Ewald Osers Libros

Kolya, here beautifully translated by Ewald Osers, is the novelization of the Czech film of the same name, which won both the 1997 Oscar and Golden Globe awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Set in Prague in 1988—just before the Velvet Revolution—it tells the story of Louka, a virtuoso performer with the Czech Philharmonic, who has been banned from playing by the state. Now he finds himself playing at cemeteries for a living. Adding to his problems, an illegal arranged marriage has left the hardened bachelor with a little Russian boy to care for. From these elements, Zdenek Sverak—who also played Louka in the film—has woven an enduring tale of the transforming powers of music, language, and love.

This detailed biography of a key figure in nineteenth-century philosophy examines both the life and work of Arthur Schopenhauer. Rudiger Safranski situates Schopenhauer within the context of his philosophical predecessors and contemporaries, such as Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel, while exploring the sources of his profound alienation from their "secularized religion of reason." The narrative delves into Schopenhauer's personal life, depicting struggles against a domineering father and the challenges of reconciling with his mother's literary success, as well as the loneliness he faced when his major work, The World as Will and Representation, was initially overlooked. Safranski also highlights the vibrant culture of Goethe's Weimar and Hegel's Berlin, enriching the portrayal of the era's intellectual landscape. Schopenhauer's philosophy, characterized by "weeping and gnashing of teeth," found few followers during the Romantic idealism of his time. However, after the disillusionments of 1848, his ideas gained traction among philosophers and writers, influencing figures from Nietzsche to Samuel Beckett. This biography, the first of Schopenhauer in English this century, vividly brings to life an intriguing philosopher and the intellectual battles of his time, whose impact continues to resonate today.

Works selected from twenty-five poets from the Balkan regions, based on volumes published during the past twenty years. ""Many of the poems evoke peasant art from Yugoslovia, of which much of Macedonia was a part for much of this century. Brilliant and ornate, with vivid dreamlike images, the work of Slavko Janevski is painterly in the extreme...Mateja Matevski's hard-edged poems offer a glory of crammed imagery...Osers' selections make us hunger for more"" - Booklist. ""A valuable contribution to our appreciation of Macedonian poetry as one of the most vibrant in world literatures"" - Slavic Review.

Man discovers a species of giant, intelligent newts and learns to exploit them so successfully that the newts gain skills and arms enough to challenge man's place at the top of the animal kingdom. Along the way, Karel Capek satirizes science, runaway capitalism, fascism, journalism, militarism, even Hollywood.

Old Masters (1985) is Thomas Bernhard's devilishly funny story about the friendship between two old men. For over thirty years Reger, a music critic, has sat on the same bench in front of a Tintoretto painting in a Viennese museum, thinking and railing against contemporary society, his fellow men, artists, the weather, even the state of public lavatories. His friend Atzbacher has been summoned to meet him, and through his eyes we learn more about Reger - the tragic death of his wife, his thoughts of suicide and, eventually, the true purpose of their appointment. At once pessimistic and exuberant, rancorous and hilarious, Old Masters is a richly satirical portrait of culture, genius, nationhood, class, the value of art and the pretensions of humanity.

Bilingvní, česko-anglické vydání básně Vítězslava Nezvala.

Jaroslav Seifert recibió el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1984. Al premiarle se reconocía el valor de su poesía, pero también el hecho de ser el único superviviente de una generación de poetas extraordinaria, única en la historia de su país, que vivió, sufrió y cantó con maestría los acontecimientos del siglo XX. Seifert parte de las vanguardias de los años veinte, se integra en el ‘poetismo’ de influjos dadaístas y cultiva la poesía revolucionaria. A partir de los años treinta su obra se inclina hacia un clasicismo que se remansa y se enraíza en su Praga natal para dar a luz libros de gran belleza que culminaron con Ser poeta en 1983. La Academia Sueca, al concederle el Premio Nobel, destacó que «con su poesía, de una sensualidad ardiente y gran riqueza de invención, da una imagen liberadora de una humanidad indomable y diversa». Literatura checa. Poesía lírica. Siglo XX.

"Fifteen-year-old Hanka Kaudersova has ginger hair and clear, green eyes. hen her family is deported to Auschwitz, her mother, father and younger brother are sent to the gas chamber. By a twist of fate, Hanka is faced with a simple alternative- follow her family, or work in as SS brothel behind the eastern front. She chooses to live, her Aryan looks allowing her to disguise the fact that she is Jewish. As the German army retreats from the Russian front, Hanka battles cold, hunger, fear and shame, sustained by her hatred for the men she entertains, her friendship with the mysterious Estelle, and her fierce, burning desire for life. ovely Green Eyes explores the compromises and sacrifices that an individual may make in order to survive, the way a woman can retain her identity in the face of appalling trauma, and the value of human life itself. This is a remarkable novel, which soars beyond nightmare, leaving the reader with a transcendent sense of hope."

Czech writer Vitezslav Nezval (1900-58) was one of the leading Surrealist poets of the 20th century. Prague with Fingers of Rain is his classic 1936 collection in which Prague’s many-sided life – its glamorous history, various weathers, different kinds of people – becomes symbolic of what is contradictory and paradoxical in life itself.

"The voice [in these stories] is clear and intelligent and brave. Mr. Klima has climbed the mast." New York Times