Jay Parini

"1910. Tolstoj e ormai vecchio, circondato da tanti discepoli, oggetto di una vera e propria adorazione, assistito da sempre da sua moglie Sofja, dal suo medico, il suo segretario, la figlia Sasha... Pur avvolto da questa rete di presenze, la sua vecchiaia non e serena: avverte infatti intorno a lui i primi conflitti per il futuro del suo patrimonio e crescono le pressioni per controllare il suo testamento. A chi andranno i diritti della sua opera? Alla moglie, che ne fara fonte di arricchimento familiare o, come vogliono i suoi discepoli, alla collettivita, per diffondere il tolstoismo? Lacerato da questi contrasti, Tolstoj litiga con la moglie, ma nello stesso tempo non vuole soccombere alla volonta dei discepoli; non trovando altre soluzioni, per liberarsi da tutti, sceglie un gesto disperato: la fuga. Ma anche cosi non trovera pace ne evitera i conflitti; arrivera solo all''ultima stazione... "

Herman had often walked these streets, eyeing the forest of tall ships, their blackened strakes handsomely curved, masts like crosses, empty of sails ...1841. A young Herman Melville is yet to write Moby Dick. He sets out on a voyage aboard a whaling ship. What happens on that trip will give him enough material for a lifetime of writing. But what of the dark things Melville encounters on his journey, and the illicit relationships he embarks upon that are to torment him once he returns home to his wife Lizzie? All is revealed as Jay Parini lifts the lid on one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century ...

Parinis The Last Station is a study of the end of Russian author Leo Tolstoys life. You dont need to be a fan of Tolstoy to enjoy ityou dont even need to have read any of his novels. This book stands on its own merits. Told in multiple first person narratives, the book explores how the various players see themselves and each other, enabling the reader to make up their own mind about their characters and motives. Personally, I came to like Tolstoys long-suffering wife Sofya Andreyevna the best, if only because all the other characters are ranged against her. Shes depicted by them as insane, hysterical, controlling, and I dont know what else, when all she wants is to secure the royalties from Tolstoys work to their descendants. This simplesome might say, laudableambition finds her ranged against her husband, their daughter Sasha, and various of Tolstoys adherents and hangers-on. As it becomes obvious to her that shes failed, she rages in various frighteningand impotentways, and finds herself excluded from her husbands deathbed. The winners write the history: she drove Tolstoy from his lifetime home; she wouldnt let him die in peace. But Parini makes sure Sofyas voice is also heard. Russia stands on the brink of momentous change, but this novel, like Tolstoys own work, is more about the personal than the political. Tolstoy may despise the luxury in which he lives, but hes unable to break away from it. He may wish to make the grand gesture of leaving his work to the nation, but he does it in secret, fearing a confrontation with his wife. What we see is a man whos lionised by everyone around himexcept Sofyabut who is too weak to live up to their perception of him. Yet his feet of clay go unobserved. Hes already an icon, no longer a man. All thats left to him, therefore, is to die. Parini writes well, and does a good job of distinguishing the various narratorsSofya, Tolstoy himself, their daughter Sasha, Tolstoys new secretary Bulgakov, his doctor Makovitsky, and the scary Chertkov, the leader of Tolstoys fan club. The most likeable character is B

Set in the tumultuous last year of Leo Tolstoy´s life, The Last Station centres on the battle for his soul waged by his wife and his leading disciple. Torn between his professed doctrine of poverty and chastity on the one hand and the reality of his life Set in the tumultuous last year of Leo Tolstoy´s life, The Last Station centres on the battle for his soul waged by his wife and his leading disciple.

En cette année 1910, suite à la publication de Guerre et Paix et d''Anna Karénine, Léon Tolstoï est l''écrivain le plus célèbre au monde. Mais la notoriété a un prix. Déchiré entre ses exigences ascé

An intimate yet frank biography of Gore Vidal, one of the most accomplished, visible and controversial American novelists and cultural figures of the past century. The product of thirty years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parinis biography probes behind the glittering surface of Vidals colourful life to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truth underlying his celebrity-strewn life. But there is plenty of glittering surface as well - a virtual Whos Who of the American Century, from Eleanor Roosevelt on down.The life of Gore Vidal was an amazingly full one; a life of colourful incident, famous people and lasting achievements that calls out for careful evocation and examination. Through Jay Parinis eyes and words comes an accessible, entertaining story that puts the life and times of one of the great American figures of the post-war era into context, that introduces the author to a generation who didnt know him before and looks behind-the-scenes at the man and his work in frank ways never possible before his death. Parini, provided with unique access to Vidals life and his papers, excavates buried skeletons, but never loses sight of his deep respect for Vidal and his astounding gifts.

Nothing less than spellbinding . . . Its an eye-opener. Anecdotal without being tawdry, analytical without being academic, it captures the essence of Faulkners life with the narrative drive of a novel. Houston ChronicleA splendid life of William Faulkner . . . Not only readable but downright enthralling. Seattle TimesWilliam Faulkner was a literary genius, and one of Americas most important and influential writers. Drawing on previously unavailable sources--including letters, memoirs, and interviews with Faulkners daughter and lovers--Jay Parini has crafted a biography that delves into the mystery of this gifted and troubled writer. His Faulkner is an extremely talented, obsessive artist plagued by alcoholism and a bad marriage who somehow transcends his limitations. Parini weaves the tragedies and triumphs of Faulkners life in with his novels, serving up a biography thats as engaging as it is insightful.An obsessive artist who drank himself to the brink. A literary genius who somehow transcended his own limitations.Against the Odds: Based on previously unavailable letters and interviews, Parini explores how an artist plagued by alcoholism and a bad marriage produced some of the greatest works of American literature. The Making of a Modernist: Discover the forces that shaped Faulkner, from the long shadow of his great-grandfather, the "Old Colonel," to the creation of his mythical Yoknapatawpha County. Narrative Biography: Written with the narrative drive of a novel, this account weaves together the tragedies and triumphs of Faulkners life with the creation of his timeless books. Nobel Prize Winner: An insightful look into the life and mind of one of the 20th centurys most important writers, a Nobel laureate who redefined the American novel.

Este romance recria os últimos anos da vida de Walter Benjamin, um dos maiores filósofos e críticos de literatura do século XX.Durante a década de 1930, o judeu alemão Walter Benjamin escreveu seus p

From the author of the international bestseller The Last Station, a superb historical novel of the Apostle Paul, whose tireless and epic preaching of the message of Jesus brought Christianity into existence and changed human history forever.In the years after Christs crucifixion, Paul of Tarsus, a prosperous tentmaker and Jewish scholar, took it upon himself to persecute the small groups of his followers that sprung up. But on the road to Damascus, he had some sort of blinding vision, a profound conversion experience that transformed Paul into the most effective and influential messenger Christianity has ever had. In The Damascus Road novelist Jay Parini brings this fascinating and ever-controversial figure to full human life, capturing his visionary passions and vast contradictions. In relating Pauls epic journeys, both geographical and spiritual, he unfolds a vivid panorama of the ancient world on the verge of epochal change. And in the alternating voice of the Gospel writer Luke, Pauls travel companion, scribe, and ghostwriter, a cooler perspective on his actions and beliefs emerges -- ironic but still filled with wonder at Pauls unshakable commitment to the Christ and his divinity.

Renowned poet and novelist Jay Parinis The Way of Jesus is a book for progressive Christians and spiritual seekers who struggle, as Parini does, with some of the basic questions about human existence: its limits and sadnesses, and its possibilities for awareness and understanding.Part guide to Christian living, part spiritual autobiography, The Way of Jesus is Jay Parinis exploration of what Jesus really meant, his effort to put love first in our daily lives. Called one of those writers who can do anything by Stacy Schiff in the New York Times Book Review, Parinia lifelong Christian who has at times wavered and questioned his beliefsrecounts his own efforts to follow Jesuss example, examines the contours of Christian thinking, and describes the solace and structure one can find in the rhythms of the church calendar. Parinis refreshingly undogmatic approach to Christian thinking incorporates teachings from other religions, as well as from poets and other writers who have helped Parini along his path to understanding.

The acclaimed and now-classic biographical novel of Walter Benjamins last days--adapted into screenplay by Jay Parini. It is 1940. For the past decade, Walter Benjamin--the German-Jewish critic and philosopher--has been writing his masterpiece in a library in Paris, a city he loves. Now Nazi tanks have overrun the suburbs, and Benjamin is forced to flee. With a battered briefcase that contains his precious manuscript of a thousand handwritten pages, he sets off for the border and is led by chance to a young anti-Nazi who is taking Jews and other refugees over the Pyrenees into Spain, where they may (with luck) make their way to freedom in Portugal or South America. Beloved biographical novelist Jay Parinis thrilling tale of escape is beautifully interwoven with vignettes of Benjamins complex, cosmopolitan past: his privileged childhood in Berlin, his years with the German Youth Movement, his university days. His close friendship with Gershom Scholem, the eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism, and many other well-known artists and intellectuals who were part of Benjamins intimate circle between the two world wars. Part tragedy, part dark comedy, this sharply realized historical novel tells one of the great and most moving peripheral stories of the Holocaust.

An intimate, authorized yet totally frank biography of Gore Vidal (19252012), one of the most accomplished, visible, and controversial American novelists and cultural figures of the past century The product of thirty years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parinis Empire of Self digs behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidals colorful career to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truths underlying his celebrity-strewn life. But there is plenty of glittering surface as wella virtual Whos Who of the twentieth century, from Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart through the Kennedys, Johnny Carson, Leonard Bernstein, and the creme de la creme of Hollywood. Also a generous helping of feuds with the likes of William F. Buckley, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and TheNew York Times, among other adversaries. The life of Gore Vidal teemed with notable incidents, famous people, and lasting achievements that call out for careful evocation and examination. Jay Parini crafts Vidals life into an accessible, entertaining story that puts the experience of one of the great American figures of the postwar era into context, introduces the author and his works to a generation who may not know him, and looks behind the scenes at the man and his work in ways never possible before his death. Provided with unique access to Vidals life and his papers, Parini excavates many buried skeletons yet never loses sight of his deep respect for Vidal and his astounding gifts. This is the biography Gore Vidalnovelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, historian, wit, provocateur, and pioneer of gay rightshas long needed.

In this lively exploration of Americas intellectual heritage, acclaimed poet, novelist, and critic Jay Parini celebrates the life and times of thirteen books that helped shape the American psyche. Moving nimbly between the great watersheds in American lettersincluding Walden, Huckleberry Finn, The Souls of Black Folk, and On the RoadParini demonstrates how these books entered American life and altered how we think and act in the world. An immensely readable and vibrant work of cultural history, Promised Land exposes the rich literary foundation of our culture, and is sure to appeal to all book lovers and students of the American character alike.

In this evocative work of what the author in his afterword calls a kindof novelistic memoir, Jay Parini takes us back fifty years, when he fled the United States for Scotlandin flight from the Vietnam War and desperately in search of his adult life. There, through unlikely circumstances, he meets the famed Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges.Borgesvisiting his translator in Scotlandis in his seventies, blind and frail. When Borges hears that Parini owns a 1957 Morris Minor, he declares a long-held wish to visit the Highlands, where he hopes to meet a man in Inverness who is interested in Anglo-Saxon riddles. As they travel, stopping at various sites of historical interest, the charmingly garrulous Borges takes Parini on a grand tour of Western literature and ideas, while promising to teach him about love and poetry. As Borgess idiosyncratic world of labyrinths, mirrors, and doubles shimmers into being, their escapades take a surreal turn.Borges and Me is a classic road novel, based on true events. Its also a magical mystery tour of an era, like our own, in which uncertainties abound, and whenas everits the young and the old who hear voices and dream dreams.

Celebrate Robert Frosts 150th birthday with a deluxe keepsake edition featuring 16 of his greatest poemswith brilliant essays highlighting his special genius and the power of memorization to unlock the magic of his languageDuring a public reading Robert Frost was once asked why he so frequently recited his poems from memory. With typical wit, he replied: If they wont stick to me, I wont stick to them. Remarkably among the modern poets, his poems stick to the reader: "Mending Wall," with its famous invocation of the rural maxim "Good fences make good neighbors""The Road Not Taken," about the beguiling possibilities of life "Birches," which reminds us that "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," with its unforgettable final line: "And miles to go before I sleep."Here, poet and Frost biographer Jay Parini presents these and 12 other Frost poems to learn by heart. In short accompanying commentaries, Parini illuminates the stylistic and imaginative features of each of the poems, drawing in biographical material from Frosts life to provide further context. The goal of this little book is to encourage readers to slow downto listen to Frosts words and phrases, to locate their deepest rhythms, and hear the tune of each poem as it unfolds. . . . Memorizing a poem can teach us much about a poems structure and argument, and about the resonance of particular words. And best of all, memorization makes a poem part of our inner lives. Once committed to memory, a poem is available to us for recall at any timeand the occasions for remembering it will make themselves known to us. It isnt something we have to work at. Anyone who has read and loved Frosts poetry will want to own and treasure this little gift edition. Those reading Frost for the first time orthose wishing to become better acquainted with one of Americas greatest poets will not find a better, more insightful guide than Jay Parini.

A new book, the first in over a decade, from acclaimed poet Jay PariniThis volume revolves around his deep connection to nature and underlines his concerns about the impacts of pollution and climate change. In these beautiful, haunting poems, Parini writes about the landscapes of mining country, of the railroads of Pennsylvania, of farm country, of worlds lost and families dispersed. He explores faith and how it is tested. He limns the deepest crevices of the human heart and soul. He surprises and moves us.In addition to a complete volumes worth of new work, called West Mountain Epilogue, offering more than fifty poems never before published in any form, Parini has collected the very best work from his previous four volumes, the poems, as he tells us, written in the past forty years that I wish to stand by.Lavishly and deservingly praised over the decades for his work as an essayist, critic, biographer, novelist, and, especially, poet, Parini shines as never before in this generous volume.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREStarring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, & James McAvoyIn 1910, Count Leo Tolstoy, the most famous writer in the world, is caught in the struggle between his devoted wife and an equally devoted acolyte over the masters legacy. Sofya Andreyevna fears that she and the children she has borne Tolstoy will lose all to Vladimir Chertkov and the Tolstoyan movement, which preaches the ideals of poverty, chastity, and pacifism.As Tolstoy seeks peace in his final days, Valentin Bulgakov is hired to be his secretary and enlisted as a spy by both camps. But Valentins loyalty is to the great man, who in turn recognizes in the young idealist his own youthful struggle with worldly passions.Deftly moving among a colorful cast of characters, drawing on the writings of the people on whom they are based, Jay Parini has created a stunning portrait of an enduring genius and a deeply affecting novel.

From the author of the international bestseller The Last Station, a stirring novel about the adventurous life and tragic literary career of Herman Melville. As The Passages of H. M. opens, we see, through the eyes of his long-suffering wife Lizzie, an aging, angry, and drunken Herman Melville wreaking domestic havoc in his unhappy New York home. He is decades past his flourishing career as a writer of bestselling tales of seagoing adventures like Typee and Omoo. His epic but ungainly novel Moby-Dick was meant to make him immortal, but critics scoffed and readers fled. His days are spent trudging the docks of New York as a customs inspector and contemplating his malign literary fate. But within him is stirring, perhaps, one great work yetthe tale of a handsome sailor in the Napoleonic Wars, undone by one moment of uncontrollable rage . . . Lizzies chapters alternate with third-person accounts of Melvilles crowded life: his shipping off to sea on a merchant vessel as an impoverished young aristocrat; his fateful voyage on a whaling ship; his desertion in the Marquesas Islands and sojourn with cannibalsa great adventure and polymorphous sexual idylland his instant fame as a novelist; his fateful encounter and soul-deep friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne; and the long years of physical decline and literary obscurity. Jay Parini creates a Melville who is at once sympathetic and maddening, in sync with the vast forces of the universe and hopelessly impractical and abstracted. And one who, in thought and deed, is unambiguously attracted to mena surmise well supported by the known biographical facts but still sure to create controversy. Parini penetrates the mind and soul of a literary titan, using the resources of fiction to humanize a giant while illuminating the sources of his matchless creativity.