Melville House Summer 2011 Catalog

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MELVILLE HOUSE PUBLISHING SUMMER 2011

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THE LAKE A novel

BANANA YOSHIMOTO

Translated by Michael Emmerich

A major literary sensation is back with a quietly stunning tour de force about a young woman who falls for a cult escapee. While The Lake shows off many of the features that have made Banana Yoshimoto famous—a cast of vivid and quirky characters, simple yet nuanced prose, a tight plot with an upbeat pace—it’s also one of the most darkly mysterious books she’s ever written. It tells the tale of a young woman who moves to Tokyo after the death of her mother, hoping to get over her grief and start a career as a graphic artist. She finds herself spending too much time staring out her window, though . . . until she realizes she’s gotten used to seeing a young man across the street staring out his window, too. They eventually embark on a hesitant romance, until she learns that he has been the victim of some form of childhood trauma. Visiting two of his friends who live a monastic life beside a beautiful lake, she begins to piece together a series of clues that lead her to suspect his experience may have had something to do with a bizarre religious cult. . . . With its echoes of the infamous, real-life Aum Shinrikyo cult (the group that released poison gas in the Tokyo subway system), The Lake unfolds as the most powerful novel Banana Yoshimoto has written. And as the two young lovers overcome their troubled past to discover hope in the beautiful solitude of the lake in the countryside, it’s also one of her most moving. B a n a n a Yo s h i m o t o wrote her first novel, Kitchen, while working as a waitress at a golf-course restaurant. It sold millions of copies worldwide, and led to a phenomenon dubbed by Western journalists as “Banana mania.” Yoshimoto has gone on to be one of the biggest-selling and most distinguished writers in Japanese history, winning numerous awards for her work. The Lake is her thirteenth book of fiction. M i c h a e l E m m e r i c h has translated numerous books by Banana Yoshimoto, and is also famous for his translations of Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata.

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P RAISE FOR Ba n a n a Yo s h i m oto

“A sure and lyrical writer . . . Yoshimoto transforms the trite into the essential.” —The New Yorker

“Ms. Yoshimoto has an effortless ability to penetrate her characters’ —Michiko Kakutani, hearts.”

The New York Times

“Banana Yoshimoto is a master storyteller. . . . The sensuality is subtle, masked, and extraordinarily powerful. The language is deceptively simple.” —Chicago Tribune

“There is no such thing as a stock character in Yoshimoto’s fiction. She writes utterly without pretense.” —The Washington Post

“The disturbing, ironic, relentless clarity of her voice casts a spell. . . .” —The Denver Post

“Her achievements are already legend.” —The Boston Globe


“Ms. Yoshimoto’s writing is lucid, earnest and disarming . . . [It] seizes hold of the reader’s sympathy and refuses to let go.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

MArKETING:

Important new book from a major author National Media Campaign Early ArCs Shelf-talkers and posters available Extensive bookseller outreach Internet publicity campaign

on sALE: mAy 3 HArDCOVEr 208 PAGES, 5 3⁄4" × 8 1⁄2" $23.95 / $26.95 CAN 978-1-933633-77-0 EBOOK: 978-1-935554-69-1 WOrLD ENGLISH rIGHTS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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Is Journalism Worth Dying For? Final D ispatches

Anna Politkovskaya

Translated by Arch Tait

A collection of final dispatches by the famed journalist, including the first translation of the work that may have led to her murder I will not go into all the joys of the path I have chosen: the poisoning, the arrests, the menacing by mail and over the Internet, the telephoned death threats. The main thing is to get on with my job, to describe the life I see, to receive visitors every day in our newspaper’s offices. . . . What am I guilty of? I have merely reported what I witnessed, nothing but the truth. From an article found on Anna Politkovskaya’s computer after her death; it is addressed to her readers abroad

P RAISE FOR ANNA P OLITKOVSKAYA

“Suppression of freedom of speech, of expression, reaches its savage ultimate in the murder of a writer. Anna Politkovskaya refused to lie in her work; her murder is a ghastly act, and an attack on world literature.” —Nadine Gordimer

Anna Politkovskaya won international fame for her courageous reporting. Is Journalism Worth Dying For? is a long-awaited collection of her final writing. Beginning with a brief introduction by the author about her pariah status, the book contains essays that characterize the selfeffacing Politkovskaya more fully than she allowed in her other books. From deeply personal statements about the nature of journalism, to horrendous reports from Chechnya, to sensitive pieces of memoir, to, finally, the first translation of the series of investigative reports that Politkovskaya was working on at the time of her murder—pieces many believe led to her assassination. Elsewhere, there are illuminating accounts of encounters with leaders including Lionel Jospin, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and such exiled figures as Boris Berezovsky, Akhmed Zakaev, and Vladimir Bukovsky. Additional sections collect Politkovskaya’s nonpolitical writing, revealing her delightful wit, deep humanity, and willingness to engage with the unfamiliar, as well as her deep regrets about the fate of Russia. Anna Poli t kovs kaya (born 1958 in New York City) was a special correspondent for the Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta and the author of A Dirty War; A Small Corner of Hell; Putin’s Russia; and A Russian Diary. She was murdered in Moscow on October 7, 2006.

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“She is the voice of conscience faced with brutal inhumanity and the peril that goes with it. But this superb collection of the pieces she wrote for Novaya gazeta adds another dimension. It measures her as a journalist against other journalists round the world. It reveals a superb original technician.”

—Peter Preston, The Observer

“Like all great investigative reporters, Anna Politkovskaya brought forward human truths that rewrote the official story. We will continue to read her, and learn from her, for years.” —Salman Rushdie


“Anna Politkovskaya defined the human conscience. Her relentless pursuit of the truth in the face of danger and darkness testifies to her distinguished place in journalism—and humanity.” —Christiane Amanpour, anchor of ABC News This Week

MArKETING:

Extensive outreach to literary magazines and newspapers; wide review coverage expected Extracts prior to publication New York City event to launch book Focus on librarians and academics

on sALE: APrIL 5 HISTOrY PAPErBACK OrIGINAL 480 PAGES, 5 1⁄2" × 8 1⁄4" $19.95 978-1-935554-40-0 EBOOK: 978-1-935554-70-7 US rIGHTS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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Conversations with Mr. Prain A novel

Joan Taylor Back by popular demand—from booksellers: A sexy, suspenseful novel in which a young writer’s encounters with a jaded publisher prove that good conversation can be very dangerous. . . Overlooked by critics on its initial release in 2006, this erotically charged mystery has nonetheless continued to develop such a following among booksellers that Melville House has decided to rerelease it in a stunning new package. As for the story that’s earning such loyalty: it’s a whip-smart conversation between Stella, a vivacious, aspiring writer and Bohemian eco-activist, and Edward Prain, a refined connoisseur of the rare books on hand in Stella’s fusty London bookstall. While Prain is mysteriously aloof about his background, Stella finds his insights into art more and more stimulating, until one rainy afternoon she makes a surprising discovery: Prain is the head of England’s most prestigious publishing house and a leading collector of art. And now, he would like her to come to tea at his country estate . . . to discuss her writing. Stella is too intrigued to say no. Yet their cat-and-mouse game only intensifies at his sumptuous estate, where she finds herself engaged in an increasingly devilish conversation on the making of art, the selling of art, and the protection of self until Prain reveals that he knows more about her past than he has ever let on. . . . J o a n Tay l o r is an historian and the author of several books

on ancient religious history and archeology, including the prizewinning Christians and the Holy Places, and The Englishman, The Moor and the Holy City: The True Adventures of an Elizabethan Traveller. A native New Zealander, she currently lives in England, where she lectures widely on religion and philosophy. This is her first novel.

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P RAISE f r o m B o o ks e l l e r s fo r C o n v e r sat i o n s w i t h Mr. Prain

“A novel of manners and of intellect, of passion and calculation, of negotiation and compromise, of winning and losing, of love and sex. Smart and sensual.” —Robert Gray, The Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vermont

“There are flashes of brilliance throughout this book, and enough suspense that it really is irresistible to keep reading.” —Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY


“Intriguing . . . this novel takes smart chances.” —Publishers Weekly

MArKETING:

Intensive bookseller outreach Extensive book club outreach Shelf-talkers and posters available reading group guide included in book

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INTRODUCING THE NEVERSINK LIBRARY The Neversink Library champions books from around the world that have been overlooked, underappreciated, looked askance at, or foolishly ignored. They are issued in handsome, well-designed editions at reasonable prices in hopes of their passing from one reader to another—and further enriching our culture.

“I was by no means the only reader of books on board the Neversink. Several other sailors were diligent readers, though their studies did not lie in the way of belles-lettres. Their favourite authors were such as you may find at the bookstalls around Fulton Market; they were slightly physiological in their nature. My book experiences on board of the frigate proved an example of a fact which every book-lover must have

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experienced before me, namely, that though public libraries have an imposing air, and doubtless contain invaluable volumes, yet, somehow, the books that prove most agreeable, grateful, and companionable, are those we pick up by chance here and there; those which seem put into our hands by Providence; those which pretend to little, but abound in much.” —Herman Melville, White Jacket


THE TrAIn A NOVEL

GEOrGES SIMENON

Translated by robert Baldick

restored to print for the first time in more than forty years, a masterpiece of psychological suspense hailed as “one of the most poignant love affairs in twentieth century literature” (The New Statesman) Against all expectations Marcel Féron has made a “normal” life in a bucolic French suburb in the Ardennes. But on May 10, 190, as Nazi tanks approach, this timid, happy man must abandon his home and confront the “Fate” that he has secretly awaited. Separated from his pregnant wife and young daughter in the chaos of flight, he joins a freight car of refugees hurtling southward ahead of the pursuing invaders. There, he meets Anna, a sad-looking, darkhaired girl, whose accent is “neither Belgian nor German,” and who “seemed foreign to everything around her.” As the mystery of Anna’s identity is gradually revealed, Marcel leaps from the heights of an exhilarating freedom to the depths of a terrifying responsibility— one that will lead him to a blood-chilling choice. When it first appeared in English in 196, British novelist and critic Brigid Brophy declared The Train to be “the novel his admirers had been expecting all along from Simenon.” Until The Train, she wrote, the dazzlingly prolific novelist had been “a master without a masterpiece.” MArKETING:

One of the twentieth century’s most prolific writers and several times a candidate for the Nobel Prize, G e o r G e s s i m e n o n (1903–1989) published more than two hundred novels, seventy-five of them featuring his celebrated detective, Commissaire Maigret.

The Train was originally published in English by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1964. It has been out of print for more than forty years. reading group guide available

P r a i s e Fo r t h e t r a i n

“There is no false note, not one word or sigh or smile which strikes me as anything but unavoidable. This is not a writer’s romancing story of a little man caught in the war; it is the unknown history of many little —New York Times Book Review men in that vast war.” “He is the greatest of all . . . the truest novelist we have in literature.” —André Gide

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The Eternal Philistine A novel

Ödön von hor váth

Translated by John G. Wagner

This important, never-before-translated work by a major yet overlooked mid-20th century writer, is a brutally funny look at the human comedy on the eve of Europe’s descent into Fascism. A classic, prescient work of pre-WWII literature by a major Weimar author about a young man who is a failed used car salesman. In search of another means to live the high life, he decides to travel by train from Berlin to Madrid to see the World’s Fair—and hopefully meet a beautiful, rich woman who will provide for his every whim. It’s a highly stylized, and at times raucously funny, tale of the almost-absurd: a dark and satiric look at Europeans, and especially Germans, from all levels of society on the brink of cataclysmic Fascism. And as such, it is, perhaps, the most significant work of this important writer’s oeuvre. Von Horváth’s work fearlessly tried to warn of the dangers of rising fascism and the militarization of Europe (which led to his having to flee Germany and Austria successively). His characters here are adrift in their acquisitive desires, making them vulnerable to the manipulations and propaganda of the State—and making this novel brilliantly foresightful in its understanding of politics and human nature at a crucial point in modern European history. Ö d ö n v o n H o r v á t h (1901–1939) is best known for his

important plays written in the ’30s, including Tales of the Vienna Woods, and for the early anti-fascist novel A Child of Our Time. Born in Austria, he fled the Nazis and died in exile in Paris, when a tree limb struck by lightning hit him as he walked down the Champs-Élysée.

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P RAISE FO r Ö d Ö n vo n h o rv á t h

“The most gifted of the young dramatists, and above and beyond the brightest mind. . . .” —Carl Zuckmayer

“These works remain steps. But they lead to great heights.” —Franz Werfel


“The most gifted writer of the younger generation.” —Stefan Zweig

MArKETING:

First published in 1930, this is the first English translation of The Eternal Philistine. Extensive outreach to reviewers, focusing on the literary reputation of the author, considered a classic of pre-WWII literature in Europe Internet marketing Academic outreach to professors of the period reading group guide available

on sALE: JuLy 12 PAPErBACK OrIGINAL 224 PAGES, 5" × 8" $15.00 / $17.00 CAN 978-1-935554-47-9 EBOOK: 978-1-935554-74-5 WOrLD ENGLISH rIGHTS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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AFTEr mIDnIgHT A NOVEL

IrMGArD KEUN

Translated by Anthea Bell

In this riveting rediscovery written from within Nazi Germany, a naïve young girl finds her happy-go-lucky life impinged upon when the Führer comes to town to make a speech. Sanna and her ravishing friend Gerti would rather speak of love than politics, but in 1930s Frankfurt, politics cannot be escaped— even in the lady’s bathroom. Crossing town one evening to meet up with Gerti’s Jewish lover, a blockade cuts off the girls’ path—it is the Fürher in a motorcade procession, and the crowd goes mad striving to catch a glimpse of Hitler’s raised “empty hand.” Then the parade is over, and in the long hours after midnight Sanna and Gerti will face betrayal, death, and the heartbreaking reality of being young in an era devoid of innocence or romance. In 1937, German author Irmgard Keun had only recently fled Nazi Germany with her lover Joseph Roth when she wrote this slim, exquisite, and devastating book. It captures the unbearable tension, contradictions, and hysteria of pre-war Germany like no other novel. Yet even as it exposes human folly, the book exudes a hopeful humanism. It is full of humor and light, even as it describes the first moments of a nightmare. After Midnight is a masterpiece that deserves to be read and remembered anew. MArKETING:

i r m G a r d k e u n (1905–1982) became a sensation in her

native Germany with the 1931 publication of her first novel, Gilgi, when she was 21. But her second novel, The Artificial Silk Girl, landed her on the Nazi blacklist. Eventually sentenced to death, she fled the country and staged her own suicide . . . then snuck back into Germany where she lived undercover for the duration of the war. P r a i s e Fo r a F t e r M i D n i g h t

“I cannot think of anything else that conjures up so powerfully the atmosphere of a nation turned insane . . . one of those pieces of fiction that illuminate fact.” —Sunday Telegraph “Keun effectively conveys a sense of the inevitable helplessness of the individual . . . it feels truthful.” —Sunday Times

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This translation has never before been published in the US. Published in conjunction and crosspromoted with Other Press’s reissue of Keun’s The Artificial Silk Girl Media campaign drawing attention to Keun’s remarkable life story ArCs to bookstores and media Marketing program based on successful Hans Fallada campaign

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THE LATE LorD Byron A BIOG rA P HY

DOrIS LANGLEY MOOrE “The best biography of Lord Byron ever written,” according to Poet Laureate W. S. Merwin, is now back in print after decades. Of the hundreds of books on Byron and his work, not one has been devoted to the immediate aftermath of his life; and yet it is these first twenty posthumous years that yield the most unexpected and exciting discoveries about the character of the poet and the behavior of those who once surrounded him—wife, sister, friends, enemies. With the burning of his memoirs almost as soon as news of his death reach England in May 192, there began the sequence of impassioned controversies that have followed one another like the links in a chain ever since. What sort of man was the begetter of these dramas? Unflagging in energy and acumen, Doris Langley Moore sifts the various witnesses, their motives and credentials, and not only reveals how much questionable evidence has been accepted but develops a corrected picture that appeals and persuades. Drawing upon a very large amount of unpublished material, from the Lovelace Papers, Murray manuscripts, and Hobhouse archives, she reaches the conclusion that, as to his chroniclers, a great man has too often fallen among thieves. The story she tells needs no special knowledge of Byron. It is written for everyone who enjoys literary detective work and human drama. As a scholar of Lord George Gordon Byron, d o r i s l a n G leY moore (1902–1989) wrote four additional books: The Great Byron Adventure, Lord Byron, Lord Byron: Accounts Rendered, and a biography of the poet’s daughter, Ada, Countess of Lovelace. P r a i s e Fo r t h e l at e lo r D BY r o n

“A massive triumph of literary scholarship . . . with awesome industry and remorseless detail. . . . She has checked dates, exposed lies and exaggerations, analyzed characters and speculated about motives.” —The New York Times “A volume filled with drama and wit, perceptive and penetrating character analysis, as well as acute literary detection.” —Robert R. Kirsch, Los Angeles Times

MArKETING:

Originally published in the UK by John Murray (1961) and later published in the U.S. by Harper and row (1977), The Late Lord Byron has been out of print since the early 1980s. Extensive outreach to literary magazines and newspapers; review coverage expected Campaign focusing on librarians and academics

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PEnguIn LosT / DEATH AnD THE PEnguIn T WO NOV E L S

ANDrEY KUrKOV

Translated by George Bird

the long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed Death and the Penguin Andrey Kurkov’s first book to be published in English, Death and the Penguin, was hailed by leading critics in the US and the UK as “a tragicomic masterpiece” (The Daily Telegraph) of suspense about life on the crime-riddled streets of an impoverished, post-Soviet Kiev. But until now, fans haven’t been able to read the sequel and find out what happened to Viktor and his silent cohort, the penguin Misha, whom Viktor was forced to abandon at the end of the novel while fleeing Mafia vengeance. Admirers need wait no longer. Now available for the first time in the US, Penguin Lost sees Viktor grab at the opportunity to return to Kiev incognito and launch an intensive, guilt-wracked search for Misha. It’s a search that will take Viktor across the Ukraine to Moscow and back, vividly depicting a troubled landscape. It once again lands Viktor in league with a series of criminals and corrupt officials, each of whom know something of what happened to Misha, and each of whom are willing to pass that information along if Viktor will just help them with one more job. . . And it’s a tale told once again in a style that’s part Bulgakov and part Hitchcock, simultaneously funny and ominous, nearly absurd and all-too-real. Readers may find themselves rooting even harder for Viktor this time, as he presses forward on his odyssey under even more dangerous circumstances, in another brilliantly rich and topical book from a contemporary Russian master.

P r a i s e Fo r t h e P e n g u i n s

“A striking portrait of post-Soviet isolation. . . . In this bleak moral landscape Kurkov manages to find ample —The New York Times refuge for his dark humor.” “Delicious . . . when Viktor finally finds Misha it is as if Woody Allen had gone to meet Kurtz.” —The Spectator “The deadpan tone works perfectly, and it will be a hard-hearted reader who is not touched by Viktor’s relationship with his unusual pet.” —The Times (of London)

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“Pathos and humor shine through to make this a black comedy of rare distinction, and the penguin is an invention of genius.” —The Spectator

MELVILLE INTERNATIONAL CRIME

read the first book in the beloved series In the widely hailed prequel to Penguin Lost, aspiring writer Viktor Zolotaryov leads a down-and-out life in poverty-and-violence-wracked Kiev—he’s out of work and his only friend is a penguin, Misha, that he rescued when the local zoo started getting rid of animals. Even more nerve-wracking: a local mobster has taken a shine to Misha and wants to keep borrowing him for events. But Viktor thinks he’s finally caught a break when he lands a wellpaying job at the Kiev newspaper writing “living obituaries” of local dignitaries—articles to be filed for use when the time comes. The only thing is, it seems the time always comes as soon as Viktor writes the article. Slowly understanding that his own life may be in jeopardy, Viktor also realizes that the only thing that might be keeping him alive is his penguin. a n d reY kur kov, born in St. Petersburg in 1961, now lives in

Kiev. Having graduated from the Kiev Foreign Languages Institute, he worked for some time as a journalist, did his military service as a prison warder at Odessa, then became a film cameraman, writer of screenplays, and author of critically acclaimed and popular novels. G eo rG e B i rd has translated extensively from German and Russian.

In 1986 he won the Pluto Crime Prize for his novel Death in Leningrad.

MArKETING:

on sALE: JunE 7

Penguin Lost has never before been available in the US

PAPErBACK OrIGINAL 5 1⁄2” × 8 1⁄4”

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PENGUIN LOST: 160 PAGES $14.95 / $16.95 CAN 978-1-935554-56-1

DEATH AND THE PENGUIN: 192 PAGES $14.95 / $16.95 CAN 978-1-935554-55-4

One of russia’s bestselling contemporary writers Early ArC campaign to media and booksellers Part of the Melville House International Crime series

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morE BEEr / onE mAn, onE murDEr KAYANK AYA TH r I L L E r S

JAKOB ArJOUNI

Translated by Anselm Hollo

turkish detective kemal kayankaya might not know when it’s recycling day, but now he has to help four eco-terrorists beat a murder rap. . . . Wisecracking PI Kemal Kayankaya cares more about sausage and beer than politics, but when he’s hired to defend four eco-terrorists charged with murdering a chemical plant owner he finds himself stuck in the middle of Germany’s culture wars. It doesn’t take long for Kayankaya to realize that the whole situation stinks and that both the Left and the Right have blood on their hands. And is the fiery journalist Carla Reedermann dogging his steps because she smells a story, or is she after something more? A hardboiled noir in the Chandler tradition that also provides a wry critique of contemporary racial and environmental politics, More Beer shows why Jakob Arjouni’s series of Kayankaya novels has become a bestselling international sensation.

to rescue a kidnapped prostitute, kemal kayankaya must face some of Germany’s most depraved and dangerous criminals. Fortunately, some of them are his friends. . . . Love is never easy—especially when your girlfriend is an illegal Thai prostitute who has been kidnapped (again) by a gang of sex traffickers. Fortunately for the hapless fiancé, wisecracking gumshoe Kemal Kayankaya is on the case. The son of a Turkish garbage collector, he knows a thing or two about living in the ethnic fringes of the ugliest German city of them all: Frankfurt. Kayankaya plunges into the city’s underbelly, where the police don’t care if you live or die, and the powerful view an illegal alien as just another paycheck. One Man, One Murder populates its pages with unforgettable characters, whip-smart dialogue, and a connoisseur’s collection of grim details. But it is Arjouni’s dead-on description of contemporary Europe’s racial politics, vacuous nationalism, and social injustice that make his novels rise above the rest.

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“Kemal Kayankaya is the ultimate outsider among hard-boiled private eyes.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

MELVILLE INTERNATIONAL CRIME

JakoB a rJ o u ni was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 196, the

MArKETING:

son of acclaimed German playwright Hans Gunter Michelson. He has written numerous books, including the novel Magic Hoffmann, which was shortlisted for the IMPAC Award. But it is his series of four mysteries featuring Turkish immigrant detective Kemal Kayankaya—all of which are being published by Melville House— for which he has become best known. Bestsellers throughout Europe and the winner of the German Thriller Prize, they have also been turned into wildly popular movies in his home country. Arjouni now divides his time between Berlin and Languedoc, France.

One of the most popular crime writers in Europe

Protagonist is a wisecracker and extremely funny, although not slapstick Political edge makes a tired genre feel fresh and smart Early ArCs for booksellers

P raise Fo r o n e M a n , o n e M ur D e r

“This is true hardboiled detective fiction, realistic, violent and occasionally funny, with a hero who lives up to the best traditions —The Telegraph of the genre.”

Highly plotted books with lots of action making them compulsive page-turners

National media campaign

“A gripping caper and a haunting indictment of the madness of nationalism, illuminated by brilliant use of language: magnificent.” —The Guardian (England)

“A zippy, deliciously dirty tour of legal fleshpots and low-down scams victimizing illegal aliens. . . . Plotted with verve and written —Kirkus with passion.”

“This lively, gripping book sets a high standard for the crime novel as the best of modern literature.” —The Independent

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also availaBle: KISMET 978-1-935554-23-3 $15.00 / $17.50 CAN HAPPY BIrTHDAY, TUrK! 978-1-935554-20-2 $14.95 / $16.95 CAN

ONE MAN, ONE MURDER: 192 PAGES, 5 1⁄2” × 8 1⁄4” $14.95 / $16.95 CAN 978-1-935554-54-7 NOrTH AMErICAN rIGHTS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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The Flight of the Intellectuals Paul Berman

Paperback edition of the widely reviewed book, called “important and devastating in its conclusions” by the New York Times Twenty years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini called for the assassination of Salman Rushdie, and writers around the world instinctively rallied to Rushdie’s defense. Today, according to Paul Berman, “Rushdie has metastasized into an entire social class,” an ever-growing group of sharp-tongued critics of Islamist extremism, who survive only because of pseudonyms and police protection. And yet, instead of being applauded, the Rushdies of today (people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Ibn Warraq) are dismissed as “strident” or as no better than fundamentalist themselves, and contrasted unfavorably with representatives of the Islamist movement who falsely claim to be “moderates.” How did this happen? In The Flight of the Intellectuals, Berman conducts a searing examination into the intellectual atmosphere of the moment and shows how some of the West’s best thinkers have fumbled badly in their effort to grapple with Islamist ideas. Berman’s investigation of the history and nature of the Islamist movement includes many surprising revelations. In examining Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, he details the rise of an immense and often violent worldview, elements of which survive today in the brigades of al-Qaeda and Hamas. He also unearths the shocking story of al-Banna’s associate, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who collaborated personally with Adolf Hitler to incite Arab support of the Nazis’ North African campaign. Echoes of the Grand Mufti’s Nazified Islam can be heard among the followers of al-Banna even today. In examining the legacy of these political traditions, Berman makes a striking contribution to a central debate of our moment: the debate over Islamist ideas in Western countries, and over the reluctance of journalists and intellectuals from Western backgrounds to grapple seriously with Islamist ideas and violence. Paul Ber man is a writer-in-residence at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Terror and Liberalism.

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P RAISE FOR T h e F l i g h t o f t h e I n t e l l ec t ua l s

“An intellectual thriller in the form of a polemic, with Inspector Berman hunting for clues. . . . Maybe Berman’s book will start intellectuals talking, and not just about each other. Maybe some of the previously silent will begin to speak out against the death squads rather than snark about their victims and targets.”

—Ron Rosenbaum, Slate

“In The Flight of the Intellectuals [Berman] continues his work of redeeming the good name of intellectuals by exposing the corrupt among them.”

—Anthony Julius, New York Times Book Review

“Paul Berman is, just like me and I think many others, surprised—and that’s an understatement—that some liberals choose to defend ideas that are very illiberal and choose to look away from practices that are even more illiberal. Why are they excusing radical Islam? That fascinates Berman and it also fascinates me, what the presence of Islam does to the liberal psyche in the West.”

—Ayaan Hirsi Ali


“It has been quite astonishing to see how far and how fast there has been a capitulation to the believable threat of violence. . . . I join with Paul Berman in expressing utter astonishment at this phenomenon, or rather at the way that it is not a phenomenon.” —Christopher Hitchens

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radio tour Coverage in paperback columns Op-eds University tour

on sALE: mAy 31 HISTOrY TrADE PAPErBACK 304 PAGES, 5" × 8 1⁄4" $16.95 / $18.95 CAN 978-1-935554-44-8 EBOOK: 978-1-935554-98-1 ALL rIGHTS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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THE ArT oF THE novELLA: THE DuEL × 5 Five great writers, five great books, one great title

a sparkling new translation tells the tale of a young libertine who finds his rapier wit matched by actual rapiers.

In this autobiographical tale, a young dandy is forced to flee his hometown after falling afoul of the authorities. But sheltering in the royal court he finds treachery and insult and is eventually positioned into a meaningless confrontation over a woman he cares nothing about. Told with debonair wit and a merciless attitude toward high society, the tale becomes a tense adventure that leads to a surprising outcome. Giaco m o casa nova (1725–1798)

was a Venetian adventurer and author. Although he is remembered as a famous womanizer, he is also one of the most important writers of the 18th century. Ja m es m a rcu s is the translator of Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror.

144 PAGES 978-1-935554-49-3

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this new translation of the literary masterpiece—which combines a beautiful romance with high suspense—is here presented for the first time as a stand-alone volume.

One of Chekhov’s most important lengthy works, this remarkable story gives a startling twist to his classic, ongoing study of bourgeois romance when he sets it on a collision course with a decaying, Czarist concept of honor. It ends in the ultimate Chekhovian observation: that fate is often ludicrous. an ton ch ek h ov (1860–190)

became one of the world’s leading writers for a series of stories, novellas and plays that are now recognized as masterpieces, including novellas such as My Life and plays such as The Cherry Orchard.

an exciting, swashbuckling thriller based on a true story about two of napoleon’s soldiers

Conrad’s brilliantly ironic tale about two officers in Napoleon’s Grand Army who, under a futile pretext, fought an on-going series of duels throughout the Napoleanic Wars. Over decades, on every occasion they chanced to meet, they fought. Both satiric and deeply sad, this masterful tale treats both the futility of war and the absurdity of false honor, war’s necessary accessory. JosePh co nra d (1857–192), born to Polish parents, didn’t learn English until he was in his twenties, but went on to write some of the greatest works in the English language, including novellas such as Heart of Darkness and Freya of the Seven Isles.

maGarita sh al in a is a poet, essayist and translator who lives in New York City.

144 PAGES 978-1-935554-50-9

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112 PAGES 978-1-935554-51-6


“Laevsky played, drank wine and thought that the duel was basically foolish and pointless, as it does not resolve the question, but only complicates it further, however such things are unavoidable at times.” —Anton Chekhov, The Duel

a new translation of a key work by one of european literature’s most important early writers

One of the few novellas written by the master German playwright, The Duel was considered by Thomas Mann and others to be one of the great works of German literature. The story of a virtuous woman slandered by a nobleman, it is a precise study of a subject that fascinated von Kleist: That people are sometimes seemingly punished for their very innocence. h e in r ich von k lei st (1777–1811)

is best known for his revolutionary plays and stories, such as Michael Kohlhaas, embracing realism and rejecting the ideals of eminent German humanists such as Goethe. an n ie Jan u sc h is associate book review editor at Translation Review.

72 PAGES 978-1-935554-53-0

this rediscovered gem by a major, yet neglected, writer—here presented in a dazzling new translation—is an absorbing account of the final days of czarist russia.

An absorbing saga about the brutalities of military life upon its own soldiers. Stranded at a distant outpost, young Romashov finds himself obliged to fight a duel—over something he realizes is meaningless. As the novel hurtles toward a startling conclusion, it reveals itself to be a luminous depiction of the end of an era.

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All five books in the Art of the Novella “Duel × 5” series will be treated as one release, with a national media campaign to critics, bloggers and feature writers. Intense online marketing campaign, including giveaways Series posters Spin racks (for entire series) This series features four new translations

al eksan dr kuPrin (1870–1938) was a Russian writer, pilot, explorer, and adventurer who was dubbed the “true successor to Chekhov” by Tolstoy, and the “Russian Kipling” by Vladimir Nabokov. Josh ua B il l in Gs’ translation of Pushkin’s Tales of Belkin is available in the Art of the Novella series.

304 PAGES 978-1-935554-52-3

on sALE: AugusT 16 PAPErBACK OrIGINAL 5” × 7” $10.00 / $13.00 CAN rIGHTS TO ALL TrANSLATIONS: MELVILLE HOUSE

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THE Art of the Novella “I wanted them all, even those I’d already read, because the editions were so well-made. . . .”

—Ron Rosenbaum, New York Observer

Fiction Paperback 5” × 7” US $10.00 | Can $13.00 | UK £6.99

The Devil 978-0-9746078-3-2 / 100 pp First LovE 978-0-9746078-9-4 / 124 pp The Girl with the Golden Eyes 978-0-9766583-1-3 / 128 Pp The Horla 978-0-9761407-4-0 / 96 pp Michael Kohlhaas 978-0-9761407-2-6 / 144 pp THE COXON FUND 978-1-933633-42-8 / 112 pp RASSELAS 978-1-933633-44-2 / 192 pp MATHILDA 978-0-9766583-7-5 / 144 Pp The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg 978-0-9761407-9-5 / 80 Pp Parnassus on Wheels 978-1-935554-11-0 / 142 pp

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My Life 978-0-9746078-2-5 / 148 PP Bartleby the Scrivener 978-0-9746078-0-1 / 80 PP The Country of the Pointed Firs 978-1-935554-10-3 / 158 PP The Beach of Falesá 978-0-9761407-1-9 / 128 PP BENITO CERENO 978-1-933633-05-3 / 128 PP The Awakening 978-1-935554-12-7 / 224 PP The Nice Old Man and the Pretty Girl 978-1-933633-89-3 / 112 pP Mrs. Dalloway 978-1-935554-37-0 / 208 PP The Lifted Veil 978-0-9766583-0-6 / 80 PP The Touchstone 978-0-9746078-6-3 / 124 PP

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TALES OF BELKIN 978-1-933633-73-2 / 112 pp The Lesson of the Master 978-0-9746078-4-9 / 112 PP STEMPENyU: A Jewish Romance 978-1-933633-16-9 / 148 PP The Eternal Husband 978-0-9761407-3-3 / 224 PP A Simple Heart 978-0-9746078-8-7 / 80 PP The lemoine affair 978-1-933633-41-1 / 100 PP the dialogue of the dogs 978-1-933633-04-6 / 148 PP Jacob’s Room 978-1-935554-36-3 / 144 PP FREYA OF THE SEVEN ISLES 978-1-933633-13-8 / 148 PP the death of ivan ilych 978-1-933633-54-1 / 128 PP

The Man Who Would be King 978-0-9761407-0-2 / 80 PP MAY DAY 978-1-933633-43-5 / 112 pp The Hound of the Baskervilles 978-0-9746078-7-0 / 213 PP A SLEEP AND A FORGETTING 978-0-9766583-8-2 / 112 pp The Dead 978-0-9749609-0-6 / 100 PP Adolphe 978-1-935554-09-7 / 112 PP Lady Susan 978-1-935554-35-6 / 96 PP HOW THE TWO IVANS QUARRELLED 978-1-933633-14-5 / 148 PP


THE LonELy voICE A STU DY O F THE SHO rT STO rY

FrANK O’CONNOr

Introduction by russell Banks

Frank O’Connor was one of the twentieth century’s greatest short story writers, and one of Ireland’s greatest authors ever. Now, his influential and sought-after book on the short story is back. The Lonely Voice offers a master class with the master. In fact, this book is based on lectures given by the author to a writing class that included Robert Stone, Ken Kesey, Larry McMurtry, and Russell Banks. With his sharp wit and straightforward prose, Frank O’Connor not only discusses the techniques and challenges of a form in which “a whole lifetime must be crowded into a few minutes,” but he also delves into a passionate consideration of his favorite writers and their greatest works, including Chekhov, Hemingway, Kipling, Joyce, and others. F r a n k o ’ c o n n o r is widely recognized as one of Ireland’s greatest writers and cultural figures. He lived in the United States off and on after 1952, teaching at Harvard and Stanford, and writing stories for The New Yorker magazine. His most popular works include his Collected Stories, Guest of the Nation, and An Only Child. russe l l Banks is the author of sixteen works of fiction. He

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has received numerous international prizes, and two of his novels— The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction—have been made into awardwinning films. Banks lives in upstate New York.

Extensive focus on writers groups and MFA writing programs

P r a i s e Fo r t h e lo n e lY vo i C e

Internet marketing to online literary sites Outreach to rhetoric and writing professors

“A dazzling and provocative introduction to talking about what people do when they sit down to write short stories.” —from the introduction by Russell Banks

“This is a brilliant book on a subject about which little has been written. It carries, besides, the authority a critical work always possesses when its author is a distinguished practitioner of the art he is criticizing.” —The New York Times Book Review

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