Bøger af Brian Moloney

Sixteen year old Toby Pierce is lost, disillusioned and just not happy with the path his life has taken ever since circumstances, four years earlier, changed the course of everything he knew as normal. While his friends look with anticipation towards the future and the enigmatic shadow of adulthood looming on the horizon, Toby could care less about...well, about anything. That is until he discovers the key..."always the key"...to the mysterious Door to Nowhere, a perpetually locked, never used, sealed doorway, tucked in the corner of his room. At first, wary of the odd key's sudden appearance and peculiar sparkle, Toby tries to put it all out of his mind. However, a strange prophetic dream compels him to confront the key and, with the semi-unflagging support of his two best friends - Billy Bartles, the resident jock and do-no-wrong-whatever- he-does kind of guy, and Lori, his best buddy since kindergarten, who's starting to become more than just a buddy - Toby unlocks the "Door to Nowhere". An explosive reception soon follows as the trio is swept away to the magical Kingdom of Keys, where Toby chooses to follow the path of the Doors. There, in a series of fantastic meetings - with a familiar painter, who creates wonderful impressions of stars in the night; an eccentric writer, who lives alone in the woods, in a small house by a well-known pond; and a troubled Folk Singer from the sixties, who at one time, used his voice to sing for those who lacked the courage to speak for themselves - Toby learns the secret of the seed...the heart...the soul...the passion...the mind...and most of all, how simple it all really is...if he just has the faith to allow it to be.... Action, adventure, fantasy, humor, villains, heroes, Kings, Queens, strange creatures from an enchanted land and a multitude of laser blasts; these are the fundamental elements of The Kingdom of Keys. But, more importantly, woven within is an insightful message designed to encourage young minds -and even some older ones - to choose the path in life most in harmony with, not only their intellect, but also their heart and their soul....

First, let me say this is not just a book about Zombies...at least not completely.Sure...It has Zombies in it...but, really, what doesn't, these days?Inside you'll find some of my favorite stories from my on-line humor column, "The Freelance Retort" of which I've amassed 600 plus tales over the years...so far. While I strive to be humorous in all, I like to think they run the gamut from silly to sentimental and insane to insightful. One never knows what will turn up from day to day...even a Zombie; rude and oblivious, as they are.But I hope you enjoy them, just the same.

Nestled within the confines of a modern day family, The Little Red Christmas Ball is the last of the colorful breed of vintage ornaments that, once upon a time, shined brightly from within and sparkled tirelessly among the trees of yesterday.Passed down through the years, the Little Red Christmas Ball has become-these days- just a tad insecure as he finds himself more often than not relegated to the rear of the majestic Christmas tree. He fears he's become, well, just a little bit ordinary in this modern age of ornaments equipped with manufactured charm. Nonetheless, the Little Red Christmas Ball is secure in the knowledge-he thinks-his true purpose is to shine bright and provide good Christmas cheer. "A branch of my own and a home to brighten, what more could a Little Red Christmas Ball need?" Until one particular Christmas Eve the unthinkable occurs and the Little Red Christmas Ball is unknowingly knocked from his little evergreen home. "What kind of a Little Red Christmas Ball would I be if I missed a Christmas? I would have no purpose, no purpose at all...." Soon, with the help of three disparate, late-night housemates, the quest begins to return the Little Red Christmas Ball to his rightful place upon the Christmas Tree before Santa arrives. Along the way, these newfound friends discover and unwrap the innocent gifts of humor, happiness, hope and dreams...but especially the special love of giving. These are the lessons learned by The Little Red Christmas Ball, struggling through this long winter's night, that allow him, still, after all the years to "shine bright and hold tight" even in the toughest of times.

This is the first book in English on the friendship that sprang up between these two major writers and the effects on both of that friendship. The encounter has long been undervalued by scholars, largely because Joyce and Svevo themselves appeared at times to attach relatively little importance to it, but it was in fact far from tangential to the development of their careers, coming as it did at key moments in their lives. This book is the first full study of the effect on both writers of their encounter and their unlikely friendship, in the light of the parallels between their life experiences and their shared culture.Stanislaus Joyce said: 'The happy chance that brought these two remarkable men together was a literary event that is likely to increase rather than decrease in interest in years to come'. A study of this unlikely friendship by an experienced Italianist will have much that is useful to say in this regard, particularly as our understanding of the importance of Svevo's Jewishness has changed greatly in recent years.

Italian text. English introduction and notes.