The Sweet Shop Owner

Author	Iain Banks
ISBN	0316858544

A darkly brilliant novel of self-discovery the cutting edge of experimental fiction. It leads from nowhere to nowhere, the mysterious world-spanning structure on which everyone seems to live. Rescued from the sea, devoid of personality or memory, all John Orr knows is the Bridge, his persistent...

Author	Paul Gallico
ISBN	0140299521

Lyrical and touching tale set in WWII, with the climax taking place during Dunkirk. While there's a danger here of crossing over into sentimentality, for me this lovely tale transformed what could have been pat sentiments into something very heartfelt and noble. It's the kind of tale children will...

Author	Bill Hicks
ISBN	1845291115

So it was disappointing as hell not to love this book. In fact, it was disgusting to realize that during large sections, I was bored. The problem is not Bill. The problem is the editing. The idea behind the book was to show Bill’s comedy routines as he performed them throughout his career so that the reader...

Author	Ben Lerner
ISBN	1566892740

Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his relationship to art. What is actual when our experiences are mediated by language, technology, medication, and the arts? Is poetry an essential...

Author	Christopher Isherwood
ISBN	0586047956

Here, meine Damen und Herren, is Chrisopther Isherwood's brilliant farewell to a city which was not only buildings, streets, and people, but was also a state of mind which will never come around again.

In linked short stories, he says goodbye to Sally Bowles, to Fraulein Schroeder, to pranksters,...