Frank Budgen's "James Joyce and the Making of Ulysses", first published in 1934, is the only first-hand account we have of the growth of Joyce's great work. The record of the painter's friendship with Joyce in Zuerich in 1918-19, when Ulysses was being written, it is also an acute critical commentary on the novel itself.

 

What we get with Dostoyevsky is dramatic tension, detailed and believable human characters, and brilliant insight into human nature. Early in the novel our hero meets and has a lengthy conversation with Marmeladov, a drunkard. This conversation is never uninteresting and ultimately becomes pathetic and heartbreaking, but I kept wondering why so much time was spent on it. As I got deeper into the book, I understood why this conversation was so important, and realized that I was in the hands of a master storyteller. This is also indicative of the way in which the story reveals itself. Nothing is hurried. These people speak the way we actually speak to one another in real life, and more importantly, Dostoyevsky is able to flesh out his characters into whole, three-dimensional human beings.

 

Oxford Bookworms Starters (250 headwords)
Original fiction for students starting to read in English. Stories are carefully graded and supported by clear,high-quality illustrations.

'I can drive a truck,' says Kim on her first day at work in the office. When Kim's passenger Andy finds something strange under the truck things get dangerous - very dangerous.

This is a great story, strangely and gorgeously illustrated. It is the story of Bobo, a man who makes food for all the animals - only one day a 'funny thing' comes along. It is not an animal, it insists it is an aMinal.

A wonderful story of goodness, patience and distraction.