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A cruel joke at a country fair goes too far when a drunken laborer auctions off his wife and child to the highest bidder. So begins The Mayor of Casterbridge. Rich in descriptive powers and steeped in irony, this timeless tale offers a spellbinding portrayal of ambition, rivalry, revenge, and repentance.

The economy was booming. People had more money than they knew what to do with. And then the earthquake struck. Komura's wife follows the TV reports from morning to night: images of flames, smoke, buildings turned to rubble, fires everywhere. Pure hell. For the characters in Murakami's latest short-story collection, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a past they buried long ago. Satsuki has spent 30 years hating one man who destroyed her chances of having children. Did her desire for revenge cause the earthquake? Junpei's estranged parents live in Kobe. Should he contact them? Four-year-old Sala has nightmares that the Earthquake Man is trying to stuff her and everyone else inside a little box. Unappreciated and unpromoted, Katagiri returns home to find a giant frog in his apartment on

A massacre at a colonial garrison, the kidnapping of 2 pioneer sisters by Iroquois tribesmen, the treachery of a renegade brave, and the ambush of innocent settlers create an unforgettable picture of American frontier life in this imaginative, innovative, and classic 18th-century adventure — the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales.

Since the publication of the first edition in 1983, this course has established itself as the most practical, comprehensive text in the field and become widely used in many parts of the world in universities and other institutions of higher education. This new edition takes into account recent developments in the teaching of phonology. It includes updated references, fuller coverage of intonation, and a new chapter on different varieties of English with illustrative recorded material. At the end of each chapter in the book there are notes giving information on further reading, discussion of the more challenging issues, written exercises and, where appropriate, suggestions for teachers. In addition the audio CDs include recorded exercises for every chapter which are particularly helpful

Golding's best-known novel is the story of a group of boys who, after a plane crash, set up a fragile community on a previously uninhabited island. As memories of home recede and the blood from frenzied pig-hunts arouses them, the boys' childish fear turns into something deeper and more primitive.

The classic Stephen King novel of horror and redemption - released in the striking new graphic livery of bestselling CELL. It is the children who see - and feel - what makes the town so horribly different. In the storm drains and sewers It lurks, taking the shape of every nightmare, each one`s deepest dread. As the children grow up and move away, the horror of It is buried deep - until they are called back.

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man ...

This is a modern-day adventure story featuring Paulo's supernatural encounter with angels -- who appear as warrior women and travel through the Mojave desert on their motorbikes. Haunted by a devastating curse, Paulo is instructed by his mysterious spiritual master to embark upon a journey -- to find and speak to his guardian angel in an attempt to confront and overcome his dark past. The Valkyries is a compelling account of this forty day quest into the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, where Paulo and his wife, Chris, encounter the Valkyries -- warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles, spreading the word of angels. This exotic spiritual odyssey is a rare combination of truth, myth, imagination and inspiration. Ultimately it is a story about being able to forgive our past a

The new-look series of Miss Marple books for the 21st century. As Jane Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise nothing ever happened. Eventually, her interest was aroused by an old soldier's yarn about a strange coincidence. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her an astonishing photograph, the Major's attention wandered. He never did finished the story...