![]() In fact, at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 23, 1864, Bierce received a head wound that temporarily took him out of the action. It might not seem impressive, given that these days you could do that with an iPhone, but it was quite an intensive duty. That means he went on scouting missions to make maps and determine the enemy's position. ![]() But our author wasn't your typical soldier: he was a topographical officer. Luckily, Ambrose Bierce knew how to write a twist ending, even back in 1890, when he published "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." We're not going to spoil the fun for you, but be prepared to be surprised by this strange story of a Civil War civilian's confrontation with death.īierce was especially suited to write stories about the Civil War, since he served in the Union army. That's why we love The Sixth Sense, Ender's Game, and Shutter Island. Stories with twist endings are some of Shmoop's favorites. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() This psychological novel follows him during these eventful three days, and his whole life. Trois jours et une vie – Pierre Lemaitre A child kills his friend by mistake.Changer l’eau des fleurs (Fresh Water for Flowers) – Valérie Perrin A caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne lives her life of small joys, optimism, melancholy, and friendship.Né d’aucune femme (Born of No Woman) – Franck Bouysse A dark, chilling, poetic tale of a peasant girl, sold too young to a man too cruel, in late nineteenth-century France.Au revoir là-haut got a film adaptation ( See You Up There in English), and Couleurs de l’incendie is poised to have one as well.Įverything about this trilogy is amazing, and most of it won prestigious awards. It’s the second book of a trilogy, between the excellent Au revoir là-haut (The Great Swindle) about a WW1 veteran, and Miroir de nos peines ( “Mirror of our sorrows” literally). Couleurs de l’incendie (Colors of the Fire) – Pierre Lemaître In 1927, a young French mother takes revenge on all who got in her way – while the colors of the fire that will burn Europe are already on the horizon. ![]() ![]() ![]() A man fleeing personal scandal enters a codependent relationship with a house that requires a particularly demanding level of care. A curtain of void obliterates the globe at a steady pace, forcing Earth's remaining inhabitants to decide with whom they want to spend eternity. A medical ward for a mysterious bone-melting disorder is the setting of a perilous love triangle. "Stories so sharp and ingenious you may cut yourself on them while reading."-Kelly Link, author of Get In Trouble ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Kirkus Reviews With a focus on the weird and eerie forces that lurk beneath the surface of ordinary experience, Kate Folk's debut collection is perfectly pitched to the madness of our current moment. A thrilling new voice in fiction injects the absurd into the everyday to present a startling vision of modern life, " if Kafka and Camus and Bradbury were penning episodes of Black Mirror " (Chang-Rae Lee, author of My Year Abroad ). ![]() ![]() The Conflict Trap: Civil wars (with an estimated average cost of $64bn each ) and coups incur large economic costs to a country. These countries typically suffer from one or more development traps. The book suggests that, whereas the majority of the 5 billion people in the "developing world" are getting richer at an unprecedented rate, a group of countries (mostly in Africa and Central Asia but with a smattering elsewhere) are stuck and that development assistance should be focused heavily on them. ![]() On his reckoning, there are just under 60 such economies, home to almost 1 billion people. In the book Collier argues that there are many countries whose residents have experienced little, if any, income growth over the 1980s and 1990s. ![]() The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It is a 2007 book by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, exploring the reasons why impoverished countries fail to progress despite international aid and support. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Llewellyn’s ability to shock and twist the psychosexual reality beyond of any preconceived notions. The story will adhere itself to your inner safe places and shred them to pieces and make you gasp at Ms. Lovecraft then shaken, stirred and filtered through Ligotti to create a totally frightening vision of strangeness and dread and sexual depravity. It evokes the influence of Arthur Machen and H. The story is both frightening and totally bizarre. Is the coming of age story of a young sheltered girl. My favorite story in the collection is “The Last, Clean, Bright Summer”. ![]() Her writing is so strikingly vibrant that the characters that inhabit the stories shimmer and shine with energy from a cosmic source. The power of Livia Llewellyn is in her ability to describe scenes and inject horror and fright She is a master. Llewellyn does not shy away from graphic descriptions her characters encounter. Some of the stories are highly emotional and even more erotically charged. This is an excellent and solid set of stories which enter the world of the weird and ultra strange. ![]() The talented and gifted author Livia Llewellyn has recently released her second collection of stories titled “Furnace”. ![]() ![]() ![]() In a recent interview with, he said: "I don't take orders from readers." He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he achieved great success. David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings, was an uncredited co-author on many of his early books, but he had later acknowledged that she contributed to them all.ĭavid Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He was flushing the fuel tan David Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. In a recent interview with, he said: "I don't take orders from readers." On Januit was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. ![]() David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings, was an uncredited co-author on many of his early books, but he had later acknowledged that she contributed to them all. ![]() David Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. ![]() ![]() ![]() Some days I feel stuck in a rut and I catch myself doing the same things I’ve always done, hoping to get a different result. Most days I wake up on the right side of the bed and everything just flows. The reason I’m writing about Shane today can be summarized in one word: Here’s an extended and animated version of “We Are More” (click on Watch on YouTube). ![]() Most footage of that performance is of very poor quality because the Olympic Committee regulates the rights to the original broadcast and we’re stuck with amateur video. The man who was born in the obscure town of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories, wowed the world with his words. His first published collection, Visiting Hours, was the only work of poetry selected by the Guardian, Globe and Mail newspapers, for their Best Books of the Year lists in 2005.Īnd yet, most people have never heard of him.Īll of that changed when Shane Koyczan recited his poem “ We Are More” at the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia. In doing so, he became the first-ever winner from outside the U.S. In 2000, he won the individual championship at the National Poetry Slam in Providence, Rhode Island – beating 250 North American competitors. His powerful performances turned comic book addicts into poetry lovers. His videos have brought YouTube viewers to tears. ![]() ![]() Some have called him the greatest performer of spoken word of our time. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This experience was a turning point numerous references to the themes of freedom and captivity would later appear in Cervantes' work. During his return he was captured by pirates and was imprisoned in Algiers from 1575 to 1580. He was injured in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), losing the use of his left hand. ![]() After travelling to Italy in 1569 to serve in the household of a nobleman, he joined the Spanish Legion. ![]() The family finally settled in Madrid, where the young Cervantes received some early formal education. He fights giants that are simply windmills, rescues damsels who are simply whores, and courts Dulcinea del Toboso, who is not exactly a “lady.”Ĭervantes (1547–1616) was the son of an itinerant surgeon who struggled to maintain his practice and his family by travelling around Spain. Riding on his starved horse, Rocinante, and in the company of Sancho Panza (a fat peasant whom he takes for a squire), Don Quixote leaves on a journey in which he rewrites reality as a chivalrous utopia. The hero is a lean, elderly man who, impassioned by romantic reading, thinks himself a knight. Part I was published in 1605 as a burlesque of contemporary chivalric romances part 2 appeared in 1615 to counteract a plagiarized sequel. This masterpiece of world literature is considered to be the first modern novel. El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha ( Don Quixote), by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, is rivalled only by the Bible for the number of languages into which it has been translated. ![]() ![]() ![]() The impact of the story may not always have been so dramatic but, along with Dickens' other Christmas writings, it has had a lasting and significant influence upon our ideas about the Christmas spirit and about the season as a time for celebration, charity and memory. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. In all of them Dickens celebrates the season as one of geniality, charity and remembrance.Īfter reading Christmas Carol, the notoriously reclusive Thomas Carlyle was 'seized with a perfect convulsion of hospitality' and threw not one but two Christmas dinner parties. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. Dickens' other Christmas writings collected here include 'The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton', the short story from The Pickwick Papers on which A Christmas Carol was based The Haunted Man, a tale of a man tormented by painful memories along with shorter pieces, some drawn from the 'Christmas Stories' that Dickens wrote annually for his weekly journals. Ever since it was published in 1843 it has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the traditions of Christmas. Dickens' story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a series of ghostly visitors, has proved one of his most well-loved works. ![]() ![]() ![]() The Nella Larsen Collection is comprised of five Nella Larsen fiction including Quicksand, Passing, Freedom, The Wrong Man, and Sanctuary. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. ![]() Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. 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