Donald Michael Thomas Knihy

Thomas vlastně nevypráví jen o hrdinných i truchlivých stránkách života Alexandra Solženicyna, nýbrž líčí i bolestný příběh samotného Ruska, země neustále vedoucí válku se sebou samou i se svým lidem. Solženicynův dramatický život, počínající se v době revoluce a občanské války, ztělesňuje krutost, vášnivost i chaos, které jsou pro historii Ruska v uplývajícím století příznačné. Tento první svazek zahrnuje tři části: Vrstevník října (1918-1941), Barbarossa (1941-1953), Nový svět (1953-1965). Přibližuje nám tedy Solženicynovo dětství, komsomolské mládí, jeho válečná léta, pobyt v stalinských lágrech a ve vyhnanství. Dále pak jeho literární a veřejnou činnost za chruščovské oblevy až po první známky brežněvské restalinizace.

V tomto druhém (závěrečném) svazku budeme Solženicyna provázet až téměř do současnosti. V části Otevřená válka (1965-1974) nás Thomas provede obdobím sílícího útlaku, kdy vznikalo Solženicynovo stěžejní dílo Souostroví Gulag, až do nucené deportace v roce 1974. Závěrečná část Železné opony (1974 -) potom přibližuje Solženicynův život v emigraci, odmítnutí konzumní západní společnosti a návrat do Ruska. Vedle politicko-literární životopisné linie Thomas mistrovsky a zřejmě i věrohodně analyzuje složitou Solženicynovu povahu a skrze jeho nejednoznačný vztah k ženám rozehrává velký příběh lásky a ztroskotání.

V tomto druhém (závěrečném) svazku budeme Solženicyna provázet až téměř do současnosti. V části Otevřená válka (1965-1974) nás Thomas provede obdobím sílícího útlaku, kdy vznikalo Solženicynovo stěžejní dílo Souostroví Gulag, až do nucené deportace v roce 1974. Závěrečná částŽelezné opony (1974 -) potom přibližuje Solženicynův život v emigraci, odmítnutí konzumní západní společnosti a návrat do Ruska. Vedle politicko-literární životopisné linie Thomas mistrovsky a zřejmě i věrohodně analyzuje složitou Solženicynovu povahu a skrze jeho nejednoznačný vztah k ženám rozehrává velký příběh lásky a ztroskotání.

Vienna in the early 20th century was, in the words of our protagonist and narrator, a soulless, syphilitic whore of a city; a turbulent and bubbling melting pot of races, creeds and politics, rapidly expanding as it strained to contain the ever-increasing multitudes. In such places the nightmare moments of modern history are conceived. This novel is a fictionalised account of those who were to change the very collective psyche of mankind. It is a vivid and poignant portrayal of the sometimes thin dividing line between becoming good or evil.D.M. Thomas is a British novelist and poet, born and living in Cornwall. His novel The White Hotel was an international bestseller and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is rightly considered a modern classic, translated into more than 30 languages. John Updike said of the book: ‘Astonishing … A forthright sensuality mixed with a fine historical feeling for the nightmare moments in modern history, a dreamlike fluidity and quickness’; the statement could equally be applied to Hunters in the Snow.

In both his poetry and his novels, such as the iconic world-bestseller The White Hotel, D. M. Thomas has followed his own vision, ignoring the fashionable and the expected. The Last Waltz is no exception. The impression it leaves is of experience, personal and historical, distilled over a life stretching from the threat of Hitler to the threat to freedom of thought and speech today. The moods vary, from grief to controlled anger to satirical humour; the themes, from falling in love on his first day at Infants school to a royal wedding competing in our news (successfully) with Palestinians being massacred. All explored with immense assurance in a rich variety of forms.‘There aren’t many poets in England as good as Thomas.’ – The Guardian.

D. M. Thomas, author of the iconic world-bestseller novel The White Hotel, explores here some of the key emotional and sexual events and relationships in what has often been a turbulent inner and domestic life. The result is a brilliant, searingly honest and moving verse memoir. The period covered is from his birth in 1935 to the death of his second wife in 1998. He is the winner of a Cholmondeley Award for his poetry.‘There aren’t many poets in England as good as Thomas.’ – The Guardian.D. M. Thomas is an internationally known poet and novelist. His third novel, The White Hotel, considered a modern classic, has been translated into more than thirty languages. Three more of his most recent works, Hunters in the Snow (2014), Corona Man (2020) and The Last Waltz (2021) are also published by the Cornovia Press. He lives in his native Cornwall with his fourth wife Angela.

A crimson fish wrestles a man. A horned demon stares menacingly.  These vivid scenes are tattoos, created in pain, incised in the flesh of the Yakuza, Japan's feared secret society of gangsters. They are the visions of the Irezumi, the legendary tattoo artists, who spend years creating living masterpieces. Photographer Sandi Fellman describes this strange and violent world both in her text and in her stunning, large 20 x 24 inch Polaroid photographs.  

The frank and revealing autobiography by the controversial author of The White Hotel.

A novel which explores the myths and facts surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It blends the real, the potential and the imagined, as it questions what would have happened if the assassination attempt had failed.

John Trenear, an 84 year old widower, lives alone in a bleak London tower block. He has turned away from a world he finds alien, its customs and beliefs so different from the Christian simplicities of his Cornish childhood. He tweets not, neither does he watch TV. Consequently, when the coronavirus strikes and lockdown is imposed, he has no idea what is happening; Corona to him means only the fizzy soft drink he enjoyed as a child. On VE Day there are no Corona bottles being opened with an explosion of fizz, as they had in the merry street party he remembers: indeed the streets below his flat are incomprehensibly empty. But the day brings him added confusion and distress, for it appears that something called a 'hate crime' has been committed. Corona Man, a study of old age, confusion and isolation, is both very poignant and very funny. D. M. Thomas was an internationally known poet and novelist. His third novel, The White Hotel, considered a modern classic, has been translated into more than thirty languages. His most recent work of fiction, Hunters in the Snow (2014) is also published by the Cornovia Press. He lived in his native Cornwall with his fourth wife Angela. Being incompetent at gardening, trying out new recipes or assembling giant jigsaw puzzles, he spent the months of lockdown writing this fictional verse journal.