New Releases by Rachel Kushner

Uusi kirjailija Keltaisen kirjaston juhlavuonna! Luomisen järvi on trilleri, parodia ja syvällinen tutkielma ihmiskunnan aamuhämäristä. Mutta ennen kaikkea se on kirjallinen tapaus. Amerikkalainen peiteagentti Sadie Smith saa tehtäväkseen soluttautua ranskalaisten ympäristöaktivistien kommuuniin ja tuhota heidät. Paatuneelle Sadielle tehtävä on helppo, kunnes hän huomaa viehättyvänsä ryhmän karismaattisen johtajan, Bruno Lacomben, idealismista vähän liikaakin. Neandertalinihmisen ylivertaisuuden nimeen vannova Bruno on vakuuttunut, että ihmiskunta voi pelastua vain palaamalla primitivismiin. Mitä jos sivilisaatio onkin täysin turhaa? Rachelin Kushnerin häikäisevä romaani metsästää merkityksiä menneen ja tulevan ristitulesta, sieltä missä nykyisyys on pelkkä jalanjälki hiekassa. Rachel Kushner on kirjoittanut The New York Timesin bestseller-listoille nousseet romaanit The Mars Room, The Flamethrowers ja Telex from Cuba sekä novellikokoelman The Strange Case of Rachel K ja kiitetyn esseeteoksen The Hard Crowd. Kushner on saanut Prix Médicis -palkinnon, ja hänen kirjansa ovat olleet ehdolla Booker- ja Folio-palkinnon sekä The National Book Critics Circle Awardin ja National Book Award in Fiction -palkinnon saajaksi. Hänen kirjojaan on käännetty 27 kielelle.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE* *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD* *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 PEN FAULKNER AWARD FOR FICTION* *AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE ATLANTIC, VULTURE, VOGUE, THE WASHINGTON POST, KIRKUS REVIEWS, NPR, THE ECONOMIST, THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, VOX, and more* From Rachel Kushner, two-time finalist for both the Booker Prize and National Book Award, a “vital” (The Washington Post) and “wickedly entertaining” (The Guardian) novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective in France—a propulsive page-turner filled with dark humor. Creation Lake is a novel about a secret agent, a thirty-four-year-old American woman of ruthless tactics and clean beauty who is sent to do dirty work in France. “Sadie Smith” is how the narrator introduces herself to the rural commune of French subversives on whom she is keeping tabs, and to her lover, Lucien, a young and well-born Parisian she has met by “cold bump”—making him believe the encounter was accidental. Like everyone she targets, Lucien is useful to her and used by her. Sadie operates by strategy and dissimulation, based on what her “contacts”—shadowy figures in business and government—instruct. First, these contacts want her to incite provocation. Then they want more. In this region of old farms and prehistoric caves, Sadie becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno Lacombe, a mentor to the young activists who believes that the path to emancipation is not revolt but a return to the ancient past. Just as Sadie is certain she’s the seductress and puppet master of those she surveils, Bruno is seducing her with his ingenious counter-histories, his artful laments, his own tragic story. Written in short, vaulting sections, Rachel Kushner’s rendition of “noir” is taut and dazzling. Creation Lake is Kushner’s finest achievement yet—a work of high art, high comedy, and unforgettable pleasure.

Cuba, fin des années 1950. La région de l’Oriente est la plus pauvre du pays, mais c’est un paradis pour un petit nombre d’exilés américains qui, aveugles à la misère alentour, y règnent en maîtres absolus et exploitent de vastes étendues de canne à sucre. C’est le cas de K.C. Stites et de ses parents, peu préoccupés par la guérilla que mènent dans les montagnes les frères Castro. Ils sont encore loin de comprendre que c’est à la fin de leur monde, et de leur mode de vie privilégié, qu’ils sont en train d’assister. Dans ce roman choral à la construction éblouissante, Rachel Kushner entremêle avec une justesse impressionnante l’intime et le politique, la grande histoire et les vies de plusieurs acteurs qui ont été partie prenante de la révolution cubaine, explorant ainsi les multiples facettes d’une réalité subjective, riche et romanesque. Rachel Kushner s’intéresse aux relations entre les classes, les individus, les nations, et nous offre un magnifique roman qui se lit comme un thriller. The New York Times. Traduit de l’anglais (États-Unis) par Julie Sibony.

Rachel Kushner ist für ihren Mut, ihren Ehrgeiz und ihren Killerinstinkt bekannt. In Harte Leute versammelt sie eine Auswahl ihrer Essays, die sich mit den drängendsten kulturellen, künstlerischen und politischen Themen unserer Zeit ebenso befasst wie mit Kushners schriftstellerischen Grundlagen und Wurzeln. Das Buch enthält Texte über Jeff Koons, Denis Johnson und Marguerite Duras, über den Besuch in einem palästinensischen Flüchtlingslager, ein illegales Motorradrennen in Baja California, die wilden Streiks im Italien der Siebzigerjahre, ihre Liebe zu Oldtimern und ihr Leben als Jugendliche in der Musikszene von San Francisco. Es schließt mit einem Finale furioso: einem wilden Manifest über «harte Leute». Zwanzig rasiermesserscharfe Essays von einer der großen Stimmen der zeitgenössischen US-Literatur.

From Rachel Kushner, a writer celebrated for her "chops, ambition, and killer instinct" (John Powers, NPR) and a contributor to the New Yorker and the New York times magazine, a career-spanning collection of spectacular essays encompassing politics, culture, and cars, Rachel Kushner, author of three award-winning novels, including The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room, has firmly established herself as one of our finest fiction writers. She is also a master of the essay form: The Hard Crowd is a collection of twenty razor-sharp pieces on art and literature, motorcycle racing, truckers, classic cars, politics and social justice, and the San Francisco music scene of her youth. Kushner''s writing is electric; her range, dazzling. Now includes a new essay, "naked childhood," about Kushner''s family, their converted school bus, and the summers of love in Oregon and San Francisco Book jacket.

An acidic portrait of the grifters and pretenders of the art world, from the celebrated author of The Mars Room In Rachel Kushner''s latest work of fiction, The Mayor of Leipzig, an unnamed artist recounts her travels from New York City to Cologne--where she contemplates German guilt and art-world grifters, and Leipzig--where she encounters live "adult entertainment" in a business hotel. The narrator gossips about everyone, including the author. "Taking a time out from what happened to me in Cologne and in Leipzig," Kushner writes, "I want to let you in on a secret: I personally know the author of this story you''re reading. Because she fancies herself an art world type, a hanger-on. Who would do that voluntarily? I mean, it''s not like someone held a gun to my head and said, Be an artist. I chose it, but I still can''t imagine having anything to do with the art world if you don''t have to. Also, people who don''t make stuff, who instead try to catalogue, periodize, and understand art, they never understand the first thing. Art is about taste, a sense of humor, and most writers lack both." Rachel Kushner (born 1968) is the author of The Flamethrowers (2013) and The Mars Room (2018). Her debut novel, Telex from Cuba, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award and a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book. A collection of her early work, The Strange Case of Rachel K, was published by New Directions in 2015. Her fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper''s and the Paris Review.

Novela del año según TIME y finalista del Man Booker Prize. «Áspera, empática, finamente construida, sin edulcorantes y cargada de golpes,ninguno de ellos suave.».- Margaret Atwood «La mayor parte de los libros de ficción literaria son de corta duración. La sala Marte permanecerá. Es auténtica.».- Stephen King El camino que recorre Romy, condenada a dos cadenas perpetuas, es el que parece programado para ciertas personas y que pone en cuestión el sueño americano: un camino que va directo desde la pobreza hasta la cárcel. En La sala Marte entramos de lleno en este mundo extraño situado tras los muros de una prisión de mujeres, cargado de detalles y de un idioma y una rutina propios; un mundo aparte pero unido íntimamente al del exterior. La minuciosidad con la que Rachel Kushner trata la violencia latente y explícita de esta red carcelaria, la oscuridad y la comicidad de sus personajes, la implicación con la que se ha empapado de la realidad más subterránea de su país, han convertido a esta novela en una obra clave de la literatura americana actual. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION TIME’S #1 FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 FINALIST for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD LONGLISTED for the ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL An instant New York Times bestseller from two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room earned tweets from Margaret Atwood—“gritty, empathic, finely rendered, no sugar toppings, and a lot of punches, none of them pulled”—and from Stephen King—“The Mars Room is the real deal, jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny.” It’s 2003 and Romy Hall, named after a German actress, is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: her young son, Jackson, and the San Francisco of her youth. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, portrayed with great humor and precision. Stunning and unsentimental, The Mars Room is “wholly authentic…profound…luminous” (The Wall Street Journal), “one of those books that enrage you even as they break your heart” (The New York Times Book Review, cover review)—a spectacularly compelling, heart-stopping novel about a life gone off the rails in contemporary America. It is audacious and tragic, propulsive and yet beautifully refined and “affirms Rachel Kushner as one of our best novelists” (Entertainment Weekly).

Novela del año según TIME y finalista del Man Booker Prize. «Áspera, empática, finamente construida, sin edulcorantes y cargada de golpes, ninguno de ellos suave.» Margaret Atwood «La mayor parte de los libros de ficción literaria son de corta duración. La sala Marte permanecerá. Es auténtica.» Stephen King El camino que recorre Romy, condenada a dos cadenas perpetuas, es el que parece programado para ciertas personas y que pone en cuestión el sueño americano: un camino que va directo desde la pobreza hasta la cárcel. En La sala Marte entramos de lleno en este mundo extraño situado tras los muros de una prisión de mujeres, cargado de detalles y de un idioma y una rutina propios; un mundo aparte pero unido íntimamente al del exterior. La minuciosidad con la que Rachel Kushner trata la violencia latente y explícita de esta red carcelaria, la oscuridad y la comicidad de sus personajes, la implicación con la que se ha empapado de la realidad más subterránea de su país, han convertido a esta novela en una obra clave de la literatura americana actual. La crítica ha dicho... «Ni un solo hecho que chirríe, en la que todo parece tan auténtico como inimaginable desde este lado de la sociedad, tan cierto como la mala vida misma. Borda la novela carcelaria [...]. Kushner triunfa y se lo merece.» Soledad Garaizábal, El Imparcial «Me ha conmovido. [...] Un relato inmenso.» Marta Michel, El Mundo - Yo Dona « La sala Marte es una novela inmensa.» The New York Times «La prosa de Kushner chispea con tanto peligro como la valla electrificada que rodea Stanville, sus observaciones son afiladas como alambre de espino, su humor es árido y oscuro. [...] Se te queda marcada como un tatuaje.» The Guardian «Brillante [...], una novela desgarradora, verdadera y casi perfecta.» NPR «Una de las novelistas más dotadas de su generación [...]. Un libro que se devora [...], de esos que te encolerizan incluso cuando que te están rompiendo el corazón.» The New York Times Book Review «Una novela inolvidable». Daily Telegraph «Kushner utiliza la novela como un lugar en el que ser exuberante y divertida y contar historias que hagan avanzar, pero sobre todo como un terreno amplio en el que pensar.» The New Yorker «Con su tercera novela, rica en texturas, Kushner confirma su lugar como una de las grandes novelistas estadounidenses del siglo XXI.» Entertainment Weekly «Una de las mejores novelas que he leído en años.» Rob Doyle, The Irish Times «Merece ser leída con el mismo nivel de pasión, amor y humanidad con el que evidentemente fue escrita.» Publishers Weekly «Devastadora.» Los Angeles Times « La sala Marte es tan sensual y convincente que te deja la marca de la alambrada metálica en la frente y, al mismo tiempo, su compasión reúne tanto a la asesina de bebés como a un policía brutal dentro de los despiadados confines del sistema de justicia norteamericano. Un logro literario extraordinario.» Adam Thorpe « La sala Marte ofrece una rara combinación de frases admirablemente bien asentadas y unos personajes y una trama que me hicieron quedarme despierta hasta tarde. La situación de Romy es insoportable [...] pero está tan bien escrita y las ideas tratadas de una manera tan experta que es un placer leerla en medio de tal devastación.» Sarah Moss

Um livro ácido e cortante sobre a rotina de uma prisão para mulheres. Romy Hall está no ônibus que irá levá-la para uma prisão na Califórnia, onde encontrará um mundo novo, repleto de regras próprias, em que centenas de mulheres vivem em meio à violência dos guardas e das próprias circunstâncias. Enquanto aprende os códigos e os macetes para sobreviver, Romy pensa em sua vida anterior e em tudo que a levou até ali. Pensa, sobretudo, em seu filho Jackson. Com uma notável capacidade para descrever os absurdos da vida carcerária, Rachel Kushner criou um romance antissentimental, audacioso e trágico.

TIME’S #1 FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 FINALIST for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD LONGLISTED for the ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL An instant New York Times bestseller from two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room earned tweets from Margaret Atwood—“gritty, empathic, finely rendered, no sugar toppings, and a lot of punches, none of them pulled”—and from Stephen King—“The Mars Room is the real deal, jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny.” It’s 2003 and Romy Hall, named after a German actress, is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: her young son, Jackson, and the San Francisco of her youth. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, portrayed with great humor and precision. Stunning and unsentimental, The Mars Room is “wholly authentic…profound…luminous” (The Wall Street Journal), “one of those books that enrage you even as they break your heart” (The New York Times Book Review, cover review)—a spectacularly compelling, heart-stopping novel about a life gone off the rails in contemporary America. It is audacious and tragic, propulsive and yet beautifully refined and “affirms Rachel Kushner as one of our best novelists” (Entertainment Weekly).

Romy Hall, 29 ans, vient d’être transférée à la prison pour femmes de Stanville, en Californie. Cette ancienne stripteaseuse doit y purger deux peines consécutives de réclusion à perpétuité, plus six ans, pour avoir tué l’homme qui la harcelait. Dans son malheur, elle se raccroche à une certitude : son fils de 7 ans, Jackson, est en sécurité avec sa mère. Jusqu’au jour où l’administration pénitentiaire lui remet un courrier qui fait tout basculer. Oscillant entre le quotidien de ces détenues, redoutables et attachantes, et la jeunesse de Romy dans le San Francisco de années 1980, Le Mars Club dresse le portrait féroce d’une société en marge de l’Amérique contemporaine. Traduit de l’anglais (États-Unis) par Sylvie Schneiter

In ‘Club Mars’ van Rachel Kushner is de 29-jarige Romy Hall onlangs veroordeeld tot tweemaal levenslang plus zes jaar. Ze slijt haar dagen in een maximaal beveiligde vrouwengevangenis in Noord-Californië. Buiten is het San Francisco van haar jeugd en Club Mars, de stripclub waar ze ooit danste voor de kost. En haar zevenjarige zoontje Jackson. Binnen is de nieuwe, absurde realiteit: duizenden vrouwen die hun levensbehoeften bij elkaar proberen te scharrelen, dagelijks geweld door zowel bewakers als gevangenen. Romy ziet de toekomst voor zich uitstrekken in een lange, onverbiddelijk rechte lijn. Totdat ze uit haar sleur wordt gerukt door nieuws vanbuiten, en haar lot naar eigen hand moet proberen te zetten. Een hartverscheurend en onvergetelijk boek, aldus Publishers Weekly.

In ''Telex aus Kuba'', einem packenden Roman über die kubanische Revolution, sind sie alle versammelt – die Castros, Che Guevara, der Diktator Batista und US-Präsident Eisenhower. Aber erzählt wird die Geschichte hauptsächlich von zwei Jugendlichen, Everly Lederer und K.C. Stites, die füreinander bestimmt zu sein scheinen: sie die Tochter des Chefs einer amerikanischen Nickelmine und er der Sohn eines leitenden Angestellten der United Fruit Company. Aus den Brüchen zwischen dem, was sie voller Faszination und Erschrecken wahrnehmen, tritt allmählich die Geschichte eines ebenso wagemutigen wie bisweilen absurden Freiheitskrieges zutage. Verwickelt in ihn sind, mit oft dubiosen Interessen, auch ein französischer Agent mit SS-Vergangenheit, eine kubanische Tänzerin mit erotischem Hang zur Macht, zahlreiche karrierebewusste Saubermänner und ihre dekadenten Gattinnen, Dschungelkämpfer und schmutzige Geschäftemacher. Rachel Kushner hat einen tropisch glitzernden historischen Moment des 20. Jahrhunderts mit großer Raffinesse so verdichtet, dass er die Ereignisse wie durch ein Brennglas zeigt. Man liest mit allen Sinnen, sieht, schmeckt, fühlt mit den Figuren und überlässt sich Kushners herausragender erzählerischer Kraft.

«Un’autentica meraviglia dalla copertina fino all’ultima pagina. Bisognerebbe averne una scorta, per regalarlo agli amici ammalati; si scorderanno della loro artrite e della loro polmonite, ve lo garantisco». The Washington Post «Una scrittrice che ha il pieno controllo della propria materia, una stilista dalla bravura non invadente, una narratrice che cattura e una costruttrice di mondi di straordinaria potenza». The Times «Un linguaggio scintillante che inoltre persegue la verità, emotiva e politica. Sarete ammaliati dal romanzo della Kushner». The Independent «Rachel Kushner, classe 1968, è un’anomalia nel panorama letterario Usa [...] niente minimalismi o famiglie disfunzionali, piuttosto la capacità di immergerci in un pezzo di storia facendoci sentire il fuoco delle rivolte». Lara Crinò, il Venerdì Cuba. Gli anni fra il colpo di Stato di Batista e la rivoluzione castrista. Gli americani vivono in un paradiso coloniale: governano le piantagioni di canna da zucchero e le miniere di nichel nella provincia di Oriente, ignorando (o fingendo di ignorare) che quel mondo è destinato a crollare. Fra loro crescono e si formano i giovani K.C. (che a Cuba è nato) e Everly (che ci è arrivata a otto anni), osservatori privilegiati del lusso e dello sfarzo, delle meschinità grandi e piccole, degli ideali e della grettezza degli adulti. All’Avana, intanto, una ballerina «francese» del Cabaret Tokio stringe relazioni con presidenti, dittatori e ribelli. E con un misterioso «tedesco», dal passato e dai traffici poco chiari... Rachel Kushner, conosciuta in tutto il mondo per I lanciafiamme, in questo suo primo romanzo ricostruisce con estrema cura il mondo della Cuba «americana» degli anni Cinquanta: un mondo superato ormai dalla Storia, superficialmente splendente ma segnato da profondissime contraddizioni e, nella decadente inconsapevolezza dei suoi protagonisti, inevitabilmente avviato alla fine. Su questo sfondo si intrecciano le vicende di una moltitudine di personaggi disegnati con grande maestria, in un racconto di straordinaria vivacità narrativa in cui la Storia e l’esistenza dei singoli si affiancano, si incontrano, si scontrano.

Three early stories of myth, regime, and harlotry by the acclaimed author of The Flamethrowers. An explorer’s whereabouts keeps a queen in waiting; a faith healer’s illegal radio broadcasts give hope to an oppressed people; a president’s offer of ice cream surprises a prostitute expecting to cooperate fully — the three short fictions gathered in The Great Exception build into a vision of Cuba that is black-humored, brutal, and beautiful. Written prior to the publication of Rachel Kushner’s first acclaimed novel Telex From Cuba, these stories, like Roberto Bolaño’s Antwerp, burst forth with the genesis of her fictional universe as though fired from a cannon. From the mythical title story, to the ominous “Debouchment” — originally published in her too short-lived journal Soft Targets — to the sexy and noirish “Strange Case of Rachel K,” this is Kushner saddling up for a journey into the wilds of the modern novel.

Die literarische Sensation aus den USA! Dieses Buch ist ein erzählerisches Naturereignis – ein Roman über eine schnelle junge Frau auf einem Motorrad, ihre Liebschaften im New Yorker Kunst-Underground der späten Siebziger und ihre politischen Verwicklungen im Italien der Roten Brigaden. 1975: Die Hobby-Motorradrennfahrerin Reno (so ihr Spitzname, nach ihrem Geburtsort) kommt nach einem Rekordversuch auf den großen Salzseen nach Manhattan, um in die kreativ explodierende Künstlerszene SoHos einzutauchen. In einer Welt, in der die Grenzen zwischen Leben und Kunst verschwimmen, trifft sie auf eine Schar von Träumern, Revoluzzern und Phantasten. Unter ihnen auch Sandro Valera, erfolgreicher Konzeptkünstler und exzentrischer Erbe einer italienischen Reifen- und Motorrad-Dynastie, in den sie sich verliebt. Aber bei einem Besuch bei seiner Familie in deren Sommerresidenz am Comer See gerät sie in den Strudel einer echten Revolte, die sich in Streiks, Straßenkämpfen, Entführung und Mord Bahn bricht ... Als dieser Roman 2013 in New York erschien, löste er ein unbeschreibliches Echo unter Rezensenten und Autoren aus. Von Jonathan Franzen über Joshua Ferris zu Colum McCann – unterschiedlicher könnten die Romanciers nicht sein, einheitlicher nicht die Ansicht, dass «Flammenwerfer» im Sturm über alle vorgefassten Meinungen, was heute einen guten Roman auszumachen habe, hinwegfegt und all seine Leser mitreißt und begeistert.

”Kushner er hurtigt på vej frem som en fænomenal og forbløffende romanforfatter.” – Jonathan Franzen Året er 1975, og Reno er netop ankommet til New York. Hun er fast besluttet på at transformere sin fascination af motorcykler og fart til kunst. I SOHOs gamle industribygninger forsøger en vild gruppe kunstnere at udviske grænserne mellem liv og kunst, sandhed og iscenesættelse. Uforfærdet overgiver Reno sig til byens eksperimenterende kunstscene – og til kunstneren Sandro Valera. Han er en oprørsk arving til et italiensk dæk- og motorcykelimperium, og sammen tager de til Italien, hvor hun hurtigt hvirvles ned i en undergrundsverden befolket af vestrefløjsaktivister og terrorister. Flammekasterne er en fandenivoldsk og forførende fortælling om kunst, drømme og acceleration. I centrum for det hele er en ung kvinde på kanten – passioneret, sårbar og frygtløs.

Η RACHEL KUSHNER, με τη μεταλλική πρόζα της, μια πρόζα ακριβείας, στην οποία ισορροπεί αριστοτεχνικά η καλπάζουσα φαντασία με τη γείωση στην πραγματικότητα, μας ταξιδεύει στην Αμερική και στην Ιταλία της ηλεκτρικής δεκαετίας του 1970, αλλά και στα γεγονότα που οδήγησαν στον κόσμο όπως τον ξέρουμε σήμερα, στις παραμονές του Πρώτου αλλά και στην καρδιά του Δευτέρου Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου. Μια νέα κοπέλα, η Ρίνο, παθιασμένη με το σκι, με την ταχύτητα, με τις μοτοσικλέτες, με την τέχνη, βρίσκεται στην καρδιά των γεγονότων, στα παλμικά πεδία των απανωτών επαναστάσεων, των αδιάκοπων, έστω και σπασμωδικών, αναζητήσεων. Διψάει για ζωή, για έρωτα, για εμπειρίες, με μοτοσικλέτες ή με μολότοφ, σε αίθουσες τέχνης της πρωτοπορίας στη Νέα Υόρκη ή σε οδομαχίες στους εξεγερμένους δρόμους της Ρώμης. Η Ρίνο, ως προσωποποίηση της φλεγόμενης νιότης, δε θέλει να είναι οπαδός ή παθητικός θεατής της ζωής, αλλά να ορίζει εκείνη τα γεγονότα. Το μυθιστόρημα Τα Φλογοβόλα ήταν υποψήφιο για το National Book Award και το Folio Prize, ενώ επιλέχθηκε ως το καλύτερο βιβλίο του 2013 από τους New York Times αλλά και τη Wall Street Journal, τους Los Angeles Times, το The New Yorker, το Time, το Flavorwire, το Salon, και το Slate.

“Il miglior libro che ho letto quest’anno” Jonathan Franzen Manhattan, 1977. Da poco giunta dal Nevada, la giovane e bellissima Reno viene introdotta nel mondo artistico da Sandro Valera, italiano la cui famiglia possiede una celebre fabbrica di moto e pneumatici e con cui presto allaccia una relazione. In questa New York in cui tutti paiono brillanti e inafferrabili, in fuga da sé stessi e da relazioni stabili, dal proprio passato e da famiglie troppo ingombranti, la fusione tra l’arte e la vita è la prospettiva più elettrizzante: Reno trova lì la sua strada al sesso e all’amore e trasforma la sua grande passione per le due ruote in un progetto artistico. Ma sarà un viaggio in Italia a cambiarne per sempre l’esistenza. Mentre incalzano le notizie di rapimenti e attentati e dilagano gli scioperi operai dilaganti, Reno si ritrova immersa nella placida vita borghese della famiglia Valera, in una villa sul lago di Como che trasuda nostalgie fasciste, e poi all’improvviso proiettata nella Roma dei movimenti e delle manifestazioni, coinvolta in eventi di cui le sfugge la portata. I lanciafiamme, un irresistibile meccanismo di storie, aneddoti, monologhi, avventure e racconti, è un’esplorazione intensa e coraggiosa dell’arte, del femminino, della menzogna e del terrorismo scritto da un’autrice di incredibile forza, intelligenza e originalità. «Il libro più accanitamente discusso dell’anno» secondo Time, che ha lanciato l’autrice nel ristretto empireo dei più acclamati scrittori americani dei nostri anni, è ora in corso di traduzione in oltre quindici paesi.

* Selected as ONE of the BEST BOOKS of the 21st CENTURY by The New York Times * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * New York magazine’s #1 Book of the Year * Best Book of the Year by: The Wall Street Journal; Vogue; O, The Oprah Magazine; Los Angeles Times; The San Francisco Chronicle; The New Yorker; Time; Flavorwire; Salon; Slate; The Daily Beast “Superb…Scintillatingly alive…A pure explosion of now.”—The New Yorker Reno, so-called because of the place of her birth, comes to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity—artists colonize a deserted and industrial SoHo, stage actions in the East Village, blur the line between life and art. Reno is submitted to a sentimental education of sorts—by dreamers, poseurs, and raconteurs in New York and by radicals in Italy, where she goes with her lover to meet his estranged and formidable family. Ardent, vulnerable, and bold, Reno is a fiercely memorable observer, superbly realized by Rachel Kushner.

An astonishingly wise, ambitious, and riveting first novel set in the American community in Cuba during the years leading to Castro''s revolution, this masterful debut is a compelling tour de force.

David Korty''s recent work portrays a stylistically complex space in which his calligraphic alphabet of pencil lines, paint strokes, and colour forms coalesce into dense, seamless compositions. the simple images of everyday life - women reading magazines, couples milling about, figures waiting in line, and a man surveying a botanical garden betray the seeming mundanity of the subjects and reveal a kind of slow-burning introspection. the stillness of the figures and shapes in the paintings give way to a roving movement of the eye and hand. A voracious curiosity that asks us to look closer at the things which are already in front of us. Published alongside exhibitions at Sadie Coles HQ, London and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles in 2008. English text.

Essay by Rachel Kushner. Foreword by Carlo McCormick.