Those who inhabit Last Exit to Brooklyn are unforgettable: Harry, the strike leader, who during his weeks of power discovers something of his true nature; Tralala, who rejects the only love she is offered and sinks swiftly to the lowest level of prostitution; Georgette, the 'hip queer' with pathetic aspirations to culture; Abraham, the 'cool ass' black stud, with his girls, his 'bigass' Cadillac, and his undernourished family; the debris of American civilisation, for whom the author ultimately makes us feel a profound compassion. Last Exit to Brooklyn was found obscene at the Old Bailey in November 1967, a decision which was reversed by a historic Appeal Court judgement in July 1968. Now this 'honest and terrible book', as Anthony Burgess describes it in his Introduction to this new edition, can take its rightful place as one of the major books of our time.
'It is quite an experience to be locked up all by yourself in any size room' says the anonymous narrator of Hubert Selby Jr.'s second novel. What follows is a startling series of recollections and fantasies that illuminate the workings of a prisoner's unhinged mind. He yearns for his violent childhood, rages against obscure authorities, and imagines enacting horrible revenge on those who imprisoned him. The prisoner's remand cell becomes the scene of a surreal mental torture. Disorienting, nightmarish and structurally inventive, The Room is a shocking examination of the suffering humans can inflict on each other.
'[He] inspired a generation ... He changed the course of history' Barack ObamaAs Martin Luther King, Jr. prepared for the Birmingham campaign in early 1963, he drafted the final sermons for Strength to Love, a volume of his best-known lectures. King had begun working on the sermons during a fortnight in jail in July 1962 and A Gift of Love includes these classic sermons, along with two new lectures. Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the non-violent philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, A Gift of Love illustrates King's vision of love and peaceful action as social and political forces for change.
C'est l'histoire d'un homme qui voulait juste en finir, s'acheter une arme et se tirer une balle dans la tête. Mais à la suite d'un bug informatique à l'armurerie, il doit patienter quatre jours avant de posséder l'arme. Durant cette waiting period, il reconsidère son projet et décide que d'autres que lui méritent ce sort. Il retrouve alors une raison de vivre en débarrassant le pays « des salauds » qui pourrissent la vie des gens bien. À commencer par ce bureaucrate chargé de veiller aux intérêts des anciens combattants et qui les floue en permanence ! Et après ? Après, il verra, mais une chose est sûre, les candidats sont nombreux. C'est l'histoire d'un démon dans l'Amérique d'aujourd'hui, un démon ordinaire qui refuse de mourir.
« Selby était un immense écrivain et Waiting period viendra sûrement enfoncer ce clou de désespérance dans une lecture posthume et automnale. » Matthieu Rémy, Rolling Stone Traduit de l'américain par Claro "Domaine étranger" dirigé par Jean-Claude Zylberstein
