Kirjahaku

WINNER OF THE 2023 PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD A sly, madcap novel about supervillains and nothing, really, from an American novelist whose star keeps rising The protagonist of Percival Everett's puckish new novel is a brilliant professor of mathematics who goes by Wala Kitu. (Wala, he explains, means "nothing" in Tagalog, and Kitu is Swahili for "nothing.") He is an expert on nothing. That is to say, he is an expert, and his area of study is nothing, and he does nothing about it. This makes him the perfect partner for the aspiring villain John Sill, who wants to break into Fort Knox to steal, well, not gold bars but a shoebox containing nothing. Once he controls nothing he'll proceed with a dastardly plan to turn a Massachusetts town into nothing. Or so he thinks. With the help of the brainy and brainwashed astrophysicist-turned-henchwoman Eigen Vector, our professor tries to foil the villain while remaining in his employ. In the process, Wala Kitu learns that Sill's desire to become a literal Bond villain originated in some real all-American villainy related to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. As Sill says, "Professor, think of it this way. This country has never given anything to us and it never will. We have given everything to it. I think it's time we gave nothing back." Dr. No is a caper with teeth, a wildly mischievous novel from one of our most inventive, provocative, and productive writers. That it is about nothing isn't to say that it's not about anything. In fact, it's about villains. Bond villains. And that's not nothing.

Premio Pulitzer 2025 * National Award Prize 2024 James es un libro fascinante, una reescritura de Las aventuras de Huckleberry Finn de Mark Twain desde el punto de vista de Jim, el esclavo. Con una inteligencia sobrecogedora, Percival Everett es capaz de demoler las absurdas barreras del racismo. Sentimos la igualdad natural en esta aventura y entendemos que el robo del lenguaje es fundamental en cualquier tipo de esclavitud. En ese sentido, James resuena en nuestro presente. James es el nombre de la dignidad. El esclavo ha visitado de forma clandestina la biblioteca de su amo y ha aprendido a leer y escribir. Entonces, se entera de que lo han vendido y que lo van a separar de su mujer y su hija. Decide escaparse. En esa aventura trepidante lo acompa a Huck. Los dos se convierten en una pareja de personajes que se necesitan mutuamente no solo para sobrevivir, tambi n para conocerse y mantener cierta humanidad. El lenguaje es fundamental en este libro de lectura trepidante construido casi enteramente a trav s del di logo. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Pulitzer Prize 2025 * National Award Prize 2024 James is a fascinating novel--a reimagining of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man. With staggering insight, Percival Everett dismantles the absurd barriers of racism. We feel the natural equality in this journey and understand that the theft of language is central to every form of enslavement. In that sense, James resonates deeply with our present. James is the name of dignity. The enslaved man has secretly visited his master's library and taught himself to read and write. When he learns he's been sold and will be separated from his wife and daughter, he decides to escape. Huck joins him on this gripping adventure. Together, they become a pair who need each other not only to survive, but to understand themselves and preserve their humanity. Language is at the heart of this fast-paced novel, built almost entirely through dialogue.