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
Taproot Press The Other Side of Stone
Book SynopsisThe paperback edition of The Other Side of Stone, a novella which centres around a Perthshire woollen mill, revisiting it over three centuries through characters as diverse as a 19th century stonemason and modern-day architect. The primary timeline follows Catharine, a cotton spinner from Paisley and fierce suffragette, who has followed her husband home to the village where he's taken on a job at the local mill. Both militant members of the Labour Movement, it is through her developing connection to the mill that the intricate interweaving of the other stories is revealed. While fictional, the novella draws on many real histories of local mills, and offers a fascinating insight into the long-term impact of industrialisation upon rural Scotland, as well as the struggle for women's rights.Trade Review'Taking as its focal point an imposing 19th century mill building in Perthshire, Saltire-shortlisted author Linda Cracknell’s The Other Side of Stone is a remarkable novella, interweaving threads of disparate lives over two centuries. Just as the tweeds that are produced at the mill – first by rural workers and water power, later by deafening machinery – have their own unique weft and warp, so the loosely connected tales come together to create a satisfying whole, encompassing personal relationships, political upheavals and the shadow of war.' The Scotsman; 'Cracknell excels in her description of place.' The Herald; 'Linda Cracknell’s ‘The Other Side of Stone’ spans three centuries in an intimate study of those connected to a Perthshire woollen mill. The story is a deft weaving-together of folklore, feminism and industry.' Caught by the River
£9.49
Amazon Publishing The Misremembered Man
Book SynopsisThe Misremembered Man is a beautifully rendered portrait of life in rural Ireland which charms and delights with its authentic characters and gentle humor. This vivid portrayal of the universal search for love brings with it a darker tale, heartbreaking in its poignancy.
£8.54
Verso Books I Fear My Pain Interests You: A Novel
Book SynopsisMargot is the child of renowned musicians and the product of a particularly punky upbringing. Burnt-out from the burden of expectation and the bad end of the worst relationship yet, she leaves New York and heads to Montana. She's seeking to escape both the eyes of the world and the echoing voice of that last bad man. But a chance encounter with a dubious doctor in a graveyard, and the discovery of a dozen old film reels, opens the door to a study of both the peculiarities of her body and the absurdities of her famous family.A literary take on cinema du corps, Stephanie LaCava's new novel is an audaciously sexy and moving exploration of culture and connections, bodies and breakdowns.Trade ReviewA sharp critical vision lurches into focus: of culture as commodity, of suffering as currency, and of the female body as this agon's generalized battleground. -- Tom McCarthy, author of RemainderElegant ... [I Fear My Pain Interests You] is seeded with references to jazz music and to body-horror French arthouse film, and these frame LaCava's attempt to do something transformative with violence and suffering. -- Daisy Hildyard * Guardian *A visceral, exorcism-like exploration of a body blunted to pain and a mind moulded by generational trauma, lust, and dysfunction ... sensual, slippery and stylish. -- Anna Cafolla * The Face *I Fear My Pain Interests You is meticulously constructed, with each part supporting and supported by the others. Controlled self-awareness like this in novels makes me pay close attention, enriching my experience. -- Tao Lin * The New York Times *LaCava's book animates its story with something of Patricia Highsmith's sociopathology and Clarice Lispector's macabre glamor. -- JC Holburn * XRAY *Stephanie LaCava's exploration of the cracks and fault lines in human identity is so sharp it nearly bleeds. -- Christopher BollenA smart, sharply observed critique of literary tropes and the art world * Frieze *A slippery, stylish book * Vogue *Stephanie LaCava's new novel is a destabilizing read-like coming across a sudden anagram in a sentence. The book's strikingly true-to-life characters are similarly jarring: constantly misunderstood and misunderstanding and fiercely protective of fortresses of self-delusion (though LaCava resists moralization at every turn). * Bookforum *The cool girl book of the year -- Jordan Richman * 032c *The hard, clipped, and cool voice that speaks from within Stephanie LaCava's I Fear My Pain Interests You will live in my head for a long time. Here is a novel that seems to shrug off the pain of being young and adrift in the world, while secretly, it draws you into the dark recesses of loneliness and disillusionment. I fear her book will destroy you. -- Merve EmreI can't wait to be lured into another of LaCava's stylized settings, this time an exploration of 1960s cinema and bodily absurdities. * Vulture *I haven't read a book in a while that just pulled me in, and you're so immersed in the characters and in the world. It's quite a slice of life. -- Kaia Gerber * Vanity Fair *The daughter of punk rockstars, with a jeweled cigarette case full of pills and a bloody face, flees to Montana for a quieter life - only to uncover her congenital inability to feel pain, which puts her at risk of one man's desire and ambition, in this absurdist novel about fame and bodies. * Nylon, September 2022's Must Read Book Releases *It's the liquid flush of the voice undulating beneath the veneer of the book's punky mask that drew me in. -- Adele Bertei * The Brooklyn Rail *Whether it's [Margot's] pain or her detachment that fascinates us, I Fear My Pain Interests You examines issues of power, how it is or is not inherited, what the consequences of being defined by others are, and the ways pain shapes us. -- Ilana Masad * BOMB *Understated and elegant, LaCava's writing inspires both dread and longing; her characters, nearly all of them direct to the point of cruelty, also seem unable to say anything that would lead to real emotional connection. The horrors of this book build so subtly that their apex seems both unfathomable and inevitable, like a deep fear that finally comes to pass. -- Corinne Segal * Lit Hub, 22 Novels You Need to Read this Fall *Nonlinear in format and stark in its use of language, this brief but impactful novel is going to stay with me for a while. I Fear My Pain Interests You is a stark and singularly unforgettable read. -- David Vogel * Buzzfeed *LaCava approaches her second novel, I Fear My Pain Interests You, as the next logical step beyond our obsession with a sad-girl world. The kind of dissociative feminism she skewers is a well-documented media phenomenon. Rather than further suggesting distance and aloofness like the cool-girl trope, LaCava inverts this concept to lift Margot away from the trappings of commodification. -- Caitlin Quinlan * The Cut *[I Fear My Pain Interests You] considers what it means to be a woman in the world, as well as pain, sex, fear, corporeal or otherwise, and maybe even love as well. -- Grace Linden * The Chicago Review of Books *Like a lyric from a cherished song or a fragment from a beloved poem, I Fear My Pain Interests You hints at all the most compelling themes - hurting, intrigue, dominance, submission, lust, and dysfunction. -- Emily Dinsdale * AnOther *Stunning ... I Fear My Pain Interests You is slim but satisfying, with LaCava as our talented chef who won't let us forget whose bones we're gnawing on. -- Jessa Crispin * The Times *Sinister, revolting - and uncannily elegant. -- Cal Revely-Calder * Telegraph *Intriguing. -- David Terrien * ArtReview *A quality of distance - from sensation and experience, from self and others - manifests most effectively when characters are talking; no one writes dialogue quite like LaCava. -- Gideon Jacobs * Bookforum *[I Fear My Pain Interests You] sets up inheritances - of privilege, or trauma - as stages for exploring the masochistic relationships between self-awareness and pain. -- Jessica Loudis * Times Literary Supplement *Depressed, isolated, and deprived of her own creative outlet, Margot's plight is tragic, but not without its own perverse sense of comedy: no pain, no fame. * Hazlitt *A darkly humorous look at wealth, nepotism and the emotional turmoil of the protagonist, Margot, who is blessed with both. A writer to watch. -- Hannah Keegan * Stylist *A cool, cutthroat razor of a novel. -- Philippa Snow * The New Republic *It destroyed me, in a good way. -- Brock ColyarAlluring and melancholy. * GQ *
£9.49
Everyman A Christmas Carol
Book SynopsisThis book presents the story of Scrooge, a miser who becomes a different man when he is presented with visions of past, present and future by Marley's ghost.
£14.24
West Virginia University Press Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian
Book SynopsisMountains Piled upon Mountains features nearly fifty writers from across Appalachia sharing their place-based fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry. Moving beyond the tradition of transcendental nature writing, much of the work collected here engages current issues facing the region and the planet (such as hydraulic fracturing, water contamination, mountaintop removal, and deforestation), and provides readers with insights on the human-nature relationship in an era of rapid environmental change.This book includes a mix of new and recent creative work by established and emerging authors. The contributors write about experiences from northern Georgia to upstate New York, invite parallels between a watershed in West Virginia and one in North Carolina, and often emphasize connections between Appalachia and more distant locations. In the pages of Mountains Piled upon Mountains are celebration, mourning, confusion, loneliness, admiration, and other emotions and experiences rooted in place but transcending Appalachia's boundaries.
£20.96
Everyman Atonement
Book SynopsisOn the hottest day of the summer of 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood friend who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge. By the end of that day, the lives of all three will have been changed for ever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start, and will have become victims of the younger girl's imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone. "From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing she had always known, and everyone knew; that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended.”Trade ReviewHe is this country’s unrivalled literary giant … a fascinatingly strange, unique and gripping novel * Indepentent On Sunday *A brilliant and majestic fictional panorama. -- John Updike * The New Yorker *
£12.34
Everyman London Fields
Book SynopsisEveryone is always out there searching for someone and something, usually for a lover, usually for love. And this is a love story. But the murderee - Nicola Six - is searching for something and someone else: her murderer. She knows the time, she knows the place, she knows the motive, she knows the means. She just doesn't know the man. London Fields is a brilliant, funny and multi-layered novel. It is a book in which the narrator, Samson Young, enters the Black Cross, a thoroughly undesirable public house, and finds the main players of his drama assembled, just waiting to begin. It's a gift of a story from real life...all Samson has to do is write it as it happens.Trade ReviewLondon Fields, its pastoral title savagely inappropriate to its inner-city setting, vibrates, like all Amis's work, with the force fields of sinister, destructive energies. At the core of its surreal fable are four figures locked in lethal alignment -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *I love reading novels about the city but this is my favourite. It manages to incorporate the seedy and the middle class Notting Hill side of the capital, all in one glorious unputdownable novel -- Phil Daniels * Daily Express *An electrifying writer who likes to shock his fans and share his sharply contemporary concerns... Amis is a maddening master you need to read - the best of his generation * Mail on Sunday *
£12.34
Acre Books You Shall See the Beautiful Things – A Novel & A
Book SynopsisEnvisioned as a “nocturne,” Steve Amick’s playful, multilayered novel expansively retells Eugene Field’s famed verse “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.” In the fishing village of Scheveningen in 1889, three men build and secretly launch an unorthodox fishing vessel, departing from the long tradition of netting herring using massive boats and large crews. Collaborating in this venture are Wyn van Winkel, a cavalier joker and opium addict currently AWOL from the Aceh War in Sumatra; Ned Nodder, a seasoned fisherman trying to support his family while plagued by narcolepsy and prophetic dreams; and Luuk Blenkin, a scattered young troubadour failing at love and searching for his place in the world. As formally innovative as the “picarooner” this mismatched trio construct, the narrative lifts off into the fantastical, flitting between reality and irreality. Sparked by lines of the “Dutch lullaby,” the inexplicable adventure unfolds—and along the way, we learn of Wyn’s romantic recklessness, his broken relationship with his father, and the tragedies of war that scarred and changed him. We witness Ned’s unconventional path toward matrimony, as well as the painful loss that made his marriage a true union. We follow Luuk’s fumblings for purpose and fulfillment beyond the disgrace that befell his family and marred both his outlook and his prospects. In the spirit of a nocturne, Steve Amick envelops his characters in the world of night and dreams. Lyrical, historical, surprising, magical, heartwarming, and heartbreaking, You Shall See the Beautiful Things will make readers look at the stars—and herring—in a new light.Trade Review"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod have never been so ingeniously revived as in this rollicking romp of a book! In You Shall See the Beautiful Things, Steve Amick creates a zany world that, ultimately, shows us more about the tenderness of the human heart and the mysteries of this star-filled world." * Ellen Bass, Chancellor Emerita, Academy of American Poets *"Love this this sweet, clever, and gritty retelling of the 'Dutch Lullaby,' the one about the army deserter opium addict, the lovesick balladeer with a voice like 'an ill-fitting oarlock,' and the radish-eating narcoleptic—in a boat. Yet it's no joke: Amick’s language is inspired, as transcendent as the inaugural fishing trip in the small craft these unlikely friends build at the edge of the North Sea. Every page is filled with marvelous revelations about the nature of the world and about being human. Amick’s vivid landscape of the 1880s herring-centered world even includes glimpses of Vincent 'Cent' Van Gogh. Here, despite the weight of colonialism, war, and financial and family struggles, folks with open hearts can still find magic and goodness, can still live lives 'mostly full of awe.' You Shall See the Beautiful Things is a promise delivered." * Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of "Mothers, Tell Your Daughters" *"Amick presents an innovative retelling of nineteenth-century American poet Eugene Field’s 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.' . . . In what is tagged as a novel and a nocturne, Amick introduces characters Winken van Winkel, Ned Nodder, and Luuk Blenkin. In keeping with elements of a nocturne, much of the story takes place in the evening or at night, and as it alternates between fantasy and reality, it evokes a dreamlike atmosphere. . . . Readers find themselves in the center, stitching and weaving together the characters' fantasies and realities. Cleverly, Amick’s story and its themes lead readers to reflect on their own experiences; creatively, it inspires readers to construct their own unique interpretations." * Booklist *"In a tale fit for a dreamy summer night. . . Amick's new novel waltzes across fantasy and history. . . . There's something in this story about male vulnerability—and maybe about the necessity of becoming more comfortable with feeling unmoored. It was so present in all three [characters]. . . . The story is absolutely gorgeous." -- April Baer in an interview with the author * Stateside, Michigan Public Radio *
£12.80
Everyman Summer Moonshine
Book SynopsisSir Buckstone Abbot owns what is possibly the ugliest stately home in England, and he is naturally eager to dispose of it to an American heiress, Princess Dwornitzchek. But the sale is complicated by the Princess's engagement to Adrian Peake, who is being pursued by Sir Buckstone's daughter, Jane, who is loved by Joe Vanringham. In the end, almost everyone gets what they want, even Prudence Whittaker, Sir Buckstone's awfully well-spoken secretary.
£12.34
Everyman Great Expectations
Book SynopsisYoung Pip lives with his sister and her husband the blacksmith, with few prospects for advancement until a mysterious benefaction takes him from the Kent marshes to London. Pip is haunted by figures from his past - the escaped convict Magwitch, the time-withered Miss Havisham and her proud and beautiful ward, Estella - and in time uncovers not just the origins of his great expectations but the mystery of his own heart.
£14.24
New Vessel Press Palace Of Flies
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£11.99
Everyman Hard Times
Book SynopsisThis edition of "Hard Times" includes an introduction by Philip Collins. It tells the tragic story of Louisa, starved of the graces of the imagination so essential to emotional well-being, and trapped in a loveless marriage.
£12.34
New Vessel Press Professor Schiff's Guilt
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£11.99
Everyman Animal Farm
Book SynopsisA biting satire on dictatorship written during the Second World War and published in 1945, ANIMAL FARM is perhaps the most celebrated twentieth-century English satire after the same writer's NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR. One of the very few writers to be compared in power, artistry and moral authority with Jonathan Swift, the purity of Orwell's spare prose and the logic of his dark comedy emphasize the stark message of man's inhumanity to man and beast's to beast
£11.69
Everyman Collected Stories
Book SynopsisLawrence is known mainly as a novelist and poet but he was also the author of many superb short stories and novellas. By bringing together all his shorter fiction, this volume makes it possible to survey his entire writing career. Together with many celebrated stories - including THE PRUSSIAN OFFICIER, THE VIRGIN AND THE GYPSY, ST MAWR and ODOUR OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS - there are many lesser known but still magnificent pieces which show the extraordinary diversity of Lawrence's talent and also reveal an often forgotten talent for comedy.
£19.00
Tortoise Books The Surge
Book SynopsisLarry Chandler knows what his fellow soldiers don’t—that war scars you and haunts you, leaving you with memories you’d prefer not to face. They’re all National Guardsmen serving together in Iraq, but he’s already done a stint in Afghanistan, whereas they’re fresh-faced youngsters on their first tour. The new soldiers are eager for something more interesting than life on a firebase, or boring guard duty at isolated outposts—and they’re about to get their wish. Adam Kovac has written one of the great novels of The Forever Wars—one that captures both the dust and grit and sweat of soldiers on patrol, and the surrealism of their lives back on base. (Where they might be checking Facebook and ordering lattes one minute, and dodging mortars the next.) In its first edition, it earned comparisons to the likes of Hemingway, Mailer, and O’Brien; this revised second edition promises to find it the audience it so richly deserves.
£15.19
Everyman Collected Stories
Book SynopsisThe only complete collection of shorter fiction by the undisputed master of detective literature, assembled here for the first time in one volume, includes stories unavailable for decades. When Raymond Chandler turned to writing at the age of forty-five, he began by publishing in pulp magazines such as Black Mask before later writing his famous novels. In these stories Chandler honed his art and developed his uniquely vivid underworld, peopled with good cops and bad cops, informers and extortionists, lethally predatory blondes and redheads, and crime, sex, gambling and alcohol in abundance. In addition to his classic detective fiction – in which his signature atmosphere of depravity and violence swirls around cool, intuitive loners such as Philip Marlowe – Chandler turned his hand to fantasy and even a Gothic romance. This rich treasury of twenty-five stories shows him developing the laconic, understated style that would serve him so well in his later masterpieces, immersing readers in the richly realized fictional universe that has become a part of our literary landscape.
£21.25
Paradise Press Olympia Heights
Book Synopsis
£9.49
VIZ Media LLC After God Vol. 6
Book SynopsisThirty years after the gods reduced Tokyo to rubble, survivors set out to answer a seemingly impossible questionhow do you kill a god?Japan has been invaded by godsand they've left nothing but death and destruction in their wake. With entire cities now classified as uninhabitable danger zones, Anti-God researcher Sachiyuki Tokinaga is determined to find a way to take down the gods and save humanity. When chance leads him to high schooler Waka Kamikura, the two may just end up changing the fate of the world forever.Waka finally makes a break for it after being kidnapped by the god Volov, but just as her freedom is within reach, Alura stops her dead in her tracks. Meanwhile, although Volov may already be beyond saving, he begs his former best friend for Obikawa for help.
£10.44
Trolley Books Gentle Art
Book SynopsisA collection of short stories, it is a book about folk devils; creatures at war with respectable society and the conventions on which respectable society is based. It can also be read as a heartrending account of the permanent degradation of men of great talent due to persistent lack of self-control - often indistinguishable from madness. Gentle Art's diminutive dimensions echo the intent of early devotional literature - an almost disposable object, designed for personal edification and spiritual formation. Referencing Stephen Graham's 1927 work, The Gentle Art of Tramping - a manual for life on the other' side - Gentle Art is a departure from standard experimental literature. Its aim is not to be difficult. Kidnapping personas from real' life (marvellous George, the petrol-drinker, the ket-head with a woman for a cock and many more!) and entering them into absurd formatting - from Choose Your Own Adventure' to a compilation of quotes footnoting the entire text - her stories demonstrate how and why people slip beyond the norms of society and report back on what lies in store when they get there. Gentle Art follows the success of Iphgenia Baal's 2011 publication The Hardy Tree, which saw her nominated for Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 4.
£7.59
Fairlight Books Other Names Other Places
Book SynopsisGrowing up in London with Tunisian parents, wayward Nessie finds herself caught between cultures. Her life is further complicated by the charismatic Mrs Brown, who befriends her parents and then betrays them. Years later, as Nessie seeks independence by moving to Japan, she begins to wonder: what really happened between her parents and Mrs Brown?
£9.49
Rising Action Take 2
£14.39
Daunt Books Rhine Journey
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£9.49
Allen & Unwin Take Two
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£13.49
Whitefox Publishing Ltd The Eagle and the Cockerel
Book SynopsisEurope. Great Britain has long-since left the Union, but tensions between European countries remain and the international balance of power is firmly weighted towards China and the US. Seizing the opportunity for an unexpected comeback, disgraced former Paris mayor Vincent d'Amont makes an outrageous proposal: France and Germany should unite to create a new superpower: Charlemagny.The question will be put to the people in an historic vote on ROME, the ubiquitous social network of Europe. But, outraged by the progress of events and fearing a new order based on chaos and conflict, political vlogger Miss Cliché engages in a fierce battle against Vincent and his cronies. A bumpy journey filled with post-truth news and scorching betrayal lies ahead.Can Miss Cliché discover who is running the all-powerful ROME and reveal the real forces behind Charlemagny? And can she keep her own feelings under control before Charlemagny becomes a reality?
£9.49
Universitas Press Persuasion
Book SynopsisPersuasion is among Jane Austen’s most historically grounded works.Like many people in Britain, Jane Austen and her family followed the ups and downs of the British war effort on both land and sea.As was the case with Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice before it, one of Austen’s aims in Persuasion is to present a message about British society through contrasting pairs: in this case, aristocratic vanity versus the private and public utility of the navy.Having drawn this critical picture of a vain aristocratic class, Austen uses the knowledge she gained through her family’s wartime experiences to create an alternative image of Britain: a navy whose men and women are useful to one another, society, and the national war effort.As useful as Austen’s naval characters are, despite whatever challenges they might face in the service, when the novel’s crisis comes at the end of the first volume, it is another character altogether who proves their value: Anne Elliot.On one level, Anne Elliot’s story reinforces Austen’s critique of the class-based society of her time. But Persuasion’s resolution is more complex than such a summary of social and financial calculation might suggest. It would be a drearily didactic book were that not the case. Instead, it is the interiority of the plot––how much of it occurs in Anne’s head and is viewed from her often-limited perspective––that maintains our interest to the end. How Austen achieves this, while addressing both the insidious and beneficial impacts of the art of persuasion, deserves our attention. (from “Introduction” by Todd Webb)
£999.99
Rising Action Glitter and Gold
£15.29
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers Finnegans Close
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£11.69
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers A Riot In Murphys Pub
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£7.59
Renegade Arts Entertainment Straight Outta Busan
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£12.59
Transworld Child of Earth Sky
Book SynopsisBorn of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire, the Grimm girls each command a single element and wield it with great power. But a child born of a Grimm and a fallen star will have command over every element . . . and wield infinite power.At twenty-one, Goldie gave birth to a daughter by her dead lover. Now Goldie is nearly thirty and Luna almost nine. Conceived in the realm between life and death, Luna is part star-soldier, part Grimm and now those opposing forces are waging war within her.Terrified of losing her increasingly volatile child, Goldie goes on the run. Then an act of violence forces her to return and Luna is taken into care. Mother and child can still meet - in the haunted otherworld that is Everwhere.Desperate to reclaim her daughter, Goldie must also confront whatever is corrupting Everwhere. For fresh leaves are falling, and Grimm girls are dying. Fearing the return of her father, Goldie knows she cannot succeed alone and summons
£9.49
Troubador Publishing The Wainwright Boys
Book SynopsisOne anonymous womanââwith a dream.Four unrelated menââall in receipt of the same solicitorâs letter urging them to travel to the town of Keswick in the heart of Englandâs Lake District.
£9.49
Rising Action And the Ancestors Sing
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£15.72
Troubador Publishing Ltd Lost in Crete
Book SynopsisA novel about Crete suffering airborne invasion and German reprisals against resistance. Not a war story but one about relationships and how events and time inevitably alter them.
£10.79
Patrician Press The Ground is full of holes
Book SynopsisNancy wishes Marcus could be close to her again.Marcus wishes he could be in two places at once.Marcus, an Irish-born consultant anaesthetist in London, makes a disastrous error. In a moment of panic he tries to cover his tracks. During the subsequent inquiry, his half-truths are exposed by Asabi, his assistant, who is smarting from his withdrawn attention.Nancy, his wife, is taking long-term leave of absence from her role in the bank. Alone and neglected, she becomes obsessed with an old boyfriend, Tom. News arrives of her sister''s pregnancy. Jealous of her sister, she beds her ex-boyfriend and brother-in-law, Shiv. A move she immediately regrets.This fragile marriage is one haunted by ghosts from the past, and a trip to Florence will change everything.
£6.75
Bonnier Books Ltd Songbirds: The powerful novel from the author of
Book Synopsis'Will break your heart and open your eyes' Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'I've never read anything quite like Songbirds - a beautifully crafted novel.' Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of Wish You Were Here. Her courage to cross oceans.Her hope for a better life.Her love for a daughter, above all else. Not all tragedies make headlines, not every voice is heard. Nisha has crossed oceans to give her child a future. Now she spends her days caring for someone else's daughter while her own waits for her return, half a world away. For Petra, it is only natural to hire a domestic worker to keep her house clean and her family fed. Their lives have nothing in common, except the love they feel for their daughters. Then one day, Nisha vanishes. No one cares about the disappearance of a foreign domestic worker, except Petra and Nisha's secret lover, Yiannis, the only connection to her daughter back in Sri Lanka. As Petra and Yiannis desperately search for Nisha, they realise how little they knew about her. What they uncover will change them both forever. Inspired by true stories of love and loss, hope and refuge, this evocative masterpiece from the million-copy bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Christy Lefteri, is an illuminating story of the power of the human spirit, and the enduring love of a mother for her child, that will stay with you long after you finish reading. Praise for Christy Lefteri: 'This thought-provoking novel of love loss and redemption is thoroughly sublime.' Caroline Montague 'Lefteri is an astonishing weaver of stories.' Daljit Nagra ' . . . broke my heart and kept me turning the pages of her gorgeous novel well into the night.' Alka Joshi, NYT-bestselling author of The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur 'Christy Lefteri has crafted a beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant.' Benjamin Zephaniah on The Beekeeper of Aleppo ' . . . it's impossible not to be moved by Lefteri's plea for humanity and perhaps inspired too.' Observer, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo 'Courageous, proactive, haunting.' Heather Morris, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo***DON'T MISS CHRISTY LEFTERI'S MOVING AND CAPTIVATING NEW NOVEL: THE BOOK OF FIRE, OUT NOW!***Trade ReviewChristy Lefteri is a courageous, provocative, haunting writer. Songbirds is a beautiful novel. It will break your heart and open your eyes. * Heather Morris *I've never read anything quite like Songbirds - a beautifully crafted novel that sits at the intersection of race and class. * Jodi Picoult *Christy Lefteri's painfully beautiful story about a voiceless immigrant, Nisha, whose selfless courage touches the lives of those around her, moved me from the first page to the last. This thought-provoking novel of love loss and redemption is thoroughly sublime * Caroline Montague *Lefteri is an astonishing weaver of stories that speak to the world with compassion. She is imaginatively daring as she is socially responsible in a compelling narrative from start to end and that kept me on the edge. * Daljit Nagra *Like the vulnerable songbirds trapped in mist nets, Lefteri's characters - women who leave foreign lands to work abroad and send money back home - broke my heart and kept me turning the pages of her gorgeous novel well into the night. * Alka Joshi, NYT-bestselling author of THE HENNA ARTIST and THE SECRET KEEPER OF JAIPUR *Christy Lefteri has crafted a beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant. I'm recommending this book to everyone I care about. So, I'm recommending this book to you * Benjamin Zephaniah on The Beekeeper of Aleppo *The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a story of loss, love, resilience and hope. In the same school as the Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Kite Runner, it's impossible not to be moved by Lefteri's plea for humanity and perhaps inspired too * The Observer, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo *A hugely important novel for our times, this is a beautifully written and poignant tale of the best and worst of humanity * Sun, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo *Powerful, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted . . . unforgettable * Choice Magazine, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo *Courageous, proactive, haunting * Heather Morris, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo *Remarkable and memorable * Woman & Home *A powerful tale * The Independent *A poignant story of what it means to migrate in search of freedom * Cosmopolitan *Beautiful novel explores the hardships faced by migrants * Best *Christy Lefteri's timely second novel packs the same Trojan horse punch as her bestselling The Beekeeper of Aleppo. * Sam Baker for Noon.org.uk *Symbolic descriptions of the island's landscape and wildlife provide poignant lyrical moments, while the migrant community are sensitively given a voice and the injustices they face uncovered. A moving and important read * The i newspaper *An emotional yet inherently human story that really makes you feel for its characters * CultureFly *Lyrical writing and compassion for domestic workers who cross the world in search of freedom only to find themselves trapped. * Daily Mirror *This moving read is inspired by real-life stories of domestic workers in Cyprus. * Sunday Post *Deftly explores themes of freedom, motherhood, community and identity * Yorkshire Post *Written from the heart, influenced by true events...A book powerful in its message: to see others as we see ourselves * My Weekly *Exquisite writing and moving story...a powerful tale * The Independent *A remarkable novel * Woman's Weekly *One of the most remarkable and memorable novels of the past year. * Woman & Home (Books of the Year) *
£999.99
Zaffre The Thirty Before Thirty List
Book Synopsis'Totally charming' EVA VERDE'An engaging and enjoyable romcom' ALIYA ALI-AFZAL'A warm hug of a book' SARA JAFARIMaya's life is safe, predictable, quiet . . .She spends her days at the same job she's been at for years, her evenings watching Bollywood movies with her parents and her Saturday nights eating out at the same restaurant with her childhood best friend.When Maya meets Noah on the Underground, for twenty glorious minutes her life becomes exciting. Until he jumps off the train, accidentally leaving behind a notebook containing a list of thirty things he wants to do before he turns thirty.Crushed by the abrupt ending to what could have been her happily ever after, Maya challenges herself to work through the items on his list, secretly hoping that whilst climbing out of her rut and (quite literally) climbing mountains, she may find Noah as well as herself. Instead, she mee
£9.49
Epoque Press The Nacullians
Book SynopsisWelcome to the world of The Nacullians, three generations of one family, living in a brick house in a line of other brick houses. Craig Jordan-Baker's dark comedy charts the tensions and traumas of one family and their relationship with the city they inhabit.Trade Review'It is rare to find a debut author so liberated from the polite conventions of the creative writing classroom. Craig Jordan-Baker writes with such mischief and narrative daring, like Eric Morecambe, gripping us by the collar and telling us all the right stories but not necessarily in the right order.' (Ronan Hession - author of Leonard and Hungry Paul) 'In this hilarious and astute debut, Craig Jordan-Baker dances between the work-hardened lives of a family on an English housing estate and the stuff of how families gets told. Like any descendant of a brickie, he knows the difference between a wall of fag-smoke, an Irish header and a deadend of stretcher bricks. The Nacullians, he tells us, are 'narrow, hard things' but what width and softness he brings to them. Welcome to the new (nan)son of Flann O'Brien.' (Cherry Smyth - Royal Literary Fellow 2014 to 2016 and author of Famished)
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Buddha, Geoff and Me: A Modern Story
Book SynopsisEd is having a hard time - at work, in his love life and, well, generally. Then he meets an unlikely Buddhist - who drinks and smokes and talks his kind of language. Bit by bit, things begin to change...Ed doesn't always take Geoff's advice. Or, when he does he lapses at the crucial moment. His path to understanding is not a straight one, especially as life keeps throwing more and more 'stuff' at him. Often he fails - like most of us, in fact. But sometimes he manages to get it right. And when he does, surprising things begin to happen ...In The Buddha, Geoff and Me Edward Canfor-Dumas brings all his skills to bear in an absorbing story of everyday city life, where the characters stand out with all their human strengths and weaknesses, and the ending brings Ed - and perhaps all of us? - a hope we didn't necessarily expect.The Buddha, Geoff and Me - for anyone who's ever begun to wonder what the whole damn thing is all about ...Trade ReviewAs compulsive as Pringles...I was astonished by this book. It has that strange, casual energy of an unpredicted bestseller. -- Paul Pickering * Daily Express *
£13.49
Old Street Publishing Russian Gothic
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£8.54
Sparsile Books Ltd The Other Side Of The Island
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£10.44
Gallimard Hiver a Sokcho
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£9.95
HarperCollins Publishers The Teacher at Donegal Bay
Book SynopsisAn engaging story of opportunities lost and refound' ExpressCan love help her through the most difficult decisions?Prepare to be spirited away to rural Ireland in this stunning new saga from Anne Doughty.When Jenny McKinstry is offered a new post as the Head of English at her Belfast school she's elated! Yet she can't help but feel conflicted about the position.With all those around her mounting the pressure to start a family and her husband's career about to take off, Jenny feels bound by an overwhelming sense of duty.Will she be able to support her husband's ambitions and land her dream jobPreviously published as A Few Late Roses.Readers LOVE Anne Doughty:I love all the books from this author'beautifully written'would recommend to everyone'Fabulous story, couldn''t put it down!'Looking forward to the next one.'
£8.54
Indiana University Press 39 Berne Street
Book SynopsisMy mother says that there are things in life that she can't forgive . . .At age 16, Dipita's mother, Mbila, arrived in Switzerland from Cameroon. Trafficked into Europe, she supported herself and her son as a prostitute in Geneva. Dipita, now a young, black, gay man serving a five-year sentence in a Swiss prison, shares their story and his own search for purpose. He intertwines their stories with the life of Uncle Demoney, a former civil servant in Cameroon, who staked everything on sending his sister to Switzerland. 39 Berne Street explores the complex themes of prostitution, immigration, and homosexuality through a fluid and expressive prose that makes it ring true. Originally published in French, it won the Prix du Roman des Romands in 2014. Max Lobe's 39 Berne Street vividly describes the unforgivable actions visited by family members upon family members in desperate bids for survival and contentment in the midst of Dipita's struggle toward forgiveness and acceptance.
£15.19
New Directions Publishing Corporation No Longer Human
Book SynopsisNow in a gift cloth edition, No Longer Human ponders profound alienationTrade Review"What I despise about Dazai is that he exposes precisely those things in myself that I most want to hide." -- Yukio Mishima"From the point of view of wholesome common sense, Dazai’s writings may be regarded as the soliloquies of a deviant." -- Yasunari Kawabata"No Longer Human is his masterpiece, though all his work is worthy. Dazai was an aristocratic tramp, a self described delinquent, yet he wrote with the forbearance of a fasting scribe." -- Patit Smith"Dazai’s brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment." -- Andrew Martin - The New York Times
£999.99
Semiotext (E) Castle Faggot
Book SynopsisA dark satire about an amusement park more deranged than anything Disney could imagine: a playland for gay men called Faggotland.Castle Faggot is Derek McCormack''s darkest and most delicious book yet, a satire of sugary cereals and Saturday morning cartoons set in an amusement park more deranged than anything Disney dreamed up. At the heart of the park is Faggotland, a playland for gay men, and Castle Faggot, the darkest dark ride in the world. Home to a cartoon Dracula called Count Choc-o-log, the castle is decorated with the corpses of gays—some were killed, some killed themselves, all ended up as décor. The book includes a map of Faggotland, a photobook of the castle, the instructions for a castle-shaped dollhouse, and the novelization of a TV puppet show about Count Choc-o-log and his friends—reminiscent of the classic stop-motion special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but even gayer and more grotesque. As scatological as Sade but with a Hanna-Barbera vibe, Castle Faggot transmutes McCormack''s love of the lurid and the childlike, of funhouses and sickhouses, into something furiously funny: as Edmund White says, “the mystery of objects, the lyricism of neglected lives, the menace and nostalgia of the past—these are all ingredients in this weird and beautiful parallel universe.”
£13.49
Bonnier Books Ltd The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes
Book SynopsisNot all guests know when to check out . . . A young waitress at a country hotel finds herself with a decades' old mystery to solve - one she hopes will help rid the hotel of its most troublesome guests. Its ghosts. ***When Ballinadrum Hotel's elderly owner Donahue Byrnes dies, twenty-two-year-old Mia Anne Moran discovers the spectral rumours that have long plagued the place are all too true. Meanwhile, Donahue's son, Cormac, wants to sell up as soon as possible but finds his plans thwarted by the ghostly goings on. Propelled by the belief that Donahue Byrnes intended to entrust her with the task, Mia strikes a deal with Cormac. She will act as concierge to the dead - keeping the hotel's ghosts in line, as Donahue did previously - and in return, Cormac will sell the business in its entirety, ensuring the future of both the building and its employees.But what drew Mia's errant charges to Ballinadrum Hotel in the fi
£15.29
Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd. CLIFFHANGERS: A Novel
Book SynopsisOn New Year''s Eve, a tourist is raped in Kadaloor, a tranquil fishing village on the southern coast of the country. The chief suspects are a group of teenaged boys (called the Cliffhangers). As they attempt to prove their innocence, the boys also have to deal with the spectre of communal intolerance that is beginning to divide the Hindu and Muslim fishermen and villagers. Numerous small incidents, in which the boys are sought to be implicated, help ratchet up the stress. The growing communal tension and the hunt for the real rapist intersect, propelling the village to the edge of disaster. In The Cliffhangers, Sabin Iqbal gives us a brilliant debut novel that illuminates hard truths about the religious faultines that are dividing the country.
£13.49
