News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

Take a look at our latest additions to our Foreign Collection. If you are learning Spanish at the moment, these delightful mysteries and historical fiction will help you to enrich your vocabulary. Enjoy!

La biblia de los caídos / Fernando Trujillo.
“El mundo cuenta con un lado oculto, una cara sobrenatural que nos susurra, que se intuye, pero que muy pocos perciben. La inmensa mayoria de las personas no es consciente de ese lado paranorma… ni de sus riesgos. A veces la gente se topa con esos peligros y desespera, se atemoriza, y no sabe que hacer ni a quien recurrir. pero no todo esta perdido… Dicen que en Madrid reposa una iglesia muy antigua, cuyo origen es desconocido. Alli, en su interior, frente a una cruz de piedra esculpida en uno de sus muros, se puede alzar una plegaria. Tambien dicen que aquel que no tiene alma la escuchara, y si la fortuna acompana, el ruego sera atendido. Pero exigira un elevado precio por sus servicios, uno que no todo el mundo esta dispuesto a pagar. Mejor sera asegurarse de que se quiere contar con el antes de recitar la plegaria. Eso es lo que dicen”. (Syndetics summary)

El lector de Julio Verne / Almudena Grandes.
“Nino, hijo de guardia civil, tiene nueve anos, vive en la casa cuartel de un pueblo de la Sierra Sur de Jaen, y nunca podra olvidar el verano de 1947. Pepe el Portugues, el forastero misterioso, fascinante, que acaba de instalarse en un molino apartado, se convierte en su amigo y su modelo, el hombre en el que le gustaria convertirse alguna vez. Mientras pasan juntos las tardes a la orilla del rio, Nino se jurara a si mismo que nunca sera guardia civil como su padre, y comenzara a recibir clases de mecanografia en el cortijo de las Rubias, donde una familia de mujeres solas, viudas y huerfanas, resiste en la frontera entre el monte y el llano. Mientras descubre un mundo nuevo gracias a las novelas de aventuras que le convertiran en otra persona, Nino comprende una verdad que nadie habia querido contarle. En la Sierra Sur se esta librando una guerra, pero los enemigos de su padre no son los suyos. Tras ese verano, empezara a mirar con otros ojos a los guerrilleros de Cencerro, y a entender por que su padre quiere que aprenda mecanografia. / Nino sworn never to be policeman like his father. He begins typing classes in a farmhouse, and now understands a truth no one had wanted to tell. In the Southern Highlands there is a war, but his fathers enemies of are not his enemies. After that summer, he will begin to look at the guerrillas with new eyes, and to understand why his father wants him to learn typing.
“. (amazon.com summary)

Los juegos del hambre / Suzanne Collins ; traducción de Pilar Ramírez Tello.
“In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place”. (Courtesy of Syndetics)

La conjura de Cortés / Matilde Asensi.
“La conjura de Cortés culmina la trilogía de Martín Ojo de Plata: en la Nueva España se desarrolla una historia plagada de intrigas, corrupción, aventuras e imaginación.
Catalina se ve obligada a desenmascarar una conjura de sus enemigos para derrocar al rey de España. La aparición de un mapa que desvela dónde encontrar el legendario tesoro de Hernán Cortés desempeñará un papel clave en el plan de Catalina para descubrir a los traidores y cumplir su palabra de acabar con los Curvo. La doble personalidad de Catalina Solís / Martín Nevares enfrentará además un grave peligro para su equilibrio: el amor. Una vez más, Matilde Asensi sorprenderá a sus lectores con un final inesperado.” (Adapted from Amazon.com review)

Escupirán sobre mi tumba / Jaime Bayly.
“What awaits writer-turned-murderer Javier Garces in Buenos Aires? First, there is the city with its cobbled streets, its cemetery and river, a place where he feels right at home, where he is neither a foreigner nor an intruder. Then, there are all those Argentines with their endless chatter, their arrogance and charm, their loud-mouthed chaos. Finally, and to his heartfelt regret, there are still some scores to be settled. What choice is there? If he wants to live he has to take the life of others, as he’ll do to certain characters he either hates or despises. The vain bookstore owner, a famous and belligerent radio and television reporter, the handsome owner of a high-end restaurant, a talented and dissolute actor, and a hateful neighbor are part of Javier Garces’ Argentine selection. While he plots and carries out his missions in wild and appalling episodes, the bloody thread that has dogged him since Lima is about to catch up to him. With Escupirán sobre mi tumba, Jaime Bayly concludes the Morirás mañana trilogy. Here ends the long and gruesome journey that began in Lima, passed through Chile and culminated in Buenos Aires. A bloody expedition in which our main character finished off his enemies while painting a vivid fresco of the largest cities in the region, a fresco that gazes past architecture and geography to portray the soul of its people.” (Courtesy of Syndetics)

La civilización del espectáculo / Mario Vargas Llosa.
“The author puts forth a hard and somber interpretation of our times. Our civilization has turned into entertainment, gossip, enjoyment, and has adopted a carefree, devil-may-care attitude, ignoring what is happening as long as it has its fix of soccer, bull fighting, baseball, cheap entertainment, talk shows, irresponsible yellow journalism, and exploitation of the poor. The idea is: have fun, keep boredom at bay, and avoid what bothers, worries and anguishes us. In fact modern culture makes it a social mandate.” (Courtesy of Syndetics)

El prisionero del cielo / Carlos Ruiz Zafón.El Prisionero Del Cielo
“Barcelona, 1957. Daniel Sempere y su amigo Fermín, los héroes de La Sombra del Viento, regresan de nuevo a la aventura para afrontar el mayor desafío de sus vidas. Justo cuando todo empezaba a sonreírles, un inquietante personaje visita la librería de Sempere y amenaza con desvelar un terrible secreto que lleva enterrado más de dos décadas en la oscura memoria de la ciudad. Al conocer la verdad, Daniel comprenderá que su destino le arrastra irremediablemente a enfrentarse con la mayor de las sombras: la que crece en su interior. Rebosante de intriga y emoción, El Prisionero del Cielo es una novela magistral donde los hilos de La Sombra del Viento y El Juego del ángel convergen a través del embrujo de la literatura y el enigma que se oculta en el corazón del Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados.” (Courtesy of Syndetics)

El enredo de la bolsa y la vida / Eduardo Mendoza.
“Revisiting old characters, showing a side of Barcelona which seems pulled from the early 20th century… Mendoza delights the reader once again with a delightful mystery novel starring unexpected characters: the living statures from Las Ramblas, a failed detective-lunatic turned hairdresser, a guru and, of course, Angela Merkel! Every page hides a snigger or guffaw and is full of subtle satirical comments.” (Adapted from Amazon.com review)

DVDs

Casa de mi padre [videorecording] = House of my father / Nala presents a Gary Sanchez production ; a Nala Films production.
“Will Ferrell is Armando Alvarez, a simple Mexican boy who is proud to work on his father’s sprawling ranch. In spite of his wide-eyed enthusiasm for ranch life, the stupid, yet optimistic Armando can only play second fiddle to his glamorous brother, Raul. But when Raul brings his sexy bride, Sonia, home to meet the family, the sexual tension between her and Armando is only the start of the trouble, as the brothers soon find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord”–Container.

Take a look at our latest additions to our Japanese collection featuring a broad range of literary fiction, including historical romances, intriguing mysteries as well as, some of the latest DVDs. Pick up your favorites for a relaxing week ahead and enjoy!

Futari / Kodemari Rui.
“ベストセラー『エンキョリレンアイ』シリーズ三部作をはじめとする恋愛小説家、小手鞠るいさんの最新刊！
恋愛小説の達人が紡ぐ、喪失と再生の物語。
失われたものは必ず、もどってくる。人も、夢も、希望も。時間も、過去も、思い出も。小さな喫茶店を営むひかりと透…
ふとした出会いから始まった「ふたり」の物語は、私たちの心を震わせる。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Kurenai : 1 / Watanabe Jun’ichi.
“わたしはもう女ではないのだろうか―原宿に店を持つ28歳の帽子デザイナー・木之内冬子は、筋腫を取り除くだけの予定で臨んだ手術で子宮を摘出。ことあるごとに煩悶するようになる。かつて不倫関係にあった建築家の貴志との関係が再燃し、別れようと決意するが…性に惑う女性が新しい日々を得るまでを描く、異色の大作。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Daburu / Fukamachi Akio.
“薬物密売で急成長する犯罪組織で、刈田は名を馳せていた。だが、最愛の弟を守るため組織の掟を破ったことから、ボスの神宮に弟と元恋人を殺される。自身も瀕死の重傷を負った刈田は奇跡的に回復した後、顔も声も変えて古巣に潜る賭けに出た。全ては神宮への復讐を果たすため…。ミステリー界に新たな地平を切り拓いた一大エンタテインメント。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Peruseusuza ryūseigun : faindāzu koshoten yori / Wilson Robert Charles;Mogi Takeshi.
““発見者”の名を持つ謎めいた古書店を接点として、広大無辺な宇宙とささやかな日々の営みが交錯する。古書、望遠鏡、チェス盤、鏡―ささいなきっかけがもたらす非日常への誘いは、やがて秘められた世界、正気と狂気の狭間へと、人々を導いてゆく。ヒューゴー賞・星雲賞を受賞した『時間封鎖』の著者が新たな側面を見せる、時に妖しく、時に幻想的に描かれた、珠玉の連作短編集。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Ōgon no saru / Kashimada Maki.
“一流ホテルの地下のバーで宿泊客たちが酒を飲む。新婚の夫婦、兄と妹、愛人たちに囲まれる退廃的な女、物欲しげな男たち。裏の林を夜毎に若い女が歌い、徘徊する。激しくぶつかり、やがて溶け合う思弁と肉体の蠢き。三部からなる表題作と、ジャズのインプロビゼーションのように美しい中篇「ブルーノート」。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Haruka naru mizu no oto / Murayama Yuka.
“「僕が死んだら、その灰をサハラにまいてくれないかな」。亡き周の希望を叶えるために共にモロッコへと旅立つ4人。いまの恋愛関係の行き先に不安を覚える緋沙子。近づきつつある老いにおびえるゲイのフランス人、ジャン=クロード。ふとしたはずみで身体の関係ができ、気持ちの整理がつかない幼なじみの浩介と結衣。愛の深さ、強さとは。そして生きることとは。様々な愛の形を浮き彫りにする感動長編。” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Kaikyō no minami / Itō Takami.
“祖父の危篤の報せを受けて、僕は海をわたり北へと向かった。辿りついたのは父が捨てた町・紋別。そこで伯父から失踪した父を探すように言われた僕は記憶を掘り起し、その姿を追い求めてゆくが―。関西に生まれ育ったナイチ二世の僕が、父子とは、故郷とは何かを通して、家族と自らの存在に向き合う傑作長編。 ” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Enjirareta taimu toraberu / Dobashi Shinjirō.
“さまざまな愛の形を描く、大人のロードノベル
緋沙子は、若くして亡くなった弟の遺言を叶えるため、モロッコへ旅立つ。同行者は、弟の同居人だった中年のゲイと、弟の親友のカップル。4人の想いが交錯し、行き着いた先とは?(対談/沢木耕太郎)” (amazon.co.jp summary)

Kagurajima : 1 / Uchida Yasuo.
“ついにケータイを購入すべく、秋葉原を訪れた浅見光彦。その帰路、若い女性が彼の腕の中に倒れ込み、そのまま絶命してしまう。淡路島出身の彼女は、故郷の禁忌を破ったことを気にしていたという。古事記に「国生み」神話を残す淡路へ、引き寄せられるように赴いた光彦は、事件の背後に巨大な闇が存在することに気づく―。 ” (amazon.co.jp summary)

I wish [videorecording].
“Twelve-year-old Koichi, separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents’ divorce, begins to believe that Japan’s new bullet train service will create a miracle when the first trains pass each other at top speed, and enlists a group of friends on an improbable mission”–Container.

Love and honor [videorecording] / a film by Yoji Yamada.
“The final instalment in the Twilight Samurai trilogy. Shinnojo is a food taster for his clan who dreams of one day opening his own Kendo school. When he is blinded by poisonous food, he and his wife Kayo are worried that they will lose their income. Kayo must give her favours to the powerful samurai Shimada to survive. When Shinnojo beomes jealous, a bitter showdown for honour follows”–Container.

Take a look at this month’s additions to our Community Languages French collection featuring a broad range of literary work and fiction, including historical romances, intriguing mysteries and more.

Le cœur régulier : roman / Olivier Adam.
“Depuis la mort de son frère, Sarah est perdue. Ce n’était pas un accident, croit-elle. Pour en avoir le cœur net, elle se rend dans un village cotier au Japon, au pied des falaises où il fut heureux. Chez Natsume, vieil homme solitaire qui a guéri Nathan de son désespoir, Sarah va revivre les derniers moments de la vie de ce frère tant aimé. Éprouver les mêmes sensations… mais aussi les mêmes vertiges.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

Rien ne se passe comme prévu / Laurent Binet.
“Sous les perches des preneurs de son, on l’aperçoit parfois au milieu du cordon des gardes du corps. Des adolescents hystériques jurent qu’ils ne se laveront plus jamais la main après avoir serré la sienne. Des journalistes sont prêts à me piétiner pour rester au contact du candidat. Des ouvriers en colère hurlent, menaçants, qu’ils auront la peau des journalistes. Hier à Lyon, aujourd’ hui à Florange, demain à Varsovie ou à Londres, Marseille, Boulogne-sur-mer, Trappes, Rouen,Berlin, la Guadeloupe, la Guyane, le soleil ne se couche jamais sur la campagne présidentielle. Hollande, président ? On rêve. Les ennemis d’hier sont les alliés d’aujourd’ hui. Valls monte la garde. Montebourg se prend pour César. En face, l’adversaire brûle ses vaisseaux. A la télé, on disserte sans fin sur sa stature ou sur le halal. Pendant ce temps, Mélenchon récite des pages de Victor Hugo. Ceux qui trouvent la campagne chiante en parlent pendant des heures, des jours, des mois. Des hélicoptères tournent dans le ciel de Tulle. Tout est normal.” (Publisher’s Description; cover from Amazon.fr )

Les lisières : roman / Olivier Adam.
“Entre son ex-femme dont il est toujours amoureux, ses enfants qui lui manquent, son frère qui le somme de partir s’occuper de ses parents “pour une fois”, son père ouvrier qui s’apprête à voter FN et le tsunami qui ravage un Japon où il a vécu les meilleurs moments de sa vie, tout semble pousser Paul Steiner aux lisières de sa propre existence. De retour dans la banlieue de son enfance, il va se confronter au monde qui l’a fondé et qu’il a fui.En quelques semaines et autant de rencontres, c’est à un véritable état des lieux personnel, social et culturel qu’il se livre, porté par l’espoir de trouver, enfin, sa place. Dans ce roman ample et percutant, Olivier Adam embrasse dans un même souffle le destin d’un homme et le portrait d’une certaine France, à la périphérie d’elle-même.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary; cover from Amazon.fr)

Là où les tigres sont chez eux : roman / Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès.
“When the news correspondent Eleazard von Wogau receives the unpublished biography of Athanasius Kircher, the famous Jesuit scholar of the Baroque era, he retraces the scholar’s footsteps in Brazil, where on the way he meets many surprising characters. A true epic, great adventure story.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary; cover from Amazon.fr)

“L’alliance des trois : roman / Maxime Chattam.
Nobody saw it coming. The Great Storm: A storm of wind and snow, which plunged the country into darkness and terror. Strange blue flashes crawling along the buildings, palpate, in search of prey. When Matt and Tobias awaken, earth was not the same. Only now, they will have to organize. To understand. To survive– In this other world.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

Katiba / Jean-Christophe Rufin.
“Quatre touristes occidentaux sont assassinés clans le Sahara. L’attaque est signée al-Qaida au Maghreb islamique, dont tout laisse à penser que les partisans veulent aller beaucoup plus loin et rêvent de frapper la France au coeur. L’événement est présenté par les médias comme un fait divers tragique mais il met en alerte les services de renseignements du monde entier. Au centre de leurs jeux complexes, Jasmine. Jeune fonctionnaire du Quai d’Orsay apparemment sans histoire, elle émerge peu à peu comme la pièce maîtresse d’une opération d’envergure inédite. Quels liens cette Française à l’élégance stricte entretient-elle avec le monde musulman ? C’est en démêlant les fils les plus intimes de sa vie que la vérité se fera jour et que le suspense, haletant, trouvera son dénouement. Complice, victime ou agent double, Jasmine incarne le mélange de répulsion et de fascination que le fondamentalisme religieux exerce inconsciemment sur chacun de nous.” (Publisher’s description)

Le cœur de la terre : roman / Maxime Chattam. “Tobias disparu dans les entrailles du Raupéroden, Matt et Ambre retournent à Eden, la cité des Pans, pour avertir le conseil de la ville de l’imminence d’une invasion des Cyniks, fomentée par la reine Malronce. Les Pans n’ont plus le choix, ils doivent se préparer à combattre, notamment en développant leur Altération, ce pouvoir surnaturel octroyé par le Cataclysme. Avec L’Alliance des Trois, on découvrait un nouveau monde, avec Malronce son exploration. Le Coeur de la Terre montre les jeunes héros dans l’apprentissage de la vie en commun, de la politique, de la guerre et du rapport, nécessaire et salutaire, à la nature. Ainsi que la résolution des énigmes comme la vraie nature du Raupéroden et de la reine Malronce.” (Adapted from Amazon.fr summary)

Ô Verlaine! / Jean Teulé.
“Après avoir lu “Les poèmes saturniens” de Verlaine, Henri-Albert Cornuty quitte la ferme de ses parents à Béziers pour rejoindre à pied son idole. Il arrive à Paris en 1895 et assiste aux trois derniers mois du poète. A peine cinquantenaire, il souffre de nombreuses maladies mais multiplie les excès. Une période extravagante de la vie de Verlaine à travers le regard d’un contemporain.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary; cover from Amazon.fr)

Avenue des géants : roman / Marc Dugain.
Al Kenner serait un adolescent ordinaire s’il ne mesurait pas près de 2,20 mètres et si son QI n’était pas supérieur à celui d’Einstein. Sa vie bascule par hasard le jour de l’assassinat de John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Plus jamais il ne sera le même. Désormais, il entre en lutte contre ses mauvaises pensées. Observateur intransigeant d’une époque qui lui échappe, il mène seul un combat désespéré contre le mal qui l’habite. Inspiré d’un personnage réel, Avenue des Géants, récit du cheminement intérieur d’un tueur hors du commun, est aussi un hymne à la route, aux grands espaces, aux mouvements hippies, dans cette société américaine des années 60 en plein bouleversement, où le pacifisme s’illusionne dans les décombres de la guerre du Vietnam.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary; cover from Amazon.fr )

N’oublie pas d’être heureuse : roman / Christine Orban.“Ma mère disait:«N’oublie pas ton chapeau.» Mon père disait:« N’oublie pas d’être heureuse ». J’entends encore leurs voix portées par une conviction si simple qu’elles n’appelaient aucun commentaire. Comme s’ils pressentaient à quels dangers je pourrais m’exposer… Dans ce roman très singulier où l’on passe des lieux d’enfance, de lumière, de rêves et de liberté au monde très codé et fermé des adultes, Christine Orban touche avec humour, limpidité et mélancolie à l’essentiel de toute vie.” (Adapted from Amazon.fr summary)

Do you enjoy reading German Literature or brushing up on your German?
Have a taste of the latest additions to our Community Languages section featuring a broad range of literary fiction, including biographies, romances, intriguing mysteries and more. Have fun!

Shanghai fern von wo : Roman / Ursula Krechel.
“Shanghai am Vorabend des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Für Tausende Juden ist es das letzte Schlupfloch. Sie kamen ohne Visum und Illusionen mit einem Koffer und zehn Reichsmark in der Tasche: Anwälte, Handwerker, Kunsthistoriker, und wenn sie in dieser überfüllten Stadt und dem feucht drückenden Klima zurechtkommen wollten, dann waren Erfindungsgabe und Tatkraft gefordert. Ursula Krechels bewegender Roman erzählt von Menschen, die versuchen, das Überleben zu lernen”. (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Sommer der Entscheidung / Nele Neuhaus.
“Ein Leben ohne Pferde kann sich Elena nicht vorstellen. Wenn sie reitet, vergisst sie alles um sich herum. Alles außer Tim, den Jungen vom Nachbarhof, den sie liebt und mit dem sie doch nicht zusammen sein darf. Ein dunkles Familiengeheimnis zwingt die beiden, ihre Beziehung vor den anderen zu verbergen. Doch dann legt sich plötzlich ein Schatten über die Höfe der Gegend. Immer wieder verschwinden Pferde über Nacht, Elena und ihre Freunde geraten in tödliche Gefahr und es stellt sich die Frage, was stärker ist: Liebe oder Hass?” (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Bretonische Verhältnisse : ein Fall für Kommissar Dupin / Jean-Luc Bannalec.
“Im malerischen Künstlerdorf Pont Aven wird an einem heißen Julimorgen der Besitzer des berühmtesten Hotels am Platz brutal erstochen aufgefunden. Kommissar Dupin, eingefleischter Pariser und zwangsversetzt ans Ende der Welt, übernimmt den Fall und stößt in der bretonischen Sommeridylle auf ungeahnte Abgründe … Clever erzählt, komplex, spannend und mit vielen überraschenden Wendungen. ‘Bretonische Verhältnisse’ macht Lust auf die Bretagne und auf weitere Romane des Autors”. (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Er ist wieder da / Timur Vermes.
“Sommer 2011. Adolf Hitler erwacht auf einem leeren Grundstück in Berlin-Mitte. Ohne Krieg, ohne Partei, ohne Eva. Im tiefsten Frieden, unter Tausenden von Ausländern und Angela Merkel. 66 Jahre nach seinem vermeintlichen Ende strandet der Gröfaz in der Gegenwart und startet gegen jegliche Wahrscheinlichkeit eine neue Karriere – im Fernsehen. Dieser Hitler ist keine Witzfigur und gerade deshalb erschreckend real. Und das Land, auf das er trifft, ist es auch: zynisch, hemmungslos erfolgsgeil und auch trotz Jahrzehnten deutscher Demokratie vollkommen chancenlos gegenüber dem Demagogen und der Sucht nach Quoten, Klicks und “Gefällt mir”-Buttons. Eine Persiflage? Eine Satire? Polit-Comedy? All das und mehr: Timur Vermes’ Romandebüt ist ein literarisches Kabinettstück erster Güte”. (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Schneewittchen muss sterben : Kriminalroman / Nele Neuhaus.
“Sulzbach im Taunus: An einem regnerischen Novemberabend wird eine Frau von einer Brücke auf die Straße gestoßen. Die Ermittlungen führen Pia Kirchhoff und Oliver von Bodenstein in die Vergangenheit: Vor vielen Jahren verschwanden in dem kleinen Taunusort Altenhain zwei Mädchen. Ein Indizienprozess brachte den mutmaßlichen Täter hinter Gitter. Nun ist er in seinen Heimatort zurückgekehrt. Als erneut ein Mädchen vermisst wird, beginnt im Dorf eine Hexenjagd…” (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Unter dem Herzen : Ansichten einer neugeborenen Mutter / Ildikó von Kürthy ; mit Zeichnungen von Stefan Werthmüller.
“Datum: 9. September Schwangerschaftswoche: 6 + 6 Tage Zustand: Babys Herzchen schlägt, und ich ringe mit mir, meinen Frauenarzt zu bitten, in unser Gästezimmer einzuziehen. Nur zur Sicherheit und bloß für die nächsten acht Monate. Ich bin drauf und dran, ein anderer Mensch zu werden. Einer, den ich bisher noch nicht kannte: eine Mutter. Nie weiß ich, wann mich der Hunger, die Angst, das Glück oder die Übelkeit überkommt. Denn genauso überwältigend wie die Furcht, das Kind zu verlieren, kann die Furcht sein, das Kind zu bekommen. Neulich kamen mir die Tränen, als ich im Internet auf die Umstandsunterhose «Schluppi» stieß, in Größe und Form einem Zwei-Mann-Zelt nicht unähnlich. Was erwartet mich für ein Glück? Was für eine Liebe? Eine bedingungslose? Werde ich meinen Sohn auch noch leiden können, wenn er hundertdreißig Kilo wiegt und Fahrlehrer werden will, oder meine Tochter, wenn sie mit achtzehn beschließt, sich ein Arschgeweih tätowieren zu lassen und Weihnachten bei den Eltern ihres Idioten-Freundes zu feiern? Ich horche angestrengt in mich hinein. Spüre ich, dass ich zwei bin? Nein. Was soll mein Kind von mir denken? Kaum gezeugt und schon vernachlässigt. Ob ich eine schlechte Mutter werde? Eine hyperventilierende Megaglucke? Eine militante Rohkostschnipplerin? Eine Rabenmutter, die ihr Baby im Autositz vergisst? Werde ich alles falsch machen? Oder nur fast alles? «Unter dem Herzen» ist aufrichtig, lustig, bewegend, ein Reisebegleiter in die unglaubliche Realität von Eltern, Babys und Feuchttüchern, in der tatsächlich Sätze fallen wie: «Muttermund tut Wahrheit kund!» Ungelogen”. (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Unter Haien : Roman / Nele Neuhaus.
“New York, 1998: Die junge Investmentbankerin Alex Sontheim ist durch harte Arbeit und Zielstrebigkeit dort angekommen, wo sie immer hinwollte: ganz oben. Als sie den milliardenschweren Geschäftsmann Sergio Vitali kennenlernt, beginnt eine heiße Affäre. Alex genießt es, am Leben der wirklich Mächtigen teilzuhaben und gibt zunächst nichts auf die Stimmen, die sie vor Vitali warnen. Doch dann bringt eine ungeheuerliche Entdeckung Alex in tödliche Gefahr”. (Adapted from Amazon.de review).

Die Auswahl : Roman / Ally Condie ; aus dem Amerikanischen von Stefanie Schäfer.
“In search of a better life, Cassia joins a widespread rebellion against Society, where she is tasked with finding a cure to the threat of survival and must choose between Xander and Ky”– Provided by publisher.
The uprising begins so quickly in the finale of Condie’s Matched trilogy that Cassia, Ky, and Xander barely have enough time to register what is happening. Ky is still in the outer provinces, flying planes and waiting for orders. Cassia is now in the heart of the society, working as a sorter in Central and looking for clues that covertly signal the start of the rebellion. Xander works as a medical official and notes the beginnings of an outbreak: the plague that’s been engineered by the leader of the Rising, the Pilot, which only the Pilot himself can cure. In this powerful series send-off, Condie ignites a race against the clock to find a cure and, along the way, tests the beliefs of her weary protagonists and studies the moral implications of biological warfare. Even through trials, the love triangle between Cassia, Ky, and Xander remains fiercely romantic, poignant, and heartrending. There is an expected happy ending tucked neatly into the aftermath, sure to gladden fans eagerly anticipating this thought-provoking climax.–Jones, Courtney Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

DVD’s

Hell [videorecording].
“Once the source of life, light and warmth, the sun has now turned the entire world into a baked and barren wasteland. Forests are scorched. Animal carcasses line the roads. Even the nights are dazzlingly bright. Maria, her little sister Leonie, and Philip are heading for the mountains in seach of rumoured water. Along the way they meet the mysterioius Tom, who proves indispensible, but will be betray them at the next opportunity? As the tension grows, their paths cross with a new group of people and now their real battle for survival begins”–Container.

3 [videorecording] / a film by Tom Tykwer.
“Hanna and Simon, a couple in their early forties, live together in Berlin. With their 20th anniversary looming, they both become restless despite being truly and deeply in love. Unbeknownst to one another, they separately become acquainted with Adam, a younger man, and fall in love with him. Clearly not your typical 1930’s romp, this reinvention of those classic films … is a playful update: an intellectual study of a modern couple looking for redefinition in a world of absolutes”–Container.

Take a look at the new French additions to our Community Languages collection, featuring a broad range of literary fiction, including historical events and romances, intriguing mysteries and drama. Check out the latest French movies by browsing at the extensive library DVD collection, located in the Sound & Vision section under ‘Foreign’ and find your favourite DVDs. Have fun!

En bas, les nuages : 7 histoires / Marc Dugain.
“Seven stories linked by a narrative: Marc Dugain follows seven men who are now living in Dordogne, Morocco, the United States or in a remote island. Some of them may be cynical, others soft and dreamy, but all are plunged into the murky waters of everyday life. They drift, settle in or try to escape. Are they all losers? Dugain does not enlighten us on this. But, little by little, he builds a clever scenario which blooms throughout his narrative art to surprise the reader!” (Book Cover)

La part de l’autre : roman / Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
“Le 8 octobre 1908, Hitler est recalé à son concours d’entrée aux Beaux-Arts. Que se serait-il passé s’il y avait été admis ? Tel est, en partie, l’objet de ce roman. Car Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt s’est amusé à mener de front deux biographies romancées, celle du dictateur Hitler et celle du jeune Adolf H., admis au concours. Nous suivons ainsi pas à pas leur double évolution, les chapitres alternant leurs vies qui se répondent en écho. L’exercice aurait pu être intéressant s’il n’avait tourné un peu court, faute d’avoir un discours satisfaisant à tenir sur la psychologie des dictateurs. Existe-t-elle seulement?” (Book Cover)

Se réveiller en France et survivre le sourire aux lèvres / Sara Crompton Meade ; traduit de l’anglais par Simone Raffin, Emmanuelle le Cann et Marijo Huguet.
“Vue par les yeux de son fils de dix ans, l’auteur relate l’expérience de sa famille qui a quitté la Nouvelle-Zélande pour s’installer en France, sans billet de retour”
“Matthew, an 8 year old child lives happily with his family and friends in New Zealand enjoying his school and his hobbies. His world is turned completely upside down when his parents moved with him in Ramonville St Agne, France. Based on his perspective, Matthew describes in this book his first two years in France, the discovery of a new culture, a new school and, of course, everything in a new language. His story, illustrated with over 100 photographs, reveals, in a lively style, his anxieties and amusements, as he tries to adapt to his new life and survive with a smile.” Back cover.

L’Abyssin : relation des extraordinaires voyages de Jean-Baptiste Poncet, ambassadeur du Négus auprès de Sa Majeste Louis XIV / Jean-Christophe Rufin.
“Louis XIV had never met Negus, the mythical king of Ethiopia, but there were many diplomatic contacts between the two countries. Christophe Rufin based his first novel on the extraordinary adventure of Jean-Baptiste Poncet, through the deserts of Egypt and the mountains of Abyssinia before getting back to Versailles, with inexhaustible ingenuity. The stakes were high since Ethiopia was the object of lust for Jesuits, Capuchins and others who, under the pretext of serving God, would take any country under their control. Having understood the disastrous results that could lead to its mission, Poncet decided to do everything to safeguard the freedom and the mysteries of Ethiopia.” – Gerard Meudal

La chambre des officiers / Marc Dugain.
““The war of 14, I have not known. I mean, muddy trench, moisture through the bones, fat black rats in winter coats that run between the shapeless garbage, odors mixed with tobacco and buried excrement, metal which flows at regular intervals from the sky, as if God could not stop to hound the soldier. It is that war – which I have not known.” In the early days of 14, Adrian F, Engineering Lieutenant is hit by shrapnel on the banks of the Meuse. Disfigured and is transported to Val-de-Grâce, where he stayed five years in the House of Officers. Over the friendships that will forge there, he and his comrades, despite the loss of a brutal part of their identity, reveal all their humanity. This epic dramatic, moving, sometimes funny, we note that injury comes as grace.” (Book Cover)

Le parfum d’Adam / Jean-Christophe Rufin.
“Juliette is a young environmental activist, a real idealist. She participates in a commando operation to liberate animals. The private intelligence agency “Providence”, in the United States, is in charge of the case. They recruit two former agents, Paul and Kerry, who left the Secret Service to go back to school for further studies. Their investigation will plunge into the world of radical ecology and the defense of the environment. The search for a lost paradise, nostalgia for a time when man was in harmony with nature can lead to a murderous fanaticism. Cape Verde to Poland and the Brazilian cities of Colorado, the scent of Adam is a global thriller panting. But this adventure novel is a literary journey, where there are portraits, landscapes and humor that make it so successful.” (Book Cover)

Rainbow pour Rimbaud / Jean Teulé.
“Robert lives in Charleville-Mezieres, with his parents. Like some who know all the words to their favourite songs, Robert knows all Rimbaud by heart.
Isabelle, the operator at SNCF, yet knows nothing of Rimbaud. In between Cairo, Mauritius, Dakar and Tarrafal, these two indulge in love and poetry.” (Book Cover)

Une exécution ordinaire / Marc Dugain.
“In August 2000, a Russian nuclear submarine sunk into the depths of the Barents Sea. Vania Altman was one of the last survivors. Half a century after the death of Stalin, it was KGB that governed Russia. Taking us behind the scenes with the FBI’s curse Edgar, Marc Dugain offers a true story about contemporary Russia. Inspired by actual events, he reveals the profound disregard for life shown by the paranoid guardians of the Russian Empire.” (Book Cover)

La mélancolie du dimanche : roman / Christine Orban.
“Sundays are not like other days. Especially when a young woman finds a lost letter from the man she had fallen in love ten years ago. And the story goes on …” (Book Cover)

Ma vie avec Mozart / Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
“How can you be yourself, accept death and recognizing happiness along the way? For the author of Oscar and the Pink Lady, Mozart is the key that opens all doors, those of passion or of universal love, freedom and the spirit of childhood. His music is filled with light, grace and mystery. This book and a CD of works embrace the greatest Mozart interpreters: Gundula Janowitz, Frederica von Stade, Renee Fleming, Anne Sofie von Otter, Maria Stader, Yvonne Minton, Barbara Bonney, Vladimir Ashkenazy … under the direction of Karl Böhm, Sir Georg Solti, Ferenc Fricsay, Sir Neville Marriner and more.” (Book Cover)

DVDs

The age of reason [videorecording] / a film by Yann Samuell.
“Margaret is an accomplished businesswoman who manages her career with steely determination. But on her 40th birthday, a provincial solicitor contacts her with some forgotten letters she wrote to herself when she was seven, the age of reason. Immersed in the letters, Margaret takes a journey back into hidden memories, and slowly realises that she has lived a life very different from her childhood aspirations….” (Syndetics Summary)

My piece of the pie [videorecording].
“After losing her job at the local factory, single mother France enrolls in a housekeeper training program and lands a job cleaning the apartment of wealthy power broker Steve. When Alban, Steve’s 3-year-old son, arrives on the doorstep to stay with his dad, Steve soon realizes he might need more than a cleaner. France realizes she might now have the perfect opportunity for payback against the man who almost single-handedly shut down the factory where she worked.” (Syndetics Summary)

The women on the 6th floor [videorecording] / Phillippe Rousselet presents a film by Phillippe le Guay.
“Paris, 1960. Jean-Louis lives a bourgeois existence with his neurotic socialite wife Suzanne while their children are away at boarding school. The couple’s world is turned upside down when they hire Maria, a Spanish maid who introduces Jean-Louis to an alternative reality a few stories up on the sixth floor. Befriending a group of sassy Spanish maids, the women teach him there’s more to life than stocks and bonds, and their influence on the house ultimately transforms everyone’s life.” (Syndetics Summary)

Take a look at this month’s additions to our Japanese Language collection.
More than 50 Japanese fiction and non-fiction books have been added to our collection recently including social aspects and culture, as well as, exploring the innovation secrets of Steve Jobs, the man who revolutionized computers, in ‘Inside Steve’s brain’.

Check out the latest Community Languages movies by browsing at the extensive library DVD collection located in the Sound & Vision section under ‘Foreign’.
For Japanese speakers here is a small selection of DVD’s for you to enjoy. Have fun!

Japanese Books & DVD’s

Bokutachi wa sekai o kaeru koto ga dekinai : but, we wanna build a school in Cambodia / Hada Kōta.
“医大生の甲太は受験勉強をして大学に入ったものの平凡な日常に疑問を抱いていた。そんなある日「百五十万円寄付してもらえればカンボジアに小学校が建つ」というパンフレットを偶然見かける。これだ!と感じた甲太は、勢いで仲間を募り、クラブイベントを企画して、寄付金の捻出をはかろうと奔走する。同時に、カンボジアにも出向き、地雷除去、ゴミ山で暮らす家族、売春宿で働く少女やエイズ問題などの過酷な現実に触れ、自分のダメさ加減と正対することになり…。決してきれい事だけではない、一歩踏み出す勇気を与えてくれるノンフィクション” (Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Yōkame no semi / Kakuta Mitsuyo.
逃げて、逃げて、逃げのびたら、私はあなたの母になれるだろうか…。東京から名古屋へ、女たちにかくまわれながら、小豆島へ。偽りの母子の先が見えない逃亡生活、そしてその後のふたりに光はきざすのか。心ゆさぶるラストまで息もつがせぬ傑作長編。第二回中央公論文芸賞受賞作。 (Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Ore no obasan / Sagawa Mitsuharu.
書店で見つけた時、帯に児玉清さんの推薦文があり、気になって数ページ立ち読み。冒頭から引き込まれてしまいました。図書館にもまだなく、文庫本にもなってないので、いったんは忘れようとしましたが、読みたい気持ちが勝り１週間後に購入。一気読みしました。
主人公が冷静に状況を判断しつつ、１４歳らしく傷ついたり、プライドを持って乗りきったり、どんどんたくましく成長していく姿がすばらしい。まわりの大人もころびながら、弱いところを持ちながら、生きていて、じーんときました。この１冊で貴重な経験をした気分です。(Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Kuchinui / Bandō Masako.
原発事故による放射能汚染を恐れて夫婦が逃れてゆくのは、作者が坂東眞砂子ですから、当然高知県の山の中です。夫の竣介は陶芸が趣味ですから、この山奥でも窯を作り創作に励みます。妻の麻由子はブログを開き、夫の窯のＰＲをするなど、順調に生活をスタートした筈でした。ところが、この窯の位置が古くからの「赤線」にかかっていることから、いろいろな嫌がらせが始まります。その後は、坂東眞砂子らしいストーリー展開です。(Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Sutību Jobuzu no ryūgi = Inside Steve’s brain / Rīandā Keinī ; Miki Toshiya yaku.
“「個性こそ最強の戦略」。世界を熱狂させるビジネスの創造主たちは、見る者にそう思わせる迫力がある。自分を自分たらしめる絶対価値を「個性」と呼ぶのなら、個性を極限までつきつめていったところにこそ、最強の戦略がある。世界で最も卓越した形で、自らの個性を戦略へと高めた人物――それがスティーブ・ジョブズだ。完璧主義者、エリート主義者、気分屋、偏執狂。「ジョブズは狂人と紙一重」と眉をひそめる向きもある。しかしそうした印象にとらわれていては、スティーブ・ジョブズの底力を読み誤る。ジョブズは、自らの関心事や個性に正直なまま、妥協なき芸術性とすぐれたビジネス手腕とを融合させた独自の経営を行っている。他者とは一線を画す自らの個性を、キャリア上の強みに転じたのだ。
本書は、ジョブズとアップル社を12年以上にわたって追いつづけてきた著者が、ジョブズの事業哲学を詳細に分析した一冊だ。ジョブズ本人に限らず、その周辺の人たちに至るまでさまざまな角度から取材・資料収集し、無数の「点」をつないでいった先に、偏見から解放されたジョブズ像、アップル像が映し出される。(Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Chikyū sensei / Miyashita Ryūji.
“この本には、派手な仕掛けやトリックがあるわけではない。派遣切りでホームレスになった若者が再生するといっても、コツコツと働いて部屋を借りるだけのことだ。ただそれが、かえってリアリティになっている。その原動力になるのが、人との出会いだ。台湾人の女子学生で社会企業家を目指すメイラン。彼女への恋が、主人公のモチベーションになる。それは、ただの容姿に惹かれる色恋ではない。彼女の持つ理想や人間としての品性に惹かれ、彼女にふさわしい人間になりたいと願うのである。そしてもう一人、地球先生。街角でゴミを漁る、一見ホームレスだが、実は環境問題を研究する大学の先生だというユニークな設定。この地球先生との出会いによって、主人公は自分の生き方について真剣に問い直していくのだ。このように、この本の魅力のひとつは、脇役の個性にある。東北大震災以降、右肩上がりを前提とした上昇志向の生き方が見直される時代、多くの人に読んで欲しい一冊である” 。(Adapted from Amazon.co.jp summary)

Outrage [videorecording] / Magnet Releasing presents a Bandai Visual, TV Tokyo and Office Kitano production of a Takeshi Kitano film.
“In a ruthless battle for power several yakuza clans vie for the favour of their head family in the Japanese underworld. The rival bosses seek to rise through the ranks by scheming and making allegiances sworn over saké. Long-time yakuza Otomo has seen his kind go from elaborate body tattoos and severed fingertips to becoming important players on the stock market. Theirs is a never-ending struggle to end up on top, or at least survive, in a corrupt world where there are no heroes but constant betrayal and vengeance”–Container.

Battle royale. II, Requiem [videorecording]
“It’s three years after the events of the original Battle Royale, and Shuya Nanahara is now an internationally-known terrorist determined to bring down the government. His terrorist group, Wild Seven, stages an attack that levels several buildings in Tokyo on Christmas Day, killing 8000 people. Exactly one year afterward, the government enacts the “New Century Terrorist Counter-Measure Alternative” program, a.k.a. the BRII act, and sends the forty-two students of Shikanotoride Junior High Class 3-B to hunt Nanahara and his cohorts down in their island stronghold. Shiori Kitano, the daughter of the late headmaster of Nanahara’s Battle Royale, signs up for the program, to avenge her father. In order for the government to study the benefits of “teamwork”, the new students work in pairs, with their collars electronically linked so that if one of them is killed, the other dies as well. They must kill Nanahara in three days – or die.”–Container

13 assassins [videorecording].
“Thirteen brave samurai must face overwhelming odds in an epic battle against a sadistic lord and his army of 200 to prevent him from plunging Japan into war.”–Container

Do you enjoy reading Spanish Literature or brushing up on your Spanish?
Have a taste of the latest additions to our Community Languages section featuring a broad range of literary fiction, including biographies, romances, intriguing mysteries and more. Have fun!

El origen perdido / Matilde Asensi.
“No entiendo cómo puede haber personas que, leyendo los libros, no comprendan su contenido. Para empezar, “El origen perdido” es muy original en cuanto a la temática. En Europa y, en general, en el mundo, abundan novelas sobre los templarios y la vida y milagros de Cristo… Al menos, este libro centra su atención en otra cultura milenaria y muy desconocida para la mayoría: la América precolombina. Decir que este libro es un compendio enciclopédico es no haber leído correctamente. Esta novela es capaz de llevarte desde Barcelona hasta la capital del imperio Inca para, posteriormente, introducirse en el Amazonas. La descripción de los lugares, las fuentes históricas consultadas y verídicas, el ritmo trepidante… todo esto hacen de la novela una obra entretenida que, sin ser la octava maravilla del mundo, responde bien a lo que se espera de una novela histórica tan original como es. Nada que envidiar, por ejemplo, al “Código Da Vinci”. Recomiendo, de esta misma autora, “El último catón”, que para los amantes de la cultura europea, es más ilustrativo y seguro que del gusto de más público.” (By Daniel Fernandez Guerrero – Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

El abuelo que saltó por la ventana y se largó / Jonas Jonasson ; traducción del sueco de Sofía Pascual Pape.
“Es una novela con una historia original, muy entretenida y muy bien escrita. Además está escrita en clave de humor lo que hace que se lea en menos de una semana. Estoy segura que sorprenderá a más de un lector.” (Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Las hortensias y otros cuentos / Felisberto Hernández.
“Felisberto Hernandez has long been considered «a writer’s writer, more admired by his colleagues than known by the public at large» (Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, Yale University). His stories create a coherent system of allusions and correspondences, a system that reaches its summit in masterpieces such as «Las Hortensias» and «La casa inundada». As Hoffmann, who preceded him, and Cortazar, who followed, Felisberto turned away from the literary trends of his times and departed on his own journey, undertaking the task of redefining the human being and replacing the accepted notion of material reality with what he called «the mystery»: small and deep daily realities that fall outside an ever narrowing focus on the homogenous and utilitarian. A trained musician and composer, Felisberto elaborated his literary compositions as musical structures, based on the relations among notes and phrases. In this edition Ana Maria Hernandez -who bears the same name as Felisbertos’ second daughter and teaches Advanced Spanish Composition at CUNY- analyzes the gradual development of Felisberto’s theory and praxis of composition by commenting on his most representative short stories, emphasizing the intertextuality of the recurring symbols and themes throughout his literary production. This approach transforms this edition in an exceptional basis for Creative Writing and Advanced Spanish Composition courses, exposing students to texts that exert a noticeable influence upon acclaimed writers such as Julio Cortazar -his biggest fan- Juan Carlos Onetti, and Italo Calvino.” (Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

La aventura de un fotógrafo en La Plata / Adolfo Bioy Casares.
“Though warned to expect surprises in the city, young provincial photographer Almanza is hardly prepared for what transpires in La Plata. Just off the bus, he becomes entangled with the family of Don Juan Lombardo. Don Juan adopts Almanza as a look-alike for his estranged son, while his daughters, Julia and Griselda, find their way to his bed. Their attachment is a mystery. Is Don Juan an old-fashioned country gentleman–or a swindler out to collect on his son’s insurance policy? Are his daughters sincere–or simply accomplices? Divergent elements fall into place somewhat after an attempt on Almanza’s life. But even as he leaves La Plata with the beautiful Julia, things are not entirely clear. Realism and fantasy blend seamlessly in this dreamlike coming-of-age novel in which the ultimate mystery is life itself.” – Library Journal – Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass-Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc

El último Catón / Matilde Asensi.
“Like her previous efforts, El sal”n de mbar (The Amber Room, Debolsillo, 2000) and the best-selling Iacobus (Debolsillo, 2001), Asensi’s third novel is a tightly plotted historical thriller. Sister Ottavia Salina, a paleographer and art historian from the Vatican’s Secret Archive, must decipher the meaning of the strange tattoos found on the corpse of an Ethiopian man, as well as the three pieces of wood next to him that authorities suspect may be relics of Christ’s true cross. Aided by a Coptic archaeologist from Alexandria and a captain from the Swiss Guard, Ottavia becomes enmeshed in a quest for the Staurophylaches, a secret sect that has been systematically stealing relics from Catholic and Orthodox churches around the world. The sect’s initiation ritual consists of the expiation of the seven deadly sins, following clues provided in Dante’s Divine Comedy. This quest removes Ottavia from her previously sheltered existence, testing not only her intelligence and courage but also her vocation. Asensi admirably blends scholarship with fiction to create believable characters and suspenseful twists. She also conveys a strong sense of place, bringing Byzantium and its past to life. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper The Ecotimes, Asensi stresses how much research went into her writing and praises the recent boom in historical novels. It is a “necessary phenomenon,” she claims, “because we lack a great deal of knowledge about our past.” Recommended for public and academic libraries as well as bookstores. David Pardue, Univ. of Kansas Libs., Lawrence (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved” (Publisher Weekly)

Diario de la guerra del cerdo / Adolfo Bioy Casares.
“Adolfo Bioy Casares has collaborated with Jorge Luis Borges on a number of works. They compiled Anthology of Fantastic Literature (1940), a documentation of the development of Spanish American suprarealism, and Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi (1981), a playful and inventive variation on the theme of the detective who cannot visit the scene of the crime. Bioy Casares’s numerous works are characterized by intelligence and a sense of playful fantasy. The Invention of Morel (1953), concerns a scientist’s illusions about immortality. Asleep in the Sun is a bizarre tale written in an epistolary form. Ultimately the recipient of the letter is left to wonder whether, in fact, the puzzle has any solution or whether, like much of Bioy Casares’s and Borges’s work, it is an inside joke between author and reader.” (Book Cover)

Julio Cortázar : una biografía revisada / Miguel Herráez.
“An investigative exploration of one of the most influential Spanish-language writers of the 20th century, this biography collects a plethora of facts from Julio Cortazar’s personal and professional life, from Buenos Aires to Paris, and is based on an exhaustive knowledge of his work. Accessible and supplemented by black-and-white photographs, a chronology, a complete authorial bibliography, a reference bibliography, and a prologue written by Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, a personal friend of Cortazar’s, readers will discover both the man and the literary heavyweight.
Una exploración investigativa de uno de los escritores más influyentes en lengua castellana del siglo XX, esta biografía recoge una plétora de datos de la vida personal y profesional de Julio Cortázar, desde Buenos Aires a París, a partir de un conocimiento completo de su obra. Asequible y complementado por fotografías en blanco y negro, una cronología, una bibliografía completa del autor, una bibliografía referencial y un prólogo escrito por el escritor nicaragüense Sergio Ramírez, un amigo personal de Cortázar, el lector descubrirá a la vez al hombre y al peso pesado literario.” (Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Martín Ojo de Plata / Matilde Asensi.
“Esta gran saga del Siglo de Oro se inicia con Tierra Firme y continúa con Venganza en Sevilla, ambas incluidas en este volumen y publicadas con anterioridad por separado, y concluirá pronto con una nueva entrega, el esperado final que millones de lectores aguardan. La obra cuenta con un prólogo de la autora explicando las razones por las que esta época de la historia de nuestro país la enganchó y sus inquietudes personales al respecto. Este nuevo volumen incluye también el perfil de los personajes más destacados de la historia, así como un cuiadro cronológico de la situación social y política de la época. Para salvar su vida, la joven Catalina Solís tuiene que adoptar la personalidad de su hermano Martín Nevares, muerto en el Caribe en el abordaje de los piratas ingleses a su galera. Después de dos años en una isla desierta y haciéndose pasar por Martín, muy pronto se convertirá en el contrabandista Martín Ojo de Plata. Así se inicia una aventura que le llevará hasta la Sevilla Imperial para, entre otras cosas, poder cumplir el juramento hecho a su padre adoptivo de acabar con una importante familia de comerciantes a Indias. los Curvo. El contrabandista Martín Ojo de Plata y la elegante y resuelta Catalina nos pasean por los finales del siglo XVI y principios del XVII (pleno Siglo de Oro) para mostrarnos toda la riqueza, miseria y complejidad que esa época conlleva. Asensi, con su maestría habitual, transforma el aburrido descubrimiento de América, las colonias y el comercio entre los dos mundos, con piratería incluida, en un relato de acción que, con un marco histórico riguroso, desmonta muchos de los tópicos de la época.” (Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Antología de la literatura fantástica / [selección], Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Silvina Ocampo.
“Antologia de la literatura fantastica reune textos exquisitos seleccionados por los tres escritores argentinos mas renombrados en el mundo. Entre los textos seleccionados figuran: John Aubrey, Max Beerbohm, Jose Bianco, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Leon Bloy, Jorge Luis Borges, Delia Ingenieros, Martin Buber, Richard Burton, Arturo Cancela, Pilar de Lusarreta, Thomas Carlyle, Lewis Carrol, Jean Cocteau, Julio Cortazar, G.K Chesterton, Chuang Tzu/, Santiago Davobe, Alexandra David- Neel, Lord Dunsany, Macedonio Fernandez, James George Frazer, George Frost, Elena Garro, Giles Holloway Horn.” (Adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Sinsajo / Suzanne Collins ; traducción de Pilar Ramírez Tello.
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. A revolution is unfolding, and it is up to Katniss to accept responsibility for countless lives and to change the course of the future of Panem (Syndetics summary).

Cartas a un joven novelista / Mario Vargas Llosa.
The writer, politician, and journalist Mario Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa, Peru on March 28, 1936. From 1950 to 1952 he attended Lima’s Leoncio Prado Military Academy. He was also enrolled at the Colegio Nacional San Miguel de Piura. He studied literature and law at the National University of San Marcos and received his Ph.D from the University of Madrid in 1959. Considered to be one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists, he rose to fame in the 1960s with such controversial novels as The Time of the Hero, The Green House, and Conversation in the Cathedral. His works vary in genre from literary criticism and journalism to comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels, and political thrillers. His other works include Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, The Feast of the Goat, and The War of the End of the World. He has won many awards for his writing, including the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize, the Premio Leopoldo Alas in 1959, the Premio Biblioteca Breve in 1962, the Premio Planeta in1993, the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1994, the Jerusalem Prize in 1995, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. (Bowker Author Biography)

Here is a collection of our new additions in Spanish, French, Dutch, and Russian books, featuring romance and suspense, fitness, hobbies and biographies.
And, if you are keen to learn a new language, including English, ‘Mango Languages online’ will be a great place to start. Mango is an online language-system that can help you learn the language of your choice. Enjoy!

Spanish Books
En llamas / Suzanne Collins ; traducción de Pilar Ramírez Tello.
“”La segunda novela de la trilogia de ‘Los juegos del hambre’” “By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.” (Syndetics summary)

Gringo viejo / Carlos Fuentes ; edición de María Fernanda Lander.
“Through this fictional account of the 1913 disappearance of the U.S. writer Ambrose Bierce south of the border, Fuentes analyzes the often strained relations between the U.S. and Mexico. From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.” (Booklist)

Agua para elefantes / Sara Gruen ; traducción de Manu Berástegui.
“Ninety-something-year-old Jacob Jankowski remembers his time in the circus as a young man during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, and Rosie, the elephant, who gave them hope.” (Book Cover)

French Books
Le cœur d’une autre : roman / Tatiana de Rosnay.roman / Tatiana de Rosnay.
“Tatiana de Rosnay was born September 28th, 1961 near Paris. Her father is French scientist Joël de Rosnay, her grandfather was painter Gaëtan de Rosnay and her great-grandmother was Russian actress Natalia Rachewskïa, director of the Leningrad Pushkin Theatre from 1925 to 1949. Tatiana was raised in Paris and then in Boston. She moved to England in the early 80’s and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. When she returned to Paris, Tatiana became press attaché for Christie’s and then Paris Editor for Vanity Fair magazine till 1993. Since 1992, Tatiana has published eight novels in France. Sarah’s Key, her first novel written in English, sold over 400,000 copies worldwide. Her novels also include A Secret Kept and The House I loved. Tatiana works as a journalist for French ELLE and is literary critic for Psychologies Magazine and the Journal du Dimanche. Tatiana lives in Paris with her family. (Bowker Author Biography)

Sept ans après : roman / Guillaume Musso.
“Artiste bohème au tempérament de feu, Nikki fait irruption dans la vie sage et bien rangée de Sebastian. Tout les oppose, mais ils s’aiment passionnément. Bientôt, ils se marient et donnent naissance à des jumeaux : Camille et Jeremy.Pourtant, le mariage tourne court : reproches, tromperies, mépris ; la haine remplace peu à peu l’amour. Au terme d’un divorce orageux, chacun obtient la garde d’un des enfants : Sebastian éduque sa fille avec une grande rigueur alors que Nikki pardonne facilement à son fils ses écarts de conduite. Les années passent. Chacun a refait sa vie, très loin de l’autre. Jusqu’au jour où Jeremy disparaît mystérieusement. Fugue ? Kidnapping ? Pour sauver ce qu’elle a de plus cher, Nikki n’a d’autre choix que de se tourner vers son ex-mari qu’elle n’a pas revu depuis sept ans. Contraints d’unir leurs forces, Nikki et Sebastian s’engagent alors dans une course-poursuite, retrouvant une intimité qu’ils croyaient perdue à jamais.” (Adapted from Amazon.fr summary)

Dutch Books
Erken mij / Esther Verhoef.
“Een jonge vrouw is een halfjaar in therapie geweest bij een veertien jaar oudere psycholoog voor een burn-out. Als de therapie ten einde loopt, lukt het hem niet om afscheid te nemen van zijn cliënte: hij nodigt haar uit voor een romantisch weekend in Parijs.” (Book Cover)

Een tafel vol vlinders / Tim Krabbé.
“En Bram was zijn zoon. Juist omdat hij het niet was – van je eigen zoon zou je verplicht zijn te houden, waardoor je alttijd moest twijfelen of je het wel echt deed; van Bram hield hij omdat het Bram was.” (Book Cover)

Russian Books
Novomirskiĭ dnevnik / Aleksandr Tvardovskiĭ.

Otkroite v sebe khudozhnika = Drawing on the right side of the brain / Betti Edvards.

Gimnastika i aktivnyĭobraz zhizni vo vremi︠a︡ beremennosti.

Take a look at a selection of the latest titles added to our Community Languages section. We have expanded the range of German and Spanish books to include literary work, crime, historical fiction as well as cooking. And, there are also magazines with the latest news, politics and fashion from around the world, including some DVDs for you to enjoy!

German Books

Konstanze : die zwei Könige : historischer Roman / Elisabeth Herrmann.
“Palermo in the 13th Century: Constance of Aragon and Frederick, heir to the Hohenstaufen who is exiled in Sicily, become the objects of everyone’s desire. Shortly after a dream wedding Constance gave birth to a beautiful daughter and their life was filled with happiness. It is not to last though since king Otto’s army marched to southern Italy. Frederick with only fifty men is opposed to him. Constance fears for his life and rides after him bravely. Will she be able to save Frederick? A colorful epic and the novel of great love.” – (adapted from Amazon.de summary)

Zero : Thriller / John S. Cooper ; aus dem Amerikanischen Englisch von Tim Avenhass.
“One planet, one currency – a world conspiracy! After the huge success of his political thriller about the conspiracies of the 11th September (”The fifth plane”) John S. Cooper plunges his readers and the heroes Max Fuller and Nick Larson in another adventure. What the journalist Max Fuller finds in his e-mail one morning looks at first glance like a hysterical old wives’ tale: An anonymous Layla1990 claims that the reclusive billionaire Robert Cuttler murdered his son David – because David and his new-age commune have created a digital replacement currency, the Zero. Fuller will gladly take the opportunity to escape from his worried girlfriend Liz to California he tries to get a harmless senior appointment with Cuttler and instead he gets a visit from determined killers. Fuller realizes that he has fallen into a conspiracy which has far more to target than a new world financial order. And the conspirators are not destitute terrorists but they are among the most influential men in the world.” – (adapted from Amazon.de summary)

Der Tod des Widersachers : Roman / Hans Keilson ; mit einem Nachwort von Heinrich Detering.
“A young Jewish man in Nazi Germany recognizes the unholy perpetual cycle of violence and wants to grasp it by trying to understand his mortal enemy, Hitler. He experienced a profound shock when he first saw Hitler as his car was driven through the crowd. Although the man himself seemed to be an average guy, he even leaned down to the children to show he cared but the heavily armed, sinister and despicable-looking bodyguards around him endorsed only violence. In 1936 Keilson emigrated to the Netherlands and lives there to this day as a psychoanalyst. You can tell by his style, that he aimed to address a vital issue for him. He claims -”I do nothing else but writing what I think and what motivates me.” There are usually plain-looking scenes from his life, which were important for him and his emotional issues such as the injuries he had received as a Jewish child, when he was expelled from the Games.” – (adapted from Amazon.de summary)

Knödel-Blues : Oma Eberhofers bayerisches Provinz-Kochbuch / Rita Falk.
“If we are hungry and would like to fill our stomach we usually go to our grandma. And that’s where Franz goes when he feels hungry. Because there’s roast pork with dumplings and cabbage rolls or steamed dumplings prepared by his Bavarian grandma who has finally written down her recipes. And at her nineties has actually become a successful cookbook author.” – (adapted from Amazon.de summary)

Spanish Books

Mauricio, o, Las elecciones primarias / Eduardo Mendoza.
“Mauritius, a dentist returns to Barcelona during the change over. Fate will take him to participate in the campaign of the Socialist Party and establish a closer relationship with two women who will eventually reveal the darker aspects of their worlds. In 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona provide a background of political disenchantment.” – (adapted from Amazon.com summary)

La ciudad de los prodigios / Eduardo Mendoza.
“After several attempts, I realized that the main protagonist was Bouvila Onofre, an energetic, fantastic and rabble character, with a dark and ruthless face, embodied the spirit of Barcelona better than anyone.In the period between the two World Fairs Barcelona, a tumultuous city, busy and colorful, real and fictional, witnessed the adventures of Bouvila Onofre and his ascension to the pinnacle of financial power and crime. A satirical fantasy and playful solid support which does not exclude the initial realist fable freest.” – (adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Magazines

Paris Match is a French weekly magazine which covers national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle highlights. L’Express is also a French weekly news magazine while Brigitte is the largest women’s magazine in Germany, with a circulation of around 800,000 and an estimated readership of 3,6 million. Der Spiegel is also a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg and is one of Europe’s largest publications of its kind, with a large weekly circulation.

These magazines can be found in the Community Languages section, on the 1st Floor of the Central Library (South End).

DVDs

Hell [videorecording] = L’enfer / a film by Danis Tanovic.
“Hell is a portrait of a family torn apart by the past. Three sisters, Sophie, Celine and Anne have drifted apart since a traumatic childhood incident. Sophie, the eldest, is married with young children, but suspects her photographer husband of having an affair. Youngest sister Anne is a student involved in a messy relationship with a tutor. And middle sister Celine lives a joyless life looking after her mother. When a young man takes an interest in her, she little suspects the true motive behind his approaches.” – (adapted from Cover description)

The skin I live in [videorecording] / El Deseo presents a film by Almodóvar.
“Since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr. Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has wanted to create a new skin with which he could have saved her. After twelve years, he cultivates a skin that is a real shield against every assault. Now, besides the years of study and experimentation, the unscrupulous doctor needs to find an accomplice, and a human guinea pig. Marrilia, the woman who looked after him from birth, is his most faithful accomplice. But where will they find the human pig?” – (adapted from Cover description)

Have a taste of the latest fiction books in Japanese, Italian and Spanish – this month’s additions feature a broad range of literary fiction, including historical romances, intriguing mysteries and more.

And, if you are keen to learn a new language, ‘Mango Languages online’ will be a great place to start. Mango is an online language system that can help you learn the language of your choice. Have fun!

Japanese

1Q84 = Ichi-kew-hachi-yon : a novel / Murakami Haruki.
日本のみならず世界中で大ベストセラー。説明無用、村上春樹の「1Q84」book 3 がついに図書館にもお目見え。春樹ファンもそうじゃない人も、読んでみないわけにはいかない村上春樹の集大成。
Immensely popular, critically-acclaimed, Haruki Murakami’s ‘1Q84 book 3’ has finally arrived at the library. “A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet.” – (adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Poritikon / Kirino Natsuo.
東北に芸術家たちが創ったユートピア「唯腕村」を舞台に、村の後継者と謎の美少女の運命の交錯を、過疎、高齢化、農業破綻、食品偽装など現代日本社会をとりまく波の中で描く。５年の歳月をかけた850頁という大作だが、一気に読ませる筆力はさすがの一言。
One of the most prominent Japanese writers today, Natsuo Kirino (Grotesque) took five years to complete this new novel. Set in the village called ‘Iwanmura’, which was created by artists as a utopia, haunting drama unfolds. A massive 850-pages-long work yet highly readable.

Gegege no nyōbō : Jinsei wa … owari yokereba, subete yoshi !! / Mura, Nunoe.
「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」の作者、妖怪研究家としても知られる水木しげる氏の夫人が語る夫婦随伴の半生記。見合い結婚、長い極貧時代から人気作家へ、常にユニークな夫の傍で「平凡な」夫人が見たものは。心温まる自伝。
The author tells her life with her husband Shigeru Mizuki, who is a popular manga artist and a leading expert of spectre (yokai), including their arranged marriage and living in a state of extreme poverty. Being always beside her unique husband, ‘ordinary’ wife tells her story for the first time.

Shōsetsu no yōni = Too much happinese / Munro Alice;Kotake Yumiko.
カナダの至宝、アリス・マンローの国際ブッカー賞受賞（09年）後、初の短編集。３０頁あまりの短編の中に人生が凝縮され、濃密な時が流れる。長編を読む以上に小説の醍醐味を味わわせてくれる、まさに短編の女王というにふさわしい珠玉の物語集。
Superbly executed short stories by the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize, Alice Munro. “With clarity and ease, Alice Munro once again renders complex, difficult events and emotions into stories that shed light on the unpredictable ways in which men and women accommodate and often transcend what happens in their lives.” – (adapted from Amazon.com summary)

Italian

Le prime luci del mattino / Fabio Volo.
“Even the critics would agree, after his latest success with his book “The time that I would,” that Fabio Volo is a real phenomenon. His books fill up the charts, the kids’ backpacks, the adult’s briefcases and the hands of travelers and dreamers. But beyond his fame with media, Fabio Volo’s books are full of emotion, humor and intelligence.” (Book cover)

Mr Gwyn / Alessandro Baricco.
‘”While walking through a path of Regent Park – a path that he chose, among many others – Jasper Gwyn suddenly had the clear impression that what he did every day to earn his living was no longer appropriate for him. Many times CIA had brushed that thought in his head, but never as clear and obvious as this time.” (Book cover)

La cena / Herman Koch ; traduzione dall’olandese di Giorgio Testa.
“This is a psychological novel about the moral dilemma in which parents find themselves when their children have done something serious. It’s the story of two people who are having dinner at a fancy restaurant. A pleasant chatter, discussing the movies that they have seen recently, including their plans for future holidays. They do not have the courage to face the topic of which their meeting is all about: the future of their children. A long story, an exciting, provocative and contemporary drama, that describes the ‘intimacy of a family and the disturbing friction between the needs of the heart and those of morality.” (Book cover)

Spanish

Inés y la alegría / Almudena Grandes.
“Toulouse, Summer 1939. Carmen de Pedro, responsible for the decimated French Spanish Communists, crosses with Jesús Monzón, a lesser member of the party without her intuition, returning home with an ambitious plan. A few years later, in 1944, Monzón, has become her partner and organized the most disciplined group of the Resistance against the German occupation. The resistance group prepares the Spanish National Union and has an army of men ready to invade Spain. Among them is Galán, who has fought in the Association of Spanish guerrillas and believes, like many others in the fall of 1944, after the Allied landings and the withdrawal of the Germans, it is possible to establish a Republican government in Vielha. Not far from there, Inés is reclusive and guarded by her brother, provincial delegate of Falange in Lleida. Inés has suffered all the calamities from supporting the Republican cause during the war alone in Madrid, but now, when she hears the announcement of the secret operation on Radio Reconquest of the Spanish Pyrenees, Inés finding courage and a secret joy, decides to leave behind the worst years of her life.” (Book Cover)

El espejo enterrado : reflexiones sobre España y América / Carlos Fuentes.
“Cultures become fossilized when isolated, just as they are born or rise again when they come on contact with men and women from other cultures, other sets of beliefs, other races. From the obsidian mirrors of Cervantes and Velazquez, an exchange of cultural reflections has crossed the Atlantic for over five hundred year. And it is only when we look at ourselves with both mirrors that we can grasp the consequences of our actions and transform experience in knowledge” (Syndetics summary)

El corazón helado / Almudena Grandes.
“The day of his death, Julio Carrion, a powerful businessman, whose fortune dates back to the year of the Franco’s regime, leaves his children with a substantial inheritance. At his funeral in February 2005, his son Alvaro, the only one who did not wish to pursue the family business, is surprised by the presence of an attractive young woman, whom nobody had seen before. Her attendance seems to reveal unknown aspects of his father life. Raquel Fernandez Perea, on the other hand, knows almost everything about her grandfather, who recently returned to Madrid, and visited some strangers. She sensed that there was an outstanding debt involved. Alvaro and Rachel are doomed to meet because of their family history, which is also the history of many families in Spain, from the Civil War to the Transition. This is a most ambitious novel, which traces two families through an exciting panorama of the recent history of Spain.” (Amazon.com)