“A strange and surprisingly touching novel about how people find good and evil where they look for them” (Booklist). In 1930s Russia, an eight-year-old boy named Vladimir is suddenly stricken with a chronic case of the hiccups. He soon finds himself spirited away to a Moscow hospital by the famous physician Sergei Namestikov, who puts him through a series of extraordinary—and often bizarre—treatments in an effort to find a cure. Then Sergei’s chief medical rival, the brilliant Alexander Afiniganov, determines that beneath Vladimir’s blank eyes lurks a pure, unbridled evil—and takes steps to remove the child from polite society. Abandoned by everyone but his hiccups, Vladimir is about to embark on a journey that is funny, poignant, and surreal—and that takes a close look at the nature of good and evil—in this novel, a winner of the Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction from the author of Hanna Who Fell From the Sky. “A beautifully written novel, part folk tale, part parable.” —Will Ferguson, author of Happiness

A darkly funny, tragic, and ultimately heroic novel set in 1930s Russia, The Last Hiccup is the story of Vladimir, an eight-year-old boy stricken with a case of the hiccups -- that lasts over a decade.

A poignant and surreal fable about the nature of good and evil filled with a dazzling cast of characters ... and millions of hiccups A darkly funny, tragic, and ultimately heroic novel set in 1930s Russia, The Last Hiccup is the story of Vladimir, an eight - year - old boy stricken with a case of the hiccups - that lasts over a decade. Put through a series of extraordinary, often bizarre treatments by a famous physician, Sergei Namestikov, Vlad is spirited away from his rural home and doting mother to a hospital in Moscow. But Sergei's chief medical rival, the brilliant Alexander Afiniganov, believes that beneath Vladimir's mirror - less eyes lurks a pure, unbridled evil, and Vlad is removed from polite society. Isolated from everyone and everything - save his hiccups - Vladimir grows up to find inner peace among the hiccupping. On his way back into the world he once knew, through a country now in the midst of war, he encounters many strange people and situations, and worries about what would happen to him should a cure for his now - comforting affliction be found.

The day of the school concert, Lola and Lotta are practicing the song they're going to perform when Lola gets a bad case of the hiccups. Everyone tries to help her get rid of them, but nothing works. Will Lola be able to stop hiccuping in time for the show?

To cure Jamie's hiccups on the day of the school play, his classmates and some school employees try a series of spectacular cures until Jenna, star of the play, finds a simple way to scare them away.

Benny the Bumblebee’s relationship with his best friend, Tibby the Chubby Tiger, is about to change for the worse. When Tibby finds the courage to ask Charlize the Swift-Footed Cheetah out on a date, Benny is not happy because he feels Charlize is taking away his best friend from him. To lighten up the atmosphere, Hiccup the Hippo encourages her friends to travel with her to a different land through her secret magical power. But this time, by accident, Tibby and Hiccup are separated from Benny who—he discovers—ends up stuck with… Charlize! One pair finds opportunity to help those in need, while the other discovers the value of friendship and the fact that there’s always enough love to go around.

Isn't debt ultimately more of a philosophical concept than a financial one? Indeed, it is seen as a moral fault whose unbridled demands cannot be met. It is repaid by a submission that has become infinite and a vision of work that has been totally deregulated. We are no longer in the age of masters and slaves. We need, as this insightful book shows, to identify new protagonists—no longer bourgeois or proletarians, but new players operating through computerized exchange networks, virtual transaction robots. Such is the fate of speculation, with its dematerialized share-price, worsening debt while evading the scrutiny of the law. Jean-Clet Martin, former program director at the Collège international de philosophie, is the author of numerous books on contemporary thought, including Derrida: un démantèlement de l’Occident and Comprendre Foucault, published by Max Milo.