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57th out of 58 books
—
17 voters
Secret Lives
by
Jeff VanderMeer (Goodreads Author)
Secret Life is the definitive collection by a young writer widely regarded as one of the best fantasists in the world. Jeff VanderMeer has handpicked these 23 stories (three written exclusively for this collection), which reflect a diversity of approaches to key questions about the human condition: mortality, love, obsession and creativity - all shot through with dark humo...more
ebook
Published
July 2011
by 40k
(first published 2004)
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Che genere di esistenza segreta può avere la gente normale? Sei abbastanza curioso ed immaginativo da costruire addosso al commesso di un negozio, al pensionato o ad un impiegato una storia che ha dell'incredibile?
Ci é riuscito perfettamente VanderMeer con questa raccolta in cui le vite parallele dei personaggi sono così strane e fantasiose da soddisfare tutti i gusti: vite costruite su un ideale, su particolari stati psichici, su visioni psichedeliche o paranormali ma anche sull'avventura o il...more
Ci é riuscito perfettamente VanderMeer con questa raccolta in cui le vite parallele dei personaggi sono così strane e fantasiose da soddisfare tutti i gusti: vite costruite su un ideale, su particolari stati psichici, su visioni psichedeliche o paranormali ma anche sull'avventura o il...more
What if you receive a stamp from an unknown land, or if you could understand every dust whisper paying the right attention, or if you had an invisible friend that doesn't speak so much?
I've been fascinated by these little precious lives VanDerMeer describes in this book: so common existences, so unpredictable secrets to discover.
I've been fascinated by these little precious lives VanDerMeer describes in this book: so common existences, so unpredictable secrets to discover.
Mar 31, 2012
Francesca
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-novel-american,
fiction-urban-fantasy
Mi ha fatto molto piacere leggere finalmente qualcosa di Jeff VanDerMeer, che di recente seguo anche suo blog, Estatic Days.
Il libro è una raccolta delle vite segrete di una serie di più o meno originali personaggi, alcuni legati tra loro, accomunati tutti dal possedere appunto una vita segreta, ovvero una passione, un’attività, un hobby che coltivano con entusiasmo e in segreto, all’insaputa di tutti coloro che li circondano.
Questa mondo alternativo in cui si muovono è sempre un qualcosa di fan...more
Il libro è una raccolta delle vite segrete di una serie di più o meno originali personaggi, alcuni legati tra loro, accomunati tutti dal possedere appunto una vita segreta, ovvero una passione, un’attività, un hobby che coltivano con entusiasmo e in segreto, all’insaputa di tutti coloro che li circondano.
Questa mondo alternativo in cui si muovono è sempre un qualcosa di fan...more
Chiunque di noi potrebbe nascondere una vita segreta, una insospettabile esistenza parallela dove svelare la propria autentica natura. Come gemme racchiuse in uno scrigno, è proprio il fatto di essere celate allo sguardo altrui a rendere tanto preziose queste vite alternative.
Dai salvatori di gatti part-time, ai giardinieri esclusivmante notturni, fino a coloro che si perdono nei sentieri di fantastici mondi paralleli, questo libro racconta, con stile fresco ed elegante, il desiderio di trovare...more
Dai salvatori di gatti part-time, ai giardinieri esclusivmante notturni, fino a coloro che si perdono nei sentieri di fantastici mondi paralleli, questo libro racconta, con stile fresco ed elegante, il desiderio di trovare...more
First off, I read the "Select Fire Remix" of this short story collection and the "Select Fire Remix" is not a short story collection, it is a terrible novel that drags you through all sorts of scary things and then leaves you cowering in a mess of story notes that do not reassure you in anyway at all. I don't mean terrible in the modern sense, I mean it the way the OED means it:
1. Causing or fit to cause terror; inspiring great fear or dread. Also: awe-inspiring, awesome.
As someone who has never...more
1. Causing or fit to cause terror; inspiring great fear or dread. Also: awe-inspiring, awesome.
As someone who has never...more
Nov 12, 2010
neko cam
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories,
new-weird
Many of the stories collected in 'Secret Life' take place within settings already established by Vandermeer elsewhere. For instance, there are a number set in Ambergris (of 'City of Saints and Madmen') and several set in and around the city of Veniss (of 'Veniss Underground'), with a few even set during the far flung future of the twisted city. There stories were, of course, absolutely amazing. The titular story was similarly astounding. It reminded me heavily of Vandermeer's other short story/n...more
i dont like this book right now. i am laboring through it. i "finished" it today. really i skipped the last few stories, because it was so bad. it might have been okay if the stories were organized. as it was, the stories were all broken up and randomly placed around the book. so you would read a few pages of one story and then switch to a different story that you had been reading 50 pages ago. it was annoying and really hurt being able to get into any story of the book.
the few that were all tog...more
the few that were all tog...more
Vandermeer's short story "Balzac's War" is a must read. This whole book is full of fascinating, twisted tales, poems, and musings.
I keep telling myself I'm gonna finish at least one of my current books before I start another one, but a box full of signed books from Jeff Vandermeer showed on my doorstep yesterday. Oh well, I'm just reading short stories and non-fiction right now; its not like I'm stopping in the middle of a novel.
Not to be confused with another VanderMeer work called Secret Life, Secret Lives contains short glimpses into the hidden lives of seemingly ordinary folk. Often beautiful, twisted, hilarious, all of these secret lives are full of wonder. A real pleasure!
Largely a book of juvenilia. Probably more of interest to the super-hard-core fan or someone writing a thesis on the author.
I would give this five stars just for the story "Secret Life" alone.
Small but beautiful edition.
Mar 30, 2013
Lewis Zimmerman
added it
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Jeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher. He was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but spent much of his childhood in the Fiji Islands, where his parents worked for the Peace Corps. This experience, and the resulting trip back to the United States through Asia, Africa, and Europe, deeply influenced him.
In 2003, VanderMeer married Ann Kennedy, then editor for the small B...more
More about Jeff VanderMeer...
In 2003, VanderMeer married Ann Kennedy, then editor for the small B...more
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