Hans-Jürgen Greif's novel calls forth, with the impetuous elegance of a baroque opera, the power of the human voice to stir our souls. It places the reader under the spell of a mythical voice--a castrato of our time.Lennart Teufel, a young man with a beautiful voice and great musical talent, is mutilated and orphaned in an automobile accident. Having recognized the boy's potential, a demanding and brilliant Italian teacher takes him under her protection, shields him from the outside world, trains him and recreates what the musical world had lost long ago--an irresistible, overwhelming voice to which nobody can resist. At the teacher's death, a former student of hers, now a renowned music critic, takes charge of the singer who has chosen a stage name bearing grave consequences, "Orfeo." On his path to celebrity, he unleashes passions he cannot control, endangering his life.Set in modern Germany, Hans-Jürgen Greif's novel communicates the power of the Italian castrati. He revives their exceptional performances and their hypnotic power over audiences. At the same time, the novel opens up questions of androgyny and human identity.

Orfeo

Greif, Hans-Jurgen

Esplanade Fiction

Andrew Hood's debut collection heralds a young talent with an irresistible style and merciless eye. These unapologetic stories deal with an assortment of foolish self-destructive small town anti-heroes. They are unlikely odes and elegies for human shabbiness.A newly-wed conjures a ghost in an attempt to contact her absent husband. A seventeen year old is blackmailed into buying drugs for his English teacher. A tumescent young Blue Jay's fan and his tumor-addled sister are swept up in the tempest of the Blue Jay's 1989 run for the World Series. An estranged stepmother and stepson embark on a pilgrimage to the Michael Jackson trial.Hood's cleverly wrought lyrical prose is the perfect foil for a prevailing lack of forgiveness, which becomes the overriding monstrosity of each story. Every character wants only to be pardoned, but will not, themselves, grant it.

Pardon Our Monsters

Andrew Hood

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Books by Esplanade Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Esplanade Fiction publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Orfeo

Pardon Our Monsters