Franzobel: Das Fest der Steine

Ö 2005, 645 S., geb., € 25.60
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Dieses grotesk-komische Familienepos, bzw. moderne Schelmenroman erzählt die Geschichte des Hochstaplers Oswald Wuthenau, der wie eine wilde Mischung aus Orson Welles, Helmut Qualtinger und Oliver Hardy quer durch die Welt des 20. Jahrhunderts Spuren seines Unwesens hinterlässt: egal, ob Wuthenau in den 50ern mit nach Südamerika geflohenen Nazis Bekanntschaft macht, eine Orgie besucht, das erste Atomkraftwerk Argentiniens bauen lässt, in der DDR die Brecht-Medaille überreicht bekommt oder Wien auf den Kopf stellt - immer hinterlässt der unverschämte und gleichzeitig sympathische »Held« eine Spur der Verwüstung. Aber zum Schluss stößt Wuthenau in die ihm unbekannten Abgründe seiner eigenen Herkunft vor, nachdem ihm zweimal der Sohn entführt worden ist.

Colm Tóibín: Das Feuerschiff von Blackwater

D 2005, 299 S., Tb, € 11.31
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
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Declan hat AIDS und will in dem Haus sterben, in dem er als Kind bei seiner Großmutter aufgewachsen ist, mit dem Blick auf den nahen Leuchtturm, das »Feuerschiff von Blackwater«. Seine Mutter, zu der Declan ein eher distanziertes Verhältnis hat, möchte ihren Sohn lieber zu sich holen – doch Declan setzt sich durch. Und so kommen drei entfremdete Generationen zusammen und müssen sich mit Declans Homosexualität, seinen schwulen Freunden und seinem Sterben auseinander setzen. In der Enge kleinen Hauses prallen die unterschiedlichsten Menschen aufeinander, und vor allem durch Declans Exlover finden Grossmutter, Mutter und Schwester wieder zu einander. Doch ihre Versöhnung macht auch die Trauer um Declans sich rapide verschlechternden Zustand nur noch intensiver.

Orland Outland: A Serious Person

USA 2005, 215 pp., brochure, € 13.95
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Adam Bede has it good: an easy job tossing off songs for teen pop sensation Christie Squires, a good-looking guy at home and plenty of cash for compulsive shopping. So he really can't complain about a little manic depression especially since emotional instability makes him perfectly qualified to write lyrics for teenage girls. And while he may never be a serious person like his partner, Adam is still content. Until the day Christie diva-ishly decides she wants to be an artist and fires everyone, which means Adam might have to actually work for his money. And then along comes Sam, a sexy East Village singer-songwriter who's dead set on getting Lyle, Adams boyfriend, into bed.

David Leavitt: The Body of Jonah Boyd

UK 2005, 215 pp., paperback, € 9.29
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
It's 1969 and Denny is on her way to the annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Wrights' plush campus house. Denny is more nervous than usual because she has recently begun an affair with Dr Ernest Wright, a psychology professor who happens to be her boss. Needless to say, Ernest's wife Nancy doesn't suspect her more like a servant than a friend. To add to the tension, the Wrights' only daughter is having a secret affair with Ernest's protégé, and the youngest son, Ben, is as delicate and insufferable as only a poetry-writing fifteen-year-old can be. But this year the guests will include Nancy's best friend Anne and her new husband, the celebrated novelist Jonah Boyd, and this fateful holiday will turn out to be like no other.

Kevin Bentley: Let's Shut Out the World

USA 2005, 207 pp., brochure, € 15.59
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Whether describing having his hair styled by a gang of eighth-grade bullies, staging a Satan festival in the main hall of Greenvale High, or indulging in inappropriate sex with a caregiver, Kevin Bentley writes with a pen dipped in blood, indignation, and grim whimsy. The autobiographical stories and personal essays in »Let's Shut Out the World« focus on different pivotal periods and characters in the author's life, from a twisted youth in Texas, to the glittering excesses and sober spirals of life and love in San Francisco in the 1970s, to the monogamous contentment of an unexpected middle age. This is the Everyboy account of what it was like to come-of-age in the wake of Gay Liberation and survive. The narrator has man trouble aplenty, butting heads and other body parts with everyone from fundamentalist Christians to a slew of »fauxmosexuals« and elusive boyfriends.

Stephen McCauley: The Man of the House

UK 2005, 287 pp., brochure, € 13.99
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
35-year-old Clyde Carmichael spends too much time at things that make him miserable: teaching at a posh but flaky adult learning centre, devouring forgettable celebrity biographies, and obsessing about his ex-lover, Gordon. Clyde's other chief pursuit is dodging his family - his maddeningly insecure sister and his irascible father, who may or may not be at death's door. In fact, Clyde's in danger of becoming as aimless as Marcus, his handsome (and unswervingly straight) roommate, who's spent 10 years on one dissertation and far too many fizzled relationships. Enter Louise Morris: Clyde's old friend and Marcus's one-time lover is a restless writer and single mother, who shows up with her son, Ben, and a neurotic dog in tow. The looming question of Ben's paternity nudges Clyde back into the orbit of his own father and propels our hero into the kind of bittersweet emotional terrain that McCauley has made entirely his own.

Philip Galanes: Father's Day

USA 2005, 217 pp., brochure, € 12.95
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
At the age of 35, Matthew Vaber's life is so messy it can only be at a turning point. In one direction is the neon glare of his father's recent suicide, and in the other is the tough love of his fluorescent mother. He'd love to find love, but he can't make it 20 minutes into a first date without spotting the fatal flaw. In spite of Matthew's better intentions, he always finds himself back at the same old place: 555-PUMP - »New York's only phone line for men who are serious about their bodies!« Eventually, even Matthew realizes the long odds of making a love connection on a sex line, but then the pound sign connects him to Henry. Much to his dismay, Matthew can't find a single problem with him. In fact, Henry may be just the one to lead Matthew past his recent tragedies and childhood traumas.

Scott Pomfret, Scott Whittier: Hot Sauce

USA 2005, 245 pp., brochure, € 12.95
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Brad and Troy have it all. Brad, a celebrity chef before age 30, is one smart cookie. He knows perfecting fine cuisine or a fine couple takes heart. Troy, a hip fashion designer, is the fabulous force behind Boston's trendiest boutiques. He's got swanky digs, quality social credentials, and pecs you could break your teeth on. Brad's mad for Troy and vice versa. In fact, the two are getting ready to tie the lavender knot. But then Aria Shakespeare enters the mix. Peroxide-pretty Aria, one of Troy's simmering old flames, turns up the heat by telling Brad that his lover has been slutting around. And Aria says he has proof. This starts a spicy, love-struck ride from tony Boston to torrid Bermuda and back again. On the way they discover that without a healthy dash of trust, the recipe for romance can be a recipe for disaster.