Kirjahaku

The story spans nearly a hundred years. In Carlo Gebler's early childhood, his relationship with his father, Ernest, was a disaster. A man of the left, Ernest's politics had been 'hammered out in the nineteen thirties'. His early life as the son of a Jewish immigrant was spent working as a rat catcher in a cinema, snatching moments alone to educate himself, but the one with the literary talent was his second wife, Edna O'Brien - Gebler's mother - who left after Ernest claimed authorship of her work. As his father saw it, Carlo and his brother Sasha were over-fed members of the bourgeoisie, and toys and sweets were banned from their lonely childhood, filled with memories of abuse and neglect. Years later, on hearing his estranged father was now senile, Gebler made the journey to southern Ireland and through his past, through diaries that confirmed Ernest's hatred for his sons, yet also revealed the abuse Ernest in turn suffered as a young man, a life of extreme poverty and the abandonment of his first wife. This not a story that ends in hate; by the time Carlo Gebler reached their final years together, he no longer felt the anger that had dogged their relationship.

THE SIEGE OF DERRY is one of the key flash points in the troubled history of Ireland and Britain. In 1688 William of Orange had claimed the English throne, forcing the catholic James II to flee to Ireland. From there he hoped to mount his comeback. In December of that year James' troops attempted to take over the protestant city of Derry. To the now-famous cry of 'No Surrender' the apprentice boys closed the city gates to James' army and the 105-day siege begun. The besiegers effectively used cannon and mortar to shell the defenders - with terrifying results - and conditions became desperate as the city began to run out of food. Carlo Gebler's book thrillingly describes both the events leading up to the siege and the heroic struggles within and outside Derry as the five-month battle waged.

The characters depicted in this volume lead lives which are quintessentially modern; lonely, rootless and uncertain. These are not, however, stories of complaint or lament or melancholy. On the contrary, they illuminate and celebrate the courage and joy that are to be found flourishing in the most unlikely corners of human existence. An essential primer for the way we live today, W9 and Other Stories spans the entire globe as each story gently shifts the reader's attention from one location to the next. A good number of them are situated in the author's native Ireland, where possessing a keen sense of place has a special significance all of its own. Novelist, playwright and broadcaster Carlo Gebler was born in Dublin in 1954, the son of famous Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. A graduate of York University and the National Film and Television School, Gebler has directed a number of television documentaries and contributed articles to many prominent newspapers and magazines. He now lives in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. His other works include How to Murder a Man, published by Marion Boyars in 1999. "Gebler at his disturbing best."?The Sunday Times "Powerfully memorable."?Daily Telegraph

A chilling, atmospheric story based on the fairytales of Y B Bates, which reveal a malevolent aspect of fairyland.

Sheltering from the Nazis in a hidden cave in the last days of the Second World War, Saul listens with his family as Claude passes on the stories of the golem of Prague, a man made of mud who protected Prague's jews in the sixteenth century. Retelling the stories of Prague's golem, 'August '44' also brings to life the terrifying atmosphere of occupied France. The last days of occupation come vividly to life through the eyes of a young boy. Carlo Gebler is an award-winning filmmaker, producer and director of TV, his backlist includes 'Frozen Out' and 'The Base'.