Dream Tales and Prose Poems

The Russian novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a founder of the Russian realistic novel. He ranks as one of the greatest stylists in the Russian language.

The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories

A vivid picture of nineteenth-century Russian society, but above all the poignant story of a man whose mortality becomes the only aspect of life that he shares with his fellow man.
When Turgenev published Diary of a Superfluous Man in 1850, he created one of the first literary portraits of the alienated man. Turgenev once said that there was a great deal of himself in the unsuccessful lovers who appear in his fiction. This failure, along with painful self-consciousness, is a central fact for the ailing Chulkaturin in this melancholy tale. As he reflects on his life, he tells the story of Liza, whom he loved, and a prince, whom she loved instead, and the curious turns all their lives took.

A Desperate Character and Other Stories

The six tales now translated for the English reader were written by Turgenev at various dates between 1847 and 1881.
These stories demonstrate Turgenev’s matchless skill for portraying elemental aspects of Russian life: the melancholic, the nostalgic, and the darkly comic.

The Kindness of Women

J.G. Ballard - The Kindness of Women

In this sequel to "Empire of the Sun", the author places the traumatic events described in that novel within the context of a lifetime. Jim, the narrator, returns to England after the war, and trains as a medical student at Cambridge, and as an RAF pilot in Canada.

Rushing to Paradise

J.G. Ballard - Rushing to Paradise

Veteran campaigner Dr Barbara Rafferty's obsessive crusade to save the albatross on the Pacific atoll of Saint-Esprit suddenly gains international support when millions of TV viewers witness the shooting of her young acolyte Neil Dempsey on a foolhardy rescue mission. Soon Dr Barbara turns the deserted island into a sanctuary - a remote paradise home for Neil, an odd team of eco-enthusiasts and idealists and a growing collection of the world's endangered species. In time they will discover that some species are in more danger than others.