Traveler's Literary Companions – serie

Travel to one of the most beautiful cities in the world in the company of its finest writers. Walk the mysterious nighttime streets of Prague with Franz Kafka and Jaroslav Hasek, eavesdrop on intimate conversations in restaurants and lively beer halls with Karel Capek and Bohumil Hrabal, listen to jazz in stylish nightclubs with Josef Skvorecky. The stories in this volume — many of which appear in English for the first time — will take you on a personal odyssey through the city's stormy past to its dynamic present. For the traveler who wishes to experience something of its essence, Prague illuminates the heart and soul of a great city. Contributors include Michal Ajvaz, Karel Capek, Ivan Divis, Jaroslav Hasek, Daniela Hodrova, Bohumil Hrabal, Alois Jirasek, Franz Kafka, Jiri Karasek ze Lvovic, Egon Erwin Kisch, Ivan Klima, Jiri Kovtun, Frantisek Langer, Gustav Meyrink, Jan Neruda, Karel Pecka, Ota Pavel, Josef Skvorecky, Jindriska Smetanova, Jachym Topol, and Jiri Weil.

Since relations between the U.S. and Vietnam have normalized, many more people are traveling to this exotic country, previously closed to a generation of Western visitors. Vietnam provides one of the first chances for Americans to know the Vietnamese outside the context of war. Vietnamese have been telling stories for thousands of years, in poetry and in song, in Chinese script and then in Vietnamese nôm, and more recently, in novels and short stories. These 17 stories, from contemporary Vietnamese writers living in Vietnam and abroad, take the literary traveler to extraordinary places: from the jungle-clad mountain ranges of the North to the mysterious silence of the old capital along the Perfume River. Proximity of the spirit world, love of family, exhaustion from war, one's Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist obligations, social protest, and the hunger for a better life — these are some of the concerns to be encountered in these thrilling landscapes. Contributors include Nguyen Huy Thiep, Linh Bao, Nguyen Ba Trac, Thich Duc Thien, Ho Anh Thai, Le Minh Khue, Doan Quoc Sy, Vu Bao, Duong Thu Huong, Andrew Q. Lam, Nguyen Qui Duc, Qui The, Bao Ninh, and Pham Thi Hoai.

There may be no place more blessed -- or burdened -- with narrative than Israel. In this country, story and place are inextricable. From stories set in the historical, holy city of Jerusalem to those that take place in the modern, secular city of Tel Aviv, from writing addressing the current "situation" to tales inspired by the timeless desert, this volume of sixteen short stories of Israel's finest new writers, and some of its best-loved ones, captures for the reader one of the world's most fascinating travel destinations. Contributors include Gafi Amir, Yossi Avni, Yosl Birstein, Orly Castel-Bloom, David Ehrlich, David Grossman, Shulamith Hareven, Etgar Kerrett, Yoram Kolerstein, Yitzchak Laor, Amos Oz, Ofra Riesenfeld, Gadi Taub, and A. B. Yehoshua.

Travel to Cuba in the company of its finest writers and gain an understanding of its remarkable mystique. The twenty-one stories in this volume -- some of which appear in English for the first time -- will take you on an odyssey through the country's rich past to its dynamic present, where it is poised at the brink of immense change. Arranged by the areas of Cuba, they illuminate, these stories offer up a rich literary banquet.

Explore Spain's rich literary landscape with some of the country's best contemporary writers. Arranged geographically, these thirty stories -- many of which appear in English for the first time -- transport the reader through Spain's many enchanting regions: experience a bull-run with Juan Goytisolo in Albacete, join Bernardo Atxaga in a Basque village, travel to the misty woods of Galicia with Manuel Rivas, and reminisce with Julio Llamazares over black-and-white photos of his childhood Spain.

Traverse Chile's literary and geographic landscape with some of its best writers. Let Ariel Dorfman take you to Santiago with a prodigal son, discovering his own country for the first time; travel to the remote south with Enrique Valdes, and enjoy the charms of Valparaiso with Pablo Neruda. Many of these twenty-two stories appear in English for the first time.

Some of Italy's best-known writers, including Luigi Pirandello, Natalia Ginzburg, Alberto Moravia, and Antonio Tabucchi, join Italy's rising literary stars to take the reader on a panoramic tour of both city and countryside, across the social spectrum, surveying the country's rich cultural history. Explore Italy's popular tourist destinations and out-of-the-way spots under the fresh and even startling light cast by these eighteen diverse and exciting stories, most of which are available here in English for the first time. Italy is consistently one of the top five travel destinations in the world for American travellers. For those who wish to reach beyond the stereotypes and discover an Italy that's off the beaten path, as well as new insights along familiar, well-travelled roads, these stories -- arranged geographically for the traveller, armchair or otherwise -- is an excellent place to start.

This collection guides the reader through the complexity that is Japan. Although frequently misunderstood as a homogenous nation, Japan is a land of tremendous linguistic, geographical and cultural diversity. Hino Keizo leads the reader through Tokyo's mazes in "Jacob's Tokyo Ladder". Nakagami Kenji explores the ghostly, mythology-laden backwoods of Kumano. Atoda Takashi takes us to Kyoto to follow the mystery of a pair of shoes and discover the death of a stranger. The stories, like the country and the people, are beautiful and compelling. Let these literary masters be your guide - from the beauty of northern Honshu through the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, to the many temples in Kyoto, through Osaka and the coastline of the Sea of Japan, and down to southern Kyushu - to a Japan that only the finest stories can reveal.

This vital collection of stories, vignettes, and prose poems takes readers on a literary journey that climbs the Andes Mountains, navigates the great River Plate, and traverses the expansive plains of the Pampas. Moving beyond the cultural icons associated with Argentina (such as gauchos, tango, and mate), these works reflect the country's strong cultural and literary traditions, challenging readers' imaginations while rousing their emotions. The book's handy pocket size makes it an ideal companion for visitors to Argentina.

This vital collection is as eclectic and electric as Brazil itself. These stories -- ranging from vignettes, sketches, and prose poems to traditional narratives -- cover a wide geography, physically, thematically, and stylistically. Tales of nature and magic, humor and tragedy, brutality and delicacy, sex and violence are played out against every corner of this vast and diverse land: the Amazon, the Northeast, the Central West, and the South, as well as in Brazil's two metropolises, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The earliest story, Machado de Assis' "The Wallet," was written at the end of the nineteenth century. The most recent were written especially for this book. Brazil is noted for its vibrant music and celebrations; this book shows an equally rich literary scene for the traveler or fan of world -- and world-class -- fiction.

Including short stories from some of South Africa's best and most renowned writers (Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee, and Alan Paton, to name only a few), this collection accompanies readers to a recent, but altogether different South Africa, reflecting perspectives of both the oppressed and the oppressors. Some of the stories are previously unpublished, but all of them constitute examples of the most imaginative and provocative South African writing, from many disparate perspectives.

Journey into the Costa Rican imagination through twenty-six remarkable stories, selected and organized regionally for the curious traveler. Here, for the first time in English, the best of Costa Rica's writers conjure the country's allure and vitality, its coffee fields and palm groves, cicadas and songbirds, shrouded mountains and blazing savannas, while telling stories unique to Costa Rican life. Contributors include Alfredo Aguilar, Fernando Duran Ayanegui, Alfonso Chase, Quince Duncan, Fabian Dobles, Louis Ducoudray, Carlos Luis Fallas, Mario Gonzales Feo, Joaquin Gutierrez, Carlos Salazar Herrera, Max Jimenez, Carmen Lyra, Carmen Naranjo, Yolanda Oreamuno, Abel Pacheco, Julieta Pinto, Uriel Quesada, Samuel Rovinski, Jose Leon Sanchez, and Rima de Vallbona.

Gathers stories from modern Greek writers such as Eva Vlami, George Seferis, and Odysseus Elytis. Discover Greece -- a country that has inspired centuries of travel -- through its best modern writers. Against a superb landscape of mountains, beaches, villages, cities, and ruins, all bathed in the rich light of the Mediterranean, these twenty-four stories draw from the long oral and written evolution of the Greek literary tradition. Incorporating myths, the meditative tranquillity of the region, and a past full of struggle and civil war, these stories are arranged by geographical region for the traveller and provide an enriching odyssey through the Greek landscape and mind.

A companion to the literature of Australia, this book takes the reader on a journey through the continent in 25 stories, ranging from the colonial period to contemporary Australia. The stories evoke the mysterious outback, the gum trees, kangaroos and dingoes, and the busy streets of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, as well as some colourful Australian characters.

Travel to one of the most dynamic cities in the world in the company of its finest writers. The stories in this volume will take you on a personal odyssey through the city's rich past to its dynamic present. Arranged by the areas of Amsterdam they illuminate. These stories offer up a rich literary banquet to the traveller who wishes to experience the character and soul of this great city. Join better-known Dutch writers such as Harry Mulisch and Cees Nooteboom, along with those whose writing appears in English here for the first time, as they lead you along the canals, through the neighbourhoods, and from the past to the present in this rare collection of twentieth-century Dutch literature.

This collection of short stories set in the crown jewel of Europe is an excellent introduction to the exceptionally rich contemporary Austrian literature spanning from the fin-de-siecle "dream-world Vienna" to more recent Nobel prize-winning authors. Vienna is not only home to historic cathedrals, formal teahouses, and a sparkling café culture, but it is also the birthplace of new movements of thought that cover art and the human psyche. While illustrating a century of shifting forms and styles, these stories beautifully convey the Viennese nature and spirit.

Mexico has long been the top travel destination for Americans. But until now, there has not been such a panoramic vision of offered by some of Mexico's finest contemporary writers of fiction and literary prose. Here are writings -- many translated for the first time -- that bring you to the people of the beaches, the deserts, jungles, snow-capped mountains, and megacities. The voices are rich and diverse, the stories enthralling and strange. These writings shatter stereotypes as they provide a rollicking journey from the Pacific to the Gulf, from Yucatan to the U.S.-Mexico border, from humble ranchos to a fabulous mountaintop castle. Contributors include Daniel Reveles, Carlos Fuentes, Ines Arredondo, Jesus Gardea, Elizondo Elizondo, Agustin Cadena, C. M. Mayo, Carlos Monsivais, Juan Villoro, Guadalupe Loaeza, Fernando del Paso, Monica Lavin, Pedro Angel Palou, Angeles Mastretta, Raul Mejia, Martha Cerda, Araceli Ardon, Bruno Estanol, Ilan Stavans, Raymundo Hernandez-Gil, Julieta Campos, Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Rosario Castellanos, and Laura Esquivel.

Noted for its literary legacy, Ireland has long been a top travel destination. This latest in the "Whereabouts Press Traveler's Literary Companions" series features Ireland's top writers as guides to the natural beauties and cultural nuances of the Emerald Isle.Ireland has consistently been in the top fifteen international travel destinations for Americans. Its immense appeal rests largely on the fact that it offers, even in the twenty-first century, a warm and inviting combination of ancient sites and modern cities. To help prospective visitors get an immediate feel for Ireland's lingering past and stylish present, this collection of short stories features some of Ireland's greatest (and newest) writers as engaging tour guides for all those who would like to better understand the prodigious literary heritage of an island which has produced the likes of James Joyce, Sean O'Faolain, Edna O'Brien, Frank O'Connor, Elizabeth Bowen, and William Trevor.These writers, plus an impressive line-up of other contributors, will take readers on an unprecedented journey across Ireland's four provinces - Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught - introducing them, en route, to the natural beauties and cultural nuances of the Emerald Isle.

This guide for literature enthusiasts and travelers alike reveals what Francophiles have long known: France is so much more than the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées. Including contributions from such celebrated French writers as Colette, Gabriel Chevallier, and Emmanuelle Laborit, this lively anthology takes readers through France in literary style. In Paris, walk down twisty Rue Ferrière, take a spin on a Franco-Arab carousel, and eavesdrop on a Jewish funeral party. In the suburbs, meet a pint-sized book thief and a gritty ghetto gang. Then visit Provence, Brittany, Normandy, and Alsace-Lorraine, and even witness the Tour de France. Organized by region, these charming stories are often funny, occasionally surreal, and always compelling.