Most Popular Books by Ethan Canin

In the early 1970s, Corey Sifter, the son of working-class parents, becomes a yard boy on the grand estate of the powerful Metarey family. Soon, through the family’s generosity, he is a student at a private boarding school and an aide to the great New York senator Henry Bonwiller, who is running for president. Before long, Corey finds himself involved with one of the Metarey daughters as well, and he begins to leave behind the world of his upbringing. As the Bonwiller campaign gains momentum, Corey finds himself caught up in a complex web of events in which loyalty, politics, sex, and gratitude conflict with morality, love, and the truth. Ethan Canin’s stunning novel is about America as it was and is, a remarkable exploration of how vanity, greatness, and tragedy combine to change history and fate.

The award-winning, bestselling debut collection of “beautifully crafted stories” from the acclaimed author of The Doubter’s Almanac (Chicago Sun-Times). Highly acclaimed and wildly successful upon its debut, Ethan Canin’s now classic collection of nine stories combines exquisite precision, humor, and a rare maturity of observation, capturing those miraculous moments when life opens up and presents itself to us. Full of life, rich with personal history, plot, and revelation, the stories in Emperor of the Air are the work of an extraordinarily gifted young writer. Capturing a wide range of vivid characters and their unforgettable moments of ache, epiphany, humor, and wisdom, Canin would go on to prove himself as “the most mature and accomplished novelist of his generation” (NPR). “Dazzling . . . at times breathtaking, at other times heartbreaking.” —Walker Percy “A glowing first book . . . An engrossing and unified collection.” —Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this mesmerizing novel, Ethan Canin, the author of America America and The Palace Thief, explores the nature of genius, rivalry, ambition, and love among multiple generations of a gifted family. Milo Andret is born with an unusual mind. A lonely child growing up in the woods of northern Michigan in the 1950s, he gives little thought to his own talent. But with his acceptance at U.C. Berkeley he realizes the extent, and the risks, of his singular gifts. California in the seventies is a seduction, opening Milo’s eyes to the allure of both ambition and indulgence. The research he begins there will make him a legend; the woman he meets there—and the rival he meets alongside her—will haunt him for the rest of his life. For Milo’s brilliance is entwined with a dark need that soon grows to threaten his work, his family, even his existence. Spanning seven decades as it moves from California to Princeton to the Midwest to New York, A Doubter’s Almanac tells the story of a family as it explores the way ambition lives alongside destructiveness, obsession alongside torment, love alongside grief. It is a story of how the flame of genius both lights and scorches every generation it touches. Graced by stunning prose and brilliant storytelling, A Doubter’s Almanac is a surprising, suspenseful, and deeply moving novel, a major work by a writer who has been hailed as “the most mature and accomplished novelist of his generation.” Praise for A Doubter’s Almanac “551 pages of bliss . . . devastating and wonderful . . . dazzling . . . You come away from the book wanting to reevaluate your choices and your relationships. It’s a rare book that can do that, and it’s a rare joy to discover such a book.”—Esquire “[Canin] is at the top of his form, fluent, immersive, confident. You might not know where he’s taking you, but the characters are so vivid, Hans’s voice rendered so precisely, that it’s impossible not to trust in the story. . . . The delicate networks of emotion and connection that make up a family are illuminated, as if by magic, via his prose.”—Slate “Alternately explosive and deeply interior.”—New York (“Eight Books You Need to Read”) “A blazingly intelligent novel.”—Los Angeles Times “[A] beautifully written novel.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Take the advice of no one,” August Kleinman’s mother says to him while August is still a young boy in Germany, and with these words to guide him, he escapes Nazi Germany and goes on to build a fortune, a family, and life on his own terms in America. At the defining moments that reveal character and shape fate — a shocking encounter with a Japanese soldier in a cave during World War II, the audacious decision to start a brewery in Pittsburgh and a violent reaction against threats to its independent success, a vacation in Barbados, during which his beloved wife mysteriously wanders off, the birth of his grandson — August’s instincts are determinative in a way that illuminates how lives unfold at the deepest levels. This is a brilliant, suspenseful, surprising novel by one of America’s finest writers. Publisher’s Weekly called Ethan Canin’s For Kings and Planets “Masterful … a classic parable of the human condition,” and the same can be said about Carry Me Across the Water.

“Extraordinary for its craft and emotional effect . . . [Ethan Canin is] a writer of enormous talent and charm.” –The Washington Post “Character is destiny,” wrote Heraclitus–and in this collection of four unforgettable stories, we meet people struggling to understand themselves and the unexpected turns their lives have taken. In “Accountant,” a quintessential company man becomes obsessed with the phenomenal success of a reckless childhood friend. “Batorsag and Szerelem” tells the story of a boy’s fascination with the mysterious life and invented language of his brother, a math prodigy. In “City of Broken Hearts,” a divorced father tries to fathom the patterns of modern relationships. And in “The Palace Thief,” a history teacher at an exclusive boarding school reflects on the vicissitudes of a lifetime connection with a student scoundrel. A remarkable achievement by one of America’s finest writers, this brilliant volume reveals the moments of insight that illuminate everyday lives. “Captivating . . . a heartening tribute to the form . . . an exquisite performance.” –The Boston Sunday Globe “A model of wit, wisdom, and empathy. Chekhov would have appreciated its frank renderings and quirky ironies.” –Chicago Tribune

Ethan Canin, the acclaimed author of America America and The Palace Thief, is “one of the best fiction writers of his generation” (The Miami Herald). For Kings and Planets follows the lives of two young men and the woman they both love. Orno Tarcher arrives in New York City from Missouri, carrying with him the weight of his family’s small-town values. He meets Marshall Emerson, the charismatic scion of a worldly clan, a seductive and brilliant New Yorker who is revealed, as time passes, to be bent on destruction. This novel explores the conflicts of character at the heart of every life, the desire for grandeur and the lure of normalcy, and the tension between rivalry and friendship, fathers and sons, love and betrayal.

The bestselling author of Emperor of the Air presents a tale of love, violence, betrayal, and possible reconciliation between two brilliantly drawn and utterly original characters--distant and disparate brothers brought together to confront the realities of their past and future.

An original point of view on the ancient Grand Tour

Bestseller do New York Times Amazon Editor''s Choice: Melhores Livros de 2016 Neste fascinante romance, Ethan Canin, autor bestseller do New York Times, explora a natureza do génio, a rivalidade, a ambição e o amor ao longo de diversas gerações de uma família talentosa. Milo Andret é dotado de uma mente extraordinária. Criança solitária entre as florestas do Michigan nos anos 1950, pouco valoriza o seu próprio talento. Contudo, após ingressar na Universidade de Berkeley, logo se apercebe da extensão, e dos riscos, do seu dom tão singular. A Califórnia dos anos 1970, abre-se-lhe num jogo sedutor, desvelando a Milo o encanto da ambição, mas também da indulgência. A investigação que lá inicia elevá-lo-á à categoria de lenda; a mulher que lá conhece (assim como o seu arquirrival) atormentá-lo-á para o resto da vida. De facto, a verdade é que o brilhantismo de Milo se encontra finamente entrançado com um desejo obscuro que em breve ameaçará o seu trabalho, a sua família e até a sua própria vida. Abarcando sete décadas, da Califórnia a Princeton, do Midwest a Nova Iorque, O Homem que Duvidava narra o percurso de uma família, revelando que a ambição caminha de mãos dadas com a destrutividade, a obsessão namora com o tormento, o amor encanta- se com a dor. É a história de como a luz da genialidade ilumina e queima cada geração que toca. Dotado de uma prosa fascinante, O Homem que Duvidava revela- se uma obra surpreendente, cheia de suspense e profundamente comovente. Um trabalho maior de um escritor que foi aclamado como «o mais maduro e realizado romancista da sua geração». Imperdível.

Pubblicati nel 1988, i racconti dell''Imperatore dell''aria si sono immediatamente imposti come un classico contemporaneo, consacrando l''allora ventisettenne Ethan Canin come uno degli scrittori più maturi della sua generazione. Al centro delle nove storie stanno personaggi, prevalentemente anziani o adolescenti, alle prese con problemi in apparenza banali ma in realtà decisivi: un vecchio insegnante di astronomia difende l''olmo del suo giardino da un''infestazione di insetti e dal vicino di casa; un giovane passa le sue giornate sul tetto a osservare le nubi per sfuggire agli opposti progetti che hanno su di lui il padre e la madre; un allenatore di baseball viene costretto dalla moglie a visitare case che non potranno mai permettersi di comprare; un adolescente non può sfuggire agli spietati insegnamenti del fratello maggiore. Per ognuno di loro il conflitto quotidiano costituirà la scena di una rivelazione, l''occasione a lungo attesa per capire sé stesso e ricapitolare la vita passata, oppure trarre indizi su quella futura. Nella loro classica compattezza e ricchezza metaforica, questi racconti si presentano quindi come monologhi «di saggezza», in cui i personaggi si interrogano sulle questioni ultime e sulle tappe che scandiscono la vita umana: il matrimonio e il rapporto tra padri e figli, la malattia e il decadimento del corpo, la solitudine e la salvezza dell''amore.

Indrukwekkende roman over genialiteit, jaloezie, ambitie en liefde van een van de belangrijkste hedendaagse Amerikaanse schrijvers Milo Andret is een geniaal wiskundige in de jaren zeventig die uitgroeit tot een legende door zijn onderzoek aan de universiteit van Berkeley. Maar de combinatie van ambitie en sociaal onvermogen, brengt hem op een destructief pad en hij raakt aan de drank. Milo’s zoon Hans is voorbestemd een even glansrijke carrière tegemoet te gaan als zijn vader, maar ook hij raakt verslaafd. Om te voorkomen dat hem eenzelfde lot beschoren zal zijn als zijn vader, besluit Hans zijn carrière af te breken en een andere weg te volgen. Met ‘Handboek van een twijfelaar’ schreef Ethan Canin een monumentale roman over de obsessieve drang het onverwoordbare te uiten in formules, kunst en literatuur. ‘Verpletterend mooi, dat lukt maar weinig boeken.’ – ‘Esquire’ ‘Een fenomenale literaire prestatie.’ – ‘Publishers Weekly’

"August Kleinman is told by his mother to "take the advice of no one" as the Nazi party rises to power around them in Hamburg. With these words to guide him, young August escapes to America, where he goes onto build a fortune, a family, and a life on his own terms." -- Jacket.

Incluido por la prestigiosa revista New Yorker en una selección de veinte escritores para el siglo XXI, y alabado por la crítica como heredero de Raymond Carver, Ethan Canin se ha consolidado como uno de los mejores escritores estadounidenses contemporáneos. Al otro lado del mar, su tercera novela tras las elogiadas Blue River y De reyes y planetas, fue elegida «Libro del año» por el New York Times, el Boston Globe y el London Times. La inextricable relación entre el ayer y el hoy, entre la vida y la muerte, concentra todo el interés de August Kleinman. A sus setenta y ocho años, viudo, con tres hijos y muy rico, Kleinman rememora su vida intentando explicarse cómo un muchacho judío que huyó de la Alemania nazi ha llegado a ser quien es. No hay una sucesión cronológica en sus recuerdos, éstos surgen de forma desordenada y aleatoria, tal como funciona la memoria, creando un efecto asombroso y casi musical de simultaneidad con el presente del anciano. Su infancia, su precipitada huida de Alemania con su madre, su adolescencia en un barrio humilde de Nueva York, el amor, el trabajo, el trato con sus hijos, el lazo con su nieto recién nacido, su incómoda relación con el dinero, el nexo cuestionado y siempre presente con el judaísmo; cada paso de su camino está ahí, pero lo que hace única su historia sucedió en una cueva de una isla del Pacífico, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. De aquella gruta, Kleinman salió con una carta que un soldado japonés había escrito a su amada y, más de medio siglo después, decide emprender el viaje siempre postergado. Ha de ir a Japón a entregar esa misiva, porque lo que sucedió en aquella cueva profunda, húmeda y oscura, es la verdadera clave de su existencia.

"Milo Andret, the genius who solved the Malosz Conjecture and won the Fields Medal for mathematics, had an unusual, even eerie mind from birth, but not until he moves to Berkeley in the 1970s to pursue a ph.D. does he realize the extent of his singular talents. From the drug-soaked enclaves of beatnik California to the verdant lawns of Princeton University, from turbo-charged Wall Street to the quiet woods of Michigan, his reputation as one of the century''s most brilliant thinkers forms the backbone of a sweeping, epic story about family, love, passion, and Milo''s fraught relationship with his son. With magnificent prose and enormous storytelling magic, Ethan Canin gives us a suspenseful, original novel about the nature of genius, and a son''s quest to understand the mystery of his father''s life, and its legacy in his own"--

Ethan Canin charme sans détour, avec une sensibilité et une justesse de ton remarquables. Dans les quatre nouvelles rassemblées dans ce recueil, il nous livre des fragments de vies, des instantanés familiaux qui transcendent la banalité des voix humaines. Qu''ils soient professeur d''histoire, comptable, adolescent ou père de famille, les personnages de Canin sont terriblement humains.

Un retraité qui rêve dans les étoiles, un fils à la recherche de son père, un vieux couple qui se souvient de la jeunesse de l''amour, des hommes qui doutent et des adolescents qui rient pour mieux cacher les larmes amères de l''avenir... Ce recueil de nouvelles d''une écriture simple, vivante, souvent drôle, décrit des fragments de vie ordinaire et mystérieuse. Les nouvelles de Ethan Canin dansent brillamment sur cette étroite passerelle où d''invisibles empereurs règnent sur l''air qu''on respire : elles ouvrent nos menus faits et gestes sur l''inexplicable qui donne le vertige. " Les nouvelles de Canin sont éblouissantes -tantôt à couper le souffle, tantôt à briser le cœur. " Walker Percy

" En une fin d''après-midi de septembre 1974, Orno Tarcher débarque à New York. Natif d''un bourg du Missouri, issu d''une famille de petites gens " honnêtes et travailleurs ", il vient poursuivre ses études à l''université de Columbia. Il y rencontre Marshall Emerson, un jeune homme surdoué, cynique, flanqué d''une prodigieuse mémoire et d''une invraisemblable famille. Madame est anthropologue et Monsieur un universitaire de renom d''un snobisme qui frise le pathétique. Chez les Emerson, il faut jouir de la considération d''autrui pour parvenir à se considérer soi-même. Victime de cette culture du paraître, Marshall navigue dans les eaux troubles d''un univers artificiel, dont il ouvre les portes au timide Orno. Celui-ci ne tarde pas à découvrir que le charisme de Marshall cache une personnalité destructrice et violente. "

Après avoir fui, enfant, l''Allemagne nazie vers l''Amérique, porté par une phrase de sa mère : " Ne suis les conseils de personne ", August Kleinman s''est construit une existence faite d''audace, d''indépendance et de ténacité. A la fin de sa vie, assailli par le poids du passé, il égrène ses souvenirs : sa volonté farouche de s''intégrer dans le " rêve américain ", sa réussite professionnelle, la passion amoureuse qui le liait à sa femme et le fossé de générations qui le sépare de ses enfants. Un moment crucial de sa vie se rappelle sans cesse à lui : le meurtre d''un soldat japonais pendant la guerre du Pacifique. Dans les poches de ce soldat, une lettre d''amour, que Kleinman a précieusement conservée. Inexplicablement envahi par un sentiment d''urgence, il décide de partir pour le Japon, afin de retrouver la femme à qui cette lettre était adressée.