John Wray

In his ambitious and fiercely inventive new novel, The Lost Time Accidents, John Wray takes us from turn-of-the-century Viennese salons buzzing with rumors about Einstein's radical new theory to the death camps of World War Two, from the golden age of postwar pulp science fiction to a startling discovery in a Manhattan apartment packed to the ceiling with artifacts of modern life. Haunted by a failed love affair and the darkest of family secrets, Waldemar 'Waldy' Tolliver wakes one morning to discover that he has been exiled from the flow of time. The world continues to turn, and Waldy is desperate to find his way back-a journey that forces him to reckon not only with the betrayal at the heart of his doomed romance but also the legacy of his great-grandfather's fatal pursuit of the hidden nature of time itself. Part madcap adventure, part harrowing family drama, part scientific mystery--and never less than wildly entertaining--The Lost Time Accidents is a bold and epic saga set against the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.

A Novel

The Lost Time Accidents

Gone to the Wolves

Possessing paranoid schizophrenic beliefs that he can save the planet from climate change by cooling down his own overheated body, sixteen-year-old New York youth Will Heller pursues a terrifying and delusional odyssey through the city's tunnels and back alleys while his frantic mother attempts to find him.

Lowboy

The award-winning author John Wray dives deep into the wild, risky world of heavy metal in the 1980s and '90s. Kip, Leslie, and Kira are outliers—even in the metal scene they love. In arch-conservative Gulf Coast Florida in the late 1980s, just listening to metal can get you arrested, but for the three of them the risk is well worth it, because metal is what leads them to one another. Different as they are, Kip, Leslie, and Kira form a family of sorts that proves far safer, and more loving, than the families they come from. Together, they make the pilgrimage from Florida's swamp country to the fabled Sunset Strip in Hollywood. But in time, the delicate equilibrium they've found begins to crumble. Leslie moves home to live with his elderly parents; Kip struggles to find his footing in the sordid world of LA music journalism; and Kira, the most troubled of the three, finds herself drawn to ever darker and more extreme strains of metal. On a trip to northern Europe for her twenty-second birthday, in the middle of a show, she simply vanishes. Two years later, the truth about her disappearance reunites Kip with Leslie, who in order to bring Kira home alive must make greater sacrifices than they could ever have imagined. In his most absorbing and ambitious novel yet, John Wray dives deep into the wild, funhouse world of heavy metal and death cults in the 1980s and '90s. Gone to the Wolves lays bare the intensity, tumult, and thrill of friendship in adolescence—a time when music can often feel like life or death.

75th anniversary edition of the timeless New Zealand classic of adventure at sea. Johnny Wray's gripping and often hilarious account of his adventures around the South Pacific has inspired readers and changed lives since its first publication 75 years ago. Fired from his day job during the Great Depression, Johnny begged, borrowed and stole the materials to build his famous yacht Ngataki. With some mates for company and a sextant to steer by, he set sail for the palm-fringed atolls and islands of his dreams - to discover they really did exist. But South Sea Vagabonds is much more than just a ripping yarn; it is a heartfelt hymn to the possibility of living a free life and truly being the master of one's own destiny.

South Sea Vagabonds

In California her name was Aden Grace Sawyer. In Pakistan she must choose a different name - Suleyman - and take on a new identity as a young man. She has travelled a long way to begin her new life, and she'll travel further to protect her secret. But once she is on the ground, Aden finds herself in more danger than she could have dreamed. Faced with violence and loss, she must make intense and unimaginable choices that will test not only her faith, but her understanding of who she is. Compelling, unnerving and timely, Godsend is a subtle masterpiece of empathy: a study of what it means for a person to give themselves to their faith, and how far they will go from home to find a place to belong.

Godsend

"Inspired by the story of John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," Whiting Award winner John Wray explores the circumstances that could impel a young American to exchange identity, home, and to become an Islamist militant"--

A teenage deserter from the army during the First World War, Oskar Voxlauer returns to his home in Austria after nearly twenty years of exile, only to find himself caught up in the growing political tensions and rising fascism in the area.

The Right Hand of Sleep

Gotteskind

Eight survivors of the notorious Island Thirty Seven Gang, a group of outlaws hunted by both the Union and Confederacy for dealing in stolen slaves, await their fate at the hands of their leader, or the Pinkerton detectives pursuing them.

Canaan's Tongue

From the acclaimed and prizewinning author of The Right Hand of Sleep ("Brilliant . . . A truly arresting work"-The New York Times Book Review),an explosive allegorical novel set on the eve of the Civil War, about a gang of men hunted by both the Union and the Confederacy for dealing in stolen slaves. Geburah Plantation, 1863: in a crumbling estate on the banks of the Mississippi, eight survivors of the notorious Island 37 Gang wait for the war, or the Pinkerton Detective Agency, to claim them. Their leader, a bizarre charismatic known only as "the Redeemer," has already been brought to justice, and each day brings the battling armies closer. The hatred these men feel for one another is surpassed only by their fear of their many pursuers. Into this hell comes a mysterious force, an "avenging angel" that compels them, one by one, to a reckoning of their many sins. Canaan's Tongue isrooted in the criminal world of John Murrell, as infamous in his day as Jesse James or Al Capone. It tells the story of his reluctant protégé, Virgil Ball, who derives riches, sexual privilege, and power from the commerce in stolen slaves, known only as "the Trade"-and discovers, when he finally decides to free himself from the Redeemer's yoke, that the force he is challenging is far more formidable than he imagined. It is as old as the river, as vast as the country itself, and it is with us to this day.

Inspired by the story of John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban,” Whiting Award–winning author John Wray explores the circumstances that could impel a young American to abandon identity and home to become an Islamist militant. Like many other eighteen-year-olds, Aden Sawyer is intently focused on a goal: escape from her hometown. Her plan will take her far from her mother’s claustrophobic house, where the family photos have all been turned to face the wall; far from the influence of her domineering father—a professor of Islamic studies—and his new wife. Aden’s dream, however, is worlds removed from conventional fantasies of teen rebellion: she is determined to travel to Peshawar, Pakistan, to study Islam at a madrasa. To do so, she takes on a new identity, disguising herself as a young man named Suleyman. Aden fully commits to this new life, even burning her passport to protect her secret. But once she is on the ground, she finds herself in greater danger than she could possibly have imagined. Faced with violence, disillusionment, and loss, Aden must make choices that will test not only her faith but also her most fundamental understanding of who she is, and that will set her on a wild, fateful course toward redemption by blood. John Wray’s Godsend is a coming-of-age novel like no other.

Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-yearold paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Like most people he knows, Will believes the world is being destroyed by climate change; unlike most people, he's convinced he can do something about it. Unknown to his doctors, unknown to the police—unknown even to Violet Heller, his devoted mother—Will alone holds the key to the planet's salvation. To cool down the world, he has to cool down his own overheating body: to cool down his body, he has to find one willing girl. And he already has someone in mind. Lowboy, John Wray's third novel, tells the story of Will's fantastic and terrifying odyssey through the city's tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope, and of Violet Heller's desperate attempts to locate her son before psychosis claims him completely. She is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who gradually comes to discover that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Violet—beautiful, enigmatic, and as profoundly at odds with the world as her son—harbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril. Suspenseful and comic, devastating and hopeful by turns, Lowboy is a fearless exploration of youth, sex, and violence in contemporary America, seen through one boy's haunting and extraordinary vision.

1938 kehrt Oskar Voxlauer in die österreichische Kleinstadt seiner Kindheit zurück, gezeichnet von traumatischen Erfahrungen im Ersten Weltkrieg und zwanzig Jahren Zwangsarbeit. Er sucht die Einsamkeit, doch weil er aus seinem Abscheu vor den neuen Machthabern kein Hehl macht, gerät er zusehends in Konflikt mit ihnen. Noch heikler wird die Situation durch seine Liebesbeziehung zu Else, der Cousine des lokalen SS-Führers. Die emotionalen Verstrickungen führen zu einer Katastophe.

Die rechte Hand des Schlafes

Waldy Tolliver, dernier rejeton d'une extravagante famille, fondatrice d'un empire du cornichon et versée dans la physique quantique pour amateurs, se retrouve un beau matin piégé dans un appartement new-yorkais aux allures de capharnaüm - exilé hors du temps, qui pour lui ne passe plus. Un siècle plus tôt, l'aïeul Ottokar a découvert le secret de l'immortalité - avant qu'un bête accident de la circulation ne l'empêche à jamais d'en faire profiter l'humanité. Depuis, ses descendants, animés d'intentions plus ou moins louables, n'ont de cesse de vouloir mettre la main sur ce Graal. Et nous voici embarqués dans une fresque familiale et historique ahurissante d'inventivité, d'humour et de virtuosité. Des salons de la Vienne fin de siècle au New York bobo d'aujourd'hui, des camps de la mort à une secte New Age, du Far West aux fanzines pulp, Les Accidents est un roman fou, trépidant, bourré de personnages, de rebondissements et d'aventures. C'est aussi une grande histoire d'amour, intemporelle – et la révélation d'un jeune auteur doué d'une plume aussi magistrale que facétieuse. roman traduit de l'anglais (Etats-Unis) par Charles Recoursé "John Wray endosse les habits de Calvino, de Mitchell, de Murakami, et même de Joyce, pour nous offrir un spectaculaire feu d'artifice romanesque." - Colum McCann John Wray est l'auteur de quatre romans, qui lui ont valu de nombreuses distinctions aux Etats-Unis. Le magazine Granta l'a désigné en 2007 comme l'un des "meilleurs écrivains américains de moins de 35 ans". Il vit aujourd'hui à Brooklyn. Après des débuts dans l'édition, Charles Recoursé se consacre aujourd'hui à la traduction (David Foster Wallace, Tao Lin, Lydia Millet, Brian Hart, Max Porter). Il fait partie du collectif inculte. "Voici un homme qui aborde la littérature comme un funambule de haut vol - et sans filet. Un livre épique - par son ampleur comme par sa générosité." - Marlon James, auteur de Brève histoire de sept meurtres, Man Booker Prize 2015 "Avec cette chronique aussi sombre que ludique courant sur trois générations de doux dingues et de criminels, de losers et de visionnaires, John Wray a écrit un livre magique, une épopée drolatique, étrange et lumineuse." - Kiran Desai, auteur de La Perte en héritage "Une stupéfiante mosaïque de science-fiction, d'histoire et de philosophie, qui démontre toute la palette des talents remarquables de John Wray." - Booklist

Les Accidents

«Das Geheimnis der verlorenen Zeit» ist einer der megalomanischsten Romane der jüngeren amerikanischen Literaturgeschichte: ein gewitzter, raffinierter Mix aus Wissenschaft, Philosophie, Pop und Unterhaltung. Ein wilder Abenteuertrip, vom Wien der Jahrhundertwende bis ins Manhattan der Gegenwart, von der ersten Dimension in die vierte. Eingeschlossen in einer Blase angehaltener Zeit sitzt der junge Waldemar Tolliver in einem vermüllten Apartment am Central Park in New York und versucht, Herr seiner Geschichte zu werden. (Aber vielleicht hat er auch nur zu viel Science-Fiction gelesen.) Über hundert Jahre Familiengeschichte muss er erforschen und verstehen, um wieder in die Welt zurückkehren zu können. (Glaubt er.) Ein grandioses Panorama breitet sich aus: Waldemars Urgroßvater, Produzent eingelegter Gurken und Hobbyphysiker aus dem k.u.k. Znaim, war dem Geheimnis der Zeit auf der Spur. Nein, besser noch: dem Geheimnis menschlicher Reisen durch die Zeit! Leider gingen die Unterlagen bei einem dummen Unfall mit einem Automobil verloren. Drei Generationen von Tollivers – Genies, Kriminelle, Verlierer, Visionäre – ruhen fortan nicht, das Geheimnis zu lüften, obwohl bald ein deutscher Patentamtsangestellter namens Einstein mit ganz ähnlichen Theorien Schlagzeilen machen wird ... Um es mit Jonathan Lethem zu sagen: «John Wray ist die nächste Welle der amerikanischen Literatur.»

John Wray

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