Will Self Livres

Un homme croise sa mère morte quelques mois plus tôt. Un ethnologue étudie une tribu d’Amazonie qui se considère elle-même comme la plus ennuyeuse du monde. Un médecin découvre un hôpital où les plus fous ne sont pas les patients. Un journaliste infiltre une secte de coursiers au sens de l’orientation démesuré… Six nouvelles loufoques, grinçantes et terriblement inquiétantes.

Et si les morts continuaient à vivre ? Non pas dans un autre monde, un au-delà inaccessible. Mais plutôt dans une banlieue de l'Être, une sorte de colonie située là, devant nous. Tellement visible que nous y serions aveugles... À partir de cette hypothèse, Will Self a écrit sa Divine Comédie personnelle. L'héroïne : Lily Bloom, une Américaine de soixante-cinq ans en train de mourir dans un hôpital londonien. Le guide un aborigène australien. L'époque : contemporaine. Tendre, féroce, extravagant, Will Self explore cet "intermonde" qui ressemble tant au nôtre. Trace le portrait de Lily, Jewish American Princess, mère indigne et femme d'exception. Et règle ses comptes : avec l'Angleterre, le judaïsme, l'Art moderne, la famille, la politique. Et la littérature.

En vacances sur une île avec femme et enfants, Tom Brodzinski décide d'arrêter de fumer. Mais son ultime mégot atterrit par inadvertance sur la tête d'un autochtone et sa bonne résolution tourne au cauchemar : Tom est accusé de tentative de meurtre. Il est condamné par une mystérieuse tribu, les Tayswengos, et ne peut quitter l'île. Naïf, il réagit à cette situation kafkaïenne avec passivité. Il ignore qu'un étrange périple l'attend, avec chamanes, rituels initiatiques et paysages lunaires... Déjanté, angoissant, No smoking est une satire de nos sociétés occidentales. En ligne de mire : le politiquement correct, le colonialisme post-11 Septembre et les valeurs que l'"Axe du Bien" a tenté d'imposer au monde entier.

He's like Banksy -- but not as big...They're Not Pets, Susan,' says a stern father who has just shot a bumblebee, its wings sparkling in the evening sunlight; a lone office worker, less than an inch high, looks out over the river in his lunch break, 'Dreaming of Packing it all In'; and a tiny couple share a 'Last Kiss' against the soft neon lights of the city at midnight. Mixing sharp humour with a delicious edge of melancholy, Little People in the City brings together the collected photographs of Slinkachu, a street-artist who for several years has been leaving little hand-painted people in the bustling city to fend for themselves, waiting to be discovered. . . 'Oddly enough, even when you know they are just hand-painted figurines, you can't help but feel that their plights convey something of our own fears about being lost and vulnerable in a big, bad city.' The Times

What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.

Here in one volume are tales, adventures and poems from the world's master of mysterious - Edgar Allan Poe. Famous for his horror stories and brooding poetry, Poe is credited with the invention of the modern detective story and a distinctive style of science fiction writing. Included in this collection are - The complete tales of Mystery and Imagination; The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket; The raven and other poems. The stories are complemented with illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Aubrey Beardsley, Edouar Manet and others.

From the Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella, a world-girdling collection of writings inspired by a life lived in and for literature.

How far would you go to escape the real world? The underground man had always felt like an outsider. He doesn't want to be like other people, working in the 'ant-hill' of society. So he decides to withdraw from the world, scrawling a series of darkly sarcastic notes about the torment he is suffering. Angry and alienated, his only comfort is the humiliation of others. Is he going mad? Or is it the world around him that's insane?

Set in 1950s America, the story follows Elaine as she grapples with her dissatisfaction in a seemingly perfect life with her Ivy League husband and child. Standing by her mailbox, she questions her choices and ultimately seeks freedom through a reckless affair. This decision leads to the unraveling of her marriage and forces her to confront the consequences of her actions, exploring themes of identity, desire, and the constraints of societal expectations.