Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
Quercus Publishing Eden in Winter
Book SynopsisTwo months after the suspicious and much-publicized death of his father on the island of Martha's Vineyard, it is taking all of Adam Blaine's character to suture the deep wounds - both within his family and himself - torn open by the tragedy. Moreover, as the court inquest into Benjamin Blaine's death continues, it is taking all of Adam's cunning to protect those closest to him from figures who still suspect that Adam's father was murdered by one of his kin. But the sternest test of all is Adam's proximity to Carla Pacelli - his late father's mistress; and a woman who, despite being pivotal to his family's plight, Adam finds himself increasingly drawn to. The closer he gets to this beautiful, mysterious woman, the further Adam feels from his troubles. Yet the closer he also comes to revealing the secrets he's strived to conceal, and condemning the people he's fought so hard to protect.Trade ReviewA stunning tour de force. Martha's Vineyard, with its heartbreaking beauty, is the ideal setting for an engrossing drama of a so-called perfect family driven by its secrets - Linda FairsteinThis may be Richard North Patterson's best work: surprising and different, yet with the same ability to penetrate the minds of others - especially women, which is a rare gift - Stephen Fry
£10.44
Canongate Books Taipei
Book SynopsisAt some point, maybe twenty minutes after he'd begun refreshing Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Gmail in a continuous cycle - with an ongoing, affectless, humorless realisation that his day 'was over' - he noticed with confusion, having thought it was early morning, that it was 4:46PMTaipei is an ode - or lament - to the way we live now. Following Paul from New York, where he comically navigates Manhattan's art and literary scenes, to Taipei, Taiwan, where he confronts his family's roots, we see one relationship fail, while another is born on the internet and blooms into an unexpected wedding in Las Vegas.From one of this generation's most talked-about and enigmatic writers comes a deeply personal and uncompromising novel about memory, love, and what it means to be alive.Trade ReviewThe most interesting prose stylist of his generation -- Bret Easton EllisLin's writing is reminiscent of early Douglas Coupland, or early Bret Easton Ellis, but there is also something going on here that is more profoundly peculiar, even Beckettian . . . deliciously odd * * Guardian * *Moving and necessary, not to mention frequently hilarious -- Miranda July, author of No One Belongs Here More Than YouLin is a 21st century literary adventurer . . . [Taipei] is a fascinating book, bone dry, repellant, painful, but relentlessly true to life -- Frederick Barthelme, author of WavelandA Kafka for the iPhone generation . . . Tao Lin may well be the most important writer under thirty working today -- Clancy Martin[A] deadpan literary trickster * * New York Times * *Alienation, obsession, social confusion, drugs, the internet, sex, food, death - [are] rendered here with a calm intuition . . . a work of vision so relentless it forces most any reader to respond -- Blake Butler, author of Sky SawA strange, hypnotic, memoir-reeking novel that is equal parts dissociative and heartbreaking, surreally hallucinogenic and grittily realist, ugly and beautiful -- Porochista Khakpour, author of Sons and Other Flammable ObjectsDeeply smart, funny, and heads-over-heels dedicated * * New York Magazine * *Lin captures certain qualities of contemporary life better than many writers in part because he dispenses with so much that is expected of current fiction * * London Review of Books * *Tao Lin is the most distinctive young writer I've come upon in a long time: the most intrepid, the funniest, the strangest. He's a new voice, and the pleasure of reading his work is a new kind of pleasure -- Brian Morton, author of Starting Out in the Evening[Tao Lin's] relentless, near-autistic focus on the surfaces of social interaction belongs to a literary lineage that includes not just the frequently cited Bret Easton Ellis but also Alain Robbe-Grillet, Rudy Wurlitzer, and Dennis Cooper * * The Village Voice * *Such a committed engagement with emotional failure risks literary disappointment, but it is through Lin's willingness to take that risk that we see him for what he is: a daring, urgent voice for a malfunctioning age -- Sam Byers * * Times Literary Supplement * *Taipei brilliantly portrays the life of many young men - drifting and difficult to reach, bound only to technology and drugs * * Financial Times * *Like all true styles this is infectious stuff, permeating not only writing, but thought itself * * Daily Telegraph * *Taipei is undoubtedly an important signpost for the way the next generation is going to think and act in the world to come * * Big Issue * *His strengths, and appeal, lie in the untrammelled paths he makes where others are too fearful to tread -- Rob Sharp * * The National * *With a neat line in offbeat analogy, Lin's writing is more intricate, even beautiful, than you might expect, and as a portrait of an internet-shaped psyche, it's unmatched -- Anthony Cummins * * Observer * *A wry, clever look at the way we live now, written in a wonderfully inventive, up-itself Manhattan style -- Kate Saunders * * The Times * *Like a piece of contemporary art . . . smuggled in among the Tumblr updates and Ritalin dosages are moments of sudden clarity, tenderly and poetically rendered, in which Lin captures perfectly the unmoored inadequacy we feel as we struggle to place ourselves in the world. * * Literary Review * *
£9.49
Canongate Books The Kiln
Book SynopsisTom Docherty was seventeen in the summer of 1955. With school behind him and a summer job at a brick works, Tom had his whole life before him. Years later, alone in a rented flat in Edinburgh and lost in memories, Tom recalls the intellectual and sexual awakening of his youth. In looking back, Tom discovers that only by understanding where he comes from can he make sense of his life as it is now.Trade ReviewA pitch-perfect blend of warm lyricism, limpid observation and excruciatingly funny comedy. It is a beguilingly brilliant portrait of the artist as an adolescent * * Sunday Times * *On almost every page it offers matter for reflection and the sudden stab of emotion that comes from reading something that is truly evoked or created . . . It is rare and it is wonderful * * Scotsman * *McIlvanney plumbs, in language of luminous precision, the tortured psyche of the Scottish character. It's Greek tragedy, hilarious to boot * * Mail on Sunday * *The best novel yet from the finest Scottish writer of our time -- Allan Massie * * Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) * *Delightfully funny . . . [McIlvanney] is a compassionate writer and leaves an impression both of high seriousness and great charm * * Sunday Telegraph * *Finely judged and beautifully written * * The Times * *
£9.49
Canongate Books Weekend
Book SynopsisIn a Victorian mansion hotel on a Scottish island, a group of English Literature lecturers and students from Glasgow gather for a residential weekend. The weekend proves to be a major turning point in the emotional lives of several people - just not quite in the way any of them expected.Trade ReviewThe great McIlvanney themes - class, guilt, the power of the book, the difficulty of goodness - are all there, seething under the surface -- Stuart Kelly * * Daily Telegraph * *Remarkable . . . everything in the novel is illuminated by the play of a subtle, sceptical and yet affirmative intelligence -- Allan Massie * * Scotland on Sunday * *Wonderfully witty and wistful * * Daily Mail * *William McIlvanney paints a world of harsh reality, but does so in language that is strangely beautiful and hauntingly poetic -- Craig Russell
£9.49
Canongate Books A Million Ways to Die in the West
Book SynopsisA Million Ways to Die in the West pays homage to the traditional Western with a modern comic spin, following a cowardly farmer who seeks the help of a gunslinger's wife to win back the woman who left him. Author Seth MacFarlane produced, directed, and starred in the film, released in May 2014.Trade ReviewElicits genuine hilarity from the most unlikely material * * Empire on FAMILY GUY * *Creative, adorable, ingenious * * New Yorker on TED * *Combining hilarity with skilled storytelling * * Total Film on TED * *Extravagantly talented * * Vanity Fair on Seth MacFarlane * *
£9.49
Canongate Books Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
Book SynopsisJeff Atman, a journalist, is in Venice to cover the opening of the Biennale. He's expecting to see a load of art, go to a lot of parties and drink too many bellinis. He's not expecting to meet the spellbinding Laura, who will completely transform his few days in the city. So begins a story of erotic love and spiritual learning that will reach its conclusion amidst the ghats of Varanasi.Trade ReviewDazzling and peculiar . . . A prodigious display of virtuosity. -- Jan Morris * * Guardian * *Engaging and funny . . . Dyer is a witty and concise observer of landscapes: social, geographical and emotional . . . [his] eccentric charm and barbed perceptiveness will hook you to the end. -- Tim Teeman * * The Times * *Delivered with laconic wit and an evocative sense of place, Dyer's effortlessly readable prose is shot through with psychological insight, truth and an eye for travelogue detail. -- Alan Chadwick * * Metro * *Dyer is more than a cult writer; he's a virus, invading your system. You look at things differently, embracing the idiosyncratic, keeping the obvious at bay . . . vintage Dyer, painfully funny, slyly observant, brilliant, full of wild misery. -- Lee Langley * * Spectator * *Dyer is a smart, witty writer..., extraordinarily reflective, perceptive and funny...as well as a fine prose stylist. He's a keen commentator on the ironies of contemporary life from the very first page. -- Lionel Shriver * * Financial Times * *Geoff Dyer is a true original -- one of those rare voices in contemporary literature that never ceases to surprise, disturb and delight. Risky, breathtakingly candid, intellectual, cool, outrageous, laconic and sometimes shocking, Geoff Dyer is a must-read for our confused and perplexing times -- WILLIAM BOYDJeff in Venice is a love song to the pleasures of the phenomenal world, very fast and very funny . . . [Death in Varanasi] is Dyer at his very best: philosophical, astute, unstructured, oscillating between surface and depth, between the casual and the universal. -- Jonathan Gibbs * * Independent * *Jeff in Venice is serious fiction; learned travelogue; funny, arch and sad; a cynic's ascent into redemptive love and a stoner's descent into 'Gone-Native' madness. It drips with Geoff Dyer's derelict luminosity. -- DAVID MITCHELLGeoff Dyer is one of my favourite of all contemporary writers. I love his sense of the absurd, his pessimism mixed with robust good cheer, his beautifully crafted sentences, his jokes and his intelligence. Jeff in Venice is a sad, funny, lyrical, furious story of an ordinary man's momentary redemption and decline. Please take the time to read it and fall under Dyer's spell. -- ALAIN DE BOTTONDyer is very funny, in both senses - sort of like a post-modern Kingsley Amis. His writing is acute and bad tempered in the great British tradition, and his prose is the equal of anyone in the country. A national treasure. -- ZADIE SMITHA raucous delight. Jeff in Venice is truly surprising - very funny, full of nerve, gutsy and delicious. Venice will never be the same again! -- MICHAEL ONDAATJEA haunting, if frequently hilarious, meditation on love and art, life and music, death and bananas, all reflected and refracted in the twinned mirror pools of Venice and Varanasi. I loved this book. -- JOSHUA FERRISRiveting. I love this book. Moments of wit, humanity, and intelligence are to be found on every page here. Dyer can write as beautifully as Lawrence and Proust. I don't ever want to be without his brilliant mind to turn to. -- NADEEM ASLAMDyer's ingenious linking of these contrasting narratives is indicative of his intelligence and stylistic grace, and his ability to evoke atmosphere with impressive clarity is magical. Both novellas ask trenchant philosophical questions, include moments of irresistible humor and offer arresting observations about art and human nature. . . . A work of exceptional resonance. [Starred review.] * * Publishers Weekly * *A riddle of a novel wrapped in a two part travelogue about losing oneself . . . the writing is discursive and full of bleak, often funny observations about the more jaded intersections of art and life. -- Jennifer Higgie * * Frieze * *Entrancing . . . [Dyer] is a writer who resists categorization, who is constantly morphing from one thing to another...it takes talent to pull off a career like that, and Dyer has plenty of talent. His work is illusory yet real, funny but serious . . . [Jeff in Venice] is a haunted - and haunting - book. -- Alex Bilmes * * GQ * *Raw and descriptive - this is a truly original piece of writing. * * Tatler * *A haunted - and haunting - book. * * GQ * *Cleverly-penned . . . affirms Dyer's place as one of Britain's most witty and original writers; the lively prose, colourful characters and at times extremely poignant descriptions making for both a riveting and really quite brilliant read. -- Camilla Pia * * List * *Smart, provocative, often very funny, but ultimately deeply sobering, Jeff in Venice is an early contender for the most original, and the cleverest, novel of the year. -- Mick Brown * * Daiy Telegraph * *Dyer's prose always has a hint of intimacy...Memory, language and writing aare all intricately and emotionally woven. -- Mark Crees * * Times Literary Supplement * *You'll be hooked by a playful, fictive intelligence that flickers over every page. -- David Lovely * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *(T)he joy of his writing at its best lies in not knowing what's coming next, and in the fluent way it throws irreverence and transport together with a confessional ease that reflects the spirit of the age... In the weeks since I devoured Jeff in Venice, I don't think a day has passed without my thinking back to it. -- Pico Iyer * * The New York Times Book Review * *The last 20 pages approach magnificence: a virtuosic melding of style and repertoire that come together as a sort of yogic "one." -- Ted Weesner Jr. * * The Boston Globe * *The English writer Geoff Dyer delights in producing books that are unique, like keys. -- James Wood * * The New Yorker * *Beguiling. * * Metro * *Filled with shimmering apparitions. * * Observer * *Witty, observant, unexpected. * * Sunday Telegraph * *Quite mad, it can be read poolside, roadside or mountainside: wherever you are, you'll be Lake-side. * * The Observer * *Erudite and often very funny. * * The Telegraph * *Rarely less than brilliant. * * The Guardian * *Dyer is compared to Proust, Lawrence and Kingsley Amis. The praise is deserved . . . i hadn't read such a fully realised piece of fiction for ages. * * Evening Standard * *By marrying fiction with travelogue, serious confessional with comedy, Dyer produces a heady literary package. * * Independent * *Dyer at his very best . . . philosophical, astute, unstructured, oscillating between surface and depth, between the casual and the universal. -- Jonathan Gibb * * Independent * *A book about desire in all its manifestations: the desire for sensation and escape, to get out of one's own skin and to become somebody else, whether through love, intoxication or spiritual transformation. Smart, provocative, often very funny, but ultimately deeply sobering, Jeff in Venice is an early contender for the most original, and the cleverest, novel of the year * * Telegraph * *This is a bellini of a novel, sparkling and intoxicating, in which the hero concludes that something - maybe everything - has to give * * GQ * *Rarely less than brilliant * * Guardian * *
£999.99
Canongate Books Cold Skin
Book Synopsis'A troubling, hammering and glorious novel' DAVID MITCHELL On the edge of the Antarctic Circle, in the years after World War One, a steamship approaches a desolate island. On board is a young man on his way to assume the post of weather observer, to live in solitude for a year at the end of the earth. But on shore he finds no trace of the man whom he has been sent to replace, just a deranged castaway who has witnessed a horror he refuses to name. The rest is woods, a deserted cabin, rocks, silence and the surrounding sea. Then night begins to fall . . .Trade ReviewA troubling, hammering and glorious novel -- DAVID MITCHELLThrillingly vivid . . . Sánchez Piñol creates a struggle for survival that is, at the same time, a meditation on humanity * * The Times * *Beguiling . . . Piñol's dark tale lingers long after the shivers running down the spine have ceased * * The Scotsman * *A creepily compelling debut from this Barcelona-based author that reads like a sinister version of a Boy's Own survival adventure * * Financial Times * *Remarkable . . . An addictive and unsettling read -- ALAN WARNERA great, creepy, tender read -- YANN MARTELSuperbly controlled and creepy . . . Akin to Lord of the Flies or Heart of Darkness rewritten as pulp-horror schlock * * The Independent on Sunday * *Astonishing . . . There is something of Edgar Allan Poe . . . In general, however, Cold Skin would appear to be an example of that rare thing: an original story which emerged, immaculately and unexpectedly, from its author's subconscious * * Times Literary Supplemant * *Brilliantly suspenseful * * Spectator * *
£9.49
Canongate Books Spark's Satire: Aiding and Abetting: The Abbess
Book SynopsisFrom a fraudulent psychiatrist grappling with two equally fraudulent clients in Aiding and Abetting, to the dirty dealings of The Abbess of Crewe's band of corrupt nuns, to the three plane crash survivors of Robinson eking out an existence on an Atlantic island after its resident mystic disappears, these three satires probe the recesses of human fallibility with formidable precision. Spanning five decades, the glittering, sharp and sinister works of Spark's Satire confirm their author as one of our most incisive and wickedly funny satirists.Trade ReviewMuriel Spark's novels linger in the mind as brilliant shards, decisive as smashed glass -- JOHN UPDIKE * * New Yorker * *Enchanting, devastating, genius -- HELEN DUNMOREPeerless, sparkling, inventive and intelligent - the crème de la crème -- IAN RANKINA receptive and wholly distinctive genius * * Spectator * *A wholly original presence in modern literature -- ANDREW MOTIONThe care with which she uses words is matched by a gloriously carefree attitude. It's all part of her sanity, her breezy authorial self-confidence; and because of this I think that reading a blast of her prose every morning is a far more restorative way to start a day than a shot of espresso * * Daily Telegraph * *A profoundly serious comic writer whose wit advances, never undermines or diminishes, her ideas * * New York Times Book Review * *She has a receptive and wholly distinctive genius -- A N WILSON * * Spectator * *Spark is a natural, a paradigm of that rare sort of artist from whom work of the highest quality flows as elementally as current through a circuit * * New Yorker * *There can be few novelists who command such a formidable technique * * Financial Times * *Brilliant, Sparkian ice -- ALI SMITH
£12.34
Canongate Books Docherty
Book Synopsis'His face made a fist at the world. The twined remnant of umbilicus projected vulnerably. Hands, feet and prick. He had come equipped for the job.'Newborn Conn Docherty, raw as a fresh wound, lies between his parents in their tenement room, with no birthright but a life's labour in the pits of his small town. But the world is changing, and, lying next to him, Conn's father Tam has decided that his son's life will be different from his own. Gritty, dark and tender, McIlvanney's Docherty is a modern classic.Trade ReviewIntense, witty and beautifully wrought * * Telegraph * *He has a hard muscular quality to his writing . . . His phrases hammer against you like a collier's pick * * The Times * *Here a human history is mined with humour and a clenching sense of its sombre inequities: man's squat but lengthening shadow in the sun * * Guardian * *William McIlvanney paints a world of harsh reality, but does so in language that is strangely beautiful and hauntingly poetic. His work defies pigeonholing in any genre: this is simply great writing from a master of his craft -- CRAIG RUSSELLA serious, considered and achingly sympathetic engagement with the people whose only trace in historical record is birth and dead notices * * Scotsman * *
£9.49
Pushkin Press Butterflies in November
Book Synopsis'Gorgeously quirky' Stylist 'Evocative and humorous' Observer 'Beguiling' GuardianIt's been a tough day. She's been dumped. Twice. She's accidentally killed a goose. And now she's suddenly responsible for her best friend's deaf-mute son. But when a shared lottery ticket turns the oddly matched pair into the richest people in Iceland, she and the boy find themselves on a road trip across the country. With cucumber hotels, dead sheep, and any number of her exes on their tail, Butterflies in November is a blackly comic and uniquely moving tale of motherhood, friendship and the power of words. Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir was born in Iceland in 1958, studied art history in Paris and has lectured in History of Art. Her earlier novel, The Greenhouse (2007), won the DV Culture Award for literature and was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Award, and her other titles have been translated into 16 languages. She currently lives and works in Reykjavik as the director of the University of Iceland's Art Museum. 'Beautifully crafted and translated... Carefully observed, sensuously written, and often darkly comic' BooktrustTrade ReviewFunny and wistful... very moving, layered and optimistic -- Isabel Berwick Financial Times Evocative and humorous Observer [Butterflies in November] has many bleak moments, but plenty of funny ones too... we warm to Olafsdottir's clear-eyed, quirky heroine Daily Mail Playfully self-conscious... reflecting on the relationships between reading and experience Guardian Brilliantly written, and the main protagonist is such a fascinating character. The author... takes mudane subjects in life... and makes them quirky, fun, adorable and bizarre. You'll savour each page of this book Company Sadness and humour coexist beautifully in Butterflies in November Metro The darkly comic narrative touches and captivates at every turn The Lady Gorgeously quirky Stylist The prose is beautifully crafted and translated... Carefully observed, sensuously written, and often darkly comic - Butterflies in November is a moving story of self-discovery and motherhood. Highly recommended. Booktrust A comic, but also moving, story of divorce, escape and unplanned parental responsibilities Choice At once light, comical and uniquely moving. It is a legacy of life's mistakes; a deliciously unaffected commentary on the nature of relationships and motherhood; a feast of dramatic, rough-hewn landscapes, succulent local delicacies and peculiar customs. You will cry, you will laugh... and you will learn something new about the nature of love. Mumsnet What a fantastic novel! ... Just do yourself a favour and read this book Newbooksmag, 5-star reader review, and 5-star group read score Uplifting ... funny ... an addictive read PA Blackly funny and deeply moving Bookanista A funny, moving and occasionally bizarre exploration of life's upheavals and reversals Financial Times (Books of the Year) Amazingly different, witty, hilarious black comedy read...a must read which will bring a smile as you travel along with her and her young companion Lovereading Stunning story that holds you captive with its gentle intrigue and humour. A delightful, quirky book that you will love Lovereading A novel deeply indebted to feminine literary tradition...Laced with cynicism and irony... nevertheless a truthful and poignant study of a twenty-first century woman Lovereading Strangely addictive read, beautifully written Lovereading
£10.44
Pushkin Press Bonita Avenue
Book SynopsisA darkly hilarious tale of a model family's disintegration. Professor Siem Sigerius - maths genius, jazz lover, judo champion, Renaissance man. When Aaron meets his girlfriend Joni's family for the first time, her multitalented father could hardly be a more intimidating figure, but somehow the underachieving photographer manages to bluff his way to a friendship with the paterfamilias. With his feet under the table at the beautiful Sigerius farmhouse, Aaron feels part of the family. A perfect family. Until, that is, things start to go wrong in a very big way. A cataclysmic explosion in a firework factory, the advent of internet pornography, the reappearance of a forgotten murderer and a jet-black wig-all play a role in the spectacular fragmentation of the Sigerius clan... and of Aaron's fragile psyche. 'One wild ride: a swirling helix of a family saga...a new writer as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq. Don't let me forget to mention Jonathan Reeder's note-perfect English translation.' Anthony Cummins, Sunday Telegraph, 5-stars 'Dutch bestseller about internet porn lives up to hype....a considerable achievement for a seasoned writer, much less a newcomer...' James Kidd, Independent 'Fluent and complex, uncompromising and occasionally shocking...' Daily Mail 'Buwalda writes with ferocious dexterity... Bonita Avenue is a family epic seething with learning and regret, the kind with which commuting becomes a pleasure.' New Statesman 'A brilliantly constructed story, with complex characters tested to the limit' The Lady 'One of the first great European novels of the 21st century' Foyles Bookshop interview with author Highly, highly recommended reading.Savidge Reads If I had to choose one first novel, it would be the addictive bedlam of Bonita Avenue... deserves to be a book, not just a debut, of the year' Independent Books of the Year 'Dripping with sex and bursting with comedy... in a plot of fiendish ingenuity. Buwalda has a cold eye for the hilarity of human disaster that would make Evelyn Waugh blanch. Read this book, love it, and try to ignore the twisting in your gut.' Booktrust 'Great European art: the Dutchman Peter Buwalda explodes the bourgeois family saga. The narrative pyrotechnics alone are a tour de force.' Die Zeit Born in Brussels in 1971, Peter Buwalda is a Dutch novelist, formerly a journalist, editor at several publishers, and founder of the literary music magazine Wah-Wah. Bonita Avenue is his debut novel. Published in 2010 to critical acclaim, it was shortlisted for twelve prizes, going on to win the Academica Prize, the Selexyz Debut Prize, the Tzum Prize, the Anton Wachter Prize and the Leesclubboek van het jaar. It spent two years on the bestseller lists, and has since been translated into seven languages. Bonita Avenue is a suspenseful, incendiary and unpredictable debut-of relationships torn apart by lies, and minds destroyed by madness.Trade ReviewAn instant literary classic, loaded with suspense -- Herman Koch, author of The Dinner [A] dazzling family saga... [Buwalda's] brilliance is unique -- Kate Saunders The Times One wild ride: a swirling helix of a family saga...a new writer as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq. -- Anthony Cummins Sunday Telegraph, Best Novels and Fiction Books of 2014 Fluent and complex, uncompromising and occasionally shocking... Daily Mail Deftly constructed, dark, disturbing and sharply funny, Bonita Avenue is a masterpiece of characterisation and one of the first great European novels of the 21st century Foyles, Best Fiction of 2014 If I had to choose one first novel, it would be the addictive bedlam of Bonita Avenue... [It] deserves to be a book, not just a debut, of the year -- James Kidd Independent, Best Debuts of the Year Buwalda writes with ferocious dexterity... Bonita Avenue is a family epic seething with learning and regret, the kind with which commuting becomes a pleasure. New Statesman Dripping with sex and bursting with comedy... in a plot of fiendish ingenuity. Buwalda has a cold eye for the hilarity of human disaster that would make Evelyn Waugh blanch. Read this book, love it, and try to ignore the twisting in your gut Booktrust Buwalda's magnificent first novel offers proofof Tolstoy's dictum that 'every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way' Publishers Weekly (starred review) A brilliantly constructed story, with complex characters tested to the limit The Lady Highly, highly recommended reading Savidge Reads Dutch bestseller about internet porn lives up to hype... a considerable achievement for a seasoned writer, much less a newcomer. -- James Kidd Independent The Dutch answer to Jonathan Franzen NRC Handelsblad Great European art: the Dutchman Peter Buwalda explodes the bourgeois family saga: the narrative pyrotechnics alone are a tour de force Die Zeit Peter Buwalda's impressive family saga is a genuine page-turner, with a forceful, precise style. The author races with unstoppable speed towards the finish, without getting entangled in the numerous gripping narrative strands, without even steering out of the curve. Libris-Prize Jury Report, 2011 Buwalda's debut novel [is] daring in its linguistic power and freedom, and impressive, even frightening, in its psychological sharpness and precision ... great and outrageous. Frankfurter Rundschau A literary sensation. Bonita Avenue is no less than a phenomenal masterpiece tip berlin Extraordinarily gripping. A dream debut HP/De Tijd The plot orchestration and lively character renderings of "Bonita Avenue" are dazzling The New York Times Book Review A robust dark farce ...Whatever literary benchmark you use, the book's hyperbolic excess and willingness to plunge recklessly to the depths are what make it work The New York Times Book Review A bold and assured debut, Bonita Avenue deftly alternates between narrators and settings to keep readers morally unsettled and in suspense... both sprawling and meticulously constructed... a satisfying, psychologically nuanced read Huffington Post It's a fantastic debut which, at over 500pages, doesn't outstay its welcome Glasgow Herald Buwalda's debut...becomes increasingly compulsivereading as it nears its dark close...This tumultuous saga of a family breakingdown...is an international bestseller and award winner. A significant literaryachievement Booklist, (starred review) This award-winning debut novel is flat-outextraordinary. The rich layer of detail would be impressive if applied to onetopic, but Buwalda creates multiple complex worlds around vastly differentsubjects... An outstanding literary suspense story that will appeal to a widerange of readers Library Journal, starred review Dazzling... [A] giddily twisting family drama Penthouse
£8.54
Pushkin Press My Cat Yugoslavia
Book Synopsis'A strange,haunting, and utterly original exploration of displacement and desire' -- TéaObreht, author of The Tiger's Wife, New York TimesBook Review 'Fearless, delicate, beautiful, sad,haunting and wonderful. A brilliant novel that mesmerizes with both itshumanity and its utter uniqueness' -- JeffVanderMeer In 1980s Yugoslavia, a young girl namedEmine is married off to a man she hardly knows. But soon her country is torn apartby war, and she is forced to flee with her family. Decadeslater Emine's son, Bekim, has grown up a social outcast in a country suspiciousof foreigners. Aside from casual hook-ups, his only companion is a pet boaconstrictor - until one night in a gay bar, Bekim meets a talking cat. It isthis witty, charming, manipulative creature that starts him on a journey backto Kosovo to confront his demons and make sense of the remarkable, cruelhistory of his family. And soon he learns that love can be found in the mostunexpected places.
£9.49
Pushkin Press Hotel Silence
Book Synopsis'Ólafsdóttir's specialty is the small journeys we take to save ourselves and the ones we care for. She is the heart's finest map-maker' Sjón Winner of the Icelandic Literature Prize< Jónas feels like his life is over. His wife has left him, his mother is slipping deeper into dementia, and his daughter is no longer who he thought. So he comes up with a foolproof plan: to buy a one-way ticket to a chaotic,war-ravaged country and put an end to it all. But on arriving at Hotel Silence, he finds his plans - and his anonymity - begin to dissolve under the foreign sun. Now there are other things that need his attention, like the crumbling hotel itself, the staff who run it, and his unusual fellow guests. And soon it becomes clear that Jónas must decide whether he really wants to leave it all behind; or give life a second chance, albeit down a most unexpected path...
£9.49
Pushkin Press Bird in a Cage
Book SynopsisIt felt like the slipknot on a rope round my chest was being tightened without pity Trouble is the last thing Albert needs. Travelling back to his childhood home on Christmas Eve to mourn his mother's death, he finds the loneliness and nostalgia of his Parisian quartier unbearable... Until, that evening, he encounters a beautiful, seemingly innocent woman at a brasserie, and his spirits are lifted. Still, something about the woman disturbs him. Where is the father of her child? And what are those two red stains on her sleeve? When she invites him back to her apartment, Albert thinks he's in luck. But a monstrous scene awaits them, and he finds himself lured into the darkness against his better judgment. Unravelling like a paranoid nightmare, Bird in a Cage melds existentialist drama with thrilling noir to tell the story of a man trapped in a prison of his own making.Trade ReviewMelancholy and atmospheric, with a twist worthy of Agatha Christie at her devious best, this brief tale has the hallmark of classic French noir Guardian Hugely atmospheric The Times The French master of noir Observer Alongside the Maigret novels of Georges Simenon there is a rich vein of period French crime still to be tapped. Frederic Dard is a case in point Daily Mail Disturbing from the outset with strong echoes of Dard's hero Simenon Sunday Times Crime Club (star pick) This short, sly novel of the night has more than enough substance and mystery to keep readers awake and engrossed The National It's exceedingly clever - when surprising things happen they slap you in the face for being so obvious, so necessary and so vital yet so surprising at the same time, and you can only squirm more enjoyably into your seat as you read on Bookbag A typically tense and yearning tale... One eagerly awaits forthcoming translations to see whether he can do the trick over again Wall Street Journal It's a brilliant book, and though Frederic Dard may have been 'one of the best known and loved French crime writers of the twentieth century' he's new to me, so this was a real discovery and treat all rolled into one Desperate Reader It's a short, sharp story featuring a handful of brilliantly portrayed characters, and is structured as intriguingly and cunningly as an Escher drawing Thriller Books Journal It is a tribute to the quality of the writing that Dard can contain so much tension, surprise and mystery in so few words Crime Review Imbued with a tantalising mix of Patricia Highsmith and Alfred Hitchcock Raven Crime Reads If you're a fan of Film Noir, you'll love Bird in a Cage... if all the novels in the Vertigo series are this good, I predict I'll be needing more bookshelves -- Lee Randall Randall Writes A slick novella... the ending is deliciously ambiguous... a triumph The Worm Hole The literary descendant of Simenon and Celine Le Figaro No question: for me, he was the greatest -- Philippe Geluck His language is cutting, his point-of-view original and his verdict uncompromising... One of the few twentieth-century authors to win both critical acclaim and great popularity Solidarite Militaire France's most popular post-war author L'Express
£9.49
Pushkin Press My Brother
Book SynopsisFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE GIRL IN THE EAGLE'S TALONS, THE NEW GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO THRILLER FEATURING LISBETH SALANDER STEEPED IN DARKNESS, COMPLICITY AND FORGIVENESS, THIS BESTSELLING SCANDI NOIR IS FOR FANS OF LITERARY FICTION SUCH AS MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, A LITTLE LIFE AND THE DISCOMFORT OF EVENING A MAJOR BESTSELLER OPTIONED FOR TV BY THE PRODUCERS OF THE BRIDGE SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS AUGUST PRIZE TRANSLATED INTO ELEVEN LANGUAGES 'Well worth the read' GUARDIAN 'Bleak and beautiful rural noir' CRIMEREADS'Perfect for fans of Scandi-noir dramas' CULTUREFLY ____________ Jana Kippo has returned to Smalånger to see her twin brother, Bror, still living in the small family farmhouse in the remote north of Sweden. Within the isolated community, secrets and lies have grown silently, undisturbed for years. Following the discovery of a young woman's body in the long grass behind the sawmill, the siblings, hooked by a childhood steeped in darkness, need to break free. But the truth cannot be found in other people's stories. The question is - can it be found anywhere? A literary noir of phenomenal power about the magnetic attraction of the wrong person, the brutality visited upon one human to another - and a rural community that stood by and did nothing ____________ FURTHER PRAISE FOR MY BROTHER 'Possesses the same melodramatic power as Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels' ETC 'A media sensation. . . remarkable' GP 'Brutal, colourful, carnal. . . Impossible to put down' Expresse 'A rare story-telling talent' Aftonbladet ____________ READERS LOVE MY BROTHER 'A powerful story, brilliantly translated' 'Rural and epic in landscape, deep and heart-breaking in loss, and truth' 'If you enjoyed The Discomfort of Evenings by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, I think you will enjoy this too!'Trade Review"Chinks of light appear as secrets are revealed… Well worth the read"--GUARDIAN "Original and fascinating, the best debut I’ve read from a Swedish writer in years"--MARTIN HOLMÉN, AUTHOR OF THE STOCKHOLM TRILOGY "Bleak and beautiful rural noir"--CRIMEREADS "From the start, there is an energy in the writing of this novel that only occasionally lets up… unfolding mysteries with miseries"--IRISH TIMES "My Brother is perfect for fans of Scandi-noir dramas"--CULTUREFLY"An exposition on human frailty and resilience, and on despair and hope… Darkly poetic"--EUROPEAN LITERATURE NETWORK"This year’s best novel… Brutal, colourful, carnal… Impossible to put down"--EXPRESSEN"Every now and then there are debut novels that appear like crown jewels… My Brother belongs there: clever, detailed and shimmering"--SVENSKA DAGBLADET "[Karin Smirnoff] is a rare story-telling talent"--AFTONBLADET "[My Brother] possesses the same melodramatic power as Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels"--ETC "Secrets and lies grow thick and tall like tree trunks… [My Brother] has its own logic and its own hard, coarse beauty"--SMÅLANDPOSTEN "Karin Smirnoff’s debut novel has become a media sensation… It’s a remarkable novel."--GP
£8.54
Pushkin Press Beyond the Door of No Return
Book SynopsisFINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED FICTION 'A love story, an adventure tale, and an unflinching examination of the unexpected ways that colonialism and greed ravaged everyone it touched, European and African' MAAZA MENGISTE, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Shadow King 'Diop has opened a new way of thinking about the eighteenth century and its hideous cruelties' ABDULRAZAK GURNAH, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 'A compelling romantic adventure... Through an act of remembrance, Diop seeks to build a repository of lives and histories lost to the slave trade' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Diop explores the cruelties of colonialism in a powerful story of love destroyed' SUNDAY TIMES, Historical Fiction Pick of the Month __________ The captivating new novel from David Diop, winner of the International Booker Prize Paris, 1806. Michel Adanson is dying. The last word to escape his lips is a woman's name: Maram. Who was she? Why, in the course of his long life, has he never spoken of her before? As Adanson's daughter sorts through his things, she discovers a notebook. It reveals a secret history both fantastical and terrible, of his time as a young botanist travelling in Senegal. How Adanson first heard of the 'revenant': a young woman of noble birth, abducted and sold into slavery across the seas, who then did the impossible-she came back, to live in hiding. How he became obsessed with finding her, embarking on an odyssey that would lead to danger and destruction. How a man who longed to solve the mysteries of nature instead found himself faced with the uncontrollable impulses of the human heart. Tragic and tender, alive with feeling, this is a story of adventure, revenge and impossible desires, one which subverts our every expectation about who we are and who we love.Trade Review'I read Beyond the Door of No Return with pleasure and admiration. David Diop has opened up a new way of thinking about the eighteenth century and its hideous cruelties' - Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of Afterlives'Stunningly realized and written in exquisite prose, Beyond the Door of No Return is a love story, an adventure tale, and an unflinching examination of the unexpected ways that colonialism and greed ravaged everyone it touched, European and African. It is above all else, a spellbinding novel about the high price of betrayal-of others, and oneself' - Maaza Mengiste, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Shadow King'With Beyond The Door of No Return, David Diop once again makes us re-examine and reimagine West African history and the wrongdoing that has been done there by Europeans. This book illustrates and raises questions about guilt, language, othering, treachery, adventure and love. It is a beautifully written, yet easy to read, novel, that will leave you thinking long after you finish it' - Sally Hayden, the award-winning author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned'Less brutal than Diop's International Booker Prize-winning At Night All Blood is Black but no less powerful... With its sumptuous physical descriptions, shades of language, and smooth overlap of truth and invention, this is masterful storytelling. The ease with which the narratives unfold belies the emotional force they gather... A mesmerizing tale' - Kirkus, starred review'A captivating intergenerational epic influenced by Senegalese oral tradition... A novel to devour quickly, but which will leave readers contemplating its story long after' - Publishers Weekly, starred review
£15.29
Pushkin Press Harlequin Butterfly
Book SynopsisSuccessful entrepreneur A.A. Abrams is pursuing the enigmatic writer Tomoyuki Tomoyuki, who appears to have the ability to write expertly in the language of any place they go. Abrams sinks endless resources into finding the writer, but Tomoyuki Tomoyuki always manages to stay one step ahead, taking off moments before being pinned down. But how does the elusive author move from one place to the next, from one language to the next? Ingenious and dazzling, Harlequin Butterfly unfurls one puzzle after another, taking us on a mind-bending journey into the imagination.
£8.54
Granta Books Dust
Book SynopsisKenya, 2007. Odidi Oganda, running for his life, is gunned down in the streets of Nairobi. His sister, Ajany, and their father bring his body back home, to a crumbling colonial house in northern Kenya. But the peace they seek is hard to find: the murder has stirred deeply buried memories of colonial violence, of the killing-sprees of the Mau Mau uprising, and the shocking political assassination of Tom Mboya in 1969. When a young Englishman appears, searching for his missing father, another story, of love, or at least a connection, begins. This is a spellbinding state of the nation novel about Kenya, showing how the violence of the past informs the violence and disorder of the present. Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor's memorable characters; Ajany's mother, deranged with grief and past violations, the Trader, embodying the timeless nomadic traders of Sudan, and Odidi himself, who transcended his past, came to success, and then a tragic end, are enchanting. Owuor reveals to us a new Kenya, a Kenya of bloodshed but also of modernity, suffused with a spirit world only half-remembered. This is a country where the characters listen so acutely for what is not said, and for the voices from the distant and recent past.Trade ReviewIn this dazzling novel you will find the entirety of human experience - tearshed, bloodshed, lust, love - in staggering proportions -- Taiye Selasi, author * Ghana Must Go *Epic in scope, this is a big, big unforgettable book, full of love and full of pain. Dust is a most visceral, moving novel about a family caught up in the smelt of a Kenya roiling inside the lusts and violences of its adolescence, determined to move past it. You will meet a mother with an AK-47 you will never forget, a father shamed by a secret, betrayed by a nation. The varied landscapes of Kenya have never been more tenderly made alive. This is the novel my twenty-first century has been waiting for, for our world in these seismic times -- Binyavanga Wainaina, author * One Day I Will Write About This Place *This stunning debut novel grabs the reader's heart, refusing to let go... Owuor represents another shining talent among Africa's writers publishing in English * Library Journal (starred review) *A rich exploration of Kenya's modern history... What's striking here, though, isn't so much the state-of-the-nation aspects, but its extraordinary prose. Owuor gives vivid descriptions of character and landscape, dispensing with verbs to achieve poetic compression, revelling in alliteration and half-rhyme. It's a virtuoso literary performance -- David Evans * Independent on Sunday *Owuor's is a new voice from the African continent - distinct, rich, unflappable in her convictions -- Charles R Larson * Counterpunch *Epic, poetry-soaked... the most important novel to come out of Africa since Half of a Yellow Sun -- Binyavanga Wainaina * ‘Books of the Year’ Observer *Refreshing... Simultaneously earthy and other-worldly. Owuor is a welcome new voice -- Claire Allfree * Metro *A complex story full of rich characters and magical prose * Cruise International *[A] richly evocative debut novel... Owuor's language is pungent, poetic, almost synaesthetic. A subtle, sensitive portrait of [Kenya] -- Francesca Wade * Daily Telegraph *Absorbing [and] executed to great effect... Dust is a fine, compassionate novel that relishes the complexity of human relations. It is written in a language that is often beautifully observant, and is alert in its insight and sympathy -- Abdulrazak Gurnah * Guardian *A hugely ambitious first novel * Bookseller *Owuor's eye catches an abundance of rich detail and the suffering of the characters is leavened by the prose -- Melanie White * TLS *This is a book in which multiple stories are told on almost every page. One of Owuor's greatest achievements is that she reveals repeatedly how multi-faceted human beings and the things they create are. This is nowhere more evident than in her presentation of Kenya, a place that is at once the site of great suffering and corruption, but also of extraordinary love, forbearance, beauty and humour. Insights leap from the page, frequently launched from only a handful of well-chosen words: [...] in the wake of the violence that splintered it, Kenya is a nation 'that is gluing its cracked shell together again'. The book is often very funny too. Owuor is a great conjurer of characters [and her] writing is at its most beautiful when it treats of the desert landscape, where the 'wind lumbers past like an ancient wizard' and the dusk comes 'plodding in and scarring the sky with yellow-orange trails'. The place is soaked in imagination. Indeed, as we follow the characters over the rocky terrain, it often seems as if we are wandering through a vast psyche rather than a physical region. -- Book of the Month on blog * A Year of Reading the World *
£9.49
Granta Books The Dimensions of a Cave
Book SynopsisWhen reporter Quentin Jones investigates a shadowy military programme during the desert war, he discovers cutting edge technology that simulates reality during interrogation. As the shadowy labyrinth of governmental corruption unfurls and tightens around him, unnerving links to his protégé Bruce keep emerging, who disappeared into the war several years earlier. The Dimensions of A Cave is a haunting journey into networks of power and corruption, exploring our drive towards war and obsession with new technologies. A modern day retelling of Heart of Darkness, this masterful debut novel heralds a dazzling and singular voice in fiction.Trade ReviewA very contemporary story about surveillance capitalism, virtual reality, and 21st-century forever war, [that] will still be read a century from now for the news it brings about the timeless riddle of the human self. It's increasingly rare these days to find a novelist with Greg Jackson's world-swallowing ambition, and rarer still for one to make good on that ambition as gloriously as Jackson does here -- Christopher BehaGreg Jackson's prose is sly, wise, and almost self-consciously heroic, undaunted by the present moment, though it threatens to be our last -- Joshua CohenGreg Jackson is an athletically talented writer who packs so much into every single sentence and scene it almost scares me. His debut novel is somehow both a hardboiled thriller and a philosophical treaty with dialogues that would make Sorkin blush -- Catherine LaceyGreg Jackson's Dimensions of a Cave is, sentence to sentence, a linguistic marvel, a genre-bending tale with moral and philosophical stakes as profound as they come -- Dinaw Mengestu
£17.09
Granta Books Painter to the King
Book SynopsisThis is a portrait of Diego Velázquez, from his arrival at the court of King Philip IV of Spain, to his death 38 years and scores of paintings later. It is a portrait of a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between an artist and his subject. It is a portrait of a ruler, always on duty, and increasingly burdened by a life of public expectation and repeated private grief. And it is a portrait of a court collapsing under the weight of its own excess. Unfolding through series of masterly set-pieces and glancing sketches, this is a novel of brilliance, imagination and sheer style -- about what is shown and what is seen, about art and life.
£8.54
Granta Books Texaco
Book Synopsis'One of the major fictional achievements of our century' The Times On the edge of Fort de France, the capital of Martinique, squats a shanty town. It goes by the name of Texaco. One dawn, a stranger arrives - an urban planner, bearing news. Texaco is to be razed to the ground. And so he is lead to Marie-Sophie Laborieux, the ancient keeper of Texaco's history, who invites her guest to take a seat and begins the true story of all that is to be lost. Texaco is a creole masterpiece. Told in a newly forged language, it is a riotous collage of indigenous Caribbean and colonial European influences; a kaleidoscopic epic of slavery and revolution, superstition and imagination; a story of human deceits and desires played out to the backdrop of uncontrollable, all powerful History. First published in 1992, it was awarded France's highest literary award, the Prix Goncourt, and remains an unequivocal classic of Caribbean literature.Trade ReviewThis is a magnificent, important book * Observer *You have to read this book -- Derek WalcottTexaco made everything I'd ever loved about reading feel new * Guardian *Truly poetic -- Milan Kundera
£10.80
Granta Books The Unfolding
Book SynopsisThe Big Guy loves his family, money and democracy. Undone by the results of the 2008 Presidential election, he taps a group of like-minded men to reclaim their version of America. As they build a scheme to disturb and disrupt, the Big Guy also faces turbulence within his family and must take responsibility for his past actions. For his wife and daughter are having their own awakenings: self-denying Charlotte enters rehab, and eighteen year old Megan, who has voted for the first time, explores a political future that deviates from her father's ideology, while delving into deeply buried family secrets. Dark, funny and prescient, The Unfolding explores the implosion of the dream and how we arrived in today's divided world.Trade ReviewI am a devoted Homes fan: her books are sometimes shocking, always beguiling -- Maggie O'Farrell * US Elle *The best book she's published: for her to get into the shoes of its main character was a remarkable act of sympathetic imagination -- Bret Easton Ellis * Observer *A terrific black comedy, written almost entirely in pitch-perfect dialogue, that feels terrifyingly close to the unfunny truth -- Salman RushdieReads like an episode of The West Wing co-scripted by Don DeLillo * Guardian *Homes specialises in the insecurities, deceits and emotional desolation of America's elite... hilarious * Sunday Times *Homes is a funny, funny writer... Funny, of course, until it's terrifying * Spectator *From her first book onward, A. M. Holmes has been challenging us to look at fiction, the world, and one another as we haven't done-because we haven't had the nerve, the eyes, the dire and dispassionate imagination. Gripping, sad, funny, by turns aching and antic and, as always, exceedingly well-observed and written, The Unfolding opens up another one of her jagged windows, at times indistinguishable from a crack, in the world that is always unfolding, and always vanishing, around us -- Michael ChabonCompelling, funny, horrifying, and tremendously astute, this novel cuts right to the bone -- Phil Klay, author of MissionariesHow can a book be hilarious and chilling at the same time? A.M. Homes's The Unfolding is a modern masterpiece, a scary immersion deep into the heart of American power -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country FriendsA timely discourse on the fracturing of the US democracy ... [with] superbly calibrated dialogue * Mail on Sunday *A.M. Homes has perfectly captured an America as it lurches toward freak-out, and a family as it shreds the lies it's been living by... Hilarious and shocking and heartbreaking and just a little bit deranged -- Nathan Hill, author of The NixThe Unfolding is Swiftian in its energy and bite, yet brimful of compassion and emotion. The entwining of the personal and the political feels as if it's born again to a sparkling new life. How does she do it? * Neel Mukherjee *Darkly comic * i Paper *A book that packs in history lessons, political intrigue, family drama and astute social commentary. In short, a study of America as a country in free fall by a writer who knows exactly where it's at * Irish Independent *Sharply observed, Homes' novel is also very funny, making you wince through the laughter in the way that successful satire does... riveting -- Susan Osborne * A Life in Books *The Unfolding powerfully captures something of how nuance and complexity are all too often pushed aside by those who talk the loudest in a fractiously partisan political landscape * TLS *The Unfolding proceeds at a cracking pace... It is both social satire and political satire with a touching coming-of-age story at its core. AM Homes is both funny and sharp, and her prose buzzes with energy * Irish Examiner *[A] scorching, super sharp novel * Sainsbury's Magazine *
£9.49
Granta Books Don't Look At Me Like That
Book SynopsisEngland, in the mid-fifties. Meg Bailey has always aspired to live a respectable life. With her best friend, Roxane, she moves from secondary school to an un-bohemian art college in Oxford. Under the watchful eye of Roxanne's mother, Mrs Wheeler, the two girls flourish in Oxfordian society. But Meg constantly longs for more. Not content to stay in Oxford, she finds a job in London. Roxane stays behind and marries Dick, a man of Mrs Wheeler's choosing. As Meg's independence grows, Dick suddenly appears in London for work. A connection to her past, Meg and Dick's friendship flourishes, blurring the lines of loyalty between what is and what was in a way that changes life for these three friends forever. As sharp and starling now as when it was written, this unflinching and candid book of love and betrayal encapsulates Diana Athill's gift of storytelling at its finest.Trade Review[The writing] shows [Athill's] editor's eye... This novel shows not so much that Athill should have written more fiction - we wouldn't want to be without those memoirs - but that she could * Guardian *Don't Look at Me Like That evokes a London of rain; grimy bedsits, plush, hushed restaurants, illicitness and despair...Athill skilfully blends diffidence and pathos to produce a story at once all-too familiar and unique -- Catherine TaylorAthill is wonderful - always aware of the need to entertain and beguile her reader ... Fascinating and surprising -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times *A tale of love and betrayal * Monocle *A short, sharp shock... beautifully observed... nuanced and true... Don't Look At Me Like That deserves to become a classic of bedsit lit... spare and unsparing... I loved this book. Meg fascinates... Read this book in your teens and twenties, and think: "Oh god, that's me." Read it later and think: "Thank god, that's over" * Times *Diana Athill was a force for good in the world of books, a champion for women wanting to make their own way, unconfined by the pressures of society. Her openness and honesty made readers feel that they were truly seen and understood; that our lives might just be as remarkable as hers -- Erica Wagner * Harper’s Bazaar *
£9.49
Granta Books A Passage North
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 'Mesmerizing, political, intimate, unafraid - this is a superb novel... that pays such close, intelligent attention to the world we all live in' Sunjeev Sahota, author of the Booker shortlisted The Year of the Runaways It begins with a message: a telephone call informing Krishan that his grandmother's former caregiver has died. As Krishan makes the long journey by train from the Sri Lankan capital into the war-torn Northern Province for the funeral, so he travels into the soul of a country devastated by civil war. A Passage North is a poignant memorial to the dead and an exploration of the unattainable distances between who we are and what we seek. 'Its world is the deeply-layered, rich interior of its protagonist's mind but also contemporary Sri Lanka itself, war-scarred, traumatized ... [It] connects Arudpragasam to the great novelists of the past' Colm Tóibín, bestselling author of BrooklynTrade ReviewA Passage North is written with scrupulous attention to nuance and detail... at its center is an exquisite form of noticing, a way of rendering consciousness and handling time that connects Arudpragasam to the great novelists of the past -- Colm ToíbínMesmerizing, political, intimate, unafraid - this is a superb novel, a novel that pays such close, intelligent attention to the world we all live in * Sunjeev Sahota *A Passage North is a novel of consciousness alert to the turning of history and the micronavigations of bodies in a room. I''ve rarely read something so exquisitely alive -- Naoise DolanIt can take just two novels to establish a writer as one of the most individual minds of their generation... With his new novel, a revelatory exploration of the aftermath of war, Arudpragasam cements his reputation... [An] extraordinary and often illuminating novel * Financial Times *Anuk Arudpragasam's A Passage North is a profound and disquieting account of the making of a self, of the pressures of history, desire, will, and chance that determine the shape of a life. It's difficult to think of comparisons for Arudpragasam's work among current English-language writers; one senses, reading his two extraordinary novels, a new mastery coming into being -- Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness and What Belongs to YouLife is short but remembering is long. In the aftermath of war, Anuk Arudpragasam's rich, rewarding sentences return the reader to all that is living -- Amitava KumarAnuk Arudpragasam is an artist of revelations. In A Passage North, he continues to map, with beauty, grace, and fire, the responsibilities we carry in a world that is forever on the brink. This is a novel as both an elegy and a love song, not only for a place, but for the souls, living and dead, who are bound to that place-what an unforgettable and perfect reading experience, and one that unearths truths, relentlessly, magically -- Paul YoonA novel of tragic power and uncommon beauty. In his depiction of the processes through which history sculpts human fate, Anuk Arudpragasam achieves something akin to grace I am also pasting below the full round-up of praise, which is mostly American, but I am still hoping that some of my Brits might come good... -- Anthony Marra, author of A Constellation of Vital PhenomenaA beautiful, urgent novel of displacement, love and atrocity set on a single long journey. Arudpragasam has achieved something extraordinary here - a philosophical novel that draws you in through the sheer depth and elegance of its ideas and expression until you feel like you're stowing away in the protagonist's mind -- Luke KennardA novel of philosophic suspense, one whose reader shivers in anticipation not of what will happen next but of where the next thought will lead... A luminously intelligent, psychologically intricate novel-slow in always rewarding ways * Kirkus *A young man ruminates about Sri Lankan history and his own life in the introspective latest from Arudpragasam...Readers who enjoy contemplative, Sebaldian narratives will appreciate this * Publishers Weekly *The author of The Story of a Brief Marriage casts a spell in his sumptuous new novel... reminiscent of Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost * Oprah Daily's Best Books of July *Profound... hypnotic... Arudpragasam explores the desire for independence that enflamed the decades-long civil war, the violence that ensued and the emotional scars that refuse to heal * Observer *A disquieting and contemplative book that seeks to comprehend the incomprehensible... With considered thoughts on everything from smoking to meditation, life and death, [Arudpragasam''s] new novel is a treasure trove of insight and wisdom, a reminder of "how large and unknown the world was, how much it seemed to contain" * Irish Times *A beautiful, meditative book... so moving * Literary Friction *It is an incredibly introspective work. Through the particularities of Krishan's experience and inner life, Arudpragasam seamlessly unfurls ruminations on intimacy, trauma, and the passage of time * Paris Review *Arudpragasam is a patient and meticulous observer. * Guardian *Anuk Arudpragasam's mesmerising second novel is a haunting portrait of a young man indelibly marked by his nation's troubled history -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *
£8.54
Granta Books The Rehearsal
Book SynopsisA high-school sex scandal sets the stage for an exhilarating reflection on sexuality, performance, and the flare and tumult of adolescence, in the Booker-Prize winning author's dazzlingly assured, provocative debut
£9.49
Granta Books Chrysalis
Book SynopsisAn unnerving, compelling and utterly contemporary debut novel about one woman's metamorphosis into an online phenomenon, from one of Granta magazine's Best of Young British Novelists
£9.49
Granta Books Julia: The Sunday Times Bestseller
Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER "a fascinating reflection on totalitarianism as refracted through Orwell's times and our own" The Guardian London, chief city of Airstrip One, the third most populous province of Oceania. It's 1984 and Julia Worthing works as a mechanic fixing the novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Under the ideology of IngSoc and the rule of the Party and its leader Big Brother, Julia is a model citizen - cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing and caring not at all about politics. She knows how to survive in a world of constant surveillance, Thought Police, Newspeak, Doublethink, child spies and the black markets of the prole neighbourhoods. She's very good at staying alive. But Julia becomes intrigued by a colleague from the Records Department - a mid-level worker of the Outer Party called Winston Smith, she comes to realise that she's losing her grip and can no longer safely navigate her world. Seventy-five years after Orwell finished writing his iconic novel, Sandra Newman has tackled the world of Big Brother in a truly convincing way, offering a dramatically different, feminist narrative that is true to and stands alongside the original. For the millions of readers who have been brought up with Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, here, finally, is a provocative, vital and utterly satisfying companion novel.Trade ReviewThis extraordinary novel is like a newly discovered room in your house, in a dream - the illusion is so precise, the execution so masterful, that you think it must have been there all along, just waiting for you to find it. Sandra Newman has succeeded wildly at the impossible task she was given; JULIA should surprise and delight not only devotees of Orwell's classic, but fans of Newman's own daring, disquieting, and emotionally affecting oeuvre -- J. Robert LennonA powerful feat of imagination and empathy which breathes new life into Orwell's nightmare -- Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984In Julia, Sandra Newman opens out the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four by looking at that novel's events from a female point of view. From Julia's life in a women's dormitory through her affair with Winston Smith and torture by the Thought Police, on to a meeting with Big Brother himself, it's a fascinating reflection on totalitarianism as refracted through Orwell's times and our own -- What to read this autumn: 2023’s biggest new books * The Guardian *Julia offers a female character with a rich inner life... A twisty ending in keeping with the original makes this an enjoyable read even to those unfamiliar with Nineteen Eighty-Four * Economist *Newman seems uniquely qualified to update Orwell's anti-fascist cri du cour... All the familiar lineaments are here-Airstrip One, Oceania, Big Brother, Newspeak, the Ministries of Truth and Love, the dreaded Room 101, the rats (oy, the rats), as well as every character, many of them revised in clever ways... Adding a major plot twist, a nice shot of (somewhat cynical) hope, and more graphic sex should win over even purists * Kirkus *A provocative, feminist retelling... Julia's narrative voice is refreshingly fearless as she navigates her way around the Party's nefarious thought policing, and a wicked plot twist spins the original narrative on its ear. Newman adds a fresh coat of menacing grey to Orwell's gloomy world * Publishers Weekly *This brilliant novel is about as ambitious as you can get... The novel closely follows the original story, but also expands on it, opening up new corners of the world to make it even darker, more vividly real... This is not a rewriting of Nineteen Eighty-Four; it's a faithful, respectful retelling of a familiar story from a fresh new angle. Wonderful * Booklist *Sandra Newman opens out the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four by looking at that novel's events from a female point of view. From Julia's life in a women's dormitory through her affair with Winston Smith and torture by the Thought Police, on to a meeting with Big Brother himself, it's a fascinating reflection on totalitarianism as refracted through Orwell's times and our own * Guardian *Newman does much more than update Nineteen Eighty-Four, she makes it seem essential reading all over again... exhilarating * The Sunday Times *Newman is a powerful writer and particularly smart on the historical resonances... The violence is sickening, and meant to be. Newman never leaves you alone, never turns off the light, never gives it a rest until, strapped in our chair, we learn the meaning of HARDREAD... it's beautifully done * The Times *Called simply Julia, Newman's novel is so ingenious, sensitive to the original, and above all witty that one can imagine Orwell thoroughly enjoying it * Daily Telegraph *A vibrant, full-blooded book that adheres to the spirit of the original while tearing elements of it - namely the character of Winston Smith - to pieces... What is so wonderful about this is not just its depiction of Julia as even cleverer than you might imagine, but also its rich understanding of what Orwell meant about society's three strata locked in an endless battle for supremacy * I Paper *Dazzlingly clever * I Newspaper *Excellent... Bold, eloquent, and often drawn to the psychologically unsettling, Newman is a worthy recipient of the iconic 1984 baton * Big Issue *[A] gripping read * Literary Review *Delicious and provocative * The Gloss *In Julia, the American novelist Sandra Newman courageously takes on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, by mirroring the tale through the eyes of Winston Smith's lover. Spoiler alert: she succeeds, brilliantly... This is truly a book about being in the body of a woman. Julia is a fascinating, violent novel... Newman accomplishes the challenge she set herself - and then some * Daily Telegraph *Wholly engaging in its own right yet also a reminder of Orwell's genius and the real-world chill that cut through his horrifying dystopia... Immersive... Newman writes with great verve; her descriptions have the kind of energy and freshness needed for a successful retelling... Newman succeeds in giving voice to all these women, but her chief success is undoubtedly her reimagining of Julia herself, no longer just a pawn, a woman betrayed, now a fully realised force to be reckoned with, a woman living by her wits in a treacherously choppy world, hoping to stay afloat * Irish Times *Newman turns Orwell's classic vision of the future inside out, and readers will find themselves gripped and surprised by what happens when the object of Winston Smith's gaze looks back, and retells their journey into love and resistance... Intimate and compromised relationships become the beating heart of the novel, and demonstrate how women's lives under this totalitarian state inevitably differ from men's at every point... As she maps out this new territory, Newman forges a work that has its own emotional logic, and a character with her own vivid life * Guardian *A timely reminder of how easily the language of hate can be manufactured and manipulated... it's also sometimes darkly funny * Daily Mail *Punchy... Vivid, even ugly, the novel's energy relies on making explicit the violence that Orwell only implied - a risky strategy that pays dividends. There's a killer twist, too * Mail on Sunday *Julia is a devastating read... Newman is so virtuosic, this book won't let you put it down * New Scientist *For all its totalitarian grimness and spite, most people were thrilled by 1984. What a shame Orwell couldn't do another one. It has taken 74 years for someone to attempt to fill that void, and Julia is of a vivacity that would have caused the Ministry of Truth's fiction machines to throw a crankshaft ... It may have taken three quarters of a century, but 1985 has arrived at last * Strong Words *A richly envisaged, frightening dystopia, wholly alive to Orwell's text, which acts as both a mirror to 1984 and stands alone as an original and deeply fascinating feminist work... In Julia, Newman has delivered a novel that even the Party would recognise as Doubleplusgood * Financial Times *Nineteen Eighty-Four remains a totemic piece of political literature, but Julia offers contemporary readers new ways of thinking about Orwell's novel while ingeniously constructing its own, fully realised, world * The Conversation *Newman hasn't proved herself a worthy successor to Orwell; she's outclassed him, both in knowledge of human nature and in character development. Julia should be the new required text on those high-school curricula, a stunning look into what happens when a person of strength faces the worst in humanity, as well as a perfect specimen of derivative art that, in standing on another's shoulders, can reach a higher plane * LA Times *Subversive... A thoughtful exploration of a clever woman's survival within an unimaginably cruel bureaucracy... And her ending - oh, if we could only talk about the ending! * Washington Post *Buzzy * Daily Telegraph *
£17.09
Granta Books The Glutton
Book SynopsisOne man with an insatiable hunger: a novel of desire and destruction in Revolutionary France, based on a true story, from the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning author of The Manningtree Witches. Sister Perpetue is not to move. She is not to fall asleep. She is to sit, keeping guard over the patient's room. She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects. A child even, if the rumours are to be believed. But it is hard to believe that this slender, frail man is the one they once called The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon. Before, he was just Tarare. Well-meaning and hopelessly curious, born into a world of brawling and sweet cider, to a bereaved mother and a life of slender means. The 18th Century is drawing to a close, unrest grips the heart of France and life in the village is soon shaken. When a sudden act of violence sees Tarare cast out and left for dead, his ferocious appetite is ignited, and it's not long before his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land.Trade ReviewA darkly exuberant novel about one man's insatiable hunger... -- What to read this autumn: 2023’s biggest new books * The Guardian *An embarrassment of riches. A sensory assault fit to slap any reader awake with its gorgeous glut of baroque prose and wise, poised lessons on life, pleasure, class, desire, and love -- Kiran Millwood HargraveThe Glutton contains some of the most striking writing I have read in a very long time. An audacious and humane study of desire, pain and tenderness; a remarkable book about a remarkable subject by a remarkable writer -- Keiran Goddard, author of HourglassAn extraordinary accomplishment, a truly horrible and truly glorious novel. I devoured it. AK Blakemore's intelligence is tempered by a profound and merciful human compassion, and the tragic making and breaking of Tarare is going to be with me for quite some time. Heartbreaking -- Annie GarthwaiteRelentless and shocking, bursting with life in all its thrilling vulgarity, The Glutton will dog your days. Blakemore's history is not to be tiptoed around. Her prose is unstoppable, full of bawdy viscera, singing of the cruelty and seduction of the past... It will have you squirming between sympathy and revulsion, pleasure and pain -- Alex HydeSet in revolutionary France, The Glutton...explores poverty, desire and social chaos in thrilling prose * Guardian *Excellent... Blakemore's writing is exceptional, saturated with the viscera of this life... The Glutton also offers beauty with practically every other sentence: not even a roadside thistle escapes a simile. Tarare doesn't know his letters, but Blakemore gives him the yearning inner life of a poet... In Tarare's final moments, both we and the Sister are invited to see not some othered creature of myth, but something of ourselves * Telegraph - 5/5 stars *Even in the midst of unpleasantness, The Glutton provides mischievous fun... A rich, human story - a raucous mess where excess is not sinful but defiant, a retaliation against the inequality of a country on the cusp of revolution * Literary Review *Through Tarare's thrilling travels we witness all the upheaval in a fierce and lyrical tale of desire * Monocle *Blakemore takes Tarare's life, recorded only in a medical paper, and puts the meat on the bones. But what meat it is. Blood drips from every page as she creates a banquet of gorgeously crafted, unexpected images. You'll find yourself turning them over in your mind for days... * Evening Standard *A full-throttle picaresque... Blakemore puts flesh on the bones of this quasi-mythical figure by showing his escape from a violent, impoverished childhood * Daily Mail *The Glutton is remarkable for its beautiful language, for its hallucinatory imagery, and for its ability to mingle these things with the world of 18th-century poor folk... The Glutton is certain to be one of the most remarkable novels of the year * Guardian *Tarare's story is a breathless picaresque, each new situation quickly revealed as frying pan or fire. His tragedy is to be too trusting, seeing his exploiters as friends. The entire society Blakemore presents is a cruel and grasping one, its resources too scarce to nourish kindness... The Glutton brings Tarare's world to life in all its stink and splendour * The Sunday Times *Blakemore's second novel is a tour de force of sustained, visceral brilliance. Although not for the squeamish, it ultimately rescues a real human being from the caricature that history made of him * Mail on Sunday *A. K. Blakemore is one such author who refuses to slim down her rich use of language and invites us, much like her gluttonous muse, to gorge... Blakemore's revolting bodies are an antidote to modernity's sanitisation. With absurdist humour she invites readers to revel in the muck * Big Issue *
£13.49
Granta Books Weather
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG FICTION READERS AWARD 'Stunning' Maggie O'Farrell 'Gorgeous, funny and deadly serious' Max Porter 'This is so good. We are not ready nor worthy' Ocean Vuong An obligatory note of hope, in a world going to hell. 'What are you afraid of, he asks me and the answer of course is dentistry, humiliation, scarcity, then he says what are your most useful skills? People think I'm funny.' Lizzie Benson, a part-time librarian, is already overwhelmed with the crises of daily life when an old mentor offers her a job answering mail from the listeners of her apocalyptic podcast, Hell and High Water. Soon questions begin pouring in from left-wingers worried about climate change and right-wingers worried about the decline of Western civilization. Entering this polarized world, Lizzie is forced to consider who she is and what she can do to help: as a mother, as a wife, as a sister, and as a citizen of this doomed planet. 'A barometer of how it feels to live now' Sunday Times 'No one writes about the intersection of love and existential despair like Jenny Offill' Jia Tolentino, author of Trick MirrorTrade ReviewThis is so good. We are not ready nor worthy -- Ocean Vuong'As soon as I finished [Dept. of Speculation], I turned it over and started again. Stunning' -- Maggie O’FarrellThe end times don't deserve such exquisite literary investigation. I folded down every page until I realised there was no point, I would fold them all, I would read the book again the second I was finished. A gorgeous, funny, deadly serious and warmly revelatory mesh of perfect paragraphs -- Max PorterJenny Offill writes beautiful sentences; she is also a deft curator of silences. It's this counterpoint of eloquence and felt absence that enables her to register the emotional and political weather of our present -- Ben LernerNo one writes about the intersection of love and existential despair like Jenny Offill -- Jia TolentinoJenny Offill conjures entire worlds with her steady, near-pointillist technique. One feels a whole heaving, breathing universe behind her every line. Dread, the sensation of sinking, lostness, and being cast away from any sense of safety infiltrates every interaction and private moment in this book, like the ashes from the burning world she describes -- Sheila HetiWeather is a beautiful book, both subtle and powerful. In writing, that's a superhuman feat. And now is exactly when we need the superhumans. Make haste. Read it -- Lydia MilletNovelists don't need to dream the end of the world anymore - they need to wake up to it. Jenny Offill is one of today's few essential voices, because she writes about essential things, in sentences so clipped and glittering it's as if they are all cut from one diamond -- Jonathan Dee, author of * The Privileges *With exceptional originality, intensity and sweetness [...] Dept. of Speculation is a shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. . . give in and read it * Guardian *There is no doubt that Jenny Offill is the writer for this particular historical moment. WEATHER is a tour de force of her considerable and startling gifts: the compressed and gorgeous sentences, the astounding comic timing, the profound and wise surprises. The miracle of this novel is how it looks at our contradictions and conditions with such bracing honesty and yet gives us a tender hopefulness toward these fraught humans. Offill makes us feel implicated but also loved -- Dana SpiottaA fragmented wander through an anxious, funny mind, with odd connections arriving in overheard anecdotes. It's great * Observer *[Offill is] such a fine, funny writer, her observations shot through with luminous intelligence and emotional insight. Her last novel, Dept. of Speculation is also superb -- Alex Preston * Observer *Moving, heartbreaking and frequently funny -- Five great novels of the decade * New European *Elegant, entertaining... zesty... told in short, shimmery snippets...delightfully silly; jam-packed with wise and wistful sentences that you will want to underline and quote to all your friends * Psychologies *Wryly funny * Daily Mail *This is so good. We are not ready nor worthy -- Ocean Vuong'As soon as I finished [Dept. of Speculation], I turned it over and started again. Stunning' -- Maggie O’FarrellThe end times don't deserve such exquisite literary investigation. I folded down every page until I realised there was no point, I would fold them all, I would read the book again the second I was finished. A gorgeous, funny, deadly serious and warmly revelatory mesh of perfect paragraphs -- Max PorterJenny Offill writes beautiful sentences; she is also a deft curator of silences. It's this counterpoint of eloquence and felt absence that enables her to register the emotional and political weather of our present -- Ben LernerNo one writes about the intersection of love and existential despair like Jenny Offill -- Jia TolentinoJenny Offill conjures entire worlds with her steady, near-pointillist technique. One feels a whole heaving, breathing universe behind her every line. Dread, the sensation of sinking, lostness, and being cast away from any sense of safety infiltrates every interaction and private moment in this book, like the ashes from the burning world she describes -- Sheila HetiWeather is a beautiful book, both subtle and powerful. In writing, that's a superhuman feat. And now is exactly when we need the superhumans. Make haste. Read it -- Lydia MilletNovelists don't need to dream the end of the world anymore - they need to wake up to it. Jenny Offill is one of today's few essential voices, because she writes about essential things, in sentences so clipped and glittering it's as if they are all cut from one diamond -- Jonathan Dee, author of * The Privileges *With exceptional originality, intensity and sweetness [...] Dept. of Speculation is a shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. . . give in and read it * Guardian *There is no doubt that Jenny Offill is the writer for this particular historical moment. WEATHER is a tour de force of her considerable and startling gifts: the compressed and gorgeous sentences, the astounding comic timing, the profound and wise surprises. The miracle of this novel is how it looks at our contradictions and conditions with such bracing honesty and yet gives us a tender hopefulness toward these fraught humans. Offill makes us feel implicated but also loved -- Dana SpiottaA fragmented wander through an anxious, funny mind, with odd connections arriving in overheard anecdotes. It's great * Observer *[Offill is] such a fine, funny writer, her observations shot through with luminous intelligence and emotional insight. Her last novel, Dept. of Speculation is also superb -- Alex Preston * Observer *Moving, heartbreaking and frequently funny -- Five great novels of the decade * New European *Elegant, entertaining... zesty... told in short, shimmery snippets...delightfully silly; jam-packed with wise and wistful sentences that you will want to underline and quote to all your friends * Psychologies *Wryly funny * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Ruby Flynn
Book SynopsisCounty Mayo, Ireland, 1947. In the worst winter in living memory, Ruby Flynn is rescued from the tiny cottage on the Atlantic coast where her family has perished. She is one of the storm orphans, taken in by nuns to be educated for a life in service. Now she must find her own way in the outside world. The FitzDeane family have a thriving shipping business in Liverpool and they also own beautiful Ballyford Castle in Mayo. When Ruby is appointed as their nursery maid, a dangerous attraction to the young Lord FitzDeane begins to grow. Soon the tragedies and secrets that link her family to his will threaten to overwhelm them. The darkest sins cast the longest shadows.Trade ReviewA riveting tale packed full of history, love and deceit from the bestselling author of The Four Streets * OK! Magazine *A dark, realistic, moving portrait of life back in the day -- Kimberley ChambersTruly engaging to read... a stunning family saga from the bestselling author of The Four Streets Trilogy... This is the kind of story that you get completely wrapped up in' * Bookshelf Butterfly *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Only Ever Yours
Book Synopsis'Utterly magnificent . . . gripping, accomplished and dark' Marian KeyesWINNER: Newcomer of the Year at the IBAs WINNER: Bookseller YA Prize WINNER: CBI Eilis Dillon Award Buzzfeed's Best Books Written by Women in 2014The bestselling novel about beauty, body image and betrayaleves are designed, not made. The School trains them to be prettyThe School trains them to be good.The School trains them to Always be Willing.All their lives, the eves have been waiting. Now, they are ready for the outside world.companion . . . concubine . . . or chastityOnly the best will be chosen.And only the Men decide.Trade ReviewGripping ... like all the best dystopias, Only Ever Yours is about the world we live in now * Irish Times *The Handmaid's Tale meets Mean Girls' * The Vagenda *Utterly magnificent ... gripping, accomplished and dark * Marian Keyes *Deserves to be read by young and old, male and female, the world over in the same way Harry Potter and The Hunger Games were * Sunday Independent *A dark dream. A vivid nightmare. The world O'Neill imagines is frightening because it could come true. She writes with a scalpel * Jeanette Winterson *Deep, dark and frighteningly believable, this book will stay with you for a long time * Marie Claire *Compelling writing ... this only-too-real dystopia grips from beginning to end * SFX *Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale with a post-millennial twist * The Journal.ie *The bleakness of The Catcher in the Rye, the satire of The Stepford Wives and it made me recall Nineteen Eighty-Four ... a fresh and original talent * Irish Independent *Terrifying but captivating * Company *A sparkling debut that will really make you think * Heat *'Compelling and frightening' * Irish Examiner *An ingenious exploration of gender roles, female identity and female competition * Buzzfeed *'Terrifying and heartbreaking, O'Neill's story reads like an heir to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and MT Anderson's Feed, and, like those two books, it's sure to be discussed for years to come' * Publisher's Weekly *'A stunning debut set in a dystopian future that has everyone talking . . . once read, will never be forgotten' * Irish Independent *Dark, gripping . . . should be mandatory reading everywhere * The F Word *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Last Dance in Havana
Book SynopsisFrom the #1 Kindle Bestseller comes an exotic tale of love, family and friendship'The perfect holiday companion' - Heat'The ultimate feel-good read' - Candis'Sun-soaked escapism' - Best**********Cuba, 1958Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?England, 2012Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother's untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulder to cry on - Grace's career is in flux, she isn't sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she's begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can't make Grace's problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family's happiness?********SEE WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT ROSANNA LEY:'An impeccably researched and deftly written narrative that kept me hooked until the end' - Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter 'Loved it from start to finish. A brilliant holiday read' - Amazon reviewer 'Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Victoria Hislop and Leah Fleming' - Candis 'On so many levels a fantastic read' - Amazon reviewer'A fascinating story with engaging themes' - Dinah Jefferies, bestselling author of The Tea Planter's Wife 'Warm, enthralling, one of my favourite authors' - Amazon reviewerTrade ReviewI loved the sultry sensuous feeling of being in Havana so much that reading about it makes me want to go there. A fascinating story with engaging themes * Dinah Jefferies, #1 bestselling author of The Tea Planter's Wife *A great page-turner, which really captures Cuba's turbulent history. It's also a tender portrayal of how love can flourish in one's later years * Lucinda Riley, bestselling author *An impeccably researched and deftly written narrative that kept me hooked until the end * Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter *
£9.49
Salt Publishing Nameless Lake
Book Synopsis‘It’s a brilliant novel, I think, so sharply observed and so even handed in its treatment of the sexes.’ —Patrick GaleNameless Lake is about the unspoken pressures of gender and desire, told through the shifting dynamics of a lifelong friendship. Emma and Madryn grow up with dreams of escaping their seaside hometown, sustained by an obsession with photography and secret acts of vandalism. But adulthood brings its own limitations, and Emma yearns for connection beyond the constraints of her family. Drawn deeper into Madryn’s private life, Emma feels new possibilities awakening within herself, but when Madryn faces a backlash from her controlling partner, Emma must finally break out of her role as passive observer.Trade ReviewThis book captures the essence of an enduring friendship between two women who’ve known each other since childhood. Nameless Lake shimmers with humour and resilience, is even giddy with fierce love at times, while also plumbing those murkier depths of our baser feelings and emotions. And Chris Parker reveals all of this to us in much the same way as Emma’s work in art restoration and conservation does a painting. Fragment by fragment, he uncovers the layers that have accumulated over the years and brings their friendship into sharper, almost forensic, focus so that Emma and his readers can examine it and hopefully come to appreciate where its true power and beauty lies. -- Kathryn Eastman * Nut Press *This book is unlike anything I’ve read of late and so, utterly beautiful! It makes me think of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold. There is nothing broken about this novel but the friendship between Emma and Madryn is narrated in what appear to be fragments of life, beautifully bound together by the author’s powerful use of language – the gold, in this metaphor. But don’t take my word of it, experience this beauty yourself! * Book after Book *I could ramble on for paragraphs about the complex, sometimes intense friendship between these two women. Or I could wax lyrical about the sheer genius and beauty of Parker’s writing, but I won’t do that. This is a book you need to read and experience for yourself. You need to drink it all in, as the fragmented pieces of their lives slowly begin to come together, leaving you to savour every beautifully written, cleverly constructed word of this mesmerising and simply unforgettable novel. * Cal Turner Review *The most compelling novelists do something at once disarmingly simple and very hard, paying close attention and telling the truth without showing off. Chris Parker’s Nameless Lake, a forensic study of friendship and marriage, does this so well it's hard to believe it’s a debut. -- Patrick Gale
£9.89
Salt Publishing How To Be a Kosovan Bride
Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2018How to be a Kosovan Bride opens up something entirely new to the reader: the history, culture and stories of one of the newest countries in the world. It weaves together Albanian folktale, stories of Kosovan experience of the war in 1999 and a look into the lives of modern-day Kosovan women. The dark undercurrent of Albanian blood feuds underpins a story about the impact of war and the way that new life can emerge from darkness.It is characterised by striking imagery and daring form.Trade Review★★★★★ Hamill's writing is nothing short of extraordinary. She writes in a style scarcely encountered in fiction, addressing the reader as ‘you’ throughout the novel, and thus managing to make us feel unnerved that we have not done more to liberate women like the Returned Girl and the Kosovan Wife. This guilt adds to the sympathy we already feel for the protagonists, with their lack of names and characteristics failing to stop us connecting with them. The stories of the recent war are equally harrowing, and once again, the lack of the specific names of those they feature only serves to make them more moving, as we realise they could have been experienced by almost anyone who suffered through the conflict. -- Em Richardson * The Bookbag *How To Be A Kosovan Bride is a good look at a country in conflict and the people on the wrong side of it, as well as a country still coming into its own. It is hard-hitting and very political but the humour and shortness of it balances this out. * The Worm Hole *This subtle exploration of the complexities of life in newly liberated Kosovo is presented in nuanced, engaging prose. A modern history told through its people. An intelligent, rewarding story. * neverimitate *The book has the rhythm of a set of fairy tales, and actually also incorporates a traditional fairy tale within it. It’s sparse, and effectively repetitive delivery is both utterly compelling and powerful. It also made me realise that despite knowing some Albanian refugees back around 2000, I know woefully little about this part of recent history. Altogether a remarkable book. * Desperate Reader *This brief work (published by Norfolk independent Salt) is presented in very short chapters, written in hypnotically lyrical prose and from a number of perspectives, each with an intensity and sense of completeness which meant that I could only digest a couple at a time. The novel bears witness to the scars of brutal conflict and the collision between tradition and new and outside influences, particularly as they affect the lives of women. In the latter respect, the questions it raises are relevant far beyond Kosovo, the experiences of both the Kosovan Bride and the Returned Girl evoking empathy and recognition. The author’s connection with the place and its culture come through vividly and there is an admirable boldness and subtlety to this often traumatic but ultimately life-affirming story, in which little is spelled out. -- Isabel Costello * The Literary Sofa *I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. It is unlike anything I have read before. it introduced me to a country and a people in subtle but complicated ways. It drew me in from the first page but the short interwoven stories gave me breathing and thinking space. The anonymous characters become immediately intriguing and relatable. -- Rebecca Cooper * Goodreads *
£8.54
Salt Publishing Eastmouth and Other Stories
Book SynopsisAlison Moore’s debut collection, The Pre-War House and Other Stories, gathered together stories written prior to the publication of her first novel.‘The tales collected in The Pre-War House… pick at psychological scabs in a register both wistful and brutal.’ —Anthony Cummins, The Times Literary Supplement‘Moore’s writing is surprising and exact and culminates in the title story, the novella which brings the collection to a powerful crescendo’ —The Arkansas International‘just as uncompromising and unsettling as The Lighthouse… Moore’s distinctive voice commands exceptional power’ —Dinah Birch, The GuardianEastmouth and Other Stories is her second collection, featuring stories published in the subsequent decade, including stories that have appeared in Best British Short Stories, Best British Horror and Best New Horror, as well as new, unpublished work.Trade ReviewAn eminently satisfying read from a master storyteller with a deliciously chilling imagination. Perfect for curling up with as the nights draw in – if you dare. -- Jackie Law * neverimitate *Alison Moore's sinister stories inhabit a familiar territory of domestic disturbance, where grey seaside towns and chilly old houses are the everyday settings for events which seethe with quiet unease. -- Eithne Farry * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Salt Publishing Dry Cleaning
Book SynopsisA hot summer. The countryside around Manchester is ablaze. Ethan Mallam is fresh out of prison and finds his old gang locked in a brutal civil war. Against his wishes, he is quickly drawn into a hellish world of fire, blood, greed, and Billy Bear Ham. Trevor Mark Thomas's follow up to the sensational, and sensationally gripping, The Bothy.Trade ReviewIt’s not long before Ethan is knee-deep in murder, and caught between Les and Tony his life is soon on the line. Is there any redemption for Ethan here? A chance to recoup some of the money he’s owed perhaps, and maybe get some revenge for that betrayal by Les and Tony. A gangster thriller with a simple story that takes twists and delivers surprises, entertaining in both narrative and style, and deceptively deep. -- Paul Burke * Crime Time FM *If you can’t read the violence, this, like The Bothy, won’t be a book for you. If you can cope, Thomas has come up with another powerful gangster thriller that’ll have you cheering on Ethan (though he’s no angel) and Daria, the secretary of the car dealer who Ethan gets out of the office before their business begins, all the way. It’s taut and pacy, it’s full of parched air as the countryside around Manchester succumbs to bush fires, and it’s a real page-turner, Thomas turning up the temperature dial yet further as we reach the climax. Loved it! * AnnaBookBel *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Everything Under: Shortlisted for the Man Booker
Book Synopsis'Weird and wild and wonderfully unsettling... Dive in for just a moment and you'll emerge gasping and haunted' Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere It's been sixteen years since Gretel last saw her mother, half a lifetime to forget her childhood on the canals. But a phone call will soon reunite them, and bring those wild years flooding back: the secret language that Gretel and her mother invented; the strange boy, Marcus, living on the boat that final winter; the creature said to be underwater, swimming ever closer. In the end there will be nothing for Gretel to do but to wade deeper into their past, where family secrets and aged prophesies will all come tragically alive again. 'As readable as it is dazzling, full of unsettling twists and dark revelations' Observer**SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018**Trade ReviewDaisy Johnson is a new goddamn swaggering monster of fiction * Lauren Groff *Saturated in mythology and fairy tales, Everything Under is weird and wild and wonderfully unsettling. Daisy Johnson writes in a torrent of language as unrelenting and turbulent and dark as the river at the book’s heart; dive in for just a moment and you’ll emerge gasping and haunted -- Celeste NgThe kind of book that worms its way into your brain, leaving echoes of its story and world long after it is back on the shelf… beautifully creepy and affecting -- Rebecca Nicholson * Observer *A stunning debut novel. Blending a deep understanding of character and storytelling examination… the result reminds me of Iris Murdoch… Johnson’s affinity for the natural world is extraordinary -- Jeff VanderMeer * Guardian *Everything Under grabbed me from the first page and wouldn’t let me go. To read Daisy Johnson is to have that rare feeling of meeting an author you’ll read for the rest of your life. * Evie Wyld *Everything Under is a force of nature ... Like Iris Murdoch's 1954 novel Under the Net, Johnson's Man Booker Prize finalist is concerned with language, secrets and the damage wrought by what's left unsaid. -- Tobias Grey * New York Times Book Review *
£999.99
Pan Macmillan The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Love at First Flight
Book Synopsis''A gorgeous rom-com'' SUN''A complete joy: funny, charming, heartwarming and insightful'' PAIGE TOON''If this doesn''t speak romcom perfection I don''t know what does!''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Wow! This book would make THE most amazing romantic movie. A wonderful and uplifting story of love and acceptance''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''OMG!!! I absolutely love, LOVE, LOVED this absolutely gorgeous book!!! I must say it has got to be one of the best romances I have ever read!!''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''A laugh-out-loud novel with unique and realistic characters, I loved how Pippa''s autism is represented in this novel''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''Why haven''t I heard of Jo Watson before?!! Such a brilliant read and one that totally and utterly broke my star rating system!''⭐ n
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group The Air Raid Book Club
Book Synopsis''Touching and heartwarming . . . get those tissues ready'' JILL MANSELL ''A warm and tender tale about the power of books'' RUTH HOGAN As the bombs began to fall, the book club kept their hopes alive... London, 1938. Bookseller Gertie Bingham is facing difficult times, having just lost her beloved husband, Harry, and with a lingering sadness at never having been able to have a child of her own. Struggling to face running the bookshop she and Harry opened together, Gertie is preparing to sell up and move away when she is asked if she would be willing to take in a young Jewish refugee from Germany. Gertie is unsure and when sullen teenager Hedy Fischer arrives, Gertie fears she has nothing left to give the troubled girl. But when the German bombers come and the lights go out over London, Gertie and Hedy realise that joining forces will make them stronger, and that books have the power to bring young and old
£8.54
Headline Publishing Group The Honeymoon Affair
Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 BESTSELLER'A glitzy, glamorous rollercoaster of a romance - hugely entertaining and so satisfying . . . Sheila O'Flanagan at her sparkling best' Veronica HenryThe irresistible, utterly satisfying new contemporary novel from No. 1 bestselling Sheila O'Flanagan Izzy is in the Caribbean on the honeymoon-that-isn't after her fiancé broke her heart. She's not looking for someone new. But when she meets Charles Miller, a successful writer holidaying alone, the electricity is undeniable. And what does she have to lose? In Ireland, Charles's ex-wife and agent Ariel flits from party to party, glamorous and poised. She's in constant contact with Charles. They're very close. Ariel wonders if they should get back together. She's an independent woman, but she liked being part of a power couple. And she's sure she only has to say, and they'll pick up where they left off. No matter how in control of life you think you are, it can shock and surprise you. As Izzy, Ariel and Charles are about to find out . . .Sheila O'Flanagan's new novel tells a compelling and thought-provoking story about two strong women, one complicated man, and the secrets and dreams that draw them together - with explosive consequences . . .'What a fascinating book, set in the world of publishing. I loved it!' Sue Moorcroft
£17.00
Headline Publishing Group Knock Knock
Book Synopsis''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Blew my mind! One of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read!''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Wow! Jaw-dropping''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ All expectations were exceeded . . . will have you creeping up to the next chapter, shyly''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Had me addicted from the very start and I didn''t want to put it down''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Wow! This one caught me off guard with so many twists and turns''CAN YOU EVER REALLY KNOW THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR?Cowerworth is the picture perfect neighbourhood. Its manicured lawns and low crime rates make it the ideal place to raise a family.But in a quiet suburb, someone is always watching.And all eyes are on the couple who have just moved in. Marcus and Gina are everything you could want in neighbours: polite and friendly. They seem to be the perfect fit. Except Marcus has a secret.And you''re his next victim. Irreverent, dark and addictive, KNOCK KNOCK is a nail-biting, spine-tingling and thrilling ride, with a KILLER twist. ---Readers are hooked on Michelle''s debut, GO SEEK:''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ If I could give this book 6 stars I would. It was an absolutely thrilling ride and I LOVED IT''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Absolutely deserves five stars!!!! Fast-paced, unputdownable! I absolutely love a badass [female] main character''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I loved this book . . . couldn''t read it quick enough''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This was very clever . . . amazing read. I was fully sucked in from the very first chapter''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Such an exciting read . . . I enjoyed every moment''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ There were so many twists, lies and secrets . . . fantastic''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A real action packed thriller from the very first page . . . so many twists and turns''''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Wow! So many crazy twists and turns''From the author of GO SEEK comes a dark, high-octane thriller about a tight-knit suburban community in Cork and what happens when one fearlessly protective mother is threatened by her next-door neighbour.
£13.49
Headline Publishing Group The Secrets of the Little Greek Taverna
Book Synopsis''The most delicious of novels . . . I dare you not to fall in love!'' Soraya M. Lane In a beautiful Greek village on the island of Naxos, a charming little taverna is waiting to open its doors, where the charm of The Lost Bookshop meets the escapism of Mamma Mia, and readers are falling in love... ''Beautiful, magical, and enchanting'' ?????''The perfect summer read'' ????? ''Warm, easy, and delightful'' ?????''An absolute feast of a novel'' ?????_________Cressida is stuck. Cressida once dreamt of opening a gorgeous guest house and taverna with her husband - but when he died, so did the dream. Lost in grief, Cressida is offered two choices - let a big hotel group take her taverna, or fight to save it with the help of some wonderful women and new friends.Marjory ''Jory'' St James never settles down. Jory gets a ''leave instinct'' in each place she visits, and is always o
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group Game On
Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and Becoming Ted, a brand new enemies-to-lovers romcom for fans of Ted Lasso and Red, White and Royal Blue . . .''Heart-warming and joyful'' LORRAINE KELLY ''A great big hug of a book'' MICHAEL BALL Toddington FC defender Tom Horrocks is never happier than when he''s on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he''s hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father - and with his team finally in the Premier League - he avoids all media.Journalist Cosmo Roberts wants to change the world, so is angry when he''s sent to a quiet northern town to cover a sport he sees as anti-gay. Then something about Tom catches his eye.Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists.Perhaps this time they''ve both met their match.''Filled with joy and strength and optimism'' RUSSELL T. DAVIES'
£999.99
Headline Publishing Group Pardon My Frenchie
Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling author of The Boyfriend Project kicks off her exciting new rom-com series with this enemies-to-lovers romance, perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory!________________________''Everything Farrah Rochon writes is an utter joy to read!'' -ALI HAZELWOODThese enemies have a few new tricks to learn about falling in love. . . For Ashanti Wright, juggling her successful doggie daycare, Barkingham Palace, with taking care of her teen twin sisters is a lot! But life gets even more chaotic when the antics of her adorable French bulldog and poodle bestie go viral on social media. And things are about to get worse. Thad Sims is not a dog person. He''s barely a person''s person. But after his grandmother is transferred to a living facility that doesn''t accept pets, the former army officer agrees to care for her annoying standard poodle. His first move is taking Puddin'' out of dayc
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group Here for the Wrong Reasons
Book SynopsisIn this swoon-filled lesbian rom-com, two dating show contestants vying for the attention of the handsome, eligible ''bachelor'' fall head over heels - for each other...Krystin knows exactly what she wants: a husband, a horse, and a place to hang all her competitive rodeo blue ribbons. On Hopelessly Devoted, Krystin is determined to win the affections of the season''s Hopeless Romantic, Josh - that is, if she can just ignore the glossy brunette whose crimson smile gives her goosebumps.Lauren has never done anything for the right reasons. Her plan is simple: stay on Hopelessly Devoted long enough to build her social media following, gracefully leave when it''s her turn to be eliminated, and use her new-found freedom to do what she really wants, including coming out of the proverbial walk-in closet. But the longer she stays on the show, the more she finds herself tangled up in a certain blonde''s lasso...Fans of Ashley Herr
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group The Image of You
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Austin Macauley Publishers War Trauma Chronicles
Book Synopsis
£10.66
