Nelson Algren Bücher
28. März 1909 – 9. Mai 1981
Nelson Algren widmete sich leidenschaftlich dem Leben am Rande der Gesellschaft, insbesondere in der rauen städtischen Armutsumgebung. Sein Stil, geprägt von dunklem Naturalismus, deckt aufschneidend die Nöte verlorener Existenzen auf. Mit melancholischer Poesie beschreibt er ihre Kämpfe und legt ihre missliche Lage offen, wobei er den Übermut ihrer Umgangssprache festhält. Algrens Stimme spricht für die Unterdrückten und Vergessenen und macht seine Werke zu eindringlichen Gesellschaftskommentaren.
The stories in The Neon Wilderness established Algren in the pantheon of American writers and formed the vein that he mined for all his subsequent novels and stories. Included are "A Bottle of Milk for Mother," about a youth being cornered for a murder, "The Face on the Barroom Floor," in which a legless man nearly pummels someone to death, and "So Help Me," Algren's first published story. "Algren's short stories are now generally acknowledged to be literary triumphs." — The New York Times
Never Come Morning is unique among the novels of Algren. The author's only romance, the novel concerns Bruno Bicek, a would-be boxer from Chicago's Northwest side, and Steffi, the woman who shares his dream while living his nightmare. "It is an unusual and brilliant book," said The New York Times. "A bold scribbling upon the wall for comfortable Americans to ponder and digest." This new edition features an introduction by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and an interview with Nelson Algren by H.E.F. Donohue.
Frankie Machine reckons he's a tough guy in the Chicago underworld, dealing cards in a backstreet gambling den and hustling two-bit scams to pay for a heroin addiction he wants to kick but can't. He convinces himself that playing "the tubs" is the only way out of he poverty and addiction that is consuming him. Around him revolve the lives of Sophie, his crippled nagging wife; Molly, the saloon-bar stripper who loves him and tries to keep him free from the cops and his drug habit; Nifty Louie, Frankie's neighbourhood dealer; and Sparrow the punk, unreformable petty thief and Frankie's closest friend. With consummate skill Algren lays bare the tragedy and humour of Frankie's world, the people on both sides of the law who are trapped in poverty, frustration and despair. Algren's sympathetic portrait of people living in the Chicago slums is one of the classics of modern literature and was the first-ever winner of the National Book Award.
Een transatlantische liefde
Brieven aan Nelson Algren 1947-1964
Brieven van de Franse filosofe en schrijfster (1908-1986) aan haar Amerikaanse geliefde, de schrijver Nelson Algren (1909-1981).
