The Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over 1400 years ago. Recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, the sacred text has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. First published in 2004, M.A.S. Abdel Haleem's translation has been acclaimed for its success in avoiding archaism and cryptic language to produce a version that is both faithful to the...

A seemingly ordinary man, Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning only to discover that he has been transformed into a gigantic insect and must deal with the depression over his new physical alteration, as well as the rejection of his family, in a new translation honoring the 125th anniversary of the author's birth.

The Metamorphoses of Ovid (8 AD) is an epic poem by Ovid. Published the same year, the poet was, sent into exile for the rest of his life, the Metamorphoses are the crowning achievement of the first major poet of the Roman empire. Written in dactylic hexameter, the meter of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and of Virgil's Aeneid, Ovid's work is an epic poem of transformations, of shape-shifting matter and beings bound to the power of love. Taking as its...

It is spring in the Valley of the Moomins. And Moomintroll and his friends Snufkin and Sniff make an exciting discovery of a hat with magical powers. They have many adventures until the hat produces something unexpected inside the Moomin household that makes everyone wonder if perhaps the magic is more trouble than it's worth.

First published in four volumes between 1532 and 1552, Rabelais' comic masterpiece chronicles the adventures of a giant, Gargantua, and his son, Pantagruel. More than four centuries later, the terms "gargantuan" and "Rabelaisian" are synonymous with earthy humor, a surfeit of good food and drink, and pleasures of the flesh. This series of exaggerated fables was condemned upon its initial publication by the censors of the Collège de la Sorbonne. But...

"On the shores of this river, all the birds that fly, drink, perch on branches, and disturb siestas with the demonic squawking of the possessed-all those birds were once women. Welcome to Argentina and the fascinating, frightening, fantastical imagination of Mariana Enriquez. In twelve spellbinding new stories, Enriquez writes about ordinary people, especially women, whose lives turn inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal, and the supernatural....

Seven Gothic Tales was instantly popular when it was first published in 1934, revolving around mysterious, bizarre or supernatural events that explore questions of philosophy and identity. Although writing of death and failed loved affairs, Dinesen's lush, ornate prose also has moments of humour.

Aristotle's formulation of an ultimate science argues that the reality of things lies in their concrete forms, which laid the foundation for one of the cardinal branches of Western philosophy.

In this prescient essay collection, the acclaimed author of Foucault’s Pendulum examines the cultural trends and perils at the dawn of the 21st century.

In the last decade of the 20th century, Umberto Eco saw an urgent need to embrace tolerance and multiculturalism in the face of our world’s ever-increasing interconnectivity. At a talk delivered during the first Gulf War, he points out the absurdity

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