Black Swan The Cider House Rules Ирвинг Джон

Действие романа Джона Ирвинга, современного классика американской литературы, начинается в Новой Англии в 1920-е годы. В сиротском приюте, который возглавляет доктор Ларч, действует негласный моральный кодекс — правила любви и сострадания. Здесь воспитывается и учится всем премудростям медицины сирота Гомер Уэллс. Однако наступает момент, когда юноша покидает приют, познаёт любовь и знакомится с другими правилами. Перед ним встаёт вопрос: «По каким правилам следует жить в этом мире?» • В книге представлен сокращённый и адаптированный текст уровня Intermediate

'One night when she was four and sleeping in the bottom bunk of her bunk bed, Ruth Cole awoke to the sound of lovemaking - it was coming from her parents' bedroom.' • This is the story of Ruth Cole. It is told in three parts: on Long Island, in the summer of 1958, when she is only four; in 1990, when she is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career; and in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth Cole is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother. She's also about to fall in love for the first time

'According to his mother, Jack Burns was an actor before he was an actor, but Jack's most vivid memories of childhood were those moments when he felt compelled to hold his mother's hand. He wasn't acting then.' • Jack Burns' mother, Alice, is a tattoo artist in search of the boy's father, a virtuoso organist named William who has fled America to Europe. To fund her journey, she plies her trade in the seaports of the Baltic coast. But her four-year-old son's errant father can't be found, and soon even Jack's memories of that perplexing time are called into question. It is only when he becomes a Hollywood actor in later life that what he has experienced in the past comes into telling play in his present

Матье Зела прожил свою жизнь хорошо. На самом деле, он прожил несколько жизней хорошо. Потому что жизнь Мэтью Зельды характеризуется одним удивительным фактом: его тело перестало стареть еще до конца восемнадцатого века • Начиная с 1758 года, молодой Матье бежит из Парижа после того, как стал свидетелем жестокого убийства своей матери. История его жизни переносит нас от Французской революции к Голливуду 1920-х годов, от Великой выставки до краха Уолл-стрит, и к концу двадцатого века Матье был инженером, мошенником, киномагнатом, солдатом, финансистом, возлюбленным многих, кабельщиком, и многое другое • Блестяще переплетая историю и личный опыт, Джон Бойн создает роман "Похититель времени" - ослепительную историю любви, убийства, упущенных шансов, предательства и искупления

When I think of Byrne Hall - which I do more often than I'd like - it's the dead weight of the heatwave that comes back to me, and the smell of things going rotten • Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella's suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella - a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought • Driven to find out more about her sister's secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya's relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out

Homer Wells' odyssey begins among the apple orchards of rural Maine. As the oldest unadopted child at St Cloud's orphanage, he strikes up a profound and unusual friendship with Wilbur Larch, the orphanage's founder - a man of rare compassion and an addiction to ether. What he learns from Wilbur takes him from his early apprenticeship in the orphanage surgery, to an adult life running a cider-making factory and a strange relationship with the wife of his closest friend

Одран Йейтс поступает в Клонлиффскую семинарию в 1972 году после того, как его мать сообщает ему, что у него есть призвание к священству. Он поступает туда, полный амбиций и надежд, преданный своей учебе и стремящийся завести друзей • Сорок лет спустя преданность Одрана была поставлена под сомнение откровениями, которые пошатнули веру ирландского народа в церковь. Он видел, как друзья предстали перед судом, коллеги были заключены в тюрьму, жизни молодых прихожан разрушены, и стал опасаться появляться на публике, опасаясь неодобрительных взглядов и оскорбительных замечаний • Но когда семейная трагедия вскрывает раны из его прошлого, он вынужден противостоять демонам, которые бушевали в некогда уважаемом учреждении, и признать свое собственное соучастие в их распространении

Does 'friends' ever really mean just 'friends'? • Gina and Laurence have been the best of friends ever since they were teenagers. Love has never been a factor • Now, Gina is married to the exquisitely tasteful Fergus and lives in stylish perfection in a huge house; Laurence is married to down-to-earth Hilary and lives in the Bee House, a home and hotel • When, with elegant disdain, Fergus announces that he is leaving Gina and their teenage daughter, Gina's misery ricochets through the two homes and she turns for emotional support to Laurence, her dearest friend • And as Laurence gives comfort, so his own marriage and the stability of his children edges towards destruction

The January Man is the story of a year of walks that was inspired by a song, Dave Goulder's 'The January Man'. Month by month, season by season and region by region, Christopher Somerville walks the British Isles, following routes that continually bring his father to mind • As he travels the country - from the winter floodlands of the River Severn to the lambing pastures of Nidderdale, the towering seabird cliffs on the Shetland Isle of Foula in June and the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest in autumn - he describes the history, wildlife, landscapes and people he encounters, down back lanes and old paths, in rain and fair weather • This exquisitely written account of the British countryside not only inspires us to don our boots and explore the 140,000 miles of footpaths across the British Isles, but also illustrates how, on long-distance walks, we can come to an understanding of ourselves and our fellow walkers

The Lollipop Shoes picks up the story of Vianne and her daughters and takes us on a magical and spellbinding journey to Paris. Exquisitely written with the fluid and beautiful prose we expect from Joanne Harris, it's a wonderful and captivating read, full of flavours, tastes and fragrances. You'll need to pace yourself to stop yourself from devouring it all at once! • 'Who died?' I said. 'Or is it a secret?' • 'My mother, Vianne Rocher.' • Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Yanne and her two daughters live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop • Nothing unusual marks them out; no red sachets hang by the door. The wind has stopped - at least for a while • Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes - ruthless, devious and seductive

The Wild Life is John Lewis-Stempel's account of twelve months eating only food shot, caught or foraged from the fields, hedges, and brooks of his forty-acre farm. Nothing from a shop and nothing raised from agriculture. Could it even be done? • We witness the season-by-season drama as the author survives on Nature's larder, trains Edith, a reluctant gundog, and conjures new recipes. And, above all, we see him get closer to Nature. Because, after all, you're never closer to Nature than when you're trying to kill it or pick it • Lyrical, observant and mordantly funny, The Wild Life is an extraordinary celebration of our natural heritage, and a testament to the importance of getting back to one's roots - spiritually and practically

The first memory I have of you is all knickers and legs. You had flipped yourself into a handstand and couldn’t get back down. We became best friends, racing slugs, pretending to be spies – all the things that children do • Ten years later, eighteen-year-old Ravine Roy spends every day in her room. Completing crosswords and scribbling in her journal, she keeps the outside world exactly where she wants it; outside • But as the real world begins to invade her carefully controlled space, she is forced to finally confront the questions she’s been avoiding. Who is her mother meeting in secret? Who has moved in next door? • And why, all those years ago, when two girls pulled on their raincoats and wellies and headed out into the woods did only one of them return?