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
EnvelopeBooks Frances Creighton: Found and Lost
Book SynopsisUnable to cope with his English girlfriend’s death, Michael Roberts finds himself thinking back to another time and another place when he was in love for the first time. But that was when he was as a schoolboy in Belfast, at the start of The Troubles in the late 1960s, and in a culture dominated by divides that weren’t just sectarian. To his surprise and increasing torment, his memories— long buried—prove elusive, so that struggling to remember what happened and why he had suppressed it becomes more and more of an obsession. Frances Creighton: Found and Lost is a deeply felt first novel that conveys the pain of late adolescence in a community where school and religion add more layers of cruelty to the under- lying instability of daily life and Northern Irish politics.
£13.19
Stairwell Books The Department of Certainty
Book Synopsis
£11.40
Olympia Publishers Out of Time
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Everyman Galahad at Blandings
Book SynopsisLord Emsworth's prized pig, the Empress of Blandings, is at the centre of Wodehouse's hilarious tale of mistaken identity, the triumph of young love, and general mayhem among the twits at Blandings Castle.Trade ReviewWodehouse is the greatest comic writer ever * Douglas Adams *
£11.40
And Other Stories Fit: Winner of the 2020 Northern Book Prize
Book SynopsisThis is the first novel by Sammy Wright, a secondary-school teacher with first-hand experience of a contemporary Britain in which children starve and the gulf between rich and poor is vast and growing. Charting the impact on a small community of a girl being plucked by happenstance from her foster home and dropped into a dazzling new life as a London model, Fit is a moving, tragic, but ultimately hopeful look at the ways in which poverty and neglect can echo through a life . . . even after you think you've gotten your fairy-tale ending. Fit was the winner, by unanimous decision, of the 2020 Northern Book Prize.Trade Review'A brilliant song to young people raging against their lot - tender yet unsentimental, and a joy to read.' Maxine Peake ---- 'In precise, rhythmic prose, Sammy Wright captures the fear, electricity and longing of youth. Thick with darkness, violence and joy, Fit explores class privilege through an interrogation of the social constructs that shape our world, illuminating the beauty, fragility and loss of our lives within them.' Jessica Andrews ---- 'This story haunted me. Wright's young characters are complex and vividly alive - they're ingenious, irreverent, intoxicated, traumatised, grieving, violent, vulnerable. Fit presents a picture of contemporary life in the north of England that is by turns tender and deeply unsettling.' Naomi Booth ---- 'The "rags to riches" story given a modern, original and thoroughly satisfying twist; Fit foregrounds lives we rarely get to read about in fiction, and is compelling for the interesting things it has to say about the cost of dreams: who gets to have them, who mediates them, who stands to gain from them, and what happens to those left behind. A work of compassion and insight, crisply written, with a cast of characters who live vividly on the page.' Stephen Kelman ---- 'Fit is quietly, modestly one of the best books about being young, beautiful, and damaged that you're ever going to read. Sentence by sentence, it has a gaunt grace; cumulatively, it has the force of a dark, dark fairytale. Sammy Wright's debut is a tightly-plotted minimal masterpiece.' Toby Litt ---- 'Tender, tough, plainspoken and powerful, Sammy Wright's Fit is a nimble debut from a strong and wise new voice in British fiction. We were impressed by the vivid physicality of its setting and characters, by its simple yet arresting dialogue, by its dry and under- stated wit, and perhaps most by the sheer memorability of the thing: its portrait of teenage life and foster care in a marginalised Northern town remained with all of us long after we'd read it.' Jury for the 2020 Northern Book Prize (Amy Arnold, Sunjeev Sahota, Daniel Trilling, Tara Tobler) ---- 'A heartbreaking fairytale, set mainly in an unnamed northern town, Fit is a brilliant novel with a huge amount to say about class, poverty and approaching adulthood.' David Coates, Blackwells Manchester
£9.50
Little, Brown Book Group Elizabeth And Her German Garden
Book SynopsisMay 7th -- There were days last winter when I danced for sheer joy out in my frost-bound garden in spite of my years and children. But I did it behind a bush, having a due regard for the decencies ...'Elizabeth's uniquely witty pen records each season in her beloved garden, where she escapes from the stifling routine of indoors: servants, meals, domestic routine, and the presence of her overbearing husband ...Trade ReviewAn extraordinary work ... idyllic * ELIZABETH JANE HOWARD *A gem of a book: rare, simple, innocent and charming. I was captivated * SUSAN HILL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Elizabeth von Arnim is a mistress of irony * LISA ST AUBIN DE TERAN *She has a wild sense of comedy and a vision - continually thwarted though it was - of potential happiness * PENELOPE MORTIMER *
£9.49
Bonnier Books Ltd The Dream House
Book SynopsisEveryone needs somewhere to dream. The stunning new book from one of the most original and interesting voices in children's literature.Rex has gone to stay with his godfather, Sparky. Rex doesn't say much but that's OK because Sparky is always on hand with a cup of tea to enjoy on the sofa, set up outside like an outdoor living room. Rex has his sketchbook, and he draws how he feels even if he doesn't talk about it. And in Sparky's garden, hidden under the canopy of the willow tree, is the Dream House: a lovingly created space just for Rex, to dream, to play, to think, to be. A place he's loved all his childhood. But to go inside now Rex must summon his strength for revisiting the ghosts of his past . . .An evocative sketchbook novella revealing a boy's inner world, accessing his feelings through drawing and reconnecting with the people who love him, told through Laura Dockrill's vivid storytelling. Fully illustrated throughout by Gwen Millward.Trade ReviewLittle gem . . . Grief and joy in abundance, I found it incredibly moving -- Kiran Millwood HargraveLaura is one of the most original and interesting voices in children's literature and I always look forward to reading any new book she writes. -- Francesca SimonAn extraordinary, tender offering from @lauraleedockrill about grief, love and loss, beautifully illustrated by @gwenmillward -- Sophie Dahl * Instagram *A beautiful, honest and powerful story exploring the loss of a parent. This difficult topic is handled bravely, with originality and warmth. Rex's story will break your heart then mend it. -- Tamsin WinterSo beautiful, so powerfully moving, the ever-inventive Laura Dockrill has done it again with The Dream House - an incredibly honest, child-centred story about a boy's struggle with terrible grief (and guilt) after losing his dad.Beautifully presented with Gwen Millward's soft, evocative, powerful illustrations [. . .] this has all the marks of a future classic. -- Joanne Owen * LoveReading4Kids *Loved The Dream House, I was in bits by the end. It's not easy to write about grief and Laura does it so beautifully; it bristles with colour and texture. -- Polly DunbarThe Dream House is stunning. -- Caroline Horn * Readingzone *
£9.49
And Other Stories Somebody Loves You
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2022 Goldsmiths Prize Shortlisted for the 2022 Jhalak Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize A teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn't always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn't. Silence becomes Ruby's refuge, sheltering her from the weather of her mother's mental illness and a pressurized suburban atmosphere. Plangent, deft, and sparkling with wry humour, Somebody Loves You is a moving exploration of how we choose or refuse to tell the stories that shape us.Trade Review‘Somebody Loves You is reminiscent at first of an old home movie shot on Super 8 film, the colours saturated but barely in focus . . . This is the camerawork of memory in action, what childhood recollection chooses to emphasise . . . For Ruby, speech is an inadequate mechanism for self-presentation . . . this is a book about silence as a subversive act of care.’ Stephanie Sy-Quia, The Guardian ---- ‘Prismatically gorgeous: a fluent construction, and deconstruction, of words.’ Cal Revely-Calder, Sunday Telegraph ---- ‘Although this is a novel that is powerfully aware of the potency of words, it's executed with admirable delicacy.’ Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail ---- ‘Arshi’s poetic craft is conspicuous throughout all these vignettes, which are lyrical, beautifully honed facets of a larger whole.’ Alastair Mabbott, The Herald ---- ‘Timeless . . . warmly written and warmly recommended.’ Rupa Huq MP, The House ---- ‘Keen in both its humour and in its pathos, the novel captures the acuteness and anguish of childhood and adolescence. The people Ruby loves…comprise just a few of the somebodies of the title, evoking Ruby's broken but radiant world, a place suffused with grim humour and sad, strange aching.’ Kathleen Rooney, Star Tribune ---- ‘The chapters, like Ruby, are concise, never rambling, but they contain startling depth . . . Each scene is packed with emotion and memory, and it’s all carried by the diction and imagery of a poem. It adds up to a beautiful whole.’ Publishers Weekly, starred review ---- ‘Mona Arshi has crafted a delightful, gentle debut novel full of warmth and subtle humour. To quote one of Ruby’s father’s favourite aphorisms: a beautiful thing is never perfect. But I would counter that Somebody Loves You probably is.’ Jo Lateu, New Internationalist ---- ‘An unforgettable portrait of a young girl struggling to connect.’ Lucy Popescu, The Tablet ---- ‘Amid . . . anecdotes spanning years of life in a handful of pages lies a tale that will sit with readers long after its final page.’ Heather McDaid, The Skinny ---- ‘In the best writing, what goes unsaid is often as important as what gets said, and there’s a lot left unsaid in Mona Arshi’s debut novel Somebody Loves You . . . her prose is pared to the bone, and she has a keen eye for detail, as well as a knack for memorable imagery.’ Joshua Rees, Buzz Magazine ---- 'A sharply drawn world of wonder in elegant and lean prose. A fresh, innovative novel that is an ode to families, coming of age and sisterhood.' Roger Robinson ----'Mona Arshi uses the shape and heft of prose poetry to extend the novel into unexpected new terrain. Tender, funny, and exhilarating.' Jeet Thayil ----'Somebody Loves You is alive with rare subtlety and tensile strength, and infused with the kind of beauty that brings every quiet moment into sharp relief.' Preti Taneja----'A truly enriching read, Somebody Loves You is a glorious debut novel. I took this book with me everywhere and kept returning to it. I loved every perfect choice of word and turn of phrase in this vivid and tender, poetic and beautiful book.' Salena Godden----'Mona Arshi writes with curiosity, gentleness, and a keen eye for how even the smallest details of daily life can carry meaning. In form and content, this is a gleaming, quiet novel cut through with remarkable confidence. Reading Somebody Loves You was like being rocked gently - and then shaken entirely awake.' Jessica J Lee----'Something flows through this book at the deepest level: experiences of love, care, memory and intimacy. Written with the poetic capacity to articulate the unsaid and the unknown; an extraordinary novel of the day, the night, the garden and life.' Bhanu Kapil----'Each sentence has the cadence of poetry, each phrase perfectly chosen, each word correctly weighed. This is a novel which reminds us memory and narrative are often not complete but rather are crystallised glimpses, which turn like a kaleidoscope through our mind.' Andrew McMillan----'A masterful, subtle and heartbreaking novel - I loved it.' Jo Heygate, Pages of Hackney----'A beautiful gem of a story, which explores the vicissitudes of youth with an understated elegance, wit and insight.' Fiona Kennedy, The Pitshanger Bookshop----'Mona Arshi's talent lies in the perfect balance between the harshness of the story and the bewitching atmosphere of her prose. Beautifully devastating.' Giulia Lenti, Foyles Waterloo----'An astutely observant portrait of the world from a girl who doesn't speak, Somebody Loves You is a novel built by the power of memories, nostalgia, and sisterhood. Arshi expresses the gravity of mental health in wonderfully written poetic prose which is absolutely captivating from start to finish. She transforms fleeting childhood moments into the unforgettable.' Lauren Steele, Waterstones Crouch End----'Like the proverbs Ruby carefully keeps in her notebook, Arshi's chapters have a pearly, iridescent quality - tender, lyrical, with a quiet humour and a dark sting in the tail. You want to turn each sentence over in your hand in case it looks different from another angle. Properly sublime writing.' Ben Pope, Review Bookshop----'I jumped into Somebody Loves You with little to no idea of what to expect, and found myself unable to put it down. The voice of Ruby - sister, daughter of immigrants, brown, observant, mute - is powerfully crafted. A great read for lovers of poetry and prose alike.' Mariana Calderon, Savoy Bookshop & Cafe----'Somebody Loves You is elegant and elusive, and also completely brilliant. Each of its precise little vignettes holds an act of micro-resistance against the banality and violence of the world.' Tom Robinson, Gloucester Road Books----'An ambitious and richly imagined debut. Quite unlike anything I've ever read.' Callum McAllister, Storysmith
£10.79
Everyman Typhoon And Other Stories
Book SynopsisIn these three sea stories, based on his own experience, Conrad invests his portraits of mundane steamers and their crews with epic qualities of fortitude and courage in the face of overwhelming natural odds. At the same time, he probes the psychological condition of men together and under pressure with the greatest delicacy, raising the adventure story to the level of high art. The supreme poet of the sailor's life, Conrad here establishes his reputation as a master storyteller.
£11.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Bay Of Noon
Book SynopsisThe scene is Naples, against whose ancient and fantastic background the modern action takes place. Among the protagonists is Jenny, young and pretty, who has come to Naples in flight from a sombre drama, unaware that a larger drama waits her there. She has an introduction to a Neapolitan woman, and one day she idly follows it up. This is her leap through the looking glass.Trade ReviewMiss Hazzard's mind is a revolving light that picks a scene, holds it in utmost clarity for a moment against the surrounding darkness and moves on * New York TIMES *Shirley Hazzard achieves an extraordinary density of tone in this slim little book, which is as poised and vivid today as when it was first published in 1970 * IRISH TIMES *
£9.49
And Other Stories Purity
Book SynopsisPurity's stories take the reader through cities and suburbs, apartments and streets, to find characters struggling to survive in modern society: a man has a breakdown on a bus; a fugitive gains insight from a colour wheel; a social realist kills his friend with a hammer; a thief proclaims his innocence. And cleaners reluctantly clean up.
£13.49
Mereo Books Second Sight
Book SynopsisSmart, savvy and original, Sally Emerson’s story about a young woman growing up with an amoral mother deftly portrays youth and its careful obsessions. For fifteen-year-old Jennifer Hamilton, the transition from adolescence to adulthood is painful and bewildering. Too mature to return to the securities of childhood, yet unwilling to join a world of adults, Jennifer creates a psychic world in which her companions are Shelley and the Restoration playwright Aphra Behn. Adding to Jennifer’s self-doubt is her exuberant and capricious mother. When her mother brings home the young, attractive architect Paul, Jennifer becomes aware of new and unusual feelings, and before long mother and daughter are competing for Paul’s attention.
£9.45
Peninsula Press Ltd Still Life
Book SynopsisJuggling with our perception of time and reality, Still Life tells the story of an author struggling to write a biography of Scottish poet and abolitionist Thomas Pringle. In her efforts to resurrect Pringle, the writer summons the spectre of Mary Prince, the West Indian slave whose History Pringle published, along with Hinza, his adopted black South African son. As these voices vie for control over the text and the lines between life writing and fiction-making begin to blur, yet another voice enters the chorus: Sir Nicholas Greene, the self-regarding poet from Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. Their adventures through time and space, from Victorian South Africa and London to the author's desk in Glasgow in the present day, offer a poignant yet often playful exploration of colonial history and racial oppression
£10.44
Persephone Books Ltd Tea with Mr.Rochester
Book Synopsis
£16.00
Parthian Books Fresh Apples
Book SynopsisSarah's not abnormal or ugly, just a little bit fat, and she's got cerebral palsy. "No way was it rape or even molestation... she's fourteen, not a child. I'm not a paedophile." Gemma's mother had shagged Tom Jones. Nobody knew who her father was, least of all her mother. Spiderman doesn't want to inflict his petty-thief persona on self contained Caitlin, but he finds himself getting off at her stop. When chickens that belong to 'Chelle's grand-dad start to peck each other, sounding like death warming up, she wrings one of their necks and ends up doing worse. Johnny Mental was sitting on his porch wearing sunglasses, drinking lager, his teeth orange and ugly. Someone was painting their front door a few yards away, with a portable radio playing soul music; Diana Ross or some shit. A big burgundy Vauxhall Cavalier came around the corner, real slow like an old man on a hill. Eleven wry and defiant stories on the power and beautiful transience of youth.
£9.00
Norvik Press Witches' Rings
Book SynopsisWitches' Rings portrays the history of a rural society in a new light, tracing its development through the lives of working class women and children rather than authorities and decision-makers. The central character is a woman so anonymous that her name is not even mentioned on her gravestone. This novel, written in 1974 and now published for the first time in English, is the first volume of a tetralogy which follows a Swedish community through a hundred years of recent history to the present day.
£15.15
Tippermuir Books Limited Who's Aldo?: The Sequel to A Working Class State
Book Synopsis
£11.39
Wild Goose Publications Lost People
Book SynopsisIn a fractured dystopic future, the child Rue finds solace in the garden of a mysterious community. Rue has lost identity, family, home and people to war. Adulthood requires a courageous journey through a landscape of despair, yet ultimately Rue finds hope of regeneration from unexpected sources.
£8.99
Cornerstone A Home for Broken Hearts
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_____________________________For young window, Ellen Wood, her home is a refuge a haven for herself and soon-to-be teenage son. But when money grows so tight that Ellen could lose the house, her sister makes a radical suggestion . . . rent out some of the rooms. Soon, a host of characters enter her ordered but fragile existence each with their own messy life in tow. A full house injects a renewed sense of energy into Ellen's world. But though she's had the courage to open the door, will she dare step through?________________________________Praise for Rowan Coleman's bestselling novels: I've always loved Rowan's writing' Lucy DillonBeautifully written' Daily MailThere is a lovely smooth glow to the writing' Matt HaigEpic . . .' Red MagazinePainfully real and utterly heartbreaking wonderfully uplifting' Lisa JewellStupendous' Lucy DiamondUtte
£9.49
UEA Publishing Project The Sanity Inspectors
Book SynopsisHow can you tell who's insane when the world has gone mad? Originally translated into English by Robert Kee in 1957, the new edition includes an Introduction by Sinclair McKay and an Afterword by Chris Maloney. Who can tell exactly where the difference lies between those of us who imagine ourselves sane and those we call insane? As Dr Robert Vossmenge tries to practice psychiatry in Germany in the early 1930s, he finds himself at odds with his profession as it increasingly falls under the influence of the Nazi regime and its aim to rid German society of those it considers undesirables. He tries to stay out of trouble by keeping a low profile, but when he strikes up a friendship with a Luthern pastor, he begins to question his assumptions about what constitutes sanity in a world where the people in charge seem to be insane. Though he quietly wages a one-man campaign against the German war effort while serving as a Luftwaffe doctor, Vossmenge is ultimately forced to chose between survival and standing for his beliefs. The Sanity Inspectors is a gripping account of the challenge of trying to be a good man in an evil system. Always amusing and often frightening.--The Boston Globe Clear and fast moving, with humor that refuses to be repressed.--The Indianapolis Star Fiction.
£14.24
Cornerstone The Summer of Impossible Things
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_________________________Luna and her sister are devastated after their mother's sudden death. But when a lifelong secret is revealed, they must return to her birthplace in New York to settle affairs. In Brooklyn, they soon find more questions than answers, until something impossible magical happens to Luna, and she meets her mother as a young woman back in the summer of 1977. When Luna realises she's not imagining things, and can truly travel back in time, she is determined to change things. But in doing anything everything to save her mother's life, will she have to sacrifice her own?___________________________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 MagazinePainfully real and utterly h
£9.49
Cornerstone The Girl at the Window
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_______________________Ponden Hall is a centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors, a magical place full of stories. It's also where Trudy Heaton grew up. And where she eventually ran away from. Now, after the devastating loss of her husband, she is returning home with her young son, Will, who refuses to believe his father is dead. While Trudy tries to do her best for her son, she must also attempt to build bridges with her eccentric mother. And then there is the Hall itself. It may have fallen into disrepair but generations of lives and loves still echo in its shadows, sometimes even reaching out into the present... _______________________Praise for Rowan Coleman's bestselling novels:I've always loved Rowan's writing' Lucy DillonBeautifully written' Daily MailThere is a lovely smooth glow to the writing' Matt HaigEpic . . .' Red MagazinePain
£9.49
Charco Press Habana año cero
Book SynopsisSexo, mentiras e historia científica convergen en La Habana en el año 1993."Era como si hubiéramos alcanzado el punto crítico mínimo de una curva matemática. ¿Tiene presente una parábola? El cero de abajo, el hueco, el abismo. Hasta ahí llegamos."Corre el año 1993. Cuba está en lo más álgido del Período Especial, un profunda crisis económica tras el colapso del bloque soviético.Para Julia, una profesora de matemática que detesta enseñar, La Habana está en su año cero: el punto más bajo, camino a ninguna parte. Desesperada por tomar las riendas de su vida, Julia se une a Euclides, su colega y ex amante, para emprender la búsqueda del documento que compruebe que el teléfono fue inventado por Antonio Meucci, en La Habana. Creen que esta es la respuesta para proteger su reputación y darle a Cuba un nuevo propósito.A partir de este punto cero, Julia da inicio a una investigación que la acercará a dos hombres que prometen guiarla hasta el documento, y que la verá involucrada en un enredado misterio de pasión, legados familiares y las complejidades de cómo la gente encuentra maneras de sobrevivir en un país que vive la más terrible de sus crisis. "It was as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss. That’s how low we sank."The year is 1993. Cuba is at the height of the Special Period, a widespread economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet bloc.For Julia, a mathematics lecturer who hates teaching, Havana is at Year Zero: the lowest possible point, going nowhere. Desperate to seize control of her life, Julia teams up with her colleague and former lover, Euclid, to seek out a document that proves the telephone was invented by Antonio Meucci in Havana, convinced it is the answer to secure their reputations and give Cuba a purpose once more.From this point zero, Julia sets out on an investigation to befriend two men who could help lead to the document’s whereabouts, and must pick apart a tangled mystery of sex, family legacies and the intricacies of how people find ways to survive in a country at its lowest ebb.Sex, lies, and scientific history collide in 1993 Havana.It was as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss. That’s how low we sank.The year is 1993. Cuba is at the height of the Special Period, a widespread economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet bloc.For Julia, a mathematics lecturer who hates teaching, this is Year Zero: the lowest possible point. But a way out appears: the search for a missing document that will prove the telephone was invented in Havana, secure her reputation, and give Cuba a purpose once more. What begins as an investigation into scientific history becomes a tangle of sex, friendship, family legacies, and the intricacies of how people find ways to survive in a country at its lowest ebb.Trade ReviewEnglish PEN (Award)Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-monde (Winner)Insular Book Award (Winner)"Una lectura tremendamente disfrutable." —Irish Times"Un recorrido sereno, atractivo y ágilmente trazado a través de una ciudad y una cultura resilientes. (4 estrellas)” " —The Arts Desk"A medio camino entre la novela histórica, la comedia de enredos y la novela de misterio, Karla Suárez consigue retratar con extraordinaria voluptuosidad y sugerencia uno de los tiempos más duros de la isla caribeña ." —El Mundo"'El nombre de la rosa' estilo cubano (...) Una obra maestra." —Marie Claire"Una novela impactante." —Le Figaro Littéraire"Un misterio brillante e intenso." —BookBlast"Habana año cero es como una muñeca mamushka rusa; sus diversas capas encajan entre sí de una manera firme y gratificante." —Lunate"Una demostración magistral e innovadora de la narración en primera persona." —Reading in Translation"Una historia de detectives deliciosamente atípica." —Shiny New Books"La prosa afilada y atractiva de Suárez se abre paso desde una voz narrativa clara y auténtica." —Necessary Fiction"Extravagante, conmovedora y muy relevante para el contexto contemporáneo." —Lucy Writers"La prosa de Suárez –y la traducción de Christina MacSweeney– es coloquial, está hermosamente escrita y consigue evocar a La Habana maravillosamente como una ciudad en crisis pero no en situación de perdición total." —The Sock Drawer"Suárez aplica a Cuba la teoría del caos." —Le Temps"Una novela brillante, alegre y hermosa." —Leer"Con un lenguaje incisivo y sobrio, Suárez retrata un país devastado por la crisis económica, donde los cubanos deben luchar y soñar día a día para transformar su vida en algo soportable." —Le Matin d'Algérie"La trama original, narrada como una adivinanza matemática, y el retrato apocalíptico de La Habana de 1993 son dos de los grandes atractivos de esta novela." —La Libre Belgique"Su escritura cuenta con ingredientes característicos de la buena literatura: una buena historia, con ritmo y fluidez, pero también con sensibilidad, elegancia, inteligencia y sentido del humor." —Duas margens
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Accordion Crimes
Book SynopsisThe third novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘The Shipping News’, ‘Accordion Crimes’ spans generations, continents and a century and confirms the hallucinatory power of Proulx’s writing. ‘Accordion Crimes’ is a masterpiece of story-telling that spans a century and a continent. It opens in 1890 in Sicily, when an accordion-maker and his son, carrying little more than his finest button accordion, begin their voyage to the teeming, violent port of New Orleans. Within a year, the accordion-maker is murdered by an anti-Italian lynch mob, but his instrument carries the novel into another community of immigrants: German-Americans founding a new town in South Dakota. Moving from South Dakota to Texas, from Montana to Maine, the nine instantly compelling and intricately connected sections of the novel illuminate the lives of the founders of a nation, descendants of Mexicans, Poles, Germans, Irish, Scots and Franco-Canadians. Through the music of the accordion they express their fantasies, sorrows and exuberance.Trade Review‘This novel confirms Proulx as one of the greatest American writers.’ Independent ‘The detail is breathtaking, her ear for dialogue matchless, her observation unsentimental, her pace infectious. She tackles death, sex and the gruesome with black hilarity and the skills of a born storyteller. Rich and dense, “Accordion Crimes” is a splendid novel.’ The Times ‘Annie Proulx has written an epic social history of America and the plight of the immigrant, which is astonishing in its breadth, heroic in the scale of its ambition and brilliant in its manner of realising them.’ Daily Mail ‘The glorious richness of the language continually makes you pause in wonder, the details pile up and surround you.’ Scotsman ‘Her range and scope are tremendous, shuttling through the warp of multiple cultures and spanning, by the end, a hundred years. And it is the range of detail that grips, richly concrete.’ Spectator ‘Vigorous, salty and extraordinary.’ The Times
£13.49
Everyman Sons And Lovers
Book SynopsisSons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It traces emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers, which exert complex influences on the development of his manhood.
£12.60
Fairlight Books Only About Love
Book SynopsisThere's no such thing as a perfect family. A perfect life. A perfect man. Frank is proof of this. He's everyman and yet as unique as a fingerprint. With a wonderful wife and children who are the loves of his lives, he couldn't ask for anything more. But time and time again he keeps risking it all. In snapshots through time, 'Only About Love' takes a sweeping loop around Frank's life as he navigates courtship, marriage, fatherhood and illness. Told through the perspective of Frank and his family, this story is one of intense honesty about the things we do to those closest to us.Trade Review'Only About Love explores some of the most important questions about love, loyalty and ageing that we ever have to face' —Michael Loveday, author of 'Three Men on the Edge'; 'Debbi Voisey's writing is breathless, red-raw and brutally honest' —Tracy Fells, 2017 Regional Winner (Canada & Europe) Commonwealth Short Story Prize; 'Gut wrenching, heart-warming, playful with time, language, and memory' —Lisa Blower, author of 'Pondweed'; 'A touching book about what it means to be human' —Sophie van Llewyn, author of 'Bottled Goods', longlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
£7.59
Fairlight Books Starling
Book SynopsisStarling can trap a rabbit, cook a meal from a hedge and hear a bailiff coming from a mile off. All she has ever known is a nomadic existence, travelling in a camper van with Mar, her strong-willed mother. But Mar has cut them off from their community, and this winter they're stuck in deep mud in a wood, with no fuel, no money and no friends. One morning, without explanation, Mar leaves and doesn't come back. Utterly alone, Starling must learn to survive without her mother and build a life on her own terms. An offer to stay with an old friend draws her into a more conventional way of living - but can rootless Starling ever find a place where she truly belongs?Trade Review'A beautifully written debut. Sarah Jane Butler explores the challenges of treading lightly in this modern world, the power of community and the process of recovering from a difficult mothering' —Katherine May, author of 'Wintering'; 'A beautiful tale of wandering and searching, full of gorgeous nature writing that illuminates our complex and varied relationships with the natural world. Starling reminds us that there are many ways to be free and wild, and we must find our own' —Zoe Gilbert, author of 'Mischief Acts'; 'Starling is both a hymn to the English landscape and an exploration of what it takes to live together and apart. Sarah Jane Butler writes with a visceral lyricism; she doesn't so much observe the natural world as plunge us into its ditches, woods and rivers. A profound, gripping and deeply humane story about the choices we make in relation to the land and each other' —Judith Heneghan, author of 'Snegurochka'; 'Starling is a love letter to the natural world, a celebration of the threads that bind us to the land and to each other' —Peggy Riley, author of 'Amity & Sorrow'; 'Sarah Jane Butler is an author to watch' —Times of Tunbridge Wells; 'Starling is so immersed in nature you can literally smell it jumping off the pages' —BBC Radio
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The One That Got Away
Book SynopsisFor fans of Colleen Hoover and Rosie Walsh: this book will break your heart... then put it back together. Two years together. Twenty years apart. One day to change their story. Benjamin's world is turned upside down the day he meets Clara. Instinctively, he knows that she is his person and he is hers, but the events of one devastating night will take their lives in very different directions. Twenty years later, a bombing is reported in the city where Clara and Ben met, and she is pulled back to a place she tries not to remember and the first love she could never forget. Searching for Ben, Clara prays that twenty years of silence is about to end. But is it too late to put right what went wrong? This is not a love story. But it is a story of first love, of the mistakes people make, and the lengths they'll go to put things right. PRAISE FOR THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY 'Captures masterfully the magic and devastation of first love... A powerful exploration of the relationships that shape us, this is a nostalgic, fierce and utterly spellbinding read.' Holly Miller 'Compelling tale of the power of first love. Hooks you in with a sucker punch and never lets go' Linda Green 'Evocative and beautifully written... I defy anyone who has experienced the heartbreak of first love not to cry when they read it.' Nikki Smith, author of Look What You Made Me DoTrade ReviewHard-hitting, gripping and emotional. * Fabulous *‘This is a cleverly written and thought-provoking novel...We are treated to a touching and evocative portrayal of first love...a real and raw examination of lost opportunities and harsh realities’ * Platinum *’Colleen Hoover's books were the star of the show in 2022 - however Charlotte Rixon has released a rival novel!’. * Chat *‘It is a romance…But it is so much more than that as we unpick their lives afterwards…it’s all told really cleverly, the present day unfolding alongside their young love.’ * Jess, Book Reccos *Poignant... a modern tale of love and loss -- Mary Jarrett * Yours *If you love Sally Rooney and Colleen Hover, this book is one for you! * Pick Me Up! *Praise for The One That Got Away: 'Compelling tale of the power of first love. Hooks you in with a sucker punch and never lets go' Linda Green 'Evocative and beautifully written... I defy anyone who has experienced the heartbreak of first love not to cry when they read it.' Nikki Smith, author of Look What You Made Me Do 'Captures masterfully the magic and devastation of first love... A powerful exploration of the relationships that shape us, this is a nostalgic, fierce and utterly spellbinding read.' Holly Miller 'A powerful page-turner that perfectly portrays the destruction and jealousy of a relationship between two damaged young people, too inexperienced to deal with the intensity of their feelings. A tense, gripping read – I loved it.' Sarah Stovell, author of Other Parents 'Moving and gripping.' Eva Woods, author of How To Be Happy 'Absorbing, touching and wise – I raced through it.’ Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way 'Do not let this one get away. It will steal your heart.' Lesley Kara, author of The Dare
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Colonel and the Eunuch
Book SynopsisThe phenomenal #1 Chinese bestseller, with over 3 million copies sold. This is a searing exploration of what makes a hero: a literary masterpiece, available in the English language for the very first time.The boy grows up in a small village in south China listening to stories about the Colonel: some say he was a legendary army doctor during the war, some say he was a traitor to the Party, still others say he is a wicked sex machine. The stories are bawdy and mesmerizing, always larger than life. Yet in reality, the Colonel is just a middle-aged man who loves his cat. And why on earth does everyone call him ''the Eunuch''?From these disparate sources, the boy tries to piece together who the Colonel really is, just as he himself grows up in a rapidly changing China. It is not until many years later, when the boy also becomes a middle-aged man, that he would look back and finally solve the puzzle.The Colonel and the Eunuch is Mai Jia''s first new n
£17.00
Fairlight Books Other Names, Other Places
Book Synopsis'What were we, then, if 'English' was a prize out of our reach and 'Tunisian' was the mask we wore at home?' Growing up in London with Tunisian parents, wayward Nessie finds herself caught between cultures. Her parents don't want her becoming too English, while at school she doesn't feel 'white enough' or 'African enough' to fit in with any group. She even has multiple names: Nesrine officially, Susu to her family, Nessie to everyone else. And then there's Mrs Brown: a charismatic woman who befriends her parents and soon becomes the glue holding their dysfunctional family together. Yet after a catastrophic betrayal, Mrs Brown abruptly disappears from their lives. Years later, Nessie seeks independence but struggles to escape a pattern of self-sabotage. As unsolved family mysteries resurface, she begins to wonder: what really happened between her parents and Mrs Brown?Trade Review'Ola Mustapha revels in the confusions and squashed experiences of growing up that most would rather forget. This is a novel of rootlessness and family secrets, which tells its truth with briskness and deftness, aiming straight at the reader's heart' -Leila Aboulela, author of 'River Spirit'; 'Mustapha's spare, lucid prose explores a complex web of displacement as her main character carves a hard path between cultures and little-understood family loyalties. A searching, honest and evocative book' -Fiona Vigo Marshall, author of 'The House of Marvellous Books'; 'An immersive and gorgeous read' -Eva Verde, author of 'Lives Like Mine''; 'Ola Mustapha's storytelling is vigorous and complex. In Nessie, she has created a brilliantly paradoxical protagonist, whose self-doubts compete with an irresistible inner fire. Its rich explorations of culture, identity, and family secrets are at once relatable and revelatory' -Phoebe Walker, author of 'Temper'; 'Ola Mustapha precisely evokes the experience of being a migrant; of the changing self balancing several existences within, along with all the burdens they carry. An impressive and layered novel, by a writer to watch out for' -Polis Loizou, author of 'A Good Year';
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Everything is Not Enough
Book SynopsisTHE NAACP ''OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORK'' FINALIST The brilliant second novel from the acclaimed author of In Every Mirror She''s Black follows three women as they try to navigate life, love, prejudice and privilege in Stockholm.Yasmiin cannot comprehend what the policeman is saying to her. Her friend in a coma? Attempted suicide? Discovering she's listed as next of kin, Yasmiin looks to her friend's past to try and understand her actions, uncovering fresh mysteries at every turn. All the while, her own life seems to be running off courseKemi seems to have it all: a high-powered job, a beautiful flat, a loving boyfriend. So why doesn''t she feel more settled? Unsure whether its homesickness, heartsickness or sick-and-tired-of-the-same-old-sickness, she embarks on a destructive path to try and change things upBrittany-Rae doesn't remember the woman she was before she met her husband Jonny. She knows she was an ambitious, confident go-getter, but n
£9.49
Atlantic Books And Then He Sang a Lullaby
Book SynopsisAni Kayode Somtochukwu is an award-winning Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist. His work interrogates themes of queer identity, resistance and liberation and has appeared in literary magazines across Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. His work has received wide recognition, having been longlisted for the 2017 Awele Creative Trust Prize and the 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize. He was shortlisted for the 2017 Erbacce Prize for Poetry, the 2020 ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award and the 2020 Toyin Falola Prize. The manuscript for this novel was awarded the 2021 James Currey Prize for African Literature.
£9.49
Atlantic Books Elaine
Book SynopsisWill Self is the author of many novels and books of nonfiction, including Great Apes; How the Dead Live, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year; The Butt, winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction; Umbrella, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Shark; Phone; the memoir Will; and the essay collection Why Read. He lives in South London.
£17.09
Atlantic Books This is Salvaged
Book SynopsisPushing intimacy to its limits in prose of unearthly beauty, Vauhini Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbour or lover, and the relationships between self and others. A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbour, who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And, in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible's specifications. In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found? The characters in This Is Salvaged, unmoored in turbulence, are searching fervently for meaning, through one another.Trade ReviewA dazzling collection full of spellbinding prose...Through unrestrained characters and fresh scenarios, Vara masterfully makes anew what it feels like to be alive -- Jonathan Escoffery * New York Times Book Review *In these tales, Vara has captured the fantasies, griefs and longings of life. From keen-eyed girlhood to delusional middle-age, the characters reach for more than is possible, falter, then reach for more. This Is Salvaged is a book for readers who need clarity and hope - that is to say: everybody. -- Andrew Sean Greer, author of LESSIt takes tremendous courage and wit to look with wonder at the darkest, most shameful places in the human heart and make them hilarious, tender and deeply moving; Vauhini Vara, with her grand-scale compassion and moral complexity in This is Salvaged, can do this magic with astonishing ease. -- Lauren Groff, author of MATRIXThe stories in Vauhini Vara's This Is Salvaged are brilliant, entirely human, abidingly strange. She is one of our most inventive writers of fiction, as well as visionary, with a gift for writing about grief both extraordinary and ordinary. This Is Salvaged is unforgettable. -- Elizabeth McCracken, author of THE HERO OF THIS BOOKI finished This is Salvaged and immediately wanted to re-read it. What a ride. Vauhini Vara's writing is immersive, yielding stories that are clever and surprising, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny. A brilliant, deeply satisfying collection. -- Deesha Philyaw, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIESThese dazzling stories take a kaleidoscopic and ferociously tender look at loss and what people hold onto or discover in the wake of it...Vara has written a wholly original, insightful and powerful collection. -- Danielle Evans, author of THE OFFICE OF HISTORICAL CORRECTIONSA poignant collection of stories that glimpse the salvation of human connection in the midst of modern alienation. * Kirkus Reviews *Vara invigorates with emotional insights, whimsy, and a precision with language. It's a remarkable achievement * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
£11.69
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd The Havoc of Choice
Book SynopsisA story about family, politics and journeying through a fractured country in a delicate time, The Havoc of Choice explores the long reaching effects of colonisation and corruption within the context of a singular household and the disparate experiences of class and clan they encapsulate.2007, Kenya. Long held captive by her father's shadow of corruption, Kavata has spent her life suffocated by political machinations. When her husband decides to run in the next election, these shadows threaten to consume her home. Unable to bear this darkness, Kavata plots to escape.As her family falls apart, so too does her country. In the wake of Kenya's post-election turmoil, Kavata and her family must find their way back to each other across a landscape of wide-spread confusion, desperation, and heartrending loss.One of the first pieces of long fiction from Kenya to explore its 2007 post-election violence (PEV) in such detail, The Havoc of Choice is a delicate and deeply personal attempt to understand the root of this spontaneous yet organised conflict and to figure out what healing looks like for the people of Kenya.Trade ReviewWanjiru Koinange turns the story of a Kenyan election into a study of Nairobi and Kenya itself. Her vision is warm and intelligent, her storytelling impeccable, and her cast of characters unerringly plausible and fascinating. One of the best accounts of the new Africa in years. -- Imran Coovadia * author of The Wedding and The Posioners *Through the intimate and abiding lens of family, Koinange - a new and compelling voice - skilfully weaves an intricate story of corruption, betrayal, love and loss. Tension-filled and moving. -- Yewande Omotoso * author of Bom Boy and The Woman Next Door *
£999.99
Profile Books Ltd The Material
Book Synopsis'Utterly charming ... Bordas is an invaluable new voice' George Saunders 'A disquisition into the nature of comedy and creativity. Like the best comedians ... Bordas is alert to the deeper joke' Sunday Times 'Amusing... impressive' New York Times 'Marvellously engaging and entertaining ... full of terrific moments and cutting dialogue' Independent Every comedian knows that there's a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, has the potential to become a punchline. At the Chicago Stand-up School, success is about the material. But maybe Artie is too handsome to be taken seriously on stage, Olivia too scared to examine her past, and Phil too afraid to cause harm. Their teachers are obsessed with failure: Kruger trying to command his father's respect, Ashbee weary of the way his Blackness attracts a type of white admirer, Dorothy wondering how her talent is connected to her loneliness. Whether a visitin
£15.29
Canongate Books This Is How You Remember It
Book SynopsisAN IRISH TIMES FICTION BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2024You''re nine when you get your first computer. Your favourite thing is a virtual pet website; you spend hours in the chatroom. You don''t understand why some of your online friends don''t use their real names.It''s not long before you discover porn. You don''t know what you''re watching, but you do know that you shouldn''t tell anybody. Later, older, your first kiss is captured on camera and shared with everyone in your year. It feels like betrayal, but soon it feels normal. Part of the incessant cycle of posting, sharing and liking.Now, you can''t remember a time when you didn''t feel hollow inside. Now, you know that something has to change.Chilling, potent and intensely intimate, This is How You Remember It is at once a cautionary tale, a call to arms and a tender love story. It is about a life lived online, and about finding another way, when it''s all you''ve ever known.
£15.29
Influx Press From Blue to Black
Book SynopsisBirmingham, early 1990s. Triangle are a cult act on the post-punk scene, led by brilliant and troubled vocalist Karl - a man haunted by past violence and present danger, torn between fame and oblivion, men and women, music and silence. Triangle's bass player, David, is struggling to make sense of Karl's reality as the band start to make waves in the music scene and Karl starts to come apart in a blur of sex and drinking. First published in 2000, Joel Lane's debut novel From Blue to Black is a story of passion, blood and alcohol, broken strings and broken lives - a piercing voyage through our musical and political past that cuts to the bone.
£9.49
Pushkin Press Waking Lions
Book SynopsisA celebrated, thrilling 'Israeli noir' about guilt and desire
£10.44
Atlantic Books The Invisible Hotel
Book SynopsisYeji Y. Ham is a Korean Canadian writer. She received her B.A. in Creative Writing from University of British Columbia (2014) and M.F.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University (2016). At Brown, she taught fiction workshops and completed a short story collection titled Doraesol. A part of the collection was awarded the Frances Mason Harris' 26 Prizes in Fiction. She hopes that through writing, the stories of the voiceless and the forgotten would be brought out into the world.
£13.49
Influx Press The Blue Mask
Book SynopsisWITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY JOSEPH O’NEILL Neil is a student at Birmingham University, living a typical life of gigs, clubs, politics, sex. One night, after a row with his lover, Neil follows a stranger onto a canal towpath. The stranger turns on him and attacks, viciously carving up Neil’s face and leaving him mutilated beyond recognition. Neil’s recovery is a journey through surgical reconstruction and sexual alienation. His attempt to track down his attacker becoming a search for his own hidden, destructive self; a search that leads him to question values he had always taken for granted. First published in 2003 and long out-of-print, The Blue Mask is a hardcore emotional trip exploring the trauma of change and the nature of violence and of love.
£9.49
Bedford Square Publishers I Died at Fallow Hall
Book SynopsisA thought-provoking, genuinely contemporary take on the country house murder mystery: the perfect combination of literary and crime novel.
£15.29
Sparsile Books Ltd Not the Deaths Imagined
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Weatherglass Books The The Angels of L19
Book SynopsisThe Angels of L19 is a moving and entirely original story of young lives at the confluence of faith and doubt, angels and demons, life and death. And where redemption is possible, even for those we think might be lost forever.
£10.44
The Book Guild Ltd Their Exits and Their Entrances
Book SynopsisWe used to get standing ovations. Now we get ovations for standing. The last place in which that great lady of the theatre Elspeth Quest wishes to spend her final years is Dustingford Hall, rest-home for retired actors and entertainers. Yet failing health and worse investments have led her to become a charity case here. She blanches at the sight of various actors and actresses, in various degrees of physical and mental decline, with whom she has worked over the years but never really wished to see again. (Not to mention tap-dancers, ventriloquists, impressionists, contortionists!) Telling them all she is only here until her town house in Kensington has completed major structural improvements, she wonders how she is ever going to survive. Or, more importantly, explain her permanent stay. But all these performers, who once lived purely for the present are now talking only of the past. As though simply waiting to die. When she observes the residents jeering en masse at a TV talent show, Elspeth sees her opportunity. She tells them to stop living in the past – they still have their talents – they should put on one tremendous final show for family, friends and trustees. And for themselves. It’s Christmas, for heaven’s sake. (And of course she will produce, direct and star!) But will it truly give them all a new lease of life – or will they die trying? Praise for Their Exits and Their Entrances: "Funny and touching – brilliantly distinctive characters." David Lister, The Independent. "A feel-good novel of considerable substance that will be loved by fans of The Thursday Murder Club." Petra Fried, BAFTA-winning producer. The Misfits. End of the F***ing World. "Laugh-out loud on London Transport funny." Carolyn Pickles, Actress. Broadchurch. Harry Potter. Canterville Ghost. "A truly charming read. A tale of ‘dramatic’ twists and turns." Francine White, Show business journalist "Unpredictable, unsentimental, unputdownable." Daniel Peak, BAFTA-winning writer. Not Going Out. Code 404. Horrible Histories. "Witty, touching and profound. No murders but plenty of ‘corpsing’. Mendelson’s best yet." Paul Harrison, BAFTA-winning director. Ballykissangel. A Touch of Frost.
£8.09
Nordisk Books Fixed Ideas
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Nordisk Books Cigarette
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Scribe Publications How We Are Translated: a novel
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE Do you ever feel like you’re not speaking the same language? Swedish immigrant Kristin won’t talk about her pregnancy. Her Brazilian-born Scottish boyfriend Ciaran won’t speak English at all; he is trying to immerse himself in a språkbad or ‘language bath’, covering their Edinburgh apartment in post-it notes to teach himself Swedish. As this young couple is forced to confront the thing that they are both avoiding, they must reckon with the bigger questions of the world outside, and their places in it.Trade Review‘A novel brimming with ideas and promise.’ -- Lucy Knight * The Sunday Times *‘One of the gentlest and most patient, humane, and quirky things I have read in a long time ... Hugely original.’ -- Niamh Campbell, author of This Happy‘Unique and playful.’ * Foyles *‘I really really loved How We Are Translated ... so brilliant on language, communication, distance, the ways we speak past/around/beyond each other.’ -- Nell Stevens‘How We Are Translated is the most contemporary of novels; set somehow both in the now and in the distant past; in one city that could be many cities, and in two different languages, though also in defiance of language, with as much focus on the silences between words as the words themselves. It’s a novel that maintains just the right balance of oddity, intimacy, and illumination. It’s a novel that anyone interested in the future of the English novel needs to read!’ -- Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither‘With echoes of Ali Smith and George Saunders, How We Are Translated explores themes of identity and intimacy with admirable sensitivity and wit.’ -- Julianne Pachico, author of The Anthill‘How We Are Translated is a layered work about home, language, barriers, and belonging. Johannesson’s unusual and refreshing prose crackles with truth — burning along beautifully.’ -- Alice Bishop, author of A Constant Hum‘Our bodies and languages are made new to us again through Jessica Gaitán Johannesson’s wild and playful novel. Laying bare the absurdity of the idea of a common tongue, she takes us on an adventure through private and public languages — those which ebb and flow between lovers or arise out of necessity in a workplace obsessed with authenticity. How We Are Translated gets at the heart of how language holds us, tears at us, and can bring us close in spite of, or because of, its inevitable imperfections.’ -- Saskia Vogel, author of Permission‘Jessica Gaitán Johannesson has a very fresh voice that packs everything with so much new meaning that you won’t think about language or communication the same way again … I’ve never read anything quite like How We Are Translated before, but I very much hope that Gaitán Johannesson will follow her debut with more of the same.’ * Shiny New Books *‘An incredibly creative, entertaining, and thought-provoking novel … fizzing with ideas, wry humour, and linguistic contradictions.’ -- Nic Bottomley * Bath Life *‘A novel that you might end up reading in one sitting … this is writing with breathing space, with room for the ever-shifting spectrum of life.’ -- Saskia Hayward and Matthew Leigh * Bath Magazine *‘Eccentric, but likeable ... In Gaitán Johannesson’s novel, Swedish words and phrases appear in one column with their English translation in another ... The innovation is effective. The way a foreign word looks, together with its literal translation, seems to tell us something specific, not only about another culture but about humanity generally.’ -- Miranda France * TLS *‘This is an excellent book for those who love Edinburgh, the oddities of language, and other people’s drama. One of the best books that I have read recently. It is full of moments which would be pivotal in anyone’s life and they are described with the kind of dry self-deprecation I can't help but adore.’ -- Cecilie * The Portobello Bookshop *‘Johannesson's tender and madcap debut explores themes of family, history, and language [with] a spiritedness reminiscent of the work of Elizabeth McKenzie … a delightful romp.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Concepts of ethnicity, intimacy, and identity are woven into Jessica Gaitán Johannesson’s quirky, contemplative novel … Poignant, perceptive, and clever, How We Are Translated is a novel about the human beings who exist beyond ideals of diversity, and about the emotional implications of language.’ * Foreword, starred review *‘Well-written.’ -- Alastair Mabbott * The Herald *‘How We Are Translated is a gentle and meditative look at relationships—romantic, cultural, familial. Gaitán Johannesson creates a soft world populated by simultaneously mundane and quirky characters. This is a tender story handled with soft, deft hands.’ -- Laura Graveline * Brazos Bookstore *‘Fans of Anne Carson and Maggie Nelson will like How We Are Translated. This is a beautiful book, both inside and out … a meditation on self: how a self is both lost and found in language and translation, and how a self is both lost and found in the body and all the body, especially the female body, can and can’t do.’ -- Samantha * Bear Pond Books *
£8.54
