheating his neighbours. His wife wants pilgrim badges to sew into her hat and show off at church. A poor, ragged villager is convinced his beloved cat is suffering in the fires of purgatory and must be rescued. A mother is convinced her son's dangerous illness is punishment for her own adultery and seeks forgiveness so he may be cured. A landlord is in trouble with the church after he punched an abbot on the nose. A sexually driven noblewoman seeks a divorce so she can marry her new young beau. These are among a group of pilgrims that sets off on the tough and dangerous journey from England to Rome, where they hope all their troubles will be answered. Some in the party who have their own, secret reasons for going. Matthew Kneale is the author of English Passengers and Rome: A History in Seven Sackings. His new novel, Pilgrims, is a riveting, sweeping narrative that shows medieval society in a new light, as a highly rule-bound, legalistic world, though religious fervour and the threat of violence are never far below the surface. Told by multiple narrators, Pilgrims has much to say about Englishness, then and now.

The man of his family, nine-year-old Lawrence watches protectively over his mother and little sister, especially when, feeling endangered by their estranged father, his mother decides the three of them must leave their life in England to seek refuge in Rome, where, although short of money, they build a new life, until the trouble that brought them to Italy returns. 20,000 first printing.