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
Penguin Books Ltd Ghosts
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWitty, touching without ever being sentimental, hugely enjoyable -- David NichollsIt's incredibly moving. The idea of believing in everything and nothing in the same moment. The female friendships were beautifully drawn -- Billie PiperGhosts is wonderful. Funny, sharply observed, poignant, and full of truths about life and love and friendship. * Matt Haig *This debut novel is a tender, effervescent and deliciously well-observed guide to the complexities of thirty-something life -- Jane Shilling * The Daily Mail *Ghosts is an absolute knock-out. Wickedly funny and, at turns, both cynical and sincere, Dolly Alderton's voice feels like your very favourite friend. I devoured it -- Taylor Jenkins-ReidA sharp-eyed debut . . . Tests the boundaries of what used to be called chick-lit * Guardian *There are sharply skewered set pieces, but also tender observations . . . a promising, deftly written, often entertaining and poignant debut novel * Sunday Times *Loved it from start to finish, really laugh out loud: well-written, packed with ideas and observations and so engaging I can't put it down * Philippa Perry *I absolutely adored it. So clever and funny and such a treat. The pages really did turn themselves * Cathy Rentzenbrink *A stunning achievement: I was laughing out loud, doing my best a few minutes later not to burst into tears and then angry that it had all come to an end. So moving, so funny, so beautifully written and so poignant. Brilliant * Stanley Tucci *Utter BRILLIANCE. Dolly is such an insightful commentator on love, longing, friendship and emotional landscapes. I absolutely LOVED it! * Marian Keyes *Dolly Alderton's writing is incredibly intimate, tender, and observant. Ghosts is a fantastic novel about friendship, family, and love * Holliday Grainger *I loved it - Dolly Alderton has clearly mastered every form of writing. Which is a surprise to nobody * Candice Carty-Williams *This is a lovely, funny, modern comedy of manners. It's shrewd and sharp -- Russell T Davies * Instagram *I love this book. It is wise, funny, tender and true, sharply-observed and utterly hilarious. Alderton's gift is always to give the mundane its beautiful due and in Ghosts, she manages to write a compulsively readable novel. Dolly Alderton's talent is phenomenal * Elizabeth Day *I loved it. Had me howling with laughter and recognition! * Bryony Gordon *You know a book has hit the spot when you've decided before finishing which friend you're going to pass it to. The writer's skill at dissecting love and relationships translates seamlessly into fiction * Evening Standard *This brilliantly observed novel will make you nod, laugh and cry in recognition * The Sun *Such clever writing, wonderfully funny; fab characters and delightful details. Divine * Nina Stibbe *If you've ever been disappointed by a man it will vindicate every mixed-up emotion you've ever had about it * Laura Jane Williams *Hilariously cutting, but also sad and insightful. Reading Dolly's writing is like having one of those glorious girls night in, where you drink till the early hours - laughing, venting, and feeling warm and seen * Holly Bourne *Whip-smart . . . a heartwarming tale of family and friendship * Evening Standard *So brilliantly perceptive, packed with pin-sharp observations on every page. Dolly is such a fantastic writer * Jill Mansell *Witty, tender, big-hearted * Sainsbury’s Magazine *A few years ago, Alderton seamlessly taped into our psyches with her 2018 memoir Everything I Know About Love. Now she's back with that same signature wit and blistering honesty in her debut novel, Ghosts * Cosmopolitan *Alderton masterfully exposes the hideous reality of dating in your 30s and how unfair it can be on women who enter the fray in honesty and hope. Hugely emotionally intelligent and often very funny. I adored it * Daily Mail *A fascinating, perceptive look at what it means to be a thirty-something woman right here, right now . . . Sharply observed, sometimes tender, sometimes tart, Ghosts will resonate with so many women * Red, The Best Books to Read this October *Dolly sums up life in your thirties with such wit, warmth and accuracy, you won't want it to end * Heat *Alderton balances heartrending emotion with keen-eyed satire, displaying a flair for metaphor and comic set pieces * Mail on Sunday *Funny and insightful, it's a brilliant look at the way we can be haunted by doubts, memories and home * Psychologies *Alderton has a talent for believability, realism and the knack to reach into the pages and pull out the characters onto the sofa next to you. Topical, relevant with a touch of tender humour * Weekly *As warm-hearted, wise and observant as her bestseller Everything I Know About Love. In this heartfelt, funny and insightful tale, Alderton cleverly explores the way memories, doubts and home can haunt us * Sunday Express *Alderton explores the ideas of relationships, friendships, love, memory and the way in which we live in a beautifully written and poignantly powerful novel * GQ *Stuffed full of insights and adroit observations . . . a masterpiece of modern manners. Alderton's life-enriching social anthropology will be the antidote for flagging spirits in the next lockdown' Spectator * Spectator *Achingly relatable. A darkly funny-melancholic novel about the rich variety of relationships in our lives - and the importance of showing up for them * i *This modern love story has lashings of arch humour and gentle wisdom, and slides down as pleasingly as a slice of cake and a nice cuppa * Spectator *Explores the ideas of relationships, friendships, love, memory and the way in which we live in a beautifully written and poignantly powerful novel * GQ *If you need a good rom-com escape, Dolly Alderton more than delivers in Ghosts. . . it's darker than Everything I Know About Love - but just as fantastically relatable * Vogue 12 of the Best Autumn Reads to Curl Up With Now *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan My Grandfather the Master Detective
Book SynopsisMasateru Konishi graduated from the Department of English and American Literature at Meiji University, and now works as a writer for TV and radio. He has previously written for the stage as well as a manga story; My Grandfather, the Master Detective is his debut novel. Partly based on his own experience of caring for his father with dementia, the book won the twenty-first edition of the prestigious This Mystery is Amazing!' Grand Prize.
£15.29
HACHETTE PAPERBACKS The Tailors Wife
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£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Us Against You
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for Beartown and Fredrik Backman * : *I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown, and felt ripped apart by the events in the book -- Jojo Moyes * bestselling author of Me Before You *Surrounded by impenetrable forests, it recreates the stifling atmosphere of a dying community. This is a mature, compassionate novel * The Sunday Times *Backman can tickle the funny bone and tug on the heart strings when he needs to, and is a clever enough storyteller to not overindulge in either * Independent *As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with ABBA and Stieg Larsson. * The New York Times Book Review *Friday Night Lights for Swedes * O Magazine *A kind of problem play that moves extremely skilfully near the melodramatic without derailing. Its originality is substantial and the book credibly conveys the dual faces of everyday life. An impressive novel, like no other * BTJ, Sweden *Praise for Us Against You * - *A story about families, about friendship and loyalty, inequality, female vulnerability, male back-slapping, and parenthood ... No person's story is too little to be told, Backman includes them all. A novel with a big heart * Jönköpings-Posten, Sweden *Evident in all [Backman] novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking elegance * Kirkus Reviews *This is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of an innocence we all take for granted-and it will grip you from start to finish * Canadian Living *Backman is the Dickens of our age, and though you'll cry, your heart is safe in his hands * Green Valley News, Arizona *Backman is a masterful writer, his characters familiar yet distinct, flawed yet heroic. . . There are scenes that bring tears, scenes of gut-wrenching despair, and moments of sly humor. . .Like Friday Night Lights, this is about more than youth sports; it's part coming-of-age novel, part study of moral failure, and finally a chronicle of groupthink in which an unlikely hero steps forward to save more than one person from self-destruction. A thoroughly empathetic examination of the fragile human spirit, Backman's latest will resonate a long time. * Kirkus Reviews *A light hearted, deeply moving novel about a grumpy but loveable curmudgeon who finds his solitary world * CBS Local *Backman's ability to tell stories in pictures is one of his strongest merits, not least how he describes relationships . . . It's rare that one cares about so many characters in a book, and seldom that one comes so close to a whole community. But the leading role in Backman's novels about Beartown is, after all, played by the sports community. It's a love declaration of the highest order * Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden *Mr. Backman cements his standing as a writer of astonishing depth and proves that he also has very broad range plus the remarkable ability to make you understand the feelings of each of a dozen different characters. . . . The story is fully packed with wise insights into the human experience causing characters and readers to ponder life's great question of who we are, what we hope to be and how we should lead our lives * The Washington Times *Fredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love and understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with their fists. It's hard not to love it * Dagens Nyheter, Sweden *A brilliant sequel . . . Backman writes about loyalty and love, but also captures the feelings of athletes in a vibrant way * Skaraborgs Allehanda, Sweden *Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot, and what he writes engages . . . And when he hits his stride among the emotions, the sentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart * Landskrona Posten, Sweden *It's obvious that Fredrik Backman loves sports and no one is as good at evoking feelings as he is. You are thrown between laughter and tears in the space of one sentence to the next. At the same time, this might be his most earnest and serious, if you can understand what I mean, novel to date. It takes an even bigger grip on the world than the previous novel in the series did. Now we can only wait for the next chapter * Värmlands Folkblad, Sweden *What you get in a Fredrik Backman work is wonderful writing andbrilliant insights into things that truly matter - right vs. wrong, fear vs.courage, love vs. hate, the importance and limits of friendship andloyalty, and more. Fredrik Backman is one of the world's best and mostinteresting novelists. He is a giant among the world's great novelists -and this literary giant is still growing. * Washington Times, US *In his dark but warmhearted way, Backman is a psychologist, and hisinsights are on display again in Us Against You...he creates an astuteemotional world much bigger than a small Swedish town. It's a novel youcan sink into. * Chicago Tribune, US *If Alexander McCall Smith's and Maeve Binchy's novels had a lovechild, the result would be the work of Swedish writer Fredrik Backman /.../ Backman's novels have wide appeal, and for good reason. Us AgainstYou takes a lyrical look at how a community heals, how families recoverand how individuals grow. * Washington Post, US *Deftly explores recovery and rebirth. * US Weekly, US *Backman (A Man Called Ove) returns to the hockey-obsessed village ofhis previous novel Beartown to chronicle the passion, violence,resilience, and humanity of the people who live there in this engrossingtale of small-town Swedish life /.../ Backman's excellent novel has anatmosphere of both Scandinavian folktale and Greek tragedy. Darknessand grit exist alongside tenderness and levity, creating a blunt realismthat brings the setting's small-town atmosphere to vivid life. * Publishers Weekly, US *There is even more potential for book group discussion here asBackman explores violence, political maneuvering, communities,feminism, sexuality, criminality, the role of sports in society, and whatmakes us all tick. * Library Journal *Starred Review*, US *Readers, take a break from the heat this summer to visit the icy streetsof Beartown. Immerse yourself in Us Against You, for once you open thisbook, you won't be able to resist falling into the hockey town out in thewoods. Live among the residents for a few days. I guarantee that it willbe tough to say goodbye when you turn the last page. Fredrik Backmanhas a rare talent for reaching inside his readers and coaxing out theirdeepest emotions while weaving a riveting tale that stays with you for along time. Don't miss out on this phenomenal novel. * The Book Reporter, US *Through Backman's astute examination of humanity, Us Against You will elicit snickers and full-blown belly laughs. It will rip out hearts, thenreplace them stronger than before. Most of all, it is sure to promptreaders to examine their lives in order to be better people, if only inmicroscopic ways. * Shelf Awareness , US *Dark and gritty, but peppered with moments of breath-catching hope. * Modern Mrs. Darcy, US *The sequel to Beartown is finally here, and it does not disappoint. * Hello Giggles, US *This is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of aninnocence we all take for granted - and it will grip you from start to finish. * Canadian Living, Canada *Just as the cult TV hit Friday Night Lights wasn't just about high-schoolfootball, this sequel to Beartown is about more than small-town hockey.Us Against You is a story of hopes, dreams, loyalty, friendship, and - aftersomeone is left for dead - the lengths people will go to for the love of the game. * Hello! Canada, Canada *We have a rare book for you. [Us Against You] is not only about hockeyand sports. It's about everything that makes a man a man. * Pravo, Czech Republic *Backman uses an abundance of thrilling hints about upcoming events,and it works. You simply have to continue reading. The story iswonderful, deeply touching and very thought-provoking, and hats offagain to the author's ability to portray people and trends in society. Thenovel plays on your entire register of emotions, and you live and breathealongside the many different characters, all of which are precisely and empathetically depicted. * Litteratursiden, Denmark *A beautiful and brutal drama. * Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark *"Fredrik Backman is one of Sweden's best authors. He's mastered howto depict a village and its citizens so that you both love and hate them./.../ Backman writes with emotion, and it goes straight to your heart. /.../As always with Backman, there's still hope for humanity, because wherethere is violence and hatred, there is also forgiveness and love." * Bogblogger, Denmark *Us Against You is an excellent novel that's easy to read and skillfullyhandles great themes. /.../ The world created by Backman lives andbreathes and the characters are both human and complex. * Aamuset, Finland *Backman keeps you hooked from the first to the last page. For allBeartown fans, Us Against You feels like coming home. * Hebban, Netherlands *Fredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love andunderstanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with theirfists. It's hard not to love it. * Dagens Nyheter, Sweden *Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot, and what he writesengages. /.../ And when he hits his stride among the emotions, thesentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart. * Landskrona Posten, Sweden *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Idea of You
Book Synopsis***NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING ANNE HATHAWAY AND NICHOLAS GALITZINE ON PRIME VIDEO***READ THE ADDICTIVELY SPICY NOVEL THAT INSPIRED THE SMASH HIT FILMTHE SCORCHING HOT LOVE AFFAIR ABOUT THE MAN THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT . . .''THIS SLAYED ME'' Taylor Jenkins Reid ''IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THIS'' 5***** Reader Review ''SUMMER''S SAUCIEST, SEXIEST READ'' Red ''THE ENDING . . . I''M NOT OVER IT'' 5***** Reader Review''''I''M MADLY IN LOVE WITH THIS NOVEL'' Curtis SittenfeldA RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK _______EVERYONE IN THE WORLD KNOWS HIS NAME. BUT IT''S YOU HE WANTS. To the media, Hayes Campbell is the star of a record-breaking British boyband. To his fans, he''s the naughty-but-nice front man - whose dimples and outlandish dress sense drive them crazy. To Solène Marchand, he''s just the pretty face that'Trade ReviewThe sleeper hit of the pandemic ... a glittering, global love affair full of bougie, vicarious travel. It's electric, triumphant, to read -- VogueThis slayed me. It's the story of a single mom who starts an affair with a rock star in a boy band. She takes that premise and turns it into this incredible, effective, moving, honest, human love story -- Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six and Malibu RisingI DEVOURED this! The world-building and psychology around the romance was so good, and boy did the ending break me ... the book we really just NEED right now -- Holly BourneI'm madly in love with this novel -- Curtis SittenfeldFun, sexy, intelligent, I LOVED it * Prima *My book of the year! The writing is sharp and believable and the sex scenes are so scorchio that soon you too will stan for Harry Styles #ifyouknowyouknow * Red *Steamy and sexy, this is escapism at its absolute finest. I spent the hours in between binges fantasising about the characters and what they were up to. The three days I spent reading this were blissful -- Laura Jane Williams, bestselling author of Our StopAn addictive, glamorous, escapist page-turner - and pure wish fulfilment for Harry Styles fans * Daily Record *Glorious, glamorous, dizzying escapism that has consumed me for the last day. I am not over it -- Cressida McLaughlin, bestselling author of The Cornish Cream Tea BusSummer's sauciest, sexiest read. This book has ruined my life and I'm not even mad about it * Red *As the pages turned and the minutes passed, The Idea of You managed to work the ultimate book magic: It blurred the boundary between this world and that one -- Elena Nicolaou, Oprah MagazineAn OMG page-turner that literally sucks you in from page one to the last few words. I found myself yearning for more, needing, really, to know what happens next...it's that good -- Gabrielle UnionYou finally have something else to obsess about [...] will have you staying up all night to finish -- The SkimmCaptures what fame looks like, and how it affects us all...a fun, juicy love story -- Elizabeth BanksAn honest and elegant book about modern love in the age of uber-celebrity and social media -- Hill HarperNot only is this romance a fun ride, but it also draws on themes of celebrity and sexism that will give you something to think about after you're done * Bustle *A fascinating, thought-provoking, genre-bending romantic read * Kirkus Reviews *Sexy enough for the beach, smart enough for the book club * Book Circle *I can't put this down... the anticipation of the slow burning relationship is completely compelling -- Alex Brown, bestselling author of A Postcard from ItalyA sizzling summer love story that I couldn't put down -- Lynsey James, author of The Single Dad's Handbook
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Vera Wongs Unsolicited Advice for Murderers The
Book SynopsisThe new must-read cozy crime mystery from the bestselling author of Dial A For AuntiesPut the kettle on, there's a mystery brewingTea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective' work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he's dating anybody yet).But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it's going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she'll do a better job than the police possibly could because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands Vera decides it's down to her to catch the killer.Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth. Knives Out meets Kim's Convenience for anyone who loves solving mysteries by Richard Osman and Janice Hallett, and watching Death in Paradise and Marlow Murder Club.Jesse Sutanto has created a greatTrade Review Praise for Jesse Sutanto: ’Feisty and smart, Vera makes for a fun and quirky sleuth’ Heat ‘Had me laughing aloud within its first five pages. Charming, hilarious and heartfelt’ Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read ‘A dazzling debut full of humour and love. A comedy caper, doused in black humour, comical references, mixed with romance – fans of Crazy Rich Asians will love it’ My Weekly ‘Brilliant, wicked and dead, dead funny’ Andi Osho, Asking For A Friend ‘A gloriously screwball crime caper (with a dusting of romance) which will have you snort-laughing’ Red ‘Dial A For Aunties is one of the funniest, smartest, most compelling books I’ve read in a long time and I couldn’t put it down’ Lucy Vine, Hot Mess ‘Rejoice over Dial A For Aunties’ Elle ‘This smart, funny charming novel has all the right ingredients to make you laugh out loud… A heartfelt rom-com’ Platinum ‘A tightly-plotted, highly comic romp, Dial A For Aunties keeps you guessing till the very last twist’ Lauren Ho, Last Tang Standing ‘Has redefined what “page-turner” means with laugh-out-loud humour and delightful twists and turns at every corner’ Buzzfeed ‘A rip-roaring treat! Dark comedy at its finest and a set of catastrophes that had me roaring’ Abigail Mann, The Lonely Fajita ‘This laugh-out-loud read is a real breath of fresh air’ Fabulous ‘Dark humour at its best. We had such a laugh reading through’ Magic Radio Bookclub ‘The comedy jackpot! Fresh, funny and fabulous’ Kirsty Eyre, Cow Girl ‘A laugh-out-loud read’ Bella ‘Genuine laugh-out-loud funny’ Frost ’A comedy of errors, by turns macabre and romantic, hilarious and affectionate’ Saga
£8.54
Simon & Schuster Ltd Maybe Now
Book SynopsisThe long-awaited finale to the New York Times bestselling Maybe Someday series returns with all the characters you fell in love with. What is more important? Friendship, loyalty, or love? Ridge and Sydney are thrilled to finally be together guilt-free. But as the two of them navigate this freedom, Warren and Bridgette's relationship is as tumultuous as ever, and Maggie grapples with her illness. When she comes across an old list of things she wanted to do 'maybe one of these days,' Maggie decides to live life to the fullest and accomplish these dreams. Maggie keeps Ridge updated on her adventures, but he can't help but worry, even as Sydney grows more and more suspicious about their friendship. But if she's going to move past this jealousy, she'll need to reconcile how she and Ridge came together with the fact that Maggie will always be in their lives somehow...or end up walking away from the man she loves so much. Featuring
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Woman in Cabin 10
Book SynopsisThis was meant to be the perfect trip. The Northern Lights. A luxury press launch on a boutique cruise ship. A chance for travel journalist Lo Blacklock to recover from a traumatic break-in that has left her on the verge of collapse. Except things don't go as planned.Trade Review"Agatha Christie meets The Girl on the Train in this stupendously good read... Scary and unsettling, it's edge-of-your-seat stuff" Sun on Sunday "A tense, moody drama set on a press trip that goes horribly wrong... Ware has produced a fantastic variation on the woman-in-peril theme, with a plucky protagonist and a brilliantly claustrophobic setting" -- Joan Smith Sunday Times "A rollicking page-turner that reads like Agatha Christie got together with Paula Hawkins to crowdsource a really fun thriller" Stylist "A fantastic read. A fog-enshrouded cruise ship, a twisty puzzle of a murder mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie, and unrelenting suspense. Batten down the hatches and prepare to read it in one sitting!" -- Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door "[It] channels Agatha Christie's murders at sea in a satisfying contemporary direction." -- Mark Lawson Guardian, Book of the Year
£9.49
Faber & Faber Penance
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Canongate Books A Tale for the Time Being
Book SynopsisIn the wake of the 2011 tsunami, Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home in British Columbia. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes, heartbreak and dreams of a young girl desperate for someone to understand her. Each turn of the page pulls Ruth deeper into the mystery of Nao's life, and forever changes her in a way neither could foresee.Weaving across continents and decades, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity and the search for home.Trade ReviewThis is one of the most deeply moving and thought-provoking novels I have read in a long time. In precise and luminous prose, Ozeki captures both the sweep and detail of our shared humanity, moving seamlessly between Nao's story and our own -- Madeline Miller * * author of THE SONG OF ACHILLES * *A triumph . . . Ozeki explores what it means to be human in this moment, right now (Nao). Her novel is saturated with love, ideas and compassion. In short, an absolute treat -- Lucy Atkins * * Sunday Times * *A Tale for the Time Being is a timeless story. Ruth Ozeki beautifully renders not only the devastation of the collision between man and the natural world, but also the often miraculous results of it. She is a deeply intelligent and humane writer who offers her insights with a grace that beguiles. I truly love this novel -- Alice SeboldIngenious and touching, A Tale for the Time Being is also highly readable. And interesting: the contrast of cultures is especially well done -- Philip PullmanA beautifully interwoven novel about magic and loss and the incomprehensible threads that connect our lives. I just finished it, and loved it -- Elizabeth Gilbert * * author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE * *Funny, heartbreaking, moving and profound . . . The warmth, compassion, wisdom and insight with which Ozeki pieces all these stories together will have the reader linked in a similarly profound way to this fantastic novel -- Doug Johnstone * * Independent * *There is far too much to say about this remarkable and ambitious book in a few sentences. This is for real and not just another hyped-up blurb. A Tale For the Time Being is a great achievement, and it is the work of a writer at the height of her powers. Ruth Ozeki has not only reinvigorated the novel itself, the form, but she's given us the tried and true, deep and essential pleasure of characters who we love and who matter -- Jane Hamilton * * author of A MAP OF THE WORLD * *A Tale for the Time Being is equal parts mystery and meditation. The mystery is a compulsive, gritty page-turner. The meditation -- on time and memory, on the oceanic movement of history, on impermanence and uncertainty, but also resilience and bravery - is deep and gorgeous and wise. A completely satisfying, continually surprising, wholly remarkable achievement, this is a book to be read and reread -- Karen Joy Fowler * * author of THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB * *A huge, compassionate and cleverly wrought novel -- Natasha Lehrer * * TLS * *Packed with philosophical asides about time, and is unexpectedly moving -- Kate Saunders * * The Times * *
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Little, Brown Book Group Angela Carter's Book Of Fairy Tales
Book SynopsisOnce upon a time fairy tales weren't meant just for children, and neither is Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales. This stunning collection contains lyrical tales, bloody tales and hilariously funny and ripely bawdy stories from countries all around the world- from the Arctic to Asia - and no dippy princesses or soppy fairies. Instead, we have pretty maids and old crones; crafty women and bad girls; enchantresses and midwives; rascal aunts and odd sisters. This fabulous celebration of strong minds, low cunning, black arts and dirty tricks could only have been collected by the unique and much-missed Angela Carter. Illustrated throughout with original woodcuts.Trade ReviewA chest of riches * TLS *Trumps Grimm, with a world-wide selection of savage and funny stories * Observer *A spicy collection of folk stories * Independent on Sunday *A marvellous new anthology * TES *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd The Lottery and Other Stories
Book Synopsis''Shirley Jackson''s stories are among the most terrifying ever written'' Donna TarttThis is the definitive collection of Shirley Jackson''s short stories, including ''The Lottery'' - one of the most terrifying and iconic stories of the twentieth century, and an influence on writers such as Stephen King.In these stories an excellent host finds himself turned out of home by his own guests; a woman spends her wedding day frantically searching for her husband-to-be; and in Shirley Jackson''s best-known story, a small farming village comes together for a terrible annual ritual. The creeping unease of lives squandered and the bloody glee of lives lost is chillingly captured in these tales of wasted potential and casual cruelty by a master of the short story. Shirley Jackson''s chilling tales have the power to unsettle and terrify unlike any other. She was born in California in 1916. When her short story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail; it has since become one of the greatest American stories of all time. Her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, was published in the same year and was followed by five more: Hangsaman, The Bird''s Nest, The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, widely seen as her masterpiece. Shirley Jackson died in her sleep at the age of 48.''Her stories are stunning, timeless - as relevant and terrifying now as when they were first published ... ''The Lottery'' is so much an icon in the history of the American short story that one could argue it has moved from the canon of American twentieth-century fiction directly into the American psyche, our collective unconscious'' A. M. HomesTrade ReviewShirley Jackson's stories are among the most terrifying ever written -- Donna TarttAn amazing writer ... If you haven't read We Have Always Lived in the Castle or The Haunting of Hill House or any of her short stories you have missed out on something marvellous -- Neil GaimanHer stories are stunning, timeless - as relevant and terrifying now as when they were first published ... 'The Lottery' is so much an icon in the history of the American short story that one could argue it has moved from the canon of American twentieth-century fiction directly into the American psyche, our collective unconscious -- A. M. HomesOne of the twentieth century's most luminous and strange American writers -- Jonathan Lethem
£9.49
HACHETTE PAPERBACKS The Jewellers Niece
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Orion Publishing Co A Merry Little Christmas
Book SynopsisThis Christmas indulge in some me-time and enjoy this uplifting and heart-warming story from Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Bramley. Full of romance, laughter and family drama, A Merry Little Christmas is the perfect book to curl up with this festive season.In the snowy market town of Wetherly, Merry is about to take on her biggest project yet, the arrival of a new baby. She has always dreamed of being a mother, particularly as she lost her own mother at such a young age. Everyone is so excited, so why is Merry feeling terrified? And why is she struggling to open up to business partner and best friend Nell, whose help she needs at the thriving candle shop more than ever?What Nell desperately wants for Christmas is a baby with husband Olek. But when she uncovers a shocking truth about Olek''s past, dreams of a family are turned upside down. Nell feels so alone, with no-one to turn to, but can''t confide in her best friend Merry, as she is wr
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Death and the Gardener
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£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Bone Season
Book SynopsisTHE TENTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FULLY UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIALA lavishly reimagined tenth anniversary edition of the first novel in the sensational Bone Season series, by the Sunday Times and New York Times-bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree.''A fabulous, epic fantasy thriller ... Lavish, ebullient, escapist'' The Times________________________________________________Welcome to Scion. No safer place.The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe. In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing. When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who h
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HarperCollins Publishers A Woman is No Man
Book SynopsisPRE-ORDER ETAF RUM’S NEW NOVEL, EVIL EYE, NOW – COMING SEPTEMBER 2023. A New York Times bestseller • A Washington Post 10 Books to Read in March • One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books by POC for 2019 • A Refinery 29 Best Book of the Month Trade Review Praise for A Woman is No Man ‘A celebration of “the strength and power of our women”’ Booklist ‘Sometimes heroism is loud and dramatic. Other times, it is daring to listen to that quiet voice within and having the courage to follow it . . . Etaf Rum has done a great service by sharing these voices with us’ Shilpi Somaya Gowda, New York Times bestselling author ‘A work of literary bravery’ Nadia Hashimi ‘A spectacular debut’ Hala Alyan ‘A gripping portrait of three generations of Palestinian women whose narratives are heartfelt and unsettling. Rum gives these women what they most desire and deserve: a voice’ Frances de Pontes Peebles ‘A tale as rich and varied as America itself’’ Washington Post ‘Garnering justified comparisons to Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns… Etaf Rum's debut novel is a must-read about women mustering up the bravery to follow their inner voice’ Refinery 29 ‘A richly detailed and emotionally charged debut’ Kirkus
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Legend Press Ltd The Lost Apothecary: The New York Times Top Ten
Book Synopsis***OUT NOW: SARAH PENNER''S ENCHANTING NEW NOVEL THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY****OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary's in a stunning twist of fateand not everyone will survive.Shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Award2021''s Most Highly Anticipated New Books NewsweekMost Anticipated Books of 2021 Popsugar''A bold, edgy, accomplished debut'' Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress''Readers who enjoy parallel historical/contemporary narratives about women's lives, such as Claire McMillan's The Necklace or Liz Trenow's The Forgotten Seamstress, will enjoy the historical details and mystery in this engrossing tale'' Library Journal''Readers who enjoy Katherine Howe and Susanna Kearsley will be drawn to this promising, fast-paced debut'' Booklist''A superb debut novel... crackling with suspense, this is an original and compelling story'' WI Life
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Pan Macmillan The Edge
Book SynopsisThe hotly anticipated follow-up to David Baldacci's runaway number one Sunday Times bestselling thriller, The 6:20 Man, featuring Travis Devine.***********A BRUTAL MURDERRetired from the Army’s most prestigious special ops force, Travis Devine is now part of an elite undercover team in Homeland Security. But when he’s brought in by agent Emerson Campbell to investigate the murder of a young woman, he quickly learns that this case is more personal than most.A SMALL TOWNFour days earlier Jennifer Silkwell was found dead on the rocks of the Maine coastline. A high-ranking analyst for the CIA, she had knowledge of national security secrets that would be valuable to a number of enemies. And her senator father once saved Emerson Campbell’s life.A BIG SECRETKnowing how much is riding on the case, Devine packs his bags and heads for the small town of Putnam
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Vintage Publishing The Last Samurai
Book Synopsis‘Fiercely intelligent, very funny and unlike anything else I’ve ever read’ MARK HADDON'Original...witty...playful…a wonderfully funny book' JAMES WOOD'A triumph – a genuinely new story, a genuinely new form' A. S. BYATTEleven-year-old Ludo is in search of a father. Raised singlehandedly by his mother Sibylla, Ludo’s been reading Greek, Arabic, Japanese and a little Hebrew since the age of four; but reading Homer in the original whilst riding the Circle Line on the London Underground isn’t enough to satisfy the boy’s boundless curiosity. Is he a genius? A real-life child prodigy? He’s grown up watching Seven Samurai on a hypnotising loop – his mother’s strategy to give him not one but seven male role models. And yet Ludo remains obsessed with the one thing his mother refuses to tell him: his real father’s name. Let loose on London, Ludo sets out on a secret quest to find the last samurai – the father he never knew.Trade ReviewHer style is brilliantly heartless, and cork-dry; original herself, she is a witty examiner of human and cultural eccentricity. She is, above all, playful… What grounds all DeWitt’s brilliance and game-playing is the way that she dramatizes a certain kind of hyperintelligent rationalism and probes its irregular distribution of blindness and insight…a wonderfully funny book, but comedy dances near the abyss; the apprehension of humor’s frailty links DeWitt to the tragicomic tradition of Cervantes, Sterne, and Nabokov -- James Wood * New Yorker *Fiercely intelligent, very funny and unlike anything else I’ve ever read -- Mark HaddonA triumph – a genuinely new story, a genuinely new form -- A. S. ByattA bold, brilliant book…original both in content and form… DeWitt’s zeal cannot fail to enchant * Guardian *An exhilaratingly literate and playful first novel by a fresh, electrifying talent. DeWitt goes to the top of the class...her adventurousness spins out on an epic scale * New York Times *A brilliant debut novel...keeps things moving at an exhilarating clip... DeWitt is formidably intelligent but engagingly witty * Washington Post *Destined to become a classic -- Garth Risk HallbergThe Last Samurai is an original work of brilliance about, in part, the limits of brilliance. And in literature as in life, DeWitt understands that what we like most of all is a good yarn * Time *You walk into a book due to an Akira Kurosawa link and your fondness for the great film-maker. You walk out, staggered by the book's originality and bravery... It should be read by everyone * Irish Times *I adored this crazy, fabulous, lovable book… This really does deserve to be a modern classic * The Pool *A brilliant and sad book… The funniest book I’ve read in years. * Spectator *Helen DeWitt is a real find – I loved this book * Independent on Sunday *It is exciting for the future of the novel that a writer can do all the basic things readers need – from Peter Pan to the Odyssey, from Bleak House to The Crying of Lot 49 – and do something new with the form of the tale itself * New Yorker *A delightful and original novel – expansive and intelligent writing * Daily Telegraph *DeWitt pushes against the limitations of the novel as a form; reading her, one wants to push against the limitations of one’s own brain * Paris Review *An original, daring novel, The Last Samurai could well become a classic – accessible and as unremittingly entertaining to the casual reader as it is rewarding to those who would delve further * Times Literary Supplement *A tremendous novel. DeWitt is one of the most interesting writers working in the English language today -- David FlusfederA singular masterpiece * Vulture *The Last Samurai is a book everyone should be talking about * Huffington Post *De Witt has intelligence, wit and unusual stylistic bravery * Guardian *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Beauchamp Hall: An Uplifting Tale Of Adventure
Book SynopsisInspired by the hit TV show Downton Abbey, Beauchamp Hall is an uplifting story of an ordinary woman embracing an extraordinary adventure, from the international number one bestseller Danielle Steel.Winona Farmington once dreamed of graduating from college and moving away from her small Michigan hometown. Then real life got in the way, and now she’s in a dead-end job with a loser boyfriend.As she comes to believe that perhaps dreams are meant for others, at least she can console herself by escaping into the world of Beauchamp Hall, a hugely popular British TV series set on a Norfolk estate in the 1920s.When Winona is betrayed by both her boyfriend and best friend and loses her job, she feels that life can’t get much worse. So she impulsively buys a one-way ticket to the UK to visit the village where Beauchamp Hall is filmed. The colourful cast become her friends, and the behind-the-scenes affairs become a drama to match the show.What happens next, as Winona takes the boldest step of all, reminds us never to settle for second best – and to always follow our dreams . . .
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Faber & Faber Murder Mindfully
Book Synopsis
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Murder in Paris
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Seven Year Slip
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd Mouthing
Book SynopsisWelcome to Ballyrowan. This sleepy corner of Ireland may seem tranquil but scratch the surface and you''ll find a hotbed of gossip and intrigue - endless material for mouthing - and a town full of people only too happy to oblige in spreading the bad news.Narrated by several generations of villagers, Mouthing traces the misadventures of one small community from the mid-20th century to the early 21st in a series of highly confessional, darkly humorous, sharply observed monologues. These are people who delight in twisting the knife, perfecting the art of schadenfreude over many decades. And, it becomes clear, none of them are entirely reliable witnesses. As each one tells their version of events, revealing contradictory versions of ''the truth'', we see how feuds are passed down through the generations, how families are estranged or reunited and fortunes made or lost, how strict social expectations can shift and loosen over time (and how some things remain stubbornly unc
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Venus Fly Trap
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Serpent's Tail The Gorgeous Inertia of the Earth
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.44
Simon & Schuster Ltd One True Loves
Book SynopsisFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Trade ReviewPraise for Taylor Jenkins Reid ‘Spellbinding’ Emily Giffin ‘Full of raw human emotion’ Beth O’Leary ‘An entirely fresh and new perspective on what can happen after the "happily ever after”’ Jen Lancaster ‘The very best of Classic Hollywood intrigue, a delicious twist and incisive commentary on the wages of stardom’ Anne Helen Petersen ‘I can't remember the last time I read a book that was so fun’ Dolly Alderton ‘The characters were beautifully layered and complex... captured my heart’ Reese Witherspoon ‘Everyone should read this’ Claudia Winkleman ‘Dramatic, salacious and oh-so-romantic’ Woman & Home ‘Wildy addictive’ PopSugar ‘Glamour, ambition and shocking secrets’ People ‘Earth-shaking… you will flip for this epic love story’ Cosmopolitan ‘Heartwrenching’ Us Weekly ‘Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn't let go’ Publishers Weekly ‘No one does life and love better’ InStyle
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Penguin Books Ltd Three Daughters of Eve
Book SynopsisFrom Booker-shortlisted author Elif Shafak, comes a powerful tale of faith, love and friendship set across Istanbul and OxfordOn a spring evening in Istanbul, Peri is on her way to a dinner party - a night of luxury a far cry from her upbringing. But when her handbag is stolen her world shifts violently. She starts to doubt how she got here: a traumatic Istanbul childhood, student years in Oxford, the rebellious professor who led her and best friends Shirin and Mona to question everything - Islam, love, life, even God - and the scandal that tore them all apart. Over one desperate night she tries to make sense of a past she has tried to forget - but can we ever escape who we once were?Shirin, Peri and Mona, they were the most unlikely of friends. They were the Sinner, the Believer and the Confused.*** ELIF SHAFAK''S NEW NOVEL, THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY, IS AVAILABLE NOW ***Trade ReviewA terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant. -- Ian RankinAn intelligent, fierce and beguiling read * Financial Times *A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities * Sunday Times *An intense, discursive and absorbing novel * Observer *One of the most important writers at work today, Elif Shafak eloquently explores Turkey's tumultuous present and past. Her magnificent latest moves between Istanbul and Oxford in a fascinating exploration of faith and friendship, rich and poor, and the devastating clash of tradition and modernity * Independent *A brilliant and moving novel. Elif Shafak writes about religion without superficiality or special pleading, retaining a sense of its impossible possibility or its possible impossibility. Three Daughters of Eve is a remarkable accomplishment -- Richard HollowayElif Shafak's writing leaps off the page. In Three Daughters of Eve she takes us spine-tinglingly right under the skin of three women, exposing the strains of friendship through love and loss. An utterly engrossing read. -- Frances Osborne, bestselling author of The BolterShafak's topical 10th novel is both an interrogation and a defence of Muslim identity -- Rebecca Rose * Financial Times *Luscious, heartbreaking, completely absorbing. It is a full-blown saga of emotion and character, straddling countries, cultures and languages, exploring its women's ambitions and desires; and at the same time a steady-eyed examination of the nameless rules - of femininity, duty, belief and behaviour - that keep us in line and under control. This is an absolutely consuming novel about women who know what they want, and a warning about the price we pay, written with the fluency and depth of an author at the very top of her game. -- BidishaExuberant, epic and comic, fantastical and realistic . . . like all good stories it conveys deeper meanings about human experience -- Financial Times on 'The Architect's Apprentice'A powerful book; thoughtful, provoking and compassionate -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat, on 'Honour'A brave and passionate novel -- Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'Vivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love -- Sunday Telegraph on 'Honour'Moving, subtle and ultimately hopeful, Honour is further proof that Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years * Irish Times on 'Honour' *
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Verve Books A Language of Limbs
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Verve Books Make Sure You Die Screaming
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.44
Pan Macmillan The Cut Throat Trial
Book SynopsisThe bestselling author, The Secret Barrister, writes fiction as S. J. Fleet. They are a junior barrister specializing in criminal law, write for many publications, and are the author of the award-winning blog The Secret Barrister. Their first book, The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken, was a Sunday Times number-one bestseller and spent more than a year in the top-ten bestseller list. It won the Books Are My Bag Non-Fiction Award and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and the Specsavers Non-Fiction Book of the Year. Fake Law: The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies and Nothing But the Truth: The Memoir of an Unlikely Lawyer were instant Sunday Times top-ten bestsellers on publication. Writing as S. J. Fleet, The Cut Throat Trial is their first novel.
£17.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Infinite Plan
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd. Portrait of an Unknown Woman
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£13.49
Bluemoose Books Ltd Celeste
£9.89
Zando The Last Man in Paradise
Book Synopsis
£11.04
Fitzcarraldo Editions Morning and Evening â WINNER OF THE 2023 NOBEL
Book Synopsis
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Penguin Books Ltd Darling
Book SynopsisDelight the bookworm in your life with the gift of this hilarious and heartbreaking modern-day adaptation of Nancy Mitford''s classic, The Pursuit of Happiness.---Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it? She can''t even get a signal on her mobile phone. Linda''s strict, former rock star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda''s urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry.Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and she escapes to London. She knows she doesn''t want to marry ''a man who looks like a pudding'', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead.But this is only the beginninTrade ReviewIt takes a brave author to attempt a contemporary reimagining of such a beloved novel. Luckily, India Knight [...] has courage and talent in spades ... It's beautifully and meticulously done, echoing the detail of the original plot as far as feasible, but with contemporary twists ... Knight is warmer than Mitford, and more comforting * Sunday Times *Fans of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit Of Love will adore this brilliant contemporary take ... The writing is as sharp, the details as perfect, the jokes as funny as [the] original * Daily Mail *The delight is in the details. Knight's are bang on, and there's joy in spotting them ... There's heart as well as humour: it was, and remains, a sincere romance ... Pursuit of Love diehards can rest easy: your blood vessels are safe with this faithful, fiercely funny homage * Spectator *In less talented hands, Knight's retelling of this classic novel might have gone horribly wrong. But Darling is a treat, with whip-smart dialogue, larger-than- life characters, witty observations and a heart-breaking twist ... Fans will love Knight's clever re-imagining of this classic tale - and new readers will relish the chance to discover the glorious Radletts * Daily Express *What could have been a disaster - a modern reimagining of Nancy Mitford's superlative comedy of manners The Pursuit of Love - is an absolute triumph. Romantic, clever and oh-so funny * The i Paper, What We're Reading *A perfect comfort read: the kind of book you take into the bath and keep reading even when the water has gone cold, a one-sitting, dark-at-four joy ... Darling is a very human book, full of feelings and heartbreak and humour and joy -- Ella Risbridger * Guardian *Beguiling reimagining ... Spry and wry Darling is delicious * Mail on Sunday, Best New Fiction *[A] lively modern update of a passionately loved classic ... A sizzling modern-day comedy of manners. Plenty of Mitfordian wit but with Ukip peers and mobile phones * The Times, Best Fiction to Read This Autumn *I found myself tearing through, beguiled by Knight's faithful channelling of Radlett ways, wiles and speech patterns ... Reinventing anything so beloved is a formidable challenge, and Knight has risen to it admirably * The Bookseller *A modern retelling of Nancy Mitford's beloved The Pursuit of Love ... Knight nails the wit and satire * Grazia *Sheer brilliance. Darling is hilarious and heartbreaking and vivid and and clever and utterly compulsive - I absolutely loved it * Francesca Segal, author of Mother Ship *Total escapist bliss. A joyous updating of the Mitford classic. I loved every page * Sabine Durrant, author of Finders Keepers *A savagely funny, bracingly sad, dazzlingly clever reimagining of The Pursuit of Love. I loved it * Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss *A triumph! Brilliantly done, faithful but imaginative, tremendously romantic and very funny. Meeting the Radlett family again in the 21st century was an absolute a treat, rather like hearing a new arrangement of beloved old carol and hearing it anew, with trumpets * Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful *Darling is a black forest gateau of a book: rich characters, sumptuous prose, delicious dialogue, and layered throughout with sharp wit and intelligence (which are even better than the cherry liqueur the gateau calls for). Somehow, India Knight's writing manages to be hilarious, melancholy, insightful, and romantic all at the same time. Treat yourself to this novel * Katherine Heiny, author of Early Morning Riser *
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Cornerstone Greta and Valdin
Book SynopsisRebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea) is a Maaori novelist from Waitaakere, New Zealand. She has a BA (hons) in German and European studies from the University of Auckland and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for 2019.
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Vintage Publishing To Kill A Mockingbird
Book SynopsisHarper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She attended Huntington College and studied law at the University of Alabama. She is the author of the acclaimed novels To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and numerous other literary awards and honours. She died on 19 February 2016.Trade Review'No one ever forgets this book' * Independent *'Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest, most authentic humor. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable' - Truman Capote'Her book is lifted...into the rare company of those that linger in the mind long after dramas, sagas and sophisticated frolics have coalesced into a blur of half-forgotten fiction' * Bookman *'There is humour as well as tragedy in this book, besides its faint note of hope for human nature; and it is delightfully written in the now familiar Southern tradition' * Sunday Times *Harper Lee announced she would be releasing a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird this summer – 55 years after her debut. Go Set a Watchman, completed in the mid-50s but lost for more than half a century, was written before To Kill A Mockingbird and features Scout as an adult * Guardian *
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Penguin Books Ltd The Woman in the Dunes
Book SynopsisDazzlingly original, Kobo Abe''s The Woman in the Dunes is one of the premier Japanese novels in the twentieth century, and this Penguin Classics edition contains a new introduction by David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas.Niki Jumpei, an amateur entomologist, searches the scorching desert for beetles. As night falls he is forced to seek shelter in an eerie village, half-buried by huge sand dunes. He awakes to the terrifying realisation that the villagers have imprisoned him with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sand pit. Tricked into slavery and threatened with starvation if he does not work, Jumpei''s only chance is to shovel the ever-encroaching sand - or face an agonising death. Among the greatest Japanese novels of the twentieth century, The Woman in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel.Kobo Abe (1924-93) was born in Tokyo, grew up in Manchuria, and returned to Japan in his early twenties. During his life Abe was considered his country''s foremost living novelist. His novels have earned many literary awards and prizes, and have all been bestsellers in Japan. They include The Woman in the Dunes, The Ark Sakura, The Face of Another, The Box Man, and The Ruined Map.If you liked The Woman in the Dunes, you might enjoy Albert Camus'' The Plague, also available in Penguin Classics.''A haunting Kafkaesque nightmare''Time
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Penguin Books Ltd Invisible Man
Book SynopsisNew Penguin Essentials edition of Ralph Ellison's blistering, impassioned novel of African-American lives in 1940s America, Invisible Man. 'I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.'Defeated and embittered by a country which treats him as a non-being, the 'invisible man' retreats into an underground cell, where he smokes, drinks, listens to jazz and recounts his search for identity in white society: as an optimistic student in the Deep South, in the north with the black activist group the Brotherhood, and in the Harlem race riots. And explains how he came to be living underground . . .
£9.49
Transworld What Does it Feel Like
Book SynopsisSophie Kinsella is an internationally bestselling writer. She is the author of many number one bestsellers, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series. She has also written seven bestselling novels as Madeleine Wickham and several books for children. She lives in the UK with her husband and family.Visit her website at www.sophiekinsella.co.uk and find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SophieKinsellaOfficial. You can also follow her on Twitter @KinsellaSophie and Instagram @sophiekinsellawriter.
£12.16
Orion Publishing Co The Maidens
Book SynopsisWe all keep secrets. Even from ourselves.''A thrilling, heart-in-throat ride'' STEPHEN FRY''An absolute jaw-dropper'' LUCY FOLEY''Elegant, sinister, stylish'' CHRIS WHITAKER''Grips from start to finish'' HARRIET TYCE* * * * *YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE MAIDENS.The Maidens are Cambridge University''s most exclusive society, whose members are selected by the charismatic professor of Greek tragedy, Edward Fosca.A SECRETIVE SET OF THE BRIGHTEST, MOST CAPTIVATING STUDENTS.When one of the Maidens is murdered, grieving young therapist Mariana Andros is drawn back to the idyllic campus where she was once herself a student.THE GROUP FROM WHICH EACH VICTIM WILL BE CHOSEN.Because beneath the university''s ancient traditions and beauty is a web of secrets, jealousy and lies. And when the killer threatens the person she loves most, Mariana will give anytTrade ReviewElegant, sinister, stylish and thrilling, The Maidens answers the weighty question, how do you go about following one of the biggest thrillers of the past decade? You write something even better. * CHRIS WHITAKER *Alex has achieved the almost impossible and surpassed The Silent Patient in this compelling literary thriller, which grips from intriguing start to horrifying finish ... A brilliant achievement. * HARRIET TYCE *What a thrilling, heart in throat ride. A great triumph. * STEPHEN FRY *A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read - with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something! * LUCY FOLEY *Alex Michaelides hits a home run in his sophomore effort. The Maidens is a page-turner of the first order. * DAVID BALDACCI *A stunning psychological thriller ... The intelligent, cerebral plot finds contemporary parallels in Euripides's tragedies, Jacobean dramas such as The Duchess of Malfi, and Tennyson's poetry. The devastating ending shows just how little the troubled Mariana knows about the human psyche or herself. Michaelides is on a roll. * Publishers Weekly *The greatest campus novel since The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Packed to the dreaming spires with mystery, murder, emotion and a yearning, heart-aching nostalgia for all that we leave in the past - places, lovers and ourselves when we were young. The millions who loved The Silent Patient will be delighted to hear that Alex Michaelides once again mugs you with a climatic twist that you will NEVER see coming. * TONY PARSONS *Michaelides' stage-setting skills are as masterful here, as they were in The Silent Patient - another tense, cleverly twisted winner. * Booklist *Nothing short of genius. * Woman&Home *[Michaelides'] writing, especially his characterisation, possesses a unique sparkle and more promise than most other writers. * Daily Mail *The Maidens is a compelling read, and delivers its Hellenic thrills in style. * Sunday Telegraph *Stylishly written with a great sense of place, bestselling author Michaelides' second novel is a compelling and complex psychological thriller of the highest order. * Irish Independent *A thriller that deftly weaves psychology, murder and an understanding of Greek mythology - where do we sign up? * Belfast Telegraph *This atmospheric mystery speeds along at such a pace, Michaelides' genius for storytelling is clear. * Woman *Michaelides is a stylish writer who seamlessly weaves Greek mythology, psychology and murder into his writing and this atmospheric thriller keeps you guessing till the end. * Independent *It's a tense, original story set against the luscious backdrop of the ancient university. * Daily Mail, Summer roundup *The Maidens ticks a lot of boxes, particularly if you like a good thriller. It has a fast pace, lots of misdirection, and intriguing backstory and a damaged protagonist. * Sunday Life *Tautly plotted and impeccably paced , it's an intelligent and propulsive second novel. * The Observer *When Alex Michaelides' first psychological thriller, The Silent Patient, debuted in 2019, it skyrocketed to the top of best-seller lists. His follow-up is just as twisty-and involves another suspicious killing. * Time Magazine, European edition *
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Sorrow and Bliss
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR FICTIONTHE BOOK EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT''Just read it. It''s unforgettable''India Knight, The Sunday Times''It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... Extraordinary''Guardian''Full of snappy one-liners but, at the same time, remarkably poignant''Craig Brown ''Probably the best book you''ll read this year''Mail on Sunday''Completely brilliant. I think every girl and woman should read it''Gillian Anderson''Exactly the book to read right now, when you need a laugh, but want to cry''Observer''The most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year''Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie''A raucously funny, beautifully written, emotion-bashing book''The TimesTrade ReviewThis richly spiced novel is a pleasure from the first page to the last... Its beautifully understated, airy style conceals the fiercest intelligence. I loved it so much that I stalked the author on social media - a first. Just read it. It's unforgettable. -- India Knight * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE *The most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year. -- Elizabeth Day * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY, YOU MAGAZINE *It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... Mason pulls off something extraordinary in this huge-hearted novel, alchemising an unbearable anguish into something tender and hilarious and redemptive and wise, without ever undermining its gravity or diminishing its pain. -- Clare Clark * GUARDIAN *Inspired storytelling... a devastating and sharply funny love story... it is Martha's voice itself - her woeful deadpan narration always teetering between the comic, the tragic and the downright unlikable - that makes this novel sing. -- Julie Myerson * OBSERVER *Probably the best book you'll read this year... Brilliant, bleak, hilarious: the book of the summer. -- Natasha Poliszczuk * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason's first novel to be published in the UK, is as wonderful as everyone says it is. Blunt, tender, hilarious, and so very good on the trickiness of families, it is that rare perfect balance of fun (commercial) and difficult (literary), and exactly the book to read right now, when you need a laugh, but want to cry. -- Eva Wiseman * THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE *Summer's must-read novel... We can't recommend Sorrow And Bliss highly enough. -- Francesca Brown * STYLIST *A Fleabag-esque novel being raved about by Gillian Anderson and Ann Patchett... Expect this one to light up the WhatsApp chats. -- Louisa McGillicuddy * SUNDAY TIMES STYLE *You know that book that only comes along every so often, that seems to unite everyone who has read it in a sort of delirious fervour? Sorrow and Bliss is that book... It's utterly compelling and darkly funny: the book you have to read this summer. -- Jessie Thompson * EVENING STANDARD *Meg Mason has achieved something remarkable - Sorrow and Bliss is a raucously funny, beautifully written, emotionbashing book about love, family and life's curveballs that leaves you, satisfyingly, with what feels like wisdom forged in fire. -- Siobhan Murphy * THE TIMES *This is a story of mental illness reflected through the prism of an uproarious, big-hearted family comedy. It is fiercely intelligent and absolutely sublime. -- Anne Cunningham * IRISH INDEPENDENT *Rarely have the excoriating effects of mental illness been articulated quite so beautifully - as heartbreaking as it's funny, Sorrow And Bliss is one for the keeper shelves. -- Sarra Manning * RED MAGAZINE *Deeply moving but also darkly funny, Mason has created the sort of story that you savour the last pages of and long for once it's over. -- Olivia Ovenden * ESQUIRE *Completely brilliant, I loved it. I think every girl and woman should read it. * Gillian Anderson *Sorrow and Bliss is a brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know. * Ann Patchett *Sharp yet humane, and jaw-droppingly funny, this is the kind of novel you will want to press into the hands of everyone you know. Mason has an extraordinary talent for dialogue and character, and her understanding of how much poignancy a reader can take is profound. A masterclass on family, damage and the bonds of love: as soon as I finished it, I started again. * Jessie Burton *Sorrow and Bliss is a thing of beauty. Astute observations on marriage, motherhood, family, and mental illness are threaded through a story that is by turns devastating and restorative. Every sentence rings true. I will be telling everyone I love to read this book. * Sara Collins, author of THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON *A sharply observed, darkly hilarious and merciless portrait of a thoroughly messed-up family. Patrick Melrose meets Fleabag. Brilliant. * Clare Chambers, author of SMALL PLEASURES *Meg Mason writes about the slow bleed of life-long depression with candour, humour and stark precision. Sorrow and Bliss is about what happens when your illness pushes everyone away - leaving you with only the sorest parts of yourself for company. It will, as the title suggests, shatter your heart, before mending it with infinite love. I've never read anything like it and will be pressing it into the hands of every reader I know. * Pandora Sykes *Compulsively readable, Sorrow and Bliss is one of the funniest books I've read... Martha is such a brilliant, singular creation - as Patrick says, "The idea that you might be ordinary is unbearable" - that it is more interesting to imagine not the characters that have inspired her but the ones she will inspire. -- Francesca Steele * I NEWSPAPER *Sharp, stylish and revelatory, this novel is sure to be one of the big success stories of the year. -- Sarah Gilmartin * IRISH TIMES *Consistently funny and sharp and dark: it's wonderful. * Charlotte Mendelson, author of ALMOST ENGLISH *[A] razor-sharp exploration of mental health and identity. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this is best enjoyed over a large glass of rosé on a sunny afternoon. * COSMOPOLITAN *The unforgettable novel you need to read this summer. * TIMES BOOKS NEWSLETTER *I've never read a novel about the impact of mental illness on the life of a woman, and those around her, like this. It is simply brilliant, and Martha's voice is a joy: hilarious, sharp and devastating. A must read. -- Alice O'Keefe * THE BOOKSELLER, Editor's Choice *Nina Stibbe meets Fleabag -- Charlotte Heathcote * DAILY EXPRESS *Blisteringly good... a novel that manages to be psychologically complex, yet still an utter joy to read. Sorrow and Bliss bristles with great one-liners and setpieces that are sometimes alarming, sometimes comic, but more often both. * READER'S DIGEST *Heartbreakingly sad and yet screamingly funny. -- Deirdre O'Brien * BEST *I very much enjoyed Meg Mason's witty, affecting Sorrow and Bliss. -- David Nicholls * GUARDIAN - Hot Summer Books feature *This is a beautiful depiction of a marriage, with all of its ugliness and joy. But its also a brilliant depiction of a whole family, wounded by a legacy of mental illness, and tender, witty, and loving, in spite of it, So funny, and so very, very sad. * Abigail Dean, bestselling author of GIRL A *An incredibly funny and devastating debut ... enlivened, often, by a madcap energy. Yet it still manages to be sensitive and heartfelt, and to offer a nuanced portrayal of what it means to try to make amends and change. * Guardian *With its finger on the modern pulse, Sorrow and Bliss blisters with its prose which manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in the same line. I kept having to stop to underline sentences. It reminded me of a cross between Fleabag and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but really, Meg Mason has crafted a protagonist who feels completely her own person. Fresh and alive. * Jodie Chapman, author of ANOTHER LIFE *Sorrow and Bliss is a moving and poignant story about mental illness, family and love. It made me laugh and cry; a bittersweet read that will stay with you for a long time. * Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido *I devoured this book, with all its humour and pain and cock-eyed hope. It's a funny and excruciating portrayal of mental illness, family dysfunction and love, all told through the point of view of a narrator who is in turn frustrating and endearing, but always fascinating. I adored it from the first page. * Julie Cohen, author of TOGETHER *Sorrow and Bliss is hilarious, haunting, and utterly captivating. Meg Mason has created a heroine as prickly as Bernadette in Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Her humor is as arch and wise as the best work of Joan Didion and Rachel Cusk, yet completely original. What a thrilling new voice! * Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of THE JETSETTERS *Brutal, tender, funny, this novel - a portrait of love in all of its many incarnations - came alive for me from the very first page. I saw myself here. I saw the people I love. I am changed by this book. * Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of ASK AGAIN, YES *So dark, so funny, so true. You will see your sad, struggling, triumphant self in this deeply affecting novel * Laura Zigman, author of SEPARATION ANXIETY *This is a romance, true, but a real one. It's modern love up against the confusing, sad aches of mental illness, with all its highs, lows, humour and misery. Comparisons to Sally Rooney will be made, but Mason's writing is less self-conscious than Rooney's, and perhaps more mature. Her character work is outstanding, and poignant-the hairline fractures, contradictions and nuances of the middle-class family dynamic are painstakingly rendered with moving familiarity and black humour, resulting in a combination as devastating and sharply witty as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag. * Bookseller+Publisher *Exploring the multifaceted hardships of mental illness and the frustrating inaccuracy of diagnoses, medications, and treatments, Sorrow and Bliss is darkly comic and deeply heartfelt. Much like the narrator of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Martha's voice is acerbic, witty, and raw. Fans of Marian Keyes should put this on their to-read lists. * Booklist *Martha's anecdotes, simultaneously funny and sad, are stacked with observations that alternate between brutally cutting-especially when directed at her mother and at the patient and supportive Patrick-and aching, as when her oblique descriptions of her sister's growing family increasingly belie her true feelings about motherhood. Witty and stark, Martha's emotionally affecting story will delight fans of Sally Rooney. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *Martha Friel, the narrator of this improbably charming novel about mental illness, will have you chortling and reading lines aloud. * PEOPLE *Meg Mason has the ability to keep the reader alongside and sharing in the hope every step of the way. * WOMAN & HOME *A sharp-eyed look at the impact of mental illness that's heartbreaking but also bitterly funny. -- Jo Finney * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Deliciously dark and fantastically funny. * THE SUNDAY POST *Martha tells the sotry of the end of her marriage, her fiercely close relationship with her sister and her terrifying experiences of mental chaos in this brilliant, painful and unexpectedly comic novel. Narrated with insight and sensitivity by actor Emilia Fox, it looks set to become one of the hits of the year. -- Alex Clark * FINANCIAL TIMES, Audio Books review round up *A viciously funny novel about mental illness that combines acute social satire with warmth and insight. -- Claire Allfree * METRO *Without a doubt the book of the summer. By turns dryly funny and breathtakingly sad, it is a compulsive, exquisitely written look at mental illness and relationships. -- Gwendolyn Smith * I NEWSPAPER - #1 pick in summer reading roud up *Brilliant, bleak and hysterically funny. Tackling mental illness, families, sisterly love and failing marriages... it's universally being proclaimed "The book of the summer". -- Suzannah Ramsdale * EVENING STANDARD *Meg Mason's debut novel is tender and dark as a bruise, coloured with complicated emotions but also wryly funny. And, as it takes a candid look at the way mental illness can derail a person, it also brims with hope as Martha looks to the future, determined to pick up the pieces of her broken life. -- Eithne Farry * SUNDAY EXPRESS S MAGAZINE *Unputdownable - one of the darkest, sharpest novels you will find this year. -- Nadine O'Regan * THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST *This debut from Meg Mason is a brilliant, many-faceted diamond of a book. * SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE *Martha Friel is one of those fictional characters that you can't get out of your head... The moment we'd finished this dazzling, spiky, darkly funny book, we wanted to read it all over again. -- Emma Lee-Potter * INDEPENDENT *The most recommended book of the summer, and with good reason. Meg Mason's novel about mental health, marriage and sisterhood is told in a singular voice of wry wit and blackly comic frankness. One of those 'read it in one sitting and tell all your friends' kind of books. -- Jessie Thompson * EVENING STANDARD, Best Fiction of 2021 *It is a subtle and sensitive writer who can make you shout with laughter as she wrings your heart. Mason's characters are exquisitely drawn. Sorrow, yes, but also utter bliss. -- Rose Shepherd * SAGA *Must-read stuff: clever, sparkling and funny. * STRONG WORDS *This account of a life derailed by mental illness is both darkly funny and deeply touching... A brilliantly faceted and funny book that will engulf you. * BEST MONTHLY *It made me laugh and cry. I loved it so much - I need to read it again. * Emilia Clarke *The summer of 2021's most (justifiably) hyped novel... is a beautifully paced, darkly funny, heart-thuddingly moving portrait of family, marriage and chronic illness. Its pithy protagonist-narrator, Martha, is a memorable creation. -- Patricia Nicol * THE SUNDAY TIMES, Best Fiction of the Year *Simply unforgettable. -- Francesca Steele * I NEWSPAPER, Best Books of 2021 *The summer's word-of-mouth hit was Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss (W&N), a wisecracking black comedy of mental anguish and eccentric family life focused on a woman who should have everything to live for. -- Justine Jordan * GUARDIAN, Best Books of 2021 *Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is a knockout. An unnamed mental health illness and a struggling marriage are both rendered by Mason with devastating honesty and laugh-out-loud wit. -- Louise O'Neill * IRISH EXAMINER *
£9.49
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd Goodnight Tokyo
Book SynopsisA symphony of interconnected lives and an intimate journey around Tokyo after dark.
£9.49
Charco Press Why Did You Come Back Every Summer
Book SynopsisA fractured account of family abuse, secrets, and the cost of pursuing the truth. In the most private spaces, the most intimate betrayals occur. Belén López Peiró places us squarely in the tenderest of timesyoung teenagehood, in a home about to be ruptured by sexual assault. In this home, for this young woman, your assailant is your uncle, and also a police commissioner. The people who shelter you will reject you: your mother is his sister-in-law, your beloved aunt his wife and your cousin and friend his daughter. And the truth of what happened will depend entirely on you.Why Did You Come Back Every Summer is a document of uncertainty, self-doubt, and the appearance of progress when there is none. A chorus of voices interrupt and overtake each other; interviews and reports are filed. The truth will be heard but how and by whom? Loyalties will shift and slip. And certain questions have no easy answers. What do you owe to your family? What do they owe you? How far will you go to get yo
£10.79
Transworld Publishers Ltd Well Prescribe You a Cat
Book SynopsisTHE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT!Contains five exquisite line-drawings.For fans of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES, discover the award-winning heartwarming sensation.Readers adore it:The most wonderful book I''ve ever read' *****A terrific idea, a powerful ending, brilliant storytelling' *****The story drew me in instantly, and I laughed so much' *****I definitely want everyone to read this book' *****There are so many wonderful lines to underscore, but if I write them here, there will be spoilers!' *****____________A cat a day keeps the doctor away ...On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few - those who feel genuine emotional pain - can find it.The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.Get ready to fall in love:- Bee, an eight-year-old female, mixed breed helps a disheartened businessman as he finds unexpected joy in physical labour;- Margot, muscly like a lightweight boxer, helps a middle-aged callcentre worker stay relevant at work and at home;- Koyuki, an exquisite white cat brings closure to a young mother troubled by the memory of the rescue kitten she was forced to abandon;- Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a hardened handbag designer, as she learns to be kinder to herself;- Mimita, the Scottish Fold kitten helps a broken-hearted Geisha to stop blaming herself for the cat she lost years ago;As the clinic''s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them towards healing, self-discovery and newfound hope.**Contains five exquisite cat line-drawings**Japanese bestseller, October 2023
£11.69
