Modern voices

Wings (Russian: Крылья) was the first Russian novel centred on homosexuality. Written by Mikhail Kuzmin, it was printed in 1906 to the consternation of a conservative literary establishment. The novel deals with teenager Vanya Smurov's attachment to his older, urbane mentor, Larion Stroop, a pederast who initiates him into the world of early Renaissance, Classical and Romantic art. At the close of the first part, Vanya is shocked to learn that the object of his admiration frequents a gay bathhouse. In order to sort out his feelings, Vanya withdraws into the Volga countryside, but his sickening experience with rural women, whose call on him to enjoy his youth turns out to be an awkward attempt at seduction, induces Vanya to accept his Classics teacher's proposal and accompany him in a journey to Italy. In the last part of the novel, Vanya and Stroop, who is also in Italy, are seen enjoying the smiling climate and stunning artworks of Florence and Rome, while Prince Orsini mentors the delicate youth in the art of hedonism.

"Claude and Perken meet on a liner heading for Indo-China, and throw their lots in together to form a joint expedition into the perilous Cambodian jungles of 'The Way of the Kings'. Claude, a young Frenchman, is seeking adventure, fame and money; Perken, an experienced Dutch explorer, is returning to his own little patch of Siam, aiming to recapture his former masculine pride, obsessed with the coming of age and its effects. The two face death at every turn from the seething forest and 'bestial' tribespeople, but are driven to leave their stamp on a world on the eve of its demise, in defiance of the advance of the railway and 'civilisation', and the term of their own fragile lives."--Publisher description.

Dissatisfied with the teachings of respectable white missionaries, an African girl embarks upon her own quest for God and Truth. Journeying through the forest, she encounters various religious figures, each one seeking to convert her to their own brand of faith.

A superb comic masterpiece and fierce parable of the Russian Revolution by the author of The Master and Margarita. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY ANDREY KURKOVA rich, successful Moscow professor befriends a stray dog and attempts a scientific first by transplanting into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man. A distinctly worryingly human animal is now on the loose, and the professor's hitherto respectable life becomes a nightmare beyond endurance. An absurd and superbly comic story, this classic novel can also be read as a fierce parable of the Russian Revolution.

This fascinating early work by Anthony Burgess is a delightful fantasy, blending classical myth and farce. Displaying a high degree of verbal ingenuity and intelligence, Burgess effortlessly plays with ideas to create a riotous comedy that is ultimately a celebration of love and marriage. It is presented here along with the earlier and similarly themed The Venus of Ille, by Prosper Mérimée. Ambrose and Diana are to be married. Diana, however, is having last-minute doubts fuelled by her feminist friend and bridesmaid, Julia, while Ambrose inadvertently becomes engaged to the goddess Venus, who has taken possession of the wedding ring. These obstacles present the first in a farcical series of challenges—not only to the impending wedding, but also to the most dearly held preconceptions of Ambrose, Diana, and their wedding guests. In addition to writing novels like A Clockwork Orange and The Earthly Powers, Anthony Burgess was also a composer and critic.