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
Pan Macmillan Wrath
Book SynopsisThe fourth in The Faithful and the Fallen series, Wrath by John Gwynne is the breathtaking, pulse-pounding conclusion to an epic series.It’s time to brave the final battle . . .Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has seized the fortress at Drassil, and now possesses three of the Seven Treasures. And with Calidus and Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the rest. They will allow him to open a portal to the Otherworld - so Asroth and his demon-horde can break into the Banished Lands and finally become flesh.Meanwhile Corban has been captured by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, to counter the threat Nathair represents. His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished LanTrade ReviewA breathtakingly perfect finale to a series that has grown from strength to wonderful strength. Poignant, pulse-pounding and phenomenally paced, Wrath is a satisfying – and heart-breaking – climax that Tolkien himself would be proud to have penned * Fantasy Faction *A masterpiece in modern fantasy and a breathtaking finale to what is my all-time favourite fantasy series * The Tattooed Book Geek *Unpredictable, exhilarating * Fantasy Book Review *Engrossing . . . excellent writing * Sunday Sport *Masterpiece . . . damn near perfection * Booknest *
£11.39
Penguin Books Ltd Good Morning Midnight Jean Rhys Penguin Modern
Book SynopsisJean Rhys''s Good Morning Midnight is an unforgettable portrait of a woman bravely confronting loneliness and despair in her quest for self-determinationIn 1930s Paris, where one cheap hotel room is very like another, a young woman is teaching herself indifference. She has escaped personal tragedy and has come to France to find courage and seek independence. She tells herself to expect nothing, especially not kindness, least of all from men. Tomorrow, she resolves, she will dye her hair blonde. Jean Rhys was a talent before her time with an impressive ability to express the anguish of young women. In Good Morning, Midnight Rhys created the powerfully modern portrait of Sophia Jansen, whose emancipation is far more painful and complicated than she could expect, but whose confession is flecked with triumph and elation. With an introduction by A.L. Kennedy ''Her eloquence in the language of human sexual transactions is chilling, cynical, andTrade ReviewHer eloquence in the language of human sexual transactions is chilling, cynical, and surprisingly moving -- A L KennedyNo one who reads Good Morning, Midnight will ever forget it * The New York Times *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Aphrodite
Book SynopsisFrom the author of Herc, Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award 2024 and Waterstones Best book of the Year 2023, comes the story of Aphrodite, the goddess of lies. 'A remarkable feat of storytelling' Rosie Hewlett on Herc
£16.14
Faber & Faber A Certain Hunger
Book Synopsis'Irresistable.' Megan Abbott'A gory, gorgeous feast of a book.' Kiran Millwood Hargrave'This book is crazy. You have to read it.' Bon AppetitDorothy Daniels has always had a voracious - and adventurous - appetite. From her idyllic farm-to-table childhood (homegrown tomatoes, thick slices of freshly baked bread) to the heights of her career as a food critic (white truffles washed down with Barolo straight from the bottle) Dorothy has never been shy about indulging her exquisite tastes - even when it lead to her plunging an ice pick into her lover's neck.There is something inside Dorothy that makes her different from everybody else. Something she's finally ready to confess. But beware: her story just might make you wonder how your lover would taste sautÃed with shallots and mushrooms and deglazed with a little red wine.'An unapologetic, rollicking satire of one woman's insatiable appetite.' Irish TimesTrade Review'A macabre banquet of a suspense novel serving up carnal and gustatory surprises . . . Dorothy speaks like Humbert Humbert and behaves like Hannibal Lecter.' ? Washington Post'Riotously funny and deliriously unhinged, Chelsea G. Summers's A Certain Hunger is the perfect send-up of foodie culture, media, and serial killers-as-sex objects. Patrick Bateman and Hannibal Lecter have nothing on Dorothy Daniels, a 51-year-old food critic, who has an appetite for food and life, sure, but also for killing men. an altogether delicious, deranged read.' ? Refinery29'In this satire of a particular brand of foodieism, a chic food critic with a (quite literal) voracious appetite for her lovers puts the same care and attention into murder as she does her writing and personal presentation. Not for the faint of heart, it's a novel that might initially get your mouth watering for a fine steak-but perhaps put you off meat for good.' ? Vanity Fair'Shares with Nabokov's Humbert Humbert a gallows humour and a deliciously synaesthetic, detailed attention to language.' ? i paper'It's American Psycho as rewritten by Angela Carter. Irresistible.' - Megan Abbott
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Elektra
Book Synopsis**The spellbinding new retelling of the story of Troy drawn from the perspective of the fearless women at the heart of it all.**''The story and its characters swept me up and engulfed me, I could not put this one down'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ REAL READER REVIEW''I was glued to it from beginning to end and could not wait to recommend to my friends afterwards.'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ REAL READER REVIEW''Jennifer Saint has breathed new life into this myth and put her own stamp on it'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ REAL READER REVIEW''A brilliant read'' Women & Home ''A spirited retelling'' Times ''Beautiful and absorbing'' Fabulous ''A vivid reimagining of Greek mythology'' Harper''s Bazaar ''Jennifer Saint has done an incredible job'' RedThe House of ATrade ReviewThis book is profoundly moving, full of beautiful touches which made the story feel fresh without losing any of the magic of its classical setting. I absolutely loved it. * Elodie Harper, author of THE WOLF DEN *This book is profoundly moving, full of beautiful touches which made the story feel fresh without losing any of the magic of its classical setting. I absolutely loved it. * Elodie Harper, author of THE WOLF DEN *Elektra tells the stories of three women as each battles to forge her own destiny. Jennifer Saint explores how suffering is passed down generations in this compelling novel, told in rich and evocative prose. A truly immersive read. * Elizabeth Lee, author of CUNNING WOMEN *Elektra tells the stories of three women as each battles to forge her own destiny. Jennifer Saint explores how suffering is passed down generations in this compelling novel, told in rich and evocative prose. A truly immersive read. * Elizabeth Lee, author of CUNNING WOMEN *Completely spellbinding. The story sweeps over you like a shimmering dream. Beautifully written, cinematic in its scope and highly compelling; I flew through its pages and missed it immensely when it was over. * B. P. Walter, author of THE DINNER GUEST *Completely spellbinding. The story sweeps over you like a shimmering dream. Beautifully written, cinematic in its scope and highly compelling; I flew through its pages and missed it immensely when it was over. * B. P. Walter, author of THE DINNER GUEST *Elektra makes the world of Mycenaean Greece feel alive again. In Jennifer Saint's prose you can hear the songs of the poets, feel the floors beneath your feet, smell the wood burning in the fire and experience the story of these three very different women as if you are there. A compelling retelling of ancient legacies, betrayal and the whims of the gods. * Claire North, author of Ithaca *Elektra makes the world of Mycenaean Greece feel alive again. In Jennifer Saint's prose you can hear the songs of the poets, feel the floors beneath your feet, smell the wood burning in the fire and experience the story of these three very different women as if you are there. A compelling retelling of ancient legacies, betrayal and the whims of the gods. * Claire North, author of Ithaca *The thing that is most gorgeous about this book is the writing. * Miranda Dickinson, author of THE START OF SOMETHING *The thing that is most gorgeous about this book is the writing. * Miranda Dickinson, author of THE START OF SOMETHING *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Score
Book SynopsisJilly Cooper is a journalist, author and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling books, she lives in Gloucestershire.She has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin, and won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019. She was also appointed DBE in 2024 for services to literature and charity.Trade ReviewI drew back in some alarm when told on its jacket that Score! was wildly funny, unashamedly romantic, terrifyingly creepy. I pressed bravely on nonetheless, and found with surprise that Score! is indeed all these things and even more -- John Bayley * Spectator *Absolutely wonderful, such fun and so busy and gossipy -- Penny VincenziHas all the usual Cooper ingredients, fantastically attractive male and female characters, lots of extra-marital affairs and dollops of good humour, but there is a difference in this novel as it is also a murder mystery -- Linda Roberts * Daily Mail *Romance, glamour, seismic sex and delightful comedy... this book is a slice of heaven: pure, blissful escapism -- Kate Saunders * New Statesman *A deliciously funny, lusty, riproaring read with the added dimension of suspense and murder -- Sally Feldman * Good Housekeeping *
£13.49
Faber & Faber The HaHa
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Titanium Noir
Book Synopsis''Nick Harkaway novels are electric'' Patrick Ness, author of A MONSTER CALLS''Cross-genre brilliance'' William Gibson, author of AGENCY''Captivating from start to finish'' The Big IssueCal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he''s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. Clearly, he is a Titan - one of this dystopian, near-future society''s genetically-altered elites.There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca''s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal''s specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. AnTrade ReviewTitanium Noir is deft and hectic and so damn fun. It's a story-telling amphetamine laced with social commentary and it's terrific * Lauren Beukes, author of THE SHINING GIRLS *Titanium Noir is a beautifully twisted, fast-paced new-cyberpunk fairy tale. The perfect blend of Raymond Chandler and William Gibson * Terry Miles, author of RABBITS *Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway * William Gibson, author of AGENCY *Nick Harkaway's Cal Sounder is everything I could want in a new sci-fi detective: he's smart and resourceful, good in a fight, needling of power and capable of irritating damn near everyone he meets, and willing to risk everything he has to solve his case. Maybe it's always been true that the rich and powerful take pleasure from living life better than the rest of us: in Titanium Noir, Harkaway imagines what might happen when they decide they also want to live forever, taking us on a breakneck tour of one infuriatingly plausible future's corruption and vice * Matt Bell, author of APPLESEED *Titanium Noir is a fun, twisty detective novel with a big science-fiction idea at its centre. Harkaway puts a new spin on classic noir themes * Dexter Palmer, author of MARY TOFT; OR, THE RABBIT QUEEN *An SF-tinged romp that blends elements of the noir thriller and the picaresque novel... An entertaining shaggy dog of a futuristic whodunit * Kirkus Reviews *I picked up Titanium Noir and then it returned the favor, sending me reeling with thrilling velocity through Nick Harkaway's latest world of dark wonders until it set me down at the last fine Harkaway sentence with all the lightness, strength and brilliance of its hard bright titular element * Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winning author *A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction * Guardian *A wonderfully expansive and visionary piece of speculative fiction... Titanium Noir blends the best of the science fiction and crime genres to create something vibrant and new. Captivating from start to finish * The Big Issue *Nick Harkaway novels are electric. Titanium Noir is a short, sharp shock, punchy and strange and vibrant. And sizzling in a way that makes other novels feel slightly asleep. * Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls *Cal Sounder crashes like a wrecking ball through a world of privilege and secrets. . . . If Titanium Noir turns out to be the first book in a series of Sounder's adventures ... I'd welcome more * The Washington Post *A detective tries to investigate a killing in a dystopian city where the haves and have-nots are divided by more than just money. . . . Surprising and gratifying * The Wall Street Journal *An exemplar of its genre * New York Times, Best New Books to Read This Summer *A fabulous thought experiment . . . The characters, who, as in other Harkaway books, arrive fully formed and linger long in the memory. Luckily, Harkaway has hinted this won't be the last we see of Chersenesos. * New Scientist *Very entertaining . . . The eclectic cast includes Stefan's towering daughter Athena, who is also Sounder's ex-girlfriend, a criminal Titan of skewed proportions named Doublewide, and a drunk, blind codebreaker. All are gifted with snappy dialogue, and the mystery resolves with a sharp twist. * The Spectator *
£9.49
Amazon Publishing Five Days in Venice
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£8.54
Text Publishing Severance
Book SynopsisAn original, sharp and funny literary debut that explores themes of belonging, alienation, late-capitalism, overconsumption and the immigrant experience.
£8.54
Headline Publishing Group Instructions for a Heatwave
Book Synopsis
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Into the Storm
Book Synopsis
£10.80
Penguin Books Ltd Snow Country
Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Tired of the bustling city, a man takes the train through the snow to Japan''s mountains, to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, she is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha, and lives a life of servitude and seclusion. Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata''s masterpiece, is a delicate, subtle meditation on love and its limits.''A work of beauty and strangeness, one of the most distinguished and moving of Japanese novels'' New York Herald Tribune
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Conditions of Unconditional Love
Book SynopsisBook 15 in the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Thursday Murder Club
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Bloomsbury UK Twist
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Eradication
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£12.34
Atria Books Is This a Cry for Help
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£20.48
Hodder & Stoughton The Ministry of Time
Book Synopsis The romantic, historical, comedic, literary, genre-defying bestseller''The hit of the year''Guardian ''Addictive''Independent''Crack this book open and you''ll see how time can disappear''Financial Times''Readers, I envy you: There''s a smart, witty novel in your future''Washington Post A civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering ''expats'' from across history to test whether time-travel is feasible. Her role is to work as a ''bridge'': living with, supporting and monitoring expat ''1847'' - Commander Graham Gore, a former Victorian polar explorer. Gore, an adventurer by trade, soon adjusts to this bizarre new world of washing machines, feminism and Spotify; and during a long, sultry summer the pair move from awkwardness to friendship to something more.But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. Can love triumph over the histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy that history when it is living in your house?A Barack Obama reading pickShortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction PrizeShortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fictionShortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing AwardLonglisted for the Climate Fiction PrizeOne of the 18 best novels of the year for the Sunday TimesA book of the year for the New York Times, Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard, Spectator, Red, NPR, Vanity Fair, People, Slate, Advocate, Sydney Morning Herald, Globe and Mail, Den of Geek, Good Housekeeping, Goodreads, NetGalley and Smithsonian Magazine
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Ink Black Heart
Book SynopsisThe next thrilling instalment in the highly acclaimed, international bestselling series featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym of J.K. Rowling.Trade ReviewA superlative piece of crime fiction * SUNDAY TIMES *The longest [Galbraith] yet ... repays the commitment * GUARDIAN *There can be no denying [Galbraith's] formidable talents as a crime writer * DAILY MAIL *[A] strong, page-turning plot * SCOTSMAN *Satisfyingly labyrinthine ... one to be savoured * HEAT *A clever mystery that ticks all the boxes * SUN *Fans will be as entranced as ever * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Impossible to put down * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *A rip-roaring read, a big, sprawling, at-times electrifying thriller, with the expanse and sweeping momentum of a classic 19th century "social novel" ... all crafted with impeccable precision * IRISH INDEPENDENT *A tightly executed, engrossing murder mystery ... [Galbraith] just gets better with every book * SUNDAY INDEPENDENT (IRELAND) *An engrossing feast of a whodunnit * BEST *With its striking Gothic underpinnings, the novel is a synthesis of traditional and modern elements, delivered with panache * FINANCIAL TIMES *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Carol
Book Synopsis'Some books change lives. This is one of them' Val McDermid A haunting story of obsessive love which scandalized the world when first publishedTrade Review'Has the drive of a thriller but the imagery of a romance ... This is a book that is hard to set aside; it demands to be read late into the night with eyes burning and heart racing' Val McDermid 'A document of persecuted love ... perfect' Independent 'Gently exploratory, genuinely moving' Mail on Sunday 'An original, honest novel, a remarkable imaginative achievement by any standard ... compelling' Financial Times
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Slaughterhouse 5
Book SynopsisHe is a true artist’ New York Times Book ReviewBilly Pilgrim – hapless barber's assistant, successful optometrist, alien abductee, senile widower and soldier – has become unstuck in time.Trade ReviewMarvellous...the writing is pungent, the antics uproarious, the humour suitably black, the wit sharp as a hypodermic * Daily Telegraph *Mr Vonnegut knows a great deal about what is probably the largest massacre in modern history - the fire-bombing of Dresden in 1945. Slaughterhouse Five is a reaction to the event by one of our most gifted and incisive novelists. A work of keen literary artistry -- Joseph Heller, author of 'Catch-22'The individuality of Vonnegut's style is a curious yet perfect match for the pain of the emotional content. A humane, human book that always remains a work of art rather than biography, no matter how apparent the author's presence -- Kate AtkinsonUnique...one of the writers who map our landscapes for us, who give names to the places we know best -- Doris LessingFunny, satirical, compelling, outrageous, fanciful, mordant, fecund and at the bottom-line, simply stoned-out-of-its-mind * Los Angeles Times *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Bloody Awful in Different Ways
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Watermelon
Book SynopsisPre-order now! A stunning reissue to celebrate the highly-acclaimed debut from beloved, global no. 1 bestseller Marian Keyes'A warm and hilarious page turner' Good Housekeeping'Gloriously funny' Sunday Times'Keyes is in a class of her own' Daily Express***********Meet Claire Walsh. On the day she gives birth to her first child, Claire's husband James tells her he's been having an affair, and that now's the right time to leave her. Right for who exactly?Exhausted, tearful and a tiny bit furious, Claire doesn't know what to do. So she decides to go back to basics . . . and runs home to Mum and Dad. But it's not the sanctuary she'd been hoping for. Juggling her sisters' drama, her parents' pity and the demands of a baby, Claire desperately misses the way things were. So when James gets back in touch, eager to put things right, Claire faces a choice. Will she forgive and forget? Or can she find the courage to take a chance on herself, and start a life of her own?_________FAMOUS FAN
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Jump
Book SynopsisJilly Cooper is a journalist, author and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling books, she lives in Gloucestershire.She has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin, and won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019. She was also appointed DBE in 2024 for services to literature and charity.Trade ReviewJump! is the perfect read for chilly autumn nights. Hugely entertaining, touching and funny, yet again Cooper has a winner * Daily Express *This is definitely the most exciting book that landed on my doormat this year. Cooper is a major genius... the narrative zips along, pierced with her characteristically brilliant ear for dialogue and empathy for human relationships of all kinds. You won't be able to put it down -- Sara Lawrence * Daily Mail *Near-magical ability to conjure up a world and populate it with people for whom you feel a deep affection * Observer *To read one of Cooper's books is to escape into an alternative universe in which all is right with the world * Guardian *A fast-paced and enjoyable read * Sun *
£13.49
Cornerstone Playground
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024A POWERFUL NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AND BOOKER-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY AND BEWILDERMENT''Is there anything Richard Powers cannot write? The world here is complete, seductive, and promising. The writing feels like the ocean. Vast, mysterious, deep and alive'' PERCIVAL EVERETT''An extraordinarily immersive journey through lives linked in mysterious ways - gripping, alarming and uplifting'' EMMA DONOGHUERafi and Todd are two polar opposites at an elite high school where they bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game. It sets them up for life: Rafi will get lost in literature, while Todd's work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.Elsewhere, Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world's first aqualungs; Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home.A
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Midnight in Soap Lake
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Wicked
Book SynopsisHis reasons for doing so are purely financial, but he is encouraged by the opportunities the scheme gives him for frequent meetings with Janna Curtis, the dynamic new head of Larks, who has been drafted in to save what is a fast-sinking school from closure.Trade ReviewSimply enjoy the wicked pleasures Cooper does so well * The Observer *My reading of Jilly Cooper's Wicked! was not guiltily pleasurable - it was just pleasurable... a brilliantly refreshing read -- Polly Vernon * Observer *The perfect beach companion * Daily Mail *A great summer read * Daily Express *The perfect summer read... with Cooper's trademark puns, a massive cast and lots of sex - it's a winner * Daily Express *
£13.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Murder On The Christmas Express
Book SynopsisThe Christmas Jigsaw Murders, the brand new Alexandra Benedict novel, is out now.CAN YOU SOLVE THE CASE? 'Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it’s this book. This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn’t shy away from the darkness. Eighteen passengers, seven stops, one killer Christmas read' JANICE HALLETT 'The perfect book to read on a train . . . A thrilling journey from start to finish. Highly recommended' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'It’s wonderful! A page-turning homage to the Golden Age, with a dash of Poirot and a dark, modern heart' S J BENNETT Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer. In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of noTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR MURDER ON THE CHRISTMAS EXPRESS: ‘Magnificent! A smart, suspenseful and snow-covered mystery with plenty of heart and more than a few quiz questions. A total must read for Christmas’ STEPH BROADRIBB ‘I absolutely loved it! Such a clever and pacy read with a glorious nod to classic Christie’ JO JAKEMAN ‘An engrossing and heart-warming mystery. Like a glorious Christmas chocolate – beautiful on the outside with a richly dark centre. Perfect to curl up with on cold winter nights’ MARION TODD ‘A genuine Christmas Feast. Its traditional wrapping conceals a fiendish mystery, a heart of darkness and – in Roz – a wonderfully flawed heroine that you will absolutely fall in love with. If you like your Christmas murderous and melancholy, it's going to keep you very happy over the Festive Period’ DEREK FARRELL ‘A thought-provoking modern take on a Golden Age mystery. Set on a sleeper train racing into the snowy darkness, this atmospheric tale features a tight cast of vividly-drawn characters, and piercing observation. Expertly crafted, the story kept me glued to the pages until the mystery was finally – and satisfyingly – revealed. A great read’ AMANDA JENNINGS ‘It’s an absolute cracker (not sorry . . .). Many try to emulate Christie but this is the real atmospheric deal’ SINEAD CROWLEY 'As twisty and turny as Agatha Christie’s classic, but with a fresh and sharp modern take. A fantastically atmospheric and compelling mystery, I couldn’t stop racing through the pages' KAT AILES, author of The Expectant Detectives ‘Another cracking Xmas mystery from Alexandra Benedict. This should definitely become an annual tradition. I hope we’re going to see more of Roz!’ GEORGE MANN ‘All aboard the Christmas express for a wonderfully gripping murder mystery this Christmas’ METRO ‘This festive Agatha-Christie-like whodunnit is full of brilliant puzzles and mystery’ SUN ‘The ultimate Christmas mystery’ SHOTS ‘Benedict has pulled together plenty of classic elements – including a locked room mystery – but she’s also thrown a bit of grit into proceedings to elevate the novel beyond its cosy crime trappings’ THE CRACK, Book of the Month PRAISE FOR ALEXANDRA BENEDICT’S CHRISTMAS BOOKS: ‘The perfect gift for quizzers and mystery addicts . . . A delicious locked room mystery crammed with cryptic clues, secrets in sonnets and a deadly game. But it's more than a series of puzzles, it's also an entertaining exploration of relationships and a riveting read’ VAL McDERMID ‘Perfectly pitched for cold nights and warm fires. A lovely Golden Age tribute’ SINEAD CROWLEY ‘A perfectly plotted festive mystery’ SUSI HOLLIDAY ‘This is the perfect Christmas book. Get it for yourself to read when the nights are cold and dark and give it as a present. To everyone!’ MARTYN WAITES ‘Curl up by the fire (and lock all the doors) for this Christmas cracker of a book’ C. S. GREEN ‘Utterly original and breathtakingly intriguing . . . A must-read this Christmas’ STEPH BROADRIBB ‘The perfect updating of the classic Christmas Country House mystery . . . Fabulous festive fun’ DEREK FARRELL ‘The perfect Christmas read . . . and puzzles galore for both readers and the players of the game’ W.C. RYAN ‘Clever and twisty’ CRIME MONTHLY ‘One for book lovers that can't get enough of mystery fiction – even during Christmas’ SUN ‘Packed with riddles, anagrams and puzzles, this is an engaging murder mystery that will grip you until the end’ DAILY MIRROR ‘Atmospheric and pacy’ BEST
£9.49
Random House Enter Ghost
Book Synopsis**WINNER OF THE RSL ENCORE AWARD 2024****SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024**Reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir finds love and hope in Shakespeare and Palestine.I absolutely loved it'MONICA ALI'Remarkable My heart will never be the same' BARBARA KINGSOLVERA vital storyteller'ALI SMITHAfter years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. On her arrival, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.When Sonia meets the charismatic Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing with a dedicated, if competitive, group of men yet as opening night draws closer, it becomes clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all,
£9.49
Fitzcarraldo Editions Still Born
Book SynopsisStill Born, Guadalupe Nettel’s fourth novel, explores one of life’s most consequential decisions – whether or not to have children – with her signature charm and intelligence. Alina and Laura are independent and career-driven women in their mid-thirties, neither of whom have built their future around the prospect of a family. Laura has taken the drastic decision to be sterilized, but as time goes by Alina becomes drawn to the idea of becoming a mother. When complications arise in Alina’s pregnancy and Laura becomes attached to her neighbour’s son, both women are forced to reckon with the complexity of their emotions. In prose that is as gripping as it is insightful, Still Born explores maternal ambivalence with a surgeon’s touch, carefully dissecting the contradictions that make up the lived experiences of women.Trade Review‘Still Born is an astonishingly elegant, intelligent, affecting novel, which has stayed in my mind from the moment I began it to long after I finished. I felt a huge sense of relief that I had encountered a work of art about ambivalence in mothering, which encompassed a true, authentic range of emotions and curiosities – vanity, aggression, jealousy and selfishness – with sanguine acceptance, as well as the beautiful and difficult project of giving and sustaining love which marks all our lives, mothers or otherwise.’ — Megan Nolan, author of Acts of Desperation‘In Still Born, Guadalupe Nettel renders with great veracity life as it is encountered in the everyday, taking us to the heart of the only things that really matter: life, death and our relationships with others. All of these are contained in the experience of motherhood, which this novel explores and deepens.’ — Annie Ernaux, author of The Years‘Guadalupe Nettel reminds us that there is nothing stranger than our existence lived in containers of meat, blood and madness.’ — Mariana Enríquez, author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed‘Still Born is a rare thing: an unsentimental analysis of the ambivalences and moral complexity of motherhood. It is a book which demands to be discussed, at length, with friends, and I longed to do so.’ — Jessie Greengrass, author of The High House‘I love the work of Guadalupe Nettel, one of Mexico’s greatest living writers. Her fiction is brilliant and original, always suffused with sensuality and strange science.’ — Paul Theroux, author of The Mosquito Coast‘Nettel is one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature.... I envy how naturally she makes use of language; her resistance to ornamentation and artifice; and the almost stoic fortitude with which she dispenses her profound and penetrating knowledge of human nature.’ — Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive‘I read Still Born in less than a day. It is perfect: deeply feminist, wise, funny and alive. Nettel is generous to each of her characters, and in prose that is crisp and light. I love this book.’ — Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of there are more things‘An unflinching, compassionate meditation on mothers, daughters and sisters – both blood-related and chosen – Still Born stirred me and consoled me, renewing my faith in the power of women’s communities. Guadalupe Nettel has managed the impossible task of writing a work of both exacting honesty and immense tenderness, on one of the most delicate topics.’ — Livia Franchini, author of Shelf Life‘Rosalind Harvey skilfully translate the original Spanish into precise and plain, but deeply moving, prose. Without resorting to sentimentality, the novel charts its characters’ halting efforts to understand and comfort one another. It is a piercing reflection on the ways acts of care bind people together.’ — Economist ‘Nettel is free. She has succeeded in creating an audacious narrative style all her own, a singular and fearless way of being in the world. An essential voice of the new Latin American literature.’ — Enrique Vila-Matas, author of Mac’s Problem‘Still Born is a startling novel about whatever it is that drives adults to take care of children, and all the many things that make that care painful and sometimes impossible. There is a quiet force to the poised and deliberate writing. The novel is a deep exploration of affection and vulnerability.’ — Caleb Klaces, author of Fatherhood‘This highly original novel, in an excellent translation by Rosalind Harvey, pursues a range of ideas connected to children, who should have them and who should take care of them…There’s a dark undertow to Still Born that reminded me of Elena Ferrante’s novels.’ — Miranda France, TLS ‘Solitude, the vulnerabilities of the body, unearthing the beautiful in the strange, outsiders who are unwilling to conform – these are some of [Nettel’s] interests ... [and she] carries some of these concerns into Still Born.... The prose, which appears in an elegant translation by Rosalind Harvey, retains a matter-of-factness, and in some places a synoptic quality ... that is rarely freighted with sadness or despair.’ — Sarah Resnick, London Review of Books‘Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey, devotes tight prose to the complicated structure of identity around being (or not being) a mother and explores the constant negotiating women must do in the process. It’s a subject that’s well-trodden, but it’s still consistently treated as a universal experience – Nettel approaches mothering with originality and oceans of empathy.’ — Anna Cafolla, The Face‘The writing is subtle, sharp, and beautifully rendered thanks to Rosalind Harvey’s smooth translation.’ — Buzz Magazine‘Still Born embraces both the joys of motherhood, and all the milked-up gunk, guilt-tripping and agonising. The decisions made are never straightforward. But this novel is vital in its emphasis on the right for people to make their own choices about their own bodies.’ — The Big Issue‘Beautifully rendered in English by Rosalind Harvey, Still Born addresses the taboo of being ambivalent to motherhood with an admirable honesty… Still Born does the work of all impressive fiction; it creates conversation and generates ideas about the topics that are not as openly spoken about as they should be.’ —Hritik Verma, Hindustan Times
£12.34
Little, Brown Book Group Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and
Book SynopsisThe Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, a play by Jack Thorne.Trade ReviewWhether encountered on stage or on the page, this trip back into the magical world of Hogwarts is thrilling * The Telegraph *Fans can breathe easy knowing this play has been respectfully and lovingly wrought. Tensions thrum, spells fly but at center stage, as always in the Potterverse, is the overriding importance of love and friendship, especially in the face of danger * Booklist, starred review *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Seven Days in June: the instant New York Times
Book SynopsisA REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICKTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (JUNE 2021)'A sexy, modern love story' Reese Witherspoon'I absolutely loved it' Jodi PicoultSeven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again...When Eva Mercy, a single mother and bestselling erotica writer, and the enigmatic, award-winning novelist Shane Hall meet at a literary event in New York, sparks fly. But what no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one week together, madly in love. While they may pretend to be strangers, they can't deny their chemistry.Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect. But Eva is wary of the man who broke her heart and wants Shane out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before he disappears, though, she needs a few questions answered . . .With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.'Deliciously witty' Zoella Book Club'Hilarious, romantic and incredibly sexy' Hello!'An absolute page turner . . . exuding love, hope and desire' Evening Standard'Electric and alive' Kirkus'A captivating love story' Melan Mag'A vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy' Rumaan AlamTrade ReviewA sexy, modern love story to start the summer off right * Reese Witherspoon *A smart, sexy testament to Black joy, to the well of strength from which women draw, and to tragic romances that mature into second chances. I absolutely loved it * Jodi Picoult *Tia Williams conjures a seductive fantasy - rich friendships, star-crossed lovers, artistic fulfilment. But Williams is writing realism, exploring personal pain, family entanglements, and the negotiation of Black identity in a world defined by whiteness. The result isn't escapism (though the book is a delight) but a vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy * Rumaan Alam *A novel with a delicious plot, compelling characters, and all of the pop cultural references my heart desires. Seven Days in June is nothing short of a good time. It's funny, thoughtful and its protagonist Eva Mercy is my new favourite pretend writer * Michael Arceneaux *Its deliciously witty dialogue, fully realised characters and deft handling of love, race and second-chances will stay with you long after summer * Zoella Book Club *A tour de force . . . A hugely satisfying romance that is electrifying and alive * Kirkus *Grab a fan before reading this one, because it really heats up * Good Housekeeping US *One of the most anticipated romance novels of the summer, SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE is a story of love found, lost, and found again. Eva and Shane's story gets steamy, so be sure to read by the water so you can cool off * Oprah Daily *The hilariously sexy novel is an absolute page turner with every chapter exuding more love, hope and desire as the last * Evening Standard *A captivating love story * Melan Mag *Bold, romantic and sharply drawn, Seven Days in June will scorch your synapses in the best possible ways * Daily Record *A novel with memorable characters and an original plot * Independent *This hilarious, romantic and incredibly sexy novel is a definite page-turner of a messy love story * Hello! *A gorgeous romance story brimming with hope, joy, and love * Voice Mag *It was perfectly paced, funny and without spoiling too much, had a happy ending * Huffington Post *
£9.87
Penguin Group Untitled 2
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£8.54
Octopus Publishing Group Best Wishes from The Full Moon Coffee Shop
Book SynopsisThe Christmastime-set second novel in the bestselling Japanese 'healing fiction' series spins more stories of lost souls finding themselves - with a little help of the Full Moon Coffee Shop...
£15.29
Faber & Faber Little Rot
Book SynopsisFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTYFun, sexy, dangerous.' NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH A must-read.' GLAMOURAddictive.' iNEWSPoetic, scorchingly graphic.' GUARDIAN Thrilling.' PEOPLE MAGAZINEReeling with grief from their recent breakup, Kalu and Aima are drawn into separate nights of decadence in the heart of New Lagos: a city teeming with traffic, polluted air and cracked faith.Tonight, the pair are desperate to forget about their troubles. But when Kalu visits an exclusive sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that plunges the couple and their friends into the city's corrupt and glittering underworld.Readers love Little Rot:''IMMERSIVE . . . It forces you to ask, when push comes to shove how righteous are you really?'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''This has got to be the best book I have read in a very long time.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Akwaeke never disappoints. . . I enjoyed every page of it!'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''I could not put this down.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''I've really no words for Emezi's genius. Their stories devour you, consume you, drawing you in completely.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
£9.49
Kodansha America, Inc Blue Lock 21
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Quercus Publishing A Killing in November
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2023''[A] terrific crime novel'' Mick Herron''This moody, atmospheric novel is full of surprises'' Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month)''[W]ell plotted and very funny'' ***** Sun''This has a TV series written all over it'' Daily Mail----------------------------------------------------------Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park, a member of what many people would call the criminal classes. As a young Detective Inspector, he''s lost none of his disgust with privileged elites - or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, sm
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Only in New York
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group She Speaks
£10.44
Transworld The Homemade God
Book SynopsisRachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North, The Music Shop, Miss Benson's Beetle, and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories.Rachel's books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel also wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023. Miss Benson's Beetle won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize in 2021. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in December 2012 and was shortlisted for the UK Author of the Year in 2014. In 2024 she was awarded an ho
£17.09
Headline Publishing Group The Hand That First Held Mine
Book Synopsis The Sunday Times top 10 bestselling novel from the author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT*Over 400,000 copies sold* Winner of the 2010 Costa Novel Award ''Exquisitely sensual'' Emma Donoghue, author of Room-----Fresh out of university and in disgrace, Lexie Sinclair is waiting for life to begin. When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep in rural Devon, she realises she can wait no longer, and leaves for London. There, Lexie carves out a new life for herself at the heart of bohemian 1950s Soho, with Innes by her side.In the present, Ted and Elina no longer recognise their lives after the arrival of their first child. Elina, an artist, wonders if she will ever paint again, while Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood - memories that don''t tally with his parents'' version of events.As Ted''s search for answers gathers momentum, so a portrait is revealed of two women separated by fifty years, but linked by their passionate refusal to settle for ordinary lives._____''The journey this novel invites us on is wonderful, involving time travel, heart ache, elation, confusion, freedom, nostalgia and art'' Scotland on Sunday''A skilful, hurtful writer, capable of imbuing the everyday with weight and colour, ridiculously pleasurable to read'' Guardian''Genuinely unputdownable'' Literary Review_____⭐ What readers are saying; ⭐ ''I look up and several days have passed, unnoticed, because I''ve been completely absorbed... at the end, I sat back, breathless'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''Lexie has become one of my favourite heroines'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''At times I hold my breath, filled with emotion. Beautiful'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
£10.44
Neem Tree Press Limited Takeout Sushi
Book SynopsisTakeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction.
£8.54
Simon & Schuster Ltd Twelve PostWar Tales
Book SynopsisThe remarkable new work of fiction from the Booker Prize-winning author of Last Orders, Waterland and Mothering Sunday 'His archly modulated, precise prose, reminiscent at times of his friend Kazuo Ishiguro’s, has lost none of its power ... immensely readable late-career Swift from start to finish, Twelve Post-War Tales is a marvel of the storyteller's art.' Financial Times ‘There can surely be no better contemporary writer to take on history’s circularities that Graham Swift. … “Growing up in the 1950s there was all the evidence of war.” Swift has said. This beautiful cluster of stories shows how vital it remains in recollection.’ Observer 'Skilful, generous and humane, these 12 tales suggest the complexity and heartbreak of being engaged on such an uncertain journey.' Guardian ‘The characters in this collection share their thoughts and memories with the reader as though with a close friend, and the warmth of their confidences balances against their sadness. We feel we’ve been in the trenches with them, even when a story has gone no farther than the living room.’ Wall Street Journal ‘[A] subtle, empathic collection written with tenderness and gentle humour’, Sydney Morning Herald ‘[S]ome of Graham Swift’s finest stories. … A clever, subtle and satisfying collection’, NZ Listener'A brilliant, illuminating collection of short fiction, perhaps the author's best’, Kirkus 'Humane, deceptively simple and utterly compelling, this might well be Swift's best book.' Daunt Books 'These stories, depth charges of love, anguish, resentment, each in their way relating to the effects of WW2, are so good. Swift at his best – and he’s on top form here – has the humanity and wry humour of William Trevor’, Patrick Gale 'Quite wonderful. Such grace and clarity - I'm filled with admiration', Philip Pullman In the aftermath of the Second World War Private Joseph Caan, a young Jewish soldier stationed in Germany, seeks the truth about lost family members; in the 1960s a father focuses on his daughter’s wedding even as the Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of disaster; in 2001, while planes fly into the Twin Towers, a maid working for US Embassy staff in London wonders if her birth on the day of the Kennedy assassination shaped her life; and at the height of a pandemic lockdown, Dr. Cole, a retired specialist in respiratory disease, returns to work and recalls a formative childhood encounter with illness and much more. These are just a few of the challenged characters we meet in Graham Swift’s Twelve Post-war Tales. Tender, humane, funny and moving, Swift’s latest work of fiction displays his quietly commanding ability to set the personal and the ordinary against the harsh sweep of history. It is an outstanding achievement, confirming his status as one of the great and subtlest voices of our age. Praise for Swift's most recent novel, Here We Are 'A magical piece of writing: the work of a novelist on scintillating form.' Guardian ‘Here We Are smuggles within the pages of a seemingly commonplace tale depths of emotion and narrative complexity that take the breath away.’ Observer ‘The book’s power comes precisely from the fact that it performs its magic in front of your eyes, leaving nowhere to hide . . . you wonder how he does it.’ Financial Times ‘With a wizardry of his own, Swift conjures up an about-to-disappear little world and turns it into something of wider resonance.’ Sunday Times 'Swift has no equal in evoking the atmosphere of an era while probing human psychology with irony and tenderness.' L’Express, France ‘Swift doesn’t write, he whispers’, Corriere della Sera, Italy “In a dozen pages Swift can embrace a whole life”, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Near to the Wild Heart
Book SynopsisClarice Lispector''s sensational, prize-winning debut novel Near to the Wild Heart was published when she was just twenty-three and earned her the name ''Hurricane Clarice''. It tells the story of Joana, from her wild, creative childhood, as the ''little egg'' who writes poems for her father, through her marriage to the faithless Otávio and on to her decision to make her own way in the world. As Joana, endlessly mutable, moves through different emotional states, different inner lives and different truths, this impressionistic, dreamlike and fiercely intelligent novel asks if any of us ever really know who we are.Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovation in fiction brought her international renown. References to her literary work pervade the music and literature of Brazil and Latin America. She was born in the Ukraine in 1920, but in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Civil War, the family fled to Romania and eventually sailed to Brazil. In 1933, Clarice Lispector encountered Hermann Hesse''s Steppenwolf, which convinced her that she was meant to write. She published her first novel, Near to the Wildheart in 1943 when she was just twenty-three, and the next year was awarded the Graça Aranha Prize for the best first novel. Many felt she had given Brazillian literature a unique voice in the larger context of Portuguese literature. After living variously in Italy, the UK, Switzerland and the US, in 1959, Lispector with her children returned to Brazil where she wrote her most influential novels including The Passion According to G.H. She died in 1977, shortly after the publication of her final novel, The Hour of the Star.Trade ReviewBrilliant ... Lispector should be on the shelf with Kafka and Joyce * Los Angeles Times *The first fiery novel by the Brazilian national treasure -- Carlos Valladares * Gagosian Quarterly *A genius -- Colm Tóibín * Guardian *A truly remarkable writer -- Jonathan FranzenLispector's novels offer a stark counterpoint to much of modern life's focus on individual fame * The Boston Globe *One of the twentieth century's most mysterious writers -- Orhan PamukThe originality of Near to the Wild Heart lies in its technique and language: self conscious, bleakly humourous, but poetic ... We now finally have a translation worthy of Clarice Lispector's inimitable style. Go out and buy it. -- JS Tennant * Observer *
£9.49
Granta Books Dept. of Speculation
Book SynopsisFrom the Women's Prize Shortlisted-author of Weather, an electrifying, funny and wise account of a couple falling out of one another's orbit. 'It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it too' John Self, Guardian They used to send each other letters. The return address was always the same: Dept. of Speculation. They used to be young, brave, and giddy with hopes for their future. They got married, had a child, and skated through all the small calamities of family life. But then, slowly, quietly something changes. As the years rush by, fears creep in and doubts accumulate until finally their life as they know it cracks apart and they find themselves forced to reassess what they have lost, what is left, and what they want now. Dept. of Speculation navigates the jagged edges of a modern marriage to tell a story that is darkly funny, surprising and wise. 'Funny, and moving, and true... It tells a profound story of love and parenthood while invoking (among others) Keats, Kafka, Einstein, Russian cosmonauts, and advice for the housewife of 1897' Michael CunninghamTrade ReviewOffill's slender and cannily paced novel, her second, assembles fragments, observations, meditations and different points of view to chart the course of a troubled marriage. Wry and devastating in equal measure, the novel is a cracked mirror that throws light in every direction - on music and literature; science and philosophy; marriage and motherhood and infidelity; and especially love and the grueling rigors of domestic life. Part elegy and part primal scream, it's a profound and unexpectedly buoyant performance -- 10 Best Books of the Year * The New York Times *Jenny Offill's Dept. of Speculation resembles no book I've read before. If I tell you that it's funny, and moving, and true; that it's as compact and mysterious as a neutron; that it tells a profound story of love and parenthood while invoking (among others) Keats, Kafka, Einstein, Russian cosmonauts, and advice for the housewife of 1897, will you please simply believe me, and read it? -- Michael CunninghamWith exceptional originality, intensity and sweetness [...] Dept. of Speculation is a shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it too -- John Self * Guardian *A heartbreaking and exceptional book by a writer who doesn't settle for less... Sad, funny, philosophical, at once deeply poetic and deeply engaging, this is a brilliant, soulful elegy to the hardships and joys of married life -- Lydia Millet, author * My Happy Life *In this slim, beautiful work, the short paragraphs read as a series of carefully crafted vignettes, linked yet strong enough to stand alone... It is about life, unvarnished, yet every bit of it made profound by Offill's glorious prose -- Isabel Berwick * Financial Times *[A] fascinating examination of the complexity of the female writer's post-childbirth experience of work as well as an astute, unsentimental portrayal of a foundering marriage -- Eimear McBride ‘Books of the Year’ * Guardian *Dept. of Speculation is gorgeous, funny, a profound and profoundly moving work of art. Jenny Offill is a master of form and feeling, and she gets life on the page in new, startling ways -- Sam Lipsyte, author * The Fun Parts *Written with such clarity and poetry... at times almost unbearably moving. And yet it has some intensely funny and witty moments too -- Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett * 'Books of the Year' Guardian *I have read and re-read Dept. of Speculation. It manages to reinvent the whole medium of the novel. And that's certainly not something you see every day. Ingenious, moving and refreshing -- Maggie O’Farrell 'Books of the Year' * Sunday Herald *A novel that... glitters with different emotional colors... It's often extremely funny and often painful... its depth and intensity make a stealthy purchase on the reader -- James Wood * New Yorker *Dense with intelligence and life... Offill is incisive on the pleasures, terrors and frustrations of parenthood... [She] reveals depth and beauty in small, mundane things -- David Wolf * Prospect *A tiny gem of a read... A delicate yet harmonious examination of love, beautifully written and engaging... Funny, sad and clever, the best book I've read in a long time * Stylist ***** *This delicious sliver of a book does what only the best epistolary novels can: it forces the heart and mind into direct contact, one lush, lovely line at a time. I've found not only a new beloved author in Offill but also a witty new friend in the wife. -- Taiye SelasiOffill's writing is exquisitely honed and vibrant * Library Journal *Observed moments of boredom, joy and terror are the triumph of this novel, spilling panic, pain and confusion of marriage and motherhood on to the page.... Brilliant -- Beth Jones * Sunday Telegraph **** *Popping prose and touching vignettes of marriage and motherhood fill [this book]... Offill has equal parts cleverness and erudition, but it's her language and eye for detail that make this a must-read * Publishers Weekly starred review *A short, intense, poetic look at modern life, marriage and motherhood... Painful, questing, wise and funny... One to watch * Bookseller *Fifteen years ago, Offill made an auspicious debut with Last Things. Dept. of Speculation is her second. It is a book so radiant, so sparkling with sunlight and sorrow, that it almost makes a person gasp * Boston Globe *Offill has successfully met the challenge she seems to have given herself: write only what needs to be written, and nothing more... Absorbing, highly readable, intriguing, beautifully written, sly and often profound * NPR *So beautifully written that it begs multiple reads... [It] doesn't just resign itself to the disappointment of failed dreams that crop up in middle age. Instead, endurance to the end of a crisis generates wisdom, hope and, perhaps, even art... This is soul-bearing fiction at its best * Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *Offill writes with intuitive understanding... This carefully carpentered novel [...] builds into a genuinely moving story of love lost and perhaps, provisionally, recovered -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Motherhood, geeky facts and a sprinkling of great thoughts create a riveting addition to female abandonment literature... this jewel of a book [is] a novel as funny, honest and beguiling as any I have read * LA Times *Startling and memorable... [This] is a novel that looks to writers like Rilke, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia Woolf for inspiration as to what novel writing can be-fluid, observational, rawly emotional at times... there is as much wisdom to be found in its pithy riddles and maxims as in a thousand-page epic * Daily Beast *Singular... 10/10 -- A.M. Homes, author * May We Be Forgiven *[It] is the sort of book which, if you went through it with a pencil, underlining quotable lines, would end up being entirely underlined. I finished it in one sitting then went straight back to the beginning, wondering why other writers don't write like this... Magnificent [and] very funny -- Eilis O’Hanlon * Irish Sunday Independent *Funny and absorbing, an effortless-seeming downhill ride that picks up astonishing narrative speed as it goes * New York Review of Books *The narrator's bone-dry wit punctures any hint of self-pity... Perfectly conjures the scattered thoughts of a creative, disorganised mind * Times Literary Supplement *Stunning... It's almost impossible to reinvent the novel as a form these days but [this] does just that... As soon as I finished it, I turned it over and started again -- Maggie O’Farrell, author * The Hand that First Held Mine *There are sentences in good novels that make you swoon with just how perfect they are at saying something true. This novel is made up almost entirely of sentences like that. This is the work of a master writer -- Readers’ 10 Best Books of the Year * Guardian *Very funny, very sad -- Tim Martin 'Books of the Year' * Daily Telegraph *[A] sublime little novel which I have already read a half-dozen times. Offill has a journalist's eye for the funny and weird... I have laughed over her best, funniest jokes even when they are no longer new to me. Reading [this book] is like finding that the stars are still visible in the biggest, brightest city, if we remember to look for them. -- Alyssa Rosenberg * The Washington Post *[A] delectable and generous book: the novel of a marriage, written with elegance and wisdom and learning in bittersweet paragraphs -- Michael Hofmann 'Books of the Year' * TLS *A formal experiment that never seems forced or precious, it's a small marvel of economy and wit -- Lidija Haas 'Books of the Year' * TLS *I enjoyed [this] dark and spiky story of marital breakdown -- David Nicholls 'Books of the Year' * Guardian *The best novel I read this year... I keep finding excuses to quote the opening lines -- Joe Dunthorne 'Books of the Year' * Observer *An elliptical, deeply intelligent meditation on parental and romantic love -- Stuart Evers ‘Books of the Year’ * Observer *Extraordinary... Depressing? Far from it. Heartbreaking, yes; angry; but also very funny -- Harriett Gilbert 'Books of the Year' * Radio Times *An absolute stonker: it's a brilliant, brilliant book. Rich and rewarding and beautiful and heartbreaking... I fear it may ruin my reading for the rest of the year. It's extraordinary * Just William's Luck *Brilliant... oddly invigorating, like a strong martini -- Claire Allfree * Metro *The pleasure of the story lies in the poetry of Jenny Offill's words... Exquisite and sublime * Surrey Edit *The writing is clever, the pacing is fast... Poetic in style and philosophical in substance * Yorkshire Evening Post *Arresting... I cried both times I read it * 3:AM Magazine *It's funny, sad and beautifully observed * A Life in Books blog *An amazing book... I almost missed a flight because I was tearing up -- Karen Russell, author * Swamplandia! *A triumph on a small scale but in a major key * Sydney Morning Herald *A beguilingly original novel made up of snatched moments and brief anecdotes... an exploded portrait of parenthood, creative identity and a marriage in crisis; wistful, sad and very funny -- Justine Jordan ‘Fiction book of the year’ * Guardian *I steer readers towards Offill's breath-of-fresh-air Dept. of Speculation -- Sinead Gleeson ‘Book of the year’ * Irish Times *Deft, brilliant and brave -- Sara Baume ‘Book of the year’ * Irish Times *By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Offill lays bare the quiet madness of love, and the result is a profound and affecting read -- Louise O’Neill ‘Book of the Year’ * Irish Times *[A] gorgeous, crystalline look at marriage, parenthood and writer's block that is so intimate, multiple readers (myself included) have had to keep reminding themselves that it wasn't written for them personally. Each carefully sculpted paragraph glints with insight and verve and wit -- Michael Hingston 'Best books of 2014' * Edmonton Journal *Offill's book delicately examines the minutiae of a modern marriage. With so much conveyed in so few words, it's simply brilliant -- ‘Book of the year’ * Stylist *Aphoristic, dazzling and inventive, Dept. of Speculation has more jokes in it than any other book I read this year, but doesn't sacrifice resonance. Its approach - discrete paragraphs with no straightforward narrative flow - makes it sound a challenge, but purest pleasure is what I remember about it -- John Self ‘Book of the year’ * Asylum *Original and accessible... It's a triumph of compression and compassion -- Book of the Year * Financial Times *It was my favourite book of last year and I keep returning to it. Compelling [and] heartbreaking... This is writing at its inventory, original best and I can't wait to see what Offill will do next -- Maggie O’Farrell * Daily Mail *I read just recently Dept. of Speculation, which I thought was fantastic. I loved it. It was very sad and beautiful and very unique. You know when you read a book and the author just has a voice you haven't heard before? It's like that. I hadn't heard that voice before -- David DuchovnyOffill is completely brilliant on the raw impotence of a mother's love... not to mention the mundane brutality of marital betrayal... Beautifully devastating, Dept. of Speculation is a worthy inclusion on this year's Folio prize shortlist -- Lucy Scholes ‘Paperback of the Week’ * Observer *Dept. of Speculation is a shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it, too -- John Self * Guardian *Dept. of Speculation is a shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it, too -- John Self * Guardian *Original... a story [with] strong emotional impact * Herald *This is a novel of snapshots; about love, work, parenthood and more, that builds to a coherent and satisfying whole. I loved the day-to-day observations: so recognisable, grounded and true and yet the next paragraph along always surprised me... You'll get to the end and then start all over again -- Alex Hourston * Metro *Wry, funny and full of truth -- Thomas Morris * The Gloss *Rich [and] satisfying... Offill's novel is a life raft: read it for its unsentimental scoop on love, the breaking of something good, and the possibility of patching the cracks and pulling through * Independent *Jenny Offill has such a specific way of writing, and her words touch something very deep in me -- actress Clémence PoésyIn this fast-paced, fractured text [...] brief first-person paragraphs, aphorisms and quotations built in tension... As these diary-like entries build, so, too, does the claustrophobia that domesticity can bring... Such observed moments of boredom, joy and terror are the triumph of this novel, spilling the panic, pain and confusion or marriage and motherhood onto the page -- Beth Jones * Belfast Telegraph *About as close to a perfect novel as you can get * Waterstones podcast *Wryly subversive -- Paraic O’Donnell * Guardian *
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Orion Publishing Co Gloves Off
Book SynopsisPerfect for fans of Icebreaker and Monica Murphy, this spicy pro hockey romance will feature more of every romance reader's favourite tropes!
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA truly captivating work of immense power and beauty -- Philippe SandsHaunting, moving, beautifully written -- Peter FrankopanA rich, sensual novel... This is a novel that gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty. -- Francesca Segal * Financial Times *One of the best writers in the world today -- Hanif KureishiShafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years * Irish Times *A terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant -- Ian Rankin on 'Three Daughters of Eve'A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities * Sunday Times on 'Three Daughters of Eve' *A brave and passionate novel -- Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'A vivid carnival of life and death, cruelty and kindness, love, politics and deep humanity. This is only possible in the hands of a consummate storyteller. Elif Shafak's lyrical command of language and narrative is breathtaking. Brilliant! -- Helena KennedyElif Shafak brings into the written realm what so many others want to leave outside. Spend more than ten minutes and 38 seconds in this world of the estranged. Shafak makes a new home for us in words -- Colum McCannElif Shafak's extraordinary Ten Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World is a work of brutal beauty and consummate tenderness, a wild shout of life from out of the lower depths of destitution and prostitution, indeed from beyond the grave itself. Every page throbs with unruly vitality, the sense- saturating colours scents and sounds of raw Istanbul, all registered with poetic sharpness. It's a book which for all its ordeals is a profoundly moving, at times lyrical, celebration of humanity's obstinate fight for life against the steepest of odds -- Simon SchamaA heartbreaking meditation on the ways in which social forces can destroy a life. Elif Shafak can be unsparing, lyrical, political, intimate... Several novels live in this one, and all of them are moving, generous and elegantly written -- Juan Gabriel Vasquez
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