Marilynne Robinson, one of the greatest novelists of our time, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe, and wonder. Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church — the only available shelter from the rain — and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the days of suffering that preceded her newfound security. Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by Doll, a canny young drifter, and brought up by her in a hardscrabble childhood. Together they crafted a life on the run, living hand-to-mouth with nothing but their sisterly bond and a ragged blade to protect them. But despite bouts of petty violence and moments of desperation, their shared life is laced with moments of joy and love. When Lila arrives in Gilead, she struggles to harmonize the life of her makeshift family and their days of hardship with the gentle Christian worldview of her husband that paradoxically judges those she loves. Revisiting the beloved characters and setting of Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead and Home, a National Book Award Finalist, Lila is a moving expression of the mysteries of existence that is destined to become an American classic

The author of A. Fine and Private Place and The Last Unicorn, a pair of the very best fantasy novels of our time, Peter S. Beagle has written only two fantasy short stories of which "Lila the Werewolf" is the best, a contemporary classic. Beagle is a musician, a script writer, and a literary descendant of the fantasist Robert Nathan. Like Avram Davidson, he is an urban fantasist of wit and perception; a lover of animals who knows their personalities; a writer with a flair for characterization that raises him to the very top rank of contemporary writers who choose the fantastic as their metier. And his New York setting vibrates with authenticity, though it has been twenty years since dogs have been so common in the city. This is not a story about love

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was like a first child. Maybe that will always be the best-loved one. But this second child is the bright one. I think a lot of people will argue with some of the ideas in Lila. There may be controversy. But if people are still reading these two books a hundred years from now, I predict Lila will be the one they consider the more important. Robert M. Pirsig

As Dickens and Balzac did for their time, so John Berger does for ours, rendering the movement of a people and the passing of a way of life in his masterwork, the Into Their Labours trilogy. With Lilac and Flag, the Alpine village of the two earlier volumes has been forsaken for the mythic city of Troy. Here, amidst the shantytowns, factories, and opulent hotels, fading heritages and steadfast dreams, the children and grandchildren of rural peasants pursue meager livings as best they can. And here, two young lovers embark upon a passionate, desperate journey of love and survival and find transcending hope both for themselves and for us as their witnesses

Hope przez osiemnaście lat wychowywała się w klasztorze, a świat za murem stanowił dla niej fascynującą, lecz pełną pokus niewiadomą. Gdy opuszcza ten bezpieczny azyl, przechodzi przyspieszony kurs dojrzewania. Poznaje wiele ciekawych i egzotycznych zakątków, a każdy przystanek tej podróży wzbogaca ją wewnętrznie. Poznaje też miłość, lecz nie taką, o jakiej nauczały siostry zakonne. Książę Aleksiej obudził w Hope kobietę, lecz tylko po to, by zemścić się na jej ojcu. Naiwność dziewczyny najpierw go śmieszy, potem coraz bardziej rozczula. Uczy ją miłości i życia, a w obu dziedzinach jest prawdziwym mistrzem. Jednak efekty tej niezwykłej edukacji mogą zakończyć się katastrofą…

LILITA Lidija OBUHOVA IZDEVNIECĪBA «ZINĀTNE» RĪGĀ 1967

After he followed the old man through the mirror, nothing in his life was ever right again. It was a special mirror, and the man he followed was a special man? This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Somewhere, from among the four human-settled worlds of the Warden Diamond, hostile aliens were spying on Earth. But no agent could be sent to investigate and report back; a symbiont invaded all life forms and destroyed any form of machinery. That called for extraordinary means. One agent was chosen, then four men were stripped of their own minds and personalities, and his was imposed upon them. hooked up properly, he could then receive their reports, without ever leaving safe territory. Each man was assigned one world to conquer. His mission was first to find the Overlord of that world and kill him, then to take over his link with the aliens. Of course all this must be done with no help beyond his own naked ability

Gdzieś z daleka, spośród czterech zasiedlonych przez ludzi światów Rombu Wardena, wroga człowiekowi rasa szpiegowała Ziemię. Nie można jednak było wysłać tam agenta. Podróż do światów Wardena była bowiem podróżą bez możliwości powrotu. Żyjący tam mikroskopijny symbiont przedostawał się do wnętrza każdego żywego organizmu, uniemożliwiając mu tym samym życie poza systemem Wardena. Należało więc zastosować środki nadzwyczjne. Wybrano jednego agenta, a czterech innych odarto z ich umysłów i osobowości, narzucając im umysł i osobowość tego wybranego. Połączony odpowiednio z tą czwórką, mógł on odbierać ich raporty, nie opuszczając bezpiecznego miejsca, z dala od Rombu Wardena. Każdemu z czwórki wyznaczono jeden ze światów. Celem misji było odnalezienie i zlikwidowanie Władcy danego świata. Bohaterem pierwszej księgi jest Carl Tremon, którego wysłano na Lilith, planetę będącą Rajem — ale Rajem takim, jaki tylko Piekło mogło wymyślić!

Strażnik Goram ma do wykonania ważne zadanie w Małym Madrycie, zwanym inaczej miastem nieprzystosowanych. Młoda dziewczyna, Lilia, prosi mianowicie o pomoc dla swego siedmioletniego kuzyna, Silasa, który jest bardzo źle traktowany i w rodzinnym domu, i w szkole. Tymczasem wysłannikom Królestwa Światła udaje się wylądować poza terytorium Gór Czarnych, ale dalsza droga do domu wydaje się znacznie trudniejsza niż kiedykolwiek przedtem…