The novel follows the journeys of three young European boys represented in a circa 1913 or 1914 photograph by August Sander. Two parallel narratives, one in the voice suspected to be the author, whose surname, we learn starts with P, offer contemporary perspectives and illustrate the interconnectedness of events. These voices provide contemporary perspectives on technology -- the major theme of the novel. A series of rather academic essays on the nature of photography, including quotes from Walter Benjamin and Hannah Arendt- in the authorial narrative voice of Mr P - are interspersed with the story. The story begins with the authorial narrative voice of Mr P. first sighting the photograph taken in the months before the outbreak of World War I of three young boys in Germany - a photograph which is titled Three Farmers on their Way to a Dance and which is being exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The novel follows the fictional fates of these three young men in war time, as well as the stories of Peter Mays, a technical editor for a 1980s electronics magazine and Mr P - the first person narrator of sections of the novel - who is obsessed with the photograph and with concepts of photography and technology. Note that Powers''s later novel Galatea 2.2, published in 1995, uses the first person perspective of semifictional narrator Richard Powers to describe to a large extent the conditions under which Powers wrote Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance attempts to balance the technological advancements that caused the large scale deaths in World War I with those that created art for the masses in the form of photography.

Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance

The novel begins with an unnamed narrator''s arrival in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, from back East and his encounter with an impressively tall and handsome stranger who proves adept at roping horses, teasing a friend who is off to be married, and facing down a fellow gambler, Trampas, with a pistol and a gently threatening, "When you call me that, smile!" This stranger, known only as the Virginian, turns out to be the narrator''s guide to Judge Henry''s ranch in Sunk Creek, Wyoming. As the two travel the 283 miles to the ranch, the narrator, later nicknamed the "tenderfoot" and the Virginian begin to come to know one another as the Tenderfoot slowly begins to understand the nature of life in the West, which is very different from what he expected. This meeting is the beginning of what becomes a deep lifelong friendship and the starting point of the narrator''s recounting of key episodes in the life of the Virginian. From that point onward, the novel revolves around the Virginian and the life he lives. As well as describing the Virginian''s conflict with his enemy, Trampas, and his romance with the pretty schoolteacher, Molly Stark Wood, Wister weaves a tale of action, violence, hate, revenge, love and friendship. In one scene, the Virginian must participate in the hanging of an admitted cattle thief, who had been his close friend. The hanging is represented as a necessary response to the government''s corruption and lack of action, but the Virginian feels it to be a horrible duty. He is especially stricken by the bravery with which the thief faces his fate, and the heavy burden that the act places on his heart forms the emotional core of the story. A fatal shootout resolves the ongoing conflict with Trampas, after five years of hate. The Virginian shoots Trampas in a gun battle and leaves to marry his young bride. The Virginian and Molly ride off together to spend a month in the mountains and then journey back East to Maine to meet her family. They were received a bit stiffly by the immediate Wood family, but warmly by Molly''s great-aunt. The new couple return to Wyoming and the Virginian is made a partner of Judge Henry''s ranch. The book ends noting that the Virginian became an important man in the territory with a happy family.

The Virginian

Set in Dublin before and during the 1916 Easter Rising, At Swim, Two Boys tells the love story of two young Irish men: Jim Mack and Doyler Doyle. Jim goes to school on a scholarship (for which he is looked down upon) – he is quiet, studious, thoughtful, and naïve. In contrast, Doyler is outspoken, rebellious, brave, and affectionate. Doyler might once have received a scholarship, like Jim, but Doyler withdrew from school to find work and support his impoverished family, leading them to grow apart. They have an additional connection through their fathers, who served in the army together during the Boer War, and were once best friends. Jim attends a Catholic school, regularly visits church, and plays in the church''s flute band, where he is the object of his Latin teacher''s obsession. Brother Polycarp likes to have extra prayer sessions with him; Jim reminds him of his own past. Unbeknown to his father, Jim is offered the chance at a vocation, to join the brothers of the church. When Doyler enters the flute band, their old friendship is renewed. Doyler takes Jim out to the Forty Foot for a swim, a well known swimming area in Dublin Bay. The two boys make a pact: Doyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, on Easter Sunday, 1916, they will swim to the distant island of Muglins Rock and claim it for themselves. As their friendship grows, Jim reconsiders the vocation, ultimately refusing; Brother Polycarp is emotionally stricken and has to resign. Meanwhile, patriots appear on the novel''s stage: Madame Eveline MacMurrough continues to support the idea of Ireland''s liberty. The clergy also supports the patriotic body of thought, in particular, Father Amen O''Toiler – who pushes the boys church''s flute band to resemble a regimental band. Even Jim''s father, Mr. Mack, who is proud having served as a soldier in an Irish Battalion, is swollen with pride for the boys in MacMurrough''s garden, seeing them all in uniform kilts. Only Anthony MacMurrough, the nephew of Eveline MacMurrough, turns away from their politics. After his return from imprisonment in England, for acts of gross indecency, his nationalist aunt Eveline MacMurrough is determined to redeem his reputation through a prosperous marriage. In a garden party, Eveline MacMurrough introduces him to Irish society, pushing him to follow her patriotic ideals. However, MacMurrough is still caught up in his memories of imprisonment, conversing with the internal voice of his dead prison-mate, Scrotes, on the fate of homosexuals. In the meantime, Doyler works to help support his family, which has been driven to poverty by Mr. Doyle''s alcoholism and illness. Hidden to others but knowing of his sexual desires, he can make an earning out of it. MacMurrough and Doyler meet intimately, but MacMurrough fails in attracting the boy. Doyler being a vehement Socialist and outcast by the patriotic society of his home place, joins the Irish Citizen Army at Dublin leaving home. Jim, left alone from his pal of his heart Doyler, befriends MacMurrough. He becomes a mentor to Jim, teaching about swimming as well as homosexuality and philosophy. MacMurrough finds that he is unable to rid himself of his fascination with the two boys, their relationship and their pact to swimming, claiming the Muglins. The night before Easter Sunday, Doyler leaves his duties as army member and visits Jim: They renew their pact, confessing their love for each other. The next morning, Easter Sunday, Jim and Doyler successfully swim to the Muglins. Not only do they claim the islands with an Irish green flag, but they also make love to one another. On their swim back to Forty Foot, as Doyler is close to drowning, MacMurrough rescues both of them. While Doyler rests and recovers at MacMurrough''s house, Jim feels responsible for the duties his friend cannot carry out. As the Easter Rising takes place, Jim grabs the uniform of Doyler and joins the fighting for the Irish Volunteers at Dublin downtown. Meanwhile, MacMurrough does not realize Jim''s action. Moreover, MacMurrough is attracted by the physical presence of Doyler in a way he cannot withstand. When Doyler discovers what Jim has done, both Doyler and MacMurrough go searching for Jim. As they approach downtown Dublin where the fighting is occurring, Doyler sees Jim standing in the open. Just as the two are about to be reunited, Doyler is himself fatally wounded.

At Swim, Two Boys

Twelve-year-old Heidi lives in the town of Reno, Nevada with her mentally-disabled mother and their neighbor, Bernadette. Her mother only knows twenty-three words, including one mysterious one, "soof," that no one can define. Meanwhile, Bernadette has a serious condition called agoraphobia, which causes her to be too afraid to go outside her house. Heidi must take on responsibilities beyond her years to provide for their households. When Heidi finds some photos of her mother at a Christmas party in New York, Heidi decides to go to that state, anxious to uncover more about her family history and to seek what the word "soof" meant, after hearing her mother mutter it all the time. Although Bernadette is anxious about Heidi leaving, she reluctantly allows her to go as long as she calls every night. During her road trip to Liberty, New York, Heidi meets Georgia Sweet, a kind and curious lady on the bus. When she arrived at Hilltop Home, she felt unwelcomed by Thurman Hill. Feeling sorrowful, Ruby takes Heidi into her own home where she and her husband, Roy, investigate. She discovers that Thurman Hill, is her grandfather, Elliot is her father, and that her grandmother was named Diana. She finally finds out what her mothers word, soof, meant, which was her nickname for Sophia Demuth. By the end her mom dies.

So B. It

In 1953, Joseph Schilling arrives in Pacific Park, Southern California. He establishes a small music shop, and later, Danny and Beth Coombes join him. Mary Ann Reynolds is also interviewed for a position at the shop, but backs off after Schilling touches her. After leaving home, Carleton Tweaney, an African-American lounge singer (and her lover) finds her a new home. However, Beth has already slept with Joseph, and now moves on to Carleton. Provoked by her affair, Danny tries to shoot Carleton, but instead dies himself. Carleton and Mary Anne break up, and she decides to work for Schilling after all, as well as becoming sexually involved with him, despite a forty year age difference. He helps her to rent and renovate her own apartment, but Mary Anne decides to live in a dilapidated African American neighbourhood instead. In an epilogue, she has married Paul Nitz, a pianist who works with Carleton. The author himself once described the novel as: "A retelling of Mozart''s Don Giovanni, with Schilling seduced and destroyed by a young woman."

Mary and the Giant

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the curator of the rare books collection of the Library of Congress both are found dead. The Speaker has been killed by a sniper at a party while the head of the rare books collection dies from "unknown circumstances." Oliver Stone and the Camel Club become suspicious, although initially they indulge what they believe is his overactive imagination. Stone and his cohorts discover that Seagraves had been selling American intelligence secrets to terrorists in the Middle East, compromising intelligence efforts in the region. However, when they are followed and ask the Secret Service for help, the followers disappear, and the Camel Club becomes interested in their activities. Seagraves kidnaps and subsequently tortures Stone for information. Annabelle Conroy is introduced as a con artist, who after pulling off a 40 million heist against an Atlantic City Casino owner (Jerry Bagger) is on the run for her life. Bagger wants to find and kill Annabelle and her con team. Alex Ford from the previous novel reappears, and in the climax Seagraves is killed by a knife thrown at his carotid artery by Stone who turns out to be an ex-CIA killer. Alex Ford and his agents take Seagrave''s remaining collaborators into custody. One of Annabelle Conroy''s collaborators in the heist is tortured for information by the angry casino owner, who finds out the general area in which she is living (Washington, D.C.). The novel ends with a set-up for Stone Cold, the next novel of the Camel Club.

The Collectors

The story is told as a narrative by an unnamed veteran who participated in the Battle of Dorking and is recounting the final days before and during the invasion of Britain. It is addressed to his grandchildren as an event fifty years past. Beginning sometime after an event similar to the Franco-Prussian War, concerns grow with the mobilisation of armed forces near Holland. The Royal Navy is destroyed by a wonder-weapon ("fatal engines"), and an invasion force suddenly lands near Harwich, Essex, England. Demilitarisation and lack of training means that the army is forced to mobilise auxiliary units from the general public, led by ineffective and inexperienced officers. The two armies ultimately converge outside Dorking in Surrey, where the British line is cut through by the advancing enemy, and the survivors on the British side are forced to flee. The story ends with the conquest of Britain and its conversion into a heavily-taxed province of the invading empire. The British Empire is broken up, with only Gibraltar and Malta being kept by the victorious Germans. Canada and the West Indies are ceded to the United States, whilst Australia, India and Ireland are all granted independence, with Ireland entering a lengthy civil war as a direct result.

The Battle of Dorking

It is the summer of 1981 and ''the royal broodmare'' - as Henry Wotton has dubbed her - is about to be married to the Prince of Wales, while Brixton is in flames. Wotton, uneasily gay, egregiously drug-addicted and queasily snobbish, is at the centre of a Chelsea clique dedicated to a timeless dissolution. His friend Baz Hallward, a sometime Warhol acolyte and video installation artist, has discovered a most remarkable young man, the very epitome of male beauty, Dorian Gray. Hallward''s installation Cathode Narcissus captures all of Dorian''s allure, but perhaps it''s captured another more integral part of him as well? Certainly, after a night of debauchery that climaxes in a veritable conga line of buggery, Wotton and Hallward have been snared by a sinister retrovirus which becomes synonymous with the decade. Sixteen years later the broodmare''s shattered body lies dying in a Parisian underpass. But what of Wotton and Hallward? How did they fare as the stock-market soared and their T-cell counts plummeted? And what of Dorian, a sultan of style in an era of mass superficiality? How is it that he remains so healthy and youthful while all around him sicken and age and die?

Dorian, an Imitation

Tad Hawkins is 15 years old and lives in the fictional Pennsylvania mining town of Markle. After his mother died in childbirth, he was taken in by his overbearing aunt, who treats him as an unpaid servant, existing only to be bossed around and humiliated by Mr Jackson, the lodger, and Esther, the hired help. Tad''s life is changed when he gets caught up in a crowd on their way to see a travelling elephant show which has just arrived in town. After witnessing the "miracle cure" of a young crippled girl by the elephant keeper, he spots Esther and Mr Jackson in the crowd and hides in the elephant''s trailer. Before he can escape, Khush, the elephant, is loaded into the trailer and Tad is on his way to another town. When Tad is discovered by Michael Keenan, the elephant keeper, he discovers that the cripple who was cured in Markle is in fact Keenan''s younger daughter, Cissie. Keenan offers Tad a job looking after Khush to keep him from exposing the scam. Tad takes to life with Khush and the Keenans. However, Tad is not the only person to have discovered the scam. Mr Jackson and Esther are on the Keenans'' tail. A train crash kills Keenan and his eldest daughter, Olivia, on the way to Pittsburgh. Mr Jackson arrives, brandishing papers to prove that Keenan sold Khush to him for $500. Cissie, the only surviving Keenan, insists that the papers were faked and that Khush belongs to her. She, Tad and Khush set off on a journey West, towards the Nebraskan home of a friend from the travelling show, Ketty, with Mr Jackson and Esther in hot pursuit. A kind old widower helps them on their way by disguising Cissie as a boy and giving them a boat in which to sail down the Ohio River with Khush. Khush does not take kindly to his confined quarters on the small flatboat and, a few days into their journey, pitches himself and Tad into the river. On being reunited with them, Cissie begins to reveal her heartache over the deaths of her father and sister. The three travellers find rest in a small religious community who have heard of Mr Jackson''s claim of ownership. The group''s elders agree to take Tad, Cissie and the elephant to the large port of Cairo if Khush shows that he wants to go with the two youths. Khush follows them into the hold of the coal barge and so they carry on along the river. However, Khush again becomes impatient of his dark, cramped surroundings rocks the barge, forcing the Captain to make them disembark 200 miles from Cairo. After walking most of the way to the port, Tad leaves Cissie and the elephant to rest and continues ahead by himself. In Cairo, he is caught by Mr Jackson and Esther, who ply him for information and trick him into leading them to where Cissie and Khush should have been. Luckily, Cissie and the elephant have already left, spurred on by the thought of seeing Ketty in Nebraska. Tad stalls Mr Jackson and Esther and hurries to try and catch up with his friends. Cissie secures passage for herself and Khush on a large boat and Tad, hiding on their pursuers'' boat, is helped along his way by a friendly woman travelling in the same direction. When Tad sees a sign on the riverbank that Cissie and Khush have disembarked secretly, he goes ashore to meet them, leaving Esther and Mr Jackson sailing past their prey. The friends are pleased to be reunited and Cissie assures Tad that they are now in Nebraska and near Ketty''s house. However, the plains are desolate, with little water for Khush to drink and nowhere to hide from their pursuers. Khush becomes impatient and irritable as the three travellers near Ketty''s home. They arrive just as Esther and Mr Jackson catch up with them and Mr Jackson asserts his claim to Khush. However, while agreeing that the papers that Mr Jackson has are not fakes, Ketty reveals that Keenan could not have sold Khush as she owns him herself. Mr Jackson petitions Ketty and her husband to sell him the elephant but, when she refuses, he and Esther eventually leave in a rage. Cissie is upset that Khush belongs to Ketty as she had intended to sell him and give the money to Ketty so that she could remain in Nebraska with her. Tad persuades Cissie that Ketty will take her in no matter what. Ketty, seeing how much the boy and the elephant love each other, appoints Tad as Khush''s keeper in exchange for a portion of the elephant''s earnings.

The Great Elephant Chase

In The Unlimited Dream Company, a man named Blake crashes a stolen aircraft into the River Thames outside the London suburb of Shepperton. Whether he survives the crash, to become a sort of supernatural messiah for the small town, or if he actually drowns, and dying, imagines the whole thing, is never truly revealed. Contradictory hints are scattered throughout the novel which may support both interpretations. Since the story is told by Blake in the first person, we know what he wants us to know, and we are only told what he likes to tell us. In the first chapter of the novel, where Blake outlines his life before the air accident, there are elements that may make us suspect that he is insane, so that he is an absolutely unreliable narrator. Blake has extraordinary powers: he can fly, heal sick people, phagocytize other people whenever he likes; but he cannot leave the suburbs, though he repeatedly tries to go away. Moreover, Blake is obsessed by the relic of the small Cessna aircraft that he crash-landed on, which has been left submerged in river Thames. This might support the hypothesis that he is dead and is only imagining the strange events of the story. However, there is a crucial moment when Blake, who is about to absorb all the citizens of Shepperton in order to gain energy to escape the suburb, is shot by Stark, another loner who manages a rickety zoo. The wound triggers a deep inner change in the character, who gets rid of his cannibalistic drives and becomes more human and compassionate. He then helps other people to escape Shepperton, and remains there alone, waiting for the return of the woman he loves, Miriam St. Cloud. As well as protagonist''s name, the novel draws on the works of William Blake, particularly his epic work Milton a Poem in other ways. The surreal descriptions of Shepperton''s transformation are drawn in part from William Blake''s psychogeographical descriptions of London, while the final confrontation between Blake and the corpse of the drowned pilot (which he comes to realise is himself) echoes that between Milton and Satan at the end of Milton a Poem.

The Unlimited Dream Company

The novel is divided into three volumes. Part One (Chapters 1 to 15): Gilbert Markham narrates how a mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Mrs Graham and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village. Initially, Gilbert Markham casually courts Eliza Millward, despite his mother''s belief that he can do better. His interest in Eliza wanes as he comes to know Mrs. Graham. In retribution, Eliza spreads (and perhaps creates) scandalous rumours about Helen. With gossip flying, Gilbert is led to believe that his friend, Mr. Lawrence is courting Mrs. Graham. At a chance meeting in a road, a jealous Gilbert strikes (with a whip) the mounted Lawrence, who falls from his horse. Unaware of this, Helen refuses to marry Gilbert, but gives him her diaries when he accuses her of loving Lawrence. Part two (Chapters 16 to 44) is taken from Helen''s diaries and describes her marriage to Arthur Huntingdon. The handsome, witty Huntingdon is also spoilt, selfish, and self-indulgent. Before marrying Helen, Arthur Huntingdon flirts with Annabella and uses this to manipulate Helen and convince her to marry him. Helen marries him blinded by love and resolves to reform Arthur with gentle persuasion and good example. Upon the birth of their child, Huntingdon becomes increasingly jealous of their son (also called Arthur) and his claims on Helen''s attentions and affections. Huntingdon''s pack of dissolute friends frequently engage in drunken revels at the family''s home, Grassdale, oppressing those of finer character. Both men and women are portrayed as degraded, with Lady Annabella Lowborough shown to be an unfaithful spouse to her melancholy but devoted husband. Walter Hargrave, the brother of Helen''s friend Milicent Hargrave, vies for Helen''s affections. While not as wild as his peers, Walter is an unwelcome admirer: Helen senses his predatory nature, something revealed when they play chess. Walter tells Helen of Arthur''s affair with Lady Lowborough. When his friends depart, Arthur pines openly for his paramour and derides his wife. Arthur''s corruption of their son &mdash; encouraging him to drink and swear at his tender age &mdash; is the last straw for Helen. She plans to flee to save her son, but her husband learns of her plans from her journal, and burns her artist''s tools (by which she had hoped to support herself). Eventually, with help from her brother, Mr. Lawrence, Helen finds a secret refuge at Wildfell Hall. Part Three (Chapters 45 to 53) begins after the reading of the diaries when Helen bids Gilbert to leave her because she is not free to marry. He complies and soon learns that she has returned to Grassdale upon learning that Arthur is gravely ill. Helen''s ministrations are in vain. Huntingdon''s death is painful, fraught with terror at what awaits him. Helen cannot comfort him, for he rejects responsibility for his actions and wishes instead for her to ''come with him'', to plead for his salvation. A year passes. Gilbert pursues a rumour of Helen''s impending wedding, only to find that Mr. Lawrence (with whom he has reconciled) is marrying Helen''s friend, Esther Hargrave. He goes to Grassdale, and discovers that Helen is now wealthy and lives at her estate in Staningley. He travels there, but is plagued by worries that she is now far above his station. He hesitates at the entry-gate. By chance, he encounters Helen, her aunt, and young Arthur. The two lovers reconcile and marry.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Fortune’s Fools is a story involving Ekaterina (Katya), youngest daughter of the Sea King and Prince Sasha of Led Belarus, seventh son of King Pieter. The novel starts with Katya being sent by her father to investigate rumours of bad news on the island of Nippon. Unlike the majority of Sea People, Katya is magically amphibious and is used by her father to spy on Drylanders (humans). Due to tasting dragon’s blood, Katya is able to speak with animals and is also able to speak and understand foreign languages. In Nippon, Katya is able to help a kitsune stop an evil sorceress from conquering the island and gains a valuable gift. The gift is a origami crane that can be sent to pass messages to people Katya knows or magically target someone who she needs. The Sea King sends her on another reconnaissance mission to Led Belarus, under the suspicion that it is too quiet and is a target for evil forces. Katya finds out that Prince Sasha is using his powers as a Seventh Son, a Fortunate Fool, and a Songweaver to subtly manipulate the Tradition into making Led Belarus a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. As the pair has no royal duties to fulfil, they decide to spend time with each other and fall in love. Soon Katya is sent on another mission, to investigate the disappearance of magical maidens near the castle of the Katschei. In disguise, Katya is kidnapped and taken to the castle by a Jinn. Since he has taken over the castle, the Tradition forces him to kidnap young woman, the Jinn uses that to his advantage and kidnaps magical girls so he can take their magic. Although the Jinn is able to sense when the girls use magic, Katya tries to convince the others to escape. She sends out her paper bird to seek help from the nearest Champions. When no sign of Katya arrives, Sasha decides to go after her despite not knowing her location. On the guidance of some witches, Sasha travels to the forest where Baba Yaga resides because she has something he needs. Sasha pretends to be a deaf-mute and becomes Baba Yaga’s temporary servant. Baba Yaga sets him up with the task of cleaning her stables where he meets Sergi, the Humpbacked Horse and frees him along with Baba Yaga’s steed, a Wise (intelligent) goat, and her tracker, a Wise Wolf. During the escape, Sasha ends up in the Kingdom of the Copper Mountain and is able to convince its Queen to help him. She sends him towards the Sea King and the Sea King sends him to two Dragons, the champions who found Katya’s bird. Meanwhile, Katya and the growing number of girls are able to work out they can use the Law of Names to re-seal the Jinn into his bottle. However finding the bottle itself proves difficult in a castle guarded by men and the Jinn himself. Sasha and the dragons, Gina and Adamant, try to work out a plan to save the girls and stop the Jinn. The trio also manage to convince the Queen of the Copper Mountain to lead them aid. Using Sergi as a messenger, the captives and the rescuers are able to work out a plan of attack. Katya sends the girls to escape via tunnels dug by the Copper Mountain subjects and sets out to confront the Jinn with help from the dragons and Sasha. The battle becomes a stalemate until the Queen appears to lend them the power of Earth. Katya seals the Jinn in his bottle and has Sergi send him back to the City of Brass. In the epilogue of the story, the castle of Katschei becomes the Belarus Chapter of the Champions Order of Glass Mountain. The majority of the cast are affiliated with the order and spend their time living happily ever after.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance

No Author Listed

The Virginian

By Owen Wister

At Swim, Two Boys

By Jamie O''Neill

So B. It

By Sarah Weeks

Mary and the Giant

By Philip K. Dick

The Collectors

By David Baldacci

The Battle of Dorking

By George Tomkyns Chesney

Dorian, an Imitation

By Will Self

The Great Elephant Chase

By Gillian Cross

The Unlimited Dream Company

By J. G. Ballard

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

By Anne Brontë

Fortune's Fool

By Mercedes Lackey