"A new translation of Poor Folk, the debut novella that first brought the author of Crime and Punishment fame at the age of twenty-five, along with his other early stories, all showcasing the concern for human dignity that animated his later work.
The short novel Poor Folk portrays the passionate relationship between two young distant cousins, a clerk and a seamstress who live across the street from each other in conditions of dire poverty. Through an exchange of letters, they share with each other their struggles, their past tragedies, their mutual love of literature, and their growing hopes for a future together-until a rich man proposes to the young woman and offers her a path to a different life, leaving her cousin behind.
The other stories in the collection-'Mister Prokharchin,' 'Another Man's Wife and a Husband Under the Bed,' 'White Nights,' and 'Uncle's Dream'-display a remarkable variety of narrative voices. Combining satiric comedy with weightier themes, these early tales reveal their author already exercising the formal inventiveness he became so well known for."
"Accompany a band of merry medieval pilgrims as they make their way-on motorcycles, of course-to Canterbury. Meeting at the Tabard Inn, the travelers, including a battle-worn knight, a sweetly pretentious prioress, the bawdy Wife of Bath, and an emaciated scholar-clerk, come up with a plan to pass time on the journey to Thomas à Becket's shrine by telling stories. The twenty-four tales, which range from high romance set in ancient Greece to low comedy in contemporary England, are adapted into graphic novel form by Seymour Chwast-a pitch-perfect transposition of Chaucer's pointed satire. Chwast's illustrations relate tales of trust and treachery, of piety and bawdiness, in an engaging style that will appeal to those who have enjoyed The Canterbury Tales for years, and those for whom this is a first, delectable introduction."
"Harry Crews's savagely funny and gritty portrait of discipline, obsession, control, and power
Shereel Dupont, formerly the secretary Dorothy Turnipseed, trains rigorously at the behest of her boss turned personal trainer Russell ("Muscle") Morgan, sculpting her body into taut muscles and bone in preparation for the Ms. Cosmos bodybuilding championship. But the arrival of one family - her family, the Turnipseeds - endangers her chance for victory. The ragtag group disturbs the chiseled competition and leaves Shereel at a crossroads: to whom does her name, and body, belong? Infused with Harry Crews's trademark dark humor and absurdity, Body is a funny and gritty exploration of how far some will go for physical glory and purpose.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators."
"Classic short stories by a beloved virtuoso of language, craft, and madness from the American South
"His writing was anarchic and wonderfully funny. He sounded like what you'd get if you stirred three heaping teaspoons of Thomas Pynchon and Terry Southern into a jar of Eudora Welty."-Dwight Garner, The New York Times
A Penguin Classic
In the eight stories collected in Captain Maximus, Barry Hannah explores the lives of everymen and eccentrics alike in a showcase of his acerbic wit, dark humor, and stylistic flare. Hannah's unorthodox prose, characterized by unusual wordplay mixed with hints of Faulkner and Hemingway, captured the post-1970s malaise of American life, endeared him to literary circles, and left a lasting influence on the craft of countless authors. Featuring some of Hannah's finest work, from the fever dream "Ride, Fly, Penetrate, Loiter" to his film treatment for Robert Altman "Power and Light," Captain Maximus is the perfect introduction to Barry Hannah.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators."
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