Graham Patterson is a middling comedian whose career (and love life) has gone up in smoke. After buying a new car, he embarks on a cross country road trip to see his brother Joel, to try and figure what he should do with himself and his career. Midway, after his car breaks down, he enters a tattoo parlor, mesmerized by the unique beauty of the tattoo work on display. After paging through a catalog of styles, he chooses a very rare tattoo -- a bee inside a frog inside a hawk inside a lion-- that the tattooist's Japanese mentor created. It is a tattoo with strange qualities, to the extent that the tattoo will allow the protagonist to explore alternative versions of his own life and ultimately choose his preferred life. This was something the tattooist was once offered but she preferred to keep the life she had. From this moment on, Graham Patterson will no longer be a simple comedian on the path of decline, nor a man who has to decide whether to marry his partner with whom he is deeply in love, nor the great world-famous photographer that everyone knows and admires for the famous image depicting Mr. Breakfast. From this moment Graham Patterson will gain the opportunity to travel in three different lives, until he finally gets to choose one, the definitive one. At what price, though? And how to choose between fame and love?
Jonathan Carroll Pořadí knih (chronologicky)
Jonathan Carroll je americký autor známý svými romány na pomezí moderní fantasy a slipstreamu. Jeho díla se často vyznačují pronikáním fantazie do reality, kde se běžný svět prolíná se surrealistickým. Srovnáván s latinskoamerickými autory magického realismu, Carroll mistrně pracuje s motivy jako jsou mluvící zvířata a světy na hraně snu. Jeho styl zkoumá tenkou linii mezi tím, co je skutečné a co je pouhým výtvorem mysli, což čtenářům nabízí jedinečný a podmanivý literární zážitek.







Set in the 1940s, the story follows Davis Sterling, a privileged heir who shifts from a carefree lifestyle to a serious pursuit in sports writing, defying his father's expectations. His journey leads him to cover a baseball team, where he encounters the groundbreaking first white player in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Along the way, he also discovers love, challenging societal norms and personal ambitions. This narrative explores themes of identity, ambition, and the complexities of race in sports during a transformative era.
Шантарам
- 864 stránek
- 31 hodin čtení
Эта преломленная в художественной форме исповедь человека, который сумел выбраться из бездны и уцелеть, протаранила все списки бестселлеров и заслужила восторженные сравнения с произведениями лучших писателей нового времени, от Мелвилла до Хемингуэя
Stories
- 428 stránek
- 15 hodin čtení
"The joy of fiction is the joy of the imagination. . . ." The best stories engage readers, compelling them to turn pages in anticipation of what comes next. Great literature is defined by its imagination, as demonstrated in this exceptional anthology, which redefines the boundaries of imaginative fiction. It features contributions from renowned writers like Peter Straub, Chuck Palahniuk, Roddy Doyle, and Joyce Carol Oates, among others, showcasing their craft and challenging misconceptions about genres. Curated by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, who personally selected each story, the anthology sets a high standard for this "new literature of the imagination." The collection aims to present familiar themes in fresh, illuminating ways. Notable tales include Joe Hill's disturbing exploration of evil in "Devil on the Staircase," Lawrence Block's unique take on fishing in "Catch and Release," and Carolyn Parkhurst's dark sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris introduces ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan," while Richard Adams's "The Knife" delves into vengeance. Jeffery Deaver's "The Therapist" features a psychologist on a mission to save lives, and Neil Gaiman's chilling "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" offers a haunting punishment for a grave crime. This visionary volume will transform readers’ perspectives and ignite a renewed appreciation for exceptional fiction.
Glass Soup
- 324 stránek
- 12 hodin čtení
For connoisseurs of imaginative fiction, the novels of Jonathan Carroll are a special treat that occupy a space all their own. His surreal fictions, which deftly mix the everyday with the extraordinary, have won him a devoted following. Now, in Glass Soup, Carroll continues to astound . . . .The realm of the dead is built from the dreams--and nightmares--of the living. Octopuses drive buses. God is a polar bear. And a crowded highway literally leads to hell.Once before, Vincent Ettrich and his lover, Isabelle Neukor, crossed over from life to death and back again. Now Isabelle bears a very special child, who may someday restore the ever-changing mosaic that is reality. Unless the agents of Chaos can lure her back to the land of the dead--and trap her there forever.Glass Soup is another exquisite and singular creation from the author January magazine described as "incapable of writing a bad book much less an uninteresting one."
Kissing in Manhattan
- 245 stránek
- 9 hodin čtení
The book of 2001 is Kissing in Manhattan: a twisted series of intertwining New York fairytales by an outstandingly original, funny and talented new writer. It features the Pre-emption, a fantastically grand and old-fashioned apartment building in New York, and some extraordinary recurring characters: Patrick, the charismatic and satanic millionaire with a penchant for nude restraint; Rally, the travel writer lying tied up in Patrick's bedroom during an Breakfast at Tiffany's-style party; Jacob and Rachel, whose secret nightly bath is suddenly headline news; Hannah, the nymphomaniac perfume heiress; and Douglas, the teacher who is invited to dinner by his star pupil's parents, and propositioned. With its extraordinary combination of old-world glamour and new world deviance, Kissing in Manhattan is a breathtaking and unimaginably stylish debut.
White apples
- 320 stránek
- 12 hodin čtení
Vincent Ettrich, an engaging philanderer, discovers that he has died and come back to life - but he has no idea why. He gradually discovers that he was deliberately brought back to life by his one true love, Isabelle, so he could educate their son who, if correctly raised, would save the universe.
The Wooden Sea
- 256 stránek
- 9 hodin čtení
Frannie McCabe realizes something seriously weird is going on when the dead dog he buried keeps turning up again. The Sciavos, a couple whose domestic war has the police involved, disappear completely. And Frannie's teenage self arrives to help him sort out his mistakes - before its too late.
When bestselling novelist Sam Bayer decides it's time he wrote his "Great Book", he chooses as his subject the death of a teenage beauty, Pauline Ostrova - the 'Beehive'. The town of Crane's view never felt the same after he discovered her body, floating in the lake, over twenty years before. Her boyfriend, Edward Durant, was arrested for the murder, tried and imprisoned. He died in Sing Sing jail. Sam Bayer's new book will tell her story, bring her to life again, and restore something of what the town had lost. But, for Samuel Bayer, the journey into his past becomes a terrifying jolt into the reality of the present. Bayer's gesture of respect to his youth turns sour in the face of all that he unearths; for many of the people close to him, this leads to devastating - and fatal - consequences.








