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
Dialogue Diamond Hill
Book Synopsis''A rapid-fire debut with a cinematographer''s eye for detail... Fan strikes a deft balance between agile set-pieces and lingering beauty.'' Naoise Dolan ''A vivid, powerful portrait of a vanishing world.'' David Nicholls''Do you know what it was like here? You wouldn''t believe the glamour. We had our own film studio, redbrick houses for the stars, even Jackie Chan. Now look at us - the Hollywood of the Orient will soon be gone altogether.''1987, Hong Kong. Trying to outrun his demons, a young man who calls himself Buddha returns to the bustling place of his birth. He moves into a small Buddhist nunnery in the crumbling neighbourhood of Diamond Hill, where planes landing at the nearby airport fly so close overhead that travellers can see into the rooms of those below.As Buddha begins to care for the nuns and their neighbours, this pocket of the old city is vanishing. Even the fiery Iron Nun cannot prevTrade ReviewA rapid-fire debut with a cinematographer's eye for detail, Diamond Hill interrogates fate, memory and redemption at a filmic velocity befitting its setting in Hong Kong's former Hollywood. Fan strikes a deft balance between agile set-pieces and lingering beauty. -- Naoise DolanA vivid, powerful portrait of a vanishing world -- David NichollsThe best debut I've read in ages . . . The beauty and ugliness of life continually jostle as Buddha tries and often fails to do the right thing. There is a glorious luminosity to the writing and the reading experience is rather like looking into a kaleidoscope and giving it several twirls. I am very keen on swearing and especially enjoyed the vigorous and earthy cursing and the fascinating note at the end on Cantonese slang and profanities -- Cathy RentzenbrinkImmediately engaging and dynamic and with an eye for an image that could only belong to a poet -- Andrew McMillanRaw and authentic Hong Kong writing at its best. This book is exceptionally good -- Chris ThrallGripping and highly accomplished . . . a thoroughly enjoyable and profound exploration of powerlessness, identity and the evolution of a city * Guardian *Kit Fan plunges us face-first into the pungently sordid world of Diamond Hill in his debut novel . . . Fan is an exuberant chronicler of a lost time and place, delightedly preserving Cantonese slang and profanities . . . it's a timely consideration of Hong Kong's recent past * The Times *Fan creates a textured, unsettled portrait of a territory facing a decisive ending. The ethical conflict lies in whether to exploit the inevitable destruction . . . or commit to small, doomed acts of salvation. The dark drama that unfolds is an elegy to that vanished vanishing world * Wall Street Journal *Diamond Hill breathes beauty. Through quiet prose that speaks eloquently for itself, Kit Fan skilfully weaves a story of loss and of being lost; a story of tragic mistakes, which haunts the reader long after the final page has been turned -- Okechukwu Nzelu, author of The Private Joys of Nnenna MaloneyAn exhilarating and original tale, Diamond Hill marks award-winning Fan as a writer to watch * Cosmopolitan *Deeply evocative... Engaging, provocative, thoroughly compelling, Diamond Hill is written with the dexterity and lyricality of a poet, whose first novel leaves us excited for what may come next * Yorkshire Times *Kit Fan's admirable debut novel Diamond Hill gives us the heart and soul of Hong Kong. Fan captures, with profound empathy, the temporary and precarious nature of the city. His motley crew-a former heroin addict, Buddhist nuns and prostitutes who have fallen from grace, a teenage gangster girl who runs a triad drug operation, among others-inhabit their Kowloon village before time destroys it . . . Despite disappearance and destiny, memory preserves the city's past along with the Cantonese language in all its rich expressiveness and slang. We look forward to more from this author. -- XU XI, author of Habit of a Foreign Sky, The Unwalled City, Dear Hong Kong, Insignificance: Hong Kong StoriesGleams with pleasurable insights... Memorable moments are sketched by a poet's hand * South China Morning Post *Fan resurrects the neighbourhood as it would have looked in 1987, a decade before Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China - a precarious maze of shacks and open gutters, shaken constantly by the rumblings of the planes flying close overhead from nearby Kai Tak Airport * The Straits Times *Fan deftly mixes the sacred with the profane, often on the same page. Just when you decide there's no room for holiness amid the wreckage, you realize there may in fact be no other option * Kirkus Reviews *Fan's evocative debut portrays a Hong Kong in transition... and brings poetic language and moving tributes to descriptions of the lost neighbourhood. The novel's aching beauty makes an effective argument for remembering * Publishers Weekly *
£9.49
Dialogue Things We Lose in Waves
Book Synopsis''Brilliant'' DAILY MAIL ''Moving . . . the characters are so vivid and memorable, I couldn''t stop thinking of them'' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ''An elegant, assured novel about family, friendships, secrets and the push-pull of home'' PRISCILLA MORRISJenny''s world is falling apart.Ravenspurn is falling into the sea. The little town is perched on a remote cliff, and every day, frequent storms are claiming more land, more homes and more livelihoods. The news of her father''s sudden death forces Jenny''s return to her hometown from London, but the ravaged landscape now feels like a foreign place. In a small town like Ravenspurn, the rifts between her and those she once knew are so deep they threaten to swallow her whole. Jenny is now responsible for her late father''s small pub, and its staff, Alex and Si - her former best friend and ex-boyfriend, now a couple. She''s stuck living in her childhood bedroom, orbiting awkwardl
£10.44
Dialogue 1000 Coils of Fear
Book Synopsis''I have more privilege than any person in my family. And I''m still screwed.'' From award-winning author Olivia Wenzel comes a captivating and unsettling literary debut about race, politics, feminism, motherhood, nationality and enduring love.A young woman attends a play about the Berlin Wall coming down and is the only Black person in the audience.She is sitting with her boyfriend by a bathing lake and four neo-Nazis show up.In New York, she witnesses Trump''s election victory in a strange hotel room and later awakes to panicked messages from friends.Engaging in a witty question and answer with herself, the narrator looks at our rapidly changing times and tells the story of her family: her mother, who was a punk in East Germany and never had the freedom she dreamed of and her absent Angolan father. But in the background of everything is the memory of her twin brother, who died when they were nineteen.Heart-rending, opinionated and Trade ReviewSo exuberant, inventive, brainy, sensitive and hilarious that it's like a pyrotechnic flare illuminating the whole woman, past and present, radiant, unique, a voice and a novel to take with us into the future. -- FRANCISCO GOLDMAN, author of Monkey BoyBold and exceptional . . . Her impressive writing, born of a brilliant mind, surprises - stylistically, and by its frankness and associations. An uncompromising consciousness leaps from sentence to sentence, city to city, in love, depressed, alienated, afraid, and contradictory . . . I rode in the passenger seat, beside the beauty and strangeness of 1000 Coils of Fear -- LYNNE TILLMAN, author of Men and Apparitions and MothercareWenzel debuts with a powerful portrait of a woman finding, losing, and rediscovering herself in 21st-century Germany . . . Her simple but affecting story is told through scattered memories and personal histories . . Captivating . . . An exciting, confident debut * Publishers Weekly *An audacious and disturbing novel -- MICHELLE DE KRETSER, author of Scary MonstersGerman musician, performer, and playwright Wenzel makes an auspicious fiction debut . . . A prismatic novel, thoughtful and unsettling * Kirkus Reviews *Impressive, relentless, tender * FAZ *A strong debut, a touching family story * rbb Kultur *A debut novel as layered and melodic as any symphony or opera. -- Karla Strand * Ms Magazine *Wenzel's unique literary voice carries the reader through meditations on origins, grief, racial identity, love, and belonging. * Booklist *I was sucked in by Olivia's distinct style, biting yet swirling. In a bristling translation from Priscilla Layne, the cool, understated prose expresses so much of what goes unsaid about the weight of history, how you are perceived as you move through the world and the choices that come with deciding how you want to live. -- Tice Cin, author of KEEPING THE HOUSEWenzel writes with humour and emotion about loneliness and finding joy in life within the roles society assigns you * Bookseller *Experimental in form, this is a demanding but absorbing novel on the themes of race, feminism, motherhood and love. * Daily Mail *Personal, political and wildly experimental * Big Issue North *Wenzel's nuanced thoughts about injustice, marginalisation and the checking of privilege are timely and important, and the dashes of surreal, undercutting humour ... are refreshing ... [An] elegant translation ... cohesive, considered, emotive -- Michael Donkor * Guardian *
£9.49
Dialogue The Selfless Act of Breathing
Book SynopsisA heartbreaking, lyrical story for all of those who have fantasised about escaping their daily lives and starting over.Michael Kabongo is a British-Congolese teacher living in London on the cusp of two identities. On paper, he seems to have it all - he''s loved by his students, popular with his colleagues, and enjoys the pride of his mother who emigrated from the Congo. But behind closed doors, he''s been struggling with the overwhelming sense that he can''t improve the injustices he sees - from his efforts to change the lives of his students, to his attempts to transcend the violence that marginalises young Black men around the world.Then Michael suffers a devastating loss, and his life is thrown into a tailspin. As he struggles to find a way forward, memories of his fathers'' violent death, the weight of being a refugee, and an increasing sense of dread threaten everything he''s worked so hard to achieve.Longing to escape the shadows in his miTrade ReviewIn this wonderfully tender novel about masculinity and mental health, about being lost and finding yourself again, Bola's vulnerable delicate writing conveys so much truth and heart about how we are now, how closed we are, how much goes unsaid and the quiet pain in our hearts -- Nikesh ShuklaThis book is a bold work with a broad scope, bravely tackling masculinity, hopelessness and despair with force and directness -- Okechukwu NzeluA beautiful, absorbing read. By turns searing and quietly devastating -- Irenosen OkojieI knew from the opening, that this book was going to break my heart. The Selfless Act of Breathing left me breathless. It is beautifully tender. I was gripped right from the opening. The structure pacing, description, narration, and voice make this book a Masterclass in empathy. It is moving with tension multi layered like a symphony. The Selfless Act of Breathing is immersive and reflective; challenging what we might think mental health crisis looks like and who has them -- Yvonne Battle-FeltonWhile this book isn't necessarily a light read, it does point to the limits of travel - a new setting doesn't erase old problems, and in some cases, it may create new ones * Independent, Best Travel Story *The Selfless Act of Breathing feels existential and urgent as a millennial Mrs. Dalloway for a Black man who must straddle two worlds, two cultures, and two timelines, deciding where--and if--he wants to live. With prose as intimate as a private diary, as lush as spoken-word poetry, JJ Bola has artfully rendered this portrait of depression at once achingly empathetic and remarkably insightful -- Afia Atakora, American Historian Prize-winning author of Conjure WomenNarrated with haunting lyricism, The Selfless Act of Breathing is an intimate journey through the darkest of human impulses to the gleaming flickers of love and radical hope -- Susan Abulhawa, Palestine Book Award-winning author of Against the Loveless WorldBola's insightful, intimate and lyrical work has been entrancing readers... Reminiscent of Paul Beatty and Ralph Ellison * The Bookseller *Well, wow. The writing in this book was so lyrical and beautiful... I really couldn't put this book down and finished it in two days... The last page had me on the verge of tears -- NetGalley ReviewerI loved this book - I lost my whole day reading - just couldn't bear to put it down! -- NetGalley ReviewerIn a world that makes it difficult for many of us to articulate our suffering, The Selfless Act of Breathing is a necessary invitation to scream when we feel like screaming, cry when we feel like crying, and prioritize our own often-neglected needs for love. JJ Bola crafted a soul-shifting novel that will let millions know it's okay to not be okay, and that the one of the most rewarding, and healing, places we can travel is into ourselves. The unwavering courage and care that Bola demonstrates with this work is to be revered -- Mateo AskaripourIt's uncompromising stuff, but injections of precipitous drama - a car-jacking in LA; a doomed love affair in New York - together with unexpected flights of lyricism keep things moving. An emotive, brave novel that ultimately holds out the prospect of salvation, without sacrificing any of its power. * Daily Mail *Arresting... Important and emotive... Powerfully raw -- Michael Donkor * The Guardian *A heartfelt and searing exploration of depression . . . readers will be swept up in the sheer beauty of Bola's writing * Eastern Daily Press *Possessed by a daring turn of phrase and at times a beautifully powerful sense of personal poignancy, this novel not only speaks to the people society ignores all too often, but to the feelings and frustrations we try and repress... it is one that should be pushed into the hands of friends accompanied by the question: do you feel this too? * Big Issue *Heartfelt and searing... Devastating and insightful... Readers will be swept up in the sheer beauty of Bola's writing * The i *The Selfless Act of Breathing [is] part of a wave of novels by young men of colour exploring race, romance and mental health problems with disarming candour * The Sunday Times *Providing a spark of hope * Observer *Absolutely stunning * Elizabeth Day *Lyrical and philosophical * Bookseller *
£8.99
Dialogue The Selfless Act of Breathing
Book SynopsisA heartbreaking, lyrical story for all of those who have fantasised about escaping their daily lives and starting over.Michael Kabongo is a British-Congolese teacher living in London on the cusp of two identities. On paper, he seems to have it all - he''s loved by his students, popular with his colleagues, and enjoys the pride of his mother who emigrated from the Congo. But behind closed doors, he''s been struggling with the overwhelming sense that he can''t improve the injustices he sees - from his efforts to change the lives of his students, to his attempts to transcend the violence that marginalises young Black men around the world.Then Michael suffers a devastating loss, and his life is thrown into a tailspin. As he struggles to find a way forward, memories of his fathers'' violent death, the weight of being a refugee, and an increasing sense of dread threaten everything he''s worked so hard to achieve.Longing to escape the shadows in his miTrade ReviewIn this wonderfully tender novel about masculinity and mental health, about being lost and finding yourself again, Bola's vulnerable delicate writing conveys so much truth and heart about how we are now, how closed we are, how much goes unsaid and the quiet pain in our hearts -- Nikesh ShuklaThis book is a bold work with a broad scope, bravely tackling masculinity, hopelessness and despair with force and directness -- Okechukwu NzeluA beautiful, absorbing read. By turns searing and quietly devastating -- Irenosen OkojieI knew from the opening, that this book was going to break my heart. The Selfless Act of Breathing left me breathless. It is beautifully tender. I was gripped right from the opening. The structure pacing, description, narration, and voice make this book a Masterclass in empathy. It is moving with tension multi layered like a symphony. The Selfless Act of Breathing is immersive and reflective; challenging what we might think mental health crisis looks like and who has them -- Yvonne Battle-FeltonWhile this book isn't necessarily a light read, it does point to the limits of travel - a new setting doesn't erase old problems, and in some cases, it may create new ones * Independent, Best Travel Story *The Selfless Act of Breathing feels existential and urgent as a millennial Mrs. Dalloway for a Black man who must straddle two worlds, two cultures, and two timelines, deciding where--and if--he wants to live. With prose as intimate as a private diary, as lush as spoken-word poetry, JJ Bola has artfully rendered this portrait of depression at once achingly empathetic and remarkably insightful -- Afia Atakora, American Historian Prize-winning author of Conjure WomenNarrated with haunting lyricism, The Selfless Act of Breathing is an intimate journey through the darkest of human impulses to the gleaming flickers of love and radical hope -- Susan Abulhawa, Palestine Book Award-winning author of Against the Loveless WorldBola's insightful, intimate and lyrical work has been entrancing readers... Reminiscent of Paul Beatty and Ralph Ellison * The Bookseller *Well, wow. The writing in this book was so lyrical and beautiful... I really couldn't put this book down and finished it in two days... The last page had me on the verge of tears -- NetGalley ReviewerI loved this book - I lost my whole day reading - just couldn't bear to put it down! -- NetGalley ReviewerIn a world that makes it difficult for many of us to articulate our suffering, The Selfless Act of Breathing is a necessary invitation to scream when we feel like screaming, cry when we feel like crying, and prioritize our own often-neglected needs for love. JJ Bola crafted a soul-shifting novel that will let millions know it's okay to not be okay, and that the one of the most rewarding, and healing, places we can travel is into ourselves. The unwavering courage and care that Bola demonstrates with this work is to be revered -- Mateo AskaripourIt's uncompromising stuff, but injections of precipitous drama - a car-jacking in LA; a doomed love affair in New York - together with unexpected flights of lyricism keep things moving. An emotive, brave novel that ultimately holds out the prospect of salvation, without sacrificing any of its power. * Daily Mail *Arresting... Important and emotive... Powerfully raw -- Michael Donkor * The Guardian *A heartfelt and searing exploration of depression . . . readers will be swept up in the sheer beauty of Bola's writing * Eastern Daily Press *Possessed by a daring turn of phrase and at times a beautifully powerful sense of personal poignancy, this novel not only speaks to the people society ignores all too often, but to the feelings and frustrations we try and repress... it is one that should be pushed into the hands of friends accompanied by the question: do you feel this too? * Big Issue *Heartfelt and searing... Devastating and insightful... Readers will be swept up in the sheer beauty of Bola's writing * The i *The Selfless Act of Breathing [is] part of a wave of novels by young men of colour exploring race, romance and mental health problems with disarming candour * The Sunday Times *Providing a spark of hope * Observer *Absolutely stunning * Elizabeth Day *Lyrical and philosophical * Bookseller *In this wonderfully tender novel about masculinity and mental health, about being lost and finding yourself again, Bola's vulnerable delicate writing conveys so much truth and heart about how we are now, how closed we are, how much goes unsaid and the quiet pain in our hearts' -- Nikesh Shukla
£13.49
Dialogue A Million Aunties
Book Synopsis''An elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction.'' Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, OtherAn emotional, tender and funny novel from award-winning author Alecia McKenzie that asks, what does family mean to you?Seeking solitude after a personal tragedy upends his world, artist Chris travels to his mother''s homeland, Jamaica, in a bid to find peace. He expects to spend his time painting alone, coming to terms with his loss and the fractured relationship with his father. Instead, he discovers a new extended and complicated ''family'' with their own startling stories. Can they help him to become whole again?Told from different points of view, this is an utterly compelling and deeply relatable novel from the winner of two Commonwealth literary prizes. Fans of Girl, Woman, Other and The Vanishing Half will love this book about friendship, community, chosen family, aTrade ReviewA Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, OtherAlecia McKenzie's tender new novel is an emotionally resonant ode to adopted families and community resilience * New York Times *This big-hearted narrative of love, loss and family is handled with grace and beauty -- Publishers WeeklyHave you ever not wanted a book to end? Were disappointed that the characters are gone from your life? A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie is one such novel that makes you yearn for more * New York Journal of Books *A wide-ranging novel told in several voices that moves between New York, rural Jamaica, and Paris. Painting is at the heart of the book but so is family, love, heartbreak, and loss. The story pulls you in and holds you right till the end. It's strongly written with a delicate touch * New West Indian Guide *The beauty and brilliance of Blackness in the diaspora take centerstage in Alecia McKenzie's A Million Aunties, showcasing the intricate textures of identity, place, and connection to survive loss * Colors of Influence *A beautiful book for anyone who knows there is more to family than blood relations * Book Culture *Under her deceptively revealing title, Alecia McKenzie recreates Jamaica's enduring traditions in fresh and illuminating ways that make this one of the most avant garde fictions I have read in a long time -- Curdella Forbes, Author of A Tall History of SugarThis is a wonderful story about the families we're given and those we make for ourselves. I found A Million Aunties a soothing, life-affirming read. -- Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City[A] compelling novel about unlikely love, friendship and community, with several surprises along the way * Melan Mag *Told from multiple points of view, this warm and wise story celebrates the importance of community and belonging * Woman's Own *A tender novel * HELLO *
£13.49
Dialogue A Million Aunties
Book Synopsis''An elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction.'' Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, OtherAn emotional, tender and funny novel from award-winning author Alecia McKenzie that asks, what does family mean to you?Seeking solitude after a personal tragedy upends his world, artist Chris travels to his mother''s homeland, Jamaica, in a bid to find peace. He expects to spend his time painting alone, coming to terms with his loss and the fractured relationship with his father. Instead, he discovers a new extended and complicated ''family'' with their own startling stories. Can they help him to become whole again?Told from different points of view, this is an utterly compelling and deeply relatable novel from the winner of two Commonwealth literary prizes. Fans of Girl, Woman, Other and The Vanishing Half will love this book about friendship, community, chosen family, aTrade ReviewA Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, OtherAlecia McKenzie's tender new novel is an emotionally resonant ode to adopted families and community resilience * New York Times *This big-hearted narrative of love, loss and family is handled with grace and beauty -- Publishers WeeklyHave you ever not wanted a book to end? Were disappointed that the characters are gone from your life? A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie is one such novel that makes you yearn for more * New York Journal of Books *A wide-ranging novel told in several voices that moves between New York, rural Jamaica, and Paris. Painting is at the heart of the book but so is family, love, heartbreak, and loss. The story pulls you in and holds you right till the end. It's strongly written with a delicate touch * New West Indian Guide *The beauty and brilliance of Blackness in the diaspora take centerstage in Alecia McKenzie's A Million Aunties, showcasing the intricate textures of identity, place, and connection to survive loss * Colors of Influence *A beautiful book for anyone who knows there is more to family than blood relations * Book Culture *Under her deceptively revealing title, Alecia McKenzie recreates Jamaica's enduring traditions in fresh and illuminating ways that make this one of the most avant garde fictions I have read in a long time -- Curdella Forbes, Author of A Tall History of SugarThis is a wonderful story about the families we're given and those we make for ourselves. I found A Million Aunties a soothing, life-affirming read. -- Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City[A] compelling novel about unlikely love, friendship and community, with several surprises along the way * Melan Mag *Told from multiple points of view, this warm and wise story celebrates the importance of community and belonging * Woman's Own *A tender novel * HELLO *
£9.49
Dialogue Abundance
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONSELECTED BY THE TELEGRAPH AS ONE OF THE FOUR BEST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR''A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart'' Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain''Extremely heartbreaking, I constantly had a pit in my stomach... My heart hurt so much...I loved it! The emotions and feelings in this story were just written so beautifully'' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Evicted from their trailer on New Year''s Eve, Henry and his son, Junior, have been reduced to living out of a pick-up truck. Six months later, things are even more desperate. Henry, barely a year out of prison for selling drugs, is down to his last pocketful of cash, and little remains between him and the strTrade ReviewPhenomenal. Guanzon is an incredibly exciting new voice. . . . [Abundance] does one of the things I love about fiction, where it really allows you to walk in a character's shoes - books like this don't come around too often. * Guardian *[A] devastating portrayal of Henry's hard-scrabble life and desperate love for his son * Daily Mail *A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart. -- Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie BainExtremely heartbreaking, I constantly had a pit in my stomach... My heart hurt so much...I loved it! The emotions and feelings in this story were just written so beautifully. -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewI guarantee your heart will not leave your throat for one second reading this... Will haunt you long after you set the book down. -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewBroke my heart but I couldn't stop reading -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewGut-wrenching... Truly heartbreaking... Told with compassion and vivid detail... Feels tense right to the very end... Brilliant -- Goodreads ReviewerWill rip your heart out -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewExcellent... I read this book in one sitting. Poignant, thought provoking. Highly recommend. One of the best novels that I have ever read -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewWow, I really enjoyed this... I found myself gasping... If you're looking for a great story, and an incredible author to bring that story to life, look no further -- Reader review, five starredFull of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace -- Gary ShteyngartA quest, a page-turner, and above all a love story, Abundance lays bare one father's brutal, tender hustle to care for his son in a winner-take-all world -- Mia AlvarTender, anxious, angry, and beautiful -- Mark DotenThe reader aches for these characters... An example of how fiction can be more "real" than real life * Pioneer Press *An impressive debut * Kirkus Reviews *
£13.49
Dialogue Abundance
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONSELECTED BY THE TELEGRAPH AS ONE OF THE FOUR BEST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR''A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart'' Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie BainEvicted from their trailer on New Year''s Eve, Henry and his son, Junior, have been reduced to living out of a pick-up truck. Six months later, things are even more desperate. Henry, barely a year out of prison for selling drugs, is down to his last pocketful of cash, and little remains between him and the street. But hope is on the horizon: today is Junior''s birthday, and Henry has a job interview tomorrow.To celebrate, Henry treats Junior to dinner at McDonald''s, followed by a night in a real bed at a discount hotel. For a moment, as Junior watcTrade ReviewPhenomenal. Guanzon is an incredibly exciting new voice. . . . [Abundance] does one of the things I love about fiction, where it really allows you to walk in a character's shoes - books like this don't come around too often. * Guardian *[A] devastating portrayal of Henry's hard-scrabble life and desperate love for his son * Daily Mail *A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart. -- Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie BainExtremely heartbreaking, I constantly had a pit in my stomach... My heart hurt so much...I loved it! The emotions and feelings in this story were just written so beautifully. -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewI guarantee your heart will not leave your throat for one second reading this... Will haunt you long after you set the book down. -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewBroke my heart but I couldn't stop reading -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewGut-wrenching... Truly heartbreaking... Told with compassion and vivid detail... Feels tense right to the very end... Brilliant -- Goodreads ReviewerWill rip your heart out -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewExcellent... I read this book in one sitting. Poignant, thought provoking. Highly recommend. One of the best novels that I have ever read -- Goodreads Reviewer, five starred reviewWow, I really enjoyed this... I found myself gasping... If you're looking for a great story, and an incredible author to bring that story to life, look no further -- Reader review, five starredFull of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace -- Gary ShteyngartA quest, a page-turner, and above all a love story, Abundance lays bare one father's brutal, tender hustle to care for his son in a winner-take-all world -- Mia AlvarTender, anxious, angry, and beautiful -- Mark DotenThe reader aches for these characters... An example of how fiction can be more "real" than real life * Pioneer Press *An impressive debut * Kirkus Reviews *
£9.49
Dialogue Rosewater
Book SynopsisTHE HOTTEST DEBUT NOVEL OF 2023 Frank, sexy, and so tender. Little''s pen shines Bolu Babalola, author of Love in ColourA beautifully rendered story about love''s possibilities and its limits. I laughed, I cried, couldn''t put it down Monica Heisey, author of Really Good, ActuallyAn effervescent and irresistible new voice Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and FrankensteinA wonderfully fresh, zesty and sexy debut novelist who is putting black queer lives, loves and longings centre stage, where they belong Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, OtherFull of energy, wit and excitement, this is a book to watch StylistBold debut novel . . . free-spirited . . . amazing CosmopolitanA paeon to a queer love affair that''s sexy, complex and romantic. Effortlessly capturing our uncertain zeitgeist Evening StandardElsie is Trade ReviewRosewater is essential . . . I raced through it in 24 hours. -- Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, editor of Black JoyI consumed it in breathless gulps. -- Sareeta Domingo, author of If I Don't Have YouThis is a modern Black British love story that will become a future classic. -- Symeon Brown, author of Get Rich or Lie TryingRosewater is a confident debut, brimming with ideas and bursting with heart . . . I am in awe. -- Nikesh Shukla, author of The Good ImmigrantLiv writes with ease, creating natural and effortless prose that is quietly powerful. -- Travis Alabanza, author of None of the AboveA wonderfully fresh, zesty and sexy debut novelist who is putting black queer lives, loves and longings centre stage, where they belong. -- Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, OtherRosewater is funny, witty, messy, and beautifully queer . . . a story that seeps into you the way warm sunshine does at the final edges of winter. -- Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the SunBold and beautiful . . . [a] bracing contemporary voice. -- Mike Jackson, John Legend and Ty StikloriusFrank, sexy, and so tender. Little's pen shines. -- Bolu Babalola, author of Love in ColourRosewater feels like a song for the dreamers who are trying to find their way. It is a wonderful, messy, heart-filled novel. -- Jendella Benson, author of Hope and GloryIt's tender, soulful, and sexy, and once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. -- Phoebe Robinson, author of You Can’t Touch My HairSharply observed yet tender at the same time, Rosewater explores the meaning of home, exposing its fragility and its tenacity as Little's characters fight to find their place in the world. -- Gwen E. Kirby, author of Shit Cassandra SawRosewater is sensuous, urgent and pulsating with youth -- embracing all of its messiness, discovery and boundless capacity for love. -- Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies DreamingRosewater is sexy, alive, and modern-a perfectly-formed romance . . . this book is a must-read and a captivating delight. -- Jayne Allen, author of Black Girls Must Die ExhaustedA gritty, heartfelt, no holds barred look at life and love in present-day London. -- Andrea Lee, author of Red Island HouseAn effervescent and irresistible new voice. -- Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and FrankensteinA thrilling book. -- Fatimah Asghar, author of When We Were SistersInspiring . . . bold and hotly anticipated debut. -- Olive Wakefield * Porter *A highly relevant look at millennial life in the city. -- Jessie Thompson * Independent *Full of energy, wit and excitement, this is a book to watch. -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *Bold debut novel . . . free-spirited . . . amazing. -- Kiera Egan * Cosmopolitan *An unapologetically bold and heartfelt love story with a timeless message about living your authentic self at its core. -- Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?A beautifully rendered story about love's possibilities and its limits. I laughed, I cried, couldn't put it down. -- Monica Heisey, author of Really Good, ActuallyA paeon to a queer love affair that's sexy, complex and romantic. Effortlessly capturing our uncertain zeitgeist. -- Francesca Brown * Evening Standard *This striking debut from will stay with me for a long time. Elsie is a wonderfully flawed protagonist you won't be able to resist rooting for. Over the course of the reading experience, I felt everything from arousal and laughter to panic-stricken devastation. You'll fall in love with Rosewater. -- NIC CROSARA AND ERICA GILLINGHAM * Diva *An exciting new voice. * iNews *A gorgeous, multi-layered love story; the kind you stay up late to read. -- Anna Bonet * Well Read with Anna Bonet *intensely moving . . . Rosewater is a beautiful ode to queer love and friendship -- Yagnishsing Dawoor * Observer *Funny, sexy and full of the kind of sensual moments that your hairs stand on end, Rosewater is a brilliantly written tale of millennial life and modern love. * Stylist, Book of the Month *The book we've all been waiting for . . . Funny, fierce and relatable. * Evening Standard, ES Magazine *A blazing debut that catapults Little onto the literary scene, this is the sapphic love story we have been waiting for . . . Little's exploration of mental health, independence, rebuilding one's confidence, resilience in hard times, family and found family were just a few themes that shone. The prose flows beautifully, keeping the reader's attention from start to finish, and Elsie's poetry (written by the amazing Kai-Isaiah Jamal) is so truthfully written and raw that it brings Elsie's character alive more than you would think possible. -- Gabriela Townes * NB magazine *Powerfully visceral and exposing. -- Kadish Morris * The Guardian *It is at once funny and moving, a snapshot of life in London at the specific time it was written, and a beautiful homage to black queer creativity. -- Sophie Marie Niang * Bad Form *Rosewater is going to be the debut of the year. Lyrical, bold and pulsing with energy, you will not be able to put this one down. -- Chaya Colman and Sophie Ezra * Glamour *A queer love story that isn't just hot and real but heart-breaking and tender too . . . It's the kind of effect debut novelists dream of. -- Charlie Brogan * Notion *The moving, powerfully executed tale of Elsie . . . It has a lot to say about creating art in a capitalist society, about family and what homecoming can come to mean, if we fully embrace it. -- Marie-Claire Chappet * Service95 *Rosewater vividly evokes the pain - and the humour - of being young and living through this era. It's timely, enlightening and full of promise. Little is a talent * Sunday Times *The ultimate queer love story * Homo Sapiens podcast *A poignant love song to friendship and chosen family * Grazia *It has all the right ingredients for a modern classic: it's tender, raw, refreshing and comforting all at the same time. -- Taylor Dior Rumble * Dazed Magazine *Little lays bare complex truths of the heart, the nature of love and desire, and the power of staying true and strong. Elsie's story will have readers rooting for her along every step of her passionate path. -- Joanne Owen * LoveReading *
£15.29
Dialogue This Love
Book Synopsis''One Day for a new generation'' Grazia''We''re calling it . . . This Love is the new One Day'' Sunday Times Style''A beautifully written, generous-hearted, clever, tender, fresh and unputdownable novel about queerness, family and forgiveness. I loved This Love.'' Elizabeth DayNamed a BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH by The Sunday Times Style, Apple Books, Prima, Cosmopolitan, i NEWS, Stylist When Mae and Ari meet their final year at the University of Leeds, their connection is magnetic. Mae, stubborn and no stranger to breaking hearts, needs Ari''s bright light to guide her out of her self-centred ways; Ari, vibrant, charming and reeling in the aftermath of a scandal in New York, clings to Mae as his grounding anchor.As the years sweep by, the two traverse the tumult of life: toxic partners and hidden secrets, the heavy weight of grief, and a complicated, Trade ReviewOne Day for a new generation. * Grazia *A beautifully written, generous-hearted, clever, tender, fresh and unputdownable novel about queerness, family and forgiveness. I loved This Love. -- Elizabeth DayAstute, tender and utterly joy-filled. This is the love story we've been waiting for. * Elle *We're calling it . . . This Love is the new One Day * The Sunday Times Style *The best parts of Sally Rooney and Gabrielle Zevin merge for this exquisitely paced, modern yet timeless story of love and friendship . . . Pitch perfect, I adored this completely absorbing and compulsive gem. * John Marrs, author of The Good Samaritan *Incredible . . . a beautiful book full of emotion that will stay with me for a long time. * Nina Pottell, Books Editor at Prima *I wouldn't be at all surprised if This Love was my book of 2024. The world-building and storytelling is exquisite, the characters so real, the plot perfect. I'm madly jealous of everyone who hasn't read it yet. -- Laura PearsonBursting with queer joy and tenderness, This Love is original, compelling and totally gorgeous. An immensely enjoyable ode to the extraordinary power of friendship and forging your own kind of family. I adored it. -- Roxy Bourdillon, DIVA magazineI had a whirlwind romance with this book. Rarely have I seen myself so clearly in literature. Safe to say I loved it. -- Suzi RuffellAnchored by complicated real-world challenges, this novel explores the weight of secrets, toxic partnerings, grief and desire all whilst celebrating the greatest love in so many lives, friendship. * Evening Standard *An intensely readable novel about all the love that doesn't fit inside society's neat boundaries -- Laura BatesThis Love is everything you want from a novel, it's funny, sexy, and moving. It's a book full of queer joy that lets us imagine all the hopeful possibilities in the word 'family'. -- Claire Lynch, author of small: on motherhoodsThis is a book I will return to again and again. I finished it in the early hours of the morning and was bereft. It's about relationships, our concept of family, what soulmate means . . . I could go on! It's beautiful. -- Jennie GodfreyIt charts its twists and turns with appealingly breezy, emotionally attuned prose * Daily Mail *Moving, engrossing and queer as hell, Lotte Jeff's debut novel is a gorgeous love letter to the extraordinary power of queer friendship and forging your own kind of family * DIVA *I read this incredible book about friendship, identity and belonging really slowly because I wanted to savour the story. I was bereft when I turned the last page, as I didn't want to leave Mae and Ari behind . . . Beautiful and full of emotion, it will stay with me for a long time. -- Nina Pottell, "Books of the Month" * Prima *
£18.70
Dialogue In Such Tremendous Heat
Book Synopsis''BRING ON THE DRAMA'' Cosmopolitan Best New Book of July 2023The Read with Jenna Today Book Club Pick''I couldn''t put it down'' Alice Clark-Platts''Slick, agile, and utterly engrossing'' Taiye SelasiBasking in Singapore''s non-stop sunshine, low tax rate and crocodile Birkins on every other arm, Dara, Amaka, and Lillian are living the dream - until their carefully constructed lives are upended by a handsome and mysterious new arrival . . . Dara, a workaholic lawyer, is on the brink of partnership at her firm when Lani, a new hire from Geneva, is assigned to work on what should have been her career-making case. Amaka, a sharp-tongued banker, is in the midst of a painful family breakdown. An instant attraction to Lani, despite her lovely boyfriend, jeopardizes her last shred of stability. Lillian, a piano-prodigy-turned-housewife, is desperately trying to remain iTrade ReviewWith a vibrant host of characters set against the lush, wanderlust-inducing backdrop of Southeast Asia, Fadipe's energetic, technicolor prose sucks you into the maddening worlds of Dara, Amaka, and Lillian, and spits you out with more grace, more empathy, and more understanding. A rich celebration of the nuanced complexities of Black womanhood and friendship. -- Lola Akinmade Åkerström, international bestselling author of In Every Mirror She's BlackIn In Such Tremendous Heat, Kehinde Fadipe expertly weaves the stories of three Nigerian expats seeking to write their futures in the luxe, moneyed world of Singapore, only to have their lives disrupted by the arrival of a handsome newcomer. The interloper's impact is both unexpected and rewarding, deepening our understanding of this trio of remarkable women as they learn to confront the scars of their pasts and re-examine what truly matters to them. A compelling story of ambition, identity and friendship, this dynamic debut novel is a must-read for every book club. -- Kirthana Ramisetti, author of GMA Book Club pick Dava Shastri's Last DayKehinde's debut is a satisfying blend of drama, glamour, and friendship-a stunning and impressive story with bold characters worth loving and rooting for. -- Jane Igharo, author of Where We End & BeginUnlike anything I've ever read. Slick, agile, and utterly engrossing, this spectacular debut features a set of protagonists so rarely portrayed: Black women expats. -- Taiye Selasi, author of Ghana Must GoSizzles off the page. I couldn't put it down. -- Alice Clark-PlattsI had so much fun reading it! In Such Tremendous Heat is going to make your summer sizzle! This page-turner is so unique and immersive, you won't be moving for a while! -- Buki Papillon, author of An Ordinary WonderWhen considered and thoughtful writing meets page-flicking drama you get In Such Tremendous Heat. The vivid storytelling is a masterclass in exploring the impact a new person can uniquely have on each of us, based on our pain points, pasts and passions. I felt like I had been listening in to years of these characters' therapy sessions; thanks to the richness of their inner lives as told throughout the chapters. This book is made for living next to SPF and sunglasses in a summertime basket bag. -- Giselle La Pompe Moore, author of Take It InIf you love novels focused on intriguing relationships, and stories that see complex characters forced to face their past, then Kehinde Fadipe's In Such Tremendous Heat should be moved to the top of your summer reading list . . . You're in for an immersive, page-turning experience. -- Joanne Owen * LoveReading *An absorbingly jeopardy-laden tale. -- Siobahn Murphy * The Times *A strong debut that explores friendship and belonging. -- Nina Pottell * Prima *
£15.29
Dialogue In Such Tremendous Heat
Book Synopsis''BRING ON THE DRAMA'' Cosmopolitan Best New Book of July 2023The Read with Jenna Today Book Club Pick''I couldn''t put it down'' Alice Clark-Platts''Slick, agile, and utterly engrossing'' Taiye SelasiBasking in Singapore''s non-stop sunshine, low tax rate and crocodile Birkins on every other arm, Dara, Amaka, and Lillian are living the dream - until their carefully constructed lives are upended by a handsome and mysterious new arrival . . . Dara, a workaholic lawyer, is on the brink of partnership at her firm when Lani, a new hire from Geneva, is assigned to work on what should have been her career-making case. Amaka, a sharp-tongued banker, is in the midst of a painful family breakdown. An instant attraction to Lani, despite her lovely boyfriend, jeopardizes her last shred of stability. Lillian, a piano-prodigy-turned-housewife, is desperately trying to remain in Singa
£9.49
Dialogue TOP DOLL
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the T. S. ELIOT and the JHALAK PRIZE FOR POETRY''Extraordinarily inventive, witty, moving and profound.'' Bernardine Evaristo''If you read one novel this year, let it be Top Doll. This is innovative, exquisitely crafted storytelling at its finest.'' Malika BookerWhen reclusive billionaire Huguette Clark dies age 104, she leaves behind a suite of New York apartments, a meticulously upkept California mansion, at least one Monet and her vast collection of antique dolls. Having barely been outside for 50 years, the elusive Clark spoke to few--in this highly unreliable, semi-fictional miniature epic, the dolls tell all.Theirs is a tale that takes us from their lavish Park Avenue home back in time to the slave plantations of Virginia and the palaces of Imperial Japan via the addictive hedonism of 1930s queer LA.Joyfully irreverent, Top Doll is a story of love, betrayal, Barbies and ultimately, what it means to be human.''An astonishing combination of depth, compassion and beauty. A constant series of delicious surprises.'' Leone Ross
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Dialogue The Memo
Book Synopsis''Loved this!... I''ll be buying a copy for my BFF for sure... Hilarious, propulsive and very satisfying'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Do you ever feel like you have no idea what you''re doing in life - and wonder if you just didn''t get the memo?Jenny Green is dreading her Class of 2007 reunion. While her friends are killing it, Jenny''s promising career as an artisanal baker went up in flames (literally) and her deadbeat, commitment-phobe boyfriend is cheating on her with their swishy-ponytailed neighbour. She feels like she didn''t get the memo... As it turns out, she didn''t.Begrudgingly back at university, she receives a text from an unlisted number: Jenny Green - please collect your memo. Hidden on her old campus is a secret female-led organisation providing memos to select students; blueprints for success.The first time around, Jenny didn''t receive hers. Now she''s being given a second chance - the opportunity to rewrite her past, undo her worst mistakes and fix her mess of a life. But at what price?A hilarious, achingly relatable, bittersweet and addictive page-turner about lifelong friendships, new loves, second chances and what it really means to live your best life. The Memo will enchant fans of Dolly Alderton''s Ghosts and Rebecca Serle''s In Five Years.Rave reviews for The Memo:''Charming... A modernised Sliding Doors'' Vogue''The very funny wish fulfilment we''ve all been waiting for'' Stylist''So sharp, so funny. You might feel better or worse about your own life, but you''ll definitely be laughing'' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)''I loved'' Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman Is in Trouble''As deliciously entertaining as it is thought-provoking, I loved The Memo''s quick-witted charm and huge heart. One of those rare books I''ll be gifting to friends and family alike'' Catherine Walsh, author of Snowed In''Totally related to this novel about a thirty-something woman who feels like she didn''t get the memo. Fun, uplifting, page-turning - you''ll just want to gobble it up'' Becky Hunter, author of Meet Me When My Heart Stops''A funny, feminist fairy-tale'' Sophie Ranald, author of Sorry Not Sorry''The perfect read for anyone dealing with imposter syndrome, jealous Instagram scrolling, or just feeling a little bit lost in adulthood! Totally riveting, packed with warmth and humour, The Memo is equal parts unputdownable and unforgettable'' Beth Reekles, author of The Kissing Booth''A pacey and quirky dark fairytale. Like a much sassier Cinderella, mixed with Quantum Leap... I related hard!'' Justin Myers, author of The Last Romeo''Don''t miss The Memo. A unique and riveting novel about a chance to redo your what ifs. You will love this narrator and be pulling for her. What a ride!'' Laura Dave, bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
£17.00
Dialogue The Sleeping Car Porter
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2022 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZEPUBLISHERS WEEKLY TOP 20 LITERARY FICTION BOOKS OF 2022OPRAH DAILY: BOOKS TO READ BY THE FIRE?When a mudslide strands a train, Baxter, a sleeping car porter, must contend with the perils of white passengers, ghosts, and his secret love affair.Baxter''s name isn''t George. But it''s 1929, and Baxter is lucky enough, as a Black man, to have a job as a sleeping car porter on a train that crisscrosses the country. So when the passengers call him George, he has to just smile and nod and act invisible. What he really wants is to go to dentistry school, but he''ll have to save up a lot of nickel and dime tips to get there, so he puts up with George.On this particular trip out west, the passengers are more unruly than usual, especially when the train is stalled for two extra days; their secrets start to leak out and blur with the sleep-deprivation hallucinations Baxter is having. When he finds a naughty postcard of two queer men, Baxter''s memories and longings are reawakened; keeping it puts his job in peril, but he can''t part with the postcard or his thoughts of Edwin Drew, Porter Instructor.
£9.49
Dialogue Shanghailanders
Book SynopsisI think love is when you think you need someonefor your survival. Survival, defined broadly.The way you think, sometimes . . .The way I think, what?It . . . surprises me. Yoko, we need each other. Family - familyis all we have.''Smart, tender, and lyrical-SHANGHAILANDERS is a moving debut novel, and one that never stops surprising the reader . . . This is the kind of book I wish I''d read when I first was learning to write.'' Jiaming Tang While the years rewind from 2040 back to 2014, Shanghailanders brings readers into the shared and separate lives of the Yang family, parent by parent, daughter by daughter, and through the eyes of the people in their orbit-a nanny from the provinces, a private driver with a penchant for danger, and a grandmother whose memories of the past echo the present. As they build their lives in this old, futuristic city, we see Leo, his wife Eko and t
£17.09
Dialogue Shanghailanders
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Dialogue Spontaneous Acts
Book SynopsisThe highly anticipated new novel from award-winning, critically acclaimed novelist Yoko Tawada.Patrik is a literary researcher living in Berlin, a city just coming back to life after lockdown. Though his beloved opera houses are open again, Patrik cannot leave the house and hardly manages to get out of bed.He is supposed to give a paper at a conference in Paris, on the poetry collection Threadsuns by Paul Celan, but he can''t get past the first question on the registration form: ''What is your nationality?''As Patrik attempts to find a connection in a world that constantly overwhelms him, he meets a mysterious stranger. The man''s name is Leo-Eric Fu, and somehow he already knows Patrik . . .Yoko Tawada''s mesmerizing new novel unfolds like a lucid dream in which the solace of friendship, reading, conversation, music - of seeing and being seen - is examined and celebrated.Spontaneous Acts reaches out to all of us who find
£14.39
Dialogue A House for Miss Pauline
Book Synopsis*Winner of the 2025 CARICON FICTION PRIZE and shortlisted for the 2025 WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE PRIZE*''The past is uprooted, the present holds on by thread, and in the midst of it all is Miss Pauline, strong, conflicted, driven and remarkable.'' Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author of MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING''Delightful and big-hearted . . . It kept me turning pages deep into the night, and left me full of admiration at the end.'' Claire Adam, Guardian''One of the Caribbean''s finest writers . . . Her novels are building blocks of the current Caribbean canon and will be read for years to come.'' Monique Roffey, author of THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCHWhen the stones of her home begin to rattle and call out to her in the quiet of the night, Pauline Sinclair knows she will not live to see her 100th birthday.From educating herself through stolen books to becoming one of the most successful ganja farmers in the area and raising a family, Pauline has lived a life on her own terms in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village.Yet these whispering walls promise to topple the foundations of her security and exhume Pauline''s many buried secrets, including the mysterious disappearance of the man who came to claim the very land on which she built her home, stone by stone, from the ruins of a plantation.Compelled to make peace before she dies, Pauline decides to leave the only home she has ever known on a final, desperate mission to uncover truths she could never have imagined . . .Lyrical, funny, eerie and profound, A House for Miss Pauline tells a timely and nuanced tale, infused with the patois and natural beauty of Jamaica, which questions who owns the land on which our identities are forged.''History''s crimes unfurl in this magical story . . . McCaulay''s immaculate, breathtaking writing carries it with poise and conviction.'' Lisa Allen-Agostini, author of THE BREAD THE DEVIL KNEAD''Where has Diana McCaulay been all my reading life? . . . A profound and beautiful novel of encounters with the past and atonements in the present.'' Julia Alvarez, author of THE CEMETERY OF UNTOLD STORIES
£17.60
Dialogue A House for Miss Pauline
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Dialogue Memory Piece
Book SynopsisRemarkable . . . vividly captures the urgency of youth, and becomes a heart-breaking elegy for a communal, almost utopian approach to urban life. Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World BehindBright with defiance, intelligence, and stubborn love. To spend time with these characters is a gift. C Pam Zhang, author of How Much of These Hills is GoldIn the early 1980s, Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng are three teenagers drawn together by their shared sense of alienation and desire for something different. Allied in the weirdest parts of themselves, they envision each other as artistic collaborators and embark on a future defined by freedom and creativity.By the time they are adults, their dreams are murkier. As a performance artist, Giselle must navigate an elite social world she never conceived of. As a coder thrilled by the internet''s early egalitarian promise, Jackie must contend with its more sinister sh
£9.49
Dialogue Greatest of All Time
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Dialogue City of Laughter
Book SynopsisA rich and riveting debut spanning four generations of Eastern European Jewish women bound by blood, half-hidden secrets and the fantastical visitation of a shapeshifting stranger over the course of 100 years.City of Laughter follows a young queer woman stuck in a thicket of generational secrets back to her family''s origins, where ancestral clues begin to reveal a lineage both haunted and shaped by desire.Ropshitz, Poland, was once known as the City of Laughter. As this story opens, an 18th-century badchan, a holy jester whose job is to make wedding guests laugh, receives a visitation from a mysterious stranger - bringing the laughter the people of Ropshitz desperately need, and triggering a sequence of events that will reverberate across the coming century.In the present day, Shiva Margolin, recovering from the heartbreak of her first big queer love and grieving the death of her beloved father, struggles to connect with her guarded mother, who
£18.70
Dialogue The American Daughters
Book SynopsisAdy, a curious, sharp-witted girl, and her fierce mother, Sanite, are inseparable. Enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the pair spend their days dreaming of a loving future and reminiscing about their family''s rebellious and storied history. When mother and daughter are separated, Ady is left hopeless and directionless until she stumbles into the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman with whom she becomes fast friends. Lenore invites Ady to join a clandestine society of spies called the Daughters. With the courage instilled in her by Sanite-and with help from these strong women-Ady learns how to put herself first. So begins her journey toward liberation and imagining a new future.The American Daughters is a novel of hope and triumph that reminds us what is possible when a community bands together to fight for their freedom.
£18.70
Dialogue Colored Television
Book SynopsisA brilliant dark comedy about love and ambition, failure and reinvention and the racial- identity-industrial complex from the bestselling author of Caucasia
£9.49
Dialogue Quarterlife
Book Synopsis**Winner of the 2024 MATHRUBHUMI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD and the 2024 RAMNATH GOENKA SAHITYA SAMAAN AWAWRD FOR BEST DEBUT FICTION / Shortlisted for the 2023 ATTA GALATTA PRIZE FOR FICTION and the 2023 KALINGA LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION**''An ambitious reckoning'' Guardian''Quarterlife is a revelation . . . and deserves the widest attention'' Observer''A fearless achievement'' The New YorkerThe Bharat Party has come to power after an intensely divisive election. Naren, a jaded Wall Street consultant, is lured home to Mumbai by their promise of '' better days ''. With him is Amanda, eager to escape her New England town by volunteering in a Muslim-majority slum. Inspired by them, Naren''s charismatic brother Rohit sets out to explore his ancestral heritage in the countryside, where he falls in with the ?ery young men who drive the Hindu nationalist machine.As they each come to grips with the new India, their journeys coalesce into a riveting milieu characterized by brutal debates and desires as fraught as they are compulsive. The result is an ever-widening chorus that feeds into a festive night when all of Mumbai is on the streets - and the simmering unrest erupts.Quarterlife is as sweeping as it is intimate. With profound empathy and insight, Devika Rege lays bare the roots of political belief in a time of reckoning for democracies worldwide - this is a brilliantly innovative work that tests the limits of what the novel can achieve.''Powerful, demanding, rewarding'' Daily Mail''Rege is at the forefront of a new generation of authors'' Vauhini Vara, author of The Immortal King Rao''Utterly masterful and moving'' Gauri Gill, author of Acts of Appearance
£18.70
Dialogue Quarterlife
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Arborescence
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Lightbreakers
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Little, Brown Book Group Sea Wife
Book SynopsisFor readers of Meg Wolitzer, Lionel Shriver, Kate Atkinson and Jennifer Egan
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Sea Wife
Book Synopsis''Taut as a thriller'' Claire Messud ''A gripping tale of survival at sea - but that''s just the beginning'' Jennifer Egan''A smart, swift and thrilling novel'' Lauren GroffFrom the highly acclaimed author of Schroder, a smart, sophisticated literary page turner about a young family who escape suburbia for a year-long sailing trip that upends all of their livesJuliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her anemic dissertation when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. The couple are novice sailors, but Michael persuades Juliet to say yes. With their two kids - Sybil, age seven, and George, age two, Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four-foot sailboat awaits them - a boat that Michael has christened the Juliet.The initial result is transformative: their marriage is given a gust of energy, and even the children are affected by the beauty and Trade ReviewTaut as a thriller, emotionally precise yet threaded with lyricism, Sea Wife is at once the compelling story of a family's glorious, misbegotten seafaring adventure and an allegory for life itself. This is an unforgettable novel -- Claire MessudSea Wife is an immersive pleasure. Amity Gaige captivates us, tricks us, and transports us. She understands the inner and the outer world - from quiet misery to murderous seas - and there is no world she cannot explore and illuminate -- Amy BloomSea Wife brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the fraught and hidden dangers of domesticity, motherhood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel -- Lauren GroffFew writers have portrayed marriage and parenthood with more fierce intelligence than Amity Gaige, but in Sea Wife, she has outdone herself. This is an unforgettable portrait of a family that ventures out to sea, only to be riven by the weight of the past, and the politics of the present. Piercingly written and compelling from beginning to end, Sea Wife is a major accomplishment -- Adam HaslettSea Wife is a gripping tale of survival at sea - but that's just the beginning. Amity Gaige also manages, before she's done, to probe the underpinnings of romantic love, marriage, literary ambition, political inclinations in the Trump age, parenthood, and finally, the nature of survival itself in our broken world. Gaige is thrillingly talented, and her novel enchants[A] splendid, wrenching novel . . . Every element of this impressive novel clicks into a dazzling, heartbreaking whole * Publishers Weekly (starred) *Gripping . . . A powerful take on a marriage on the rocks * Kirkus Reviews *[A] splendid, wrenching novel . . . Every element of this impressive novel clicks into a dazzling, heartbreaking whole * Publishers Weekly *The narrative of this literary page-turner is split between a husband and wife, whose accounts of their journey around the Caribbean by boat with their young family don't quite match. It's not only a gripping story of survival at sea, but also a portrait of a marriage pushed to breaking point * Good Housekeeping *A smart, pacy and affecting book, which vividly captures the peaks and troughs of both married life and life on the waves * Daily Mail *It sounds like the recipe for a perfect storm: a couple whose marriage is floundering decide to spend a year sailing the Caribbean on a small yacht with their two young children in tow. As depressed poet Juliet slowly reveals the outcome, it's clear that the voyage hasn't gone to plan. Meanwhile, her husband's version of events unfolds via his journal. A missing-person mystery adds to the tension of this smart seafaring adventure -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday *A trip of a lifetime sailing around the Central American coast turns into disaster for Juliet, Michael and their two young children in this skilfully navigated thriller which, while needling away at ideas of marriage and personal freedom, is particularly excellent on the day-to-day confinement of life aboard a small yacht in the middle of a turquoise sea -- Claire Allfree * Metro *
£8.99
Little, Brown Book Group Olga Dies Dreaming
Book Synopsis''Deeply satisfying and nuanced . . . a tender exploration of love in its many forms'' Observer ''Gonzalez couples engrossing political intrigue with engagingly flawed characters you can''t help but root for'' Mail on Sunday It''s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro ''Prieto'' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan''s power brokers.Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can''t seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turned-radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaviTrade ReviewThe author cloaks her polemic in page-turning prose. This deeply satisfying and nuanced novel shines a light on political corruption and the limits of capitalism. It's also a study of the psychological fallout of poor parenting and a tender exploration of love in its many forms * Observer *There's so much to enjoy in this busy, Brooklyn-set debut centred on a pair of middle-aged Latino siblings leading double lives . . . Gonzalez couples engrossing political intrigue with engagingly flawed characters you can't help but root for -- Mail on SundayA powerful, intra-cultural reckoning with the very notions of sacrifice and survival * Glamour (best books for 2022) *The extraordinary accomplishment of Olga Dies Dreaming is in how a familiar-enough tale - a woman seeking love, happiness, and fulfillment in the big city - slowly reveals itself to be something else altogether. It's a book about a New York that isn't always celebrated, the one that belongs to immigrant communities; about money, class, and political power; about one vividly-imagined family and the very idea of the American Dream * Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind *Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of an imperfect family shattered by secrets, grief, and abandonment, and of people who rise up, refusing to be broken. Smart, witty, and driven, Gonzalez's Olga hustles, stumbles, falls, and eventually finds her way. An unflinching examination of capitalism, corruption, gentrification, colonialism, and their effects on marginalized people, Olga Dies Dreaming is a poignant, scalding debut * Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls *Wisdom, tenderness, and abundant humor . . . I will think about its richly drawn, deeply human characters for a very long time * Cynthia d'Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest and Good Company *Gonzalez's stinging and knowledgeable commentary about the American sociopolitical order that keeps Black and brown people poor and powerless suggests that radical remedies are called for, even if she gives the personal dramas of her appealing main characters pleasingly hopeful final acts. Atmospheric, intelligent and well informed: an impressive debut * Kirkus *Irresistibly warm yet entirely uncompromising * The Skinny *Don't underestimate this new novelist. She's jump-starting the year with a smart romantic comedy that lures us in with laughter and keeps us hooked with a fantastically engaging story * Washington Post *Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a healthy dose of tough love with her buzzy debut * TIME *Atmospheric * i-D magazine (books to read in 2022) *Olga is flawed and fallible, but gains in self-knowledge and integrity as she's buffeted by hurricane-force plot developments . . . [a] rich, full-bodied saga * Financial Times *Compelling . . . Gonzalez' debut speaks thoughtfully to the complicated and introspective diasporic experience, all while looking at how power structures can change a community, and the mixed feelings of pride and guilt that can come along with moving into a gentrified neighbourhood * Refinery29 *When you start reading Olga Dies Dreaming, you might think it is the Puerto Rican version of Crazy Rich Asians - but don't be fooled. While the expectations and manners of the rich are dissected in similar detail, class politics is front and centre . . . The writing is cinematic - a TV pilot is already being made in the US - it's packed with vivid vignettes of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the characters have real warmth and depth. You get both romantic and family relationships, together with the politics of what it is to be Latinx in a world where rich white people have the power * Irish News *The story's driving tension derives from questions of how to break free: from a mother's manipulations, from shame, from pride indistinguishable from fear, from the traumatic burden of abandonment, from colonial oppression, from corrosive greed * New York Times *A beautiful force . . . Not your average story of two people looking for love. It is that, yes, but with political intrigue, social commentary, revolutionaries and mobsters, it is so much more * Independent *Olga Dies Dreaming proves the truth of that oft-quoted aphorism, "the personal is political." Packed with richly imagined characters and vivacious prose, the novel asks how we can live meaningful lives in a world rife with inequality. * Esquire Best Books of 2022 *
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group there are more things
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize & the Orwell Prize for FictionA Sunday Times Fiction Book of the Year ''a serious accomplishment'' Sunday Times''vivid and expansive'' Sophie Mackintosh''a lyrical celebration'' TLS''a glorious, poetic feat'' Bolu BabalolaThis is a novel about two women - Melissa and Catarina.Catarina is born to a well-known political family in Brazil. Melissa, a South London native, is brought up by her mum and a crew of rebellious grandmothers. In 2016, they meet for the first time.Their story takes us across continents and generations. In it we see sisterhood and queerness, and, perhaps, glimpse a better way to live.Trade Review'there are more things is a vivid and expansive novel of sisterhood, love and connection. Reading it is a true experience of joy, and of hope' -- Sophie Mackintosh, author of THE WATER CURE'A serious accomplishment from a talented writer with a gloriously untethered style' * Sunday Times *there are more things builds on the formal innovation of Yara Rodrigues Fowler's first novel in a blistering collage of revolution, sisterhood and joy. Set between contemporary Britain and Brazil's military dictatorship, this book explores the forces outside of ourselves that bind us together and wrench us apart. Her work is honest about political and personal losses, yet strung with light and hope. She reminds us of the power we hold in our individual bodies and the potency of collective strength. there are more things illuminates the societal structures that ensnare us and captures the exuberance and heartache in longing for a better world -- Jessica Andrews, author of SALTWATERA lyrical celebration, and mourning, of women driven to and empowered by activism and community engagement . . . Yara Rodrigues Fowler depicts agitation and revolution as a combination of personal and shared moments, filled with hope, loss, loneliness and love * TLS *Gripping. Yara writes about London like no other and she made me fall in love with the city all over again. A lyrical, relatable and fiercely intelligent tale of first loves, friendships, family and politics told with generosity, skill and compassion.' -- Zeba Talkhani, author of MY PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRYtypically magnificent from a unique writer -- Musa OkwongaAn empowering, lyrical and radical book about friendship, protest movements, community and the power of standing up for what you believe in. Yara once again rips up what we consider to be a novel and pushes the form forward in an exciting and readable way -- Nikesh Shuklathere are more things is it's own thing. Situated closely and confidently in the idioms of people navigating a politics that feel true and nuanced, with it's own theory of translating experience, intergenerational histories, place and language.There is a wit too to this book that feels like a wink of familiarity in a pub, discussing the next best thing over a sticking counter. In a crisp and astute poetics, Yara makes music of the warm breath between people -- Tice Cin, author of KEEPING THE HOUSEthere are more things is a book about freedom and solidarity and joy. It will make you yearn for freedom and believe in more and deeper possibilities than you ever thought possible. Yara Rodrigues Fowler brilliantly brings to life lives lived freely and fully. I couldn't put it down -- Amelia Horgan, author of LOST IN WORKA novel as a stack of polaroids, whose every day moments are saturated with the love, pain and grief women carry across generations and political movements, there are more things is a beautiful, unusual and vital novel, seeking and forging powerful connections across time -- Preti TanejaAn ambitious and important novel from one of the UK's most talented young writers. The book gathers so much into its complex strands, from the nature of exile and uprootedness to friendship it takes us to Brazil and circles us back to the precarity of London living experienced by so many today. It gives us a window into lives so often dismissed and ignored. Fowler's female characters are so sensitively drawn... This is a talented writer who has written something both moving and complex -- Mona ArshiWritten with a painful tenderness, Yara's book pours generously like honey and sticks uncomfortably around questions of home, family, and love. A beautiful and heart aching testament of sisterhood and collectivity, Yara's second novel is a gift to spend time with, a book to tread delicately through -- Liv WynterYara Rodrigues Fowler is an urgently important and captivating voice. there are more things kept me enchanted from the first page -- Vincent Bevinsa phenomenal story of two women, revolution, and finding a place in the world. A book of epic scope & intricate detail. Stunning -- Katie Hale, author of MY NAME IS MONSTERfull of the emancipatory and radical potential of joy -- Keiran Goddardthere are more things is an exquisite story of love and revolution, friendship and heartbreak, language and history, beautifully told and so powerfully felt. This is a transportative and captivating novel - I truly felt as though I lived and breathed among its pages and will be thinking about it for a very long time. Yara Rodrigues Fowler is an outstanding writer and this is a truly brilliant literary and political achievement -- Lucia Osbourne-CrowleyA stirring portrait of the legacy of violence . . . experimental and evocative . . . While the themes that this novel tackles are harrowing, they are handled with the most delicate and deft touch. Issues like queerness, casual racism, the anxiety of being in a foreign land and the pressure of being grateful for being allowed the same opportunities as a white person are sensitively depicted in Fowler's vivid prose * Irish Times *A large-hearted novel of sisterhood and resistance -- Tom Gatti * New Statesman *Reignited my mind and my passion. It is a glorious, poetic, expansive feat that traverses sisterhood, and love, and revolution and home, and the bravery it takes to question what oppresses -- Bolu BabalolaThis is a vibrant, sensual, olfactory modern novel that celebrates kinship, food, music, mixed heritage, the rhythms of the city, political and sexual awakenings. Formally experimental, but never forbiddingly so, it is a seductive, propulsive read * The Times *A political novel rooted in power and cemented in hope * The Skinny, Books of the Year 2022 *
£17.09
Little, Brown Book Group At the Table
Book SynopsisA 2022 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR for THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, RED, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING AND CRITIC''The kind of rare story you want to nosedive into on a hot hungover weekend and slurp down like iced coffee - cold, sweet and quenching . . . a summer read to devour with suncream and spilt rosé - and then lend to your mum or your daughter'' The Times''At the Table is a hugely intelligent, emotionally astute novel about family dynamics, and Claire Powell is an incredible new talent'' Marian Keyes''An assured, exquisitely drawn novel that fans of Sorrow And Bliss will adore'' Sarra Manning, Red magazineTo Nicole and Jamie Maguire, their parents seem the ideal couple - a suburban double act, happily married for more than thirty years. So when Linda and Gerry announce that they''ve decided to separate, the news sends shockwaves through the siblings'' lives, forcing them to confTrade ReviewA smart, readable and sharply contemporary debut, full of awkward family lunches and drunken weddings, darting between Camberwell flats, Soho bars and late-night Ubers * The Times and Sunday Times Best Books of 2022 *What sets At the Table apart is Powell's acute understanding not just of how we interact in the modern world...but the eternals of the human comedy: how people fool themselves, make excuses, get it wrong and keep trying anyway -- John Self * The Times *Powell is a fantastic writer who exercises perfect control. Every detail is forensically, sympathetically observed, and while there's a lot that's tragic, it's often very close to comedy -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *The story's centre is Nicole - a spiky and charismatic woman struggling to get her life in order . . . Like Waller-Bridge's Fleabag and Rooney's Marianne, Nicole is her own woman: a complex and satisfying presence. At the Table is rich with delights -- Erica Wagner * Harper's Bazaar *Filled with razor-sharp dialogue and psychological acuity, At the Table is an astute debut novel about dysfunctional family life -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *I have rarely seen the relationship between parents and their grown-up children so deftly exposed. I sat, at the end of it, startled, close to tears. It made me want to call my mother immediately -- Sophie HeawoodClaire Powell's great skill is to reveal to the reader what her characters struggle to realize themselves . . . Its themes are unremarkable - love, self-knowledge, the feeling everyone else is living while you are standing still . . . yet almost everything in it feels true -- Claire Allfree * Metro *At The Table is an assured, exquisitely drawn novel that fans of Sorrow And Bliss will adore -- Sarra Manning * Red magazine (online) *Well-written, witty family drama * Good Housekeeping *A beautifully-written novel about what keeps a family together and what tears it apart -- Lissa EvansAt the Table is a hugely intelligent, emotionally astute novel about family dynamics, and Claire Powell is an incredible new talent -- Marian KeyesPainfully funny, acutely well-observed, powerfully resonant in its humanity and emotional accuracy. I missed this book whenever I wasn't reading it -- Luke KennardA lovely novel. I adored the precision with which these people are seen, and the exactness of the social setting. I found myself absorbed in them, caring about them, wanting them to do the right thing, and I was very sorry to leave them. It's a novel Elizabeth Taylor wouldn't wouldn't have minded writing, and there aren't enough of those around -- Philip HensherI loved this novel about a family. Each chapter has a meal (or drink, lots of drinks) and Claire Powell's writing and characters are funny and heartbreaking and moreish. I'm jealous of anyone who hasn't read it yet -- Flynn Berry, author of Northern SpyBrilliantly clever and funny and sad -- India Knight
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Deep Down
Book SynopsisA 2023 best book to look forward to in Vogue, Bustle, GQ and the New Statesman''A superbly observed exploration of intimacy and its failings'' Megan Nolan''West-Knights is a masterful, hilarious and humane story-teller'' Olivia Sudjic''A sharp and clear-eyed portrait of familial love and the ways it makes us mad'' Monica HeiseyBillie and Tom have just lost their father. It should be a time to comfort each other, but there''s always been a distance to their relationship. Determined to change this, Billie boards a flight to her brother in Paris.Dazed by grief, the siblings spend days wandering the streets, both helping and hurting each other in the process. When their explorations lead them to the infamous Paris catacombs, they will finally be forced to face the secrets lurking in their past that illuminate the questions in their present.Funny, moving and unexpected, DEEP DOWN is an empathetic and hard-hitting look at both the struggles and the joys of sibling relationships, and the realities of grieving the loss of someone who was already an absence.Trade ReviewThe novel is a serious and very accomplished examination of what it means to love and grieve for someone who might seem unlovable. It wrestles, too, with the timeless question of how to form one's own distinct adult identity in the shadow of a difficult parent. But it's also immensely funny. * Guardian *A dry comedy that's as astute as her reported writing - and funny too * Vogue *DEEP DOWN is a beautifully constructed and unnervingly assured debut which deeply moved and impressed me. Imogen West Knights reveals family silence and repression in a way which feels almost agonisingly true to life. There are no histrionics here, nor any glib resolutions, but a superbly observed exploration of intimacy and its failings. Not to be missed -- Megan NolanI am in awe of this genius debut novel. A brilliant page-turner - I also wanted to pause every few paragraphs and read aloud as a treat for whoever happened to be sitting next to me. West-Knights is a masterful, hilarious and humane story-teller. -- Olivia SudjicI read Deep Down in one go, staying up late to finish it. West-Knights takes the tradition of the British family novel - with all its resentment, over-drinking and passive aggression - and transcends it: Deep Down is funny, sad, tender and hopeful. A fantastic bookAs a longtime fan of Imogen West-Knight's writing, I was thrilled to discover her fiction is just as charming: a sharp and clear-eyed portrait of familial love and the ways it makes us mad -- Monica Heisey, author of REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLYThis perceptive account of the undercurrents that shape our family relationships and the ways in which they play out in adulthood had me gripped. A tender, moving novel with heart, by a new talent in fiction -- Rhiannon Lucy CosslettDeep Down is a nuanced and sensitive study of family and abuse, of the unbridgeable gulfs in communication that render us inert and helpless, of the truths we can't bear to confront, and the loyalties we can't bear to betray -- Susannah DickeyA sensitive look at grief, families, ambition, anger and the complexity of loving and hating someone all at once. * Bookseller *An intimate, emotional and witty take on grief and complicated relationships -- Justin MyersDeep Down examines that which we would rather suppress - grief, shame, hurt - with unflinching verve while treading a careful line between finding the absurd in the humane, and the humane in the absurd. West-Knights has written a book with real heart -- Jo HamyaImogen handles complicated family dynamics and the unspoken things that come between us with remarkable sensitivity and insight, as well as perfect dark humour that is so much a part of navigating grief. I honestly can't believe this is a debut -- Emma HughesA lot of novels spin around grief, trauma, abuse and emotional disconnection. But not many can emotionally sucker punch you with one sentence and have you in tears of laughter the next. One of the remarkable things about Deep Down is how finely attuned it is to the way grief is intimately tangled up with ridiculousness. -- Eloise Hendy * Dazed *Deep Down is a wonderfully astute and often hilarious look at sibling relationships, intimacy and family repression. * iNews *West-Knights casts an adult's ear to the hopes and fears particular to the young child's mind, and the result is a thing of beauty -- Conrad Landin * Westminter Extra *I read Deep Down in one go, staying up late to finish it. West-Knights takes the tradition of the British family novel - with all its resentment, over-drinking and passive aggression - and transcends it: Deep Down is funny, sad, tender and hopeful. A fantastic book. * Yara Rodrigues Fowler *
£13.49
Little, Brown Book Group Deep Down
Book SynopsisA 2023 best book to look forward to in Vogue, Bustle, GQ and the New Statesman''A superbly observed exploration of intimacy and its failings'' Megan Nolan''West-Knights is a masterful, hilarious and humane story-teller'' Olivia Sudjic''A sharp and clear-eyed portrait of familial love and the ways it makes us mad'' Monica HeiseyBillie and Tom have just lost their father. It should be a time to comfort each other, but there''s always been a distance to their relationship. Determined to change this, Billie boards a flight to her brother in Paris.Dazed by grief, the siblings spend days wandering the streets, both helping and hurting each other in the process. When their explorations lead them to the infamous Paris catacombs, they will finally be forced to face the secrets lurking in their past that illuminate the questions in their present.Funny, moving and unexpected, DEEP DOWN is an empathetic anTrade ReviewThe novel is a serious and very accomplished examination of what it means to love and grieve for someone who might seem unlovable. It wrestles, too, with the timeless question of how to form one's own distinct adult identity in the shadow of a difficult parent. But it's also immensely funny. * Guardian *A dry comedy that's as astute as her reported writing - and funny too * Vogue *DEEP DOWN is a beautifully constructed and unnervingly assured debut which deeply moved and impressed me. Imogen West Knights reveals family silence and repression in a way which feels almost agonisingly true to life. There are no histrionics here, nor any glib resolutions, but a superbly observed exploration of intimacy and its failings. Not to be missed -- Megan NolanI am in awe of this genius debut novel. A brilliant page-turner - I also wanted to pause every few paragraphs and read aloud as a treat for whoever happened to be sitting next to me. West-Knights is a masterful, hilarious and humane story-teller. -- Olivia SudjicAs a longtime fan of Imogen West-Knight's writing, I was thrilled to discover her fiction is just as charming: a sharp and clear-eyed portrait of familial love and the ways it makes us mad -- Monica Heisey, author of REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLYThis perceptive account of the undercurrents that shape our family relationships and the ways in which they play out in adulthood had me gripped. A tender, moving novel with heart, by a new talent in fiction -- Rhiannon Lucy CosslettDeep Down is a nuanced and sensitive study of family and abuse, of the unbridgeable gulfs in communication that render us inert and helpless, of the truths we can't bear to confront, and the loyalties we can't bear to betray -- Susannah DickeyA sensitive look at grief, families, ambition, anger and the complexity of loving and hating someone all at once. * Bookseller *An intimate, emotional and witty take on grief and complicated relationships -- Justin MyersDeep Down examines that which we would rather suppress - grief, shame, hurt - with unflinching verve while treading a careful line between finding the absurd in the humane, and the humane in the absurd. West-Knights has written a book with real heart -- Jo HamyaImogen handles complicated family dynamics and the unspoken things that come between us with remarkable sensitivity and insight, as well as perfect dark humour that is so much a part of navigating grief. I honestly can't believe this is a debut -- Emma HughesA lot of novels spin around grief, trauma, abuse and emotional disconnection. But not many can emotionally sucker punch you with one sentence and have you in tears of laughter the next. One of the remarkable things about Deep Down is how finely attuned it is to the way grief is intimately tangled up with ridiculousness. -- Eloise Hendy * Dazed *Deep Down is a wonderfully astute and often hilarious look at sibling relationships, intimacy and family repression. * iNews *West-Knights casts an adult's ear to the hopes and fears particular to the young child's mind, and the result is a thing of beauty -- Conrad Landin * Westminter Extra *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group I Have Some Questions For You
Book Synopsis**A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FOR OPRAH DAILY, TIME, NPR, USA TODAY, BUSTLE, STAR TRIBUNE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING AND MORE**''Whip-smart and uncompromising'' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW''Quietly riveting'' IRISH TIMES''It''s the perfect crime'' NEW YORKER''Impressive and complex'' GUARDIAN''Addictive'' OPRAH DAILYThe riveting new novel from the author of The Great Believers, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past: the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the 1995 murder of a classmate, Thalia Keith. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia''s death and the conviction of the school''s athletics coach, Omar Evans, are the subject of intense fascination online, Bodie prefers-needs-to let sleeping dogTrade ReviewMakkai doesn't shy away from moral complication in this impressive and complex novel * Guardian *[An] absorbing thriller... As well as being a well-plotted crime tale, the novel has pertinent things to say about the fetishising of murder, about easy online outrage, and about people who insert themselves into someone else's story. I Have Some Questions for You also offers a thought-provoking re-evaluation of what was problematic about male behaviour in the 1990s in the light of the #MeToo scandals of the 21st century * Independent *A sharp addition to the 'dark academia' canon * Grazia *Insights into power, race and our fascination with true crime boost a satisfyingly plot-y mystery * Mail on Sunday *Compulsively readable -- Jessie Thompson * Independent *Makkai, though, approaches [memories] as a writer curious about psychology. She deftly explores how remembrance can melt into reverie, especially in speculative sections that attempt to reconstruct the scene of Thalia's death. And she nails, too, what it's like to remember . . . beautifully evokes the layered, full-body immersion that occurs when you return to a familiar place, and the weird gravity of an institution like Granby, whose students are transient but whose structures endure . . . It's the perfect crime * New Yorker *Her prose is lean yet lush, with short, incantatory chapters and sentences as taut as piano wire . . . whip-smart and uncompromising * New York Times Book Review *Vastly entertaining . . . I Have Some Questions for You is both a thickly-plotted, character-driven mystery and a stylishly self-aware novel of ideas. It's being rightfully compared to Donna Tartt's 1992 blockbuster debut, The Secret History, because of its New England campus setting and because of the haunting voice-over that frames both novel . . in a twist worthy of Poe, Makkai suggests that the truth alone may not set you free or lay spirits to rest * Fresh Air, NPR *It is at once a propulsive crime story and a thought-provoking meditation on sex, race and the abuse of power * Economist *An engrossing reflection of sexual politics and the devastating vagaries of the justice system . . . you'll be gripped by the mystery at its heart * Daily Mirror *In this addictive page-turner, Makkai skewers how and why missing girls become media commodities * Oprah Daily *I've been waiting years for a book like this! You will laugh, think, think again, cry and stay up all night finishing it. Unputdownable and unforgettable. Makkai has written the book of the season -- Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less Is LostPart boarding school drama, part forensic whodunnit, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU is a true literary mystery -haunting and hard to put down -- Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer winner and author of The Candy HouseBoth a deeply satisfying crime story and a thoughtful, even provocative, novel of ideas, I Have Some Questions for You narrates one woman's interrogation of her own past while in turn posing difficult questions directly to its reader: about sex, power, privilege, and the ambient violence of contemporary American life. What a feat of storytelling -- Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World BehindOne of the things I love most about Rebecca Makkai is her absolutely engaging written voice; reading her books feels like hearing a well-told story by a longtime friend. This book - through the voice of its beautifully complex narrator, Bodie Kane - brings readers along on a journey they won't forget -- Liz Moore, author of Long Bright RiverRebecca Makkai's extraordinary storytelling gifts are on full display in I Have Some Questions for You, a tense, sharply drawn, and impeccably plotted literary mystery and an urgent, propulsive story of the collision of gender, race, and class in a New England boarding school. I loved walking alongside narrator Bodie Kane - angry, obsessive, struggling with her own traumatic memories - in her imperfect attempts to reckon with a past she longs to leave behind -- Elizabeth Wetmore, author of ValentineI adored I Have Some Questions For You. It was so beautifully stitched together, and the voice was desolate, detached, perfection. The looping nature of the narrative, the Serial-esque telling - everything was propulsive but also meandering in a way that had a vice-like control. My favourite book I've read this year, what an absolute triumph -- Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do To Our FriendsSome books are so universal that they feel bizarrely specific: I read I Have Some Questions for You as if it was written just for me, but I can't imagine who wouldn't love it. Timely, provocative, nuanced, generous-Rebecca Makkai astonishes once again with the perfect combination of brains and heart * Laura Lippmann, author of Dream Girl *I Have Some Questions for You ponders the nature and value of metaphor and muses on the fallibility of memory, the ease with which false narratives take shape, the human predilection for storytelling, and the way that stories can clarify and illuminate or mislead and misdirect. That Makkai's ethical, metaphysical, and epistemological deliberations find form in an exquisitely suspenseful and enormously entertaining story makes her work a beguiling reflection of the conundrum it so beautifully anatomizes * Boston Globe *This is sure to be a hit * Publishers Weekly, starred review *[Makkai adds] intriguing layers of complication . . . Well plotted, well written, and well designed * Kirkus Reviews *Both wide-angle observer and genius provocateur, Bodie is so real readers will expect to find her in their own yearbooks. Chilled as the deep New England winters during which it takes place and twisty with the slowly found and then suddenly illuminated branches of memory, Makkai's rich, winding story dazzles from cover to cover. * Booklist, starred review *Endlessly intriguing, shrewd and suspenseful . . . I Have Some Questions for You is a page-turning read with compelling characters and sharp insights into power dynamics * Apple *Quietly riveting * Irish Times *A clever crime caper that tackles some big questions, it's storytelling at its best -- Daisy Lester * Independent *Clever [and] thought-provoking * Good Housekeeping *Dark academia meets state of America in this brilliant, original novel . . . not only a miscarriage of justice, but matters of class, race, guilt, internet witch-hunts and what - even in tiny communities - we can ever really know about each other * Daily Mail *A novel that combines the smarts of literary fiction with the thrills of a whodunnit, topped with all the divertissements of the best boarding school-set dramas . . . speaks loudly to the moment, but nothing about it feels faddy. Makkai is an exciting and talented storyteller, and this novel is a triumph * Financial Times *I dare any reader to not find themselves utterly engrossed in Makkai's superbly paced mystery . . . one of the most satisfying reading experiences I've had in a long time . . . it is a robust literary mystery and something (and I don't make this comparison lightly) that could've been penned by Donna Tartt -- Barry Pierce * Big Issue *Makkai places her fictional murder firmly in the context of violence against women, cancel culture and our obsession with true crime . . . Makkai doesn't shy away from moral complication in this impressive novel * Guardian *Her prose is lean yet lush, with short, incantatory chapters and sentences as taut as piano wire . . . whip-smart, uncompromising and mostly a pleasure to read * New York Times Book Review *
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Sedating Elaine
Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize''tender, vicious, hilarious, exhilarating, devastating and HOPEFUL''Daisy Buchanan''[a] knockout debut''New York Times''a riotous rollercoaster of hilarity, tenderness and beautiful craziness that kept me hooked from the start''Daily MailFrances was not looking for a relationship when she met Elaine in a bar. She was, in fact, looking to drown her sorrows and nurse a broken heart. But somehow, Elaine ended up in Frances''s bed and never left.Now, faced with mounting pressure from her drug dealer to access some cash, Frances comes up with a terrible idea - she asks Elaine to move in with her. Unfortunately, this makes Elaine even more sex-crazed and maniacal with love. Frances fears she may never escape the relationship, so, given no choice, she makes the obvious decision: she will sedate Elaine.Trade ReviewSedating Elaine is a brilliantly quirky, surreally funny story of a woman who comes up with the craziest idea ever for clearing her debts. In Frances, Dawn Winter has created an intriguingly headstrong yet vulnerable character with an astonishing talent for making the worst possible life-decisions. I laughed, cringed and held on to the edge of my seat as Frances' hare-brained scheme hurtled along like a runaway train heading for a precipice. A thoroughly entertaining read! -- Sarah HaywoodAs soon as I read the synopsis for Sedating Elaine I was hooked - it's tender, vicious, hilarious, exhilarating, devastating and HOPEFUL. The vibe is Amy Sedaris x Eleanor Oliphant. I LOVED it. -- Daisy BuchananIn Dawn Winter's knockout debut, Sedating Elaine, Frances owes money to a drug dealer and, with no way of getting it, contrives to have her obnoxiously upbeat, generationally wealthy girlfriend, Elaine, move in with her so she can shake her down for money... The prose, like Frances, is sprightly and dry. Crisp. Delivered with a shrug... Frances is funny and winning... You find yourself rooting for the drugging to go off without a hitch * New York Times *It's not often I root for a depressive villain hellbent on doping up their girlfriend, but there's so much in Dawn's book that's painfully relatable to a lot of people - building up exes into demigods, irrational hatred for perfectly sweet-natured rebounds, general frustration with life and not really understanding how unresolved trauma can still manipulate you. Although it's a bonkers premise, Sedating Elaine is an emotionally charged story that's beautifully told - I was very impressed by the writing: lovely and thoughtful but also deliciously catty, as well as engrossing, compelling, and darkly funny with well-drawn characters whose complexities come as naturally as breathing in and out . . . an enjoyable riot of a novel -- Justin MyersThe story of a savage anti-heroine that feels part Hitchcock fantasy, part Patrick Bateman. Brutal, funny, and genuinely shocking in places, Sedating Elaine is my favourite kind of debut novel: in that you can tell it was written by someone with an acid drive to write something they have never read anywhere before -- Caroline O’DonoghueSedating Elaine is a delightfully unhinged romp through romantic debacle, jaw-dropping decisions, and an emotional quagmire of guilt and longing. In this deft debut, Dawn Winters has created a modern, madcap comedy of errors that ultimately offers a touching lesson in forgiveness. Utterly bonkers and as darkly comic as it gets, Sedating Elaine is a brilliant, bingeable read -- Rachel Yoder, author of NIGHTBITCHSedating Elaine is a tasty caffeinated jolt that grabs you from page one and races you to a surprisingly moving conclusion - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Dawn Winter's dazzling wit is beautifully coupled with a natural ability to explore difficult themes like loss and forgiveness. A winning debut -- Steven Rowley, bestselling author of LILY AND THE OCTOPUS'Brash and engaging' * Kirkus *Winter's sharp debut blends humor and emotional reflections with an exploration of trauma, substance abuse, and dysfunctional relationships . . . Written in moving and candid prose, this takes an unflinching look at what troubled people are capable of, and what they might need to be healed. The result is amusing and touching in equal parts' * Publisher's Weekly *Sedating Elaine has everything I crave in a novel: a delightfully subversive premise; a narrator with her life in shambles; and a voice that crackles with heart and wit. What really kept me turning the pages, though, was Winter's unexpected and poignant look at loss and grief. I loved this book -- Grant Ginder, author of THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDINGElectric prose paired with a sharp-edged wit, on its surface SEDATING ELAINE is an off-kilter bop that will make you sweat and flip pages. However, the true victory of Winter's debut is its unblinking desire to capture humanity in all its crooked beauty. Frances is a narrator who reminds us to look past people's rough exteriors and consider their vulnerable insides -- Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of PIZZA GIRLSharply observed, morally chaotic, in moments both madcap and elegiac, Sedating Elaine does the surprising work of putting human emotional damage on display first for laughs, and then for love, if the reader's heart can bear it -- Rufi Thorpe, author of THE KNOCKOUT QUEENI loved this clever, funny and slightly mad debut about love, sex, grief and guilt . . . It's a riotous rollercoaster of hilarity, tenderness and beautiful craziness that kept me hooked from the start. -- Sara Lawrence * Daily Mail *Hilarious, tender, crazy and beautiful -- Wendy Holden * Irish Daily Mail *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The North Shore
Book Synopsis''Brilliant: singular, unsettling and mutative'' ROSIE ANDREWS, author of THE LEVIATHAN''The strange events of this story have haunted me'' NAOMI BOOTH''A beautiful, moving, unexpected novel . . . I will carry it with me for a long time'' ELVIA WILK''A queer, oneiric, watery fable in which narrative form and logic are in constant ?ux'' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTYou don''t pass through the North Shore on the way to anywhere else: it is the end of the road. The village was like many along that wild coast; inhabited by those who had always lived there, and always would.The residents know nature''s tempestuous ways. They batten down the hatches when the storms rip through, and they clear the debris together in the aftermath. But the morning after one particularly ferocious storm, something is washed up on the beach that has never appeared before. Something that opens the question of what natu
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Ghost Chilli
Book SynopsisMuskan has a great life. She has a job at a prestigious magazine (though they don''t seem totally aware of her presence), a group of wonderful friends (though it feels their lives have moved on a bit lately), a loving (if overbearing) family and a string of dates that are entertaining (if not in any way fulfilling). Fine, then, Muskan is struggling. And she''s annoying everyone around her with it. Muskan travels from New York to Chennai and back again as she navigates the quietly devastating travails of being a young Indian woman today, carried by the one thing that has got her this far - her dark sense of humour. Funny, moving and affecting - Ghost Chilli is a gripping story about the reality of modern relationships, and the ties that bind.
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group Ghost Chilli
Book Synopsis WINNER OF A COSMOPOLITAN BOOK AWARD FOR MOST RELATABLE READ 2024''A rich coming-of-age story full of punchy and astute observations about everyday relationships'' COSMPOLITAN''A kaleidoscopically detailed novel of twenty-first century life, full of human comedy, which finds richness in the quotidian, ephemeral, and overlooked'' LUCIE ELVEN''Ghost Chilli is enjoyably bittersweet, a black comedy that conjures the turbulent twenties in all their isolation and shame'' TELEGRAPH''By turns witty, compassionate, and toe-curling. An incredibly astute and propulsive writing of modern relationships, familial, platonic and romantic'' SUSANNAH DICKEY''Exquisite, forensic and tender . . . This book gently brûléed my heart'' DOREEN CUNNINGHAMMuskan has a great life: a creative job in the big city, supportive friends, and no trouble finding first dates. So what if her colleagues don''t know she exists, or her friends won''t stop lecturing her about the three-year ''situationship'' she''s in? It''s not like she''s starving.But something is wrong, and while the people around her seem to have all the right words, nobody can articulate what they want from each other. As obstacles mount and the easy-going persona Muskan has built starts to crumble, she is forced to face a question that''s been quietly burning at the back of her mind: Why did her family move to America so abruptly?Warm, funny, and sharply observed, Ghost Chilli is a story about trying to find honest relationships in an isolating world, and the weight we unwittingly carry.
£17.00
Little, Brown Book Group Crook Manifesto
Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER: a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.''Glorious'' New York Times Book Review''The compelling energy of a crime thriller and the sharp wit of social satire'' Guardian''Whitehead''s crime series is one of the most enjoyable streaks in recent fiction'' Telegraph''This novel has it all'' Mail on Sunday1971, New York City. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is going bankrupt, and a shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Furniture store owner and ex-fence Ray Carney is trying to keep his head down, his business up and his life straight. But then he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May and he decides to hit up an old police contact, who wants favours in return. For Ray, staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated - and deadly. 1973. The old ways are being overthrown by the thriving counterculture, but Pepper, Carney''s enduringly violent partner in crime, is a constant. In these difficult times, Pepper takes on a side gig doing security on a Blaxploitation shoot in Harlem, finding himself in a world of Hollywood stars and celebrity drug dealers, in addition to the usual cast of hustlers, mobsters and hit men. These adversaries underestimate the seasoned crook - to their regret. 1976. Harlem is burning, while the country gears up for the Bicentennial. Carney is trying to come up with a celebratory July 4th advertisement he can actually live with, while his wife Elizabeth is campaigning for her childhood friend, rising politician Alexander Oakes. When a fire seriously injures one of Carney''s tenants, he enlists Pepper to look into who may be behind it, navigating a crumbling metropolis run by the shady, the violent and the utterly corrupt. ''Fast, fun, ribald... with a touch of Quentin Tarantino'' Sunday Times''A delight'' Financial Times''Hugely enticing'' Independent
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Fetishist
Book Synopsis''Incandescent, astonishing, a miracle'' R. O. KWON''With The Fetishist, Min has left the world something original and highly potent'' INDEPENDENT''Savage, horrible and very funny'' i-D MAGAZINEIn this hilariously savage, poignant novel by acclaimed author Katherine Min, a grieving daughter''s revenge on the man who caused her mother''s death sets off a series of unexpected reckonings. On a cold, gloomy night, twenty-three-year-old Kyoko stands in the rain with a knife in her hoodie''s pocket. Her target is Daniel, who seduced Kyoko''s mother then callously dropped her, leading to her death. But tonight, there will be repercussions. Following the unsuspecting Daniel home, Kyoko manages to get a rash kidnapping plot off the ground. . . and then nothing goes as planned.The Fetishist is the story of three people - Kyoko, a Japanese American punk-rock singer full of rage and grief; Danie
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Fetishist
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Silverback
Book SynopsisA powerful and brilliant novel for fans of Claire Keegan.
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Malma Station
Book SynopsisOn board the train to Malma Station are a married couple in crisis, a single dad and his young daughter, and a woman searching for the answer to a mystery her mother left behind. The enigmatic Harriet, the controlling Oskar, and the searching Yana - each of these characters carries within them the scars of what has come before. Malma Station traces the crooked lines of family and history and shows how memories morph to take new shape, postulating that perhaps the past is actually what we can change, rather than the future. The narrative builds like a train hurtling through time, each chapter a separate car hooking into the next. Malma Station is at once an enchanting and gut-wrenching novel about family secrets and injustices passed on through generations - and a suspenseful hunt for a truth with the power to change everything.
£17.00
Little, Brown Book Group Malma Station
Book SynopsisA train races through a saturated summer landscape. The characters in this novel are all traveling to Malma Station, and neither they nor the reader know how their fates are intertwined.
£9.49
