Most Popular Books by Alan Garner

Nella brughiera del Cheshire non succede mai nulla per Joe Coppock, un ragazzino che vive senza genitori in un cottage di tre stanze senza porte con, a tenergli compagnia, solo un fumetto custodito come una reliquia. Non c’è anima viva a Podere Fienile né al Campo Gora né al Gran Prato, e neppure sul viottolo fra il cancello alto e il cancello basso. È un mondo senza tempo, la brughiera, scandito solo dal fischio del treno di mezzogiorno, unico istante in cui Joe può rendersi conto di che ora è, di che momento è «adesso». La brughiera dorme, e cosí dev’essere, e in quel sonno sogna il sogno del mondo. Fino al giorno in cui alla porta di Joe bussa Treacle Walker, uno stracciaiolo, o forse un mendicante, un guaritore, dal gran cappotto e dal cappello floscio sopra un cespuglio di capelli ingarbugliati. L’uomo gli propone un bizzarro baratto: in cambio di stracci e ossa avrà cocci e pietre. Scegliendo dalla sua collezione di tesori minimi, umili ma a lui preziosissimi – uova di uccello dal guscio azzurrino, ossa di animali, vecchi indumenti – Joe ottiene cosí da Treacle Walker una pietra e un vasetto invetriato. Il vasetto, scoprirà Joe quasi per caso, contiene un ungento dagli straordinari poteri, un dono che gli consentirà di vedere ciò che non c’è, di percepire il tempo collassare su sé stesso e l’eternità nello spazio infinitesimale del presente. Vedere il mondo, d’altronde, non è lo stesso che vedere quello che il mondo realmente è. Racconto iniziatico, favola metafisica che trabocca di suggestioni della tradizione popolare, meditazione sul tempo, la morte e l’assurdità della vita in generale, La pietra e lo specchio mescola fantasia e fisica dei quanti, storia collettiva e storia personale, magia e scienza, possibile e impossibile: reami i cui estremi si allungano, si intrecciano, si scambiano e si fondono. «Il piú importante scrittore di fantasy dopo Tolkien». Philip Pullman «Alla fine della sua vita Philip Roth scrisse Nemesi, un tentativo di esprimere in una sola opera tutte le preoccupazioni di una vita. La pietra e lo specchio compie un miracolo simile, includendo piú idee e immagini di quante molti autori riescano a trattare nella loro intera carriera. Qui c’è tutta l’esuberanza, l’eccentricità, la mitologia e il pensiero del Garner migliore». The Guardian «Scritto magistralmente, evocativo ed emozionante in ogni pagina». Daily Telegraph

''I salute him with the most heartfelt respect and admiration'' PHILIP PULLMAN ''One of Britain''s greatest writers'' FINANCIAL TIMES ''Alan Garner''s world is unbearably beautiful and dangerous'' GUARDIAN In this lyrical and revelatory memoir, Alan Garner, Booker shortlisted author of Treacle Walker, reflects on the lifetime of learning and experience that has led him to become one of the best loved British writers of our time. In dazzling essays, poetry and stories, we trace the line of his life: from a working-class childhood in the landscape of Cheshire during World War II, through a grammar school education and on to the University of Oxford, and then home to see if he could become what he most desired: a writer. We see the serendipitous moments that drove his course, from coming-of-age in a period of great cultural change, to crossing paths with a famous mathematician while out long-distance running, to the fateful day he chanced across Blackden, the medieval hall, miraculously located next to the giant telescope at Jodrell Bank, that was to become his lasting home and the setting for Treacle Walker. We also hear the influences and ideas that have shaped his work: his Grandfather Joseph and family of craftsmen; the history, folklore and ancient landscape of Cheshire; a profound love of storytelling across the ages and a sense of wonder for the ineffable magic of creativity. As Garner tells us, a lifetime of working with a pen produces the powsels and thrums of research, imagination and story. These oddments can be shaped into something more than its parts: a vivid tapestry of a creative life that will inspire any reader, and what a celebration it is. ''Better than anyone else writing in English today'' THE TIMES ''A unique genius'' NEW STATESMAN ''One of the most distinct and profound writers we have'' GUARDIAN

»Knochen, Lumpen und Papier! Reibstein und Geschirr, das gibt der Lumpensammler dafür!« Als der junge Joseph diesem Ruf vor seinem Fenster folgt, findet er vor seiner Tür einen fahrenden Händler mit dem Namen Treacle Walker, sowie seinen Karren, auf dem er mit eine Kiste voller mysteriöser Gegenstände durch die englischen Lande zieht. Und so beginnt ein phantastisches Abenteuer voller magischer Begegnungen. Joseph Coppock, ein kleiner Junge, lebt allein in einem alten Haus an einer Eisenbahnstrecke im Nordwesten Englands. Er hat ein schwachsichtiges Auge, liest gerne Comics und spielt mit Murmeln, vor allem mit seinem heißgeliebten Bucker. Eines Tages taucht ein Lumpensammler namens Treacle Walker auf, der ein leeres Töpfchen allheilender Medizin und einen Reibstein gegen Josephs alten Schlafanzug und den Knochen einer Lammschulter eintauscht, woraufhin zwischen den beiden eine außergewöhnmliche Freundschaft entsteht. Treacle Walker bringt Mythen, Magie, Wunder und jene Geschichten, die wir für uns selbst erfinden. Eine bemerkenswerte Erkundung des Vergehens der Zeit und ihrer Auswirkung auf einen in sich gekehrten Jungen, der versucht, sich einen Reim auf die Welt um ihn herum zu machen. »Garner ist unbestreitbar der wichtigste britische Fantasyautor seit Tolkien« Philip Pullman »Spielerisch, bewegend und ganz und gar bemerkenswert« Guardian »Diese scheinbar kurze Geschichte ist ein hypnotisches Wunder, das die Grenzen von Zeit und Geist verschwimmen lässt... Ein glorreiches Wunder auf seine Art und Weise. Hier gibt es echte Magie zwischen harten Buchdeckeln« Erica Wagner, New Statesman »Sparsam und doch meisterhaft... Ein fesselndes Volksmärchen, bei dem jedes Wort zählt« Literary Review "Wenn die Felsen, Höhlen, Seen, Pflanzen und Moore Englands eine Stimme hätten, würden sie klingen wie eine Geschichte von Alan Garner. " Philipp Pullman

Ben shu yi mao tou ying guan chuan zheng ge gu shi, Jiang shu le san ge shao nian yin ji yuan qiao he, Fa xian le yi xie qi guai de shi qing, Ta men yi bu bu di yu yao yuan de wei er shi shen hua shi dai lian jie dao le yi qi, Juan ru le yi chang ai he hen de xuan wo zhi zhong.

A retelling of the story of a resourceful hen that not only makes her own food and eats it herself, but manages to outwit a hungry fox as well.

What happens if you wake up thirsty in the middle of the night? How do you trick the most insufferable boy in the village? What would you do on your birthday if you were a lobster? Find out in this short story collection. Chucklers is a collection of books that make reading a pleasure.

Examines, through brief stories that offer solutions, some of the problems of drug abuse and offers advice to parents on how to use these stories to help their children.

Mary, Joseph, Robert, and William, four generations of Cheshire children, make exhilarating discoveries exploring a cave, standing up to a grandfather, climbing a ladder, and ridig a sled.

Robert learns that his secret place has another secret the day his soldier uncle comes home to help with the corn harvest.

Joseph knows that he has to be different from his grandfather, a stone mason whose work is in evidence throughout the village, and the day comes when he must announce his decision.

Three young people spend the summer in a Welsh valley haunted by mythical spirits and find themselves reenacting an old tragedy.

A collection of work by Alan Garner including his two plays Holly from the Bongs, The Green Mist and the TV script To Kill a King.

The Beauty Things is a record of conversations between Mark Edmonds and Alan Garner. Using objects that matter to Alan, including several that appear in his novels, it explores the power that things possess, the roles they play in the stories we tell, about the world and about ourselves -- publisher''s website.

Sets forth techniques for improving interpersonal communication and features effective strategies for promoting conversation, handling criticism, resisting manipulation, and developing self-confidence