Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisBond is back. With a vengeance.1960s London.M has summoned agent 007. It''s the swinging Sixties and a flood of narcotics is pouring into Britain. Sinister industrialist Dr Julius Gorner is identified as the source and James Bond is dispatched to investigate.The trail takes Bond to Paris and then Persia - where the beautiful and enigmatic twins Scarlett and Poppy lead him to Gorner''s secret desert headquarters. Here, Bond uncovers Gorner''s cold-blooded plans for world domination.Only by playing Gorner''s twisted game can Bond stop him . . .Trade Review'Vintage Bond' The Times 'Everything a thriller should be' Front Row, Radio 4 'Races along ... gets better and better' Economist 'Smart and enjoyable' Guardian 'The read of the summer' Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisFrom the MAN BOOKER PRIZE- and WOMEN''S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED author of Swing Time, White Teeth and On Beauty - a masterful and intimate novel of modern London life''A triumph. Every sentence sings'' Guardian''Intensely funny, richly varied, always unexpected. A joyous, optimistic, angry masterpiece'' Daily Telegraph''Smith''s most satisfying novel. Funny, sexy, weird, full of acute social comedy. She''s up there with the best around'' Evening StandardZadie Smith''s brilliant tragicomic NW follows four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan - after they''ve left their childhood council estate, grown up and moved on to different lives. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their city is brutal, beautiful and complicated. Yet after a chance encounter they each find that the choices they''ve made, the people they once were and are now, can suddenly, rapidly unravel

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Book SynopsisJane Green is the Number One bestselling author of nineteen novels including: Straight Talking, Jemima J, Mr Maybe, Bookends, Babyville, Spellbound, The Other Woman, Life Swap, Second Chance, The Beach House, Girl Friday, The Love Verb, The Patchwork Marriage, The Accidental Husband and Tempting Fate. Jane and her husband live in Connecticut with their blended family of six children.Trade ReviewA beautifully written and intensely sad lesson in what it really means to love someone you know you're going to lose * Daily Telegraph *Genuinely moving, heartbreaking * Glamour *A moving account of a family faced with a heartbreaking situation. I defy anyone to get through to the end without crying * Sunday Express *A tear-jerking read * Marie Claire *Stylish, wickedly insightful . . . family, friends and love is truly, heartwrenchingly tested * Mirror *Green conveys the anguish and love surrounding a tragically early death * Woman & Home *A powerful and emotional tale about family, friendship and enduring love * Irish News *A powerful and emotional tale * Sun *Heartfelt * Metro *A good old-fashioned weepie * Saga *

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Book SynopsisNumber one best-seller Jane Green - author of The Love Verb and Spellbound - examines the dynamics of family life and relationships in her novel The Patchwork Marriage. When he asked her to be his wife, he also wanted a mother for his children . . .When Andi marries Ethan she gets a ready-made family in the shape of his daughters Emily and Sophia. Unable to have a child of her own, and crazy in love with Ethan, she has a chance to make the perfect family. But teenager Emily''s hostility leaves Andi feeling hated in her own home. And worse, Ethan, blinded by love for his daughter, cannot see that her behaviour is driving a wedge through their marriage. So when Andi and Ethan''s world is rocked by an act of recklessness, Andi knows that their whole future is in doubt. Can Andi and Ethan heal the rift in their relationship?Can each of them find enough love to go around?And how strong can a patchwork marriage ever be?

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Book SynopsisA Hay Festival and The Poole VOTE 100 BOOKS for Women SelectionShortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize, Zoë Heller''s Notes on a Scandal is a darkly compelling novel that explores the taboo subject of pupil/teacher relationships, obsession and betrayal. From the first day that the beguiling Sheba Hart joins the staff of St George''s history teacher Barbara Covett is convinced she has found a kindred spirit. Barbara''s loyalty to her new friend is passionate and unstinting and when Sheba is discovered having an illicit affair with one of her pupils, Barbara quickly elects herself as Sheba''s chief defender. But all is not as it first seems in this dark story and, as Sheba will soon discover, a friend can be just as treacherous as any lover.''Brilliant, nasty, gripping'' Zadie Smith''Compelling, dark, sexy'' Observer''Superbly gripping. One of the most compelling books I''ve read in ages'' Daily Telegraph<Trade ReviewFascinating, brilliant, horribly addictive * Guardian *Outstanding, brilliantly understated and blackly funny * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant, nasty, gripping -- Zadie Smith * Observer *Deliciously sinister * Daily Mail *Compelling, dark, sexy * Observer *Deliciously perverse, laugh-out-loud-funny * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisFollowing a baseball game that nearly became a religious war, two Jewish boys become friends. Danny comes from the strict Hasidic sect that keeps him bound in centuries of orthodoxy. Reuven is brought up by a father patently aware of the twentieth century. Everything tries to destroy their friendship, but they use honesty with each other as a shield and it proves an impenetrable protection.

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Book SynopsisAllersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare. But was it?Trade ReviewLively immediately plunges us into an entirely convincing world of bustling family life...exceptionally well observed and gloriously enjoyable...this should be rated as one of her most impressive works * Guardian *One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down with a sign of regret, having devoured it in one sitting...Lively still displays an economy and an elegance that put younger writers to shame * Sunday Telegraph *Lively's brilliance is of the creeping kind. There is a sense of formality, which falls away as the novel gains pace and builds towards an unforeseen end. She is particularly good at bending language to make it fit her cool and clear voice...Lively succeeds brilliantly in getting a hold on the climate of family life. Slowly we absorb the details that get lost in the bluster and flurry until we are so drawn in, so tightly contained in the dynamics of this one, that the end, when it comes, is simply devastating * The Times *A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious * Independent *An involving emotional drama and an insightful examination of changing family values * Easy Living *The complexities and silences of family life are intelligently and subtly explored...a very engaging novel, continuously interesting and often moving * Scotsman *Gorgeous -- David Vann * Guardian Books of the Year *Sympathetic and observant, Lively moves fluidly between present-tense set-piece scenes and silent monologues, placing the novel's revelations where they will be most effective, and allowing implications - about marriage, feminism and personal ambition - to blossom slowly * Sunday Times *Penelope Lively at her best, sharp-eyed but sympathetic, deftly steering the reader from one point of view to another. This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones * Evening Standard *A very readable, well-paced novel peopled with Lively's customary immaculately observed and impeccably rounded characters * Independent on Sunday *Lively skilfully mingles past and present, as she peels away the layers to uncover a family secret of which no one speaks...Lively's astute skewering of family relations reverberates in the mind long afterwards * Daily Mail *Lively plays her sleight of hand with admirable dexterity. The dialogue is pitch-perfect, the writing crisp and the humour wonderfully dry * Tatler *Gripping. An intelligent look at family relationships and the knock-on effects of past events on the present. It's an absorbing tale of mystery and intrigue that will leave you wondering what lies behind even the nicest façade * Woman & Home *A deeply satisfying, eloquent family-fabric novel * Good Housekeeping *

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Book SynopsisIn the captivating stories that make up The Empty Family Colm Tóibín delineates with a tender and unique sensibility lives of unspoken or unconscious longing, of individuals, often willingly, cast adrift from their history. ''I imagined lamplight, shadows, soft voices, clothes put away, the low sound of late news on the radio. And I thought as I crossed the bridge at Baggot Street to face the last stretch of my own journey home that no matter what I had done, I had not done that.''From the young Pakistani immigrant who seeks some kind of permanence in a strange town to the Irish woman reluctantly returning to Dublin and discovering a city that refuses to acknowledge her long absence each of Tóibín''s stories manage to contain whole worlds: stories of fleeing the past and returning home, of family threads lost and ultimately regained.''Exquisite . . . The chief reason to read these stories is the peculiar power of Colm Tóibín''s prose'' TelegrTrade ReviewColm Tóibín's new collection is the work of an author at the peak of his writing powers * The Times *Always deeply moving, the stories here - like the surf-washed pebbles on that Wexford beach - will be read for meaning and enjoyed for their shape and sound for ages to come * Tribune *It's a collection that will only further fuel Tóibín's ascent through English fiction * Independent on Sunday *Exquisite . . . The chief reason to read these stories is the peculiar power of Colm Tóibín's prose * Telegraph *Astonishingly precise, depicting complex and conflicted states of mind with rare clarity * Observer *Beautifully observed * Sunday Times *Tóibín's deceptively straightforward style continues to manage somehow to encompass both lucidity and ambiguity, precision and poetry * Irish Times *Exquisite * Metro, Fiction of the Week *These stories are always intensely interesting and sometimes profoundly provocative * Irish Independent *Perfect; and as good as the best of William Trevor, than which there can be no higher praise * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisNew York Times bestseller Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a powerful story about a Chinese immigrant family in Brooklyn.Kimberley Chang and her mother move from Hong Kong to New York. A new life awaits them - making a new home in a new country. But all they can afford is a verminous, broken-windowed Brooklyn apartment. The only heating is an unreliable oven. They are deep in debt.And neither one speaks one word of English.Yet there is hope. Eleven-year-old Kim goes to school. And though cut off by an alien language and culture and forced by poverty to work nights in a sweatshop - she finds the classroom challenges liberating. In books and learning she''ll be saved. But can Kim successfully turn to lost girl from Hong Kong into a happy American woman? And should she?Jean Kwok''s powerful and moving tale of hardship and triumph, of heartbreak and love, speaks of all that gets lost in translation.''A sensitively handled rites-of-passage account...has the unmistakable ring of authenticity'' Metro''A truly amazing story that''ll leave you full of admiration and affection for the characters'' Easy Living''A classic and moving immigration story'' RedJean Kwok emigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn as a child; her first novel Girl in Translation is based loosely on her own experience as a Chinese immigrant in America. With Girl in Translation Jean Kwok has won the American Library Association Alex Award, an Orange New Writers title and international critical acclaim.Trade ReviewWarm, affecting, a compelling pleasure. Manages that rare fictional feat of shifting forever the angle from which you look at the world * Daily Mail *A sensitively handled rites-of-passage account . . . has the unmistakable ring of authenticity * Metro *Deceptively delicate . . . the stumbling endurance of Kimberley, the bond between mother and daughter, and the clever use of Chinese culture and tradition make for more than a salutary read * Guardian *Incredibly honest and powerful, written with unflinching directness . . . a truly amazing story that'll leave you full of admiration and affection for the characters * Easy Living *Engagingly narrated, irresistible * Independent *Astonishing * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the seriously funny, stunningly written novel about one woman''s attempts to put her past behind her, from the author of 2023 No. 1 bestseller AGAIN RACHEL''A brilliant, unusual, brave book . Confirms Keyes''s place as one of our finest writers'' JOJO MOYES_________Meet Helen Walsh.Wasp-tongued private investigator Helen doesn''t believe in love, fear or hot drinks.But when a missing persons case takes her into the dark, glamorous world of her dodgy ex, Jay Parker, she is drawn away from Artie Devlin, her distinctly unglamorous detective boyfriend.This isn''t good news for Helen.For Jay''s fame-hungry world is one of smoke and mirrors, and Helen is no longer sure what she''s doing, or quite why she''s doing it...To save herself from the brink, she''ll have to start believing in something - and fast.But will it be fear? Or love?Love the Walsh sisters? Don''t miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel''s Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . ._________''Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius'' Daily Mail''Gut-bustingly funny'' Independent on SundayFAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE MARIAN KEYES''Marian''s writing is the truth. With big laughs'' Dawn French''A giant of Irish writing'' Naoise Dolan''Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are'' Louise O''Neill''Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way'' Cathy Rentzenbrink''One of the most honest writers writing today'' Pandora Sykes''Compassionate, tender, incisive writing'' Lucy Foley''Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul'' Nigella Lawson''Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius'' Sali Hughes''Irresistible, profound. Keyes''s comic gift is always evident'' Independent''Joyful. Keyes'' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself'' C.L. Taylor''A born storyteller'' Independent on SundayTrade ReviewThe Mystery of Mercy Close is the tale of strong and sassy but vulnerable, private detective Helen Walsh who is looking for a missing person - but can she find him before she loses herself? 'I have a habit of taking instant dislikes to people. Simply because it saves time . . .' * from the publisher's description *When it comes to writing page-turners that put a smile on your face and make you think, Keyes is in a class of her own * Daily Express *Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis*WINNER OF THE WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD**WINNER OF THE SUNDAY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD *From acclaimed author William Trevor, Felicia''s Journey is a tightly woven psychological thriller''A book so brilliant that it compels you to stay up all night galloping through to the end'' Daily MailYou''re beautiful, Johnny told her. So, full of hope, seventeen-year-old Felicia crosses the Irish Sea to England to find her lover and tell him she is pregnant. Desperately searching for Johnny in the bleak post-industrial Midlands, she is instead found by Mr Hilditch, a strange and lonely man, a collector and befriender of homeless young girls . . .''Immensely readable. The plot twist is both sinister and affecting, and so skilfully done that you remember why authors had plot twists in the first place'' GuardianReaders of The Story of Lucy Gault and Love and SummTrade ReviewA book so brilliant that it compels you to stay up all night galloping through to the end * Daily Mail *Immensely readable. The plot twist is both sinister and affecting, and so skillfully done that you remember why authors had plot twists in the first place * Guardian *Immaculately calculated. Trevor's cunning is to lull us with inertia so that we are as startled as his characters when the faint air of menace turns into a tempest * Sunday Tribune *Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling. this sinister, elegant, piercingly sad novel is surely one of the books of the year -- Hilary Mantel * Sunday Express *A masterpiece. You read and are dazzled. It has one of the most memorable and convincing, most sinister and terrifying of characters created in the modern novel -- Susan HillMasterly in its tension * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Number One bestsellerA New Year. A New Page. A New Reading Group.Five women meet for their first reading group, little realising this social gathering over books and glasses of wine might see them share more than literary debate ... and will, in fact, take each of them to places they''d never imagined.Harriet and Nicole are the ringleaders, best friends who can''t quite admit - to themselves or one other - they might be trapped in loveless marriages. While Polly, a determined single mum, finds herself tipped off course by an unexpected proposal. Susan, usually so carefree and happy, is forced to face a shattering reality and Clare, quiet and mysterious, plainly has more on her mind than next week''s book choice.Over the coming year their worlds will intertwine in delightful, unexpected and surprising ways. Stories will be re-written as dreams are made and broken, but through it all they''ll have the Reading Group,Trade ReviewWitty, pacy and immediately engaging * Glamour *A compelling read, with characters you'll really take to your heart * Heat *Praise for Elizabeth Noble * - *A wonderfully well-written book, full of emotion * Daily Mail *Witty, affectionate and unashamedly tear-jerking * Red *Honest and beautifully written * Woman & Home *Tissues are essential. You'll ricochet between delicately watering eyes at the romance of it all and howling sobs at the unbearable tenderness * Heat *It would be a hard heart indeed that remained unmoved . . . the tender feelings that Noble engenders in her readers are to be cherished * Daily Express *So fluid, the pages turn themselves * Daily Mirror *Irresistible comfort read * Glamour *Noble is the mistress of the tearjerking message of love * Express *

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Book SynopsisRosie is a compelling novel by the bestselling author Lesley Pearse.Her brutal, violent family will be the death of her . . .Without a mother, Rosie is at the mercy of her father and thuggish brothers. Then one day a friend comes to the farm in the form of cockney housekeeper Heather Farley. But soon enough Heather vanishes, abandoning Rosie to her fate. Only when Thomas Farley comes to find his sister several years later, does Rosie learn the terrible truth about Heather - and her family.Running away from home, she finds herself pursued by the man who brought ruin on her family. Is he out to get her too? Or could he have some other reason for chasing her?Lesley Pearse, author of the UK and international best-sellers Stolen and Belle, tells a captivating and powerful story of family and secrets in her compelling novel Rosie. If you like Susan Lewis, you''ll love Lesley Pearse. Praise for Lesley Pearse:Trade ReviewWith characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFrom the internationally bestselling author Lesley Pearse comes a moving story of family, adoption and identityLosing her adopted mother threatens all she''s ever had . . .Daisy was adopted. But when her mother dies, she finds her secure existence thrown into turmoil by the discovery of a scrapbook.Inside it is information about her real mother.However, when Daisy drops everything to go in search of her roots, she uncovers a harrowing story of greed, misery and corruption. She also risks hurting her adored Dad, the only true family she has left.Can she cope with the truth about her real parents?And more importantly, who is the real Daisy?___________''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best'' Daily Mail''Lose yourself in this epic saga'' Bella''An emotional and moving epic you won''t forget in a hTrade ReviewOrphaned, lost. Who is she really? One young woman's search across the globe for a past - and a future . . . Losing her adopted mother threatens all she's ever had . . . * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFrom the internationally bestselling author Lesley Pearse comes the compelling tale of one girl caught in a family mystery, a struggle against cruelty and a quest for loveWithout her mother she is alone in the world . . .1930.Twelve-year-old Adele is placed in a bleak, cruel children''s home after a family tragedy drives her mother to madness. But when trust is betrayed Adele has no choice but to run away . . .Alone and friendless, she heads for Sussex, to seek out the grandmother she has never known. However, the journey, without food or shelter, leaves her desperately ill.Surrounded by the beautiful Rye Marshes, Adele is finally nursed back to health.Can she now dream of a new life?And what will happen when her mother reappears, bearing shocking family secrets?Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling atTrade ReviewIt's 1930, and Secrets tells the tale of one girl caught in family mystery, a struggle against cruelty, and a quest for love . . . * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *

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Book SynopsisDiscover this thrilling exploration of love, life and morality from the internationally bestselling author Lesley PearseShe defied her parents and married for love . . .Following her heart, Fifi moves with Dan to London where they rent a seedy flat in Dale Street, Kennington.Though Fifi must now become acquainted with squalor, she is soon drawn into the goings on behind the shabby front doors of her new neighbours.But it is the Muckles, at number 11, who are the street''s focus. Rumours of criminal depravity and shocking behaviour are rife.So when Fifi steps in to help their youngest child, she risks the wrath of this frightening family.Suddenly, not only her marriage and her family, but the lives of all the inhabitants of Dale Street are at the mercy of the immoral Muckles . . .Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its Trade ReviewA gripping unputdownable story, A Lesser Evil follows one courageous young woman as she risks her family to save another's . . . This is just one of many captivating novels from the international NO.1 BESTSELLING author Lesley Pearse.She defied her parents to marry for love . . . * from the publisher's description *

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Book SynopsisUncover a web of thrilling secrets and injustices in this gripping novel from international bestselling author Lesley PearseShe was convicted of killing her best friend . . .Scotland, 1995.Laura Brannigan has been put away for murder.She insists that she didn''t kill Jackie. But her search for true justice seems futile. Then she receives a letter that takes her back to her youth and the memory of an old love, Stuart . . .Twenty years ago was a heady time for Laura: she''d escaped an abusive home, and together with Jackie they had made a fresh start. They had sworn to be sisters forever.What could have possibly gone so wrong?And why is Stuart writing to her now?Does he believe Laura''s innocence and can he help free her from prison . . . and her past?Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its Trade ReviewScotland, 1995. On the hills of Cornton Vale Prison.She was convicted of killing her best friend . . .Laura Brannigan has been put away for murder. She insists that she didn't kill Jackie. But her search for true justice seems futile. Then she receives a letter that takes her back to her youth and the memory of an old love, Stuart . . . * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *Praise for Lesley Pearse * - *Heart-warming and evocative, a real delight to read * Sun *Evocative, compelling, told from the heart * Sunday Express *Utterly riveting, brilliant -- Closer

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Book SynopsisThe hilarious no. 1 bestseller by comedian and author of According to Yes and Oh Dear SylviaEveryone hates the perfect family.So you''ll love the Battles.Meet Mo Battle, about to turn 50 and mum to two helpless, hormonal teenagers. There''s 17-year-old daughter Dora who blames Mo for, like, EVERYTHING and Peter who believes he''s quite simply as darling and marvellous as his hero Oscar Wilde. Somewhere, keeping quiet, is Dad . . . who''s just, well . . . Dad.However, Mo is having a crisis. She''s about to do something unusually wild and selfish, which will leave the entire family teetering on the edge of a precipice. Will the family fall?Or will they, when it really matters, be there for each other?A Tiny Bit Marvellous is the number one bestselling novel from one of Britain''s favourite comic writers. Praise for A Tiny Bit Marvellous:''Funny, reaTrade ReviewBeautifully observed. Makes you laugh on every page * The Times *Hilarious. Chortle-out-loud turns of phrase, razor-sharp observations * Stylist *Fresh, extremely funny * Sunday Times *Has she cracked it with her first novel? Yes. Engaging from the first page * Heat *Really enjoyable and highly recommended. Dawn French is a wonderful writer - witty, wise and poignant * Daily Mail *A hilarious and compelling read * Good Housekeeping *Beautifully observed. Makes you laugh on every page * The Times *Hilarious. Chortle-out-loud turns of phrase, razor-sharp observations * The Stylist *Fresh, extremely funny * Sunday Times *Has she cracked it with her first novel? Yes. Engaging from the first page * Heat *Really enjoyable and highly recommended. Dawn French is a wonderful writer - witty, wise and poignant * Daily Mail *A hilarious and compelling read * Good Housekeeping *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the gloriously heartwarming and funny novel from No. 1 bestselling author of Women''s Prize shortlisted Richard & Judy pick BECAUSE OF YOU, Dawn French''A wonderful writer - witty, wise, poignant'' DAILY MAIL''Hilarious. My top book'' THE TIMES__________Everyone knows the real Silvia, don''t they?Silvia Shute lies in hospital in a coma.Family and friends gather at her bedside, each thinking they know the real Silvia. But do they?For Silvia hides a secret. One she can never tell. And as her visitors congregate, so the truth about Silvia is slowly revealed.Again, and again and again . . .__________PRAISE FOR DAWN FRENCH:''Fantastic, passionate, compassionate, so much wisdom, a lot of humour, very real and credible'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO''I adored it. So charming, wise and brilliantly written'' MARIAN KEYES''Think the Vicar of Dibley, without the dog collar'' INDEPENDENT''Dawn tackles the big ones - love, death, grief, childhood, motherhood, parenthood - head on'' GUARDIAN''A fantastic slam-dunk pageturner. Funny, enriching . . . page after page I laughed out loud'' MAIL ON SUNDAY''A hilarious snapshot of family life in the twenty-first century'' SUNDAY TIMES''Extremely funny'' SUNDAY TIMES''Side-splitting, darkly humorous'' HEAT''Makes you laugh on every page'' THE TIMES''A brilliantly observed, very funny novel of family life'' WOMAN & HOME''Funny, really enjoyable, highly recommended'' DAILY MAILTrade ReviewBeautifully observed. Makes you laugh on every page * The Times *Hilarious. Chortle-out-loud turns of phrase, razor-sharp observations * Stylist *Really enjoyable and highly recommended. Dawn French is a wonderful writer - witty, wise and poignant * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis''A satire of our times. Very funny indeed'' Sunday Times ''My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me'' ADAM KAYFEATURED IN ''THE 100 BOOKS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD'' BBC ARTS The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 is the first book in Sue Townsend''s brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series. Friday January 2ndI felt rotten today. It''s my mother''s fault for singing ''My Way'' at two o''clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children''s home.Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents'' marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and ''misunderstood intellectual'', Adrian''s painfully honest diary is still hilarious and compelling reading thirty years after it first appeared._________NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL ''I not only wept, I howled and hooted and had to get up and walk around the room and wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading'' Tom Sharpe''We laugh both at Mole and with him. A wonderful comic read, that, like all the best comedy, says something rather meaningful'' HeatTrade ReviewImpeccable comic timing, evergreen comic writing. I had more pure reading pleasure than from any other book I read this year -- John Self * The Times *One of literature's most endearing figures. Mole is an excellent guide for all of us * Observer *Townsend has held a mirror up to the nation and made us happy to laugh at what we see in it * Sunday Telegraph *An exquisite social comedy * Daily Telegraph *A satire of our times. Very funny indeed * Sunday Times *Marvellous, touching and screamingly funny . . . set to become as much a cult book as The Catcher in the Rye

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Book Synopsis''Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives'' Sunday TimesIn the third instalment of the hilarious Adrian Mole series, 16-year-old Adrian navigates his way into adulthood . . . Monday June 13th I had a good, proper look at myself in the mirror tonight. I''ve always wanted to look clever, but at the age of twenty years and three months I have to admit that I look like a person who has never even heard of Jung or Updike. Adrian Mole is an adult. At least that''s what it says on his passport. But living at home, clinging to his threadbare cuddly rabbit ''Pinky'', working as a paper pusher for the DoE and pining for the love of his life, Pandora, has proved to him that adulthood isn''t quite what he expected. Still, without the slings and arrows of modern life what else would an intellectual poet have to write about . . .__________ ''Essential reading for Mole followers'' Times Educational SuTrade ReviewCelebrate Adrian Mole's 50th Birthday with this new edition of the third book in his diaries, as 16-year-old Adrian navigates his way into adulthood * from publisher's description *Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives * Sunday Times *Townsend has held a mirror up to the nation and made us happy to laugh at what we see in it * Sunday Telegraph *The funniest book of the year * Daily Mail *The funniest person in the world * Caitlin Moran *

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Book Synopsis''A classic. The Adrian Mole diaries are thoroughly subversive. A true hero for our time'' Richard Ingrams''My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me'' ADAM KAYThe FOURTH book in Adrian Mole''s diaries, where we catch up with a hapless Adrian and his desperate attempts to win back the love of his life.__________ Thursday January 3rd I have the most terrible problems with my sex life. It all boils down to the fact that I have no sex life. At least not with another person. Finally given the heave-ho by Pandora, Adrian Mole finds himself in the unenviable situation of living with the love-of-his-life as she goes about shacking up with other men. Worse, as he slides down the employment ladder, from deskbound civil servant in Oxford to part-time washer-upper in Soho, he finds that critical reception for his epic novel, Lo!Trade ReviewCelebrate Adrian Mole's 50th Birthday with this new edition of the fourth book in his diaries, where we catch up with a hapless Adrian and his desperate attempts to win back the love of his life * from publisher's description *A classic. The Adrian Mole diaries are thoroughly subversive. A true hero for our time -- Richard IngramsEnormously funny * Sunday Telegraph *Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation * The Times *The funniest person in the world * Caitlin Moran *

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Book Synopsis''One of the greatest comic creations. I can''t remember a more relentlessly funny book'' Daily Mirror''My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me'' ADAM KAYThe fifth book in his hilarious diaries, where Adrian faces divorce, fatherhood and (short-lived) television stardom . . . __________Adrian Mole is thirty, single and a father. His cooking at a top London restaurant has been equally mocked (''the sausage on my plate could have been a turd'') and celebrated (will he be the nation''s first celebrity offal chef?). And the love of his life, Pandora Braithwaite, is too busy as the newly elected MP for Ashby-de-la-Zouch to notice him. Frustrated, disappointed and undersexed, Adrian despairs until a letter from his past changes everything . . .__________ ''With the Mole books, Townsend has an unrivalled claim to be this countryTrade ReviewCelebrate Adrian Mole's 50th Birthday with this new edition of the fifth book in his diaries, where Adrian faces divorce, fatherhood and (short-lived) television stardom * from publisher's description *One of the greatest comic creations. I can't remember a more relentlessly funny book * Daily Mirror *With the Mole books, Townsend has an unrivalled claim to be this country's foremost practising comic novelist * Mail on Sunday *Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation. Every sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself * The Times *Three cheers for Mole's chaotic, non-achieving, dysfunctional family. We need him * Evening Standard *The funniest person in the world * Caitlin Moran *

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Book Synopsis**FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017**''Scrupulous, pitch-perfect. With heart-pounding force, Dunmore builds up a double narrative of suspense'' Sunday TimesLeningrad, 1952. Andrei, a young hospital doctor and Anna, a nursery school teacher, are forging a life together in the post-war, post-siege wreckage. But their happiness is precarious, like that of millions of Russians who must avoid the claws of Stalin''s merciless Ministry for State security. So when Andrei is asked to treat the seriously ill child of a senior secret police officer, he and Anna are fearful. Trapped in an impossible, maybe unwinnable game, can they avoid the whispers and watchful eyes of those who will say or do anything to save themselves?The Betrayal is a powerful and touching novel of ordinary people in the grip of a terrible and sinister regime, and a moving portrait of a love that will not be extinguished. ''Beautifully Trade ReviewEnthralling. Emotionally gripping ... ordinary people struggling against a city's beautiful indifference, and clinging on for dear life Daily Telegraph Beautifully crafted, gripping, moving, enlightening. Sure to be one of the best historical novels of the year Time Out Scrupulous, pitch-perfect. With heart-pounding force, Dunmore builds up a double narrative of suspense Sunday Times Magnificent, brave, tender ... with a unique gift for immersing the reader in the taste, smell and fear of a story Independent on Sunday A masterpiece. An extraordinarily powerful evocation of a time of unimaginable fear. We defy you to read it without a pounding heart and a lump in your throat Grazia A beautifully written and deeply moving story about fear, loss, love and honesty amid the demented lies of Stalin's last days. I literally could not put it down -- Antony Beevor Dunmore chillingly evokes the atmosphere of Soviet suspicion, where whispered rumours and petty grievances metastasise into lies and denunciation. A gripping read Daily Mail Meticulous, clever, eloquent. An absorbing and thoughtful tale of good people in hard times Guardian A remarkably feeling, nuanced novel that satisfies the head as well as the heart. This does not read like a retelling of history, but like a draught of real life. With her seemingly small canvas, Dunmore has created a universe Sunday Herald Dunmore's genius lies in her ability to convey the strange Soviet atmosphere of these very Soviet stories using the most subtle of clues Spectator Storytelling on a grand scale The Times

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Book SynopsisFrom the desks of Nigeria''s newsrooms, two journalists are recruited to find the kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer. Zaq, an infamous media hack, knows what''s in store, but Rufus, a keen young journalist eager to get himself noticed, has no idea what he''s let himself in for. Journeying into the oil-rich regions of the Niger Delta, where militants rule and the currency dealt in is the lives of hostages, Rufus soon finds himself acting as intermediary between editor, husband, captive and soldier. As they follow the trail of the missing woman, love for the ''story'' becomes about much more than just uncovering her whereabouts, and instead becomes a mission to make sense of their own muddled lives. In a cruel twist of fate, Rufus finds himself taking on Zaq''s role much more literally than he ever anticipated, and as the body count rises, and the environment burns, he learns that truth can often be a bitter pill to swallow.Trade ReviewCompassionate, emotive, masterly . . . draws on the tradition of the classic detective novel but also operates on a deeper, metaphorical and philosophical level * Independent *A lean, evocative novel - part thriller, part meditation on the deadly cost of the region's under-reported oil politics . . . a classic coming-of-age narrative * Daily Mail *Powerful, accomplished . . . Oil on Water lays bare the real-life tragedy of the Niger delta, in which petrodollars warp human relationships as surely as leaking crude poisons birds and fish * Observer *Habila's writing has that combination of elegance and rattling-good-yarn that we associate with Conrad and Graham Greene . . . Terrific * The Times *Habila is a master at evoking the plight of characters who ask for little, and end up with even less . . . this is a book you can't put down * Boston Globe *In a beautiful, almost cinematic style, Habila moves back and forth in time to tell a story swathed in the cynicism of modern global development and the mysteries of human longing * Booklist *This is a powerful novel that is both creepy and engaging * Bookseller *

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Book Synopsis''One of the comic masterpieces'' Daily Telegraph ______________________________________Henderson Dores is an Englishman in New York - and completely out of his depth.He should be concentrating on his job as an art assessor, but his complicated personal life keeps intruding. And that''s before we even get to his sense of alienation, of being a fish out of water. For Henderson is a shy man lost in a country of extraverts and weirdos. Subway poets, loony millionaires, Bible-bashers and sharp-suited hoods stalk him wherever he goes. But it is only when he''s sent to America''s deep South to examine a rare collection of paintings that matters take a life-threatening turn. Still, if it doesn''t kill you, they say it can only make you stronger . . .______________________________________''Boyd''s humour, timed to a tee, always raps out the truth'' Mail on Sunday''Extremely funny. Boyd does not pass up

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Book SynopsisAlec and Jerry shouldn''t have been friends: Alec''s life was one of privilege, while Jerry''s was one of toil. But this hardly mattered to two young men whose shared love of horses brought them together and whose whole lives lay ahead of them.When war breaks out in 1914, both Jerry and Alec sign up - yet for quite different reasons. On the fields of Flanders they find themselves standing together, but once again divided: as officer and enlisted man. And it is there, surrounded by mud and chaos and death, that one of them makes a fateful decision whose consequences will test their friendship and loyalty to breaking point.

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Book Synopsis''No man is free of his own history'' Hartmann and Fibich came to England on the kindertransport. As orphans of the war they were strangers in a strange land. Together, they survived. And in adulthood they have been unable to separate, sharing a successful business.Yet Hartmann''s carefully polished manners conceal the past he refuses to think about. While Fibich, a mass of fears and neuroses, can do nothing but remember. Together these two men seek to build a future from the shaky foundations of their own pasts . . .''Like Virginia Woolf, Brookner''s aim is not to draw characters in the round, but to reveal psychological reality in the deep'' The TimesTrade ReviewHer technique as a novelist is so sure and so quietly commanding -- Hilary Mantel Guardian Anita Brookner's best novel so far -- Victoria Glendinning She has never written a better novel ... unbearably moving -- Ruth Rendell It is hard to imagine her taut spare prose going out of fashion The Times

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Book SynopsisSince the original prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest,most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation.Each volume is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast, University of Cambridge.

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Book SynopsisSince the original, prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest, most enjoyable reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation.Each book is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast.

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Book SynopsisSince the original, prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest, most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation.Each book is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast, University of Cambridge.

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Book SynopsisMuriel Spark has written poetry, stories, and biographies as well as her remarkable series of novels. She is an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and in 1993 was created OBE. A native of Scotland, she now lives in Italy.

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Book SynopsisNancy Mitford''s Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels casts a finely gauged net to capture perfectly the foibles and fancies of the English upper class, and includes an introduction by Philip Hensher in Penguin Modern Classics.Nancy Mitford''s brilliantly witty, irreverent stories of the upper classes in pre-war London and Paris conjure up a world of glamour, gossip and decadence. In The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate and The Blessing, her extraordinary heroines deal with armies of hilariously eccentric relatives, the excitement of love and passion, and the thrills of the social Season. But beneath the glittering surfaces and perfectly timed comic dialogue, Nancy Mitford''s novels are also touching hymns to a lost era and to the brevity of life and love from one of the most individual, beguiling and creative users of the language.Nancy Mitford (1904-1973) was born in London. A member of one of the aristocracy''s more eccentric families, and educated at home with a clutch of siblings, Mitford used childhood experience, lightly fictionalised, in her comic novels, including The Pursuit of Love (1945). She also wrote biographies, translated from the French and edited a celebrated symposium on English Aristocrats.If you enjoyed Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels, you might like Evelyn Waugh''s Brideshead Revisited, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.''Very funny ... inimitable and irresistible ... one of the most individual, beguiling and creative users of English this century''Philip Hensher

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Book SynopsisLet It Come Down, with its title from Macbeth, tells the story of Dyar, a New York bank clerk who throws up his secure, humdrum job to find a reality abroad with which to identify himself, and his macabre experiences in the inferno of Tangiers as he gives in to his darkest impulses. Rich in descriptions of the corruption and decadence of the International Zone in the last days before Moroccan independence, Bowles''s second novel is an alternately comic and horrific account of a descent into nihilism.

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Book SynopsisThis wonderful translation of Dream Story will allow a fresh generation of readers to enjoy this beautiful, heartless and baffling novella. Dream Story tells how through a simple sexual admission a husband and wife ware driven apart into rival worlds of erotic revenge.

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Book Synopsis''I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language ... a very funny book'' William S. Burroughs Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn''t just like ultra-violence - he also enjoys rape, drugs and Beethoven''s ninth. He and his gang of droogs rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state and subject to the ministrations of Dr Brodsky, and the mind-altering treatment of the Ludovico Technique, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day. The basis for Stanley Kubrick''s notorious 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist and a serious exploration of the morality of free will.In his introduction, Blake Morrison situates A Clockwork Orange within the context of Anthony Burgess''s many other works, explores the author''s unhappiness with the Stanley Kubrick film version, analyses the composition of the Nadsat argot spoken by Alex and his droogs, and examines the influences on Burgess''s unique, eternally original style.With an Introduction by Blake MorrisonTrade ReviewA terrifying and marvellous book—Roald DahlStill delivers the shock of the new ... a red streak of gleeful evil—Martin Amis

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Book SynopsisPlayful and experimental, James Joyce''s autobiographical A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a vivid portrayal of emotional and intellectual development. This Penguin Modern Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Seamus Deane.The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus''s Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself, is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artist''s ''eternal imagination''. Both an insight into Joyce''s life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to fully come into themselves.James Joyce (1882-1941), the eldest of ten children, was born in Dublin, but exiled himself to Pa

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Book SynopsisA formally innovative work of modernist fiction, Virginia Woolf's The Waves is edited with an...

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Book Synopsis''Rarely has emotional turbulence been so delicately conveyed'' The New York TimesWith delicacy of perception and memory, humour and pathos, Carson McCullers spreads before us the three phases of a weekend crisis in the life of a motherless twelve-year-old girl. Within the span of a few hours, the irresistible, hoydenish Frankie passionately plays out her fantasies at her elder brother''s wedding. Through a perilous skylight we look into the mind of a child torn between her yearning to belong and the urge to run away.Trade ReviewEntirely winning ... A probing novel about a youngster with an unlimited gift for creating fantasies in a Southern town ... Rarely has emotional turbulence been so delicately conveyed * The New York Times *The greatest prose writer that the South produced ... She has examined the heart of man with an understanding that no other writer can hope to surpass -- Tennessee WilliamsOf all the Southern writers, she is the most apt to endure -- Gore Vidal

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Book SynopsisOne of the BBC''s ''100 Novels That Shaped Our World''''My favourite book of all time... it stays with you long after you have read it - for your whole life, in fact'' Billy ConnollyA monument to sloth, rant and contempt, a behemoth of fat, flatulence and furious suspicion of anything modern - this is Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, noble crusader against a world of dunces. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged. Ignatius ignores them, heaving his vast bulk through the city''s fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him: Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission - and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with...Never published during his lifetime, John Kennedy Toole''s hilarious satire, A Confederacy of Dunces is a Don Quixote for the modern age, and this Penguin Modern Classics edition includes a foreword by Walker Percy. ''A pungent work of slapstick, satire and intellectual incongruities ... it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue''The New York TimesTrade ReviewMy favourite book of all time. I've read it so many times and I still go back to it today. -- Billy Connolly

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s acidly funny novel of the Roaring Twenties, with an introduction by Simon JamesIn the years following the First World War a new generation emerges, wistful and vulnerable beneath the glitter. The Bright Young Things of twenties'' Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade - whether promiscuity, dancing, cocktail parties or sports cars. In a quest for treasure, a favourite party occupation, a vivid assortment of characters, among them the struggling writer Adam Fenwick-Symes and the glamorous, aristocratic Nina Blount, hunt fast and furiously for ever greater sensations and the fulfilment of unconscious desires.''The high point of the experimental, original Waugh''Malcolm Bradbury, Sunday Times''This brilliantly funny, anxious and resonant novel ... the difficult edgy guide to the turn of the decade''Richard Jacobs

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Book Synopsis''To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one''s freedom'' - André Gide Michel had been a blindfold scholar until, newly married, he contracted tuberculosis. His will to recover brings self-discovery and the growing desire to rebel against his background of culture, decency and morality. But the freedom from constraints that Michel finds on his restless travels is won at great cost. And freedom itself, he finds, can be a burden. Gide''s novel examines the inevitable conflicts that arise when a pleasure seeker challenges conventional society and, without moralizing, it raises complex issues involving the extent of personal responsibility.

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