Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisFor three years Song Yan has filled her Beijing apartment with the tentative notes of her young piano students.She finds herself adrift, but her husband seems reluctant for a child of their own. It takes the arrival of her mother-in-law, together with sudden strange parcels and stranger dreams, to shake Song Yan from her malaise. Summoned to an ancient house in the heart of the city, can she find the notes she needs to make sense of the pain and beauty in her life?'There's something here of early Murakami's graceful, open-ended approach to the uncanny... Ghost Music is an evocative exploration of what it means to live fully' New York Times Book Review'Knits together music and life to touch on something profound' GuardianTrade ReviewAn intriguing book that knits together music and life to touch on something profound * Guardian *Vivid descriptions of contemporary Beijing ... Yu writes in clear, unadorned prose and deftly threads the magic-realist elements through the main narrative * Financial Times *Transporting, searching and poetic * List *This playful, often surreal novel packs in plenty ... an elusive tale, steeped in atmosphere * Mail on Sunday *Ghost Music has beautiful prose and claustrophobic imagery that intensely evokes its protagonist's alienation * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis'Superbly written and fearlessly imagined fiction' Sarah HallTen women, all called Claire, are tangled up in complex power dynamics with their families, friends, and lovers. Though all are different ages, and leading different lives, each is haunted by the difficulty of living on her own terms. Claire is a teenaged babysitter left alone with a strange little girl and her imaginary friend. Claire is a woman trying to escape her elderly mother by employing an android carer. Claire is a young TV journalist wrecking her first big interview. Claire's boyfriend discovers more than he bargains for when he begins to read her diary.And whatever she does, Claire is always living in the shadow of a monstrous mother.'Leviston is a mistress of precision and emotional insight' Hilary Mantel, TLSTrade ReviewI loved it. I absolutely loved it. It felt like a choose your own adventure version of somebody’s life... I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it. It’s a writer putting herself through her paces – it’s showing us what she can do and I’m really excited to see what she does next. -- Naomi Alderman * BBC Radio 4 Front Row *Brilliant, bracing... Dazzling... One of the many triumphs of this original, peculiarly truthful book is to leave us questioning what kindness is and what care is, no longer able to take the platitudes of daily life for granted also unwilling to leave them behind. -- Lara Feigel * Guardian *It's hard to explain how good this fiction debut by Frances Leviston is... So thrilling... Outstandingly well written. -- Claire Harman * Times Literary Supplement *Books of the Year* *Frances Leviston’s debut work of fiction positively knocked my socks off. Each of the 10 stories in The Voice in My Ear is about a different woman called Claire — an apt appellation for characters illuminating aspects of modern life… She has triumphantly succeeded in turning a poetic perceptivity to the [short story] form. -- Mia Levitin * Financial Times *[The Voice in My Ear has] a psychological and emotional coherence unusual for a story collection… You can feel the subtext pulse between the lines and occasionally, thrillingly, it surges onto the page… Extraordinary… Leviston is so skilled at noticing and cataloguing the emotional abrasion of being a daughter, the toll of motherhood and love’s ability to wound… But these responses are matched, and exceeded, by the admiration, excitement and exhilaration provoked by what she achieves on the page. -- Chris Power * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe next round in the beloved Two Pints series from the ever-brilliant, always hilarious imagination of bestselling author of The Commitments and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Two men meet for a pint - or three - in a Dublin pub. They chew the fat, set the world to rights and mourn friends gone: David Bowie, Prince, Princess Leia and Young Frankenstein. Around them the world of Brexit, Trump, and referendums storm, but some things - good things - never change. Inspired by the last five years of news, Roddy Doyle's Two for the Road offers a strong brew of Roddy Doyle's comic genius - to be downed in one riotous sitting, or savoured over, laugh after laugh.Trade ReviewThese short, punchy sketches are wickedly funny, oddly affecting and completely life-affirming. * Sunday Mirror *Very funny... The kind of book that you read in public at your own risk * Herald Scotland *Very funny... The kind of book that you read in public at your own risk * Herald Scotland *

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Book Synopsis'A hell of a read' Sunday Times'Triumphant, and beautifully told...one of the best novelists writing today' Sara Collins, GuardianAll must gamble with their fate. But not all can win...In the city of Bath, in the year 1865 Jane Adeane, renowned for her restorative skills, is convinced that some other destiny will one day show itself to her.But when she finds herself torn between a dangerous affair with a female lover and the promise of a conventional marriage to an apparently respectable doctor, her desires begin to lead her towards a future she had never imagined...Discover the ultimate historical read. 'Terrific' The Times'One of our most accomplished novelists' Observer'One of my favourite writers' Nina StibbeTrade ReviewA hell of a read - so emotionally sophisticated, so deft with shade and light, more absorbing than most fiction I've read this year -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * Sunday Times *Terrific -- Louise Carpenter * The Times *Another gratifyingly well-put-together work... Tremain's long sentences brim with a poised positivity...[and] add lightness to her fond depictions of these imperfect strivers -- Francesca Carington * Sunday Telegraph, *Novel of the Week* *Subtle, illuminating and captivating -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday *A moving exploration of love and the sacrifices we're willing to make in its name * Good Housekeeping *Over a distinguished literary career, Rose Tremain has traversed genres with her customary flair... in her portrayal of the ways in which individual longing and frustration unfold against the constraints of forces beyond our control, Tremain has long been one of our most accomplished novelists, and here is further confirmation -- Stephanie Merritt * The Observer *An exhilarating exploration of love, life, loss and death... A thrilling and seductive story... Vivid and beguiling -- Rowan Mantell * Eastern Daily Press *Rose Tremain gives Hilary Mantel a run for her money for the title of Britain's greatest living historical novelist... there are still few writers who can conjure up a version of the past that is so startlingly unfamiliar yet so convincing -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express *An enjoyable page-turner -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * The Times *A new book from Rose Tremain is always a cause for celebration. Her exceptionally well-crafted and deeply humane historical novels are invariably a joy and Islands of Mercy is no exception... A rich, rewarding and highly satisfying novel from one of our finest novelists. * Daunt Books *

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Book Synopsis*A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOKER PRIZE GEM* A perfect love story for imperfect people.Micah Mortimer measures out his days running errands for work, maintaining an impeccable cleaning regime and going for runs (7:15, every morning). He is in a long-term relationship with his woman friend Cassia, but they live apart. His carefully calibrated life is regular, steady, balanced.But then the order of things starts to tilt. Cassia is threatened with eviction, and when a teenager shows up at Micah's door claiming to be his son, he is confronted with another surprise he seems poorly equipped to handle.Can Micah, a man to whom those around him always seem just out of reach, find a way back to his perfectly imperfect love story?**LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2020** 'Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing' Rachel Joyce'She knows all the secrets of the human heart' Monica Ali 'A masterly author' Sebastian Faulks'I love Anne Tyler. I've read every single book she's written' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewBursting with vitality and variety, it's a tour de force . . . characters almost leap off the page with authenticity, speech and body language wonderfully caught * Sunday Times *Tyler’s piercing omniscience is on full, enthralling display * Vanity Fair *A book this lovely feels practically heaven-sent…. Crisp and direct, yet full of subtle touches, it’s a big-hearted tale of roads not taken — a delight from start to finish * Daily Mail *Anne Tyler really is the best. This reads as if she wrote it in one flawless seamless sitting. The sheer brilliance of making it all seem so effortless -- Graham NortonAlmost unbearably poignant . . . a moving and perceptive story about one man’s inability to connect with others and his gradual move towards greater self-fulfilment * Sunday Express *

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Book Synopsis‘Evans interweaves the strands of her three-generation narrative with an exhilarating sense of place and period’ Daily TelegraphRead the dazzling family mystery from the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of Ordinary PeopleAs a child Lucas thought that all children who'd lost their parents lived on water. Now a restless young man still living with his sister Denise on their West London narrowboat, he determines to find out more about the unexplained disappearance of his father, the charismatic Jamaican dancer, Antoney Matheus. Thus unfolds a journey from fifties Kingston to sixties Notting Hill and the host of unforgettable characters who peopled Antoney's theatrical world, most importantly Carla, Lucas's mother. The result is a haunting family saga of absence and inheritance, the battle between love and creativity, and what drives a young man to take flight...‘Sparkles with mood, music and the sway of life’ Marie Claire‘Diana Evans’s fiction is emotionally intelligent, dark, funny, moving. The sheer energy in her novels is enthralling. A brilliant craftswoman, a master of the form, she makes the reader ask important questions of themselves and makes them laugh at the same time’ Jackie Kay, British Council and National Centre for Writing's International Showcase on Britain's 10 best BAME writersTrade ReviewThe most dazzling depiction of the world of dance since Ballet Shoes' -- Kate Saunders * The Times *Her prose is airbound at times - an exhilarating celebration of rhythm, sway and leap * Daily Mail *Darkens from an absorbing mystery into a touching reckoning... Most striking is the delicacy and power with which Evans depicts emotional disturbance * The Guardian *The story is complex, clever, seamlessly achieved, its many currents blending in harmony, sometimes in conflict, to recreate that sense of randomness and accident that resemble the truth of life in the chancy present...The author's passion burns on the page, along with an almost tactile relish of the act of writing itself -- Tom Adair * Scotsman *A serious work of art with sentences like ribbons of silk winding around a skeleton of haunting imagery... Evans was born to write this novel * Independent *

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Book Synopsis'Broad and ambitious...beautifully written...at the heart of O'Connor's masterful epic lies a universal hope for something better' ObserverDiscover the powerful sequel to international bestseller Star of the Sea1865. The American Civil War is ending, but for Eliza Duane Mooney her journey across a devastated America has only just begun. Eliza is searching for her younger brother she has not seen in four years, one of the hundred thousand children drawn into the war. His fate has been mysterious and will prove extraordinary.It's a walk that will have consequences for many seemingly unconnected survivors: a love-struck cartographer, a haunted Latina poetess, rebel guerrilla Cole McLaurenson, runaway slave Elizabeth Longstreet and the mercurial revolutionary James Con O'Keeffe, who commanded a brigade of Irish immigrants in the Union Army and is now Governor of a western wilderness where nothing is as it seems.Trade ReviewA superb achievement * Irish Times *The words 'A Masterpiece' are too often bandied around in reviews, but they should be this novel's subtitle * Sunday Tribune *A novel of vaulting ambition. O'Connor's finest work to date * Sunday Independent *This book consolidates and deepens O'Connor's stature as a major novelist * Irish Times *Redemption Falls is a major work of modern fiction from an astonishingly accomplished writer -- Terry Eagleton * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis'A profound examination of friendship, romantic confusion and mortality' John BoyneOne summer's evening, two men meet up in a Dublin restaurant. Old friends, now married and with grown-up children, their lives have taken seemingly similar paths. But Joe has a secret he has to tell Davy, and Davy a grief he wants to keep from Joe. Both are not the men they used to be. As two pints turns to three, then five, Davy and Joe set out to revisit the haunts of their youth. With the ghosts of Dublin entwining around them - the pubs, the parties, the broken hearts and bungled affairs - the men find themselves face-to-face with the realities of friendship.Trade ReviewMasterly... A first-rate novel about the different bonds between men and the ineffable mysteries of love. -- Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *Doyle is justly renowned for his whip-smart dialogue... And there is beauty and compassion in Mr Doyle's sculpted, spare writing. Among all the banter and gags he manages to articulate feelings that are rarely expressed so fittingly... Love is a reminder that its author is one to treasure. * Economist *Fast-paced and deceptively easy to read... Goes down as smoothly as gulps of beer. * Boston Globe *Love is altogether spellbinding... The whole book is audacious, richly layered and often comic, but ultimately deeply moving... Move over Socrates and watch an Irish master of dialogue at work. -- David Monagan * Irish Examiner *So perfectly constructed it is hard to believe it is really just about two old school friends getting drunk, and drunker... [Love] seems to bottle what male friendship can be like. -- Chris Harvey * Irish Independent *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE‘A passionate, scintillating, brilliant song of a book’GuardianSammy's had a bad week.Most of it's just a blank space in his mind, and the bits that he can remember, he'd rather not. His wallet's gone, along with his new shoes, he's been arrested then beaten up by the police and thrown out on the street - and he's just gone blind. He remembers a row with his girlfriend, but she seems to have disappeared; and he might have been trying to fix a bit of business up with an old mate, he's not too sure.Things aren't looking too good for Sammy and his problems have hardly begun.Trade ReviewA passionate, scintillating, brilliant song of a book * Guardian *Forging a wholly distinctive style from the bruised cadences of demotic Glaswegian, Kelman renders the hidden depths of ordinary lives in sardonic, abrasive prose which is more revealing of feelings that could ever be expected...as uplifting a novel as one could ever hope to read * Sunday Telegraph *A work of marvellous vibrance and richness of character… it convinces, it charms, it entertains, it informs and it has life…. How Late it Was, How Late deserves every accolade it gets * New York Times *

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Book Synopsis'Taut, beautiful and savage' GuardianA man travels to his son's school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she's playing.And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories from the best-selling author of The Girls are unforgettable.______________________PRAISE FOR DADDY:'It is her piercing understanding of modern humiliation that makes these stories vibrate with life...brilliant' Brandon Taylor'Razor-sharp' Evening Standard'Cline's talent at uncovering the seedy and somehow bringing it to beautiful light is brilliant' Daisy Johnson'Something about Cline's intimate tone, her talent for conjuring the feeling of being alive, is entirely and uniquely her own' Rachel Kushner'A stunning collection of stories that plunges deep into the dark corners of the human experience' DazedTrade ReviewCline is an astonishingly gifted stylist, but it is her piercing understanding of modern humiliation that makes these stories vibrate with life...brilliant -- Brandon Taylor * New York Times *Fans of Cline will delight in the author's razor-sharp observations and penchant for storytelling * Evening Standard *Cline is particularly good at locking in the witty detail that speaks volumes... These expertly constructed stories withhold key information... the pleasures here lie in an appreciation of Cline's skilful and absorbing craft * Sunday Times *These stories live in the odd corners of the world, Cline's talent at uncovering the seedy and somehow bringing it to beautiful light is brilliant. These are understated gems -- Daisy JohnsonWhen I read Emma Cline I think of Mary Gaitskill's psychological acuity and of Joy Williams's sardonic gravitas. And yet something about Cline's intimate tone, her talent for conjuring the feeling of being alive, is entirely and uniquely her own -- Rachel Kushner

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Book SynopsisA luminous selection of short stories from the Booker prize-winning A. S. Byatt, celebrating over thirty years of writingWith an introduction by David MitchellByatt takes her readers to a place that is rich in ideas, vivid in colour and wholly unforgettable. Mirrors shatter at the hairdressers when a middle-aged client explodes in rage. Snow dusts the warm body of a princess honing it into something sharp and frosted. Summer sunshine flickers on the face of a smiling child who may or may not be real.Peopled by artists, poets and fabulous creatures, these stories travel from the ancient mythic world to an English sweet factory, a Chinese restaurant to a Mediterranean swimming pool, a Turkish bazaar to a fairy-tale palace. Blazing with creativity, they show what lies beneath the veneer of the ordinary, and reveal the fantastical possibilities beyond.'A cabinet of curiosities... Glitteringly beautiful' Sunday Times'A cerebral extravaganza, bristling with ideas' Spectator'Moving, witty and shocking' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewIt was a pleasure to be reacquainted with 'Medusa's Ankles'... There's an echo of Iris Murdoch here, herself the subject of several books by Byatt -- Miranda France * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis*THE #3 IRISH BESTSELLER*'Momentous and epic' BERNARD MACLAVERTY'Superb and moving' JOHN BANVILLE'A lovely, piercing book' SEBASTIAN BARRYThree generations. More than a century of famine, war, violence and love. At sixteen Nancy, the only member of her family to survive the Great Famine, leaves her small island for the mainland. Finding work in a grand house on the edge of Cork City, she feels irrepressibly drawn to the charismatic gardener Michael Egan, sparking a love affair that soon throws her into a fight for her life. In 1920, Nancy's son Jer has lived through battles of his own as a soldier in the Great War. Now drunk in a jail cell, he struggles to piece together where he has come from, and who he wants to be. And in the early 1980s, Jer's youngest child Nellie is nearing the end of her life in a council house, moments away from her childhood home; remembering the night when she and her family stole back something that was rightfully theirs, she imagines what lies in store for those who will survive her.'Brilliantly immerses us in its respective time periods' SUNDAY TIMESTrade ReviewBilly O'Callaghan's writing is so good and true it feels almost magical; Life Sentences is a beautiful book, a small epic, a joy. -- Sadie JonesO'Callaghan is amongst the finest storytellers and wordsmiths in Ireland today. -- Anne GriffinA beautiful novel. -- Eithne Shortall * Sunday Times Culture *The strength of Life Sentences lies in its long range but intimate style . . . A reader could profitably finish the book and go straight back to its beginning -- John Self * Spectator *People who read Sebastian Barry, Donal Ryan, Liam O'Flaherty will really love [Life Sentences] . . . It's my book of the year so far. -- Ryan Tubridy * RTÉ Radio One *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE FAMISHED ROADIn the chaotic world of his African city, the spirit child Azaro still watches the tumultous and tender lives of the Living; refusing to return to his realm. With his father now imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and his mother battling for justice, the final chapter of Azaro's epic adventure is an explosive and haunting climax to this masterful trilogy.'His most apocalyptic, explosive vision yet' Scotsman'A novel of paradoxes and impossibilities, conceived poetically and carrying readers along as thoughon a fast-flowing stream' Literary ReviewTrade ReviewHis most apocalyptic, explosive vision yet * Scotsman *A novel of paradoxes and impossibilities, conceived poetically and carrying readers along as though on a fast-flowing stream...I admire it hugely * Literary Review *A potent combination of political, metaphorical and mythical storytelling...pure celebration * Scotsman *A deliberate and important piece of writing * Times Literary Supplement *Okri's writing is hailed for its intelligent, tenderness, poeticism and luminosity * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis'An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll FactorySometimes you have to start with what's lost to truly find yourself...Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood at her father's feet as he and his team gather words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.One day, she sees a slip of paper containing a forgotten word flutter to the floor unclaimed.And so Esme begins to collect words for another dictionary in secret: The Dictionary of Lost Words. But to do so she must journey into a world on the cusp of change as the Great War looms and women fight for the vote. Can the power of lost words from the past finally help her make sense of her future?'A brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound' Jacqueline WilsonReaders LOVE The Dictionary of Lost Words:'If you only read one book this year, let it be this one!''If you're a fan of The Binding and The Betrayals you will surely love this''A glorious combination of words, growing up, friendship, love, feminism and so much more''The best love letter to words and language''This book broke my heart ... I highly recommend it to any historical fiction fans ... it's one I will be reading again'Trade ReviewA brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound -- Jacqueline WilsonAn extraordinary, charming novel... Williams pins a whole, rich life to the page * The Times *Poignant, perfectly paced... a beautifully nuanced work -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday *I absolutely loved this book! Thought-provoking, touching and subtly romantic; I finished it in tears -- Katie FfordeWilliams's satisfying novel animates a fascinating history and imbues it with a feminist slant, asking how words mean different things to men and women -- Patricia Nicol * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis'I adore this book! ... An Experiment in Leisure shows us the burning, intense, messy beauty of youth and what it means to be alive' Maxine Peake 'Can I get a refund?' I asked the bus driver. 'You taking the piss, love?' It's the eve of Brexit, and Grace is supposed to have what she wants. She's swapped West Yorkshire for north London, her accent carefully edited. Her friends drink beer out of artful tins. She makes flat whites for people with berets. She's found a psychoanalyst. But this fantasy of metropolitan cool is turning out to be more costly than she thought and Grace faces complicated crises of identity, class, sexuality and geography. Can she remember how to love? Can she find a way home? 'A dizzying yet powerful read' Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Checkout 19Trade ReviewRiveting...the words blaze and bounce across the page * Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Checkout 19 *I adore this book... Shows us the burning, intense, messy beauty of youth * Maxine Peake *A stunning, vivid and very funny debut * Saskia Vogel, author of Permission *This is such a special book. With deeply joyful pace, and rhythm, I grew as obsessed with the prose itself as I did with the plot and characters. As things in the Big World seem to get more binary, An Experiment in Leisure plunders the grey area with wit and forgiveness - and that's exactly where I wanted to be * Tom Rasmussen, author of First Comes Love *Remarkably assured... An attractive aspect of Glendenning's writing is the warmth with which she suffuses not just Grace but her whole cast of characters * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis'Dazzling' MARLON JAMES, BOOKER PRIZE WINNER'Original and thought-provoking' SPECTATOR'Electrifying' TESSA HADLEY Under a predawn sky, humming with starlight and the songs of birds, a group of determined women return to the cave where they have laid the body of their saviour. When they arrive, it is empty.Names of the Women tells the stories of fifteen women whose lives overlapped with the life of Christ. Women who stayed with Christ through the crucifixion, when his disciples had abandoned him, and who spread his radical message - one that made them equals and a profound threat to power within the church.Together, the voices of the women dare us to reimagine the story of the New Testament in a way it has never before been told.*A 'BOOKS OF 2021' PICK IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND NEW STATESMAN*Trade ReviewNames of the Women is an extraordinary work of restoration, playful invention, and stark beauty. -- Chris PowerBold and compelling. -- Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *Theologically well-informed, imaginative and affecting . . . This is a fascinating and beautiful book. You most certainly do not have to be either a Christian or a feminist to appreciate it. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Achingly beautiful. Powerful, poetic and profoundly feminist. -- Jennifer CroftJeet Thayil's Names of the Women enacts a long-overdue reinstating of female voices in the story of Jesus . . . -- Emily Watkins * i *

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Book SynopsisThe most ambition and exciting novel yet from the Booker shortlisted author of C and Satin Island.Bodies in motion. Birds, bees and bobsleighs. What is the force that moves the sun and other stars? Where's our fucking airplane? What's inside Box 808, and why does everybody want it? Deep within the archives of time-and-motion pioneer Lillian Gilbreth lies a secret. Gilbreth helped birth the era of mass observation and big data but did she also discover a 'perfect' movement that would 'change everything'? An international hunt begins for the one box missing from her records, and we follow contemporary motion-capture consultant Mark Phocan across geo-political fault lines and experimental zones in his search for it. And all the while, work is underway on the blockbuster film Incarnation, an epic space tragedy...'Dazzling... The Making of Incarnation feels utterly original, utterly new, utterly magical' Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others'Hugely interesting, energetic, wise and well written' GQ'A rich and fascinating exercise in observation' IndependentTrade ReviewIn its conceptual magnitude, its sustainedly dazzling prose... The Making of Incarnation feels utterly original, utterly new, utterly magical... Tom McCarthy, the most visionary of contemporary writers, is light years ahead of anyone writing anywhere currently. * Neel Mukherjee *A typically ambitious mille-feuille of modernity, symbolism and myth. -- Katy Guest * Guardian *One of the most brilliantly intellectual novelists of the moment... The Making of Incarnation is like a ghostwritten hybrid of a John le Carré thriller, the post-modern philosophy of Jacques Derrida and a sci-fi romp all at the same time... There is something uplifting about McCarthy's work. He makes you think, and he makes you think things you hadn't thought before. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Hugely interesting, energetic, wise and well written. -- Sam Leith * GQ *Difficulty is...part of the pleasure of reading McCarthy... The Making of Incarnation is a novel of motion rather than emotion; imagine an even chillier JG Ballard... a rich and fascinating exercise in observation -- Charles Arrowsmith * Independent *A Kafka for the Google Age. * Daily Telegraph - Praise for 'Satin Island' *

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Book Synopsis** SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2023**** WINNER OF THE 2022 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD IN FICTION**Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vulture, The Times Literary Supplement, and moreWhat if this world is just a first draft, made by some great artist in order to be destroyed?In this first draft, a woman named Mira leaves home to study. There, she meets Annie, whose tremendous power opens Mira's chest like a portal - to what, she doesn't know. When Mira is older, her beloved father dies, and she enters that strange and dizzying dimension that true loss opens up.Pure Colour tells the story of a life, from beginning to end. It is a contemporary bible, an atlas of feeling and a shape-shifting epic that is celestially bright and streaked with beauty.'Beautiful and impossible to put down. Sheila Heti is a genius.' Avni Doshi'This one-of-a-kind novel... feels nothing less than vital.' Observer'An original, a book that says something new for our difficult times.' Anne Enright, Guardian'A treat.' Stylist_______________________PRAISE FOR SHEILA HETI:'Exhilarating...it made me want to write' Sally Rooney, on How Should a Person Be?'Sheila Heti has broken new ground' Rachel Cusk, on Motherhood'Complex, artfully messy and hilarious' Miranda July, on How Should a Person Be? 'Thrilling, very funny, and almost unbearably moving' Garth Greenwell, on Motherhood'Courageous, necessary, visionary' Elif Batuman, on MotherhoodTrade ReviewAn impressive spectrum of meaning and feeling, both abstract and tangible... This one-of-a-kind novel... feels nothing less than vital. -- Anthony Cummins * Observer *Pure Colour is the apocalypse written as trance, a sleepwalker's song about the end of all things... There is also Heti's lovely prose to enjoy, her beautifully sustained tone, the way she is, as a writer, earnest, funny and sweet... Pure Colour is an original, a book that says something new for our difficult times. -- Anne Enright * Guardian *Exemplifies both originality and sharpness... the kind of book that you start reading again as soon as you finish it, to see how on earth the author pulled it off... Descriptions of grief that are so surprising and true they made me gasp. -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian *Pure Colour is not just a novel, it's a creation myth, a fairy tale, a story about making art and living on this planet. A story about death and the irresistible inner stirrings that bring us back to life. Beautiful and impossible to put down. Sheila Heti is a genius. -- Avni DoshiWonderfully entertaining... a treat to read. Expect to take in the work of a true wordsmith. -- Kiran Meeda * Stylist *What makes Heti's novels so compelling is... the questions her characters need answering at moments of flux in their lives... [Pure Colour] left me full of admiration and wonder. -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * New Statesman *An explicitly mystical book... So new...This book, so full of argument, feels weightless. -- Parul Sehgal * The New Yorker *Just like that, there's magic. Like Iris Murdoch's novels, Heti's are philosophically intense, although Heti's work is pared down where Murdoch's was Rabelaisian. Heti owns a sharp axe. In Pure Colour the wood chips that fall are as interesting as the sculpture that gets made. -- Dwight Garner * The New York Times *Buoyed by a dazzling assortment of questions, curiosities and wild propositions that betray the author's agile and untamed mind...[Pure Colour] brings into view a certain organic and ecstatic wholeness: bright splashes of feeling and folly, of grief and loss...[it] defies classification. -- Alexandra Kleeman * New York Times Book Review *Heti excels at small moments, delicately revealed. * Daily Telegraph *Heti is brilliant at nailing down universal cultural experiences. * Sunday Times *A philosophical fable about art, death, faith and the perilous state of the universe. * Daily Mail *It isn't often that a novel dares to rethink the order of the universe we live in, yet in Pure Colour, Sheila Heti aims for just that. Making new sense of our cracked world through a vulnerable meditation on love and art that feels both personal and cosmic, this is a book that takes good care of its reader, and heals. -- Livia FranchiniThe most timely, urgent book of 2022... It feels both as thrillingly inventive as [Heti's] ever been and also defiantly and satisfyingly middle-aged... Genius. -- Lynn Steger Strong * Los Angeles Times *Pure Colour is unabashedly metaphysical and completely outlandish...Yet neither grief nor theology can suppress Heti's oddball wit and affection for wildly inappropriate sexual metaphors, for which a reader should be grateful... Heti is the rare mystic with a sense of humor. -- Judith Shulevitz * The Atlantic *Sheila Heti has the innate ability to capture feelings and thinkings that can seem so mercurial, and to provoke new avenues of thought on social codes, with challenge, care, and clarity. Her writing is both a relief and an invigoration. -- Anna Cafolla * AnOther, *Books to Look Out For 2022* *Pure Colour will make you question life and choices in the same philosophical and lyrically written way. -- Alice Snape * Cosmopolitan, *Books to Look Our For 2022* *Heti has evolved the leanest, more powerful, playful, and entirely unique form for writing ideas. With one foot in the everyday and another in the floating world, Pure Colour is a pure feat. -- Joanna WalshPure Colour...[is] a honed gem, a surreal bildungsroman... With its philosophical meditations, poetic vignettes and absurdist comedy, it is...a bracing reminder that the novel is the literary form where a writer is free to do anything... Heti...[is] an original and influential voice in contemporary fiction -- Max Liu * i *Heti's... writing is beguiling, funny and wise. The novel's surreal elements invite as many interpretations as an abstract painting -- Alastair Curtis * Prospect *Heti's work is always original - that Pure Colour is also deeply moving makes it all the more remarkable * New Statesman, *The best books of 2022 so far* *Compelling -- Emily Witt * London Review of Books *A philosophical novel as timely as the fictions of Camus and Hesse were for another generation. Heti's voice, however, is entirely her own: bold, searching, hilarious, simultaneously artful and artless... her grandest...novel yet * Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year* *

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Book SynopsisThe 'hypnotic...addictive' (New York Times) debut novel narrated by a young woman meditating on the malleable, breakable bonds keeping her family from falling apart.There's a superstition in our family about falling...Marta's great-great-grandfather Jirí was said to have given a gentle push to the back of a stonemason for having wronged him. The stonemason fell to his death and the family fled Prague for the American Midwest, where they set up a new life.So begins the story of Marta and her brother Nick, deeply interwoven twins haunted by the mysterious curse that has plagued their family for centuries - one that has doomed them to suffer various types of falls. When Nick tumbles out of a window and ends up seriously injured, Marta must embark on a heartbreaking quest to discover whether or not his fall was intentional, and to stop her family from falling apart...'Wonderful...with an idiosyncratic humour that reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh' Daily Telegraph'Original and engaging' Guardian 'Lights up the imagination' Dina NayeriTrade ReviewDefenestrate is an original and engaging novel from a fresh new voice, one deeply committed to understanding the beguiling experience of twinship, and to writing twins from the inside. -- Jude Cook * Guardian *Original...with an idiosyncratic humour that reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh... there are some wonderful digressions about...comic genius that shouldn't really work, but do. -- Alasdair Lees * Daily Telegraph, *Books to Look Out For 2022* *Branum is a weaver of light, a writer of extraordinary sensitivity and insight. Her obsessions are contagious, and her prose is electric. -- Karen RussellRenée Branum writes with exceptional wisdom and tenderness about inheritance, obsession, and the power of storytelling... Defenestrate builds to a symphonic, exhilarating end. -- Sanaë Lemoine, author of THE MARGOT AFFAIRBranum's prose lights up the imagination, every line a discovery and a pleasure. Beyond simple elegance or precision, she weaves sense and simile so stunningly, you have to throw your hands up and say damn! -- Dina Nayeri, author of THE UNGRATEFUL REFUGEE and REFUGE

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Book Synopsis'Utterly Gripping' Sunday TelegraphMeet Chloe. First-year student. Ordinary girl next door. Psychopath.Chloe Sevre can be whoever you want her to be. A cool girl, a best friend, someone to tell secrets to over midnight snacks. She has an impressive IQ, loves working out and frat parties.She's also a psychopath.In between her university classes and taking part in a secret clinical study of young psychopaths, Chloe is plotting to kill childhood friend Will Bachman.They say you should never trust a psychopath. But when you hear what Will Bachman did to Chloe Sevre, you might just change your mind...**Perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family, You and Killing Eve*'I fell in love with self-confessed psychopath Chloe on page one' Erin Kelly, bestselling author of Watch Her Fall'Deliciously wicked and utterly addictive' Alice Hunter, author of The Serial Killer's WifeReaders love NEVER SAW ME COMING:'A fantastic read that absolutely kept me guessing.' *****'I was hooked... There's plenty of dark humour...but there's also suspense, a lot of twists' *****'A darkly comic, complicated tale.' *****'A profoundly disturbing and well written book with an ending I didn't see coming.' *****'This book was perfectly pitched and pure fun. Highly recommended.' ******Trade ReviewI devoured this riveting book through a day of travel - in a taxi, on the plane, in the next taxi - and into the night. My desire to rush to the end clashed with my desire to savor every word. Who would be the last psychopath standing? * New York Times *Kurian dazzles with a unique protagonist and tight plotting. This one will keep you awake at night and force you to question how well you know the people in your life. Not to be missed! * Christina Dalcher, author of Vox *Utterly gripping * Sunday Telegraph *An up-and-coming voice in fiction...a game of cat and mouse * Tatler *An audacious, break-the-mould thriller from a new voice -- Sarra Manning * Red *

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Book SynopsisFor the sake of women everywhere, Ms Shibata is going to pull off the mother of all deceptions...'Incredibly thought-provoking... you'll love Yagi's writing' STYLISTMs Shibata refuses to clear away the coffee at work one day, because she's pregnant and can't bear the smell. The only thing is . . . Ms Shibata is not pregnant.Being a mother-to-be isn't easy. Ms Shibata has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Before long, it becomes all-absorbing, and with the help of towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app that tracks every stage of her 'pregnancy', the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve.Discover this prizewinning, thrillingly subversive new novel that's perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Breasts and Eggs.'A subversive, surreal read that will strike a cord' RED'One of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse and rich inner life' NEW YORKERTranslated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy NorthTrade ReviewIf you're in the mood for a matter-of-fact and incredibly thought-provoking read, you'll love Yagi's writing. * Stylist *The tension grows along with the comedic details. . . . Diary of a Void starts as stylish satire... but it becomes something even more profound. Always expect the unexpected when you're not expecting. -- Sloane Crosley * Departures *A subversive, surreal read that will strike a cord. * Red Magazine *One of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse and rich inner life. * The New Yorker *Endlessly strange, funny and meaningful... This book is a powerful exploration of what it means to be single and childless, and of the impact of work on our bodies and mental health * Good Housekeeping, *Books of the Year* *Yagi has a light touch for the endless ironies made possible by her premise. There is humor, but also the realization that the alienation of pregnancy and motherhood is no reprieve from the oppressive office culture that inspires Shibata's experiment. -- Lauren Oyler * New York Times Book Review *Delightful . . . Yagi's focus is on how acting pregnant reshapes Shibata's relationship to herself... Yet the book never idealizes pregnancy...We see the difficulty of being a woman with or without a child, and Yagi emphasizes how society makes both roles harder... If you've ever wanted to bite back at a nosy boss, a rude co-worker, an unfair assignment, or the endless list of shoulds we face, then maybe you'll find something to enjoy in Shibata's audacity too. -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan * The Atlantic *One of the most intriguing new novels of the summer. * Independent *Shibata is a modern-day Bartleby. * The Baffler *Darkly funny and surprisingly tender. -- Kirsty Logan, author of THINGS WE SAY IN THE DARKIn Diary of a Void, what begins as a bud of a lie blossoms into a gripping and thought provoking examination of womanhood and motherhood in a patriarchal society. A short read but by no means is this a small story. -- An Yu, author of BRAISED PORKSo tightly written, and so much fun to read. -- Kikuko Tsumura, author of THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN EASY JOBComical and tender, absurd, bold and joyful. -- Aysegul Savas, author of WHITE ON WHITEYagi captures Shibata's loneliness and the community she's granted upon 'falling into step' with her married peers in such a keen way that, reading along, you're on pins and needles to discover what will happen... The [fun] premise pays off. -- Eliza Smith * Literary Hub *Riveting and surreal . . . Absurdist, amusing, and clever, the story brings subtlety and tact to its depiction of workplace discrimination-as well as a touch of magic. Readers will eagerly turn the pages all the way to the bold conclusion. * Publishers Weekly *A book that reflects on life, solitude and what it means to be a woman. * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* *A surreal, engrossing meditation on loneliness, womanhood, and what it actually means to have a work-life balance. -- Ruth Murai * Mother Jones *Takes office toxicity and how we cope to new heights. * Fortune *I found myself completely captivated by this novel's unusual and inviting premise and all that it questions and stirs up. -- Aimee Bender, author of THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKEI loved it. It's incredible. Diary of a Void is joyful, exuberant, and triumphant. It made my heart sing. -- Claire Oshetsky, author of CHOUETTEFilled with sly humor and touching intimacy, Diary of a Void builds from its revolutionary premise into a powerfully resonant story of longing and defiance. An absolutely thrilling read - I didn't want to put it down. -- Claire Stanford, author of HAPPY FOR YOUIn this fictional diary of a pregnant woman, it is the real, rather than the made-up, aspects of society, such as single parenting and discrimination against women in the workplace, that are powerfully depicted. -- Kyoko Nakajima, author of THE LITTLE HOUSEYagi artfully blurs the boundary between truth and lies with this riotous solution to women's workplace challenges. * The Washington Post *[A] penetrating look at working life and gender expectations... In a tone perfectly modulated in Boyd and North's translation, Shibata's dry observations and choices are both relatable and humorous...At the heart of the story is Yagi's wry and witty consideration of how one woman, tangled up in a web of deceit, struggles to live a meaningful life through work and her relationships with others. * The Japan Times *Charming and funny * Crack Magazine *

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Book SynopsisA veteran British journalist living in Hong Kong investigates the disappearance of a student protestor amidst the pro-democracy demonstrations in this unsettling new novel from the acclaimed author of The ForgivenAfter twenty years as an ex-pat reporter in Hong Kong, Adrian Gyle has almost nothing to show for it. But now the streets are choked with students demanding democratic freedoms, and the old world is beginning to fall apart.Adrian's old friend Jimmy Tang, the scion of a wealthy Hong Kong family, has begun a reckless affair with Rebecca, a leading pro-democracy protestor. But when Rebecca disappears and Jimmy goes to ground, Adrian unearths the familiar old urge to investigate. Pursuing Rebecca's ghost to Java Road where the city's dead congregate, Adrian re-assembles her final hours - as he struggles to distinguish between delusion and reality.'Osborne's whodunnit is wrapped in an atmospheric portrait both of a particular place and time, and of the creation and destruction of a friendship. Highly recommended' GUARDIAN'Osborne goes from strength to strength' LIONEL SHRIVER'Osborne handles surface and depth with immense skill, as only great writers can' DEBORAH LEVY, FINANCIAL TIMES'If the purpose of a novel is to take you away from the everyday and show you something different, then Osborne is succeeding, and handsomely' LEE CHILD, NEW YORK TIMESTrade Review[A] superbly atmospheric reportage of a place and time... [On Java Road is] his most compulsive yet -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *Marvellously convincing evocations of fractious, tear-gas-canister-strewn Hong Kong... Osborne...presents every country his novels visit clearly, without imposing his own gloss * Literary Review *In the growing footprint of what he deems "Planet Tourism," his novels have become his radical reworking of travel writing - as sensual, provocative and riveting portraits of lives and places in flux * Washington Post *Masterly ... This story of moral failings and totalitarian excess is as disturbing as it is irresistible -- Peter Carty * i *Osborne's whodunnit is wrapped in an atmospheric portrait both of a particular place and time, and of the creation and destruction of a friendship. Highly recommended * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis'Riveting' Guardian'Electrifying' Colson WhiteheadWhen the world collapses, where will you run? After rolling blackouts and epic storms engulf America, the neighbourhood of First Street, Charlottesville comes under attack by violent white supremacists. A small group of families, friends and strangers flee for their lives, taking refuge in Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's historic plantation home in the hills above the town.Over nineteen heart-stopping days the group, led by Da'Naisha Love - a young Black descendant of Jefferson and Sally Hemings - find ways to survive as the world burns beneath them. But with the terror below coming closer, they must decide how far they're willing to go to protect what's theirs . . .'Absolutely unforgettable' Roxane Gay'Stunning' Mail on SundayTrade ReviewRiveting storytelling. This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *A badass debut by any measure - nimble, knowing, and electrifying * Colson Whitehead, twice-Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and THE NICKEL BOYS *An electric new literary voice * Esquire *Absolutely unforgettable. Johnson's prose soars to remarkable heights * Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of HUNGER and AYITI *Unputdownable... Extraordinarily powerful... One of the finest books of 2021 and a future classic * The Bookseller, Book of the Month *

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Book SynopsisLove and marriage, children and family, death and grief. Life touches everyone the same, but living under lockdown? It changes us alone.A man abroad wanders the stag-and-hen-strewn streets of Newcastle, as news of the virus at home asks him to question his next move. An exhausted nurse struggles to let go, having lost a much-loved patient in isolation. A middle-aged son, barred from his mother's funeral, wakes to an oncoming hangover of regret. Told with Doyle's signature warmth, wit and extraordinary eye for the richness that underpins the quiet of our lives, Life Without Children cuts to the heart of how we are all navigating loss, loneliness and the shifting of history underneath our feet.'Life Without Children is boldly exhilarating, with its revelations of quiet love and the sheer charm of the characters' voices' Sunday Times'Quietly devastating...shivers with emotion' Financial Times'In the stripping away of everyday anxieties, the virus reveals what matters most, those qualities that are always at the heart of Doyle's fiction: love and connection' Observer'Moving...and beautiful' Daily MailTrade ReviewA quietly devastating collection of short stories that brilliantly portrays the pervasive sense of hopelessness that immobilised us during the dog days of Covid... Silver linings have been hard to find lately, but in Life Without Children Doyle has given us just that * Sunday Times *[A] gem of a collection... Roddy Doyle's greatest gift has always been for dialogue. He can command the full range of Irish voices and registers, but he has lately put his gifts to use in painting a picture of characters in...their "third age". * Daily Telegraph *Quietly devastating... Doyle's clipped, plain dialogue shivers with emotion. * Financial Times *Life Without Children...displays Doyle's remarkable talent for conveying the strongest of emotions in the simplest of words and the shortest of sentences... It bristles with quietly sharp insights into the shape of a human life. * Reader's Digest *There is an immediacy to the stories in Life Without Children, an emotional charge that comes with writing in real time, and an optimism too. In the stripping away of everyday anxieties, the virus reveals what matters most, those qualities that are always at the heart of Doyle's fiction: love and connection. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisA New York Times 10 Best Books of 2022 Selection 'Extraordinary . . . radiant' Sunday Times'An existential tour-de-force' Eimear McBride'Elatingly risky' Guardian 'We read in order to come to life.'With fierce imagination, a woman revisits the moments that shape her life; from crushes on teachers to navigating relationships in a fast-paced world; from overhearing her grandmothers' peculiar stories to nurturing her own personal freedom and a boundless love of literature.Fusing fantasy with lived experience, Checkout 19 is a vivid and mesmerising journey through the small traumas and triumphs that define us - as readers, as writers, as human beings.* A 'Books of 2021' pick in the Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Irish Times Culture and New Statesman *'This is her new book to shake the world anew' Sebastian Barry'Mesmerising, whip-smart, full of genius . . . It is also very funny' Elaine Feeney'Her voice is all her own' Anne EnrightTrade ReviewCheckout 19 beautifully explores the makings of a young woman writer. -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail, *Books to Look Out For 2021* *Mesmerising, whip-smart, full of genius and utterly singular, Checkout 19 is one of the most beautiful and political books I've read. Put simply, it's all about books. Bennett is a master at sweeping the caverns of life's minutiae with her uncanny observations and stunning prose, arriving at the most pressing things that haunt the human condition. It is also very funny (and very sad) and very very relatable. Just exquisite. -- Elaine FeeneyCheckout 19 is a beautiful, hurt, unsettled, funny, and moving book about meaning and reading and recalling, but most of all about coming to life. -- David HaydenReading Checkout 19 is not unlike coming back to life after a long and brutal winter. Highly original and deeply felt. I'm so glad Claire-Louise Bennett exists. A writer to fall in love with. -- Nicole FlatteryA deeply personal, completely singular book that somehow also spoke directly to my own private impressions and experiences. Extremely funny, extremely sharp, devastating, invigorating. -- Lisa OwensBrilliant, singular, feminist, ambitious - Claire-Louise Bennett is an extraordinary writer. -- Sinéad GleesonI fell into Checkout 19 and didn't want to climb back out. It is wonderful - I'm not sure why, and that makes it all the more wonderful. -- Roddy DoyleBennett is a leading exponent of a new modernism, but her voice is all her own. Her prose is profoundly surprising; she gets to places you didn't know were there. -- Anne EnrightReading Checkout 19 filled me with joy, it is so good! The writing is exceptional; rich, playful and at the same time full of presence and urgency. It is a book about literature, how reading both expands our world and takes us away from it, and it is also a book about life {when it is] at its most vulnerable, and these two merge into the question: how can we take back our own story? What is our own story? Bennett writes like no one else, she is in complete control of the language, skilfull and innovative in an almost joycean way. She is a rare talent, and Checkout 19 is a masterful novel. -- Karl Ove KnausgaardI'll remember this book for its disarmingly figurative language and its subtle observational humour...Bennett...traces one person's idiosyncratic, recursive artistic becoming - not just the reading, writing, and cigarette smoking but the relationships and experiences that unlock new ways of seeing. * Vulture, *Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2022* *This is the book - the one you've been looking for. It really is. It's full of desire, rage, mischief, opulence. This is the book. It's about what's important - about finding it, grasping it, losing it. This is the book. -- Toby LittOn the basis of just one book, the mysterious Pond, Claire-Louise Bennett established a devoted following pretty much worldwide. This is her new book to shake the world anew. -- Sebastian BarryCHECKOUT 19 has radically altered my idea of what is possible in a novel, while being continuously gripping, sometimes deeply moving and often very funny. There are long passages in here which feel touched by the hand of god, more channelled than written. -- Mark HaddonThere's no one in whose language and rhythms I'd rather immerse than Claire-Louise Bennett, as her character plumbs her own past and a personal history of literature, via classrooms and train stations, supermarket aisles and Viennese opera houses, pickled cucumber and cheese on toast. Witty, moving and propulsive, Checkout-19 makes a triumphant case for what novels - and reading - can do. * Francesca Wade *A profound and very funny book about growth and promise, and how not to kill them off; about women reading and writing and how they survive... thrilling. * London Review of Books *An extraordinary document about the richness of inner life... It is rare to feel the sensation of another mind as vividly as in this radiant book. -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *Unconventional and imaginative... this is a book about memory, reading and writing that is intelligent and often absorbing. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail *Checkout 19 inches close to what it is to love... The novel is defiantly told through impulse - the impulse to write a certain character, to read a particular book, to say something or stay quiet - and in this way, a woman, and a writer, emerges. -- Rebecca Watson * Financial Times *Checkout 19 is a fresh take on the coming-of-age novel-one in which we don't already know how the story will end, or if it will have an 'ending' at all. Bennett manages to convince the reader that somewhere, her narrator continues to think and ponder and live and wrestle with being in a body, like the rest of us. * Lit Hub, *Most Anticipated Books of 2022* *A fantastically various novel consisting of seven sections in which we loosely follow a narrator...at different ages and in different places - through an intricate collage of ideas, sensations and emotions. -- Alex Clark * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisOn the train from Karachi, as dusk begins to fall, Fahad's dreams of his summer in London are fading. He is headed to Abad, the family's feudal estate, where his father intends to toughen up his sensitive boy, to teach him about power, duty, family -- to make him a man. Instead, over the course of one shimmering, indolent season, Fahad finds himself seduced by the wildness of the land and by the people he meets: those who revere and revile his father; cousin Mousey, who lives alone with a man he calls his manager; and Ali, a teenager like him, whose presence threatens to unearth all that is hidden. Other Names for Love is a truly exceptional novel: a luminous tale of memory and desire, inheritance and love, and the search for a sense of home. Written with urgency and unusual beauty, it marks the arrival of a stunning new voice in fiction.Trade ReviewA beautiful novel on the desire to leave and the hope to remain, the need to find oneself among one's people and away from them -- HISHAM MATAR, author of The ReturnAn exceptional novel about fathers and sons, desire and love, and the long reach of the past -- SUNJEEV SAHOTA, author of China RoomSuch a deftly told and evocative story of duty, masculinity and desire -- KAMILA SHAMSIE, author of Home FireA twenty-first century variation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons... Taymour Soomro is a thrilling new addition to international literature -- YIYUN LI, author of Must I GoThis haunted, haunting novel is about the cruelties we commit in our search for freedom and the bonds from which we can never be free. Taymour Soomro's piercing insight is that both the freedom and the bonds are constituent of love -- Garth Greenwell, author of CLEANNESS and WHAT BELONGS TO YOU

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Book Synopsis'A piercingly evocative East-West love story' The TimesThis is a story of East and West. A story of love, betrayal, and lost illusions...The end of the Cold War seems unimaginable for Milena, a Red Princess trapped in a lifetime of limitless luxury.Yet when she meets Jason, a confident British poet, it's not long before she's secretly planning her escape to Britain.1980s London defies her privileged expectations. And when she discovers Jason's concept of freedom confronts her deepest-held beliefs, the very ideas of family and state come into question...'A wonderful, perfectly-pitched novel: full of delightful intrigue and wry insight about the human predicament and its unique tensions' William Boyd'Witty, poignant and full of surprises - every detail of this cross-cultural story of love and disillusionment rings true' Clare ChambersTrade ReviewA poignant, bittersweet love story played out across the east-west divide, it challenges set ideas about loyalty, freedom and ideology -- Frederick Studemann * Financial Times, *Summer Books 2022* *Superb... The divided continent has been at the heart of countless novels over the decades, but few can have been as cleverly crafted or better told than Vesna Goldsworthy's Iron Curtain... Brilliantly written -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *The pages fly by, and Goldsworthy's careful scrutiny brings warmth and sympathy to her tale of belonging and betrayal. Tense, brooding and often hilarious, Iron Curtain finds bright sparks as well as bleakness in the cold war's dying embers -- James Stuart * Guardian *Vesna Goldsworthy's masterly novel retains the grace and resilience of literary art while wading deep into the most riveting human drama... Goldsworthy is at once the most impartial and the tenderest of observers, a bold dramatist and a subtle humorist -- Rachel CuskOriginal and memorable... a profound understanding of the timeless realities of love, betrayal and the desire for revenge -- Pat BarkerTimely... Daring... A bittersweet tale of loyalty, love and the siren call of freedom -- Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *Iron Curtain seized me from its first page and I hardly put it down again until I arrived with reluctance to its stunning conclusion... Moving but also irresistibly enjoyable -- Megan NolanAn extraordinary evocation of two wildly contrasted worlds... Vesna Goldsworthy writes so well! -- Michael FraynThis excellent novel is a comedy of manners nevertheless fraught with tension... Goldsworthy captures the human perspective of life in the cold war superbly and sympathetically -- Alexander Larman * Observer *A pacy rite-of-passage story that doubles as a portrait of the poisonous legacies of police-state paranoia -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *Superb * Jonathan Coe on Twitter *

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Book SynopsisAs London comes alive with the 1960s youth revolution, one woman makes a choice that defies all expectations.'So real and humane and utterly transporting' Meg MasonIt's 1967 and London is alive with the new youth revolution. In the suburbs, meanwhile, Phyllis Fischer inhabits a world of conventional stability. Married with two children, her life is both comfortable and predictable.But when Nicky - a twenty-something friend of the family - visits one hot summer evening and kisses Phyllis in the dark of the garden, something in her catches fire. Newly awake to the world, Phyllis makes a choice that defies all expectations . . .'Wonderful' Marian Keyes'My favourite author' Kate Atkinson'Achingly moving and real' Guardian 'Beguiling' Hilary Mantel'Compelling' Elizabeth Day'Will bring you to tears' Daily MailTrade ReviewSo real and humane and utterly transporting; fresh and yet, with the feeling of a beloved classic. -- Meg Mason, author of SORROW AND BLISSI utterly LOVED this book!!!!! Tessa Hadley might be my new favourite writer... she is wonderful. -- Marian KeyesA beguiling novel, deceptively easy to read; beneath the surface swim disturbing and age-old questions about freedom and fate. -- Hilary MantelTessa Hadley is my favourite author. -- Kate AtkinsonBeautifully structured and brilliantly paced. It displays Tessa Hadley's extraordinary skill at making both surface life and deep interiors come fully alive. -- Colm Tóibín

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Book SynopsisWhen Mercy Garrett moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice.All she wants is space and silence. No clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond.But it turns out family life is impossible to escape - particularly when it's in your past. For Mercy it all begins in 1959, with a holiday to a cabin by a lake. It's the only one the Garretts will ever take, but its effects will ripple through the generations.The glorious Sunday Times bestseller follows one family's joys and heartbreaks, mistakes and secrets, from the 1950s right up to today'Gorgeous, charming, profound, and written with such lightness of touch' MARIAN KEYES'A perfect work of fiction' MEG MASON'She is and always will be my favourite author' LIANE MORIARTY'Exquisitely crafted, tender, hilarious, devastatingly precise, I loved this powerful meditation on the small and often unvoiced moments that can make up a life' RACHEL JOYCE'Anne Tyler really is the best... Her sheer brilliance makes it all seems so effortless' GRAHAM NORTON'A faultless novel, effortlessly profound. I read it in two sittings, totally immersed' VICTORIA HISLOPTrade ReviewSuch a perfect work of fiction, you want to turn it over like a tapestry to see how it is done; how Tyler can sew gentle humour into a truly heart-wrenching story, and twist all of life's hurts into a family saga that is ultimately life-affirming, and a brisk and thrilling read. We readers are so lucky a writer like Tyler exists -- MEG MASONTyler's sentences are wholly hers, instantly recognisable and impossible to duplicate -- HANYA YANIGIHARAShe is and always will be my favourite author -- LIANE MORIARTYAnne Tyler really is the best . . . her sheer brilliance makes it all seem so effortless -- GRAHAM NORTONOne of my favourite writers -- ALI SMITH

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Book SynopsisSUZUKI IS JUST AN ORDINARY MATHS TEACHER...UNTIL HIS WIFE IS MURDERED.Seeking justice, he leaves his old life behind to infiltrate the criminal gang responsible. What he doesn't realise is that he's about to get drawn into a web of the most unusual professional assassins, each with their own agenda:THE WHALE convinces his victims to take their own lives using just his words.THE CICADA is a talkative and deadly knife expert.THE PUSHER dispatches his targets in deadly traffic 'accidents'.Suzuki must take on the three assassins to avenge his wife - but can he keep his innocence in a world of seasoned killers?THEIR MISSION IS MURDER. HIS IS REVENGE.PRAISE FOR BULLET TRAIN:'Unlike anything you're likely to have read before...white-hot with double-crosses' Financial Times'Entertaining...high-speed...with lots of twists and turns...it has a Tarantino-meets-the-Coen-Brothers feel to it' The TimesPart high-octane thriller, part farce, this is an unusual and thoroughly enjoyable read' GuardianThe action accelerates up and down the ten carriages but the question is: who will get off alive? Daily MailTrade ReviewThree Assassins...showcases Kotaro Isaka's Tarantinoesque blend of offbeat wit and stylised violence -- James Owen * The Times *[A] mesmerising tale of how life is simultaneously cheap and precious, and the past catches up with us all. -- Laura Wilson * Guardian *Highly entertaining... grips with plenty of twists before delivering a stylish and fitting finale -- Jon Coates * Sunday Express *Delivers an unusual journey. The eponymous killers - along with a man bent on paybackfor the death of his wife - are engaged in a dance of death * Financial Times *Isaka knows how to keep his readers on their toes. His characters are colourful, varied and morally despicable. * Crime Fiction Lover *

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Book Synopsis'I loved this book for its depth and perception, for its beauty and eerie rhythms, but most of all for its wonderfully dream-like spell. It's breathtaking' Brandon TaylorA student moves to the city to research Gothic nudes, renting an apartment from a painter, Agnes, who lives in another town with her husband. One day, Agnes arrives in the city and settles into the upstairs studio.Agnes tells stories of her youth, her family, her marriage, and ideas for her art. As the months pass, it becomes clear that Agnes might not have a place to return to. Her stories are frenetic; her art scattered and unfinished, white paint on a white canvas.White on White is a sharp exploration of what it means to be truly vulnerable and laid bare.'Deeply humane, quietly devastating, mesmerisingly beautiful' Olivia Sudjic'Marvellous' Lauren Groff'Gentle, mysterious and profound' Marina Abramovic'Enthralling' Observer'An exceptionally elegant, intelligent, and original writer' Sigrid NunezTrade ReviewA deeply humane, quietly devastating, mesmerisingly beautiful masterpiece. -- Olivia SudjicWhite on White is an ambitious palette. * New York Times *[An] oddly enthralling tale about a postgrad student bearing witness to an artist's marital breakdown -- Anthony Cummins * Observer *Marvelous, as elegant as an opaque sheet of ice that belies the swift and turbulent waters beneath. -- Lauren GroffA haunting, irresistible novel. I loved this book for its depth and perception, for its beauty and eerie rhythms, but most of all for its wonderfully dream-like spell. It's breathtaking. -- Brandon Taylor

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Book Synopsis‘A mesmerisingly powerful book’ SALLY ROONEYIlluminating the lives of outcasts, misfits and malcontents, this is the darkly funny and moving second book from the award-winning author of Young Skins.A quiet night in the neighbourhood pub is shattered by the arrival of a sword-wielding fugitive. A funeral party teeters on the edge of this world and the next, as ghosts won't settle. A shooting sees an everyday call-out lead a policewoman to confront the banality of her own existence.In his new collection of stories, Colin Barrett takes us to the barren backwaters of County Mayo, via Canada – always with an eye for the abrupt and absurd.'Superb... There is so much life in these pages' DOUGLAS STUART'Fierce, tender...unforgettable' BRANDON TAYLOR'Addictive, stylish and violently funny... Outstanding' KEVIN BARRYTrade ReviewA mesmerisingly powerful book, full of the strangeness and beauty of life. I've learned so much from Colin Barrett's work as a reader and writer...these stories are his best yet -- Sally RooneyFull of humour and small-town Irish colour... His [Barrett's] second collection confirms him as one of the very best short-story writers in the business * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *A masterwork - by turns hilarious and heartbreaking... What fierce, tender stories. Totally unforgettable -- Brandon TaylorThe stories in Homesickness are crafted with skill and flair. Colin Barrett anchors the work with emotional accuracy and careful delineation of character, and then, using metaphors and beautifully made sentences, he lets his narrative soar -- Colm ToibinLyrical and tough and smart... His stories are set in a familiar emotional landscape, but they give us endings that are new -- Anne Enright

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Book Synopsis**NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING HARRY STYLES**This love is all-consuming It is in 1950s' Brighton that Marion first catches sight of the handsome and enigmatic Tom. He teaches her to swim in the shadow of the pier and Marion is smitten - determined her love will be enough for them both. A few years later in Brighton Museum Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opens his eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world. Tom is their policeman, and in this age it is safer for him to marry Marion. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed. 'A sensitive, sweeping novel' VOGUE 'Tense, romantic, smart...I loved it. Devoured it!' RUSSELL T. DAVIES 'A powerful story of forbidden love, regret, and living as your true self' VANITY FAIR 'A moving story of longing and frustration' OBSERVERTrade ReviewThe era and the seaside locale are beautifully rendered and observed, not least the social and sexual undercurrents of the time * Sunday Times *A humane and evocative portrait of a time when lives were destroyed by intolerance * Guardian *This spiky portrait of love makes for a gripping read * Independent *Pitch perfect * Marie Claire *A moving story of longing and frustration * Observer *

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Book SynopsisEscape to the ocean with the entrancing, unforgettable winner of the Costa Book of the Year - as read on BBC Radio 4.* PRE-ORDER MONIQUE ROFFEY'S NEW NOVEL, PASSIONTIDE, NOW *'Mesmerising' MAGGIE O'FARRELL'A unique talent' BERNARDINE EVARISTO'Wonderful' BRIDGET COLLINS'Brilliant' CLARE CHAMBERSNear the island of Black Conch, a fisherman sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But David attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, an innocent young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid.When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever . . .'A bittersweet love story . . . A joy to read' BBC News'A fiercely modern mermaid story' The Times'Wondrous . . . A striking achievement' Sunday Times'Not your standard mermaid' MARGARET ATWOODTrade ReviewA daring, mesmerising novel that continually unseats expectation - I was deliciously unsure, throughout, what would happen next. With her fierce and shapeshifting mermaid, Roffey has created a modern myth about belonging and the bonds humans form with each other and with their land, single-handedly bringing magic realism up to date -- Maggie O’Farrell, No.1 bestselling author of HamnetI absolutely devoured The Mermaid of Black Conch. It's wonderful, immersive, evocative... A masterclass of world-building -- Bridget Collins, No.1 bestselling author of The BindingOnce I had started it, I couldn't stop. It was quite unlike anything I'd ever read. Such brilliant myth-making; such powerful storytelling -- Clare Chambers, author of Small PleasuresAbout wonder, spectacle, as well as greed. The writing is exquisite -- Elizabeth Macneal, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Doll Factory and Circus of WondersA reading experience as captivating as a tropical storm. Full-throated and mesmerizing -- C. Pam Zhang, Booker-longlisted author of How Much of These Hills is GoldBighearted . . . Sentence by sensuous sentence, Roffey builds a verdant, complicated world that it is a pleasure to live inside . . . A fairy tale. But it is a ghost story too * New York Times *Sensuous, beguiling . . . Roffey's tale convincingly transplants a mythical creature into a modern setting . . . Wondrous * Sunday Times *Wonderfully written, with both soul and intense drama - it glistens almost, like the mermaid! -- Diana Evans, author of Ordinary PeopleStunning . . . A mesmerising read -- Nathan Filer, Costa-winning author of The Shock of the FallExtraordinary, beautifully written . . . We found it completely compelling . . . It feels like a classic in the making -- Costa Judges, 2020

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Book SynopsisThe new novel from the bestselling author of The Idiot follows one young woman's quest for self-knowledge, as she travels abroad and tests the limits of her newfound adulthood. 'Elif Batuman is the queen of the campus novel... Enchanting' Sunday TimesSELIN IS THE LUCKIEST PERSON IN HER FAMILY:The only one who was born in America and got to go to Harvard. Now it's her second year, and Selin knows she has to make it count. The first order of business: to figure out the meaning of everything that happened over the summer...On the plus side, her life feels like the plot of an exciting novel. On the other hand, why do so many novels have crazy, abandoned women in them? And how does one live a life as interesting as a novel - a life worthy of becoming a novel - without turning into a crazy, abandoned woman oneself?'Stupendous... Hilarious... Batuman is a genius' Vogue'This novel wins you over in a million micro-observations' New York Times'Searingly smart' Evening StandardTrade ReviewOur funniest overthinker - and the queen of the campus novel... Selin is a droll and disarming narrator, and takes her place as one of the finest hapless scholars in the literary canon. -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * Sunday Times *Batuman has a gift for making the universe seem, somehow, like the benevolent and witty literary seminar you wish it were . . . This novel wins you over in a million micro-observations. -- Dwight Garner * The New York Times *A richly suggestive and amusing book. -- Jonathan Derbyshire * Financial Times *Such an enchanting writer. -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * Sunday Times *Either/Or is both an entertaining campus novel and an engaging disquisition on the very nature and purpose of novels. * Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2022* *

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Book SynopsisHOW DID THE GOOD LIFE GO SO WRONG? Amy Connell and Lan Honey are having the best childhood. When their families make the leap from city living to a farm in the West Country they have untold freedom. The adults are far too busy to keep an eye on them, and Amy and Lan would never tell them about climbing on the high barn roof, or what happened with the axe that time, any more than their parents would tell them the things they get up to. Adult things, like betrayal, that threaten to bring the whole fragile idyll tumbling down...'Funny and moving' Elizabeth Day'A fabulous thing: vivid and funny, sometimes heart-rendingly sad' Guardian'I couldn't put it down' Esther FreudTrade ReviewI adore Sadie Jones' writing... [Amy and Lan is] funny, moving, and really goes to the heart of why trying to change for the better isn't as simple as it sounds -- Elizabeth Day, *Day's Delights*Jones's fictional landscape is jam-packed, abundant, and her smallholding as thick with intrigue as the Borgias' court... I don't think I've read another recent novel that better captures the pure sugar-rush of childhood; the sense of a life so exhilarating and ecstatic that it is almost too much to bear -- Xan Brooks * Guardian *I couldn't put it down. Amy and Lan is a love letter to nature, to the seasons, to the ideal of simple living with all its human complications. It's a beautifully evoked story, full of empathy and hope -- Esther Freud, author of I COULDN'T LOVE YOU MOREAchingly poignant... This is a novel of quiet beauty, vividly evoking the magnitude of childhood loss and the capacity for hope -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer *A bright, bittersweet novel * Evening Standard, *Summer Reads of 2022* *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK DISCOVER AWARD 2022Where were you when Keisha the Sket first broke the internet?Keisha is a girl from the ends, sharp, feisty and ambitious; she's been labelled 'top sket' but she's making it work. When childhood crush and long-time admirer, Ricardo, finally wins her over, Keisha has it all: power, a love life and the chance for stability. But trauma comes knocking and with it a whirlwind of choices that will define what kind of a woman she truly wants to be.Told with the heart and soul of the inner city, with an unforgettable heroine, Keisha the Sket is a revelation of the true, raw, arousing and tender core of British youth culture.Complete with essays from esteemed contemporary writers Candice Carty-Williams, Caleb Femi and Aniefiok Ekpoudom.Trade ReviewKeisha the Sket is truly a crucial part of not just Black Brit literature, but British literature as a whole. * Bolu Babalola *Our literary foremother. * Candice Carty-Williams *Keisha the Sket accidentally decolonised literature. * Black Ballad *'Reading Keisha the Sket as an adult makes me swoon at the richness of its nostalgia. * Caleb Femi *British answer to Gossip Girl. * Dazed *

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Book Synopsis'A stunning, emotionally satisfying tale about the art of storytelling. I never wanted the lights to come up. I could not put it down' GRAHAM NORTON'It's its own universe, complete with a sun, a cast of circling planets, and a limitless number of stars. Its gravity pulls you in and its far reaching, multi-layered, rollicking exuberance holds you in place. I would have been happy to live inside this book forever' ANN PATCHETTA wildly ambitious story of the making of a colossal, star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film, and the humble comic book that inspired it all. Spanning 80 years of a changing America and culminating in the opening of the film, we meet a colourful cast of characters including a troubled soldier returning from war, a young boy with an artistic gift, an inspired and eccentric director, a pompous film star on the rise, a tireless production assistant and countless film crew members that together create Hollywood magic.Funny, touching, and wonderfully thought-provoking, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece offers an insider's take on the momentous efforts it takes to make a film. At once a reflection on America's past and present, on the world of show business and the real world we all live in.Praise for Tom Hanks:'Authentically geniune . . . a Writer with a capital W.' Stephen Fry'Hanks's prose is impressive . . . fluent, convincing and confident.' The Times'Tom Hanks is a wise and hilarious writer with an endlessly surprising mind.' Steve MartinTrade ReviewAffectionate and endlessly entertaining. Hanks writes with such tenderness about human connection and the magic of the movies -- Richard OsmanWith a unique insight and a rare eye for detail, Tom Hanks delivers a stunning, emotionally satisfying tale about the art of storytelling. I never wanted the lights to come up. I could not put it down -- Graham NortonTHE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE is its own universe, complete with a sun, a cast of circling planets, and a limitless number of stars. Its gravity pulls you in and its far reaching, multi-layered, rollicking exuberance holds you in place. I would have been happy to live inside this book forever -- Ann PatchettA proper literary belter * The Times *An extravagant, buoyant, joyfully sprawling book, bursting with affection for its characters, for the intricate lore of the movie business, and for the many ways in which human beings are one another's greatest opportunity -- Tana FrenchThis is a wild, ambitious and exceptionally enjoyable novel. A story about how stories happen, with a swirling kaleidoscope of characters across the best part of a century, and a real beating emotional heart. It has a lot of astute and fascinating things to say about comic books, movies, show business, America and human beings. I loved every page -- Matt HaigVibrant, jazzy, witty, snazzily written, with a great sense of time and place, this novel-cum-comic book is one of those rare, unique, pieces of fiction. Loved it -- Kate MosseDo you want to go on an adventure? Who doesn't? This was a joy to read in that certain kind of way that only happens when it was a joy to write. Tom Hanks is such a natural storyteller that everything feels like he's telling this story just for you, at a dinner table, and you don't want the night to end -- Fredrik BackmanA heartfelt tribute to movies and the people who make them . . . Lovingly crafted, a wildly entertaining story beautifully told . . . You'll love this book * Booklist *An impressive debut * Daily Express *Tom Hanks' novel is smart and sharp * The Telegraph *A thoroughly likeable gem of a novel with hidden depths - rightly securing Hanks's place in the literary world * Press Association *At once a love letter to the movies and an affectionate portrait of small-town America, told with insider insight and considerable charm * Mail on Sunday *An impressive debut * Daily Mirror *

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Searing, hilarious and poignant' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER'Smart and clever' GUARDIAN 'A killer debut about class, love and money' GRAZIA 'Marvellous - clever, funny and brilliantly well observed' INDIA KNIGHTMeet the Stockton women of Brooklyn Heights: Darley, who was born with money; Sasha, who married into it; and Georgiana, who wants to give it all away.Among glittering parties, weekend homes and hungover brunches, the three will have to grapple with the burden of parental expectations, the hardships and bewilderment of growing up, and the miles between the haves and have-nots.Pineapple Street is a witty and wicked novel about New York’s one percenters: their first loves, family feuds and the complexities of being human – even when you have everything.'Wise, emotionally honest fun' HELEN FIELDING'Deliciously fun' KEVIN KWAN'Lovely, absorbing, acutely observed' NICK HORNBYInstant New York Times bestseller, March 2023Trade ReviewIt's marvellous - clever, funny and brilliantly well observed -- India KnightThe season's first beach read, a delicious romp of a debut featuring family crises galore * New York Times *A delicious new Gilded Age family drama . . . a guilty pleasure that also feels like a sociological text * Vogue *A joy to read . . . Pineapple Street is a gift of a novel * iNews *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ASYLUM, TRAUMA AND THE WARDROBE MISTRESS'Wonderful, thrilling' JOHN BANVILLE'Has pleasure on every page' TIMESIt's 1975 and Francis McNulty, ageing poet, retired, is living in his childhood home in Cleaver Square with his daughter Gilly. Haunted by memories of the Spanish Civil War, in which he drove an ambulance, he sees awful visions of his old nemesis, General Franco, and is powerfully reminded of a terrible act of betrayal he committed in Spain. When Gilly announces her upcoming marriage, Francis is forced to confront his past, once and for all.'Impressive' GUARDIAN'A very moving portrayal of a complicated father-daughter relationship, neither of them fully able to break away' RACHEL JOYCETrade ReviewIt's not until you read a novel by Patrick McGrath that you remember how boring most books are. Even stories that keep readers turning the pages for the plot can be flatly told, and many first-person narrators have no individuality. Not so with McGrath, whose novels make a distinctive voice an essential part of the telling, and remind us that the bias of the teller is an integral element in any tale. Last Days in Cleaver Square is a passionate, tempest-tossed memoir by Francis McNulty - made up of equal parts what he's telling us and what he isn't . . . The narrative voice might be his ripest yet . . . The pleasure in a Patrick McGrath novel is the travelling, not the arrival, and this is a rare novel that has pleasure on every page. * The Times *McGrath expertly deploys some of his trademark elements . . . and is unfailingly deft in his handling of trauma and deceit. Tiny elements fleetingly present in the story return later on like a whole arsenal of Chekhov's guns to be duly discharged, or occasionally decommissioned. By its conclusion Last Days in Cleaver Square manages to pull off the impressive trick of being narratively coherent and satisfying, yet still true to the messy businesses of memory, ageing, guilt and how to tell the story of a life. * Guardian *This is a wonderful, thrilling novel, based on a fascinating conceit. The story will hook you on the first page and hold you a willing captive until the end. Patrick McGrath writes with his accustomed control and clarity, but in Last Days in Cleaver Square he has broken through to new depths of insight and emotion.Last Days in Cleaver Square has a wonderful otherworldly quality that keeps you turning the pages, without ever seeming implausible. I found myself drawn deeper and deeper into Francis McNulty's story, in much the same way he feels haunted by the strange ghost, and the past. I can't think of anything else quite like it. It weaves a kind of spell. And it's a very moving portrayal too of a complicated father-daughter relationship, neither of them fully able to break away.An atmospheric novel, with a magnificently unreliable narrator, combining family comedy with harrowing themes of death and betrayal ... In the often-mannered first person prose, which is replete with panicky ejaculations, this book enjoys playing with the conventions of the ghost story, of tales of sensation and the supernatural ... McGrath is a connoisseur of this literary tradition. * Financial Times *The novel's hallucinatory texture is a potent mechanism for the portrayal of trauma and denial. * Daily Mail *This is vintage McGrath material: a narrative patchwork rich in repressed memory, guilt, self deception and torment ... [A] moving, mischievous novel * Telegraph Best Books of 2021 *As ever with McGrath, the gothic elements in the story are given full rein, but such is the pace and vigour of the storytelling that he takes his readers with him every step of the way. * Mail on Sunday *Wonderful. So atmospheric, engaging and engrossing . . . all the characters and relationships were superb. -- Cathy RetzenbrinkProfound and haunting; a gripping unsettling novel by a brilliant storyteller. -- Gabriel Byrne

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Book SynopsisCan you ever escape from the shadows of your past?'I couldn't put it down!' Sam Blake'The narrative is multi-layered and bound by emotional integrity.' Candis'A compelling story of love, relationships, and the grief of two families suffering traumatic losses.' Peterborough Evening Telegraph_________________Eighteen-year-old Emma has loving parents and a promising future ahead of her.So why, one morning, does she leave home without a trace?Her parents, Cath and Jim, are devastated. They have no idea why Emma left, where she is - or even whether she is still alive.A year later, Cath and Jim are still tormented by the unanswered questions Emma left behind, and clinging desperately to the hope of finding her.Meanwhile, tantalisingly close to home, Emma is also struggling with her new existence - and with the trauma that shattered her life.For all of them, reconciliation seems an impossible dream. Does the way forward lie in facing up to the secrets of the past - secrets that have been hidden for years?Secrets that have the power to heal them, or to destroy their family forever ..._________________Readers can't get enough of The Shadow Child ...'Make sure you have plenty of tissues nearby, you are going to need them.' Bunnys Pause'A touching and engaging read.' Sharon Beyond the Books'A compelling, complex book about the twisting paths of life, loss and hope.' Bookmarks and Stages'Beautifully written and I can't recommend it enough, it's just so brilliant!' Two Ladies and a Book'I loved this book.' Varietats'Overall I thought this was an excellent read, and one I couldn't put down!' Books Cats Etc 'It kept me turning the pages as I was drawn into all their lives.' LibcReads 'A book full of emotion, and a really great read.' Curling up with a coffee 'A truly lovely story that I would absolutely recommend.' Kim's Reading Adventure

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Book Synopsis'I will remember the story of Einstein for the rest of my life ... This book should be read by everyone.' VIRGINIA MCKENNA'An unusually powerful book - and a timely one too.' MICHAEL PALIN'Revealing, perceptive and chilling in turns, the book is unlike any other I have read. Felice Fallon's ability to write with so many voices makes Interviews with an Ape compelling and thought-provoking. It will break your heart and change your mind.' JOANNA LUMLEY___________________A young woman, Dr Graciela Saddiq, arrives to work at a zoo in a city soon to be at war.Of all the animals, she is particularly interested in a silverback mountain gorilla named Einstein.Quickly she finds what makes this gorilla unique: he can communicate with humans using sign language.Each evening as darkness falls and the zoo empties of people, Einstein tells her his story as well as those of other animals he has known.But war is looming, and as the bombing of the city begins, Dr Saddiq realises that that both their lives are in terrible danger ...___________________'A thoughtful, audaciously panoramic novel' MAIL ON SUNDAY'A rare and sparkling jewel - actually, a veritable treasure chest. I found myself falling in love with Einstein ... So smart, yet he breaks your heart.' CELIA IMRIE'Stunningly original, moving and engrossing.' DEREK JACOBI'In this powerful book, Felice Fallon opens us to the infinite possibilities of the consciousness of other species. In a story told with compassion and candour, Fallon succeeds in bringing a new and vital challenge to our the long-held belief of "us" and "them".' ESTHER WOOLFSON, author of Between Light and Storm: How We Live with Other Species'A life-changing book which shines a light on humanity in a way that I have seldom read. I would urge you to read it and let it cast its spell on you!' JENNY SEAGROVE'Fallon's intent is to explore the way in which apparently dumb animals are not only far more intelligent than has been previously perceived, but also have valuable, even vital, things to teach humanity. She succeeds, admirably and affectingly.' OBSERVER, NEW REVIEW'Affecting and delivered without mawkishness.' NEW STATESMAN'Moving as well as shocking. The ending does what books often have to try harder than movies to achieve: it makes you cry.' THE HERALD SCOTLAND

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS AN OBAMA'S BOOK OF THE YEAR'Gorgeous, sensual, addictive' SARA COLLINS 'Brightly lit' NAOMI ALDERMAN Born from a long line of female warriors and crusaders, yet too coarse for courtly life, Marie de France is cast from the royal court and sent to Angleterre to take up her new duty as the prioress of an impoverished abbey.Lauren Groff's modern masterpiece is about the establishment of a female utopia. 'A propulsive, captivating read' BRIT BENNETT 'Fascinating, beguiling, vivid' MARIAN KEYES 'A dazzlingly clever tale' THE TIMES 'A thrillingly vivid, adventurous story about women and power that will blow readers' minds. Left me gasping' EMMA DONOGHUETrade ReviewVisionary leader, queer lover, 12th-century writer ... the life of Marie de France is triumphantly reimagined in an assertively modern novel about female ambition and creativity... a highly distinctive novel of great vigour and boldness. From mystical visions that may or may not be divine, to the earthy business of abbey pigs, diseases and account books, Groff does it all with purpose and panache * Guardian *Groff's writing is muscular and precise, her themes wildly resonant. Women are dismissed and contained, subject to misogynist attacks and abuse, but gain power collectively - "alone, together". Shockingly, this message is as poignant today as it was, perhaps, 800 years ago * Sunday Times *A dazzlingly clever tale . . . gorgeously precise prose, always elegantly weighted and perfectly economical * The Times *Pitch-perfect * Telegraph *This is a remarkable novel: unusual, profound, transcendental * Evening Standard *It's a breathtaking novel * Financial Times *A thrillingly vivid, adventurous story about women and power that will blow readers' minds. Left me gasping. -- Emma DonoghueFascinating, beguiling, vivid -- Marian Keyes on TwitterLuminous, divine, her masterpiece -- Daisy JohnsonAn audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic -- Sarah WatersHow mesmerising can twelfth century nuns be, even in the hands of Lauren Groff? I had barely started it before I was bloody well blaspheming with delight. Matrix is a gorgeous, sensual, addictive read. -- Sara CollinsTranscendent prose and vividly described settings bring to life historic events, from the Crusades to the papal interdict of 1208. Groff has outdone herself with an accomplishment as radiant as Marie's visions. * Publishers Weekly *From the moment you're introduced to Marie, a queer, fierce warrior woman riding across the countryside on her warhorse, you feel as though you've time-travelled back to the Middle Ages. Groff's prose is arresting and unforgettably visceral . . . It's impossible not to feel galvanised by Marie's resilience, independence and determination to make her mark in a world ruled by men. I'll be thinking about Matrix for a long time to come * Stylist, Novel of the autumn *Enchanting and intriguing, Matrix absorbs the reader into the medieval period without compelling them to depart entirely from the present * iNews *It's a bold, luminous tale that captivates from first to last. * Mail on Sunday *A robust and pleasingly strange slice of historical fiction * Times, Best Fiction Books of 2021 *Lauren Groff's Matrix is just marvellous; vivid and vibrant, it hums with the lives of those contained within the convent walls, as Marie becomes the ambitious and canny hub at the heart of this female utopia. * Daily Mail *No doubt a mini-series beckons * Catholic Herald *Groff offers a world that is rapturous, rapacious, ecstatic, profane; a novel of seismic revelations. -- Eley WilliamsMatrix explores the story of Marie de France, a young woman sent to languish in a struggling convent that she begins to transform through her own leadership. Both epic and intimate, this sweeping novel explores questions of female ambition, creativity and passion with electrifying prose and sparkling wit. A propulsive, captivating read. -- Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing HalfMatrix is alive with lust and glory. In the incandescent Marie de France - visionary, cantankerous and uncowed by the constraints of her sex - Groff paints a portrait of sisterhood that shines out of the past and into the lives of women today. -- C Pam Zhang, author of Booker-longlisted How Much of These Hills is GoldAnimated with sensual detail on every page and filled with lush, gripping storytelling that cuts to the bone, MATRIX resonates right into the present moment. I never thought I would find myself longing to be a medieval nun but Groff is a worker of wonders. This book is a ferocious joy -- Madeline MillerLushly textured and uniquely vivid, Matrix settles itself on your mind like a dream or vision - it's absolutely stunning -- Sophie MackintoshWhat a book. Perfectly done. I adored it -- Max PorterIt's as brightly lit as an illuminated manuscript and would make the most perfect Christmas present imaginable -- Naomi AldermanFull of sharp sensory detail, it's balm and nourishment for brain, heart and soul * Guardian *Matrix takes the mysterious life of the late 12th-century poet - known today for her romantic lais - and runs with it . . . Groff explores themes of domination, death and desire in compelling (if at times, stomach-turning) detail * Financial Times, Best Books of the Year *However, like Groff's earlier novel, this becomes a vivid, immersive and at times wild account of female agency * Sunday Times *In Lauren Groff's hands, the tale of a medieval nunnery is must-read fiction * Washington Post *A marvelously told story of devotion, desire and ambition in the heart of a female utopia * Daily Mail *Matrix is another masterpiece from a writer whom few at this point can best * The Atlantic *Through Marie, Groff explores how a society's religious and gendered constraints can be turned on their head to create a utopia * The New Yorker *[A]n electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual, magisterial, de France's saga is one of hardship and triumph, an unforgettable character whose far-seeing vision and devotion to the nuns in her community enable them to transcend what threatens to erase and silence them * Oprah Magazine *Matrix focuses less on Marie the author and more on Marie the abbess - and if you think that doesn't sound like the obvious angle for a fun and engaging story, you underestimate the scope of Groff 's imagination and talent * The Daily Telegraph *In these incandescent pages, Groff reverently imagines her way into the life and lore of Marie de France . . . Woven from Groff's trademark ecstatic sentences and brimming with spiritual fervor, Matrix is a radiant work of imagination and accomplishment * Esquire *Thrilling and heartbreaking, Groff crafts an electric work of historical fiction * TIME, Most Anticipated Book of the Fall *A transportive and meditative tale that will swallow you up from the very start * Newsweek *Groff, a premier stylist . . . .continues to grow, taking on a medieval foremother's story in her latest novel. The voice she finds for Marie de France . . . .will hold readers fast as the exiled Angevin royal becomes abbess of a convent, leading her charges through historic upheavals * LA Times *Feverishly exhilarating stuff * Chicago Tribune *With her unparalleled gift for sumptuous, sublime prose, Groff paints an engrossing portrait of a woman who, despite living in a world bound by constraints, experiences a life rich with passion and creativity. Surrounded by a supportive sisterhood, Marie uses strength and ingenuity to subvert the oppression of the patriarchy * Atlanta Journal Constitution *Utterly absorbing * Vogue *Splendid with rich description and period vocabulary, this courageous and spin-tingling novel shows an incredible range for Groff (FLORIDA, 2018), and will envelop readers fully in Marie's world, interior and exterior, all senses lit up. It is both a complete departure and an easy-to-envision tale of faith, power, and temptation. * Booklist *In this bildungsroman about the real-life 12th-century poet Marie de France, a teenage Marie is exiled to a blighted Benedictine nunnery, where she finds strength and power as a prioress * Vanity Fair *Powerful, sapphic historical novel . . . Richly realized with historical details that don't overwhelm * BuzzFeed *Readers will recognize her stunning prose and grand, mythic perspective. . . . in a tale that feels both ancient and urgent, as holy as it is deeply human * Entertainment Weekly *The pages are almost completely devoid of men - seen, but not heard - with Groff using poetic, melodic and yet fierce writing to breathe volume into themes of power, ambition and success from the perspective of women * Press Association *[A] propulsive, enchanting, and emotionally charged read * Washington Independent Review of Books *A clever spin on the story of Marie de France * Bustle *I loved this accomplished piece of storytelling. So much so, I added it to my Booker wish list at the last minute, a wish not fulfilled, of course * A Life In Books *Matrix is a rich, beautifully written novel about ambition and desire, and also witchy separatist medieval nuns * Vox *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF AGE OF ANGER COMES A GATSBY-ESQUE TALE OF WEALTH AND AMBITION'A book that demands to be read' MOHSIN HAMID 'Terrific . . . deeply satisfying to read' KAMILA SHAMSIEArun and his two classmates, Aseem and Virendra, are the success stories of their generation. As graduates of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, they have smashed social barriers and played-out Gatsby-style fantasies across the globe.Run and Hide is a lyrical and piercing story of morality, materialism and upheaval in an every-changing world.'Sharp, provocative and engaging . . . Run and Hide might be the most zeitgeisty novel you could read' SPECTATOR'One of the finest, bravest writers we have' JUNOT DIAZ'It'll entertain the hell out of you' MOHAMMED HANIF'A novel of loss and moral collapse worthy of Henry James' JOSHUA FERRISTrade ReviewPankaj Mishra transforms a visceral, intimate story of one man's humble origins into a kaleidoscopic portrait of a society bedazzled by power and wealth - what it means on a human level, and what it costs. Run and Hide is a spectacular, illuminating work of fiction -- Jennifer EganIn his first novel in more than 20 years, acclaimed essayist Mishra splices a cautionary tale with elegant examination of globalisation and the perils of the changing world order. Immensely thought-provoking * Mail on Sunday *The first novel in more than 20 years from the essayist and cultural analyst Pankaj Mishra is as sharp, provocative and engagé as you'd expect... As an exuberant chronicle of a late capitalist world fatally mediated by Twitter and Instagram, Run and Hide might be the most zeitgeisty novel you could read * Spectator *A wonderfully rich and enjoyable novel . . . a work for our time and one that will surely be read many years on for what will then be its historical interest . . . a novel built to last * Scotsman *A lyrical letter from the new India...a profoundly literary voice, as interested in how to write about a subject as the subject itself * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis*The author of the Sunday Times bestselling Outlander series returns with the newest novel in the epic tale.*'Gabaldon's vast and sweeping account of the war is so intricately plotted and peopled that one is amazed she could conceive and write it in only seven years' Independent'Go Tell the Bees is packed with everything readers love about the Outlander series' Guardian'Gabaldon is a gifted world-builder, and her attention to the unglamorous details of life in the past, like digging privies, plus authentic portraits of marriage and relationships lift her series' Daily Telegraph___________Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same.It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser's Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell's tea-kettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his own tenants are split and the war is on his doorstep. It's only a matter of time before the shooting starts.Not so far away, young William Ransom is still coming to terms with the discovery of his true father's identity - and thus his own. Lord John Grey also has reconciliations to make and dangers to meet . . . on his son's behalf, and his own.Meanwhile, the Southern Colonies blaze, and the Revolution creeps ever closer to Fraser's Ridge. And Claire, the physician, wonders how much of the blood to be spilt will belong to those she loves.___________Readers can't get enough of Go Tell The Bees ...***** '6/5 ... like it could be anything else..'***** 'I love the characters, I love the details, I love the life Gabaldon breathes into the stories.'***** 'A wonderful book I'm sorry to have finished.'***** 'Five stars. This series is captivating and tugs on your heartstrings. '***** 'I adore these books. I love Gabaldon's work.'

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAN OBAMA'S 2022 SUMMER READING PICKA BETWEEN THE COVERS NOVEMBER 2022 PICK'Will resonate with fans of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere' ELLE'Destined to be a feminist classic - kept me up at night' PANDORA SYKES'The Handmaid's Tale for the Squid Game generation' TELEGRAPHFrida Liu had fed and changed her toddler Harriet. She had a work deadline - an article to finish, a job hanging by a thread, a file she'd left in the office. She would go get it. Harriet would be fine. But then the neighbours heard her crying.Soon, the state will decide that Frida is not fit to care for her daughter. That she must be re-trained. That bad mothers everywhere will be re-educated. Will their mistakes cost them everything?The School for Good Mothers is an explosive and thrilling novel about love, perfectionism and parenthood.A riveting, thought-provoking read' DAILY MAIL'A remarkable, propulsive novel' VOGUE'A portrait of our fanatical culture of judgement against women, and mothers in particular' METROTrade ReviewA remarkable, propulsive novel * Vogue *A gripping debut * Mail on Sunday *A wry, thoughtful novel * Spectator *The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan . . . has become all too resonant given the rumblings behind Texas' anti-trans directive and it explores just how far the state could go when it comes to deciding what makes 'a good mother' * Stylist UK *A haunting tale of identity and motherhood - as devastating as it is imaginative -- Afua Hirsch

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