| You might see a book in the catalogue listed as STACK. These are books which are housed behind the scenes in the Central Library - items that the Library definitely wants to keep, but for some reason (e.g. older condition, or not in as high demand) the open shelf is not the right place for them. Most can be borrowed. Please ask at the enquiries counter on the Second Floor and staff will be happy to retrieve them. This web-page will highlight some of these nearly forgotten treasures, and be updated with a new stack topic every two months. The author's selections and recommendations of these golden oldies are entirely idiosyncratic! |
Librarian's choice
 | Little man, what now? by Hans Fallada. (1932) A world best-seller that still merits attention to-day, hence the re-printing. Fallada relates the story of Johannes and Bunny Pinneberg and their struggle to survive the harsh conditions of life in Germany during the years before the rise of Hitler. With his realist style, this novel is at times humorous, charming, pathetic and very sad. Fallada, also gives one of the most striking pictures of conditions in Germany at that time. |
 | The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay. (1956) This novel by Rose Macaulay's is one of her best, winning the James Tait Memorial Prize in 1956, and is still consider relevant to-day. It tells the story of a group of people on a trip to Turkey. One member of the group Aunt Dot is determined to emancipate Turkish women, while another Laura is fleeing an adulterous relation ship. This is an unusual and sad comedy. |
 | The Devil in the Flesh, by Raymond Radiguet. (1923) This romantic novel is set in Paris during the final years of the First World War. The narrator, a sixteen-year-old by, recounts his love affair with a woman whose husband is fighting at the front. A semi-autobiographical novel told with thoughtful austerity, but moving sincerity. Radiguet wrote one other novel before died of Typhoid at the age of twenty. |
Party Going, by Henry Green. (1939)
A writer of modern fiction, that Green called "the everyday mishaps of Ordinary life", his novels depict English society from the mid thirties to the mid fifties, when he stopped writing. In Party Going a group of idle parasites are waiting to set off for France, but are delayed by fog in a hotel that becomes surrounded by workers waiting to go home.
Sinister Street, by Compton MacKenzie. (1913)
The autobiographical novel Sinister Street was originally published in two volumes, and is still considered to-day Mackenzie's best work. It follows the main character, Michael Fane from preparatory and public school to his years at Oxford, his friendships and loves, questions and enthusiasms. Sinister Street now gives an historical picture of Oxford before World War 1.
The later part of the novel, set in London, gives a glimpse into the lives of a departed generation.
The Postman, by Roger Martin Du Gard.(1954)
Nobel prize winner Martin Du Gard, was an extremely intelligent, but very private man. During his life he wrote many, long complicated novels, but the Postman is his only comic publication.
Set before the second World War in a small French village. Following the Postman around we meet the main characters of the village and learn of their ambitions, their rivalries, their hates, loves and sins. A novel filled with humour, irony and understanding.
The Woman of Rome, Alberto Moravia. (1949)
Moravia was a leading post-war neo-realist Italian writer, who is remembered for his stark depictions of a society in which alienation, moral corruption and empty sexuality were are the norm.
In the Woman of Rome he relates the story of a young prostitute during Mussolini's reign. Recording five years of her life, from her seduction by a chauffeur under the promise of marriage to the climax, where she is alone awaiting the birth of her child. The different aspects of city life are portrayed through the four different men she is most fond of. Her faith triumphs over the harshness, poverty and brutality found in the city.
The Key, by Junichiro Tanizaki.(1960)
Considered one of Japan's greatest modern writers, Tanizaki used his fiction to explore love, obsession, eroticism, beauty and the tensions between traditionalism and Westernisation in Japanese society. The Key is the story of the frightful pathological effects of the fear of impotence and its tragic impact on a middle-aged man deeply in love with his wife. Told through diaries that each of them keeps, a device that lends itself to extraordinary openness. It builds to a remarkable suspense as to who is reading whose diary and whose version is the true one.
Confessions of Zeno, by Italo Svevo.(1930)
Italo Svevo was 65 before he received any recognition for his writing. He was over 40 and about to give up completely when he met James Joyce, whose encouragement ensured he continued to become a great, although untypical writer.
Confessions of Zeno, is the story of a wealthy young man, his courtship and marriage, his mistress, his business dealings with his brother-in-law and his psycho-analysis. A truly comic, entertaining novel that is extremely ironic. Zeno continually adjusts his conscience to enable peaceful continuation of his respectable life.
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Please don't hesitate to contact the author if you wish to share your comments and views on these or any other stack book, or view previous editions. Happy delving!
