Quando, nel 1956, l’editore londinese Macmillan comprò il primo romanzo di una giovane autrice sconosciuta, «I consolatori», si rese subito conto di aver fatto una scelta molto ardita. Così, temendo che fosse «troppo difficile» per il pubblico del tempo, esitò un anno prima di darlo alle stampe. Muriel Spark non si stupì particolarmente del ritardo: forse, dentro di sé, sapeva già di essere, secondo le parole di John Updike, «uno dei pochi scrittori che abbiano abbastanza risorse, coraggio e grinta da modificare la macchina della narrativa». Oggi qualunque lettore, avvezzo o meno ai suoi romanzi più celebri, non potrà che soccombere allo charme che si sprigiona dalla sublime eccentricità dei consolatori (o persecutori?) che popolano queste pagine: una nonna contrabbandiera, un libraio satanista, un giovane cronista con la vocazione del detective, e un’eroina che ha il sommo cruccio di sapersi personaggio di un romanzo..

Set in the late 1950’s, The Larkins follows the golden-hearted wheeler dealer Pop Larkin and his wife Ma, together with their six children, including the beautiful Mariette, as they bask in their idyllic and beautiful patch of paradise in Kent.

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Born in Tutwiler, Mississippi, the blues legend John Lee Hooker transferred the Delta Blues to his playing of the electric guitar. He developed his own style, which combined talking blues with an impulsive rhythm boogie style. Some of his most famous songs are "Boogie Chillen", "Crawling King Snake", "Hobo Blues" and the title track "Boom Boom". This compilation also includes a cover version of Eddie Boyd's “Five Long Years” as well as John Lee Hooker's 1949 chart single “Hobo Blues”. The album is digitally remastered and contains 44 recordings from 1949 to 1964.

Siblings Karl, Addy and Michael have a very special next-door neighbor: a wise panda named Stillwater. His friendship and stories give them new perspectives on the world, themselves, and each other.

Soon to be married lawyer Kate Beckenham has landed the case of a lifetime. Her courtroom opponent turns out to be the charming Jack Sullivan, who has never lost a single case.