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Hell is not other people. Hell is any holiday dinner with relatives.Fashionable in the 50s, and still required reading in prep schools and many colleges, Sartre's play - once ventilated - is a discursive product of Dada and Existentialism mixed with Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and a lot of Pernod. In the mid-40s it made him the darling of the  boozoisie  in Montparnasse. Actually, he was inspired by Wedekind and Strindberg. An interesting thinker, Sarte here overlooks his own contradictions : though each man is his own hell, he states, hell is -- hold on ! -- other people. With 3 characters, this play is a fav among college drama depts and many regional theatres. The original Broadway production in 1946 was directed x John Huston and had, we're told, a superb set by the artist Frederick Kiesler. It also had an adaptation x Paul Bowles. Others must be avoided. ~ Competing with Ethel Merman in Annie Get Your Gun, Margaret Rutherford as OWs Lady Bracknell and Ingrid Bergman in a paraphrase of St Joan, it vanished after 4 weeks. But Sartre, the playwright  manque,  still lingers as he examines our loneliness in a bleak, disinterested world. More importantly, he foreshadows the absurdist work of Beckett, Ionesco and Pinter.

Cannery Row is a book without much of a plot. Rather, it is an attempt to capture the feeling and people of a place, the cannery district of Monterey, California, which is populated by a mix of those down on their luck and those who choose for other reasons not to live "up the hill" in the more respectable area of town. The flow of the main plot is frequently interrupted by short vignettes that introduce us to various denizens of the Row, most of whom are not directly connected with the central story. These vignettes are often characterized by direct or indirect reference to extreme violence: suicides, corpses, and the cruelty of the natural world.The "story" of Cannery Row follows the adventures of Mack and the boys, a group of unemployed yet resourceful men who inhabit a converted fish-meal shack on the edge of a vacant lot down on the Row.Sweet Thursday is the sequel to Cannery Row.

Into the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, soon to culminate in the deified insanity of Caligula.I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God, are among the most celebrated, as well the most gripping historical novels ever written.Cover illustration: Brian Pike

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. The work is commonly known today as The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or simply Jekyll &amp; Hyde. It is about a London lawyer named John Gabriel Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde.

Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor’s astonishing and haunting first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is a story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his innate, desperate faith. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawkes, Hazel Motes founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with "wise blood," who leads him to a mummified holy child, and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Hazel's existential struggles. This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdoms gives us one of the most riveting characters in twentieth-century American fiction.

There is a lot of talk about Kafka and nightmares – and with good reason. However, his nightmares are never quite what you might expect - expectations are always a problem when reading Kafka, firsst they get in the way and then they get dashed. In Metamorphosis there is the ‘yuck’ factor of the main character becoming an insect – but that is hardly the ‘nightmare’ of that book. In The Trial the point is in being accused of something, but never being told what it is you have been accused of, but still needing to defend yourself in some way all the same. The Castle is even more of a nightmare again. This book was never finished and the version I’ve just finished reading ends where Kafka abandoned it, mid-sentence, with yet another new character about to say something terribly important to the central character ‘K’. You might think that this would be a bit of a pain – in fact, the book ending was a relief. Like waking from a nightmare it really is okay that it is over. There was never going to be a happy ending to this book.That might make it sound like I didn’t enjoy reading it – and that wouldn’t be the right impression to leave you with. This is a remarkable book and one that has much to say about how we construct our reality and how we interpret the realities constructed by others to explain how their world ‘works’. That is what the book is 'about' - and a sensitive reader will be struck by how often they interpret what is going on around them with as little 'proof' to try to make sense of the world.Of course, the book could be a guide book on how to construct a totalitarian regime – if such a guide book was ever needed. Let’s face it, we humans, even the best of us, are remarkably innovative when it comes to constructing nightmares for others to live in and really don’t need any instructions from fiction. I mean, Abu Ghraib anyone? No, I think not.The way to construct a Kafkaesque nightmare – if you are ever in charge of such things and are feeling a little bored – is to add endless levels to society and virtually no real communication between any of these levels - except, of course orders that must be followed - but must be first interpreted by those who receive them. Then create bizarre rituals (investigations or committee meetings or such) that either have no meaning at all or infinitely more meaning than can be guessed from them. These can take place in bedrooms, so they appear to be informal, but actually are the opposite. Make sure minor decisions that seem to have no import end up being life altering in ways that are completely unpredictable. In fact, make sure that just about every outcome can’t be predicted prior to it happening.Yes, I know, it all sounds a bit like home…Which is the problem with reading Kafka – it is very familiar, it is the familiar turned up loud. But then, aren’t those always the worst kind of nightmares?

MetaFrom what point of view should I review the book? Evidently: from all possible points of view.SnobbishNeedless to say, I am reading the original French edition. I can hardly believe that his delicate linguistic irony would survive translation into English. Quelle horreur!VulgarI laughed until I wet myself. Well, I should know better than to read this kind of book in the bathroom.PedanticIf nothing else, very educational. I have already learned the names of two figures of speech I didn't previously know.AnxiousWait... maybe someone else has already done this joke? Let me check the reviews. Oh, thank GoodReads, they haven't!PessimisticThe idea is certainly amusing at first. But I doubt he'll be able to keep it up for 99 different versions.GrudgingAlright... this isn't as easy as one first thinks. I'm not even up to double figures, and I'm already running out of ideas. He was a smart guy.MinimalistUnique.Conscience-strickenI'm doing this? I should be working! But he is quite inspiring.PracticalI will put the book on the coffee table, and read a couple of pages every now and then. I don't think you're meant to go cover-to-cover. Also, living in Cambridge as we do, I am sure that at least half our visitors will enjoy leafing through it.

The finest of all Conrad's tales, Heart of Darkness is set in an atmosphere of mystery and menace, and tells of Marlow's perilous journey up the Congo River to relieve his employer's agent, the renowned and formidable Mr. Kurtz. What he sees on his journey, and his eventual encounter with Kurtz, horrify and perplex him, and call into question the very bases of civilization and human nature. Endlessly reinterpreted by critics and adapted for film, radio, and television, the story shows Conrad at his most intense and sophisticated. The other three tales in this volume depict corruption and obsession, and question racial assumptions. Set in the exotic surroundings of Africa, Malaysia, and the east, they variously appraise the glamour, folly, and rapacity of imperial adventure. This revised edition uses the English first edition texts and has a new chronology and bibliography.

Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray—he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants—Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together, and together they have haunted readers' imaginations for nearly four hundred years.With its experimental form and literary playfulness, Don Quixote has been generally recognized as the first modern novel. The book has been enormously influential on a host of writers, from Fielding and Sterne to Flaubert, Dickens, Melville, and Faulkner, who reread it once a year, "just as some people read the Bible."

Read the Longman Simplified English version.This book is important because it's a window into the lifestyles of people living in the 18th century. I have to admit the dullness of the interactions mixed with the third person omniscient style (which lacks emotions) did not give me a good first impression of the novel. Yet, due to curiosity as to why this is a classic I decided to keep going. As far as petty drama goes I was pleasantly surprised upon reaching 3/4 of the book. (view spoiler)[When the youngest sister Lydia ran off with the sleazy Mr. Wickham the plot took an interesting turn which significantly changed my opinion. The title of the book is also very fitting. Pride = Mr. Darcy Prejudice = Elizabeth The story about two unlikely people that fall for each other while overcoming their flaws.  (hide spoiler)]

Swann's Way tells two related stories, the first of which revolves around Marcel, a younger version of the narrator, and his experiences in, and memories of, the French town Combray. Inspired by the "gusts of memory" that rise up within him as he dips a Madeleine into hot tea, the narrator discusses his fear of going to bed at night. He is a creature of habit and dislikes waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where he is.He claims that people are defined by the objects that surround them and must piece together their identities bit by bit each time they wake up. The young Marcel is so nervous about sleeping alone that he looks forward to his mother's goodnight kisses, but also dreads them as a sign of an impending sleepless night. One night, when Charles Swann, a friend of his grandparents, is visiting, his mother cannot come kiss him goodnight. He stays up until Swann leaves, and looks so sad and pitiful that even his disciplinarian father encourages "Mamma" to spend the night in Marcel's room.

The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide; his ascent of Mount Purgatory and encounter with his dead love, Beatrice; and finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, the poem is a brilliantly nuanced and moving allegory of human redemption. Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 and belonged to a noble but impoverished family. His life was divided by political duties and poetry, the most of famous of which was inspired by his meeting with Bice Portinari, whom he called Beatrice,including La Vita Nuova and The Divine Comedy. He died in Ravenna in 1321.

Set in the rural Midlands of England, The Rainbow (1915) revolves around three generations of the Brangwens, a strong, vigorous family, deeply involved with the land. When Tom Brangwen marries a Polish widow,Lydia Lensky, and adopts her daughter Anna as his own, he is unprepared for the conflict and passion that erupts between them. All are seeking individual fulfilment, but it is Ursula, Anna's spirited daughter, who, in search for self-knowledge, rejects the conventional role of womanhood.

Six months after losing his wife and two young sons, Vermont Professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. His interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight back in 1929.When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer’s mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.

This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who know there's more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than ever they dreamed.Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. The special 20th anniversary release of this spiritual classic!

The classic novel, international sensation, and inspiration for the film starring Anthony Quinn explores the struggle between the aesthetic and the rational, the inner life and the life of the mind.The classic novel Zorba the Greek is the story of two men, their incredible friendship, and the importance of living life to the fullest. Zorba, a Greek working man, is a larger-than-life character, energetic and unpredictable. He accompanies the unnamed narrator to Crete to work in the narrator’s lignite mine, and the pair develops a singular relationship. The two men couldn’t be further apart: The narrator is cerebral, modest, and reserved; Zorba is unfettered, spirited, and beyond the reins of civility. Over the course of their journey, he becomes the narrator’s greatest friend and inspiration and helps him to appreciate the joy of living.Zorba has been acclaimed as one of the most remarkable figures in literature; he is a character in the great tradition of Sinbad the Sailor, Falstaff, and Sancho Panza. He responds to all that life offers him with passion, whether he’s supervising laborers at a mine, confronting mad monks in a mountain monastery, embellishing the tales of his past adventures, or making love. Zorba the Greek explores the beauty and pain of existence, inviting readers to reevaluate the most important aspects of their lives and live to the fullest.

On one level, An American Tragedy is the story of the corruption and destruction of one man, Clyde Griffiths, who forfeits his life in desperate pursuit of success. On a deeper, more profound level, the novel represents a massive portrayal of the society whose values both shape Clyde's tawdry ambitions and seal his fate: It is an unsurpassed depiction of the harsh realities of American life and of the dark side of the American Dream. Extraordinary in scope and power, vivid in its sense of wholesale human waste, unceasing in its rich compassion, An American Tragedy stands as Theodore Dreiser's supreme achievement.Based on an actual crime case, An American Tragedy was the inspiration for the film A Place in the Sun, winner of six Academy Awards, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.

Augie comes on stage with one of literature’s most famous opening lines. “I am an American, Chicago born, and go at things as I have taught myself, free-style, and will make the record in my own way: first to knock, first admitted.” It’s the “Call me Ishmael” of mid-20th-century American fiction. (For the record, Bellow was born in Canada.) Or it would be if Ishmael had been more like Tom Jones with a philosophical disposition. With this teeming book Bellow returned a Dickensian richness to the American novel. As he makes his way to a full brimming consciousness of himself, Augie careens himself through numberless occupations, and countless mentors and exemplars, all the while enchanting us with the slapdash American music of his voice.

In Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut’s  most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth.

A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.

An anthology series that follows three women in different decades all living in the same house, as they deal with infidelity and betrayals in their marriages.

A devoted and mild-mannered couple decides to kill spouse's parents.

Stonehouse is a British television series dramatising the life and times of disgraced British government minister John Stonehouse, first broadcast from 2 to 4 January 2023. The series starred Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes and was directed by Jon S. Baird from a script by John Preston.

James Anthony Patrick Carr is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners, for which he has been both praised and criticised, and his distinctive laugh. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regularly appeared on television as the host of Channel 4 panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Beef is an American comedy drama television series created by Lee Sung Jin for Netflix. It stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two people whose involvement in a road rage incident begins to consume their lives. Appearing in supporting roles are Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake.

A separated, fired NYC lawyer returns to his hometown in Ohio, meets old high school friends and cute crush, buys a bowling alley and opens a law office in it.

The Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company.

Shrinking is an American comedy-drama television series created by Brett Goldstein, Bill Lawrence and Jason Segel. The series premiered on January 27, 2023 on Apple TV+.A therapist, Jimmy Laird, dealing with severe grief begins to breach ethical barriers by telling his patients what he completely thinks, resulting in massive changes to his and their lives.It was announced in October 2021 that Apple TV+ had ordered a ten-episode season for the series, which will star Jason Segel, who co-created alongside Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence. In April 2022, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, and Lukita Maxwell joined the cast, with James Ponsoldt joining the production as a director and executive producer. Production began in April 2022. The series was released on January 27, 2023, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.

A son questions his father's suicide, and seeks out those who killed him.

A dark comedy that focuses on a female con artist who marries people and then disappears with their money.

A female prison employee, Tilly (Patricia Arquette) in upstate New York becomes romantically involved with a pair of inmates and helps them escape.

Candy (released internationally as Candy: A Death In Texas) is an American biographical crime drama streaming television limited series created by Nick Antosca and Robin Veith. The series stars Jessica Biel as the real-life Candy Montgomery, who was accused of the axe murder of her neighbor, Betty Gore (played by Melanie Lynskey) in 1980, in Texas. It premiered on May 9, 2022, on Hulu, with a new episode for five nights until May 13.In Wylie, Texas, in 1980 suburban housewife Candy Montgomery is accused of murdering her neighbor Betty Gore, after having an affair with Gore's husband Allan.In July 2020, it was announced UCP was developing a series revolving around Candy Montgomery, with Robin Veith writing the pilot for the series, and Nick Antosca set to executive produce under his Eat the Cat banner, with no network attached. In December 2020, it was announced Hulu had landed the series. In October 2021, it was announced Elisabeth Moss, who was originally set to star as Candy, had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and would be replaced by Jessica Biel.

The members of a prominent Boston family suspect that one of their own is working with an infamous serial killer.

2016 American mystery drama television series

Each series, a detective focuses on the prime suspect in a murder case; but everyone has something to hide.

2015-2016 American drama television series

Quarry, a disillusioned Vietnam War vet, returns home to Memphis in 1972 only to find rejection and scrutiny at every step. A mysterious man known only as The Broker gives him an offer he can't refuse - to work for him as a hitman.

A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's future.

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