Michel Lebrun Livres

After three decades of prodigious film work & some unfortunate tabloid adventures, it's easy to forget that Woody Allen began his career as one heck of a great comedy writer. Getting Even, a collection of his late '60s magazine pieces, offers a look into Allen's bag of shtick, back when it was new. From the supposed memoirs of Hitler's barber: "Then, in January of '45, a plot by several generals to shave Hitler's moustache in his sleep failed when von Stauffenberg, in the darkness of Hitler's bedroom, shaved off one of the Führer's eyebrows instead..." Even tho the idea of writing jokes about old Adolf--or addled rabbis, or Maatjes herring--isn't nearly as fresh as it used to be, Getting Even still delivers plenty of laughs. At his best, Woody can achieve a level of transcendent craziness that no other writer can match. If you're looking for a book to dip into at random, or a gift for someone who's seen Sleeper 13 times, Getting Even is a classic, with 316,000 copies sold to date.

Pour les uns, l'autoroute symbolise la liberté, la fuite vers le soleil ; pour les autres, les bouchons, la puanteur, le retour vers le travail-prison. Pour le poète, l'autoroute, vue d'en haut, ressemble à quelque gigantesque lézard posé sur la carte de France. La bête est parcourue de manière incessante par une multitude d'insectes qui s'affairent sur sa peau grise. Mais il arrive que le lézard, saisi de quelque prurit, se débarrasse d'un de ces insectes, d'un invisible mouvement d'écailles. L'insecte désemparé entraîne dans la mort plusieurs de ses congénères... Dans ce jour de juillet, des milliers d'entre eux sont disséminés sur l'ensemble du réseau routier. Et beaucoup mourront, en offrande aux dieux indifférents. L'autoroute est un autel. Un grand thriller catastrophe signé Michel Leb

There are two cities in Marrakesh - the first, the capital, is geometrically and secretly laid out. It is the perfect city as dreamed of by its prince. The other, that covered it, both rich and exciting, has become a labyrinth for lost travellers. The hidden order of the city, the invisible star drawn, then erased by the centuries, still shines. Its reflection can be seen in time, on the many facets of its mosaics and domes, in the geometry of its red and gold cedar ceilings, in the water in its pools and fountains, and the ever-renewed paradise of its courtyard houses.