Ross Macdonald
Description
Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar. He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featuring private detective Lew Archer. Since the 1970s, Macdonald's works (particularly the Archer novels) have received attention in academic circles for their psychological depth, sense of place, use of language, sophisticated imagery and integration of philosophy into genre fiction. Brought up in the province of Ontario, Canada, Macdonald eventually settled in the state of California, where he died in 1983.
Books
The Drowning Pool
“Archer wasn't going anywhere with the case. The women in it were getting to him. The one who had married for money was out to show him how little it now mattered. The one who was being blackmailed didn't care how Archer saved her mockery of a marriage. The young girl was the worst; too innocent to be involved in this sordid tangle. Three beautiful women. They had a way of distracting Archer—even from murder.” 2nd in the Lew Archer series.
What Would Jesus Craft?
What Would Jesus Craft? is a hilarious take on a Sunday school's craft book. For fans of Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence and Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, it features 30 simple projects that are all made from commonly found items like popsicle sticks, glitter, yarn, and pipe cleaners. Projects include items for your home, pets, and family and author Ross MacDonald provides clear step-by-step photographs. Now you can finally complete your wardrobe with a Fedora of Thorns and Jesus Jean Jacket with Christ Almighty emblazoned on your back; your pets will be blessed and protected when they sport a Be Not Afraid St. Francis Pet Collar dripping with St. Francis charms and a crucifix; and the light of the Lord will bless every inch of your home with Let There Be Light Switches, an Eye-See-You-in-Hell Mirror, a Time to Obey the Lord Clock, and much, much more!
The chill
Romano Bilenchi's classic coming of age story, never before published in English, is set in northern Tuscany in the 1950s. The small hill towns and rolling Tuscan countryside provide a suggestive and constantly changing backdrop to a story that is thoroughly Italian in its particulars-its smells, sounds and sights-but universal in its themes. Here, the changing seasons stir both the vibrant hues of Bilenchi's Tuscany and the many moods of his young nameless protagonist. But the abiding atmosphere in this tale is, as the title suggests, wintery. Following the death of his beloved grandfather, a chill has descended upon the teenage narrator of this classic tale, leaving him estranged from friends, family, and eventually even from nature itself- although always vivid and animated, the natural splendor of central Italy becomes increasingly harsh and hostile throughout this story. The protagonist's growing awareness of his own and others' sexuality leads to a series of difficult, confusing encounters that push him even further within himself. Each small awakening, each intimation of the adult world, with all its alarming ribaldry and vulgarity, drives him further from his kind. His reluctant journey into the adult world culminates in a seemingly innocent erotic adventure that, when discovered, will possess all the destructive potential of a natural disaster and at the same time all the potential for rebirth of a new spring.
Henry's hand
Henry is a monster whose body parts tend to fall off but his right hand helps keep everything together and is his best friend, until Henry becomes lazy and his hand decides to leave.