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
Everyman Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
Book SynopsisDo Butlers Burgle Banks? (1968) features Mike Bond, the hitherto fortunate owner of Bond's Bank, who finds himself in a spot of trouble so serious that he wants someone to burgle the bank before the trustees inspect it. Fortunately for him, Horace Appleby, currently posing as his butler, is on hand to oblige. For Horace is, in fact, not a butler at all but the best sort of American gangster, prudently concealing himself in an English country house while hiding from his rivals. Looking for peace and safety, Horace is to discover before long that the hot-spots of New York are a whole lot more restful than the English countryside. This is the lightest of light comedies, a Wodehousian soufflé from his later years.Trade Review"Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in." -- EVELYN WAUGH"He exhausts superlatives" -- STEPHEN FRY"Pure word music" -- DOUGLAS ADAMS"The Everyman edition promises to be a splendid celebration of the divine Plum" * THE INDEPENDENT *"The handsome bindings are only the cherry on top of what is already a cake without compare" * EVENING STANDARD *
£12.34
Everyman Something Fishy
Book SynopsisA butler named Keggs who, having overheard the planning of a scheme, later decides to try and make money out of his knowledge.It features Percy Pilbeam, the unscrupulous head of the Argus Detective Agency, who first appeared in Bill the Conqueror (1924) and was in several other Wodehouse books, including a visit to Blandings Castle in Summer Lightning (1929).Trade ReviewThe Everyman edition promises to be a splendid celebration of the divine Plum * The Independent *The handsome bindings are only the cherry on top of what is already a cake without compare * The Evening Standard *He exhausts superlatives -- Stephen Fry
£12.34
Everyman Possession
Book SynopsisWhen mild-mannered and unremarkable academic Roland Mitchell stumbles upon a letter written by Victorian poet Randolph Ash to a mysterious woman with whom he seems to be infatuated, he is determined to uncover the truth.Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize, Possession defies categorization. Rich in symmetry and symbolism, brimming over with myth, poetry and fairy tale, Byatt's masterpiece is part literary detective story, part academic satire and part historical novel. At its heart, however, is a compelling romance that draws the reader into the mirrored worlds of two couples, past and present, and explores the nature of obsession, possession and love.Trade ReviewPossession is eloquent about the intense pleasures of reading. And, with sumptuous artistry, it provides a feast of them * Sunday Times *
£13.49
Everyman Kipling
Book SynopsisRudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is perhaps the most controversial major English poetof the last two centuries, not least because of his apparent enthusiasm for the empire. A child of British India, he first became famous for tales of imperial life, notably Kim, the Jungle Book and Barrack Room Ballads. Kipling wrote verse in every classical form from the epigram to the ode, but his most distinctive gift was for the ballads and narrative poems in which he draws vivid characters in universal situations and articulates profound truths in plain language. Yet he was also a subtle and deeply affecting anatomist of the human heart, with a feeling for the natural world which rivals his younger contemporary, D. H. Lawrence. Shattered by World War I in which he lost his only son, his work darkens and deepens in later years, but never loses its extraordinary vitality.
£11.40
Little, Brown Book Group Moral Disorder
Book SynopsisBy the author of The Handmaid's Tale and Alias GraceThis collection of short stories follows a woman at different points in her life, from the loneliness of childhood, the ardour and confusion of young adulthood, and the mortality we must all eventually face up to. Moral Disorder is Margaret Atwood at her very finest. Praise for Moral Disorder: 'Atwood entices us to flip through the photo album of a Canadian woman who closely resembles herself. Come here, sit beside me, she seems to say. Then she takes us on an emotional journey through loneliness, love, loss and old age' Sarah Emily Miano, The Times'Atwood makes it look so easy, doing what she does best: tenderly dissecting the human heart . . . A marvellous writer' Lee Langley, Daily Mail'A model of distillation, precision, clarity and detail . . . Atwood writes with compassion and intensity not only about her characters but also about the 20th century itself' Mary Flanagan, IndependentTrade ReviewA model of distillation, precision, clarity and detail . . . Atwood writes with compassion and intensity not only about her characters but also about the 20th century itself * INDEPENDENT *Ingenious and perceptive. . . deserves to become a quiet classic * SPECTATOR *An emotional journey through loneliness, love, loss and old age. . . This snapshot collection is a study of memory, to be cherished * THE TIMES *Vivid, crispy focused, full of depth and beguiling detail * SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Murder In The Dark
Book SynopsisBy the author of THE HANDMAID'S TALE and ALIAS GRACEA beautifully bizarre assortment of short stories and prose poems. Writing on an eclectic range of subjects from 'Bread' and 'Strawberries', to 'Fainting' and 'Women's Novels', Margaret Atwood brings her astonishing world view to the comings and goings of ordinary life. The pretentious male chef is taken down a peg, a gang of cynical five year olds concoct a poisonous brew; and knowing when to stop is of deadly importance in a game of Murder in the Dark.* Praise for Murder in the Dark:These vignettes glow with the usual Atwood magic of intelligence ... an exhilarating performance, full of sharp pleasures for the mind -BRITISH BOOK NEWS'A brilliant and witty writer' -COSMOPOLITAN'Direct, unpretentious, humorous' -SUNDAY TIMESTrade ReviewThese vignettes glow with the usual Atwood magic of intelligence ... an exhilarating performance, full of sharp pleasures for the mind * BRITISH BOOK NEWS *Shrewd, funny, intelligent, honest, ironic * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY *A brilliant and witty writer * COSMOPOLITAN *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Good Bones
Book SynopsisThese wise and witty writings home in on Shakespeare, tree stumps, ecological disasters, bodies (male and female), and theology, amongst other matters. We hear Gertrude's version of what really happened in Hamlet; an ugly sister and a wicked stepmother put in a good word for themselves,and a reincarnated bat explains how Bram Stoker got Dracula hopelessly wrong. Good Bones is pure distilled Atwood - deliciously strong and bittersweet. 'A marvellous miniature sample case of Atwood's sensuous and sardonic talents' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTTrade ReviewA marvellous miniature sample case of Atwood's sensuous and sardonic talents TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT Savagely hilarous THE LIST Her wit and humour are perfectly complemented by a penetrating eye for the false and absurd THE SUNDAY TIMES Full of fun and invention, with an edge that cuts through preconceptions...an entertaining sampler of Atwood's cleverness and imagination NICOLETTE JONES, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Sisters By A River: A Virago Modern Classic
Book Synopsis'Tragic, comic and completely bonkers all in one, I'd go as far as to call her something of a neglected genius' LUCY SCHOLES, GUARDIAN 'It is hard not to believe that Barbara Comyns's own adventures are entangled in her fiction' JANE GARDAM, SPECTATOR'All of her books read as if she wrote them effortlessly' URSULA HOLDEN On the banks of the River Avon, five sisters are born. The seasons come and go, the girls take their lessons under the ash tree and there is always the sound of water swirling through the weir. Then, unexpectedly, an air of decay descends upon the house: ivy grows unchecked over the windows, angry shouts split the summer air, the milk sours in the larder and their father takes out his gun. Tragedy strikes the family, and before long the furniture is being auctioned off and the sisters dispersed among relatives. In her daring first novel, originally published in 1947, Barbara Comyns' unique young heroine relates the vivid, funny and bittersweet story of a childhood.Trade ReviewTragic, comic and completely bonkers all in one, I'd go as far as to call her something of a neglected genius -- Lucy Scholes * Guardian *A vision that shifts between savagery, lyricism and tragic wit. A true original * Independent *It is hard not to believe that Barbara Comyns's own adventures are entangled in her fiction. Sisters by a River, which she wrote for her own children -- Jane Gardam * Spectator *Quite simply, Comyns' writes like no one else -- Maggie O'Farrell
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Public Image: A Virago Modern Classic
Book SynopsisAnnabel Christopher is every inch the star: a glamorous actress with a devoted, handsome husband. To keep the paparazzi and her adoring public under her spell, her perfect image must be carefully cultivated, whatever the cost. Beneath the facade, though, her husband cannot bear her or their vapid existence. Envious of her success, he plots his revenge and stages a scandal even Annabel will find a challenge to recover from.
£9.49
Alma Books Ltd Remainder
Book SynopsisTraumatized by an accident which ‘involved something falling from the sky’ and leaves him eight and a half million pounds richer but hopelessly estranged from the world around him, Remainder’s hero spends his time and money obsessively reconstructing and re-enacting vaguely remembered scenes and situations from his past: a large building with piano music in the distance, the familiar smells and sounds of liver frying and spluttering, lethargic cats lounging on roofs until they tumble off them... But when this fails to quench his thirst for authenticity, he starts re-enacting more and more violent events, as his repetition addiction spirals out of control. A darkly comic meditation on memory, identity and history, Remainder is a parable for modern times.Trade ReviewRemainder is an intelligent and absurd satire on consumer culture. * The Times *Its minatory brilliance calls for classic status * The Independent *There are echoes of Beckett, Flann O'Brien too, perhaps, but in the end McCarthy has a precision, a surreal logic and a sly wit that is all his own. It will be a long time before you come across a stranger book, or a truer one. -- Rupert Thomson * The Observer *Remainder, with seamless prose, endlessly probes the surface of the "event", its infinite elements, angles, perspectives, how it comes about, how it can be brought about again, then lived and relived in Ballardian orbits and Beckettian vibrations... It will remain with you long after you have felt compelled to re-read it. * Time Out *Strangely gripping... Remainder should be read (and, of course, reread) for its intelligence and humour. * The Times Literary Supplement *This isn’t how we expect a novel to be, but it’s why it’s a very good novel indeed. * London Review of Books *McCarthy delivers his wacky tale, an enquiry into authenticity and experience, with persuasive logic and a nice line in absurdist humour. * Literary Review *...Enthralling, dotted with dark humour and undoubted originality * The Irish Times *The storyline mesmerises in its imaginative brilliance * The Sunday Telegraph *This is a refreshingly idiosyncratic, enjoyably intelligent read by a writer with ideas and talent * The Guardian *
£8.54
Everyman Middlemarch: A Study of Provinicial Life
Book SynopsisMiddlemarch- A Study of Provincial Life, published 1871-2, is set in the imaginary county of Loamshire during the years of unrest preceding the 1832 Reform Bill. With its complex plot, broad canvas and huge cast of characters, it has long been recognized as one of the few truly classic English novels.
£16.19
Everyman Madame Bovary: Patterns of Provincial Life
Book SynopsisDescribed by Henry James as 'one of the first of the classics' and so regarded ever since, MADAME BOVARY has touched generations of readers and moulded generations of writers. The story of a little woman in a provincial town who dreams of happiness and then perishes by her own hand is worked up by Flaubant into a profound and heart rending study of human bondage.
£12.34
Vintage Publishing Short Cuts
Book Synopsis'I look at all of Carver's work as just one story, for his stories are all occurences, all about things that just happen to people and cause their lives to take a turn... In formulating the mosaic of the film Short Cuts, which is based on these nine stories and a poem, 'Lemonade', I've tried to do the same thing- to give the audience one look... But it all began here. I was a reader turning these pages. Trying on these lives' - Robert Altman in his introduction.Trade ReviewRaymond Carver's stories can be counted amongst the masterpieces of American fiction * New York Times *The stories overflow with danger, excitement, mystery and the possibility of life... His eye is so clear it almost breaks your heart * Washington Post *One of America's most original, truest voices -- Salman RushdieSuperb -- Ian McEwan
£9.49
The Quince Tree Press A Season in Sinji
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£11.46
Comma Press The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction
Book SynopsisAt first, Tokyo appears in these stories as it does to many outsiders: a city of bewildering scale, awe-inspiring modernity, peculiar rules, unknowable secrets and, to some extent, danger. Characters observe their fellow citizens from afar, hesitant to stray from their daily routines to engage with them. But Tokyo being the city it is, random encounters inevitably take place - a naive book collector, mistaken for a French speaker, is drawn into a world he never knew existed; a woman seeking psychiatric help finds herself in a taxi with an older man wanting to share his own peculiar revelations; a depressed divorcee accepts an unexpected lunch invitation to try Thai food for the very first time... The result in each story is a small but crucial change in perspective, a sampling of the unexpected yet simple pleasure of other people's company. As one character puts it, 'The world is full of delicious things, you know.'Trade Review'The characters' habit of introspection gives these tales a hazy, dreamlike quality; the physical environment of Tokyo is rarely described directly. What gives them their sense of place is, rather, their shared sense of the ephemeral aspect to life in the big city - and the various pleasures and sadnesses it brings.' - The Independent
£10.44
Comma Press Iraq+100: Stories from a Century After the
Book SynopsisIraq + 100 poses a question to contemporary Iraqi writers: what might your home city look like in the year 2103 - exactly 100 years after the disastrous American and British-led invasion of Iraq? How might that war reach across a century of repair and rebirth, and affect the state of the country - its politics, its religion, its language, its culture - and how might Iraq have finally escaped its chaos, and found its own peace, a hundred years down the line? As well as being an exercise in escaping the politics of the present, this anthology is also an opportunity for a hotbed of contemporary Arabic writers to offer its own spin on science fiction and fantasy.
£10.44
Daunt Books Illyrian Spring
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£9.49
Parthian Books Feet in Chains
Book SynopsisSnowdonia, 1880, and Jane Gruffydd is a newcomer to the district, dressed to the nines and almost fainting in the heat of the interminable prayer meeting out on the mountainside...In the pages of this classic 1936 novel, we see the passionate and headstrong Jane grow up and grow old, struggling to bring up a family of six children on the pittance earned by her slate-quarrying husband, Ifan. Spanning the next forty years, the novel traces the contours not only of one vividly evoked Welsh family but of a nation coming to self-consciousness; it begins in the heyday of Methodist fervour and ends in the carnage and disillusionment of the First World War. Through it all, Jane survives, the centre of her world and the inspiration for her children who will grow up determined to change the conditions of these poor people's lives, to release them forever from their chains.Trade Review'Direct and brilliantly convincing...A comparison with Russian literature is tempting...The frustration and hopelessness...of Chekhov's...characters resemble the peasants and quarrymen of Kate Roberts's narrower world'. (Storm Jameson)
£8.54
Bluemoose Books Ltd East Coast Road
Book SynopsisAs university term gives way to the summer break she is plagued by dark memories and the only person there for her is her cousin - a cousin that no one else can see - together they embark on a journey that changes Jen and her world forever. 'Haunting, shape-shifting and tense, 'East Coast Road' takes the reader on a thrilling quest which challenges our preconceptions. Chilvers is a master storyteller and she guides us through the complexities of devotion, faith, tenderness, grief and desire, all set against the rugged coastal edges of north east England.' - HELEN MORT
£9.49
Daunt Books Indelicacy
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£9.49
Daunt Books Our Lady of the Nile
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£9.49
Comma Press Refugee Tales: Volume IV
Book SynopsisSeventy years after the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UK is guilty of undermining the very principles of asylum, inhumanely detaining those seeking protection and ushering in sweeping changes that threaten to punish refugees at every turn. But the UK’s immigration system is not alone in committing such breaches of human rights. The fourth volume of Refugee Tales explores our present international environment, combining author re-tellings with first-hand accounts of individuals who have been detained across the world. As the coronavirus pandemic defies borders – leaving those who are detained even more vulnerable – this collection shares stories spanning Canada, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, and calls for international insistence on a future without detention. Featuring a prologue by Baroness Shami Chakrabarti. The fourth volume in the Refugee Tales series, proceeds from the sales of which go to two refugee charities.
£9.49
Daunt Books A Helping Hand
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£9.49
Parthian Books A Bad Decade for Good People
Book Synopsis'An ode to grief and sibling love from a great new voice' Kit de Waal, author of My Name Is Leon 'A beautifully layered story… Poignant, astute and hopeful' Sharon Duggal, author of Should We Fall Behind 'Highly compelling… a fascinating exploration of political hope, friendship, difficulty, infatuation, and unrequited desire' Naomi Booth, author of Exit Management ‘This captivating novel is a reminder that love, coupled with courage, just might conquer all.’ Heidi James, author of The Sound Mirror 'Deeply, profoundly human… leaves the reader heartsore in exactly the right ways' Will Burns, author of The Paper Lantern ‘An ambitious state-of-the-nation debut’ Helen Cullen, author of The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually ‘A beautifully observed portrayal of the spirit of Brighton’ Allie Rogers, author of Little Gold 'Unforgettable and stirring… An important debut' Alice Ash, author of Paradise Block 'Really compelling... It’s at once psychologically thrilling and fast-paced with a meditative heart' Anna Vaught, author of Saving Lucia 'It will resonate with a large, bruised section of the population still fighting for a better future' Glen James Brown, author of Ironopolis A fiercely hopeful novel about family, sexuality, grief and how we as individuals can rediscover our political agency in the face of continued uncertainty. Brighton, 2016. Laurie wears the scar given to her by a policeman’s baton as a mark of pride among her circle of bright young activists. Her conscionable but sensitive brother George should be a part of that circle, until the appearance of enigmatic Spanish migrant Antonio threatens to divert him from his sister’s world of marches and moral accountability. As the clouds gather over Brighton and the EU referendum accelerates both Laurie’s political zeal and Antonio’s ambiguous desires, George is faced with the fact that their city of parties and protests is suddenly a place where the possibility of saving the world – as well as the people around him – is in jeopardy of being lost forever. At once a letter of support to everyone disillusioned by British politics, and a deeply perceptive snapshot of modern relationships, A Bad Decade for Good People is a captivating state-of-the-nation tale that begs the question: when it feels like the world is falling apart, how do you keep those you love from doing the same?
£10.44
Honford Star Astral Season, Beastly Season
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£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Farewell Summer
Book SynopsisA poignant and brilliant sequel to Dandelion Wine from the author of Fahrenheit 451In Green Town Illinois, Douglas Spaulding is in the midst of a small civil war with the old pitted against the young in this, the second book in Bradbury's semi-fictionalised account of his childhood. As the school board's figure of authority Mr Calvin C. Quartermain attempts to outwit the boys at every turn, their antics increase and become ever more daring and mischevious. Once the shadow of winter draws across Green Town, the boys quickly realise that their enemy is not so much the senior members of their own community, but rather time itself which is ever ebbing away, just beyond the reach of their most daring trick yet: a bold attempt to sabotage the town's clock.Trade Review'It is impossible not to admire the vigour of his prose, similes and metaphors constantly cascading from his imagination.” Spectator "Almost no one can imagine a time or place without the fiction of Ray Bradbury…" The Washington Post 'Bradbury has a remarkable range of intensity and vision' Sunday Times 'The sheer velocity of his words is an apocalyptic torrent which sweeps the reader on' Independent ‘No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be a American Dylan Thomas – with dsicipline’ Sunday Telegraph
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Animal Dreams
Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed Barbara Kingsolver, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and twice winner of the Women''s Prize for FictionAt the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, ''If you want sweet dreams, you''ve got to live a sweet life''. Filled with lyrical writing, Native American legends, a tender love story, and Codi''s quest for identity, Animal Dreams is literary fiction at its very best.''A rich, compassionate book'' Alice Hoffman''Rich, complex, witty... This one will be with us for a long time'' Washington Post''An emotional masterpiece'' New York Daily News''A novel that feels closer to the truth about modern lives than anything I''ve read in a long time'' CosmopolitanTrade ReviewA rich, compassionate book * Alice Hoffman *Barbara Kingsolver demonstrates a special gift for the vivid evocation of landscape and of her characters' state of mind * New York Times Book Review *Rich, complex, witty...This is a sweet book, full of bitter pain; a beautiful weaving of the light and the dark. This one will be with us for a long time * Washington Post *An astonishing book that ought to put Barbara Kingsolver in the first ranks of fiction writers * Cosmopolitan *Kingsolver is a writer of rare ambition and unequivocal talent...Animal Dreams is a complex, passionate, bravely challenging book * Chicago Tribune *A rich, compassionate book * Alice Hoffman *If you enjoy prose, you'll treasure ANIMAL DREAMS. A beautiful, memorable novel full of scenes and images that linger in the mind * Tony Hillerman *ANIMAL DREAMS is one of those rare novels I could not put down and left me wondering whether to go back to the beginning or simply anticipate the next product from this woman's pen * LOS ANGELES TIMES *
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Red Sky Mourning
Book Synopsis***NOW AN AMAZON PRIME TV SERIES STARRING CHRIS PRATT*** 'Jack Carr is the real deal' ANDY MCNAB 'Seriously good' LEE CHILD You think you know James Reece. Think again. A storm is on the horizon. America’s days are numbered. A Chinese submarine has gone rogue and is navigating towards the continental United States, putting its nuclear missiles within striking distance of the West Coast. A rising Silicon Valley tech mogul with unknown allegiances is at the forefront of a revolution in quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence. A politician controlled by a foreign power is a breath away from the Oval Office. Three seemingly disconnected events are on a collision course to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has ever seen. The country’s only hope is a quantum computer that
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Bright Lights Big City
Book SynopsisA brilliant and moving work unique, refreshing, imaginatively powerful' New York TimesYou are at a nightclub talking to a girl with a shaved head. The club is either Heartbreak or the Lizard Lounge. All might become clear if you could just slip into the bathroom and do a little more Bolivian Marching Powder. Then again, it might not... So begins our nameless hero''s trawl through the brightly lit streets of Manhattan, sampling all this wonderland has to offer yet suspecting that tomorrow''s hangover may be caused by more than simple excess. Bright Lights, Big City is an acclaimed classic which marked Jay McInerney as one of the major writers of our time.Trade Review‘Probably the best book ever written about being young, about doing drugs and about music' * Tony Parsons, Daily Express *‘McInerney earns his place in literary history with Bright Lights, Big City ... A landmark evocation of the wasteful decade it lampoons' * Guardian *Bright Lights, Big City defined, and even determined, the mood of this whole town * Vanity Fair *
£10.44
Oneworld Publications Vacuum in the Dark: FROM THE AUTHOR OF BIG SWISS
Book Synopsis FROM THE AUTHOR OF BIG SWISS From the Whiting Award-winning author of Pretend I’m Dead comes a new hilarious, edgy, and brilliant one-of-a kind novel, for fans of Sally Rooney and Joshua Ferris Twenty-six-year-old cleaner Mona has just had a bad break up with a boyfriend named Mr Disgusting (don't ask...) But her plans for a fresh start go awry when she meets a new man, this one called Dark. He's probably not ideal boyfriend material: a little bit arrogant and a little bit conceited. Oh, and a little bit married. Wacky, outspoken and one-of-a-kind, Mona is on a mission to escape her past. But she's about to discover that it's easier said than done... Hilarious and shocking, exuberant and compassionate, Vacuum in the Dark is the perfect antidote to the times we live in.Trade Review'This novel is a joy: truly laugh-out-loud funny, while staying grounded and dignified.' * New York Times *'By turns nutty and forlorn... Brash, deadpan, and achingly troubled, Mona emerges as that problematic friend you’re nonetheless always thrilled to see.' * O, the Oprah Magazine *'Beagin's attention to interiors and dialogue is impressive and she manages to capture the intimate portraits of her characters with deft skill... For fans of Jade Sharma and Ottessa Moshfegh.' * Irish Times *‘We all have a companion voice in our heads. Never more so when life is unpleasant but we can't really change anything. How lucky we'd be if that voice was Jen Beagin's. Honest (sometimes brutal), compassionate and always able to pick out what's funny in the darkest spot. Vacuum in the Dark had me grinning in recognition and laughing even as I winced.’ * Sindhu Vee, Comedian and Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize judge *'Revels in both order and transgression... Stands alone beautifully... Mona's unforgettably wry voice remains throughout.' * Vulture *'Energetic... These adventures open up into larger questions of Mona's own stalled artistic ambitions and a reckoning with her estranged mother – issues refracted with black humor and a sense of timing that rarely slackens... The escapades are underpinned by a strong voice that seems to have seen everyone's worst, and to have nothing left to conceal.' * The New Yorker *‘Wildly exuberant...a comic novel that's a joy to read but never frivolous or superficial. Beagin is unafraid to take risks, and they all pay off here — Vacuum in the Dark is an excellent book by a writer with a singular voice.’ * NPR *‘Beagin stands out among fiction’s fresh crop of promising voices: Her prose is dry, cutting, and genuinely funny; she loves writing about strange people, an affection which translates in characterizations that stay sharp and peculiar without ever turning cruel.’ * Entertainment Weekly *'Inventing situations and conversations that are off-the-charts in both weirdness and relatability, Beagin fashions an enchantingly intriguing main character in unfiltered, warmhearted Mona. This story of a woman embracing life's what-ifs and her own darkness is a great read.' * Booklist (starred review) *'Tremendously engaging... Funny and poignant... Beagin secures her position as a new writer to watch.' * Kirkus (starred review) *'Piquantly amusing... Weird, darkly funny...sharply drawn, sexually charged, wry with Mona's deadpan wit.' * Minneapolis Star Tribune *'An unforgettable story from one of the freshest literary voices today.' * Living North, Six of the Best Fiction Releases for 2019 *'Beagin pulls no punches – this novel is viciously smart and morbidly funny.' * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *'Beagin introduces readers to several recurring characters whose quirkiness infuses the book with its humour and drawing power.' * Albuquerque Journal *
£8.54
Granta Books Ours
Book SynopsisAn epic, spellbinding novel of rebellion, redemption,power and humanity, and of a Black community finding freedom to live an ordinary life of love and pain in America''s darkest days. A beautifully-written and ambitious epic about the complexity of freedom. Williams crafts an expansive, original world filled with characters who linger long after the final page Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half. In the mid-1800s, Saint, an enigmatic and powerful conjure woman, always flanked by a silent companion, travels the South annihilating plantations and liberating the enslaved by means of purposeful violence and powerful magic. She founds a town for those she has freed - and for them alone. They name the town Ours. Surrounded by an impenetrable magical border raised by Saint''s powers, Ours is invisible to the outer world and sits blissfully away from prying eyes and violent hands. Saint''s mission is to kill slavery - to scourge its damage from the minds of her charges and t
£17.09
Bonnier Books Ltd The Foundling: The gripping Sunday Times
Book SynopsisThe captivating Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Familiars.Don't miss Stacey Halls' incredible new novel THE HOUSEHOLD - available to pre-order now!Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . .London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, Bess is astonished to be told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why.Less than a mile from Bess's lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds . . .'The new Hilary Mantel' COSMOPOLITAN'Stacey Halls is a writer of great originality, great imagination and great sense of place. Atmospheric, intelligent, accessible, every novel is worth reading, then reading again and again' KATE MOSSEAnother gripping, immersive, intelligent work of historical fiction from the bestselling author of The Familiars' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of THE MERCIESA moving, atmospheric chiller' INDEPENDENT'A breathtaking achievement' SUNDAY EXPRESS'Enjoyable and atmospheric' THE TIMES'Historical drama at its very best' MY WEEKLY **THE HOUSEHOLD, the brand new novel from Stacey Halls, is available to pre-order now***Sunday Times bestseller February and September 2020**Winner of Women's Prize for Fiction x Good Housekeeping Futures award - Good Housekeeping 14 Oct 2022*Trade ReviewIf you loved The Familiars, then you won't be disappointed by The Foundling. A gripping and moving read * Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido *Pacy, highly atmospheric and tantalisingly gripping from the very first page. The strands of tense and devastating maternal conflict are acutely observed and beautifully sustained throughout the book. Stacey really has created warm and memorable characters, drawn with great sympathy and understanding, who deliver a taut and riveting read. With rich storytelling and a compelling narrative, The Foundling is subtle, satisfying and intensely moving; a fabulous example of great historical fiction * Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh *The Foundling dragged me along in its narrative wake. Another gripping, immersive, intelligent work of historical fiction from the bestselling author of The Familiars * Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies *It was a privilege to read The Foundling. I really couldn't stop turning the pages as Stacey's beautiful writing drew a compelling tale of love and hope from the vivid streets of Georgian London * Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry & Wild Rose *A masterpiece of storytelling - a perfect, captivating mystery that expands to ask big questions about love and motherhood, all while maintaining the breathless pace of a thriller, and the stunningly vivid and well-researched detail of the very best historical fiction. I can't recommend it highly enough * Katie Lowe, author of The Furies *I was completely swept up in this novel. It's crammed with vivid and engaging characters, there's a beautiful sense of place, revealing hidden aspects of Georgian life. And the central mystery of a missing child gradually plays out as a tenderly observed study of grief and loss, while offering the possibility that love will indeed find a way * Amanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls *Beautiful and captivating * Candis *If you enjoy Mindhunter levels of suspense, you'll love it * Cosmopolitan.co.uk *The Foundling is a ripping yarn with real heart and depth * Sun Business Post *Stacey Halls is back with another mesmerising story * Yahoo Lifestyle *
£9.49
Canongate Books A Spell of Good Things: Longlisted for the Booker
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023 A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption.Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. His father has lost his job, so Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor and begging, dreaming of a big future.Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of family friends.When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola and Eniola's lives become unexpectedly intertwined. In this breathtaking novel, Ayobami Adebayo shines her light on Nigeria, the gaping divides in its society, and the shared humanity that lives in between.Trade ReviewAdebayo is carving a real name for herself as a chronicler of moving Nigeria-set stories with sociopolitical subtexts and a Dickensian flavour . . . Profound * * Observer * *A moving story, skilfully told, about Eniola, a boy whose future has been snatched away from him, and Wuraola, a talented, overworked junior doctor, whose intertwined narratives combine to produce an insightful portrait of an unequal and deeply divided society moving towards a terrible crisis. A Spell of Good Things is both gripping and memorable -- PAT BARKERA powerful, staggering read * * Booker Prize 2023 * *An outstanding read -- ANITA RANI * * BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour * *Heart-rending . . . a breeze to read, despite the weightiness of its subject matter . . . Adebayo handles her characters with empathy and nuance, showing their vulnerabilities, yearnings, shame and delusions * * Financial Times * *Adebayo humanizes those sucked into the vortex of [. . . ] power with striking compassion - the characters' misjudgments and delusions are deeply and empathetically imagined, wholly alive * * New York Times * *Couldn't be more timely. It's as much about politics as it is a story of toxic relationships, coming of age, and finding the courage to do the right thing -- AFUA HIRSCHA portrait of domestic strife and political tensions in Nigeria -- Michael Donkor * * Guardian * *Spellbinding . . . Beautiful writing and a story that we found truly unforgettable * * Glamour UK * *A triumph . . . a shrewdly-observed, intricate story about power, politics, and poverty, and one which renders Nigeria in high-definition colour * * i * *
£9.49
Granta Books A Time for Everything
Book SynopsisWhat if God exists? What if angels are real? What if we treated religious tracts, including the Bible, as empirical evidence of the supernatural world? Karl Ove Knausgaard's major novel, A Time For Everything, is about God and his angels. It posits that angels are real, and that God exists. It posits, further, that heavenly beings evolve, and that even God may be subject to change. Written with Knausgaard's characteristic style - level, patient, and intensely readable - it is a dazzling and innovative examination of the relationships between human, angels and God. Knausgaard's novel A Time For Everything was originally published by Portobello as A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven. The book is now restored to its original structure in a new edition which is faithful to the original text
£9.99
Granta Books When I Lived In Modern Times
Book SynopsisIt is April 1946. Evelyn Sert, twenty years old, a hairdresser from Soho, sails for Palestine, where Jewish refugees and idealists are gathering from across Europe to start a new life in a brand-new country. In the glittering, cosmopolitan, Bauhaus city of Tel Aviv, anything seems possible - the new self, new Jew, new woman are all feasible. Evelyn, adept at disguises, reinvents herself as the bleached-blonde Priscilla Jones. Immersed in a world of passionate idealism, she finds love, and with Johnny, her lover, finds herself at the heart of a very dangerous game.
£8.99
Fitzcarraldo Editions Scenes from a Childhood — WINNER OF THE 2023
Book SynopsisScenes from a Childhood is the latest collection of stories by Jon Fosse, one of Norway's most celebrated authors and playwrights, famed for the minimalist and unsettling quality of his writing. In the title work, a loosely autobiographical narrative covers infancy to awkward adolescence, unearthing the moments of childhood that linger longest in the imagination. In 'And Then My Dog Will Come Back To Me', a haunting and dream-like novella, a dispute between neighbours escalates to an inexorable climax. Taken from various sources, the texts gathered here together for the first time demonstrate that the short story is one of the recurrent modes of Fosse's imagination, and occasions some of his greatest works.Trade Review‘The Beckett of the twenty-first century.’ — Le Monde‘Jon Fosse is a major European writer.’ — Karl Ove Knausgaard, author of My Struggle‘Jon Fosse is less well-known in America than some other Norwegian novelists, but revered in Norway – winner of every prize, a leading Nobel contender. I think of the four elder statesmen of Norwegian letters as a bit like the Beatles: Per Petterson is the solid, always dependable Ringo; Dag Solstad is John, the experimentalist, the ideas man; Karl Ove Knausgaard is Paul, the cute one; and Fosse is George, the quiet one, mystical, spiritual, probably the best craftsman of them all... His writing is pure poetry.’ — Paris Review, from an essay by the translator‘Fosse has been compared to Ibsen and to Beckett, and it is easy to see his work as Ibsen stripped down to its emotional essentials. But it is much more. For one thing, it has a fierce poetic simplicity.’ — New York Times‘With its heavy silences and splintered dialogue, his work has reminded some of Beckett, others of Pinter.’ — Guardian‘Fosse’s prose ... builds out of an ambiguity and sparseness and moves with a slow poetic intensity.... The collection has all the hallmarks of Fosse’s signature brooding manner where lyrical precision is used to paint unmoored psyches. An accumulation of moments when our essential emotions come into conflict with experience, Scenes from a Childhood is a welcome – if overdue – introduction to a singular literary voice.’ — Tank‘Fosse writes about the complexity and danger of the bleak Norwegian countryside as well as he writes about the passage of time through a life. In choosing to mostly focus on pieces about childhood, Searls has been able to show an impressive side to Fosse, because – in my experience at least – writing engaging prose about childhood trips up many otherwise competent writers.... Fosse understands that a child’s mind is not merely the mind of an ignorant adult, it is a different form of consciousness entirely: more curious, more optimistic, less scared.... There are portraits of great happiness, great pleasure and great joy in Scenes From A Childhood.’ — Berfrois
£10.44
Bedford Square Publishers Under the Tamarind Tree: A beautiful novel of
Book SynopsisA story of love tested to its limits by moral dilemmas, and the beauty and fragility of childhood friendships.1964 — Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena will lose her home, her parents’ safe haven since fleeing India and the terrors of Partition, if her medical career doesn’t take off soon. But success may come with a price. Meanwhile, the interwoven lives of her childhood best friends — Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair — seem to be unraveling with each passing day. The once small and inconsequential differences between their families’ social standing now threaten to divide them. Then one fateful night someone ends up dead and the life they took for granted shatters.Rozeena receives a call from a voice she never thought she’d hear again. What begins as an request to look after a friend’s teenaged granddaughter grows into an unconventional friendship — one that unearths buried secrets and just might ruin everything Rozeena has worked so hard to protect.Captivating and atmospheric, Under the Tamarind Tree shows us the high-stakes ripple effects of generational trauma, and the lengths people will go to safeguard the ones they love.Trade Review'Absorbing and atmospheric, this heart-rending debut explores deep moral dilemmas and how secrets from the past have a habit of wreaking havoc on the present.' Love Reading'Great historical fiction with a mystery at its heart'. The Daily Mail
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Pilots Wife
Book SynopsisAn Oprah''s Book Club selection, this gripping and powerfully wrought novel from the bestselling author of The Weight of Water is a stunning meditation on grief, betrayal and ''the ultimate unknowability of those closest to us'' (Daily Telegraph) Who can guess what a woman will do when the unthinkable becomes her reality? Being married to a pilot has taught Kathryn Lyons to be ready for emergencies, but nothing has prepared her for the late-night knock on her door and the news of her husband''s fatal crash. As Kathryn struggles through her grief, she is forced to confront disturbing rumours about the man she loved and the life that she took for granted. Torn between her impulse to protect her husband''s memory and her desire to know the truth, Kathryn sets off to find out if she ever really knew the man who was her husband. In her determination to test the truth of her marriage, she faces shocking revelations about the secrets a man can keep and
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Ordinary Human Failings: The compulsive new novel
Book Synopsis***SHORTLISTED FOR FICTION - 2023 NERO BOOK AWARDS***After the death of a young girl, the finger of suspicion is pointing at one reclusive family…‘Gripping… A triumph’ SUNDAY TIMES‘Heartbreaking’ VOGUEIt’s 1990 in London and, after the death of a young girl on an estate, the finger of suspicion is pointing at one reclusive Irish family: the Greens.At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, other-worldly, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances until life – and love – got in her way. Now, as the scandal unfolds and the tabloids hunt their monster, she must confront the secrets and silences that have trapped her family for so many generations.***A DAILY TELEGRAPH, TIMES, NEW STATESMAN AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023***‘Daring, brilliant… Bold and beautiful’ DAILY TELEGRAPH‘Ambitious and original’ DAVID NICHOLLS‘A compulsive read’ THE TIMESTrade ReviewMegan Nolan's debut novel saw her grouped with other Irish millennial women such as Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan. But with her ambitious and insightful second novel, Ordinary Human Failings, Nolan makes it clear she is not a manifestation of a type, but rather a writer to be read on her own terms * Financial Times *One masterful novel... Nolan has excelled herself: Ordinary Human Failings is a raw, pulsing thing... A writer who's still at the start of what promises to be a splendid career. Ordinary Human Failings is a bold and beautiful second novel... daring in all the right ways, but compassionate when it needs to be * Daily Telegraph *There is something wonderfully ordinary about this book... Nolan has set out to make a plain three-legged stool rather than an ornate grandfather clock. The corridors of contemporary literature are stuffed with grandfather clocks with faulty mechanisms. How much more valuable is this modest, well-made thing * Sunday Times *Nolan’s novel is dark in subject, yet retains a tender faith in a person’s, or a family’s, capacity for change * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *Ambitious and original… I loved its humanity and generosity… I can’t wait to read whatever comes next -- DAVID NICHOLLS, author of One Day and You Are HereTightly written, full of wisdom, insight and sympathy – terrific! -- CLARE CHAMBERS, author of Small PleasuresAs much of a compulsive read as the first novel * The Times *A subtle, accomplished and lyrical study of familial and intergenerational despair, a quiet book about quiet lives... An excellent novel: politically astute, furious and compassionate... A genuine achievement * Guardian *The millennial author everyone should be watching right now * Daily Telegraph *Nolan has crafted a novel full of brutal, illuminating truths * Sunday Times, *Books of the Year* *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing The Three of Us: THE ADDICTIVE READ YOUR NEW YEAR
Book Synopsis‘Funny and barbed, and the twists at the end had me shocked’ MONICA HEISEY, author of Really Good, ActuallyWIFE. HUSBAND. BEST FRIEND. What if your two favourite people hated each other with a passion?A nice house, a carefree life, a doting husband, a best friend who never leaves your side. What more could you ask for? There's just one problem: your husband and best friend love you, but they hate each other.Set over a single day, husband, wife and best friend Temi toe the lines of compromise and betrayal. Told in three parts, three people's lives, and their visions of themselves and one another begin to slowly unravel, until a startling discovery throws everyone's integrity into question.'Dazzling, dextrous and droll, this millennial noir is a taut exploration of culture and the politics of relationships’ BOLU BABALOLA, author of Love in Colour'Sharp, astute... Packs a serious punch' YOMI ADEGOKE, author of The List'Wickedly enjoyable' NAOISE DOLAN, author of Exciting Times'Has that elusive Sally Rooney style of writing' STYLISTTrade ReviewSharp, astute and wickedly funny - Ore Agbaje-Williams' sharp wit and perfectly realised protagonists make for a taut, darkly comic read that packs a serious punch -- Yomi Adegoke, author of THE LISTA funny, terrifically entertaining read * Daily Mail *A treat of a debut. Agbaje-Williams has a gift of gliding between the sharpest driest humour and damning emotional revelations that incisively exposes the vulnerabilities, fallacies and messiness that line the relationships with those we are closest to. Dazzling, dextrous and droll, this millennial noir is a taut exploration of culture and the politics of relationships -- Bolu Babalola, author of LOVE IN COLOURDeftly plotted and wickedly enjoyable... I tore through this, and you will, too. The triad of voices seems to flow spontaneously, but is intricately assembled to result in maximum drama -- Naoise Dolan, author of EXCITING TIMESOre Agbaje-Williams has that elusive Sally Rooney style of writing: it seems simple and easy to do but is incredibly difficult to pull off... Enjoy * Stylist *Unique and completely captivating, The Three of Us absorbed me. When I finished I wanted to go back and read it from the beginning again -- Annie Lord, author of NOTES ON HEARTBREAKAn astute, composed and quietly hilarious observation of identity, marriage and friendship from a unique storyteller -- Diana Evans, author of ORDINARY PEOPLESwitching points of view among the three, this debut is viciously funny, different than anything you’ve read lately, and at the same time, strangely relatable * Oprah Daily *Taut and precise, as honest as it is hilarious, I consumed The Three of Us in a single sitting. Not to be missed -- Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of OPEN WATERRich, dazzling and deeply possessive... At just 192 pages, The Three of Us is as short and sharp as a paring knife * Washington Post *
£13.49
Transworld Starry Starry Night
Book Synopsis''We''ll always be together, won''t we?''Childhood friends and cousins Leo and Alice had imagined their whole lives playing out on their beloved Devon beach. But one night when they are teens, sitting on the sand beneath the stars, Alice tells Leo a secret that must never be shared with anybody else . . . then packs her bag and flees.Leo is left to build his own life - without Alice. He surrounds himself with other family and friends and on the whole is content and fulfilled. But he is left with a sense of what - or who - is missing. So decades later, when he receives a note from Alice asking if she can come home, he doesn''t hesitate to agree.But as the stars align and their reunion draws near, Leo is left to consider their separation and what so many years apart means for a relationship solidified in youth and a secret which could affect the whole family.Praise for Marcia Willett:''A warm and engaging read.'' T
£15.29
Transworld When We Were Silent
Book SynopsisDiscover the dark boarding school psychological thriller, an exploration of power, corruption and retribution, perfect for fans of Girl A, My Dark Vanessa and Anatomy of a Scandal.''Excruciating suspense'' Stephen KingOne of the most compelling books I''ve ever readcompulsive, tender and chilling' Jessica Bull, author of Miss Austen InvestigatesA powerful, unforgettable read' Andrea Mara, bestselling author of No One Saw A Thing_I'm not here for prestige. I'm here for revenge.Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin's most exclusive private school.Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential.But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret and Lou is here to expose it.When she befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are
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Europa Editions (UK) Ltd Shooting Down Heaven
Book Synopsis“Supremely well-crafted” - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)“A lively story of how children are affected by their parents, emphasised by a third narrative strand where Larry and a daughter of Escobar’s strike up a friendship on a plane trip, neither aware of their darker connection." - The Irish TimesLarry returns to Colombia twelve years after the disappearance of his father, an old associate of Pablo Escobar. His remains have finally been unearthed in a mass grave, and Larry is returning to give them a proper burial . . . but not before a reunion with his childhood friend Pedro. Pedro takes him straight from the airport to the Alborada celebration, during which fireworks explode all over Medellín, and the entire city loses its inhibitions.His homecoming quickly becomes a rude awakening. The years of luxury living in bodyguard-surrounded mansions are now firmly in the past, as Larry watches his family—including his ex-beauty queen mother and troubled brother—fall deeper into depression, drug addiction, and the traps of the family business.Faced by an uncertain reality, Larry is forced to confront his family’s turbulent history and reclaim himself from the dark remnants of a city trying to rediscover itself. Unflinching and remarkably controlled, Jorge Franco creates a stunning portrait of a generation wounded by their parents’ mistakes.What the readers are saying:"This is an amazingly good book for how it captures the various emotions Larry and the other characters go through and for the Cold emptiness it finds at the heart of it all.""It makes for a fascinating moral quandary and Franco handles the subject matter well.""Highly recommended for anyone interested in realistic Latin American fiction."
£12.59
Profile Books Ltd The Five Wounds
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2021 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE An Amazon Best Book of April 2021 Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021 by Oprah Magazine, The Week, The Millions, and Electric Lit. July 2021 Book of the Month for Roxane Gay's Book Club Longlisted for the PEN/ Hemingway Award It's Holy Week in the town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla is to play Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep. Vivid, darkly funny, and beautifully rendered, The Five Wounds spans the baby's first year as five generations of the Padilla family converge: Amadeo's mother, Yolanda, reeling from a recent discovery; Angel's mother, whom Angel isn't speaking to; and Tío Tíve, keeper of the family's history. In the absorbing, realist tradition of Elizabeth Strout and Jonathan Franzen, Kirstin Valdez Quade brings to life the struggles of her characters to parent children they may not be equipped to save.Trade ReviewAn unputdownable novel, The Five Wounds takes my breath away with its intimate, humorous and heart-aching portrayal of a New Mexican family. Kirstin Valdez Quade can make a reader laugh and break a reader's heart in the same breath, and she leaves us, by the end of the novel, in awe of the dazzling power of her storytelling. -- Yiyun Li, author of Must I GoThe acclaimed author of Nights at the Fiestas returns with a gorgeously written, Franzen-caliber tale of one Latinx family's via dolorosa. * Oprah Magazine's Best Books of 2021 *In this cruel and divisive era, Kirstin Valdez Quade has brought healing and regeneration with The Five Wounds. It is bracing and wise, and it breaks us in the best ways. Then builds back up again. It should find many grateful readers. -- Luis Alberto Urrea, author of House of Broken AngelsThe characters in this engrossing novel are created in luminous and memorable detail. Just as the pacing is perfect, so too are the tact and care with which each scene is made. Kirstin Valdez Quade, by concentrating on the truth of small moments, has brought a whole world into focus. -- Colm Tóibín, author of House of NamesKirstin Valdez Quade writes with exquisite precision about the fragility and resilience of the Amadeo family. Valdez Quade is attentive to both the trembling shadows and epic crescendos of her characters' shared and private lives. I loved The Five Wounds, which reminded me that growing pains are not confined to adolescence, and that people can be newborn at any age. Even its most excruciating moments are charged with a luminous, pitiless compassion. -- Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!The Five Wounds is brilliant! The story is bountiful and so incredibly well crafted-a beautiful braid of the life-cycle within a family. It captures both the strength and fragility of relationships and existence and the resilience and great power of love and belief. It is a novel about faith in the largest sense of the word. Each page is packed with detail and the most beautiful language-and images and characters that will remain part of our lives. -- A. M. Homes, author of May We Be ForgivenI don't remember ever reading a novel as vibrant and warm as The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade. Just a few pages in, I felt like I intimately knew the characters, and cared about them as if they family members. It's both heartbreaking and a joy to read! -- Lara Vapnyar, author of Divide Me by ZeroWith deep empathy, fierce intelligence, and subtle wit, Kirstin Valdez Quade has crafted an indelible portrait of a family living in precarity. The characters in The Five Wounds are so vivid, their struggles, failures, and grasping efforts towards love and redemption so finely wrought, and each page full of such immaculate prose, that I read this novel with ever-increasing breathless urgency. -- Phil Klay, author of Redeployment
£15.29
Cranthorpe Millner Publishers Counting in Danish
Book SynopsisAfter her sister's tragic death, Jess is forced to confront the world alone for the first time. As she fights to overcome her fears, and family secrets emerge that she could never have foreseen, Jess discovers that Denmark may hold the key to more than just her past...
£10.44
Canelo The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl
Book SynopsisMurder and scandal in the heat of 1950s Las Vegas: can Lily Jones stop a murder that happened before she was born?Lily Jones can't forget her incredible time-slip adventure back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the friends she made there - especially a handsome barman by the name of Louis, with whom she felt such a strong connection.Back in 2020, life isn't going so well for her and Lily is idly googling when she is horrified to discover that Evelyn, Louis' ex-girlfriend, is brutally murdered in 1953.She is compelled to go back to the 1950s and try to save Evelyn's life, but this time it isn't just the gilded stars of Tinseltown she will have to contend with, but The Mob as she finds herself in the seedy glamour of Vegas and learns that Evelyn's future depends upon her first solving the murder of a Vegas showgirl.Thankfully she has Louis and his sister, Tilda, to help her, but her own life is in danger as she tries to find the killer an
£9.49
Canelo Blood Roses
Book Synopsis''Jackson''s hero is the natural heir to Bernie Gunther'' Andrew Taylor, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Ashes of London''One of the UK's finest crime writers' Ben Kane, Sunday Times bestselling author of Napoleon's Spy''A remarkable crime debut'' Maxim Jakubowksi, Crime TimeAs the Nazis roll into Warsaw, a serial killer is unleashedSeptember 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalised by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.When the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found terribly mutilated, Jan links the murder to ot
£15.29
DAS EDITIONS Brothers
Book SynopsisA novel about family and masculinity, and the question of whether we shape our own destiny - or whether our background and character inevitably shape us.
£18.04
