Snowy city and loud holidays – realities of January. But in the book world everything is different, and we have prepared a selection, which will allow you to find yourself in warm and even exotic countries. These trips will be fundamentally different: dangerous or romantic, tragic or philosophical. By satisfying various literary tastes and preferences, the authors, each in their own way, give the reader the opportunity to enjoy the quality literature from different parts of the world
Dzvinka Matiyash “The Road of St. James”
“The way of St. James has no end. She goes further than far “… According to the author of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage path 800 km long in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. Every year people from all over the world overcome it in full or in part, and everyone has its own reason for that. On the way of St. Jacob, as it is called, there are believers and atheists, small and old, healthy and those who want to become healthy. Pilgrims, philosophers, aesthetes, tourists – all overcome kilometers of the way, and each and everyone are looking for answers to their own questions. The road gave the author a lot of meetings with different people who shared their stories. About the impression of walking through the whole of Spain to Cape Finisterre, to the End of the Earth, Dzvinka Matiash tells in the book. Who knows, can next year you feel the strength to overcome this path?
Charlotte Kerner “The Photocopy”
The author of “Light-copy” also traveled a lot: he studied in Mannheim, Canada and in the People’s Republic of China. From the very beginning of his creative career, Charlotte focused on the lives of women, and this novel is no exception. Unlike the works in which the author describes the past – the biographies of women, events in the “Light-copy” unfold in the near future, when people have learned how to clone their own. The mother’s story, which decides to make her small copy, must be with a “good end”, but for some reason it is different. In the center of the plot Sirie is a cloned daughter of the main character who is rising against her mother. The book, written in 1999, will be appreciated by fans of the genre of science fiction: the author looked into the future – in 2008, American scientists informed the world about human cloning. Those who are fond of deep psychology, the problems of human relationships and values can plunge into the eternal question of “parents and children”. The novel, which was translated into 14 languages, was screened and awarded with a national award, it is definitely worth reading.
Witold Gombrich “Trans-Atlantic”
A cult Polish writer characterizes his story: “Grotesque work, crucified between the past and the future.” Perhaps this is what makes a novel, written many years ago, interesting for people who live far beyond Poland. And although the Trans-Atlantic events unfold in Argentina (this is the only work by the author in which the heroes are not on the Polish soil), but the national color is preserved for the time and distance and allows the author to critically look at patriotism and tradition. The autobiographical narrative turns into a grotesque novel, and for the reader to “facilitate the approach” to his own work, Gombrowicz includes prepositions written in 1951, 1953 and 1957. Aesthetes with sophisticated literary preferences will appreciate the artistic experiment and stylistic skill of the meter of Polish literature.
Jan Martel “Life of Pi”
The author of the work traveled a lot: thanks to father-diplomats, Jan Martel visited Costa Rica, France, Mexico and Canada, and in adult life – in Iran, Turkey and India. New experiences, knowledge gained, immersion in the culture of other countries – far from being a complete list of factors that inspired Martel to write. But the real world fame, as well as the Booker Prize, Martel receives for the book “Life Pi”, which becomes a “cultural explosion”. At first glance, the story of the Pit Patcher’s Pitch seems completely unrealistic: it’s hard to believe that the boy was saved after a storm in the Pacific Ocean and sail in the boat to the shore for 227 days next to the Bengal tiger, the zebra, hyena and orangutan. But history is not only about this, but also about what distinguishes a person from an animal, about faith and life, about the power of the soul, which allows a person to remain human in the most difficult circumstances. “It is necessary to take from life what it gives and to try to make something worthwhile from it,” the author says, and for some reason his advice seems appropriate.
Arundhati Roy “God of Things”
For the right to publish the first novel by Arundhati Roy, eight publishing houses of Britain fought. The Booker Prize and an advance from the publishing house for half a million dollars, articles in the British and American Vogue, Time, New York Times – this was exactly what the writer’s start was for the Indian author and activist. And this is not an accident at all! From the first lines, God of Things, captures the opportunity to feel India, so familiar, but unpredictable. Initial caste and communist movement, abandoned man-made beauty and mighty natural – all this is just the background on which events unfold. A novel about justice and human cruelty, about the shattered human destinies and the unbearable pain in the heart, but also about the love that is missing from all her heroes. “God of Things” is a completely unique work, which, regardless of the depth of the problem and tragedy of the plot lines, for some reason leaves a warm smile on its own. Maybe because the work on Love …
No matter how the science developed in the field of producing the most modern and most convenient gadgets, but the pleasure of fluttering the smelling pages of a new book, which brings bright worlds in the routine of January, can still not be compared to anything.
These and other books of the “Publishing House of the Old Lion” are waiting for you at the “Lviv Chocolate Workshop” at the address: 7, Peremohy Square.
Translated by Aliona Matushevich
