Bøger af Tim Parks

'Delves into the very essence of being a fan, while seamlessly exploring Italian history, politics, culture and society,' GuardianIs Italy a united country, or a loose affiliation of warring states?

The Medici are famous as the rulers of Florence at the high point of the Renaissance. Their power is derived from the family bank. This book tells the fascinating, frequently bloody story of the family and the dramatic development and collapse of their bank.

Henry Dodge's trials and tribulations continue in The Best Laid Plans, but this time around the stakes are much higher! He struggles with the aftereffects of the Summer of 1985 and all that happened in Los Angeles with King George and his minions, including his childhood crush Danny, confessing to murder.¿ He attempts to stop the storm of memories with drugs, and soon enough becomes addicted to crystal meth, which is provided by his dealer Jeff, who has a duplicitous side that Henry must also contend with.¿¿ Of course, his family and their creed of "nothing to see here," comes into play. Henry discovers a secret about his father and goes-to-toe with him upon his discovery of it. His mother Kate, tired of the homemaker routine, now that her nest is soon to be empty, enters the workforce and lets Henry in on some of the family's dirty laundry. Meanwhile, John also delivers some surprising news to the family.¿¿¿¿ All the while, Henry still yearns for a tribe to claim as his own, and finds it in new friends Nina, Derek, and Michael. He is also on the quest for love, with one encounter unraveling the very fabric of his being with an HIV scare. His love of pop culture reaches new heights, as he still uses the flickering glow of the television and movies, and getting lost in music and making mixtapes, to grant him much-needed solace from his complicated life.¿It becomes even more complex with several love interests, including a most unlikely candidate.¿¿ Like its predecessor The Scheme of Things, this novel has a thriller aspect and the turn-on-a-dime element of drama becoming comedy, pop culture references galore, and nods to the soap operas¿of the 1980's. Yet it stands alone as its own contained tale.

Michael Burrow is on a walking holiday in Switzerland with his lover, Susan. They have had a long and secret love affair, but now that Susan's two children have left school, they plan to start their life together. Michael has bought a house for them to live in and, when they return, Susan will break the news to her family. However, their plans are upended when Susan receives a phone call with news of a tragic death. She gets on the next plane back to London, and she and Michael never see each other again.Many years later, retracing their steps, Michael will discover many things about their love, about Susan, her husband and her children - and about himself. Mr Geography is a classic, elegant novel for readers of Graham Swift, Howard Jacobson and Julian Barnes, about a reckoning in later life.

Following the critical and commercial success of A Literary Tour of Italy, acclaimed novelist Tim Parks presents a new selection of his latest essays on Italian literature, offering a lively, accessible and stimulating diorama of the cultural landscape of Italy.

Brought to you by Penguin.From the bestselling writer of Italian Ways, Europa and The Hero's Way, a story set during the first days of lockdown in Europe, about the unexpected kindness of strangers and one man's emotional reckoning.Milan, 2020. Drawn abruptly from his reclusive life in London for a friend's funeral, Frank finds himself in the eye of a pandemic he had barely registered on the news. From the relative comfort of his balcony at Hotel Milano, he surveys the train station across the piazza, seeing the mad dash for the last trains, hearing the sirens and watching the police stop people in the street. He feels himself remote from it all.Then, one night, the sound of a child's footsteps leads him to discover a family sheltering secretly above him: a family who need his help. As the days pass, this reserved and difficult man begins to open himself to others. Faced with the task of saving a life, he must also take stock of his own.(c)2023 Tim Parks (P)2023 Penguin Audio

From the bestselling, Booker-shortlisted writer of Italian Ways and Europa, a classic novel about a man's emotional reckoning in a changed world far from homeFrank's reclusive existence in a leafy part of London is shattered when he is summoned to Milan for the funeral of an old friend. Preoccupied by this sudden intrusion of his past, he flies, oblivious, into the epicentre of a crisis he has barely registered on the news.It is spring, his luxury hotel offers every imaginable comfort; perhaps he will be able to weather the situation and return home unscathed? What Frank doesn't know is that he's about to make a discovery that will change his heart and his mind.The arresting new novel from Booker Prize-shortlisted Tim Parks, Hotel Milano is a universal story from a unique moment in recent history: a book about the kindness of strangers, and about a complicated man who, faced with the possibility of saving a life, must also take stock of his own.Praise for In Extremis:'Parks's prose brings us closer to the pressures and rhythms of a lived life than the work of any other contemporary writer I can think of'Mike McCormack, New Statesman Books of the Year'Head and shoulders above so many of the books turned out by similar writers... A wonderfully written novel'Kirsty Gunn, Guardian'Tim Parks is a hugely talented writer'Sunday Times

Bestselling author of Italian Ways Tim Parks follows the hair-raising journey of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, 250-miles on foot from Rome to Ravenna, to explore Italy's past and present.In the summer of 1849, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy's legendary revolutionary hero, was finally forced to abandon his defence of Rome. He and his men had held the besieged city for three long months, but now it was clear that only surrender would prevent slaughter and destruction at the hands of a much superior French army. Against all odds, Garibaldi was determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of 2 July, riding alongside his pregnant wife Anita, he led 4,000 hastily assembled volunteers out of the city to continue the struggle for national independence in the countryside. Hounded by both French and Austrian armies, the garibaldini marched hundreds of miles through Umbria and Tuscany, then across the Appenines, Italy's mountainous spine, until, after thirty-two exhausting days of skirmishes and adventures, 250 survivors boarded fishing boats on the Adriatic coast in an ill-fated attempt to reach the independent Republic of Venice. It would be ten years and much world-wandering before Garibaldi would astonish the world when his revolutionary campaign in Sicily became the catalyst to the unification of Italy. This is the lesser-known story, brought vividly to life by bestselling author Tim Parks, who in the blazing summer of 2019, together with his partner Eleonora, followed Garibaldi and Anita's arduous journey. The Hero's Way is a fascinating portrait of Italy past and present, and a celebration of determination, creativity, desperate courage and profound belief.

Tim Parks's best seller, "Italian Neighbors," offered a sparkling, witty, and acutely observed account of an expatriate's life in a small village outside of Verona. Now in "An Italian Education," Parks continues his chronicle of adapting to Italian society and culture, while raising his Italian-born children. With the exquisite eye for detail, character, and intrigue that has brought him acclaim as a novelist, Parks creates an enchanting portrait of Italian parenthood and family life at home, in the classroom, and at church. Shifting from hilarity to despair in the time it takes to sing a lullaby, Parks learns that to be a true Italian, one must live by the motto "All days are one."

Before they achieved renown as patrons of the arts and de facto rulers of Florence, the Medici family earned their fortune in banking. But even at the height of the Renaissance, charging interest of any kind meant running afoul of the Catholic Church's ban on usury. Tim Parks reveals how the legendary Medicis-Cosimo and Lorenzo "the Magnificent" in particular-used the diplomatic, military, and even metaphysical tools at hand, along with a healthy dose of intrigue and wit, to further their fortunes as well as their family's standing.

From the bestselling, Booker-shortlisted writer of Italian Ways and Europa, a classic novel about a man's emotional reckoning in a changed world far from homeFrank's reclusive existence in a leafy part of London is shattered when he is summoned to Milan for the funeral of an old friend. Preoccupied by this sudden intrusion of his past, he flies, oblivious, into the epicentre of a crisis he has barely registered on the news.It is spring, his luxury hotel offers every imaginable comfort; perhaps he will be able to weather the situation and return home unscathed? What Frank doesn't know is that he's about to make a discovery that will change his heart and his mind.The arresting new novel from Booker Prize-shortlisted Tim Parks, Hotel Milano is a universal story from a unique moment in recent history: a book about the kindness of strangers, and about a complicated man who, faced with the possibility of saving a life, must also take stock of his own.Praise for In Extremis:'Parks's prose brings us closer to the pressures and rhythms of a lived life than the work of any other contemporary writer I can think of'Mike McCormack, New Statesman Books of the Year'Head and shoulders above so many of the books turned out by similar writers... A wonderfully written novel'Kirsty Gunn, Guardian'Tim Parks is a hugely talented writer'Sunday Times

From the bestselling author of Italian Neighbours, An Italian Education and Italian Ways, Italian Life is a particular reckoning with a beloved adopted country.

In the summer of 1849, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy's legendary revolutionary, was finally forced to abandon his defense of Rome. He and his men had held the besieged city for four long months, but now it was clear that only surrender would prevent slaughter and destruction at the hands of a huge French army.Against all odds, Garibaldi was determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of July 2, riding alongside his pregnant wife, Anita, he led 4,000 hastily assembled men to continue the struggle for national independence elsewhere. Hounded by both French and Austrian armies, the garibaldini marched hundreds of miles across the Appenines, Italy's mountainous spine, and after two months of skirmishes and adventures arrived in Ravenna with just 250 survivors.Best-selling author Tim Parks, together with his partner Eleonora, set out in the blazing summer of 2019 to follow Garibaldi and Anita's arduous journey through the heart of Italy. In The Hero's Way he delivers a superb travelogue that captures Garibaldi's determination, creativity, reckless courage, and profound belief. And he provides a fascinating portrait of Italy then and now, filled with unforgettable observations of Italian life and landscape, politics, and people.

Late on night, the body of a young man is delivered to the morgue of an Italian town. The next day's newspapers report that he was killed in a police raid, and that went by the obviously false name "Carlo Nobodi." Spino, the morgue attendant on duty at the time, becomes obsessed with tracing the identity of the corpse. "Why do you want to know about him?" asks a local priest. "Because he is dead and I'm alive," replies Spino. In this spare yet densely packed cautionary tale, Tabucchi reminds us that it is impossible to reach the edge of the horizon since it always recedes before us, but suggests that some people "carry the horizon with them in their eyes."

In Extremis is one of the most implacable, but also one of the funniest, novels about death and family you will ever read. Should he try to solve his friend's family crisis?In his most exhilarating book to date, Tim Parks explores how profoundly our present identity is rooted in our family past.

Morris Duckworth has a dark past. Having married and murdered his way into a wealthy Italian family he has long left aside the paperweight and the pillow to become a respected member of Veronese business life. But it's not enough.

The bestselling author of "Italian Neighbors" returns with a wry and revealing portrait of Italian life--by riding its trains.

Tim Parks - who was described in a recent review as "one of the best living writers of English" - has delighted audiences around the world with his finely observed writing on all aspects of Italian life and customs. This volume contains a selection of his best essays on the literature of his adopted country.

From Svevo, Saba and Joyce in Trieste to Borges, Rushdie and psychopathology, this collection of essays covers other subjects such as: Saramago, Sebald, Seth, Henry Green, Christina Stead, Leopardi, Verga, Montale, Sironi in Fascist Italy, Buzzati, Bateson and Neugeboren.

A black comedy of family life, by the award-winning author of "Tongues of Flame" and "Loving Roger". Raymond has gone mad. His family have planned their lives so carefully, and a family casualty is definitely not part of the equation. Will Raymond let them help him anyway?

Begins with a corpse and a chilling question: Why has nice, ordinary, affectionate Anna picked up a knife and murdered the man she insists she loves? Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize when first published, this novel illuminates the way love contains the seeds of vindictiveness and hate.

George believes that life is worth living only if it is happy, and that if someone he loves is suffering he should move heaven and earth to end that suffering. He will not accept that life is not destined to be pleasant, or that his marriage can be anything but ideal. Then a deformed baby is born.