Atonement and other stories - Couverture souple

Barber, David W.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1778083706 ISBN 13 : 9781778083709

Editeur : Indent Publishing, 2022

Synopsis

DAVID W. BARBER, WHO HAS DELIGHTED READERS all around the world with Bach, Beethoven and the Boys, Accidentals on Purpose, Getting a Handel on Messiah and other internationally bestselling books of classical musical humor, takes a more serious turn with his first extended foray into fiction – the collection Atonement and other stories.
In this collection of 13 short stories – call them a Barber’s dozen – the first eight cover a wide range of topics and time periods. They span from the early formation of our planet to first-century Palestine to the Second World War to the present day and beyond. Their topics and situations range from theology to political intrigue both historical and modern to the vagaries of marital infidelity, fortune and fame. Neither science fiction nor fantasy – though science and the fantastical sometimes play a role in these various cautionary tales – these stories are what readers might consider “speculative fiction.” Each story in some way asks the question “What if?”
The title story, Atonement, asks what if an unknown politician arose to counter the devastation of Trumpism? In Not So Wonderful, what if a loathsome rich man woke one day to find himself poor? In Project Habakkuk (based on true events), what if a giant iceberg battleship could help defeat Hitler and hasten the end of WW2? In Terminal Velocity, what if you suddenly woke up and found yourself falling from an airplane at about 10,000 feet? In Suffer Little Children, what if a Boston Catholic with firsthand knowledge of the church’s shameful sex abuse became pope and decided to finally do something about it? In Joseph, what if the father of Jesus wanted to tell his side of the story? These and other questions are the inspiration for Barber’s inventive fiction.
The other five stories that round out the collection are Barber’s own original Sherlock Holmes stories. Four have been published previously and collected as The Adventure of the Sunken Parsley and Other Stories of Sherlock Holmes. But the fifth, The Case of the Solitary Canary, is a brand-new story that draws Sherlock Holmes into Barber’s extensive knowledge of classical music in general and of Handel’s Messiah in particular.

Here’s what some notable people have said about David W. Barber’s books:

“My heartiest commendation for an admirable work of scholarship ...”
– Author Antony Burgess, on Bach, Beethoven and the Boys

“I was delighted by these short, witty pieces by this talented writer.”
– Cartoonist Ben Wicks, on The Last Laugh: Essays and Oddities in the News

“I enjoyed these pieces enormously.”
– Alan Coren, former editor of Punch magazine,
on The Last Laugh: Essays and Oddities in the News

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

David W. Barber is a journalist and musician and the author of more than a dozen books of music (including Accidentals on Purpose: A Musician's Dictionary, When the Fat Lady Sings and Getting a Handel on Messiah) and literature (including Quotable Sherlock and Quotable Twain). Formerly entertainment editor of the Kingston Whig-Standard, editor of Broadcast Week magazine at the Toronto Globe and Mail and assistant editor of arts and life for Postmedia newspapers, he is currently a freelance writer, editor and composer. As a composer, his works include two symphonies, a jazz mass based on the music of Dave Brubeck, a Requiem, several short choral and chamber works and various vocal-jazz songs and arrangements. He sings with the Toronto Chamber Choir and a variety of other choirs on occasion. In a varied career, among his more interesting jobs have been short stints as a roadie for Pope John Paul II, a publicist for Prince Rainier of Monaco and a backup singer for Avril Lavigne.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Indent Publishing
• Date d'édition: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1778083706
• ISBN 13: 9781778083709
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 180
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg