The narrator recounts how he had taken shelter unexpectedly in a suburban café where he suddenly remembered having met twenty years before Mendel, a book-handler who possessed a phenomenal memory for the slightest details of any book he had ever seen or read about.
Famous in his day, he had now been quite forgotten by everyone in the café where he had officiated all day every day, except by the washerwoman who recounts the sad fate of the famous expert whose life, like so many others, had (…)
Articles les plus récents
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"Mendel the Book-dealer (Buchmendel)" by Stefan Zweig (1929)
5 octobre 2021, par Stefan Zweig -
"In the Time of Prince Charley" and other stories by Jack London
2 octobre 2021, par Jack LondonTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. IN THE TIME OF PRINCE CHARLEY (1899) After the decisive Battle of Culloden in 1746 that put an end to Scottish dreams of independance a British officer escorts the captured Prince Charlie through the highlands to a rendezvous with a ship, but opposition from fierce Highlanders and the wiles of a woman have to be dealt with. (5,100 words).
2. TO REPEL BOARDERS (1902) Two boys in a sailboat are chatting about how adventurous life must have been in the days of the (…) -
"A Living Calendar" and other stories by Anton Chekhov
27 septembre 2021, par Anton ChekhovTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A LIVING CALENDAR (Живая хронология) (1885) An elderly official is discussing with a friend about how things used to be more lively in their town, citing memorable occasions from the past. He needs reminders from his wife as to exactly when each of these four events had taken place, and every time the wife reminds him that the event took place during the visit of a friend less than a year before the birth of one of their four children. (950 words)
2. IN THE DARK (В (…) -
"A Country Doctor" by Franz Kafka (1918)
23 septembre 2021, par Franz KafkaAn elderly country doctor is called at night to come to the bedside of a suffering young man ten miles away, but the mission is surrounded by difficulties from the start : there’s a snowstorm raging outside and his only horse has just died from over-exertion in the freezing winter. But although powerful horses and a groom miraculously appear and the passage to the sick man’s hut mysteriously takes place quasi-instantaneously, things nevertheless go from bad to worse both for the sick youth (…)
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"A Family Affair" and other stories by Guy de Maupassant
20 septembre 2021, par Guy de MaupassantTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A FAMILY AFFAIR (1881) We follow Monsieur Caravan in his daily routine and trying to cope with the constant state of warfare between his spouse and his elderly mother who lives with them and their two ragamuffin children. But today there’s a dramatic decline in the mother’s health and the issues of heritage and testaments start to assume major proportions. (10,210 words)
2. THE BLIND MAN (1882) The narrator, in the process of enjoying the atmosphere of a new spring, (…) -
"Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town" - 12 Tales by Stephen Leacock (1912)
13 septembre 2021, par Steven LeacockStephen Leacock (1869-1944), a distinguished university professor [1] brought up on a farm in central Ontario, Canada, was and no doubt remains the most-read and most-loved Canadian humorist, and this famous set of tales about life in a typical town in those there parts in the early part of the 19th century remains as amusing and enjoyable as when it first achieved international attention and acclaim a century ago. He’s still the funniest writer around !
(60,500 words)
An e-book of this (…) -
"A Hunger Artist" by Franz Kafka (1922)
10 septembre 2021, par Franz KafkaWritten in 1922 and published as the title story in the first collection of his stories to be published after his death two years later, this account of a man’s determined and obsessive drive to surpass himself in the art of fasting explores the theme of eating in a calmly compelling way tinged with Kafkaesque strangeness and intimations of the inutility of ambition, achievement and acclaim.
(3,900 words)
Translated specially for this site.
An e-book of this story, with the original (…) -
Corsican stories by Maupassant
3 septembre 2021, par Guy de MaupassantGuy de Maupassant wrote six stories taking place in Corsica, l’Île de Beauté that he knew well and was particularly attracted to.
These short but powerful tales, written in his straightforward, realistic and elegant style at the height of his literary career, are a remarkable testimonial to that very particular corner of France (Corsica had come under French rule in 1769 after 400 years of rule by the Republic of Genoa, apart from two brief periods of independence [1736-1740 and (…) -
"Don Juan" by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1813)
5 août 2021, par E. T. A. HoffmannA traveling salesman discovers that his hotel room leads directly to a private lodge in the neighbouring theatre, where a performance of Mozart’s opera “Don Juan” is about to be given. Delighted, the music lover rushes over to the lodge, where not only is the performance exceptional, but where he also has a quasi-supernatural encounter with Donna Anna herself, the outraged and distressed victim of the infernal charmer Don Juan.
The story enables the future author of The Life and Opinions (…) -
"Tobacco Shop (Tabacaria)" by Fernando Pessoa (1928)
4 août 2021, par Fernando PessoaFernando Pessoa (1888-1935) was one of the most outstanding Portuguese poets of his time and of all time [1], and this celebrated poem Tabacaria, a complex, melancholic and inspired meditation, is one of his most renowned works, without a doubt one of the most memorable poetic texts of the 20th Century.
Sombre in tone and content, its richness and scope are palpable in practically every line – we were particularly marked by the phrase "And now there’s no beggar I don’t envy simply for not (…)