”A Heart so White” is the breathtaking international bestseller & IMPAC Award-winning masterpiece by Javier Marias, whose highly-anticipated new novel ” The Infatuations” is published in 2013. This Penguin Modern Classics edition features a new Introduction by Jonathan Coe. ”A Heart so White” begins as, In the middle of a family lunch Teresa, just married, goes to the bathroom, unbuttons her blouse & shoots herself in the heart. What made her kill herself immediately after her honeymoon? Years later, this mystery fascinates the young newlywed Juan, whose father was married to Teresa before he married Juan`s mother. As Juan edges closer to the truth, he begins to question his own relationships, & whether he really wants to know what happened. Haunting & unsettling, ”A Heart So White” is a breathtaking portrayal of two generations, two marriages, the relentless power of the past & the terrible price of knowledge. ...

What happens when you reach the threshold of life & death
- & come back? As long as humans have lived on the planet, there have
...

Jay Mc Inerney, internationally celebrated author of Bright Lights, Big City, turns his hand here to his lifelong love affair with wine. Peals of wisdom are offered on the subjects of the best wine for romantics, the parallels between Californian wines & floundering Hollywood stars, the choice of wine for the author`s own debauched forty-eighth birthday party, the `high-testosterone grape` that is Colin Farrell, absinthe, `the wild green fairy`, & what wine is best drunk with chocolate. At the same time Mc Inerney is a genuine connoisseur, taking the reader on a tour through the wine regions of the world & imparting tried & tested advice on grapes & vintages, bouquets, noses & finishes. ...

Istanbul, once Constantinople, is the only city in the world to span two continents. A vibrant melting pot of olde-worlde European charm & Asian mystique, it truly is a city where anything is possible. From its progressive, modern economy & ultra-hip design scene to the beauty & tradition of its architecture, culture & people, Istanbul is a city that is moving fast
- not for nothing that it has been elected European City of Culture for 2010. Hg 2 Istanbul delves deeper than the rest to discover that there's a whole lot more to the capital of Asia Minor than belly dancing & hammams.
...

A Hedonist's Guide to London brings one of the world's most exciting cities to life. Visiting the UK's capital is not just about big red buses & Piccadilly Circus, but gourmet cooking, chic bars, underground clubs & some of the best shopping in Europe. London's prominence on the fashion, food & design scene in recent years looks set to continue & this is just the guide to help the outsider become an insider. ...

Miami is America's party capital, from spring break to celebs trying to unwind, everything is geared towards style, glamour & excess. From the Euro-influenced (relative) calm of Coral Gables to the non-stop partying of Miami Beach, Hg 2 Miami takes a peek behind the famed pastel Art Deco facades to give you the real scoop on this city that intriguingly blends European & Latin imported scenes into its own inimitable mix. Party til you drop? Here's one town where the cliche will come good. ...

From the banks of the Seine to the streets of Montmartre, the City of Lights is imbued with a unique atmosphere & history. Hg 2 Paris unravels the, at times confusing, worlds of haute-cuisine, haute-couture & haute culture. For gourmands, a comprehensive take on the restaurant scene from world-famous temples of gastronomy to smoky bistros with sublime steak tartare, for shop-a-holics, the ultimate guide to style & fashion. Potter from the elegant shops of the Rue Faubourg St Honore to the eclectic Marais & art galleries on the Left Bank, taking in the superlative cultural highlights on the way. Finally get in step with the glamour & elegance of Paris's nightlife, with its influences drawn from North & sub-Saharan Africa & Asia. ...

Between the splendours of the modern & ancient worlds that make up The Eternal City there lie the small backstreets & wide piazzas humming with the hustle & bustle of everyday Roman life. Small, local trattorias sit beside the chicest & smartest of international restaurants. From the majesty of the Colosseum to the magical frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, Rome oozes history, style & sophistication. Hg 2 Rome delves into the Rome of the Romans, covering the thriving bar & club scene alongside the best of the best restaurants, intimate cafes & world-class shopping. ...

Deep in a wood in the Marches of Wales, in an ancient school bus there lives an old man called Bob Rowberry. A Hero for High Times is the story of how he ended up in this broken-down bus. It`s also the story of his times, & the ideas that shaped him. It`s a story of why you know your birth sign, why you have friends called Willow, why sex & drugs & rock`n`roll once mattered more than money, why dance music stopped the New-Age Travellers from travelling, & why you need to think twice before taking the brown acid. It`s the story of the hippies for those who weren`t there
- for Younger Readers who`ve never heard of the Aldermaston marches, Oz, the Angry Brigade, the Divine Light Mission, Sniffin` Glue, Operation Julie, John Seymour, John Michell, Greenham Common, the Battle of the Beanfield, but who want to understand their grandparents` stories of turning on, tuning in & not quite dropping out before they are gone for ever. It`s for Younger Readers who want to know how to build a bender, make poppy tea, & throw the I-Ching. And it`s a story of friendship between two men, one who did things, & one who thought about things, between theory & practice, between a hippie & a punk, between two gentlemen, no longer in the first flush of youth, who still believe in love.
...

A masterpiece of Russian prose, Lermontov`s only novel was influential for many later nineteenth-century authors, including Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky & Chekhov. Lermontov`s hero, Pechorin, is a dangerous man, Byronic in his wasted gifts & his cynicism, & desperate for any kind of action that will stave off boredom. In five linked episodes, Lermontov builds up a portrait of a man caught in & expressing the sickness of his times. ...