Тор 10 книг названых одной буквой по версии Time — 10 книг

After author Thomas Pynchon graduated from Cornell University, he got a job with Boeing and started on V., a novel considered one of the best of the last half of the 20th century. Working for Boeing inspired Yoyodyne, a recurring company both in the novel and in Pynchon's future works. The 1963 book, Pynchon's first, follows around the Whole Sick Crew in search of the true identity of a woman named V. The book set the stage for later critically acclaimed Pynchon novels, including The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 22:46

It is one of the great magazine covers of all time. The front of the October 1966 Esquire was stark black, with giant white letters that read simply, horribly, "Oh my God — we hit a little girl." Journalist John Sack's story follows the soldiers of M Company from training in New Jersey to their deployment in South Vietnam shortly afterward. One year later, an expanded version of the magazine piece was published as the book M.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 22:49

Greek writer Vassilis Vassilikos went into exile when the military junta, which banned his novel Z, took over in 1967. The book, published the year before, is a fictionalized account of the 1963 assassination of leftist Greek parliamentarian Gregoris Lambrakis (Z), the ensuing investigation and the right-wing conspiracy behind it all. The movie Z, based on the novel, was directed by Costa-Gavras, featured Yves Montand and won an Oscar for best foreign-language film in 1969. In its review of the film that year (while the junta was still in power) TIME noted, "The Greek letter Z is a symbol for 'he still lives.' In this case, Z refers to the murdered Deputy. But it is also the spirit of revolt against a stifling government that has banned, in addition to miniskirts, Twain, Chekhov, Beckett, and of course Z. As a work of art, Z can live without Greece. The question is, can the Greeks truly live without Z?"

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 22:52

After the publication of such novels as Couples, The Witches of Eastwick and the four Rabbit books, John Updike didn't need a gimmicky title to attract attention. In fact, he didn't even need more than one letter. As a nod to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Updike titled his 1988 novel — the third in his Scarlet Letter trilogy — with just one letter. S. follows Sarah Worth as she leaves her husband and suburban life behind to join her guru, a Hindu religious leader known as Arhat, at his Arizona-based ashram. What unfolds is a story of the realities of life on a religious commune and of a woman in search of herself.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 22:56

Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2010, Tom McCarthy's novel is so difficult to summarize that we'll just quote the Booker jury themselves, who described the book as "a stunning tour de force in which the eerily idyllic settings of pre-war Europe give way to the exhilarating flightpaths of the frontline aeroplane radio operator, then the prison camps of Germany, the drug-fueled London of the roaring twenties and, finally, the ancient tombs of Egypt."

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 22:58

Though Andy Warhol called a a novel, it is more like one seemingly endless, unedited conversation that takes place over 24 hours between the pop artist and an actor. It chronicles one day in the life of Ondine (the conversations were actually recorded over a two-year period) and begins with the actor ingesting amphetamines and ends in an "orgy of exhausted confusion." a got mixed reviews when it was released in 1968. Some said it was a work of genius while TIME's reviewer called it 24 hours' worth of drug-induced schizophrenic chatter.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 23:01

The narrator of this 1975 fictional autobiography tries to recreate the events of his childhood as a Jew in Nazi-occupied France. In alternating chapters, Georges Perec jumps between real life and a fictional island, known as W, off Tierra del Fuego, in an attempt to recall his wartime experience. Some details emerge as he goes through this process, but a complete picture of his childhood never emerges. The scenes on the island, however, do become clearer and clearer, and depict an existence that revolves around sport, competition and cruel and arbitrary rules — likely an allegory for life in Nazi concentration camps.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 23:03

In this novel, Elizabeth Shepard presents the story of 12-year-old Benjamin Sherman, who suffers from an unidentified mental illness — autism and depression are implied — and has a stuffed toy in the shape of the letter H for a best friend. The book follows Benjamin's experience at summer camp, where his parents send him to learn social skills. The novel is composed of written letters, notes and documents relating to Benjamin's case. In the later part of the novel, the letters are written by Benjamin to his stuffed toy, which he calls Elliot. Alice McDermott wrote in the New York Times Book Review that Shepard's "triumph is that she has given us an unsentimental portrait of an emotionally disturbed child without ever raising the overwrought question of what madness consists of, and without ever losing sight of the gravity of one child's pain."

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 23:05

John Berger's one-letter novel takes its title from its one-letter protagonist: G. is a Don Juan figure whose life overlaps with major historical events of late 19th century and early 20th century Europe. The novel won the Booker Prize in 1972, and Berger's acceptance speech just may be more famous than the work itself. Citing the then sponsoring company's history of trading in the Caribbean, Berger said, "The modern poverty of the Caribbean is the direct result of this and similar exploitation." Here the author of the one-lettered book may have been tempted to use two other letters: F and U.
View the full list for "Top 10 Books with One-Letter Titles"

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 23:08

It's a publisher's dream: weeks before the publication of O, buzz was already building around the anonymously written fictional tale of President Obama's 2012 run for office. The book's author bio on Amazon.com, which reads, "The author of O has been in the room with Barack Obama and wishes to remain anonymous," set off widespread speculation among the chattering classes. One of the key suspects is TIME's own Joe Klein, who penned the 1996 novel Primary Colors, which was originally released anonymously. Though Klein has adamantly denied writing O, the rumors surely won't stop until the real mystery author comes forward.

Oak 26 января 2011 г., 23:11