Contemporary Fiction Books

Book Synopsis''Beautiful, lyrical and unvarnished'' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of THE PAPER PALACE''Affecting and powerful'' OBSERVER''A page-turner'' FINANCIAL TIMESA riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families and long-buried secretsSummer, Cape Cod. Every member of the Gardner family is hiding a secret. Ken, a businessman with political ambitions, is caught in an internet chatroom and forced into couples therapy. Abby is ashamed to still depend on her brother's goodwill to sustain her life as an artist. Adam, their father and brilliant oceanographer, decides to come off his bipolar disorder medication to make one last scientific breakthrough. And then there's Steph: a new person living on the periphery, who harbours a secret that will change everything . . .''Smart, funny and beautifully written. Brodeur is a brilliant dissector of family relationships, a lyricist of the natural world, and an astute observ

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Book Synopsis'A writer I'd follow anywhere' Katie Fforde'It's so lovely to find an author you love' Marian Keyes 'Such a brilliant writer' Jill Mansell_____________________________Stella Carey exists in a world of night. Married to an ex-soldier, she leaves the house every evening as Vincent locks himself away, along with the scars and the secrets he carries. During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain and promises to post these messages after their deaths. Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if only she delivers it in time. . . _____________________________Praise for Rowan Coleman's bestselling novels: I've always loved Rowan's writing' Lucy Dillon Beautifully written' Daily MailThere is a lovely smooth glow to the writing' Matt HaigEpic . . .' Red Magazine Painfully real and utterly heartbreaking wonderfu

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Book SynopsisA PASSIONATE, PAGE-TURNING TALE OF COERCIVE CONTROL AND FEMALE SOLIDARITY, FOR FANS OF THREE WOMEN AND ACTS OF DESPERATION.'This is the book I have always needed, it is F*****G BRILLIANT and everyone should read it' Nikita Gill'A beautiful, biting page-turner' Irish Times **********I believe every word you say. That was always my mistake.Bright, promising Emma is entangled in a toxic romance with her old professor - and she's losing control.Cruel, charming Tom is idolized by his students and peers - confident he holds all the cards.In their small Oxford home, he manipulates and undermines her every thought and act. Soon, he will push her to the limit and she must decide: to remain quiet and submit, or to take her revenge.Written in verse and charged with passion and anger, The Poet is a portrait of a deeply dysfunctional relationship, exploring coercive control, class and privilege. It is also a page-turning tale of female solidarity and survival.'Brisk, disturbing and very satisfying' Daily Mail Trade ReviewThis is the book I have always needed, it is F*****G BRILLIANT and everyone should read it. * Nikita Gill *A beautiful, biting page-turner... is it any different for young women, these days? Reid's novel provides -- as the best fiction does -- a nuanced, thought provoking answer to this question. * Irish Times *Brisk, disturbing and very satisfying * Daily Mail *Written in verse and wildly original, this passionate tale of coercive control and female solidarity is nothing short of a work of art. * Zoella *We've never read anything quite like this before... the poetry sings so beautifully... you'll be completely submerged * Cosmopolitan *

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Book SynopsisThe lives of a bereaved young woman and her neighbour who is consumed by her affair with a married man entwine in this dark, compelling and compassionate coming-of age novel.'A poignant, deft portrayal of love, obsession and grief' STYLIST'Susannah Dickey is a phenomenal talent and I loved this novel.' ELIZABETH DAY'I loved Common Decency . . . such a propulsive joy to read too.' MEGAN NOLAN FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF TENNIS LESSONSIn an apartment building in Belfast, two women wrestle with the sorrows and spectres of love and loss.Since her mother's death, Lily has withdrawn from the world, trapped between grief and anger. She has to break out of this damaging cycle - but how?Upstairs, Siobhán is consumed by her affair with a married man. Her days revolve around his sporadic texts and rare visits. She barely notices the strange girl who lives below and dawdles in the foyer.But Lily is keeping a close eye on her neighbour, whose life seems so much better and more fulfilling than her own. When resentment evolves into something darker and more urgent, she decides to teach Siobhán a lesson...'Sharp as tacks, extremely funny and deeply moving. This novel is very good company.' JAN CARSONTrade ReviewElizabeth Day's Book of the Year * Daily Mail, Best Books of 2022 *[A] treat . . . vividly compelling . . . a rare talent, and certainly one to watch * Sunday Times *A vivid and beautifully written novel that confirms [Dickey] as one of literature's major new talents ... its quiet despair is genuinely affecting * Observer *Common Decency is a study of alienation and connection, of love and grief, written by an author who truly cares about language and understands its power from within. Susannah Dickey is a phenomenal talent and I loved this novel. * Elizabeth Day *I loved Common Decency, a perfectly judged glimpse at two variations of loneliness and how they inform and relate to one another. Such a surprising, clever, sad and strange book which I am still thinking about long after finishing - and yet such a propulsive joy to read too. * Megan Nolan *Susannah Dickey has an uncanny ability to get right to the dark heart of her characters, blending acidic observation with a generous side of kindness. Common Decency is sharp as tacks, extremely funny and deeply moving. This novel is very good company.' * Jan Carson *With hints of Fleabag, Ottessa Moshfegh and Sally Rooney, it's strong, compelling and occasionally very funny stuff...seriously readable * Daily Mail *Quite simply, one of the funniest and most insightful novelists writing today. Her turn of phrase, ear for dialogue, wry humour and power of observation is masterful. * Nell Frizzell *A poignant, deft portrayal of love, obsession and grief * Stylist *Rich and absorbing . . . a writer coming into her own, assured in what it is she is trying to do. . . thrilling and engaging. We are carried along by the prose; we trust it knows where it's going. * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the funny, uplifting story of second chances and becoming the person you were always meant to be, the perfect holiday read from the author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick, The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman.The literary equivalent of a hug . . . supremely heart-warming and an immensely funny read that will pull you in from beginning to end' - Glamour''A book that will make you smile in just about every possible way'' Matson Taylor, bestselling author of Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Miseducation of Evie Epworth''Clever, thought-provoking and huge-hearted. Pure Joy!'' Hazel Prior, bestselling author of Away With the Penguins---------When reality comes calling, do you face it . . . or keep running?Meet Danny the definition of a man who ''could do better''.He drinks more than he should, lives in his best friend''s gard

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Book SynopsisThe fifth novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin's best-selling San Francisco saga.Some of the sharpest and most speakable dialogue you are ever likely to read' Guardian____________________Tranquillity reigns in the ancient redwood forest until a women-only music festival sets up camp downriver from an all-male retreat for the ruling class. Among those entangled in the ensuing mayhem are a lovesick nurseryman, a panic-stricken philanderer, and the world's most beautiful fat woman. Significant Others is Armistead Maupin's cunningly observed meditation on marriage, friendship and sexual nostalgia.Hurdling barriers both social and sexual, Maupin leads the eccentric tenants of Barbary Lane through heartbreak and triumph, through nail-biting terrors and gleeful coincidences in 1980s San Francisco. The result is a glittering and addictive comedy of manners that continues to beguile new ge

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Book SynopsisAfter twenty years, Dorothy Stride returns to the City with information that will devastate the lives of her son and his family. Stride is the first in a series of a family saga written from multiple different character viewpoints allowing the reader to empathise with each of them and realise the disastrous cognitive dissonance between them.

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Book Synopsis'One of the great American authors at work today' New York TimesONE OF THE NEW YORKER'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023It is 1951. The close-knit community of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, does not welcome those who are different.Jacob Hampton's wealthy parents disinherited him when he married Naomi, an uneducated hotel maid from out of town. They had bigger plans for him.Now Jacob has been called up to fight in Korea, leaving a pregnant Naomi behind. The only person he can entrust to take care of her is his lifelong friend, Blackburn Gant. Blackburn, who tends the local cemetery alone, is an outsider too, his appearance irrevocably altered by childhood disease. Slowly the two outcasts grow closer, their friendship blooming under small acts of kindness. Then, as they await news of Jacob's return, a terrible, shattering act of deception derails all their lives. But no secret can stay hidden for ever.Tender and luminous with truth, The Caretaker is a riveting story about the bonds of friendship, the contradictions of family and what it really means to love.Trade ReviewWith each Ron Rash story, you expect flawed people trying desperately to survive against the odds and a rich sense of place, and images that linger, and beautiful language that you catch yourself reading over and over. What you don't always expect is a wicked plot. The Caretaker delivers all of the above in a story that becomes a race to the finish -- JOHN GRISHAMSplendid in its evocation of time and place. [Rash] is a writer who never sets out to impress but is always impressive. There are novels you enjoy and forget. Ron Rash is one whose books always invite a second reading; they are true to life, to experience and imagination - rich treasure. The Caretaker is one of his best -- ALLAN MASSIE * * Scotsman * *Thrilling . . . In [The Caretaker] the outcast has a heart of gold, teenage love is true love and, like the goods on display at Weaver's Hardware, everything finds its right place * * Times Literary Supplement * *Hard to put down . . . [Ron Rash] may be regionally focused in his fiction, but his works tap deep veins of human nature and national strife * * Independent * *Ron Rash is a vivid chronicler of deprived rural America . . . There is a taut, atmospheric melodrama . . . at the heart of this book * * The Times * *If it's a gripping yarn you're after, look no further than this stirring tale of intergenerational deceit set in small-town America during the Korean war * * Daily Mail * *[An] Immersive novel . . . Explores the reverberations of a young man's decision to elope with a teen-age hotel maid * * New Yorker * *Rash . . is one of America's most respected novelists, poets and short story writers . . . Rash has been compared to John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy and his spare prose and deference to nature's brutality recall both authors, but I was also reminded of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These here, and her protagonist Bill Furlong, the good man trying to do the right thing in a community that prefers to look away and maintain the status quo -- EDEL COFFEY * * Irish Times * *An elegant tale about deception and friendship * * i * *There's a flint and an unflinching realism underneath . . . Rash's 20th book is among his best * * Kirkus Reviews * *

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Book SynopsisA lone ship journeys south, heading for the furthest reaches of Antarctica. It belongs to Sky, the billionaire behind a groundbreaking project to salvage the region. On board is disgraced environmental activist Ivy Cunningham, lending her expertise in the hope that it might rescue her reputation - and perhaps even mend her broken relationship with her son. And yet, as the ship moves ever deeper into the breathtaking but eerie landscape, Ivy grows increasingly suspicious of her fellow passengers, and starts to question the project''s motives. If she could leave, she would - but she knows there''s no way home. Exhilarating, terrifying and thought-provoking at once, The Edge of Solitude is a story of climate emergency and human fallibility, of the clash of ambition and principle, and of the choices we make when we know that time is running out.

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Book SynopsisThe award-winning literary thriller from one of Italy's most exciting feminist writers, for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Elena Ferrante and Sarah MossOne morning, a teacher disappears into the woods. As whispers fill her classroom and relatives scour the streets, she melts into a wild landscape - a darkly entrancing place where boars roam free, silver birches tower overhead and the air is filled with ancient bird calls. Sinking into a bed of moss, she tries to escape the shocking news of a pupil's death.Back in town, behind shuttered windows and on factory floors, the mystery takes hold. Who is Silvia really? A teacher of rare kindness, living outside of other people's expectations, or a solitary misfit without a family to call her own? When a local child stumbles upon her hiding place, it seems like the search might be over. But what happens when the missing do not want to be found?PRAISE FOR UNTOLD LESSONS:'Vivid, beguiling and needle-sha

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Book SynopsisFlight Without End tells the story of Franz Tunda, an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, who is captured by the Russians in WWI and escapes to a remote Siberian farm.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, three dream-like tales of memory and war

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Book SynopsisNathalia Guitry was a successful photographer. Until the day she caught a murder on camera. At therapy, Doctor Faber suggests a way out of her creative block: she must write stories about the people she sees in the building opposite, floor by floor. Starting with the actor turned YouTube life coach on the ground floor and going all the way to the fifth via a cartoonist and an ex-trader, Nathalia creates vivid accounts of her Parisian neighbours' lives. But are her tales real or imaginary? As their sessions play out, the doctor becomes increasingly uncertain. And when she gets to the final floor, it's up to Faber to do the talking . . .

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Book SynopsisEloise and Lewis rent a car in Las Vegas and take off on a two-week road trip across the American Southwest. While wildfires rage, the couple trace the course of the Colorado River, the aquatic artery on which the Southwest depends for survival. Eloise, an academic, researches the Colorado River as it threatens to run dry, while Lewis grieves his mother and struggles to find a place for himself in the desert where he never felt quite at home. Together they cruise past gaping canyons, blinking motels and lonely stretches of wilderness, trying to understand this uncanny landscape where Georgia O'Keeffe built her home and avant-garde artists dig mysterious installations in the sand. When Eloise begins to suspect she might be pregnant, she hopes to turn Lewis's attention from the past to the future, but their relationship continues to fracture as they head towards a destination unknown. Elegy, Southwest is a novel which entwines a tragic love story with an intelligent and profound consideration of the way we now live alongside environmental breakdown; an elegy for lost love and for the landscape that makes us.

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Book Synopsis''Glamorous, gripping, absolutely heaps of fun. I loved this.''Lucy Foley''Crisp as a gin and tonic and delightfully wicked''Kevin KwanWelcome to Samsara, a world-class spa nestled in the Indian Himalayas where all your wishes are only a gilded notecard away. Ro Krishna has just checked in. With his rakish charm, Oxford education, and perfect hair, he had it all - well, until he left his job under mysterious circumstances. It was super hectic, and Ro decides it''s time for some much-needed R&R. At Samsara, he''s free to explore the innumerable yoga classes, wellness treatments and guided-meditation sessions on offer alongside the rest of the exclusive hotel''s guests.Until one of the guests - gorgeous, charismatic, well-connected, like most of them - is found dead. As everyone scrambles to figure out what happened, Ro is pulled into an investigation that endangers them all and threatens to spiral beyond the hotel walls. Bec

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Book SynopsisRuth Hogan studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College and went on to work in local government. A car accident and a subsequent run-in with cancer convinced her finally to get her act together and pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The result was her debut novel - The Keeper of Lost Things, which went on be a global bestseller. She is now living the dream (and occasional nightmare) as a full-time author, along with her husband and rescue dogs in a rambling Victorian house stuffed with treasure that inspires her novels.Insta: @ruthmariehoganauthor

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Book SynopsisDarrow Farr is a Salvadoran-American writer. She was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University from 2017-2019 and received an MFA in Creative Writing from The Michener Center at the University of Texas. The Bombshell is her debut novel. She was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, where she now lives with her husband and son.

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Book SynopsisThere’s an inner strength buried somewhere inside of you, Lizzie. When you find it, it will change your life forever. I wish with all my heart that I was going to be here to see it, but of course here lies the irony: it’s only when I’ve gone that you’ll discover it.Just four days ahead of her wedding, Lizzie Lavender receives a letter her mother wrote for her, a year ago, just before she died.Shocked into realising life is passing her by, she runs away, heading for the West Country, where she plans to clear her head and reconsider her options.Fate, however has its own ideas and Lizzie has no idea that a tiny village, two guardian angels and a host of new friends are exactly what she needs. And then there's Tom – who she can’t help but feel she's met before...As she rediscovers the magic in life, will she at last take a chance to find the happiness that has so far eluded her?Previously published as This is Your LifePraise for Debbie Howells:‘A warm, uplifting story’ Clare Swatman‘A powerful, emotional, and life-affirming story of love and hope’ Rachael Lucas‘The writing was INCREDIBLE! I’ve never highlighted so many sections of a book before, but there were just so many beautifully written passages that I knew I indeed to save to come back to' Shan treatyoshelves‘I do not think any other book touched me so much’ itsallaboutbooksandmacarons'I really loved this book. It's one I'll never forget’ coffee.break.book.reviews'That was absolutely beautiful' mrsbookburnee

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Book SynopsisOn the day that her youngest child leaves home, Alice Hatton discovers two disturbing truths in a matter of hours.The Empty Nest cliche is true.And she does not love her husband Peter at all. Now in her fifties, Alice is appalled to realise that she is no longer considered her own person, but is instead defined by her relationships – mother to her adult children, wife to her husband. Horrified by the thought of spending another thirty years with Peter in their North London suburb, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands.What follows is a triumphant and liberating breaking of all the rules. But when Alice must cope with loss for the second time in as many years, she discovers what even the most apparently ‘respectable ‘woman is capable of.Join Amanda Brookfield as she revisits her first novel, Alice Alone, and rediscover how she got her well-deserved reputation for writing about women’s lives with humour and honesty. Includes a brand new foreword from the author.Praise for Amanda Brookfield:'An engaging, emotionally-charged and intriguing story' Michelle Gorman'No one gets to the heart of human relationships quite so perceptively as Brookfield.' The Mirror'Unputdownable. Perceptive. Poignant. I loved it.' bestselling author Patricia Scanlan on Before I Knew You'If Joanna Trollope is the queen of the Aga Saga, then Amanda Brookfield must be a strong contender for princess.' Oxford TimesWhat readers are saying about Amanda Brookfield:‘I felt so involved in this story that I found myself thinking about it a lot during the day. A fantastic read. Gripping, moving, characters you care about, highly recommend.’‘Packed with suspense, (I actually held my breath during some of the scenes) and full of relatable characters, this book will draw you in from the first page. Highly recommend.’ ‘The tension builds on every page, the characters, as always with this author’s books, are drawn beautifully. I couldn’t put it down and am looking forward greatly to Amanda Brookfield’s next offering hopefully before too long!’‘Brookfield is undoubtedly one of Britain's foremost chroniclers of human relationships. It goes without saying that this novel is another page turner – guaranteed to make you read the last 50 pages before sleep, even though you know you have an early start in the morning – but it is much, much more.’

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA masterful achievement: a joint coming-of-age story and an achingly poignant portrait of the strange, painful, ultimately life-sustaining bonds between sisters.Lark and Robin are half-sisters whose similarities end at being named for birds. While Lark is shy and studious, Robin is wild and artistic. Raised in Montreal by their disinterested single mother, they form a fierce team in childhood regardless of their differences. As they grow up, Lark excels at school and Robin becomes an extraordinary pianist. At seventeen, Lark flees to America to attend college, where she finds her calling in documentary films, and her sister soon joins her.Later, in New York City, they find themselves tested: Lark struggles with self-doubt, and Robin chafes against the demands of Juilliard. Under pressure, their bond grows strained and ultimately is broken, and their paths abruptly diverge. Years later, Lark''s life is in tatters and Robin''s is wilder than ever. As Lark tries Trade ReviewThis novel sneaks up on you the way life does - full of chance and yearning. It's a precise, subtle, sad and graceful story about how we care for each other, and how we try to, and how we fail * Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror *I hesitate to call Dual Citizens Alix Ohlin's best book - because her previous ones are among my favourite recent works of fiction - but its perhaps her most entrancing. This is a spellbinding fever-dream of a tale that will leave you forever changed, and will surely earn Ohlin a place among the greatest writers of our generation. I loved it -- Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger YearAlix Ohlin is a thrilling and singular writer who intimately captures and celebrates a lifetime of desires, disappointments and everyday triumphs in these two sisters' lives. I couldn't stop thinking about it: Dual Citizens will take up residency in your mind and heart for quite some time -- Jennifer Gilmore, author of The MothersOhlin's story of sisters wraps its tendrils deep as any family. Dual Citizens leads a reader through landscapes of compassion and crisis in this deeply felt, iridescent novel of the spells and surprises a sibling creates -- Samantha Hunt, author of The Dark DarkLuminous . . . Ohlin's touching, beautifully crafted story traces the unbreakable bond holding sisters together, even when miles apart, through many changes * Booklist *[Dual Citizens] is a lovely, deeply moving work. A lyrical account of the lives of two women, their failures and hopes, and ultimately their quiet redemption. . . . [Ohlin] asks smart, complicated questions not only about family, but also about the nature of narrative itself - whether in literature or in film - about the difference between artifice and truth and the meaning of nostalgia * Kirkus *[An] engrossing, intricate tale . . . Ohlin smartly chooses a broad scope and expertly weaves disparate lives into a singular thread, making for an exceptional depiction of the bond between sisters * Publishers Weekly *

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Book Synopsis______________Maggie Mason is the pen name of bestselling author Mary Wood***Previouslypublished as BLACKPOOL EVACUEE in hardback only***''In the grand tradition of sagas set down by the late and great Catherine Cookson''Jean Fullerton on Blackpool LassBlackpool''s Angel - the first book in Maggie Mason''s brand new Sandgronian trilogy - is OUT NOW.______________England, 1940Clara is forced to flee her home as the Nazis invade the beautiful island of Guernsey, leaving her mother Julia behind. She''s scared and alone, but her spirits lift a little when she learns she''s headed for Blackpool. Her slight hopes are crushed however when she is housed with and at the mercy of a cruel shopkeeper, Miss Brandon. Clara is worked like a dog, but the warmth of some newly made Blackpool fr

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Book SynopsisThe dark, twisty new domestic suspense that will leave you gasping from the author of CuckooShe's married to him. But does she know him at all?Claire lives with her family in a beautiful house overlooking the water. But she feels as if she's married to a stranger one who is leading a double life. As soon as she can get their son Joe away from him, she's determined to leave Duncan.But finding out the truth about Duncan's secret life leads to consequences Claire never planned for. Now Joe is missing, and she's struggling to piece together the events of the night that tore them all apart.Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they've told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family But can she face the truth?Perfect for readers who loved The Whisper Man, Here to Stay, and SleepA deftly dark, creepy and disturbing psychological thriller' LoveReadingGreat for anyone who loves an enticing thriller' Marie ClaireAn eerie page-turnTrade Review‘Great for anyone who loves an enticing thriller’ Marie Claire ‘A deftly dark, creepy and disturbing psychological thriller’ LoveReading ‘An eerie page-turner’ Crime Scene Magazine ‘I found myself hanging on to every word . . . brilliant and atmospheric, it will have readers gripped’ The Courier ‘Chilling and heart-rending, a creepy, atmospheric story with a beautifully-drawn, bleak setting and memorably flawed characters’ Roz Watkins ‘Beautifully written, with a chilling mystery at its core, Magpie is a suspenseful and twisty pleasure of a read’ Howard Linskey ‘Sophie Draper is a wonderful writer, adept at weaving stories within stories. This eerie Derbyshire tale lingered with me for days after I’d read the final page. And, try as I might, I didn’t see the final twist coming!’ Nicola Rayner ‘I could not stop reading this – creepy and compelling. I loved it’ Sarah Ward

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Book SynopsisIt''s back to a new school term for the kids. Their mums - Gemma and Becky - are breathing a huge sigh of relief and reaching for the gin bottle. Except for the fact that Becky appears to be accidentally a little bit pregnant...But that''s not the first shock for the parents in the playground. Over the summer, part of their beloved Redcoats Primary has burned down. The school needs to raise thousands of pounds to stay open - and Gemma and Becky have been forced on to the fundraising committee (just to add to the millions of messages from their online parent groups).In year that will see new babies (for Becky), new schools (for Sam) and a whole new business for Gemma, will they all keep their heads above water - and find that they''re #winningatlife?Readers love Kathryn Wallace:***** Utterly hysterical - NetGalley Reader***** Brilliant... Funny, touching and modern... just amazing - NetGalley Reader***** I hav

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Book SynopsisFrom one of Brazil’s rising literary stars, an acclaimed novella about the violation of a woman and a city, based on true events. It is 2014. There is euphoria in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. The World Cup is about to take place and the Olympics are in sight. It is a time of hope and frenzied construction. Júlia is a partner with an architectural firm working on the future Olympic village. During a break from a meeting at the town hall, she goes for a run in the hillside neighbourhood of Alto da Boa Vista. There, a man puts a revolver to her head, takes her to a secluded spot, and rapes her. Left abandoned in the woods, she drags herself home, where her boyfriend and family members are waiting for her. Vista Chinesa brings light and shadow to a city whose stunning beauty cannot conceal the most serious human and political problems, and gives voice to a story that is tragically not uncommon.Trade Review‘Visceral, haunting … her fiction is original, startling and sits somewhere between the experimental novels of Eimear McBride and Leila Slimani’s more shocking output … This is not an easy subject to write about, but Levy has pulled it off. The result is an immediate, powerful novel that should gain her talent wider recognition.’ -- Francesca Angelini * The Sunday Times *‘The novel is a searing study of the lasting effects of sexual violence, of the inadequacies of memory, and of the failures of Brazil’s political and judicial systems.’ -- Ángel Gurría-Quintana * Financial Times *‘Beautifully paced … It is a reckoning and a rebirth; an unsparing look at the consequences of gendered violence, and of the complex history of a city, a land, and a people.’ -- Catherine Taylor * The Irish Times *‘An impressive power, which takes us by storm in the first pages … as if the book were the forest itself, to accompany with extreme distress, with half-closed eyes, the maximum harshness.’ -- Julián Fuks, Brazilian writer and literary critic‘And that is what Vista Chinesa does: surviving a rape is not a shame, but a victory.’ -- Antonia Pellegrino, award-winning writer and screenwriter‘The author’s focus on a corrupted body is interesting ... A body that in the eyes of the world is just another body, but which the person who inhabits it feels as the standard of the greatest shame. The victim is once again held responsible for the actions of the abuser, a harrowing experience that Salem Levy portrays to perfection.’ -- Paula Bonet * El País *‘That is the great thing and it is what literature can do — to put into words what is unbearable … Vista Chinesa is a slim book, a stunning piece of literature, and also an image of society. Intimacy becomes public and the personal becomes political.’ * Deutschlandfunk *‘A book full of beauty, depth, and space for reflection. The author does not exploit her story, but in a sense unfolds it to analyse it, and the way she does this, with prudence, economy, and veracity, makes this slim book unusual.’ * FAZ *‘Of impressive literary brilliance.’ * Expresso *‘A must-read.’ * Elle Brazil *‘A powerful story in which the voice of the victim is magnified, and where the focus is on recovery and moving on. Between the descriptions of unspeakable aggression, there are also moments of light, warmth and love.’ * Tony's Reading List *‘Full of bravery and insight.’ -- Eric Karl Anderson * Lonesome Reader *‘Vista Chinesa is based on the experiences of Levy’s friend, Joana Jabace. Levy built up the narrative through a series of interviews. Jabace would then read what she had written and comment and, if necessary, Levy would revise. This approach gives a sense of immediacy and the account of the rape and its aftermath is shocking in its intensity. Levy’s retelling, deftly translated by Alison Entrekin, is also a powerful act of female solidarity.’ -- Lucy Popescu * Financial Times *‘[A] work of genius. This is a bold daring book that will change your life.’ * The Bobosphere *‘[T]his powerful epistolary novel is narrated by Júlia, an architect reflecting on being “torn apart” by an intimate violation amid the tumult of the city, which is rife with violent fissures of its own.’ * The New York Times *‘[Levy] makes vital fiction out of a woman’s attempt to process trauma.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Capturing confusion, desperation, anger, and introspection, Vista Chinesa is a detailed, visceral novel in which a woman struggles to heal after surviving a sexual assault.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘A powerful and important book.’ -- Eric Karl Anderson * Lonesome Reader *Praise for The House in Smyrna: ‘Wonderful … deceptively simple prose carrying a great power of sorrow and, interestingly, hope.’ -- Ian McEwanPraise for The House in Smyrna: ‘Levy’s writing is a joy … Her prose is rich, filled with a sense of the vividness and generosity of an author’s available inspirations: the clamour of the senses, the restless truths of the body, the turns and consolations and perils of thought, the wonders of both beauty and ugliness and the meaning and architecture of words themselves.’ -- A.L. Kennedy * Granta *Praise for The House in Smyrna: ‘Teasing … Levy has crafted a puzzling, disturbing story that at times leaves the reader feeling blindfolded in a maze.’ -- Suzi Feay * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA stunning Australian love story for readers of Brokeback Mountain. It’s the 1950s in conservative Australia, and Christopher, a young gay man, moves to ‘the City’ to escape the repressive atmosphere of his tiny hometown. Once there, however, he finds that it is just as censorial and punitive in its own way. Then Christopher meets Morgan, and the two fall in love — a love that breathes truth back into Christopher’s stifled life. But the society around them remains rigid and unchanging, and what begins as a refuge for both men inevitably buckles under the intensity of navigating a world that wants them to refuse what they are. Will their devotion be enough to keep them together? Marlo takes us into the landscape of a relationship defined as much by what is said and shared as by what has to remain unsaid.Trade Review‘Affecting … While the novel portrays an era of criminalised desire, it doesn’t cede its emotional terrain to misery and shame, giving honest-to-goodness lust and love its due, too, without soft-soaping historical ills.’ -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *‘Carmichael’s second novel is a noble exercise in mapping lived but seemingly lost Australian queer histories. With its unfettered prose, Marlo is a quiet and earnest story of gay male desire and longing.’ -- Nathan Smith * Books+Publishing *‘Falling in love can be terrifying and all the harder when the laws of the land are against you. Marlo is a deeply affecting novel; tender and brutal by turn.’ -- Sophie Cunningham, author of Melbourne‘What’s most striking about Marlo is its quiet dignity, the lightness of touch with which Carmichael tells this story, which is about recognition and discovery as much as it is about love. Christopher’s unfolding realisation — that in order to come of age he must also cast himself out — is never cause for him to abandon his optimism and his willingness to hope for and work for a life and a love, however unsanctioned, of his own making. Carmichael’s reclaiming of a sidelined history is defiantly hopeful too, resisting tragedy and seeking out forgotten joys instead.’ -- Fiona Wright, author of Small Acts of Disappearance‘This novel, written with controlled retrospective fury and pain, is interleaved with archival black and white photographs of Melbourne, of known beats at the time and of particular parties. The photographs — grim, poignant, essentially dull — resonate. As does the novel. This was us? Indeed, it was.’ -- Helen Elliott * The Monthly *‘Queer lives were dangerous, so hidden and coded. They are hard to retrieve. Jay Carmichael himself notes that his project is “a task of inference” … [Marlo's] style is spare, with use of actual photographs to create a mood both bleak and secretly joyous. It depicts past Melbourne as alien as a distant planet.’ -- Lucy Sussex * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘My only complaint is that Marlo left me wanting more.’ -- Sarah L'Estrange * ABC News *‘Carmichael traces a hopeful story of two men trying to carve out some small corner of domestic peace that allows for joy. Even in its brevity, Marlo offers a glorious peek into historical gaps that were far from uninhabited.’ -- Stephen A. Russell * The Saturday Paper *‘[A] powerful, moving novella … Marlo reminds readers that the battle for equality is a continuum with a history.’ * ANZ LitLovers *‘Marlo affords a great opportunity to learn about past gay lives.’ -- Kieran Pender * “Marlo affords a great opportunity to learn about past gay lives.” Ivan Crozier, The Newtown Review of Books *‘Through rich language, Carmichael portrays sparkling drag clubs and dark back alleys in a way that feels at once enchanting and perilous … The relationship between Christopher and Morgan illuminates conversations about gender and race: as an Aboriginal and a gay man, Morgan lives an even more dangerous life, and this intersectionality is engaging … Marlo is a character-driven novel about the harsh realities of being queer in Australia and what it meant to fight for love during a time when the world fought back.’ -- Allison Janicki * Foreword Reviews *‘Carmichael’s poetic second novel Marlo [is] a perfectly crafted story of love between two men set in conservative post-war Melbourne … [it] “makes history immediate, every page pulsing with heart and sensuality”.’ -- Judges' comments from the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists AwardPraise for Ironbark: ‘Jay Carmichael’s Ironbark does the extraordinary. It achieves what we readers want from the best of fiction: to tell a story anew, and to capture a world in all its wonder, ugliness, tenderness, and cruelty. This is a novel of coming of age and of grief that astonishes us by its wisdom and by its compassion. It's a work of great and simple beauty, so good it made me jealous. And grateful.’ -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The SlapPraise for Ironbark: ‘Jay Carmichael approaches the world as a poet, from an angle that is all his own. He reveals a hidden, pulsing reality beneath the surface of the everyday.’ -- Miles Allinson, author of Fever of Animals and In MoonlandPraise for Ironbark: ‘In sparse and quiet prose, Jay Carmichael’s debut is an enveloping novel about grief, survival, and the futility of finding peace in a place you don’t belong.’ -- Shaun Prescott, author of The Town

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Book SynopsisFrom the highly acclaimed author of Bad Day in Blackrock – inspiration for the 2012 award-winning film What Richard Did, directed by Lenny Abrahamson... ​Shortlisted for the 2021 An Post Irish Book Awards Eason Novel of the Year...A darkly funny, gripping and profoundly moving novel about a life spinning out of control, a life live without the bedrock of familial love, and the corruption of material wealth that tears at the soul.‘It was my father’s arrest that brought me here, although you could certainly say that I took the scenic route.’ Here is rehab, where Ben – the only son of a rich South Dublin banker – is piecing together the shattered remains of his life. Abruptly cut off, at the age of 27, from a life of heedless privilege, Ben flounders through a world of drugs and dead-end jobs, his self-esteem at rock bottom. Even his once-adoring girlfriend, Clio, is at the end of her tether. Then Ben runs into an old school friend who wants to cut him in on a scam: a shady property deal in the Balkans. The deal will make Ben rich and, at one fell swoop, will deliver him from all his troubles: his addictions, his father’s very public disgrace, and his own self-loathing and regret. Problems solved. But something is amiss. For one thing, the Serbian partners don’t exactly look like fools. (In fact they look like gangsters.) And, for another, Ben is being followed everywhere he goes. Someone is being taken for a ride. But who?Praise for White City:'I can't recommend it enough. It's often hilariously funny but it's also a sharp and smart dissection of contemporary materialism' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies 'An immensely enjoyable and tautly written account of a young man from an affluent family whose life of privilege is turned upside down' Sunday Times 'Spiky, blackly funny novel that offers an incisive study on class, entitlement and masculinity' Independent 'Capacious and comic, luxuriantly written, with an intricate plot and heightened characterisation… both riotous rant and thoughtful coming-of-age tale' Dublin Review of Books 'Outstanding second novel... A brilliantly entertaining novel that is profound in the most unexpected ways. Power is that rarity, a genuinely funny novelist... Yet all the more remarkable is Power's handling of tone: this novel moves effortlessly between humour and sincerity; it is steeped in empathy and raw anger' Literary Review ‘White City is likely to be the most solid, well-rounded novel to come out of Ireland this year… At once a pacy page-turner with a nerve-frazzling plot and a realistic and haunting tale of our interconnected world… White City is an all-round superb book that will stay with you long after the inevitable binge read’ Irish Independent 'White City synthesises familiar forms into a whole: the rogue’s confession, the young man finding his way, the post-Celtic Tiger satire on puffed-up, self-perpetuating bullshit businesses… Power shows his own capacity for comic timing and pithy aperçus' Guardian ' An extremely funny book… Kevin Power shows his chops as a proper heavyweight novelist. Unequivocally one of the most purely enjoyable books, in the classic-novel sense… a zinger on every page' Peter Murphy, Arena (RTE Radio 1) '[A] sprawling social satire of the sort we seldom see in Irish fiction… a tremendously zesty and zeitgeisty piece of writing' Sunday Times (Ireland) ‘[T]his dark caper evolves to ask searching moral questions… with its 11th-hour twist, this ambitious, attention-grabbing novel seems ripe for cinematic adaptation’ Daily Mail ‘Kevin Power’s Bad Day in Blackrock (2008) was one of the most memorable Irish novels of the new century… White City has passages of striking lyrical subtlety and the different storylines are managed with great dexterity. Much has changed in Ireland since Bad Day in Blackrock was published, but as Power’s adept and absorbing new novel reminds us, much has not. White City demands to be read’ Irish Times ‘A fast-paced and wickedly funny novel. Hugely entertaining. White City grabbed me from the opening pages and didn't let go’ Danielle McLaughlin, author of The Art of Falling 'Wild and beautiful, a whole addictive and breathlessly compelling world squeezed between these covers... A magnificent novel from a writer who is soaring to the most spectacular heights' Billy O'Callaghan, author of Life Sentences 'White City is a dark, hilarious and emotionally profound study of the toxic effects of greed and entitlement. Also, a story brilliantly and movingly told. Couldn’t stop reading it. Will read it again' Ed O'Loughlin, author of Not Untrue and Not Unkind '[A] biting page-turner… Power’s writing is both strong and savage' John Walshe, The Business Post''Funny, and gorgeously written, and just relentlessly entertaining' Mark O'Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse'This is part thriller but mostly a look at what it means to grow up... This novel is pleasing on so many levels, both intellectually & emotionally... You'll laugh, you'll cry... Read it, read it, read it' Claire Hennessy, author, editor & publisher at Banshee Press 'The kind of novel that makes writers jealous and readers cancel all their plans to finish it. As a commentary on the classless contemporary upper class, it's cutting and hilarious; as a portrait of the artist as a young man waylaid by his membership in that class, it's profound, unpretentious, unapologetically intelligent, and, again, really hilarious' Lauren Oyler, author of Fake Accounts'White City is brilliant on the high-octane vacuity of Ireland’s rentier class. Power’s trademark shimmering prose counterpoints a driving narrative... Brilliant' Eoin McNamee, author of Resurrection Man and The Blue TangoTrade Review'White City is a dark, hilarious and emotionally profound study of the toxic effects of greed and entitlement. Also, a story brilliantly and movingly told. Couldn’t stop reading it. Will read it again' -- Ed O'Loughlin, author of Not Untrue and Not Unkind'This is part thriller but mostly a look at what it means to grow up... full of ridiculously beautiful, polished, & often scathing sentences. This novel is pleasing on so many levels, both intellectually & emotionally... You'll laugh, you'll cry... Read it, read it, read it' -- Claire Hennessy, author, editor & publisher at Banshee Press‘A fast-paced and wickedly funny novel. Hugely entertaining. White City grabbed me from the opening pages and didn't let go’ -- Danielle McLaughlin, author of The Art of Falling'With the brilliant Bad Day in Blackrock back in 2008, Kevin Power more than earned his standing as one of our most prodigious talents. It's been a while, and anticipation for new work has been high, but White City – wild and beautiful, a whole addictive and breathlessly compelling world squeezed between these covers – has been worth every minute of the wait. A magnificent novel from a writer who is soaring to the most spectacular heights' -- Billy O'Callaghan, author of Life Sentences'Outstanding second novel... A brilliantly entertaining novel that is profound in the most unexpected ways. Power is that rarity, a genuinely funny novelist... Yet all the more remarkable is Power's handling of tone: this novel moves effortlessly between humour and sincerity; it is steeped in empathy and raw anger' * Literary Review *'Worth the wait... Narrative twists and turns keep the reader turning the page, but Power is also a master of striking imagery, with which he threads his text' * Irish Independent *'The kind of novel that makes writers jealous and readers cancel all their plans to finish it. As a commentary on the classless contemporary upper class, it's cutting and hilarious; as a portrait of the artist as a young man waylaid by his membership in that class, it's profound, unpretentious, unapologetically intelligent, and, again, really hilarious' -- Lauren Oyler, author of Fake Accounts'White City is brilliant on the high-octane vacuity of Ireland’s rentier class. Power’s trademark shimmering prose counterpoints a driving narrative... Brilliant' -- Eoin McNamee, author of Resurrection Man and The Blue Tango'I can't recommend it enough. It's often hilariously funny but it's also a sharp and smart dissection of contemporary materialism' -- John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies'An immensely enjoyable and tautly written account of a young man from an affluent family whose life of privilege is turned upside down' * Sunday Times *'Spiky, blackly funny novel that offers an incisive study on class, entitlement and masculinity' * Independent *'Capacious and comic, luxuriantly written, with an intricate plot and heightened characterisation… both riotous rant and thoughtful coming-of-age tale' * Dublin Review of Books *'Funny, and gorgeously written, and just relentlessly entertaining' -- Mark O'Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse'[A] sprawling social satire of the sort we seldom see in Irish fiction… a tremendously zesty and zeitgeisty piece of writing. There are so many good lines I stopped highlighting them, always a good sign' -- Bert Wright * The Sunday Times (Ireland) *'[A] biting page-turner… Power’s writing is both strong and savage' -- John Walshe * The Business Post *'White City synthesises familiar forms into a whole: the rogue’s confession, the young man finding his way, the post-Celtic Tiger satire on puffed-up, self-perpetuating bullshit businesses… Power shows his own capacity for comic timing and pithy aperçus' -- John Self * The Guardian *'As if Martin Amis in his more wickedly funny moments had decided that Monkstown Central was the Year Zero of his fiction […] there’s a powerful social conscience at work here […] An extremely funny book […] Kevin Power shows his chops as a proper heavyweight novelist. Unequivocally one of the most purely enjoyable books, in the classic-novel sense […] a zinger on every page' -- Peter Murphy * Arena (RTE Radio 1) *‘Kevin Power’s Bad Day in Blackrock (2008) was one of the most memorable Irish novels of the new century… White City has passages of striking lyrical subtlety and the different storylines are managed with great dexterity. Much has changed in Ireland since Bad Day in Blackrock was published, but as Power’s adept and absorbing new novel reminds us, much has not. White City demands to be read’ -- Michael Cronin * Irish Times *‘White City is likely to be the most solid, well-rounded novel to come out of Ireland this year… At once a pacy page-turner with a nerve-frazzling plot and a realistic and haunting tale of our interconnected world… White City is an all-round superb book that will stay with you long after the inevitable binge read’ -- Estelle Birdy * Irish Independent *‘[T]his dark caper evolves to ask searching moral questions… with its 11th-hour twist, this ambitious, attention-grabbing novel seems ripe for cinematic adaptation’ -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisThe narrator, Azaro, is an abiku, a spirit child, who in the Yoruba tradition of Nigeria exists between life and death. He is born into a world of poverty, ignorance and injustice, but Azaro awakens with a smile on his face. Nearly called back to the land of the dead, he is resurrected. But in their efforts to save their child, Azaro's loving parents are made destitute. The tension between the land of the living, with its violence and political struggles, and the temptations of the carefree kingdom of the spirits propels this latter-day Lazarus's story. Despite belonging to a spirit world made of enchantment, where there is no suffering, Azaro chooses to stay in the land of the Living: to feel it, endure it, know it and love it. This is his story.

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Book SynopsisThe princess is taking her over, bodily and mentally. Dr Babs Halliwell is no longer herself.A young girl is plucked from obscurity to marry the Crown Prince of Korea. In her diaries, she chronicles the intrigues of courtly life and her own extraordinary existence.Two hundred years later, the Red Queen's ghost haunts Dr Babs Halliwell, an Oxford academic obsessed with her memoirs and possessed by the many parallels with her own complicated past. But why and how does she keep the Red Queen's story alive?The inimitable Margaret Drabble offers a rich and atmospheric historical novel, where the dead wander among the living and ask what it means to be remembered.Trade ReviewI have learned so much from Margaret Drabble's work. Her prose is very beautiful, very funny, and the same time very serious -- SALLY ROONEYEach of Margaret Drabble's novels has been an accurate, honest record of its time in the idiom of its time -- URSULA K. LE GUINFull of life * * Independent * *Utterly gripping . . . Rarely has feminist escapism been so stylishly disguised * * Guardian * *Truly fascinating . . . Cannot fail to absorb the reader * * Sunday Telegraph * *The book is a pure delight, its formal puzzles intriguing and, in quieter moments, the bonds between the two very different women wholly convincing * * Telegraph * *Elegant . . . A seductive beguiling narrator . . . Delicious history * * Daily Express * *Engrossing and provocative: a scarlet narrative thread reminds us how magical the novel can be in telling stories and lives * * Kirkus Reviews * *Carefully wrought and beautifully written The Red Queen is another fine addition to the Drabble oeuvre * * Literary Review * *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE BERNARD SHAW PRIZEA woman's life, erupting with brilliance and promise, is fissured by betrayal and the pressures of duty. What had once seemed a pastoral family idyll has become a trap, and she struggles between being the wife and mother she is bound to be and wanting to do and be so much more.The woman in question is Sylvia Plath in the final year of her life. As Plath's marriage to Ted Hughes unravels through the heady days of their first summer in Devon together, Sylvia turns increasingly to writing to express her pain and loss, yet also her resilience and power. She has decided to die, but the art she creates in her final weeks will set her name, and the world, ablaze.Trade ReviewAn audacious, gripping novel . . . a book for our times * * Guardian * *Euphoria is about the fissures between motherhood, love and creativity but is also a celebration of Plath's power * * Evening Standard * *Compelling and visceral * * Irish Examiner * *A novel about the conflicted emotional underbelly of female experience - including childbirth, desire, envy, rage, insecurity, ambition . . . Brave * * Times Literary Supplement * *A sensitive and artistic account of a woman attempting to write herself out of oblivion . . . not a book about death, it is a book about art, more specifically, female art, and its resilience and endurance * * Sunday Business Post * *Compelling * * BBC History Magazine * *Imagines the hopes, fears, dreams and memoirs of [Plath's] final months, as well as the growing tensions between the worlds of creativity and domesticity. Based on archival research but explicitly a work of fiction, Elin Cullhed's book aims to focus not on Plath's death but instead on the complexities and contradictions of her life * * History Revealed * *

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Book Synopsis'A gleeful, page-flipping read' Observer'The ultimate summer escape' New York TimesOne wrong move, one misstep, and the course of a life can be changed for ever.Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country at the height of the industrial revolution. At nine years old she is sold for six guineas to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher. From that moment on, Annie will fight - for Bill and for her future.A whole new world opens up to Annie, one of love, fortune and family, but also of great danger.Trade ReviewA punchy historical yarn . . . [Kitson] has a fine time with Annie and the Slasher - warm, memorable creations who come punching off the page . . . Featherweight transports the reader to the tough, rapidly industrialising world of the 19th-century Black Country, with its old canals and new railways, the soot of the forges and strikes at the nail factories, via lushly detailed, rhythmical descriptions . . . A gleeful, page-flipping read . . . A rollicking tale, one you'll be glad to take a ringside seat for * * Observer * *Annie is a lively, appealing character and there is plenty more to enjoy in Kitson's narrative * * Sunday Times, Best New Historical Fiction * *The ultimate summer escape . . . Sweeping . . . Will transport you to 19th-century England * * New York Times * *A rollicking historical novel set in the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution . . . Offers plenty to enjoy * * Daily Mail * *Kitson creates a Dickensian flavour through Black Country dialogue, a strong sense of place (a smut-blackenedindustrial town), and colourful characterisation. Detailed descriptions of what goes on in the ring add suspense . . . Readers will love rooting for this great little fighter who easily punches above her weight . . . Compelling * * Booklist * *A wonderful novel . . . The themes of Kitson's plot also revolve around themes of rejection, lost hope, vulnerability. But in Annie it also shows us a strong woman, way ahead of her time who decides she can also turn her hand (or fists) to pugilism * * NB Magazine * *Praise for Sal: Kitson writes clearly and concisely . . . Sal is an ambitious and skilled novel. Literature needs more stories like this -- JENNI FAGAN * * Guardian * *Daring and original . . . Manages to feel both contemporary and timeless, both heart-rending and uplifting * * Observer * *Just wonderful. A breath of fresh air in a book. Sal is a story with incredible heart, told so beautifully and with such clarity and grace I can hardly believe it's a debut! I loved it -- JOANNA CANNON, author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEPSal is an inspiring novel that feels honest and fastidious. It introduces the theme of redemption and fresh beginnings without shying from the awful truth * * Financial Times * *

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Book SynopsisNEWCOMER OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2022 Molly Black has disappeared. She’s been running away since her parents died. But this time, or so says her note, she’s gone for good. There’s Been a Little Incident is an award-winning debut about grief, family and the people who are there for you when you can’t be there for yourself. 'Genuinely funny' Marian Keyes 'A brilliant read' The Sun ‘Exceptional’ Irish Times ‘Absorbing, uplifting’ Sinéad Crowley 'Exuberant family drama' The GlossTrade ReviewWarm, wry and genuinely funny. Alice Ryan has a great ability to describe the nuances of people -- Marian KeyesHere is a story that takes on grief in its many insidious guises, and yet this brave, big-hearted novel is full of warmth and wisdom. Clever, funny and an utterly life-enhancing read -- Christine Dwyer HickeyA story told with great generosity and humour... An absorbing, uplifting and very hopeful read -- Sinéad CrowleyRyan’s real achievement is to dramatize the process by which family – with all its oddities, misfires and intrusions – acts as a force for recuperation and renewal. * Times Literary Supplement *A refreshing, hugely entertaining novel with depth and ambition that had me compelled from the off. Alice Ryan is an author I will read forever more -- Anne GriffinAccomplished debut novel... full of such deep existential questions, as well as poignant reflections on loneliness and connection; family and belonging. But it is also remarkably light and humorous. Ryan has a Marian Keyes-esque touch * Business Post *This warm and very funny look at family relationships and grief is a brilliant read * The Sun *Alice Ryan's debut novel is an exploration of the binding force of shared grief and personal history * Irish Times *A heartbreaking, but uplifting read that treats grief, connection and loss with a light, but powerful hand * RTÉ *A warm and witty family drama... Anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one will recognise the non-linear nature of grief, as depicted in this light-hearted, yet empathetic story, full of wit and warmth. This debut deftly conveys the rich tapestry of family dynamics * Sunday Independent *An exuberant family saga... Ryan writes with a featherlight touch but her message is supremely warm and hopeful * The Gloss *

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Book SynopsisA ground-breaking debut novel that combines the investigatory pleasures of a legal drama with a provocative and literary exploration of the limits of empathy 'I loved this highly original and compelling story' Cathy Rentzenbrink You are about to enter a novel formed of documents and evidence. Here is the blog of a nurse on a dialysis ward attempting to live in the aftermath of bringing a rape trial to court in which the defendant was exonerated. Here are the transcripts of the police interviews with her, and the accused, the emails and texts between them submitted for trial; his journal, his conversations on 4chan, his drama scripts, him, him, him. How will the nurse, Corina, ever get him out of her head? This is a highly original debut novel that will win plaudits for its inventiveness at the same time as it compels the reader with the pleasures of suspense and family drama. Provocative, blackly funny and moving, it announces a new voice unlike any other.Trade ReviewAn uncompromisingly modern novel about care and damage, so finely-textured in its documentary of trauma and recovery, so committed to the churn of felt experience, that it becomes, in the end, transcendent -- Frances Leviston, author of The Voice in My EarI loved this highly original and compelling story and found it thought-provoking and funny. Nat Ogle is a very talented novelist * Cathy Rentzenbrink *Ogle writes about terror and the grace of human vulnerablity . . . with a complicated truth at its sticky centre * Guardian *A damn good novelist ... Ogle's ability to create characters who hold the attention stands out * Sunday Telegraph *

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