Neveu de Rameau

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Philippe Dessertine

"13 ianvier 2011, palais de l'Élysée. La nuit s'annonce longue. Seul dans son bureau, François Hollande prépare sa conférence de presse très attendue du lendemain. En panne d'inspiration, un bruit le fait sursauter. Quel est l'intrus qui a réussi à berner la sécurité ? Ce n'est qu'un vieil homme qui prétend être le baron Jacques Necker, banquier suisse et ancien ministre des Finances de 1777 à 1781 ! L'homme le plus puissant du Royaume après le roi. Au fil d'une conversation surréaliste, François Hollande commence à douter : et si son étrange visiteur n'était pas fou ? Et s'il disait vrai ? Plus la nuit avance, plus les parallèles avec le passé surgissent brutalement : économie dégradée, pression fiscale trop lourde, dettes incontrôlées, citoyens mécontents... La Révolution est-elle pour demain ? L'Histoire est-elle condamnée à se répéter ? Et surtout, le baron ressuscité peut-il encore sauver la Présidence du naufrage ?"--P. [4] of cover.

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Boris Vian

"Set in a bizarre and slightly sinister town where the elderly are auctioned off at an Old Folks Fair, the townspeople assail the priest in hopes of making it rain, and the official town scapegoat bears the shame of the citizens by fishing junk out of the river with his teeth. Heartsnatcher is Boris Vian's most playful and most serious work." "The main character is Clementine, a mother who punishes her husband for causing her the excruciating pain of giving birth to three babies. As they age, she becomes increasingly obsessed with protecting them, going so far as to build an invisible wall around their property."--Jacket.

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Vaclav Havel

All life in a police state is interesting, probably corrupt and potentially subversive as portrayed in this absurdist but seemingly autobiographical play by Czech playwright Vaclav Havel. As in Phoenix, to cite an example, police don't care about guilt, innocence, justice or mercy. If anyone is accused of a crime, they want a conviction. In Havel's play, Professor Leopold Nettles is charged with "disturbing the intellectual peace." Only in a police state could anyone invent such a wide-ranging crime. In Phoenix, conviction means a fine. In Havel's play, a conviction may mean an indeterminate sentence in semi-starved misery in a distant gulag. Once suspected, Leopold knows he's guilty in the eyes of the state. The play portrays a variety of people who visit him, proud that he speaks up in defiance of the authorities - - - but unwilling to join him in his stand for intellectual freedom. Leopold, like Havel for much of his life, is utterly alone. But who are the well-wishers who applaud his dissidence? Are they friends, or secret police agents as provocateurs? Two police agents who visit offer a clever means to avoid prosecution; in effect, "just agree to our falsehoods and all charges will go away." Really? A trap? Are the police undermining the government they serve? How can anyone trust anything? Such is the nature of 'Largo Desolato' and life in a police state. --Theodore A. Rushton at Amazon.com.

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Siri Reuterstrand

Ellis's father takes him to a doctor's office to be treated for a cough, and Ellis is a good boy despite the strange and even frightening things that occur there.