My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain

"The anticipated American debut of one of Granta’s Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists: a daring, deeply affecting novel about the secrets buried in the past of an Argentine family.

A young writer, living abroad, makes the journey home to South America to say good-bye to his dying father. In his parents’ house, he finds a cache of documents—articles, maps, photographs—and unwittingly begins to unearth his father’s obsession with the disappearance of a local man. Suddenly, he comes face-to-face with the ghosts of Argentina’s dark political past and with the long-hidden memories of his family’s underground resistance against an oppressive military regime. As the fragments of the narrator’s investigation fall into place, this audacious novel tells a completely original story of corruption and responsibility, history and remembrance."

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Adam Buenosayres

"A modernist urban novel in the tradition of James Joyce, Adam Buenosayres is a tour-de-force that does for Buenos Aires what Carlos Fuentes did for Mexico City - chronicles a city teeming with life in all its clever and crass, rude and intelligent forms. Employing a range of literary styles and a variety of voices, Leopoldo Marechal parodies and celebrates Argentina's most brilliant literary and artistic generation, the martinfierristas of the 1920s, among them Jorge Luis Borges. 

First published in 1948 during the polarizing reign of Juan Perón, the novel was hailed by Julio Cortázar as an extraordinary event in twentieth-century Argentine literature. Set over the course of three break-neck days, Adam Buenosayres follows the protagonist through an apparent metaphysical awakening, a battle for his soul fought by angels and demons, and a descent through a place resembling a comic version of Dante's hell."

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Trafalgar

"Don't rush Trafalgar Medrano when he starts telling you about his latest intergalactic sales trip. He likes to stretch things out over precisely seven coffees. No one knows whether he actually travels to the stars, but he tells the best tall tales in the city, so why doubt him?

Angélica Gorodischer lives in Rosario, Argentina. She has received many awards, most recently the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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All But My Life

All But My Life is the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein's six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. From her comfortable home in Bielitz in Poland to her miraculous survival and her liberation by American troops in Czechoslovakia in 1945, Gerda takes the reader on a terrifying journey.

Despite her horrifying experiences, Klein conveys great strength of spirit and faith in humanity. In the darkness of the camps, Gerda and her young friends manage to create a community of friendship and love. Although stripped of the essence of life, they were able to survive the barbarity of their captors. Gerda's beautifully written story gives an invaluable message to everyone. It introduces them to last century's terrible history of devastation and prejudice, yet offers them hope that the effects of hatred can be overcome.

“An unforgettable reading experience . . . All But My Life is one of the most beautifully written human documents I have ever read. In this respect it is as sensitive and 'disturbing' a story as is The Diary of Anne Frank.” —Library Journal

“Gerda moves you, and not just because the story she can tell is so horrific. It is the passion with which she looked through the horror and found a heart-felt and basic goodness in humanity . . . All But My Life is filled with wonderful acts of decency and normalcy, even as she describes three years in labor camps and three months of a forced winter march from Germany to Czechoslovakia.” —The Boston Globe

”Soul-searching and human . . . A moving personal testament to courage.” —NY Times

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The Star Diaries

"'Something peculiar is happening to my head. I remember that my father was Barnaby, but I had another named Balaton. Unless that’s a lake in Albania.'

Ijon Tichy, Lem's Candide of the Cosmos, encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space that serve to satirize science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride. Line drawings by the author. Translated by Michael Kandel."

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Snow White and Russian Red

"'Nails' Robakoski is unraveling after his girlfriend Magda dumps him. A tracksuited slacker who spends most of his time doing little more than searching for his next line of speed and dreaming up conspiracy theories about the Polish economy, Nails ricochets from Magda, a doomed beauty who bewitches men, to Angela, a proselytizing vegetarian Goth, to Natasha, a hellcat who tears his house apart looking for speed, to Ala, the nerdy economics-student girlfriend of the friend who stole Magda. Through it all, a xenophobic campaign against the proliferating Russian black market escalates, to the point where the citizens have to paint their houses in national colors and one of these girls will be crowned Miss No Russkies Day—or is that just in Nails’ fevered mind?"

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Modernity on Endless Trial

"Leszek Kolakowski delves into some of the most intellectually vigorous questions of our time in this remarkable collection of essays garnished with his characteristic wit. Ten of the essays have never appeared before in English.

'Exemplary. . . . It should be celebrated.' —Arthur C. Danto, New York Times Book Review

A Notable Books of the Year 1991 selection, New York Times Book Review—a Noted with Pleasure selection, New York Times Book Review—a Summer Reading 1991 selection, New York Times Book Review—a Books of the Year selection, The Times."

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Cosmos

"Milan Kundera called Witold Gombrowicz 'one of the great novelists of our century.' His most famous novel, Cosmos, the recipient of the 1967 International Prize for literature, is now available in a critically acclaimed translation, for the first time directly from the Polish, by an award-winning translator.

Cosmos is a metaphysical noir thriller narrated by Witold, a seedy, pathetic, and witty student, who is charming and appalling by turns. On his way to a relaxing vacation he meets the despondent Fuks. As they set off together for a family-run pension in the Carpathian Mountains they discover a dead bird hanging from a string. Is this a strange but meaningless occurrence or is it the beginning of a string of bizarre events. As the young men become embroiled in the Chekhovian travails of the family running the pension Grombrowicz’s creates a gripping narrative where the reader questions who is sane and who is safe."

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The Last Wish

Geralt the Witcher—revered and hated—holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures, the first chapter in the NY Times bestselling series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games.

Geralt is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good…and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

“Like a complicated magic spell, a Sapkowski novel is a hodgepodge of fantasy, intellectual discourse, and dry humor. Recommended.” —Time  

The universe of The Witcher is one of the most detailed and best-explored in modern fantasy, offering endless opportunities for fresh ideas. Complex character relationships enrich this already complex world; this is the sort of series fantasy fans will cherish.” —B&N

“Delightful, intense, irreverent, and compelling....you have to read The Witcher books because they are rife with all of the elements that make you love fiction, and especially fantasy, in the first place....In a word, The Witcher delivers.” ―Hypable

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Eating Fire and Drinking Water

“I was someone hungry for stories; more specifically, I was someone who craved after facts. I was, you see, a person with no history. Lacking this, I developed a curiosity about other's people's stories. . . .”

Clara Perez is a reporter on a small South seas island. An orphan raised by nuns, she is a young woman with origins shrouded in mystery. Full of idealistic ambition, she grows tired of the trivial assignments she's given at the daily paper, yearning to write articles of substance. So when the tiny street of Calle de Leon bursts into flames after a student demonstration--and a soldier kills an unarmed man--Clara seizes the chance to cover the explosive story. Yet after Clara rushes to investigate the tragedy, she discovers another, more personal one involving some remarkable truths about her unknown past--ghosts, she realizes, which have been silently pursuing her all her life.

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State of War

"He saw clearly, immediately, that the man didn't care about the gift's value, didn't care about the gift even, but cared profoundly for the act of receiving as though the gift were a tribute, a confirmation of his self, his being, his reality. He found no pleasure in what he was taking but in the act of taking itself."

An endless festival amidst an endless war is the central theme of this Philippines novel about the Marcos era. Depicting a culture and a country in conflict during a brutal time, this book is a masterpiece and a must-read for all Filipino people.

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Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) 

"At the center of Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by Philippine national hero José Rizal is the conflict against Spanish colonialism. The Philippines, which is named after King Philip II of Spain, was ruled by the Spanish empire as a colony from 1565 until the Philippine Revolution ended this rule in 1898. For his part in the Philippine Revolution, José Rizal was tried and convicted for rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy. His sentence was to be death by firing squad. Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra, the main character of Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), returns to the Phillipines after a seven year absence studying in Europe. He is betrothed to the María Clara, the beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago. With this work, Rizal set out to write a novel that would expose the ills of Philippine society and in so doing created a passionate love story set against the backdrop of the political conflict against a repressive regime."

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In The Country

"These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere—and, sometimes, turning back again. 

In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home. From teachers to housemaids, from mothers to sons, Alvar’s powerful debut collection explores the universal experiences of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined. Deeply compassionate and richly felt, it marks the emergence of a formidable new writer."

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Dogeaters

"Finalist for the National Book Award and a 2015 Wall Street Journal Book Club selection: An intense portrait of the Philippines in the late 1950s.

Dogeaters follows a diverse set of characters through Manila, each exemplifying the country’s sharp distinctions between social classes. Celebrated novelist and playwright Jessica Hagedorn effortlessly shifts from the capital’s elite to the poorest of the poor. From the country’s president and first lady to an idealist reformer, from actors and radio DJs to prostitutes, seemingly unrelated lives become intertwined."

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Cancer Ward

One of the great allegorical masterpieces of world literature, Cancer Ward is both a deeply compassionate study of people facing terminal illness and a brilliant dissection of the “cancerous” Soviet police state. Banned in Russia, it became, along with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a work that awoke the conscience of the world. As Robert Service wrote of its appeal in the Independent, “In waging his struggle against Soviet communism, Solzhenitsyn the novelist preferred the rapier to the cudgel”.

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Beginning Operations

Sector General: A massive deep-space hospital station on the Galactic Rim, where human and alien medicine meet. Its 384 levels and thousands of staff members are supposedly able to meet the needs of any conceivable alien patient—though that capacity is always being strained as more (and stranger) alien races turn up to join the galactic community. Sentient viruses, interspecies romances, undreamed-of institutional catering problems—it all lands on Sector General's doorstep. And the only thing weirder than a hitherto unknown alien species is having a member of that species turn up in your Emergency Room.

This first omnibus volume includes the works that began the Sector General series, which were previously published as Hospital StationStar Surgeon, and Major Operation.

Note: Interestingly, the author said that the Troubles in Northern Ireland (i.e., the violent conflicts which resulted in bombings & death) induced him to write about the sort of world he would like to live in. This becomes awe-inspiring when you realize that Sector General is a gigantic multi-species hospital space station founded as a peace-making project by two heroes from opposite sides of humanity's only full interstellar war.

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

"'Compulsively readable. ... Simon Armitage has given us an energetic, free-flowing, high-spirited version.' —Edward Hirsch, New York Times Book Review

One of the earliest great stories of English literature after BeowulfSir Gawain is the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts King Arthur's Round Table festivities one Yuletide, challenging the knights to a wager. Simon Armitrage, one of Britain's leading poets, has produced an inventive and groundbreaking translation that helps liberate Gawain from academia."

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All Creatures Great and Small

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

Generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are some are lighthearted and fun, some are heart-wrenchingly difficult, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest farms to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

“This warm, joyous and often hilarious first-person chronicle of a young animal doctor . . . shines with love of life. All Creatures Great and Small may well be the happiest book of the year.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Absolutely super, a rarity, magnificently written, insightful, unforgettable.” —Houston Chronicle

“One of the funniest and most likeable books around.” —The Atlantic Monthly

“Refreshingly original . . . as close to a novel as a chronicle of memoirs could be . . . hilarious, touching, athletic and warming.” —Los Angeles Times

“What the world needs now, and does every so often, is a warm, G-rated, down-home, unadrenalized prize of a book that sneaks onto the bestseller lists . . . James Herriot's memoirs qualify admirably.” —Time

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Battle Royale

Longlisted for the Japan Horror Fiction Awards

Koushun Takami's runaway bestseller is based on an irresistible premise: Set in a fictional totalitarian dictatorship called the Republic of Greater East Asia, a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, students are forced to fight to the death. Provided weapons, they are forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing.

Battle Royale is a brutal, high-octane thriller told in breathless, shocking fashion that has become a contemporary Japanese pulp classic. This critically-acclaimed novel is a 21st century Lord of the Flies meshed with Running Man—a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.

“The story is brilliant … the book opens up all sorts of doors to conversations and thoughts about psychology, murder, survival, love, loyalty, and moral ground …[However] those who cringe at slash and hack should steer away.” —Red Room

“Both gripping and original. … It is a simple premise, superbly executed … you will become completely immersed in the mindsets of the various characters.” —Sarugumo

Note: This novel was also made into a controversial hit movie as well as adapted into a manga collection of the same name.

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Ruby Red

Translated by Anthea Bell, the foremost translator of German literature in the world. And she thinks Ruby Red is “just charming!”

Sixteen-year-old Gwyneth Shepherd comes from a family of time travelers. The gene was supposed to have skipped Gwen, but sneaks up on her unexpectedly in the middle of class one day and hurls her way back to the 18th century. There, she meets an insufferable time-traveler named Gideon from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line.

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her time-traveling ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century, they can trust.

“Thrilling and witty.” —Radio Bremen

“What makes this such a standout is the intriguingly drawn cast, stars and supporting players both, beginning with Gwen, whose key feature is her utter normality… Adventure, humor, and mystery all have satisfying roles here.” —Starred, Booklist

“This book was so much fun! Magic, romance, and time travel. A great start to a series that will appeal to the awkward adventurer in all of us.” -Diana DeVault

“Guaranteed to be addictive.” —Badische Neueste Nachrichten

Note: Even if you usually don't like YA (we prefer the A generally ourselves), we found this trilogy to be a great set of light, fun reads. Also great in audio form.

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