Penguin Books – Knjiga.hr

Madame Bovary

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:10:20 +0000

A landmark of nineteenth-century realism, this novel follows Emma Bovary, the dissatisfied wife of a provincial doctor, whose longing for passion, luxury, and escape from the banality of rural life leads her into romantic illusions and mounting debt. Through Emma’s restless desires and gradual disillusionment, the book explores themes of romantic idealism, materialism, adultery, and the constraints placed on women in bourgeois society. Gustave Flaubert, a central figure in French literary realism, is renowned for his meticulous style and psychological insight, both on full display here. By turns ironic and compassionate, this novel remains a powerful study of longing and self-deception, and a foundational work for readers interested in classic European literature.

Collected Short Stories 1

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:08:44 +0000

This substantial collection brings together a wide selection of short fiction by one of the twentieth century’s most popular and accomplished storytellers. W. Somerset Maugham was renowned for his clear, economical prose and his keen insight into human motives, and these stories showcase his talent at its finest. Set in locations ranging from London drawing rooms to remote corners of the British Empire, they explore love, ambition, betrayal, morality, and the often uncomfortable gap between self-image and reality. Maugham’s cool, observant narrative voice and subtle irony give even the briefest tale emotional weight and narrative drive. Ideal for readers who appreciate character-driven fiction and sharply observed studies of human weakness and resilience, this volume offers an excellent introduction to a master of the modern short story.

The Train Was on Time

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:08:34 +0000

A short, powerful early novel set during the Second World War, this work follows a young German soldier traveling by train to the Eastern Front, convinced that his death awaits him there. Over the course of the journey and a brief leave in occupied Poland, he forms a fragile human connection that throws his fatalism into sharp relief. Spare and unsentimental, the novel explores themes of inevitability, guilt, love, and the quiet moral cost of war on ordinary individuals. Its author, later awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, is known for his humane, critical portrayals of postwar German society. This concise, haunting narrative offers an intimate entry point into his enduring concerns and will appeal to readers of literary war fiction and existential drama.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies: an Anthology of Modern Criticism

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:08:29 +0000

This anthology brings together a selection of influential mid‑twentieth‑century essays on Shakespeare’s major tragedies, offering readers a vivid sense of how modern critics have interpreted plays such as *Hamlet*, *Othello*, *King Lear*, and *Macbeth*. Edited by Laurence Lerner, a distinguished British literary scholar known for his work on Renaissance literature and literary theory, the volume reflects the critical movements that reshaped Shakespeare studies in the twentieth century. The essays explore themes of character, language, imagery, moral vision, and dramatic structure, revealing the richness and complexity of Shakespeare’s tragic art. An excellent resource for students and general readers alike, it provides both an introduction to key critical debates and a deeper appreciation of the enduring power of these plays.

The Cockatoos: Shorter Novels and Stories

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:08:25 +0000

A collection of shorter fiction by the Nobel Prize–winning Australian novelist, this volume brings together novellas and stories that display Patrick White’s intense psychological insight and lyrical, often abrasive prose. Set largely in Australia, these works explore spiritual desolation, moral struggle, loneliness, and the uneasy textures of suburban and domestic life. Whether portraying strained marriages, aging and disillusion, or sudden moments of revelation, White probes the inner lives of his characters with unflinching honesty and dark wit. His style can be demanding but richly rewarding, offering readers a powerful distillation of the themes—identity, faith, isolation, and the search for meaning—that run throughout his celebrated body of work.

Carnal Knowledge

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:08:10 +0000

A screenplay of the provocative film directed by one of America’s most influential filmmakers, this work traces the intertwined lives of two college friends over several decades as they pursue love, sex, and emotional fulfillment. Through a series of relationships, their attitudes toward women, intimacy, and masculinity are exposed and tested, revealing insecurity, desire, and the shifting sexual politics of mid‑20th‑century America. Sharp, candid, and often unsettling, it reflects the frank tone that made its creator a defining voice of New Hollywood (also known for *The Graduate*). Readers interested in film history, evolving gender dynamics, and character‑driven drama will find it a compelling and culturally significant read.

Whalebone Theatre

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:07:33 +0000

Set on the Dorset coast between the world wars, this sweeping debut follows the unconventional Seagrave family and the fiercely imaginative Cristabel, who grows up staging wild theatrical productions from the bones of a beached whale. As childhood play gives way to the gathering storm of the Second World War, performance and reinvention take on new urgency, and Cristabel finds herself drawn into dangerous work that tests her courage and sense of self. Blending coming‑of‑age drama with wartime intrigue, this novel explores identity, storytelling, class, and the transformative power of art. Lyrical yet propulsive, it offers rich historical detail and a memorable heroine, marking its author as a distinctive new voice in historical fiction.

The Guinea Pigs

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:07:18 +0000

A searing memoir of imprisonment during the Northern Ireland conflict, this book recounts the author’s experience as one of a group of Irish republican prisoners who were force-fed while on hunger strike in an English jail. Written with clarity and controlled anger, it documents the physical ordeal of force-feeding and reflects on the psychological strain, solidarity among prisoners, and the broader political struggle that shaped their protest. The author, himself an Irish republican activist, offers a firsthand perspective on a controversial episode that drew international attention and debate over human rights. Candid and unsettling, this account will interest readers of modern Irish history, prison narratives, and political memoir.

And where were you, Adam?

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:07:08 +0000

Set during the final, chaotic months of the Second World War, this novel follows a young German soldier moving through a collapsing Eastern Front. In a sequence of stark, episodic scenes, he encounters fellow soldiers, civilians, and officers whose lives are shaped—and often shattered—by a senseless conflict drawing to its inevitable end. Rather than focusing on battlefield heroics, the narrative probes moral responsibility, guilt, faith, and the quiet complicity of ordinary people caught in history’s violence. Written by a Nobel Prize–winning German author renowned for his clear-eyed examinations of postwar conscience, the book combines spare prose with deep moral urgency. It offers a powerful meditation on individual accountability in times of collective catastrophe. Readers interested in literary war fiction, German postwar literature, or thoughtful explorations of ethics under extreme pressure will find this a compelling and unsettling work.

One Of Us Is Lying

Mon, 25 May 2026 18:16:31 +0000

A tense young adult mystery that begins with five students walking into detention and only four walking out alive. When a classmate who runs a notorious gossip app dies under suspicious circumstances, the remaining students—each with secrets to hide—become prime suspects. As the investigation unfolds, hidden relationships, buried mistakes, and the pressure of social media scrutiny come to light. Blending high school drama with a tightly paced whodunit, this debut novel explores themes of reputation, truth, and the danger of assumptions. With shifting perspectives and constant twists, it’s an engaging, fast-moving read that will appeal to fans of contemporary thrillers and character-driven suspense.