Martha Cooley Books

As the collection's title suggests, time's passage is the fil rouge of these stories. All of Tabucchi's characters struggle to find routes of escape from a present that is hard to bear, and from places in which political events have had deeply personal ramifications for their own lives. Each of the nine stories in Time Ages in a Hurry is an imaginative inquiry into something hidden or disguised, which can be uncovered not by reason but only by feeling and intuition, by what isn't said. Disquieted and disoriented yet utterly human in their loves and fears, the characters in these vibrant and often playful stories suffer from what Tabucchi once referred to as a "corrupted relationship with history." Each protagonist must confront phantoms from the past, misguided or false beliefs, and the deepest puzzles of identity--and each in his or her own way ends up experiencing "an infinite sense of liberation, as when finally we understand something we'd known all along and didn't want to know."

This memoir unfolds through a series of essays, offering a nuanced and introspective exploration of the author's life experiences. The writing is celebrated for its elegance and depth, revealing personal insights and reflections that resonate with readers. Each essay invites contemplation on themes of identity, memory, and the complexities of human relationships, making it a captivating read for those seeking both beauty and substance in personal narratives.

Der Archivar Matthias Lane lebt nur für seine alten Handschriften und Bücher, bis eines Tages die junge Roberta Spire in sein Leben tritt und Einsicht in die wertvollen Briefe des großen amerikanischen Schriftstellers T. S. Eliot verlangt ...§Roberta ist ihrer eigenen Vergangenheit auf der Spur, denn ihre Eltern waren im Zweiten Weltkrieg von Deutschland nach Amerika emigriert und hatten ihren jüdischen Glauben derart radikal verleugnet, daß bis vor kurzem nicht einmal ihre Tochter davon wußte. Das Geheimnis ihrer Identität zieht auch Matthias in seinen Bann.§Ein Roman über eine ungewöhnliche Beziehung, über die Tiefen und Abgründe von Freundschaft und Vertrauen, die Suche nach Wahrhaftigkeit - vor allem aber über die Liebe zur Literatur.