{"product_id":"unknown-masterpieces-isbn-9781590170779","title":"Unknown Masterpieces","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this original collection, several of today's finest writers introduce little-known  treasures of literature that they count among their favorite books. Here Toni Morrison  celebrates a great Guinean storyteller whose novel of mystical adventure and surprising  revelation transforms our image of Africa, while Susan Sontag raises the curtain  on a distant summer when three of the greatest poets of the twentieth century exchanged  love letters like no others. Here too John Updike analyzes the rare art of an English  comic genius, Jonathan Lethem considers a hard-boiled and heartbreaking story of  prison life, and Michael Cunningham uncovers the secrets of what may well be the  finest short novel in modern American literature. Other contributors include such  noted authors as Arthur C. Danto, Lydia Davis, Elizabeth Hardwick, Francine Prose,  Lucy Sante, Colm Tóibín, Eliot Weinberger, and James Wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLucid, polished, provocative,  inspiring, these essays are models of critical appreciation, offering personal, impassioned,  thoughtful responses to a wide range of wonderful books. Unknown Masterpieces is  a treat for all lovers of great writing and a useful and stimulating guidebook for  readers eager to venture off literature's beaten tracks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEliot Weinberger on \u003ci\u003eHindoo  Holiday\u003c\/i\u003e by J.R. Ackerley\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArthur C. Danto on \u003ci\u003eThe Unknown Masterpiece\u003c\/i\u003e by Honoré de  Balzac\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Updike on \u003ci\u003eSeven Men\u003c\/i\u003e by Max Beerbohm\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJonathan Lethem on \u003ci\u003eOn the Yard\u003c\/i\u003e by  Malcolm Braly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToni Morrison on \u003ci\u003eThe Radiance of the King\u003c\/i\u003e by Camara Laye\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eColm Tóibín  on \u003ci\u003eThe Go-Between\u003c\/i\u003e by L.P. Hartley\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrancine Prose on \u003ci\u003eA High Wind in Jamaica\u003c\/i\u003e by Richard  Hughes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSusan Sontag on \u003ci\u003eLetters: Summer 1926\u003c\/i\u003e by Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetayeva,  and Rainer Maria Rilke\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLucy Sante on \u003ci\u003eClassic Crimes\u003c\/i\u003e by William Roughead\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames Wood  on \u003ci\u003eThe Golovlyov Family\u003c\/i\u003e by Shchedrin\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eElizabeth Hardwick on \u003ci\u003eThe Unpossessed\u003c\/i\u003e by Tess  Slesinger\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLydia Davis on \u003ci\u003eThe Life of Henry Brulard\u003c\/i\u003e by Stendhal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichael Cunningham  on \u003ci\u003eThe Pilgrim Hawk\u003c\/i\u003e by Glenway Wescott\u003c\/p\u003e\"This compilation will serve admirably as a springboard for  contemporary audiences, inspiring them to borrow these classics from the  library. The essays themselves, by writers ranging from John Updike and  Toni Morrison to Jonathan Lethem and Colm Tóibín, are uniformly  insightful and interesting; several are outstanding, even compelling.\" —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \"Read  long enough—20 or 30 years, say—and you realize that “classics” is a  mighty malleable word. Passionate readers all have classics of their  own: books they return to again and again, whether the rest of the world  is reading them or not. New York Review Books, in its wonderful reprint  series NYRB Classics, picks up on that readerly passion with an  eclectic lineup of backlist titles, all prefaced by authors who (for the  moment) are better known than the writers they’re introducing. Now 13  of those prefaces have been gathered in \u003ci\u003eUnknown Masterpieces: Writers Rediscover Literature’s Hidden Classics\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by Edwin Frank....Looking for reading suggestions?  Here’s a good place to start.\" —Michael Upchurch, \u003ci\u003eTimes\/Post Intelligencer\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \"When  Morrison recommends Laye’s mystical adventure in context with a  discussion of 'literary Africa,' you might want to find a copy. And  Francine Prose is right on when she writes of the disorienting effect of  Richard Hughes’ 'luminous, extraordinary' \u003ci\u003eA High Wind in Jamaica\u003c\/i\u003e, with its reversal of expectations, 'a warning scent of danger and blood.'\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Orlando Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \"13  writers, including Francine Prose, Susan Sontag, John Updike, James  Wood and Elizabeth Hardwick, give us—joyfully...—an insight into books  they cannot allow to fall into further obscurity. These are true  discoveries, even if their authors are sometimes familiar: \u003ci\u003eOn the Yard\u003c\/i\u003e by Malcolm Braly; \u003ci\u003eHindoo Holiday\u003c\/i\u003e by J. R. Ackerly; \u003ci\u003eThe Pilgrim Hawk\u003c\/i\u003e by Glenway Wescott.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdwin Frank\u003c\/b\u003e is the Editorial Director of NYRB Classics.","brand":"NYRB Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300482437349,"sku":"NP9781590170779","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781590170779.jpg?v=1767743272","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/unknown-masterpieces-isbn-9781590170779","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}