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Dear Elizabeth: A Play in Letters from Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and Back Again
by Sarah RuhlFrom playwright Sarah Ruhl, Dear Elizabeth is a moving, innovative play based on one of the greatest correspondences in literary history--the letters of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. From 1947 to 1977, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop exchanged more than four hundred letters. Describing the writing of their poems, their travel and daily illnesses, the pyrotechnics of their romantic relationships, and the profound affection they had for each other, these missives are the most intimate record available of both poets and one of the greatest correspondences in American literature. The playwright Sarah Ruhl fell in love with these letters and set herself an unusual challenge: to turn this thirty-year exchange into a stage play, and to bring to life the friendship of two writers who were rarely even in the same country. As innovative as it is moving, Dear Elizabeth gives voice to a conversation that lived mostly in writing, illuminating some of the finest poems of the twentieth century and the minds that produced them.
If You Can't Take the Heat
by Michael RuhlmanFrom James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman, a coming-of-age story about finding a new life and love in the kitchen…and trying not to get burned along the way.When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he&’s forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he&’ll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal.But it&’s in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant—and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people.Set in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980, If You Can't Take the Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.
Asesinato de un sacerdote
by Agnès RuizLa detective Rachel Toury va de vacaciones a Francia. Aprovecha de eso para visitar a su amigo Roger Chanteclerc, su homólogo francés. Pero su amigo está en shock. Acababa de perder a su hermano en la víspera. ¿Rachel podrá ayudar a Roger para resolver este asesinato? Agnès Ruiz es una autora de varios best-sellers vendidos en más de 370 000 ejemplares. Ha ganado un inmenso éxito con su primera novela “Mi vida asesinada”. Escribe tanto para los adultos como para la juventud. Sus novelas cortas sobre las investigaciones de la detective Rachel Toury también conocen un vívido éxito tanto en Europa como en el otro lado del Atlántico. Varias traducciones están disponibles. Ella es originaria de Normandía (Francia) y ha vivido cerca de 20 años en Canadá. Está casada y tiene tres hijos.
Assassinio di un prete
by Agnès RuizLa detective Rachel Toury è in vacanza in Francia. Quindi, approfitta dell’occasione per conoscere il suo omologo francese, Roger Chanteclerc. Ma il suo amico è sotto shock : il giorno prima suo fratello è stato ucciso. Riuscirà Rachel ad aiutare Roger a risolvere il caso? Agnès Ruiz è autrice di vari best seller con oltre 370.000 copie vendute. Con il suo primo romanzo «Ma vie assassinée» ha ottenuto un successo folgorante. Scrive sia per gli adulti che per i ragazzi. Le sue novelle sulle inchieste della detective Rachel Toury hanno riscosso un grande successo sia in Europa che al di là dell’Atlantico. Molti dei suoi titoli sono stati tradotti in varie lingue. È originaria della Normandia (Francia) e ha vissuto per quasi 20 anni in Canada. È sposata e ha tre figli.
Death of a Priest
by Agnès RuizDetective Rachel Toury finds herself caught up in the mysterious murder of a priest in Paris. Agnes Ruiz is the author of several best-sellers, selling more than 370,000 copies. She had huge success with her first novel, “Ma vie assassinée”. She writes for both adults and children. Her short stories featuring Detective Rachel Toury have also been extremely successful in both Europe and North America. Several translations are available. She comes from Normandy (France) and lived in Canada for almost 20 years. She is married and has three children.
The ghostly adventures of Lord Mc Spirit and his valet O'Ghost
by Agnès RuizLord Mc Spirit, his valet O'Ghost and the young cook Blanche were forgotten by the Grim Reaper. Since then, they continue to "live" in a vast mansion in the heart of England. But the time is serious. Increasingly daring thefts threaten their ghostly quietude. Lord Mc Spirit decides to conduct the investigation with his loyal O'Ghost. Funny and adorable ghosts! Agnès Ruiz is the author of several best-sellers. She had huge success with her first novel “Ma vie assassinée”. She writes for both adults and children. Her short stories featuring the investigations of detective Rachel Toury have also been very successful in Europe as well as North America. Several translations are available. She is originally from Normandy (France) and lived in Canada for almost 20 years.
El limpiador de ventanas de Trifoully les oies
by Agnès RuizSin duda el libro hara vivir a flor de piel la sensacion de extrañar a alguien y a causa de eso buscar un cambio total en la vida. Victor, el personaje principal, va a llevar a cabo un viaje magnífico a lo largo de sus relatos a traves de su blog. Agnès Ruiz es una autora de muchos best-sellers vendiendo más de 370 000 ejemplares. Con su primera obra «Ma vie assassinée», cosechó un gran éxito. Escribe tanto para jóvenes como para adultos. Sus novelas sobre las investigaciones de la detective Rachel Toury también conocen un vívido éxito tanto en Europa como en el otro lado del Atlántico. Disponible en varios idiomas. Originaria de Normandía (Francia), ha vivido cerca de 20 años en Canadá. Está casada y tiene tres hijos.
Martillo y clavos, eres TÚ a quien AMO
by Agnès RuizSamantha, treinta años, heredera de una casa en el campo. Su mejor amiga, Julie, la persuade para contactar a todos sus ex para que la ayuden a reformar su vieja casa... ¡y encontrar, al fin, al hombre de su vida! Julie llama a este método «Martillo y clavos». Samantha duda, pero decide embarcarse en la loca idea de su amiga. Agnès Ruiz es la autora de varios best seller de los que se han vendido más de 370.000 ejemplares. Ha tenido un enorme éxito con su primera novela, "Ma vie assassinée". Ha escrito literatura tanto para adultos como para jóvenes. Sus noticias sobre las investigaciones de la detective Rachel Toury también han tenido un gran éxito tanto en Europa como al otro lado del Atlántico. Hay disponibles varias traducciones de sus obras. Es originaria de Normandía (Francia) y ha vivido casi 20 años en Canadá. Está casada y tiene tres hijos
Mind Storm: A Strykers Syndicate Novel (Strykers Syndicate Series #1)
by K. M. RuizThe first in an exciting new sci-fi series that's being described as Blade Runner meets X-Men Two hundred and fifty years after the world was nearly wiped out by nuclear war, what's left of society fights over the scraps of the Earth as the rich and powerful plan to ascend in secret to another planet. But the deadly new breed of humanity that the rulers have enslaved to protect their interests are about to change everything. K.M. Ruiz's Mind Storm is the rip-roaring tale of Threnody Corwin, a "psion" with the ability to channel electricity like lightning through anything she touches. As a solider-slave for the human government, Threnody is recruited by an unknown enemy: the scion of Earth's most powerful (and supposedly human) family, the Serca Syndicate. But Lucas Serca is far from human and he intends to make Threnody and her fellow psions meet their destiny, no matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Mind Storm is the first of two books chronicling the fight for survival by the psions and other "gene-trash" humans, before they're killed by the racist world government, or left to die on a crumbling Earth. .
The Essential Muriel Rukeyser: Poems
by Muriel RukeyserThe definitive edition of selected work from a poet whose influence continues to be widely felt today, introduced by Natasha TretheweyEngaging closely with the violence, oppression, and injustice that she witnessed in her lifetime, Muriel Rukeyser was one of the seminal poets of the mid-twentieth century. Closely informed by issues relating to equality, social justice, feminism, and Judaism, her impassioned poetry was often seen as a mode of social protest, but it was also heralded for its deep emotional impact; its personal perspective; forthright discussion of the female experience, particularly sex and single parenthood at a time when these topics were largely taboo; and its wide-ranging exploration of genre and form. As Adrienne Rich wrote: “Muriel Rukeyser’s poetry is unequalled in the twentieth-century United States…She pushes us…to enlarge our sense of what poetry is about in the world, and of the place of feelings and memory in politics.”The Essential Muriel Rukeyser represents the curation of Rukeyser’s most enduring and urgent work, gathered in one volume that spans the many decades of her life and career, and with an introduction from Natasha Trethewey, one of our most important contemporary poets.
Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man
by Ja RuleJa Rule, actor, singer, songwriter, and one of the most multi-dimensional rap artists of his time, tells his compelling story—from his youth to his rise to international fame to his transformative two years in Federal prison—and reveals the man beneath the legend.Unruly is two stories that offer one complete picture of a man and his world: the angry, fatherless rapper, Ja Rule who was “raised by the streets”; and Jeffrey Atkins, the insightful, reflective father and loyal husband who learned the hard way how to be a good man.Filled with never-before-revealed anecdotes and sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, Unruly shows the determination that it takes to become a man in today’s society. Ja Rule considers the lack of role models for many young black men today—a void that leads to bad choices and the wrong paths. Recalling his youth, he illuminates the seductive pull of the streets and the drug dealers who were his earliest role models.Jeffrey Atkins offers practical wisdom—reflection, growth and hope learned first-hand as an inmate, father, husband, and community role model. He speaks fondly of men who inspired Unruly—the inmates he met in prison whose misguided ideas of masculinity landed them behind bars—and Louis Farrakhan who mediated the televised encounter with Ja Rule’s adversary, 50 Cent.Unruly is a compelling, personal look at the duality and conflicts that arise in the African-American male psyche from a man who has enjoyed breathtaking fame and suffered heartbreaking misfortune.
Origin and Evolution of Caribbean Mangroves: A Time-Continuum Ecological Approach (Ecological Studies #252)
by Valentí RullThis book provides a comprehensive, detailed, and coherent spatio-temporal account of Caribbean mangrove evolution from its evolutionary origins to the present that is not available for any mangrove region in the world. Mangroves are intertidal wetland forests that play a crucial role in the maintenance of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and in the functioning of global biogeochemical cycles (especially the carbon cycle). These ecosystems dominate the tropical/subtropical coasts of all continents and are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This book combines all temporal scales, from the geological to the ecological, to provide an integrated picture of mangrove history and the natural and anthropogenic drivers of ecological and evolutionary change. This may be useful not only for understanding the current ecological status of these emblematic ecosystems, but also for informing their conservation in the face of ongoing global change.
Vegetation and Landscape Dynamics of the Iberian Pyrenees During the Last 3000 Years: The Montcortès Palynological Record (Ecological Studies #251)
by Valentí Rull Teresa Vegas-VilarrúbiaThe high-resolution palynological study of the varved sediments of Lake Montcortès has provided a unique record of the regional vegetation shifts over the last 3000 years and of the natural and anthropogenic drivers of ecological change, unparalleled in the Mediterranean. This book shows in detail how the terrestrial ecosystems of Montcortès have responded to climatic events such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly or the Little Ice Age, as well as to varying intensities of anthropogenic pressure from the Bronze Age to the present. The knowledge gained from this palaeoecological study is useful not only for understanding how the modern landscapes of the Pyrenees were shaped, but also for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems in the face of future environmental changes related to ongoing global change. The book is aimed at researchers, university teachers and advanced graduate students in a wide range of disciplines including ecology, palaeoecology, environmental science, biodiversity, geography, sedimentology, archaeology, anthropology, and biodiversity conservation.
A Woman Is No Man: A Novel
by Etaf RumA Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist for Best Fiction and Best Debut • BookBrowse's Best Book of the Year • A Marie Claire Best Women's Fiction of the Year • A Real Simple Best Book of the Year • A PopSugar Best Book of the Year • A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A Washington Post 10 Books to Read in March • A Newsweek Best Book of the Summer • A USA Today Best Book of the Week • A Washington Book Review Difficult-To-Put-Down Novel • A Refinery 29 Best Books of the Month • A Buzzfeed News 4 Books We Couldn't Put Down Last Month • A New Arab Best Books by Arab Authors • An Electric Lit 20 Best Debuts of the First Half of 2019 • A The Millions Most Anticipated Books of the Year“Garnering justified comparisons to Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns... Etaf Rum’s debut novel is a must-read about women mustering up the bravery to follow their inner voice.” —Refinery 29The New York Times bestseller and Read with Jenna TODAY SHOW Book Club pick telling the story of three generations of Palestinian-American women struggling to express their individual desires within the confines of their Arab culture in the wake of shocking intimate violence in their community."Where I come from, we’ve learned to silence ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of—dangerous, the ultimate shame.”Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children—four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family—knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.
Total Quality Management: Applications and Concepts for Construction Projects (Quality Management and Risk Series)
by Abdul Razzak RumaneThis book has been developed to provide significant information about the usage and application of the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept in a construction project environment. The content spans from the inception through to the closing of the project focusing on the TQM approach in each phase of the project.Total Quality Management: Applications and Concepts for Construction Projects, focuses on the application of the Total Quality Management concept in construction projects and contains many quick-reference figures and tables for easy comprehension. It offers a concise and complete implementation process for the application of TQM and helps achieve competitive advantages in the global marketplace resulting in the construction project being qualitatively competitive and economical. The book highlights the standards for TQM and gives a brief introduction to the quality management system along with providing an overview of the project, the quality, the types of project delivery systems, and the principles involved. Discussions of quality and the different steps it moves through within the project setting including inspection, statistical quality control, and quality assurance round out the book’s offerings.Construction and quality professionals, industrial engineers, project managers, students, academics, and trainers will find that this book satisfies their needs and meets their requirements for a book that specifically uses TQM in construction projects.
Brainwyrms
by Alison Rumfitt“Smart, seething social horror…Rumfitt gives her worms the grotesque and triumphant glory they demand.” —The New York Times Book ReviewFrom Alison Rumfitt, the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless — “a triumph of transgressive queer horror” (Publishers Weekly) — comes Brainwyrms, a searing body horror novel of obsession, violence, and pleasure.A Best Book of the Year (Tor.com)“Alison is like the twisted daughter of Clive Barker and Shirley Jackson.” —Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author on Tell Me I'm WorthlessWhen a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, sleeping with strangers, pushing away her friends. Then, she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined.Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain, and identity.“[An] intimate, vulnerable triumph.” —Library Journal, STARRED review“Rumfitt’s talent for portraying the deplorable, disgusting, and grotesque shines throughout her masterful sophomore horror outing.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewAlso by Alison Rumfitt:Tell Me I'm WorthlessAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Betreibermodelle für die Immobilienbewirtschaftung international tätiger Großunternehmen (Baubetriebswesen und Bauverfahrenstechnik)
by Nicolas Christoph RummelIn diesem Buch werden auf der Grundlage empirischer Erhebungen die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten des betrieblichen Immobilienmanagements und die Erfolgspotenziale einer an der Unternehmensstrategie ausgerichteten Immobilienstrategie untersucht. Es werden verschiedene Betreibermodelle für die Bewirtschaftung des Immobilienbestandes entwickelt, anhand einer Nutzwertanalyse bewertet und ihre Erfolgswirkungen aufgezeigt. Aus der Analyse ergibt sich ein nutzenmaximales Betreibermodell, das aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht zur Umsetzung empfohlen werden kann. Neben der Erweiterung des wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstandes liefert die Arbeit zahlreiche Ansätze für die praktische Anwendung sowohl im betrieblichen Immobilienmanagement als auch bei Dienstleistungsunternehmen im Facility Management.
Neue Perspektiven auf Basisarbeit: Status Quo, Einflussfaktoren und Handlungsansätze (IBE-Reihe)
by Jutta Rump Silke EilersDieses Buch greift das aktuell noch eher wenig beleuchtete Thema der Basisarbeit in all ihren Facetten auf. Wer sind Basisarbeitende, in welchen Branchen und Berufsfeldern sind sie üblicherweise zu finden und wie stellt sich ihr Arbeitsalltag dar? Neben wissenschaftlichen Analysen zum Status Quo und Handlungsempfehlungen bezüglich der Ausgestaltung von Basisarbeit finden auch die Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie und der Digitalisierung angemessen Berücksichtigung. Interviews mit Experten aus der betrieblichen Praxis runden das Werk ab.
Finance, Economics, and Industry for Sustainable Development: Proceedings of the 4th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable Development (ESG 2023), St. Petersburg 2023 (Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics)
by Anna Rumyantseva Hod Anyigba Elena Sintsova Natalia V. VasilenkoThis volume discusses strategic approaches and relevant decisions of business, government, and civil society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which were adopted by all UN member states in 2015. The book presents the proceedings of the 4th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable Development (ESG 2023), St. Petersburg 2023. At present, the economies of different countries are in a zone of turbulence and the current agenda pushes the transformation of all customary systems to maintain and keep the achieved positions. This volume brings together material on sustainable development in economics and finance as well as industry. It is intended for scholars and professionals involved in public and corporate finance, financial accounting and auditing, sustainable development risk management, as well as economic growth, macroeconomics, monetary policy in a sustainable development environment, public and corporate governance and economics, corporate communications and public relations.
Play It Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible
by Alan RusbridgerAs editor of the Guardian, one of the world's foremost newspapers, Alan Rusbridger abides by the relentless twenty-four-hour news cycle. But increasingly in midlife, he feels the gravitational pull of music—especially the piano. He sets himself a formidable challenge: to fluently learnChopin's magnificent Ballade No. 1 in G minor, arguably one of the most difficult Romantic compositions in the repertory. With pyrotechnic passages that require feats of memory, dexterity, and power, the piece is one that causes alarm even in battle-hardened concert pianists. He gives himself a year.Under ideal circumstances, this would have been a daunting task. But the particular year Rusbridger chooses turns out to be one of frenetic intensity. As he writes in his introduction, "Perhaps if I'd known then what else would soon be happening in my day job, I might have had second thoughts. For it would transpire that, at the same time, I would be steering the Guardian through one of the most dramatic years in its history." It was a year that began with WikiLeaks' massive dump of state secrets and ended with the Guardian's revelations about widespread phone hacking at News of the World. "In between, there were the Japanese tsunami, the Arab Spring, the English riots . . . and the death of Osama Bin Laden," writes Rusbridger. The test would be to "nibble out" twenty minutes per day to do something totally unrelated to the above.Rusbridger's description of mastering the Ballade is hugely engaging, yet his subject is clearly larger than any one piece of classical music. Play It Again deals with focus, discipline, and desire but is, above all, about the sanctity of one's inner life in a world dominated by deadlines and distractions.What will you do with your twenty minutes?
Schubert's Instrumental Music and Poetics of Interpretation
by René RuschMusic scholarship's views of Franz Schubert's instrumental works continue to evolve. How might aesthetic values, historiographies, revisions to the composer's biography, and disciplinary commitments affect how we interpret his music?Schubert's Instrumental Music and Poetics of Interpretation explores the aesthetic positions and operations that underlie critical assessments of Schubert's instrumental works. In six chapters, each devoted to one or two of Schubert's pieces, René Rusch examines the conditions that have prompted scholarship to reevaluate the composer's music and legacy, considers how different conclusions about his music may be reflective of certain aesthetic values, investigates the role of narrative in both music analysis and constructions of history, and explores alternative forms of coherence through updated analyses of the composer's instrumental works. Rusch's observations and comparative analyses address four significant areas of scholarly focus in Schubert studies, including his approach to chromaticism, his unique musical forms, the relationship between his music and biography, and the influence of Beethoven.Drawing from a range of philosophical, hermeneutic, historical, biographical, theoretical, and analytical sources, Schubert's Instrumental Music and Poetics of Interpretation offers readers a unique and innovative foray into the poetics of contemporary analyses of Schubert's instrumental music and develops new ways to engage with his repertoire.
Cobblestones, Conversations, and Corks: A Son's Discovery of His Italian Heritage
by Giovanni Ruscitti“Giovanni Ruscitti has written a wonderful book of special relevance for all North and South Americans whose ancestors have migrated from Asia, Europe, and Africa. His journey to the land of his forefathers is so meaningful not only because of the discovery of what connects us ‘Americanos’ to the rest of the world but also the journey within. A trip in which we all feel recognized. Bravo maestro!” —Hernando de Soto, finalist for Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and author of Mystery of Capital Amazon #1 Bestseller Cobblestones, Conversations, and Corks is a passionate and deeply moving story about a father-son relationship; a culture rooted in family, food and wine; and an ancestral small town in Central Italy that was left behind after World War II. On November 11, 1943, the Nazis invaded Cansano, forcing its two thousand inhabitants to make a tough decision—fight and be killed or sent to a POW camp, stay behind as servants to the Nazis, or move into the unforgiving mountains of Abruzzo while the Nazis used their village as a home base. Giovanni Ruscitti’s family chose the latter and spent the next few months living in horrendous winter conditions in the rugged mountains. When the war ended, they returned to a village so ravaged by the Nazis that, today, the town has less than two hundred citizens and remains in a dilapidated state. In this memoir, Ruscitti visits Cansano for the first time with his family, including parents Emiliano and Maria. As he walks Cansano’s cobblestones, his father’s stories and life are illuminated by the town piazza, the steep valley, and the surrounding mountains. He relives the tales of his parents’ struggles during World War II, their extreme post-war misery and poverty, their budding romance after, and their decision to immigrate to the US in search of the American Dream. Ruscitti’s adventure is not just an exploration of his homeland but reveals what family, culture, wisdom, and love really means. And what our heritage really tells us about who we are.
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
by Salman Rushdie#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it&’s you. Here you are. What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey toward physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his community of readers worldwide. Knife is Rushdie at the peak of his powers, writing with urgency, with gravity, with unflinching honesty. It is also a deeply moving reminder of literature&’s capacity to make sense of the unthinkable, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art—and finding the strength to stand up again.
Descended from Hercules: Biopolitics and the Muscled Male Body on Screen (New Directions in National Cinemas)
by Robert A. RushingMuscles, six-pack abs, skin, and sweat fill the screen in the tawdry and tantalizing peplum films associated with epic Italian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. Using techniques like slow motion and stopped time, these films instill the hero's vitality with timeless admiration and immerse the hero's body in a world that is lavishly eroticized but without sexual desire. These "sword and sandal" films represent a century-long cinematic biopolitical intervention that offers the spectator an imagined form of the male body—one free of illness, degeneracy, and the burdens of poverty—that defends goodness with brute strength and perseverance, and serves as a model of ideal citizenry. Robert A. Rushing traces these epic heroes from Maciste in Cabiria in the early silent era to contemporary transnational figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian, and to films such as Zach Snyder's 300. Rushing explores how the very tactile modes of representation cement the genre's ideological grip on the viewer.
Re-Reading Tragic Africa: Development, Neoliberalism and Contemporary Fiction (New Comparisons in World Literature)
by Amy RushtonGrounded in world-systemic analysis, this book revisits the literary and social implications of ‘tragedy’ in relation to global narratives about Africa and within fiction by writers from the continent. It argues that working through the full complexity of ‘tragedy’ helps to identify and challenge plots that depict Africa as reaching a tragic impasse. Instead, reconsidering tragedy allows for further, related interventions including the implications of narratives of development, the argument for formally engaging with literary texts that present challenging material, reformulations of African political and cultural agency, and the possibilities to be found in utopian thinking. It claims that contemporary fiction helps to scrutinise the familiar big picture of Africa and create space for discussions about wider political and historical commonalities between the continent and the rest of the world. As such, the novels discussed in this study are not simply ‘about’ Africa: these fictionalnarratives position Africa as a central actor within the global history of late capitalism.