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
St. Martin's Publishing Group The Ripple Effect
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£14.40
Hyperion Avenue Tell Them You Lied
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£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Maid For Each Other
Book SynopsisPRE-ORDER NOW! The addictive, fake dating romance from TikTok sensation Lynn Painter. . . ---- Abi is a professional cleaner, so it's ironic when she's forced to move out because of an infestation in her building. Thanks, Apartment 2B!Declan is a busy man, working his way up at Hathaway Holdings. Which is why he's never met the woman who cleans his penthouse every week. Abi needs a place to stay, and Declan is out of town, so the solution seems simple and, crucially, free. When Declan's parents tell him they met his girlfriend at his apartment, he's surprised to say the least. But it is nice to have them off his back about being single for a change. . . Declan finds out who Abi really is, and decides to makes her a proposition: pretend to date him, and he'll provide everything she needs. What could go wrong? It's business, not pleasure. Right?Tropes: Fake DatingForced Proximity
£9.49
Abrams We Are Not Strangers
Book Synopsis Inspired by a true story, this graphic novel follows a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to help his Japanese neighbors while they're incarcerated during World War II. Winner, Best in Young Adult Non-Fictionfrom the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards“A powerful book about advocating for friends and neighbors during times of great division.” —Kazu Kibuishi, #1 New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of the Amulet series An evocative and beautiful graphic novel revealing the truth of one man’s extraordinary efforts, We Are Not Strangers converges two perspectives into a single portrait of a community’s struggle with race, responsibility, and what it truly means to be an American. Marco Calvo always knew his grandfather, affectionately called Papoo, was a good man. After all, he was named for him. A first-generation Jewish immigrant, Papoo was hardworking, smart,
£13.29
Pan Macmillan The Fictions of Bruno Schulz The Street of
Book SynopsisThe stories in these pages comprise all the surviving fiction of a man described by John Updike in the introduction as ‘one of the great transmogrifiers of the world into words’. They portray the doom-ridden yet comic world of a small Polish town in the years before the war, a world brought vividly to life in prose as memorable and as unique as are the brushstrokes of Marc Chagall.Trade Review‘Bruno Schulz was a writer of real, imaginative vision. Like Kafka. Like William Blake. Like all those dreams we have not yet dreamed, but will’ Robert Nye‘Schulz’s pages are crowded with verbal art which strikes the reader – stuns him, even – with its overload of beauty’ Sunday Times
£12.34
Canongate Books Claire Caseys Had Enough
Book SynopsisBack in the day, Claire had dreams. She was going to be somebody! Now a forty-something mom of three (four if you count her husband!), drowning in laundry and PTA chores, with a job she can?t stand, she''s finally had enough . . . A hilarious, heart-warming mom-com, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Fiona Gibson.Claire Casey has hit her limit. For years she?s handled it all. Children, husband, job. But when the man who?s supposed to be her partner in life, who swore that this time he wouldn?t let his phone die and would collect her at the airport, forgets all about her ? she loses it!It?s the final straw. Claire is done. And so are they.Sort of . . . Maybe. (It?s not easy saying goodbye to twenty-plus years of marriage, OK!)But Claire?s determined to reclaim her life. She?s had enough of being a worn-out, forty-something mommy. She wants to be hopeful, vivacious Claire again. Starting with her college reunion and old flame, Alex! Flirting with Alex over email is innocent, his invitation to a swanky hotel for drinks is not! But recapturing the woman she once was might mean blowing up her marriage completely. As Claire hits a crossroads, should she take a chance on the unknown or fix her broken life for good . . . ?
£20.89
Union Square & Co. A Showgirls Rules for Falling in Love
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£9.49
The Dundurn Group A Different Hurricane
Book SynopsisTwo gay men with a lifetime of secrets face their insular, homophobic island's rancour.Growing up in neighbouring villages on the tiny island nation of St Vincent, teenage best friends Gordon and Allen are secret lovers until their community's traditional expectations and fear of how others react forces them apart. They each complete their university studies abroad, encountering worlds where there is less hostility toward LGBTQ+ people. Tempted to stay, both men ultimately return home, hiding who they are.Their secret lives come at the expense of others, and Gordon's wife, Maureen, is the first to be irreparably harmed. She has confided her secrets to an accusatory journal, and it is now up to Gordon to keep it from the local media and the unforgiving eyes of the authorities. If the truth is revealed, he and Allen will be the next victims.
£17.09
Dundurn Group Ltd Devouring Tomorrow
Book SynopsisAn anthology of speculative short fiction imagining the possibilities of our food-insecure future.Our lives, our culture, our community all start with and revolve around food and eating. Sharing meals with family and friends has been a hallmark of human society from our earliest beginnings. But we are entering an era of unprecedented change. Climate, technology, the global spread of crop diseases, droughts, and the loss of pollinators threaten to change not only how much food we eat, but what we eat and how we eat it.Devouring Tomorrow explores this strange new menu through the eyes and palates of some of Canada's most exciting authors. See a world with no bees left to pollinate our crops. Encounter lab-grown meat so advanced that it becomes sentient. Visit a land where diseases wipe out a common fruit and the society of a nation changes around its loss. This is not the world of the distant future this is tomorrow.Featuring stories from:
£16.14
Bonnier Books Ltd The Quiet Wife
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£9.49
Bonnier Books Ltd The Meet Cute
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£9.49
Tyndale House Publishers This Promised Land
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£14.39
Kensington Publishing Corporation All Roads Lead to Rome
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£15.29
Kensington Publishing Corporation Beyond This Place of Wrath and Tears
Book SynopsisFrom award-winning journalist Jack Ford, a riveting and colorful dual timeline novel of Lee Carson, the heroic yet elusive female journalist who defied convention and danger to report from the front lines of WWII, combining breathtaking wartime narrative with a compelling Cold War espionage tale for fans of Christine Mangan, Pam Jenoff, Erika Robuck, and Kate Quinn.Washington, DC, April 1954: Lee Carson, former war correspondent, is frustrated that her journalism career has been relegated to society events and fashion stories. But when she receives a tip about a Russian spy in a high-ranking government position at the height of the Cold War, she feels the thrill of a story that she hasn?t felt since she was on the front lines of the European theater . . .London, December 1943: As war rages on across Europe, twenty-two-year-old Lee Carson is waging a private battle of her own. An American-born correspondent for the International News Service, Lee is determined to cover the war from the field. But no woman, certainly not an attractive young woman with no military experience, will be allowed near the front lines.Lee is not easily dissuaded. And as the Allied forces prepare to take the fight to the enemy, her gift for boosting public morale is seen a valuable weapon. Assigned to cover the build-up to the invasion of Nazi-held Europe, she constantly wrangles with authorities in order to get to the heart of the action. From talking herself onto a bomber and flying over the beaches of Normandy at the start of D-Day to other feats of daring, she witnesses and reports on the war?s most pivotal moments.Told in dual timelines, Beyond this Place of Wrath and Tears is inspired by the story of an incredible woman who has largely been forgotten by history, and who, like many women in WWII, broke barriers in wartime only to find that upon the return home, she had to continue to fight for relevance in an entirely different way . . .
£22.10
Kensington Publishing Hazardous to a Dukes Heart
Book SynopsisFor readers of Regency romance by Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, and Madeline Hunter, New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries debuts a brand new series in trade paperback in which a lord, detained in France during the Napoleonic war, returns home to find he?s inherited a dukedom and vows to make a match for his deceased mentor?s daughter.Intriguing twists and sparkling wit entwine in this stunning new historical romance from the New York Times bestselling Sabrina Jeffries, as a once-exiled patriot returns home to a changed world. . .Napoleon?s war has ended, and English captives detained for years in a French fortress are finally released. Returning to a London he no longer recognizes, and facing astonishing changes in his own family, Lord Jonathan Leighton learns he has inherited a dukedom. But the new nobleman carries the guilt of having wronged his late mentor. Now, he vows to fulfill his promise to find a suitable match for the man?s daughter, Victoria?even if it takes offering a nonexistent dowry to spark her interest in matrimony . . .Sharp-witted Victoria would just as soon sculpt the Greek god who has come to take charge of her future. In fact, she has her sights set on founding a school for women artists. As Jonathan matches wits with the talented beauty, revelations from his past?and their connection to her father?s demise?threaten to unveil both of their closely held secrets and thrust them into a danger they can only escape together.
£15.26
Kensington Publishing Corporation God Dont Play
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£15.26
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Varying Degrees of Hopelessness
Book SynopsisBy the author of Ducks, Newburyport, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2019 and the Goldsmiths Prize 'Funny and furious ... Lucy Ellmann is clever, and very angry' The Times In an eminent London art institute - the Catafalque - Our Heroine Isabel (she of the obsessional habits, perpetual virginity and peculiar belly button) sit in wistful contemplation of Chardin's brushstrokes and the virile red socks of passing lecturers. Isabel's wholly imaginary love life (based on the romantic notions of authoress Babs Cartwheel) bears little resemblance to that of her flatmate Pol, who prefers to grip reality by the balls. Enter Robert, victim of an American childhood, kitsch memorabilia, academic rivalry, Pol's belly-dancing and Isabel's mute adoration. Can he be perverse enough not to despair?
£12.34
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Rare Singles
Book SynopsisAn ingenious, funny and moving novel about love, loss and second chances - and the power of music to bring us together. By the award-winning author of The Offing and The Gallows Pole
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Misrecognition
Book SynopsisA smart, savage and hilarious debut exploring love, sexuality, purpose and the delicious absurdities of online life
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Wife
Book SynopsisCharlotte Mendelson's previous novel, The Exhibitionist, was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and was Novel of the Year 2022 in The Times, as well as a book of the year in The Guardian and Good Housekeeping. Her other novels include Almost English, which was longlisted for both the Man Booker and the Women's Prize for Fiction; When We Were Bad, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and was a book of the year in The Observer, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New Statesman and The Spectator; and Daughters of Jerusalem, which won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Wife is her sixth novel.
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Amendments
Book SynopsisA sweeping family saga that tells the story of three Irish women and their struggles to find love, meaning and freedom against a backdrop of enormous social and cultural change as Ireland marks time with a series of abortion referendums.
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Book SynopsisA beautiful hardback edition of Jeanette Winterson's explosive first novel: a gripping coming-of-age story, a queer romance, a modern classic. I love her.'Then you do not love the Lord.'Yes, I love both of them.'You cannot.''I do.''This is the story of Jeanette, born to be one of God's elect: adopted by a fanatical Pentecostal family and ablaze with her own zeal for the scriptures, she seems perfectly suited for the life of a missionary. But then she converts Melanie, and realises she loves this woman almost as much as she loves the Lord. How on Earth could her Church called that passion Unnatural?Both a groundbreaking coming-of-age novel and a pioneering work of autofiction, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit goes beyond facts into the deepest truths. Searing and tender, playful and provocative, it is a portrait of the artist as a young evangelist, re-writing her own Bible. 'Witty... extraordinary and exhilarating' The Times'She is a master of her material, a writer in whom great talent abides' Vanity Fair'Many consider her to be the best living writer in this language... In her hands, words are fluid, radiant, humming' Evening StandardVintage Quarterbound Classics: Bound to be beautiful
£15.29
Little, Brown & Company God Bless You Otis Spunkmeyer
Book SynopsisAn 'intoxicating, propulsive...utterly mesmerizing' novel about Black life in Philadelphia and the struggle to build intimate connections through the eyes of a struggling ex-Army grad student (Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!) After a deployment in the Iraq War, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student and EMS worker, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is a powerful examination of every day Black life—of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics.ONE OF THE MILLIONS’ MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2024
£14.39
Grand Central Publishing Roommating
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£15.68
Coffee House Press No Names
Book SynopsisInspired by the iconic punk scene of the late 70s, No Names blurs the lines of affection and sexuality in a haunting tale of desire, hope, and loss. Mike and Pete were no names, two working-class boys lost in the shuffle of their stratified town, brought together by their love of music. By 1978, their punk band was blazing across the underground scene. Now in 1993, Mike is a hermit living alone on a dot of an island in the North Atlantic. When a mysterious letter from an unlikely fan named Isaac arrives, he's pulled right back into the pain he's spent over a decade running from. Isaac longs for an escape from his lonely teenage life. A chance discovery of the No Names' only album catapults him into obsession over the god-like rockers and the tantalizing possibility of connection. As their stories collide in a tangled web, mistakes breed consequences that echo through the decades like the furious reverberations of a power chord.
£12.34
The University of Alabama Press Ascension: A Novel
Book SynopsisA visually stunning narrative of three eras in humankind’s vexed relationship with natureAscension is a novel about the end of nature, or rather, the end of three “natures”: the time just before Darwin changed the natural world; the 1980s, just as the digital and genetic revolutions begin to replace “nature” with “environment”; and today, a time when we have the ability to manipulate nature at both the scale of the planet and at the genome. The narrative follows three different biologists on the brink of each of these cultural extinctions to explore how nature occupies our imaginations and how our imaginations bring the natural world, and our place in it, into existence.Ascension is a story of how we continually remake the world and are in turn remade by the new nature we’ve created. It is the story of humans yearning to understand their families, themselves, and the world they live in as it comes to a close, leaving them to anticipate what will follow. Rich in visual depictions of the natural world—from nineteenth century engraving and paintings to twentieth century photography and twenty-first century databases—Ascension uses the materials of three eras to drive home our inability to escape nature, and the ways our fates are irrevocably bound together even as our actions usher in an end-time.
£18.95
Histria LLC The Environmental Alarmist: A Political Satire
Book SynopsisIf you are bothered by greenwashing, baffled by eco-denialism, and bewildered by our seemingly inexorable march toward global environmental catastrophe, this book is for you.In a not-so-distant future, in a world ravaged by climate change and invasive pests, humanity still chooses self-deception over sacrifice. Even the ubiquitous green flies buzzing around our heads don’t concentrate our minds on what humanity’s survival requires. When a sly US Senator and a jaded propagandist concoct a longshot and cynically opportunistic “ environmentalist” campaign for the Presidency, it looks like just more of the old, phony politics. But then things start to get real. And hilarious. And hopeful. Because the politician and the propagandist start to care about the planet. As they begin telling voters the truth, they also stop lying to themselves. If you remain hopeful that maybe it’s not too late, that against the odds humanity might still get it together and face reality – and especially if you haven’t lost your sense of humor -- you will love The Environmental Alarmist.Trade ReviewInvasive green flies infesting the White House? GMO experiments unleashing a plague of genetically modified pigs that reproduce like rabbits? A wiseass environmentalist candidate and his motley campaign crew coming to the rescue to save the world? Who says there’s nothing funny about environmental collapse?"—Paul Begala,CNN political commentator and former chief political strategist for Bill Clinton and Al Gore"A hilarious satire about an unlikely environmentalist presidential campaign. If you have never worked in politics, you will find The Environmental Alarmist funny because it is too outrageous to be true. If you HAVE worked in politics, you will laugh yourself silly because you know it isn’t."—Bill Richardson, Former New Mexico Governor, US Ambassador to the UN, US Commerce Secretary and presidential candidate
£21.21
Galaxy Press L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future
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£16.19
The New Press Notes from an Abolitionist
Book SynopsisA powerful personal investigation of the insidious ways white supremacy compromises criminal justice reform, from the award-winning, formerly incarcerated activist and Soros Justice FellowDespite reform efforts that have grown in scope and intensity over the last two decades, the machine of American mass incarceration continues to flourish. In this powerful polemic, formerly incarcerated activist, essayist, and organizer Emile Suotonye DeWeaver argues that the root of the problem is white supremacy. In the tradition of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, DeWeaver’s Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine is a brilliant debut, combining social commentary and personal narrative in an original and provocative critique of the deeply troubling racial logic behind parole boards, police unions, prison administration, and more. During his twenty years in prison, DeWeaver covertly organized to pass legislation impacting juveniles in California’s criminal legal system; was a culture writer for Easy Street Magazine; and co-founded Prison Renaissance, an organization centering incarcerated voices and incarcerated leadership. DeWeaver draws on these experiences to interrogate the central premise of reform efforts, including prisoner rehabilitation programs, arguing that they demand self-abnegation, entrench white supremacy, and ignore the role of structural oppression. With lucid, urgent prose, DeWeaver intervenes in contemporary debates on criminal justice and racial justice efforts with his eye-opening discussion of the tools we need to end white supremacy—both within and outside the carceral setting. For readers of Mariame Kaba, Susan Burton, and Derecka Purnell, Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine adds a sharp and unique perspective to the growing discourse on racial justice, incarceration, and abolition.
£17.99
Penguin Random House Group Eternal Summer
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£14.39
Akashic Books Felony Juggler
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£21.24
Rare Bird Books 13 Hillcrest Drive
Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of To Live and Die in L.A...In the streets of Beverly Hills, secrets are the most valuable currency. Meredith Fox, a once-prominent Hollywood publicity agent, has clawed her way back from the brink of obscurity. Now, she’s poised for a comeback, leveraging the dark secrets of her celebrity clients to put herself back on top. But when a routine money drop goes fatally wrong, Meredith finds herself caught in a deadly web of betrayal.Detective Michael Casey, navigating the waters of Beverly Hills'' elite, is tasked with unraveling the mystery behind Meredith''s death. As he delves deeper, he uncovers a cold world where loyalty is fleeting, and trust is a rare commodity. With every clue leading to more questions, Casey must confront his own demons while piecing together a puzzle that threatens to expose the darkest secrets of Los Angeles.13 Hillcrest Drive is a gripping thriller that peels back the layers of Hollywood’s glitz to reveal the raw, unfiltered human drama underneath. In a city where image is everything, the truth can be the most dangerous revelation of all.
£17.99
Rare Bird Books To Die in Beverly Hills
Book SynopsisA harrowing thriller exploring the darker depths of Beverly Hills...US Treasury Agents Charlie Carr and Jack Kelly are investigating a counterfeiting ring when cool and ruthless LA Detective Travis Bailey warns them of a plot to murder their prime witness. Unwittingly, they are involved in a phony stake out in which Kelly is seriously wounded. Deeply suspicious and determined to avenge his partner, Carr puts his life and career on the line in order to build a case against Bailey, and sets out to prove that he is the mastermind behind a series of robberies from the area''s wealthy residents. Carr''s mission draws him into the depths of moneyed Beverly Hills, as well as into the underworlds of have-nots, hungry for a piece of the Rolls Royce action.To Die in Beverly Hills is an original and harrowing thriller where Gerald Petievich once again successfully demonstrates both his talent for convincing characterization and his inside knowledge of the U.S. Secret Service Treasury Department.
£999.99
Deep Vellum Publishing Perpetual Law
Book SynopsisFrom Latin America’s literary prankster Mario Bellatin: a novella that puzzles from the first page with its liminal, Lynchian atmosphere. In an unnamed country by the sea, a grieving kleptomaniac known only as Our Woman is determined to reach the House. There, she will be able to listen to her childhood voice. As she winds her way through a day replete with odd choices and unresolved conclusions, the losses that define Our Woman take clearer shape, while the circumstances of her world turn more opaque. Inhabitants form poetry salons and line up for measly food distributions. Authoritarian landladies maintain an iron-grip on their complexes, men in blue overcoats roam the streets, and train stations remain deserted. Perpetual Law thwarts convention, casting a mysterious pallor over typical narrative questions: what is happening here, and why? A patron to all that is subversive and unruly, Mario Bellatin’s work beckons to engage with the reality of borders, linguistic exile, and the types of self-estrangement that can barely be articulated. Translated into English by Stephen Beachy, Perpetual Law is familiar as it is disturbing; enrapturing as it is challenging. It is an important key to Bellatin’s complex body of work.
£11.39
Deep Vellum Publishing Crocodiles at Night
Book SynopsisCrocodiles at Night follows the difficult journey of death and all it affects—family, memories, place—through the eyes of a woman as she travels between her home in Houston and her ailing father in Argentina. Although the outcome of Crocodiles at night does not remain a surprise beyond the first paragraph, it expands outwards in philosophical, heartfelt reverberations true to Heffes''s style. Crocodiles by Night explores familial ties, memories and images of places that are no longer the same, the vagaries of the medical system, and social critique in this heartfelt, excruciating view of death and how it affects all who experience it.
£12.34
Deep Vellum Publishing Come Round Right
Book SynopsisAfter undergoing a traumatic experience with his college girlfriend, college student Aaron must reckon with what it means to run away from everything—and what''s worth returning to—during the political unease of the ''70s. Aaron is a college student seeking adventure in the hallucinatory, political haze of 1970s America. Haunted by horrifying memories of a hitchhiking experience, abandoned by his equally traumatized girlfriend, Aaron tries to flee from everything both physical and psychological. When he tries to find meaning on a solo hitchhiking trip, he must reckon with the real question of his journey: can he truly begin a new life in a new community, simple and free, or must he reckon with the person he once was, and the harm he was caused? Come Round Right is a paean to a pivotal moment in American history, when the Vietnam War was raging, and the idealism of the 1960s was losing ground to frustration, anger, and violence. Both a haunting novel and a personal reckoning with his own past experiences, Govenar''s is a deeply personal story about the struggle to survive against all odds, never losing hope.
£18.89
Levine Querido Dream Boy
Book SynopsisCharting one boy’s search for companionship amidst violence and isolation in the mid-century rural South, with a new foreword from National Book Award-winner Justin Torres. Nathan’s used to being alone. Drifting from town to town following his salesman father, he seeks solace in his studies when he can’t find understanding in his own home; his father is abusive and an alcoholic and his mother would rather disappear into the background than protect him. Enter Roy. The older boy next door might have a girlfriend at school and at church, but there’s no question that they’re drawn to one another, and the two quickly become entangled in a covert relationship. As their relationship intensifies, Roy and Nathan must navigate their fears of being caught and their growing desires for one another. But when Nathan’s dad begins to suspect Nathan and Roy’s relationship is more than just friendship, Nathan’s home ceases to be safe, forcing Nathan to run away and altering his life, relationships, and future. Through lyrical and evocative writing, Grimsley explores violence, tenderness, trauma, religion, and queer love against the backdrop of the 1950s rural South. “Romantic passion, violence and ultimate liberation coalesce in this singular display of literary craftsmanship.” — Publishers Weekly
£13.50
Georgetown University Press Faces
Book SynopsisThe first English translation of one of the novels that helped change modern Arab literatureMohamed Choukri, one of the most important writers of modern Moroccan literature, grew up in extreme poverty in Tangier and was illiterate until the age of twenty. After learning to read, he realized that writing could also be a way to expose, to protest against those who have stolen my childhood, my teenage-hood and a piece of my youthfulness. His vivid portrayals of marginalized people, which had been considered taboo, led to the censorship of his work and a cultural backlash in the Middle East. In Faces, the third book in his trilogy of fictionalized autobiographical works, he describes gritty events, extreme poverty, prostitution, violence, sexual revelry, deprivation, and abuse. It is through his storytelling that Choukri reflects on human nature, love, and kindnessemphasizing the need for community and collaboration. Faces humanizes those undergoing poverty and places the blame for the violence they encounter squarely on colonial forces and the resulting postcolonial government, while opening literary traditions to a new style of writing. Choukri's friendships with Tennessee Williams, Paul Bowles, Jean Genet, and other writers brought him attention in his lifetime. But Faceshis last novel, which was originally published in Arabic in 2000has remained untranslated until now. In English for the first time, Jonas Elbousty's translation allows Choukri's work to reach wider international discussions of contemporary Arab literature.
£15.20
She Writes Press Its Always Been Me
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£15.29
Skyhorse Publishing Vivienne
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£11.69
Astra Publishing House Foreclosure Gothic
Book Synopsis“Lyrical and eerie . . . the prose is subtly alluring, such as the author’s description of nature as ‘a witch’s brew of mistrust.’ This sly and creepy drama is worth a look.”—Publishers WeeklyA multigenerational and deeply autobiographical gothic tale of Hollywood dreams and upstate New York reality.Foreclosure Gothic reimagines the American Gothic against the backdrop of today's Hudson Valley. The story tells of ex-Hollywood actor Vic Greener as he falls in love with the elusive Heather Roswell and the couple, following in the footsteps of Vic's father, resolves to make a life restoring one foreclosed home after another. Then comes the uncanny, destabilizing arrival of new tenants in their duplex, and the Greener's shocking discovery upon their departure.With evocative and unsettling black and white photos throughout, this debut novel is at once a skewed portrait of three generations of Greener men, an intimate look at both childhood and parenthood and an examination of the friction between chasing one's dream and working to make money.
£20.40
World Cloud Classics The House at Pooh Corner
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£11.69
Simon & Schuster Youre Safe Here
Book SynopsisWellness, motherhood, and technology converge in a near future California, as three women’s seemingly innocuous decisions have further-reaching consequences than any of them could imagine in this timely, clever, and white-knuckled thriller that “is dystopia at its best” (Booklist). In 2060, the WellPod is the latest launch from the largest tech company the world has ever seen—a fleet of floating personal paradises scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean, focused entirely on health, solitude, and relaxation. Created by an enigmatic founder who will stop at nothing to ensure her company’s success, it is the long-awaited pinnacle of wellness technology. For newly pregnant Maggie, the six-week program is the perfect chance to get away…especially since the baby isn’t her partner’s. Noa Behar isn’t a perfect fiancée. She’s too distracted, too focused on her work in helping program the WellPod to give Maggie the attention she deserves. But when she discovers something rotten beneath WellPod’s shiny exterior—a history of faulty tech and dangerous cover-ups—she knows one thing: she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Maggie safe. The problem? The malfunctioning WellPods are already at sea. And there’s a storm coming… A fast-paced and compelling thriller, You’re Safe Here “serves up twists on twists on twists, building to an ending that no amount of AI-powered computing could ever hope to predict” (Nick Fuller Googins, author of The Great Transition).
£9.49
Gallery Books Work Nights
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£20.99
Simon & Schuster Welcome to Murder Week
Book SynopsisA funny, heartfelt, delightful novel about an American woman who, following the death of her absentee mother, finds tickets her mother had inexplicably purchased for them to take part in a murder mystery simulation in a small English town and decides to go on the trip.
£21.74
Quirk Books Alice Chens Reality Check
Book SynopsisIn this sizzling rom-com perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties and One to Watch, a reality show contestant must fake date her rival . . . while solving a murder mystery on set.
£15.29
Sparkpress Such Good People
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£15.29
Stone Bridge Press The Thorn Puller
Book SynopsisWinner of the Sakutaro Hagiwara Prize and the Murasaki Shikibu PrizeCaught between two cultures, award-winning author Hiromi Ito tackles subjects like aging, death, and suffering with dark humor, illuminating the bittersweet joys of being alive.The first novel to appear in English by award-winning author Hiromi Ito explores the absurdities, complexities, and challenges experienced by a woman caring for her two families: her husband and daughters in California and her aging parents in Japan. As the narrator shuttles back and forth between these two starkly different cultures, she creates a powerful and entertaining narrative about what it means to live and die in a globalized society. Ito has been described as a “shaman of poetry” because of her skill in allowing the voices of others to flow through her. Here she enriches her semi-autobiographical novel by channeling myriad voices drawn from Japanese folklore, poetry, literature, and pop culture. The result is a generic chimera—part poetry, part prose, part epic—a unique, transnational, polyvocal mode of storytelling. One throughline is a series of memories associated with the Buddhist bodhisattva Jizo, who helps to remove the “thorns” of human suffering.Trade Review"The Thorn Puller is a masterpiece... a novel about some of literature’s greatest themes—love, human connection, death, and the meaning of suffering." —Allison Fincher, Asian Review of Books"A brilliantly poetic translation . . . explored with biting humor and sharp wit."—Marissa Moss, New York Journal of Books"In Ito’s literary vision, life unfolds more as a stream of language than a series of plot points. With each phase of life she records, Ito shows how language emerges from the rituals of social reproduction that mark the coming and going of generations, from childbirth to eldercare. "—Eva Rosenfield, Chicago Review "A strong affirmation of life. Working collaboratively with the author, Jeffrey Angles, a recognized poet in both English and Japanese, has done a wonderful job translating this work. Ito is a poet of some renown... “Sometimes I dare to imagine I’m an independent woman,” says the narrator. Despite all the forces clamoring for her attention, she is, and that is both the strength and appeal of this novel."—Erik R. Lofgren, World Literature Today"Overflowing and contradictory, worn down with fatigue, yet brimming with energy, The Thorn Puller combines a confessional story of a woman dealing with family commitments in two countries with vibrant excursions into Japanese folklore and history." —Richard Medhurst, Nippon.com "With ruthless honesty and wicked humor, Ito exposes the frustration and inconvenience of being a caregiver, juxtaposing it with the sorrow of watching a loved one deteriorate." —Foreword Reviews, starred review “Poet Ito makes her English-language fiction debut with a lyrical account of a woman caught between two cultures and her family’s demands … Fans of Japanese literature will enjoy this impressionistic project." —Publishers Weekly"Ito's chameleonic prose confronts mortality, cultural conflicts, religious comforts, and waning relationships, embellished with all manner of welcoming, unfiltered, surprisingly humorous honesty about the universally quotidian, from pimple-popping to good sex."—Terry Hong, Booklist"The Thorn Puller is a beautiful work, sad and soothing all at once. It is a brave work, as Hiromi Ito shares so much of her life with readers. It carries readers into a mystical world of Japanese folklore, classical literature, and myth. At the same time, it is remarkably contemporary, reminding us all of our own frailties and strengths."—Rebecca Copeland, Kyoto Journal"A glorious, immersive read, packed with laugh-out-loud moments and the kind of reflections that anyone who has married across cultures will recognize."—Iain Maloney, Metropolis"Absurdly comedic and heartbreaking... The Thorn Puller is an enjoyable and affecting narrative about the meaning of living and aging in our globalized era."—Bonnie Nadzam, Lion's Roar "With frank, humorous prose that sinuously morphs into the musical cadence of poetry, The Thorn Puller tackles subjects like aging, death, and suffering from a transnational perspective that also illuminates the bittersweet joy of being alive." —Alyssa Pearl Fusek, Unseen Japan "With a great deal of arresting material, The Thorn Puller is a fascinating piece of work."—M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review"The Thorn Puller is a benchmark book. Some reviews compare Hiromi Ito to Haruki Murakami and Yoko Tawada, but make no mistake, Ito is her own person, with her own style, and she sets her own standard for storytelling that will be a measure for aspiring authors." —Linda Gould, White Enso "Expansive and brilliantly crafted... I was enthralled by The Thorn Puller for its melodic, mesmerising voice, for the wisdom it imparted, and Ito’s inescapable creative genius." —Elizabeth Meehan, Litro Magazine "The sparks of humor fly as Japanese medieval narrative and Judeo-Christian culture collide in modern-day domestic disputes. Ito may have written this book in prose, but we never forget that she's a poet. There is a special music even in the complaints, scolding, arguments, phone conversations, and gossipy moments. As the narrative unfolds, Itō draws not only upon voices of her family members and others around her, she gathers in countless voices, including those of the dead. And how wonderful to find the rhythm of the Japanese reproduced so marvelously in this translation!" —Yoko Tawada, author of The Emissary "Ito's work, which has long drawn us in, reaches a crescendo here, working off a base in fractured daily life: minefields of love and hate, frailty and death, identities and languages heard and unheard, a clash of cultures and religions in the context of the day by day. And all of this she sets against deep images of Japanese lore and literature, ancient and immediately modern, prose transformed into poetry: a contemporary master at the height of her many long-honed powers." —Jerome Rothenberg, editor of the poetry anthology Technicians of the Sacred "When she was young, Hiromi Ito wrote about sex, menstruation, and childbirth. Later she wrote about child-rearing, affairs, and menopause. In The Thorn Puller she has written about parental caregiving and aging. Poets are amazing--their experiences become art, and what's more, Ito has created a completely original literary style, which no one could imitate even if they tried. The Thorn Puller is a great achievement." —Chizuko Ueno, author of The Modern Family in Japan
£13.29
