Giovanna Granato Book order (chronological)

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2022 From one of our greatest living writers comes a sweeping novel of unrequited love and exile, war and family. The Magician tells the story of Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction. He would find himself on the wrong side of history in the First World War, cheerleading the German army, but have a clear vision of the future in the second, anticipating the horrors of Nazism. He would have six children and keep his homosexuality hidden; he was a man forever connected to his family and yet bore witness to the ravages of suicide. He would write some of the greatest works of European literature, and win the Nobel Prize, but would never return to the country that inspired his creativity. Through one life, Colm Tóibín tells the breathtaking story of the twentieth century. ___________________________________ 'As with everything Colm Tóibín sets his masterful hand to, The Magician is a great imaginative achievement -- immensely readable, erudite, worldly and knowing, and fully realized' - Richard Ford 'No living novelist dramatizes artistic creation as profoundly, as luminously, as Colm Tóibín . . . reading him is among the deepest pleasures our literature can offer' - Garth Greenwell 'This is not just a whole life in a novel, it's a whole world' - Katharina Volckmer

A compilation of fifteen of Wallace's seminal essays, all published in book form for the first time

Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend. Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.

'Tell me the truth.' It is a simple request, but on that shakes the reclusive and enigmatic novelist, Vida Winter, to her very core. For has she not spent the past six decades writing fictional lives that have not only brought her fame and fortune but kept her violent and tragic past a secret? Now old and ailing, Vida Winter cannot escape her own history, no matter how many stories she weaves. 'Tell me the truth.' These words from the past echo in the heart of young biographer Margaret Lea, for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who lover her most, remains and ever-present pain. With a letter that promises finally to reveal the long-kept secrets of her life, Vida Winter invites Margaret on a journey to the past. Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and willful Isabelle and the feral twins, Adeline and Emmeline. In succumbing to Vida's storytelling, Margaret finds that it sheds a troubling light on her own life. Both women confront the ghosts that have haunted them and both become, finally, transformed by the truth.

In un quieto soggiorno un fratello e una sorella non piú giovani preparano la tavola per un ospite amato, da tanti anni lontano. In una abitazione isolata un giovane medico sta per visitare una donna che ha quattro dita amputate da una misteriosa ferita. Nella casa paterna, ormai vuota dei genitori defunti, un ragazzo aspetta da un altro ragazzo la brutalità piú estrema pur di dare senso alla propria esistenza. Sempre, nei luoghi dove Haslett ambienta la propria narrazione, si compie una via crucis lancinante e si manifesta al tempo stesso, in tutta la sua trepida gloria, l'epifania della vita. Sembra anzi che soprattutto nel dolore, nella mancanza, nella perdita, nella deformità mentale o fisica, in ciò che di solito va scartato, e forma invece buona parte dell'intera nostra realtà, i personaggi di Haslett acquistino una statura tanto superiore a chi li vorrebbe, in qualche modo, «misurare», curare. E la perenne imminenza della catastrofe che caratterizza la loro discesa agli inferi è tutt'uno, per noi lettori, con la tranquilla luminosità della lingua che li racconta.

An acclaimed collection of stories from the internationally bestselling author of The Crimson Petal and the White

Exploring the complexities of human relationships and creativity, this collection features three novellas that delve into the lives of uniquely crafted characters. "The Courage Consort" reveals the tensions within a vocal ensemble as they grapple with artistic and personal conflicts. "The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps" follows a woman's archaeological quest that uncovers a chilling murder mystery. Meanwhile, "The Fahrenheit Twins" depicts identical siblings who forge their own civilization in isolation, highlighting themes of identity and survival.

Luke va a Parigi per scrivere un libro (un'idea poco originale) ed è estate, la città si sta svuotando, per le strade soltanto turisti e chi non può andarsene. Incontra Alex, un inglese come lui che lavora in un magazzino. E' un'amicizia a prima vista. Conoscono Nicole e Shara e se ne innamorano: Luke e Nicole, Alex e Shara. Per un anno i quattro fanno vita comune: frequentano locali notturni, provano le nuove droghe, vanno in vacanza e fanno l'amore, tanto e bene. Luke non scriverà nulla, sarà Alex a raccontare la sua storia, o meglio a raccontare quella parte che comprende lui stesso, Nicole e Shara.