Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
HarperCollins Publishers Bel Canto
Book SynopsisWinner of The Women's Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.The poignant and at times very funny novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Dutch House and Commonwealth.Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country''s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honour of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxane Coss, opera''s most revered soprano, has mesmerised the international guests with her singing.It is a perfect evening until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.Trade Review‘A beguiling mix of thriller, romantic comedy, and novel of ideas…Crisply written, immaculately plotted, and often very funny, it is that rarity – a literary novel you simply can’t put down.’ The Times ‘Like the blueprint of operatic performance that she has imported, Patchett slides from strutting camp to high tragedy, minute social comedy to sublime romanticism.’ Alex Clark, Guardian ‘Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett’s fiction. Comparisons are tempting to the unabashed romanticism of Laurie Colwin, the eccentric characters of Anne Tyler, the enchantments of Alice Hoffman. But Patchett is unique; a generous, fearless and startlingly wise young writer.’ New York Times Review of Books
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Animal Farm
Book SynopsisWhen the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Orwell''s chilling ''fairy story'' is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption.
£7.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Employees
Book SynopsisA novel detailing the interactions between human and android crew members aboard a futuristic spacecraft as they encounter and react to a series of mysterious alien objects.
£9.49
Penguin Random House Group The Book of Bill
Book Synopsis
£20.00
HarperCollins Publishers The Chemist
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£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc George Falls Through Time
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£17.09
Faber & Faber Orange Laughter
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£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd If I Ruled the World
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£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Karlas Choice
Book SynopsisA gripping new novel set in the universe of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick HarkawaySet in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway's Karla's Choice is an extraordinary, thrilling return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer, John le Carré. It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall unconfirmed and a little scandalous that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy
£9.49
Amazon Publishing Ever After
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Waist Deep
Book SynopsisLinea Maja Ernst (b. 1988) is a staff writer at the Danish newspaper Weekendavisen and a frequent podcast guest, where she deals with literature, pop culture and contemporary phenomena. She's known for her witty and flamboyant style and for talking about queer and polyamorous experience, open relationships and her desire for alternative ways of living. Waist Deep is her first novel.
£13.49
Pan Macmillan Wild
Book SynopsisFrom the New York Times number one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah, comes Wild, a remarkable story about the resilience of the human spirit, the triumph of hope and the promise of new beginnings.In the rugged Pacific Northwest of the United States lies the Olympic National Forest – a vast expanse of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. From deep within this mysterious woodland, a six-year-old girl appears. Speechless and alone, she offers no clue as to her identity, no hint of her past. Having retreated to her hometown after a scandal left her career in ruins, child psychiatrist Dr Julia Cates begins working with the extraordinary little girl. Naming her Alice, Julia is determined to free her from a prison of unimaginable fear and isolation, and discover the truth about Alice’s past. The shocking facts of Alice’s life test the limits of Julia’s faith and strength, even as she struggles to make a home for Alice – and find a new one for herself. ‘One of Kristin Hannah's most compelling and riveting novels’ – Booklist ** Published in the US as Magic Hour ******Here’s what readers love about Wild:‘I was moved to tears and devoured this book in a day’‘Couldn’t put it down’‘Gritty and thought-provoking’Trade ReviewA rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival, as epic as the Alaskan landscape it so vividly describes -- Kate Morton on The Great AloneHannah has delivered a masterclass in all the different ways love can both save us and destroy us [. . . ] She perfectly captures and evokes the majesty and splendid isolation of Alaska and it feels a privilege to have journeyed there with her. This is a story that will stay with me for a long, long time -- Karen Swan on The Great AloneEpic . . . By the end, I was surrounded by snow drifts of tissues damp with my tears -- Washington Post on The Great AloneGreat characters, great plots, great emotions, who could ask for more in a novel? -- Isabel Allende on The NightingaleMovingly written and plotted with the skill of Greek tragedy. You’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob -- Daily Mail on The Nightingale
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Magic Lessons
Book SynopsisThe extraordinary and enchanting novel tracing a centuries-old curse back to its beginning from the author of PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE DOVEKEEPERS For centuries, the women of the Owens family have been cursed: any man who loves an Owens woman will die. It begins with a baby abandoned in a snowy English field in the 1600s. Gentle Hannah Owens takes the baby in, and as the child grows, Hannah teaches little Maria about the 'Unnamed Arts'. Maria has a gift for them – a gift that may well prove her undoing. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for centuries. Because magic has rules, and they must be obeyed.PRAISE for ALICE HOFFMAN ‘Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature’Toni Morrison ‘I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers – from the history AliceTrade Review'Enticing... conjures up spells, herbal lore and romance in harsh, historical times' Daily Mail 'We first met the Owens in the brilliant novel Practical Magic, then we discovered the tragedy of the siblings in Rules of Magic. Now, we learn how it all began…' Bella 'A vivid and evocative tale – prepare to be spellbound’ Woman 'Storytelling is in Hoffman’s bones, and the skill with which she dispenses information and compresses time, so that a year passes in a sentence, so that a tragedy witnessed becomes the propeller for a hundred-page subplot, is (forgive me) bewitching' New York Times Book Review 'Vivid and enchanting, with a can’t-miss-it foray into the Salem Witch Trials, Magic Lessons is another sublime entry in an arresting series' Esquire 'Hoffman writes deftly, and often beautifully, about nature, and she can plot like, well, a witch, casting a spell on her reader' Boston Globe 'A gorgeous new novel you won't want to miss' Bustle 'In Hoffman’s luminous prose, all characters, even the villains, are not only vividly, but also compassionately, rendered... Hoffman adeptly highlights that how one uses a talent, selflessly or selfishly, has a sweeping impact on many lives' Booklist
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Devil Wears Prada
Book SynopsisThe classic bestseller over a million copies sold worldwide!*Soon to be a major musical, written by Elton John and starring Vanessa Williams*High fashion, low cunning and the boss from hell When Andrea first sets foot in the plush Manhattan offices of Runway, she knows nothing. She''s never heard of the world''s most fashionable magazine, or its feared and fawned-over editor, Miranda Priestly her new boss.A year later, she knows altogether too much. She knows that it''s a sacking offence to wear anything lower than a three-inch heel to work, that you can charge cars, manicures, anything at all to the Runway account, but you must never, ever, leave your desk, or let Miranda''s coffee get cold. And she knows that at 3 a.m. on a Sunday, when your boyfriend''s dumping you because you''re always at work, if Miranda phones, you jump.But this is Andrea's big break it''s going to be worth it in the end.Isn''t it??????The Devil Wears Prada is everyone''s favourite book ?????''Watched the moTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: ‘This little gem mixes Sex and the City charm with dry New York wit.’ REAL ‘Sassy, insightful and sooo Sex and The City, you'll be rushing to the bookshop for your copy like it's a half price Prada sale.’ COMPANY ‘The most fun we've had in ages.’ HEAT ‘Delicious…a great insight into the world of magazines and fashion.’ RED
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Miss Bensons Beetle
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewUnmissable fiction from an award-winning author: an unlikely pair embark on a grand adventure in this glorious novel about second chances, heartfelt friendships and emotional courage. -- Eithne Farry * Sunday Express *A girl's own adventure...This is Rachel Joyce's best book yet ...Exciting, moving and full of unexpected turns... surely this is the one that will propel the intrepid Joyce off the long and shortlists into prizewinning territory. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *A joy of a novel, with real insight into the lives of women, the value of friendship and the lasting effects of war -- Katy Guest * Guardian *Joyce's characters are so charmingly eccentric that they could have leapt straight from the pages of a Dickens novel. Enid is a comedic masterpiece, effervescent and brimming with life. This exhilarating story will scoop you up and carry you along to a dizzying crescendo. But it is also a story of an unlikely friendship and of women who refuse to be defined by the labels cast upon them in drab 1950s Britain. Funny, wise, and utterly life-affirming * Daily Express *A life-affirming, joyously escapist picaresque tale * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Will There Ever Be Another You
Book SynopsisEmotionally profound and fiendishly funny, Will There Ever Be Another You is the hugely anticipated new novel from Patricia Lockwood a miraculous meditation on illness and madness by the voice of a generation'
£15.29
Cornerstone Idle Grounds
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£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Pug Actually From the halfamillioncopy
Book SynopsisA witty, heart-warming tale about woman's best friend. You'll love it!' Nick SpaldingA love story that honestly will just make you cheer I loved it.' Miranda DickinsonWhen your dog plays cupidwhat could possibly go wrong?Loyal rescue pug Doug wants his adoring owner Julie to find unconditional love and happiness and he knows she won't find either in the arms of Luke, her married boss.Doug is terrified that Julie will become a lonely cat-lover if she stays single too long, but he can't let her fall for any more of Luke's empty promises. Julie needs to move on and Doug is convinced that Tom, a newly divorced V-E-T, is perfect for her (despite his questionable occupation).There's just one problem: Julie and Tom can't stand each other.Doug doesn't quite understand the quirks and complexities of human relationships, but he won't let that get in the way of his mission to bring Tom and Julie together. After all, being a rescue' works both waysReaders LOVE Pug Actually!A wonderful novel withTrade Review Praise for Pug Actually: "A love story that honestly will just make you cheer… I loved it." Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘A witty, heart-warming tale about woman’s best friend. You’ll love it!’ Nick Spalding, bestselling author ‘A wonderful novel with delicious humour… I'm in love with Doug the pug!’ Jill Mansell, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘Charming, brilliant and an absolute hoot… This book makes the world feel a happier place to be.’ Milly Johnson, Sunday Times bestselling author "A fantastic (dog) treat of a book which will charm and delight you, Pug Actually is just the thing to get your tail wagging! (That’s what my rescue greyhound felt and I loved it too!)" Mike Gayle, Richard and Judy bestselling author “[A] delightful, quirky novel about a dog and his girl… A word of caution: Reading this in public may cause uncontrollable laughter and create a scene.” Library Journal, starred review “[Readers] will fall in love with Dunn's charming canine narrator… amusing and heartwarming, and Doug is a fantastic star of the show.” Booklist “Alternately poignant and laugh-out-loud funny…Doug’s hilarious antics, astute observations, and dogged determination pull at the heartstrings on the way to a thoroughly satisfying happily ever after.” Publishers Weekly Praise for Matt Dunn: ‘Funny, warm, honest…’ Jenny Colgan, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘Matt Dunn’s writing makes you laugh out loud.’ Sophie Kinsella, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘This is Matt Dunn at the top of his game. Funny, poignant, and big-hearted…’ Mike Gayle, Richard and Judy bestselling author ‘Matt Dunn is officially funny.’ Jojo Moyes, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘Sharp and witty…I loved it.’ Milly Johnson, Sunday Times bestselling author
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Open Water
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2021WINNER OF DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2022A No.1 BESTSELLER IN THE TIMES''A tender and touching love story, beautifully told'' Observer ''Hands-down the best debut I''ve read in years'' The Times ''A beautiful and powerful novel about the true and sometimes painful depths of love'' Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of QUEENIE ''An unforgettable debut... it''s Sally Rooney meets Michaela Coel meets Teju Cole'' New York Times''A love song to Black art and thought'' Yaa Gyasi, bestselling author of HOMEGOING and TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists - he a photographer, she a dancer - trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential British debut of recent years.''An amazing debut novel. You should read this book. Let''s hear it for Caleb Azumah Nelson, also known as the future'' Benjamin Zephaniah''A short, poetic and intellectual meditation on art and a relationship between a young couple'' Bernardine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER''A very touching and heartfelt book'' Diana Evans, award-winning author of ORDINARY PEOPLE''A lyrical modern love story, brilliant on music and art, race and London life, I enjoyed it hugely'' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY and SWEET SORROW''Caleb is a star in the making'' Nikesh Shukla, editor of THE GOOD IMMIGRANT and BROWN BABY''A stunning piece of art'' Bolu Babalola, bestselling author of LOVE IN COLOUR''For those that are missing the tentative depiction of love in Normal People, Caleb Azumah Nelson''s Open Water is set to become one of 2021''s unmissable books. Utterly transporting, it''ll leave you weeping and in awe.'' Stylist ''An exhilarating new voice in British fiction'' Vogue''A poetic novel about Black identity and first love in the capital from one of Britain''s most exciting young voices'' Harper''s Bazaar''An intense, elegant debut'' GuardianWINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD WINNER OF DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDSSHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER OF THE BAD FORM BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE, THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE AND THE GORDON BURN PRIZE A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD ''5 UNDER 35'' HONOREE Caleb Azumah Nelson''s new novel SMALL WORLDS is available nowTrade ReviewOpen Water is a beautifully, delicately written novel about love, for self and others, about being seen, about vulnerability and mental health. Sentence by sentence, it oozes longing and grace. Caleb is a star in the making. -- Nikesh Shukla, editor of THE GOOD IMMIGRANT and author of BROWN BABYFor those that are missing the tentative depiction of love in Normal People, Caleb Azumah Nelson's Open Water is set to become one of 2021's unmissable books. Utterly transporting, it'll leave you weeping and in awe. * Stylist *An exhilarating new voice in British fiction * Vogue *A short, sharp poetic burst of a novel; it crystallises the torments and heat of young love brilliantly -- Andrew McMillan, award-winning author of PHYSICAL
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Trespasses
Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed writer of The End of the World is a Cul de Sac comes an astonishing debut novel about the lives ordinary people, where the political invades the personal and love is never far away from violence
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Queer
Book SynopsisOriginally written in 1952 but not published till 1985, Queer is an enigma - both an unflinching autobiographical self-portrait and a coruscatingly political novel, Burroughs'' only realist love story and a montage of comic-grotesque fantasies that paved the way for his masterpiece, Naked Lunch. Set in Mexico City during the early fifties, Queer follows William Lee''s hopeless pursuit of desire from bar to bar in the American expatriate scene. As Lee breaks down, the trademark Burroughsian voice emerges; a maniacal mix of self-lacerating humor and the Ugly American at his ugliest. A haunting tale of possession and exorcism, Queer is also a novel with a history of secrets, as this new edition reveals.Trade ReviewQueer is a stunner. A neglected work that became legendary in its very absence. * Los Angeles Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Bluest Eye
Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade ReviewNot only a story but an awe-inspiring poem that confronts beauty itself. * Guardian *So charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry * New York Times *I imagine if our greatest American novelist, William Faulkner, were alive today he would herald Toni Morrison's emergence as a kindred spirit... Discovering a writer like Toni Morrison is the rarest of pleasures * Washington Post *The Bluest Eye is a fine book, a lament for all starved and stunted children everywhere * Daily Telegraph *Morrison's style rivets the reader...her synaesthetic, often rhythmic, even chanting prose recalls both Faulkner and Emily Dickinson * The Times Literary Supplement *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Sleeping Children
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£9.49
Orion Publishing Co A Death on Location
Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES ''The best of the new cosy crime writers'' Daily Telegraph It''s spring 1990, and in Champton the whole village is aflutter as a glamorous Hollywood movie has taken over Lord de Floures'' Champton House as its set location. As the actors and extras hired from the village don their farthingales, gowns and crowns for a masque set in the 1600s, a murder interrupts filming on set - and it''s an ingenious one . . . Can Daniel solve the mystery with help from his sidekick, Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo - even when things are so sticky between them? ''You''ll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds'' Janice Hallett
£18.70
HarperCollins Publishers Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
Book SynopsisThe third installment in the brilliant Scott Pilgrim' graphic novel series from Bryan Lee O'Malley, writer of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off now a major Netflix series.Scott Pilgrim is in trouble.Ramona's third evil ex-boyfriend, Todd Ingram, is currently dating the former love of Scott Pilgrim's life! Envy Adams broke Scott's heart a year and a half ago. Now she and her evil art-rock band are back, and they're getting Scott's band to open a show two days from now! That's just enough time for Scott to fight Todd, keep Ramona happy, fend off demented ex-girlfriends, and practise that new setlist. Right??All will be revealed in Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness', the third volume in Bryan Lee O'Malley's brilliant graphic novel series.Trade Review‘”Scott Pilgrim” is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of our time. With Kung Fu, so, yeah: perfect.’ Joss Whedon, creator of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ ‘One of the best things to happen to printed comics this millennium.’ Ain't It Cool News ‘A hilarious, idiosyncratic gem.’ Washington Post ‘A great oddball tale that captures the energy of a generation.’ Publishers Weekly ‘An inventive, genre-tweaking tale of young love, platonic bed-sharing and epic battles unlike anything else you will likely pick up. So, go on, pick it up.’ E! Online ‘Scott Pilgrim is the best 23-year-old ever. Like Proust's Swann, he has a story that takes multiple volumes to unfold, except Pilgrim is even more awesome because he's in a comic book … the series is wildly enjoyable for its absurdist humor, its indelible characters and its growing, inevitable sense of melancholy as Pilgrim becomes that most terrifying of things: 24 years old.’ Glen David Gold, author of ‘Carter Beats the Devil’ and ‘Sunnyside’
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Butchers Crossing
Book Synopsis**NOW A MAJOR FILM**BY THE AUTHOR OF STONERWill Andrews is no academic. He longs for wildness, freedom, hope and vigour. He leaves Harvard and sets out for the West to discover a new way of living.In a small town called Butcher''s Crossing he meets a hunter with a story of a lost herd of buffalo in a remote Colorado valley, just waiting to be taken by a team of men brave and crazy enough to find them. Will makes up his mind to be one of those men, but the journey, the killing, harsh conditions and sheer hard luck will test his mind and body to their limits.Trade ReviewHis Stoner is the book that has garnered the attention, but I prefer this earlier take on the Western genre…it has some gory, visceral passages that are not for the faint-hearted -- Kate Atkinson * Irish Times *Shorn of sentimentality or decoration, the events and places [Williams] describes begin to feel inescapable, permanent, and rivetingly dramatic. This is language that seems to be carved into stone – into mountains... Stoner showed us a writer who had written a great book. To those of us who didn't know already, Butcher's Crossing reveals John Williams to be more than that: forgotten writer as he was, he was unquestionably also a great one -- Archie Bland * Independent *Superbly understated -- Rosemary Goring * Herald *One of the finest books about the elusive nature of the West ever written… It’s a graceful and brutal story of isolated men gone haywire * Time Out *Harsh and relentless yet muted in tone, Butcher’s Crossing paved the way for Cormac McCarthy * New York Times Book Review *
£9.49
Faber & Faber Love Forms
Book SynopsisIn the heart-aching new novel from the author of the award-winning Golden Child, a mother searches for the daughter she left behind a lifetime ago. Trinidad, 1980: Dawn Bishop, aged 16, leaves her home and journeys across the sea to Venezuela. There, she gives birth to a baby girl, and leaves her with nuns to be given up for adoption. Dawn tries to carry on with her life - a move to England, a marriage, a career, two sons, a divorce - but through it all, she still thinks of the child she had in Venezuela, and of what might have been. Then, forty years later, a woman from an internet forum gets in touch. She says that she might be Dawn's long-lost daughter, stirring up a complicated mix of feelings: could this be the person to give form to all the love and care a mother has left to give?
£16.88
Hodder & Stoughton Stone Yard Devotional
Book Synopsis⭐ SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 ⭐ The new novel by the bestselling author of The WeekendA Book of the Year for the Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC ''The fact that Stone Yard Devotional not only stays aloft but soars would seem to deny the laws of literary physics'' Ron Charles, Washington Post''A beautiful, mature work that does not flinch from life'' Sunday Times''Exquisite, wrenching'' New York Times''I have rarely been so absorbed by a novel'' Guardian''exquisite... a heartening and consoling force'' Sigrid Nunez, The New Yorker''It leaves the reader feeling kinder, more brave, enlarged'' Anne EnrightBurnt out and in need of retreat, a middle-aged woman leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up, taking refuge in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of rural Australia.But disquiet soon interrupts this secluded life. First, the skeletal remains of a sister who disappeared decades before are returned to the monastery, resurfacing years of grief and pain. And then, an unexpected and troubling visitor plunges the narrator further into her past...⭐ Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier''s Literary Award⭐ Shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year⭐ Shortlisted for the ABIA Award for Literary Fiction⭐ Longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Crying of Lot 49
Book SynopsisThomas Pynchon is the author of V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Slow Learner, a collection of short stories, Vineland, Mason and Dixon, Against the Day, Inherent Vice and Bleeding Edge. He received the National Book Award for Gravity's Rainbow in 1974.Trade ReviewThe best American novel I have read since the warFor the reader who has yet to make acquaintance with this important comic talent. . . an appropriate introduction...defiantly, purposefully outrageous * Spectator *The Crying of Lot 49 contains some of the most elegiac writing about America since Fitzgerald, as well as packing an intense metaphorical punch about revelation, hierophany, meaning and connection that is far too complex to reduce to precis * Observer *The narrator sounds like a survivor looking through the massed wreckage of his civilization, 'a salad of despair'. That image, to suggest but one of the puns in the word Tristero, is typically full of sadness, terror, love, and flamboyance. But then, how else should one imagine a tryst with America? And that is what this novel is. * New York Times *A book of thundering originality and depth and lyricism, a book with the highest intellectual aspirations - and yet it also seemed to be concerned with creating genuine suspense -- Ned Beauman * Independent *
£8.54
Bonnier Books Ltd The Visit
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£15.29
Bluemoose Books Blackshroud
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£10.80
Random House Flashlight
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£10.44
Pan Macmillan Wellness
Book SynopsisA native Iowan, Nathan Hill lives with his wife in Naples, Florida. Wellness is his second novel, following his acclaimed debut, The Nix, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and was a New York Times bestseller.
£10.44
Faber & Faber A Pale View of Hills
Book Synopsis*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available*Kazuo Ishiguro's highly acclaimed debut, first published in 1982, tells the story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living alone in England, dwelling on the recent suicide of her daughter.Retreating into the past, she finds herself reliving one particular hot summer in Nagasaki, when she and her friends struggled to rebuild their lives after the war. But as she recalls her strange friendship with Sachiko a wealthy woman reduced to vagrancy the memories start to take on a disturbing cast.A macabre and faultlessly worked enigma.' Sunday TimesOne of the outstanding fictional debuts of recent years.' ObserverA delicate, ironic, elliptical novel Its characters are remarkably convincing but what one remembers is its balance, halfway between elegy and irony.' New York Times Book ReviewAn extraordinarily
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd How to Disappear
Book SynopsisThe gripping Sunday Times bestseller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page''Bravo! How to Disappear is undoubtedly her best yet. Gripping and emotional - a cracking read'' Clare Mackintosh ''A relentless drumroll of suspense . . . ranks among the best psychological-suspense thrillers of recent years'' A. J. Finn You can run, you can hide, but can you disappear for good?Lauren''s daughter Zara witnessed a terrible crime. But speaking up comes with a price, and when Zara''s identity is revealed online, it puts a target on her back.The only choice is to disappear.To keep Zara safe, Lauren will give up everything and everyone she loves, even her husband.There will be no goodbyes. Their pasts will be rewritten. New names, new home, new lives.The rules are strict for a reason. They are being hunted. One mistake - a text, an Instagram like - could Trade ReviewBravo! How to Disappear is undoubtedly her best yet. Gripping and emotional - a cracking read. -- Clare MackintoshA clever and original thriller with a brilliant ending. Beautifully written and emotional as well as tense and unpredictable, I couldn't put it down. -- Claire DouglasTotally addictive: clever, convincing and ingeniously plotted with twists that repeatedly pulled the rug from under my feet. But more than that, How to Disappear is peopled with characters so real and relatable you feel you could reach out and touch them. Any crime writer can keep you turning the pages - but few can make you care this much. -- Erin KellySome thrillers stage a few moments of high anxiety (at best); more thrillers simply sprinkle jitters here and there, like piano ditties peppered lightly with minor chords. But How to Disappear is a relentless drumroll of suspense, a knife-edge novel in which - at any moment, with any word, in the spaces between words - the characters can drop into danger as though falling through a trapdoor. They aren't safe for even an instant . . . and neither is the reader who cares about them (and who couldn't?). Gillian McAllister's rattling, deeply satisfying book ranks among the best psychological-suspense thrillers of recent years, but you'll be reminded too of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty, Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere. Bloody hell, this is a good one. -- A. J. FinnIf Jodi Picoult wrote psychological thrillers, they would look like this. A compulsive read with a jaw-dropping twist, I read it in a day -- Rosamund LuptonTense, twisty and perfectly paced, How To Disappear is a compelling portrait of a family under unbearable pressure - where one false step invites disaster into all their lives -- T. M. LoganGillian McAllister has done it again. How to Disappear is a captivating story with unforgettable characters. This is one you can't put down and you won't soon forget -- Samantha DowningI couldn't look away from this intricate and spellbinding exploration of the devastating ripples that spread from a terrible crime. The desperate and dangerous slippery slope that one family finds themselves on is as gut punching as it is believable. Whip smart and wonderfully written. -- Holly SeddonThis intricately plotted drama is a masterclass in taut, twisty but beautiful writing * Sun *A clever, compulsive, cat-and-mouse family thriller that made my heart race. Never ever, would I want to go into a witness protection programme after this. Absolutely brilliant -- Jane CorryHigh tension, believable characters and a terrific plot. A truly riveting read -- Lesley KaraA totally gripping and heart-wrenching story that leaves you breathless. Her best book yet, and that's saying something -- Jane FallonAt its core, this tense page-turner is a deeply original love story, and its characters are so warm and real that they stole my heart. I was absolutely gripped by Lauren, Aidan and Zara's story - rarely have I read a novel so fast. -- Beth O'LearyTense and brilliant. If anyone's found expired with a copy of it lying next to them, it'll be because they flat-out forgot to breathe. This is her best book yet -- Jill MansellMy goodness, it's brilliant. The ending blew me away! A superb, tense and thrilling ride. I admit I stayed up far too late to finish it, but it was so worth it -- Melanie GoldingIf you read one book this year, make it this one -- Adam CroftI read How to Disappear with my heart in my mouth. Beautiful, layered, suffocating, with an impossible love story at its heart. -- Lia LouisAnother brilliant psychological thriller from Gillian McAllister * Hello! *Utterly compelling, addictive and gripping; the best psychological thriller I've read this year -- Lucy ClarkeI was blown away. Being forced to consider the reality of life under witness protection, of family members having to make impossible, brutal choices, was heartbreaking. I think it will resonate with many people. It's an outstanding and utterly gripping novel that deserves to be a bestseller -- Emma CurtisA highly original novel about witness protection that is tense and compelling with a great ending. Her best yet! -- Mark EdwardsIntense, utterly believable and at times shocking, it will make you see the world - even one in confinement - through new eyes * WI Life *This book explores just how brutal witness protection can be, and the choices people involved must make * Woman's Own *This intricately plotted drama is a masterclass in taut, twisty but beautiful writing * Fabulous *A rollercoaster that will leave you gasping and turning the pages for more * Refinery29 *The author's best book yet * Prima *Included in 'The Hottest Summer Reads' * Cosmopolitan *Included in 'Book Club' * Woman's Weekly *Praise for Gillian McAllister * - *I read it in a breathless day and a half. I loved every pageAs tense as a piano string * Sunday Times *An exceptional debutAn exceptional thriller with a thumping, emotional heart * Heat *Addictive, clever, twisty * Sun *I loved this gripping and thought-provoking readIngeniously constructed, with real flesh-and-blood characters and cliff-hanging suspenseTense, compelling, with a clever grand reveal * Daily Mail *One of the best courtroom dramas I've ever readKept me glued to every page * Good Housekeeping *Gripping, cleverly-constructed, and heart-wrenching. Truly originalIntelligent. Compulsive. Heart-wrenching. UnforgettableBrilliantly writtenA thrilling mystery with a strong emotional heart * Woman & Home *McAllister ratchets up the tension to excellent effect in this addictive page-turner * Connaught Telegraph *
£9.49
Unbound The Lights of Shantinagar
Book Synopsis''Incandescent'' Natasha Badhwar, author of My Daughters'' Mum The Lights of Shantinagar is a warm and lively portrait of family life set in modern India where new philosophies are reshaping old traditions and one woman's astute observations can change everything. Aspiring quantum physicist Sumi is newly married and has moved into her husband's family home. Here she observes that the beguilingly tranquil middle-class town of Shantinagar is not very different from her beloved quantum world: the happenings in one house are cryptically entangled with things next door, objects mysteriously disappear and unexpected interactions reveal surprising truths. As the line between right and wrong begins to blur, new discoveries force the residents of Shantinagar to reflect on what they truly know about themselves and the ones they love. Meanwhile, Sumi must blend logic with love to make sense of her new circumstances. ''Storytelling at its most novel'' Saurabh Sharma, queer writer and cultural critic ''Vivid, engaging and truthful'' Shelley Weiner, acclaimed novelist and journalist ''Illuminates the lives of women on the cusp of change'' Sara Lippmann, author of Jerks ''An eloquent new voice'' Zahra Barri, author of Daughters of the Nile
£9.49
Boldwood Books Ltd Take Me Home: The uplifting, heartwarming novel
Book SynopsisBRAND NEW from Number 1 Bestselling author Beth Moran!Sophie Potter’s job is helping people deal with the worst, because Sophie Potter knows what the worst feels like.An expert at keeping moving, with her trusty motorhome and faithful dog Muffin, Sophie has built her life around keeping her loves and loyalties to a minimum.Fabulous fifty-something Hattie Langford has kept her heart and past safely stored away too. But for reasons she’s only willing to share with a stranger, Hattie needs to tell the story her family has been hiding at Riverbend, their home in Sherwood Forest. There is a history of heartbreak and hurt that Hattie is now ready to face.As Sophie helps Hattie uncover the secrets of generations of women who have lived at Riverbend, along with the stories of the men they have loved and lost, they start to see echoes in their own pasts. And as Riverbend shares its biggest secret of all, can Hattie and Sophie finally embrace the lives they’ve put on hold for so long, and risk giving their hearts to men who just might break the Riverbend curse?Reading Beth Moran’s fabulous novels makes every day better. Heart-warming, soul-nourishing, with smart characters and irresistible romances, it’s impossible not to fall in love with a Beth Moran story. Perfect for all fans of Jill Mansell, Julie Houston, and Jenny Colgan.Praise for Beth Moran:'Beth Moran's heartwarming books never fail to leave me feeling uplifted' Jessica Redland'Let it Snow is so uplifting. It's cleverly written, witty and smart. A winner!' USA Today Bestseller, Judy Leigh‘Life-affirming, joyful and tender.’ Zoe Folbigg'Every day is a perfect day to read this.’ Shari LowReaders love Beth Moran’s books:‘I have read all of Beth's books and I do believe they just get better and better if that is possible. I adored this book’‘As always with Beth Moran, this story is full of everything you could ever want – lovely characters that you can’t help rooting for, twists and turns of joy, sadness and hilarity, and an ending that makes you feel like all is well in the world! She has such a knack for creating a setting that feels like home, and somewhere you just really want to actually live in! I already can’t wait for the next one!’‘I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book. It made me tearful (happy and sad tears), it made me hopeful and most of all it made laugh and smile, before leaving me with a lovely warm heart full of happy. Just gorgeous! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️’
£10.44
Oneworld Publications Luminous
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Go Tell it on the Mountain Penguin Modern
Book SynopsisJames Baldwin''s electrifying first novel.''I had to deal with what hurt me most. I had to deal with my father.''Drawing on James Baldwin''s own boyhood in a religious community in 1930s Harlem, his first novel tells the story of young Johnny Grimes. Johnny is destined to become a preacher like his father, Gabriel, at the Temple of the Fire Baptized, where the church swells with song and it is as if ''the Holy Ghost were riding on the air''. But he feels only scalding hatred for Gabriel, whose fear and fanaticism lead him to abuse his family. Johnny vows that, for him, things will be different. This blazing tale is full of passion and guilt, of secret sinners and prayers singing on the wind. ''His prose hit me, almost winding me with its intensity. I''d never read a novel that described loneliness and desire with such burning eloquence'' Douglas Field, Guardian''A beautiful, enduring, spirtual song of a novel'' Andrew O''HaganTrade ReviewIt broke my heart and made me want to jump up and down... It captures an essential aspect of life in America, its contradictions and seductions, that bittersweet mix of love and hate that so many feel towards the country -- Azar Nafisi * Independent *His prose hit me, almost winding me with its intensity. I'd never read a novel that described loneliness and desire with such burning eloquence -- Douglas Field * Guardian *Vivid imagery, with lavish attention to details * The New York Times *A beautiful, enduring, spiritual song of a novel -- Andrew O'HaganOne of the few essential novelists of our time * New Statesman *
£9.49
Union Square & Co. Little Women
Book SynopsisA restless tomboy with a wild imagination, Jo March bridles against societal conventions. She has no interest in becoming a lady; she will become a writer. Fortunately for Jo, her family supports her ambitions and understands her eccentricities.
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Book SynopsisWe were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like, I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive 'Hunter S. Thompson is roaring down the desert highway to Las Vegas with his attorney, the Samoan, to find the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, the duo engage in a surreal succession of chemically enhanced confrontations with casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans.This stylish reissue of Hunter S. Thompson's iconic masterpiece, a controversial bestseller when it appeared in 1971, features the brilliant Ralph Steadman illustrations of the original. It brings to a new generation the hallucinatory humour and nightmare terror of Hunter S. Thompson's musings on the collapse of the American Dream.Trade Review‘There are only two adjectives writers care about…”brilliant” and “outrageous”. Hunter Thompson has a freehold on both of them. “Fear and Loathing” is a scorching epochal sensation.’ Tom Wolfe ‘What goes on in these pages makes Lenny Bruce seem angelic…the whole book boils down to a mad, corrosive prose poetry that picks up where Norman Mailer’s “An American Dream” left off and explores what Tom Wolfe left out.’ New York Times
£10.44
Orion Publishing Co The Last Unicorn
Book SynopsisIf men no longer know what they are looking at, there may well be unicorns in the world yet, unknown and glad of it. Living in peace in her lilac wood, the Unicorn didn''t know the world had changed, or that anything had happened to the rest of her kind. Overhearing a chance conversation, she resolves to venture out and discover the truth. The road is dangerous, and the risks are great. If she fails, then unicorns will be lost. Forever.A modern fairy tale, The Last Unicorn is a beloved classic, voted by TIME as one of the 100 greatest fantasy novels of all time. It is fantastical, poignant, wistful and wonderous, showing us the humanity of magic, and the magic of humanity. Available in the UK for the first time in decades, this edition features an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Wives A thrilling romance full of secrets
Book SynopsisPerfect marriages.Perfect neighbours.Perfect lies.Everyone is guarding a secret in this picture-perfect town.When Karolina Hartwell is arrested driving her son home, the headlines don't tell the full story. It seems nothing will stand in the way of her husband Graham's political ambition not even his wife.Miriam Kagan is convinced her husband Paul is hiding something. But if she digs too deeply, she's afraid of what might tumble out of the closet.Emily Charlton is new to Greenwich, but she soon discovers this is a small town built on big lies. And sometimes it takes an outsider to draw them out . . .*Published in the USA as When Life Gives You Lululemons*Everyone is talking about The Wives:Wildly entertaining' Evening StandardFeisty, funny and dishes up glamour and scandal in spades. Just what I want for my poolside read', Adele Parks for GlamourLauren Weisberger has the sharpest, wittiest eye . . . I love her books' Sunday Times bestseller Jenny ColganExpect gossip, glamour and lashiTrade Review‘Feisty, funny and dishes up glamour and scandal in spades. Just what I want for my poolside read’, Adele Parks for Glamour ‘The Wives, Weisberger’s seventh novel, is among her best . . . real depth beneath its shiny surface’ Independent ‘Wildly entertaining’ Evening Standard ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this. Real Housewives meets The Good Wife’ Margaret Madden, Sunday Independent ‘Entertaining, sexy and laugh-out-loud funny’ Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling authors of The Wife Between Us ‘Lauren Weisberger has the sharpest, wittiest eye and always knows her subjects inside out’ Jenny Colgan
£9.49
Faber & Faber Muckle Flugga
Book Synopsis''A quirky and original debut that sizzles with scintillating prose.'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO''Michael Pedersen is a rare writer of real passion and power and this debut is phenomenal.'' MATT HAIGLife on a remote island is turned upside down by a stranger''s arrival, testing bonds of family and tradition and leaving a young dreamer''s future hanging in the balance.It's no ordinary existence on the rugged isle of Muckle Flugga. The elements run riot and the very rocks that shape the place begin to shift under their influence. The only human inhabitants are the lighthouse keeper, known as The Father, and his otherworldly son, Ouse. Them, and the occasional lodger to keep the wolf from the door.When one of those lodgers Firth, a chaotic writer arrives from Edinburgh, the limits of the world the keeper and his son cling to begin to crumble. A tug of war ensues between Firth and the lighthouse keeper for Ouse's affections and his future. As old and new ways collide, and life-changing decisions loom, what will the tides leave standing in their wake?
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Vigil
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£17.09
Vintage Publishing The Eleventh Hour
Book SynopsisSalman Rushdie is the author of sixteen novels, including Midnight's Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), The Satanic Verses, and Quichotte (which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize). A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.
£17.09
PROFILE BOOKS SARASWATI
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£11.24
Charco Press So It Goes
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£14.62
