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
Penguin Books Ltd The Hair Carpet Weavers
Book SynopsisIn a distant universe, since the beginning of time, workers have spent their lives weaving intricate carpets from the hair of women and girls. But why? Andreas Eschbach''s mysterious, poignant space opera explores the absurdity of work and of life itself.''A novel of ideas that evokes complex emotions through the working out of an intricate and ultimately satisfying plot, with echoes of Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Isaac Asimov'' The New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewA tale of empire, indoctrination, and extravagant revenge, that begins on a world where men dedicate their lives to weaving excruciatingly complicated carpets out of their wives' hair -- Rosanna Mclaughlin * The White Review, Books of the Year *A novel of ideas that evokes complex emotions through the working out of an intricate and ultimately satisfying plot, with echoes of Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Isaac Asimov * The New York Times Book Review *German SF has recently produced at least one new writer on the world stage: Andreas Eschbach * The New York Review of Science Fiction *Eschbach is a novelist with vision, with compassion, and with a sense of tragedy, of character, of spectacle, and of human possibility, and also human inevitability ... An unforgettable, beautiful, perpetually entertaining novel -- Orson Scott CardAn outstanding work -- John CluteA world-class SF voice * Locus *The Carpet Makers will blow you away ... clever, insightful, entertaining and satisfying * Analog *A magnum opus ... Even more astounding, it was Eschbach's debut * Kirkus *
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Bring Up the Bodies
Book SynopsisTrade Review‘This is a bloody story about the death of Anne Boleyn, but Hilary Mantel is a writer who thinks through the blood. She uses her power of prose to create moral ambiguity and the real uncertainty of political life … She has recast the most essential period of our modern English history; we have the greatest modern English prose writer reviving possibly one of the best known pieces of English history’ Sir Peter Stothard, Chair of the judges for the Man Booker Prize 2012 ‘Simply exceptional … I envy anyone who hasn’t yet read it’ Sandra Parsons, Daily Mail ‘In another league. This ongoing story of Henry VIII’s right-hand man is the finest piece of historical fiction I have ever read. A staggering achievement’ Sarah Crompton, Sunday Telegraph ‘Succeeds brilliantly in every particle … it’s an imaginative achievement to exhaust superlatives’ Spectator ‘Wolf Hall was a tour de force, but its sequel is leaner, more brilliant, more shocking than its predecessor’ Erica Wagner, The Times ‘Picks up the body parts where Wolf Hall left off … literary invention does not fail her: she's as deft and verbally adroit as ever’ Margaret Atwood, Guardian ‘Mantel in the voice of Cromwell is inspired. When she is in full flow as a novelist, creating scenes and inventing dialogue, she is more convincing than rendering a recorded scene from history’ Philippa Gregory, Sunday Express ‘Don’t think you can start this book whenever you feel like it – plan ahead, as, once started, it’s impossible to escape its grip, and until it’s finished, you won’t get any sleep’ Country Life
£17.00
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged
Book Synopsis
£13.29
John Murray Press Dominicana: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020'A story for now, an important story . . . told with incredible freshness' Martha Lane Fox, Chair of Judges, Women's Prize 2020'The harsh reality of immigration is balanced with a refreshing dose of humour' The Times'This compassionate and ingenious novel has an endearing vibrancy in the storytelling that, page after page, makes it addictive reading' Irish Times'Engrossing . . . the story itself and Ana, the protagonist are terrifically interesting. Loved this' Roxane Gay'This book is a valentine to my mom and all the unsung Dominicanas like her, for their quiet heroism in making a better life for their families, often at a hefty cost to themselves. Even if Dominicana is a Dominican story, it's also a New York story, and an immigrant story. When I read parts of Dominicana at universities and literary venues both here and abroad, each time, audience members from all cultures and generations came up to me and said, this is my mother's story, my sister's story, my story' Angie CruzFifteen-year-old Ana Canción never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she must say yes. It doesn't matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year's Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by César, Juan's free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family's assets, leaving César to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, dance with César at the Audubon Ballroom, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.In bright, musical prose that reflects the energy of New York City, Dominicana is a vital portrait of the immigrant experience and the timeless coming-of-age story of a young woman finding her voice in the world.Trade ReviewA story for now, an important story . . . told with incredible freshness * Martha Lane Fox, Chair of Judges, Women's Prize 2020 *Engrossing . . . the story itself and Ana, the protagonist are terrifically interesting. Loved this * Roxane Gay *Through a novel with so much depth, beauty, and grace, we, like Ana, are forever changed * Jacqueline Woodson, Vanity Fair *The harsh reality of immigration is balanced with a refreshing dose of humour * The Times *This compassionate and ingenious novel has an endearing vibrancy in the storytelling that, page after page, makes it addictive reading * Irish Times *A . . . portrait of what it means to be doubly disenfranchised as a female illegal immigrant in an oppressively patriarchal community, but Angie Cruz gives her heroine a glimpse of a different life * Observer *Poignant . . . In nimble prose, Cruz animates the simultaneous reluctance and vivacity that define her main character as she attempts to balance filial duty with personal fulfilment, and contends with leaving one home to build another that is both for herself and for her family * New Yorker *An intimate portrait of the transactional nature of marriage and the economics of both womanhood and citizenship * New York Times Book Review *Cruz (who drew the story from her mother's experience) keeps the tone light, even comic, while expertly generating tension from the plot's mounting tally of secrets and lies * Metro *Sensational . . . At once tender, musical, and electric, this novel meditates on how immigrations shapes lives, from both without and within * Esquire *In Cruz's rendering, the inevitability of hardship and the excitement of new possibilities makes for an affectingly complex journey into adulthood. Expect this to mark the author's breakout * Entertainment Weekly *Cruz tells the story with a raucous sense of humour and writes in short, present-tense chapters that help make this a propulsive though heartbreaking read * BuzzFeed *This stunner of a novel thrums with vitality, a singular addition to the canon of immigration narratives, and introduces readers to the wonderfully complex and resilient Ana * Nylon *Eminently readable and offers an affecting exploration into the trade-off between autonomy and obligation * Evening Standard *An insightful and vibrant examination of what it means to be an immigrant . . . short present-tense chapters have the effect of forcing one to sit up and take notice that something real is happening here * Irish Examiner *Cruz uses beautiful, simple language, a dreamy brush, filling her novel with a sense of awe that perfectly complements her narrator * TLS *
£8.09
Canongate Books The Midnight Library
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING WORLDWIDE PHENOMENONREADERS' MOST LOVED BOOK OF 2021WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR FICTIONBetween life and death there is a library.When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?Trade ReviewA beguiling read, filled with warmth and humour, and a vibrant celebration of the power of books to change lives * * Sunday Times * *A beautiful fable, an It's a Wonderful Life for the modern age - impossibly timely when we are all stuck in a world we wish could be different -- JODI PICOULTA celebration of life's possibilities . . . A beautiful concept . . . Charming * * Guardian * *A rare and welcome light of hope and wisdom in the darkness -- JOANNE HARRISA wonderful story . . . Such a beautiful book to get lost in -- Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2I can't describe how much his work means to me. So necessary . . . The king of empathy -- JAMEELA JAMILWarm and humorous * * The Times * *A brilliant premise and great fun to have so many stories within one book * * Daily Mail * *Amazing and utterly beautiful, The Midnight Library is everything you'd expect from the genius storyteller who is Matt Haig -- JOANNA CANNONAbsorbing . . . A vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, might be exactly what's wanted in these troubled and troubling times * * New York Times * *
£17.09
Quercus Publishing David Hockney: A Life
Book Synopsis"Catherine Cusset's book caught a lot of me. I recognised myself" DAVID HOCKNEY"A perfect short exposé of Hockney's life as seen through the eyes of an admiring novelist" Kirkus Reviews"Hers is an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance" New York TimesWith clear, vivid prose, this meticulously researched novel draws an intimate, moving portrait of the most famous living English painter. Born in Bradford in 1937, David Hockney had to fight to become an artist. After leaving home for the Royal College of Art in London his career flourished, but he continued to struggle with a sense of not belonging, because of his homosexuality, which had yet to be decriminalised, and because of his inclination for a figurative style of art, which was not sufficiently "contemporary" to be valued. Trips to New York and California - where he would live for many years and paint his iconic swimming pools - introduced him to new scenes and new loves, beginning a journey that would take him through the fraught years of the AIDS epidemic. A compelling hybrid of novel and biography, David Hockney: A Life offers an insightful overview of a painter whose art is as accessible as it is compelling, and whose passion to create has never been deterred by heartbreak or illness or loss.Translated from the French by Teresa Lavender FaganTrade ReviewCusset's style oozes with delicacy, pointedness, and gusto. A perfect short exposé of Hockney's life as seen through the eyes of an admiring novelist. * Kirkus Reviews *This book is a gem. A hybrid of biography and novelistic chiaroscuro in which Catherine Cusset, a widely translated French novelist, tells us "I have imagined feelings, thoughts, and dialogue -- Richard Cytowic * New York Journal *Life of David Hockney feels almost as sunny as the poolside California that was the artist's longtime muse. Cusset never lets her intellectual digressions slow the tempo of her staccato prose. Hers is an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance -- Ayten Tytici * New York Times *Like Mr Hockney, Cusset mixes lush visuals with pervasive melancholy, and as her subject reaches belated maturity, her prose grows increasingly nuanced. By the book's end, the great painter feels fragile and accessible, both a legend and a fallible man * Economist *What a breezy delight this book is! -- Brad Auerback * Entertainment Today *
£999.99
Duckworth Books The Geezer Factory Murders
Book SynopsisWhen one of the new residents of their plush retirement home, Camden-sur-Mer, is found face down in the fountain, the ladies suspect foul play
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Memory Wood
Book SynopsisSam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, where he learned his love of storytelling. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl. His first three thrillers, The Memory Wood, The Rising Tide and The People Watcher were published to great critical acclaim.Trade ReviewBeautifully told, with two superbly drawn young protagonists, Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent. * Daily Mail *Remarkable. Stunning prose and compulsive reading. It's undoubtedly the best thriller I've read in a long, long time. * Lesley Kara *What makes this book special is the marvellously executed subterranean power game. Superbly creepy, with an unexpected twist, this is a very grim modern fairytale. * Guardian *I was pulled into The Memory Wood from the very first page—it grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let you go. It’s an intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller. Put everything else aside when you enter the Memory Wood, including your expectations… * Shari Lapena *Forget everything you think you know about thrillers. The Memory Wood is a compulsive page-turner where visceral horror meets Grimm fairytale – a story that’s guaranteed to burn itself into your brain . . . Every twist and distortion evokes a physical response – you’ll be breathless with anticipation, tingling with hope, and numb with dread from beginning to end. * Press Association *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Lamplighters Bookshop
Book SynopsisEvery book tells a story. Every heart hides a secret.
£9.49
Seven Stories Press UK Bezoar
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Canelo Blood of the Bear
Book SynopsisBattle calls the berserker once again...AD 781. Pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading.Duke Widukind, leader of the Saxon rebels, is sheltering in the North, beyond Karolus's reach. He hopes to persuade Bjarki Bloodhand once a famous berserker, but now a father and family man and his fierce sister the shield-maiden Tor, to join his revolt against tyranny.But Bjarki has eloped with Widukind's sister Edith, who was betrothed to Abbio the Crow. In revenge, Abbio uses seithr to strike at Bjarki a powerful spell to drive him insane. Can Bjarki resist the long slide into madness? And will Widukind finally liberate Saxony from the Franks?A Viking epic of rebellion and revenge, perfect for fans of Matthew Harffy and Giles Kristian.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Haunting in the Arctic
Book SynopsisC.J. Cooke's latest chilling tale, a Radio 2 Book Club Pick, The Book of Witching, is available to buy now!* * *Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for over a century.Something that craves revenge*Longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize*''Mesmerising and terrifying If you''re looking for a spooky read this winter give this a go'' ?????''A dark, claustrophobic and gripping read'' ?????''It''s the highly original story and masterful plot that impresses most twists and turns with a fabulous ending'' ?????1901. On board the Ormen, a whaling ship battling through the unforgiving North Sea, a woman awakes. Attacked and dragged there against her will, it's just her and the crew and they're all owed something only she can give them.Decades later, the Ormen is found drifting across the ocean, deserted. Just one body is left on board, his face and feet mutilated, his cabin locked from the inside. Everyone else has vanished.Now. Urban explorer Dominique travels into the near-permanent darkness of the northernmost tip of Iceland. She''s searching for the final resting place of the Ormen's wreck, and she's determined to uncover its secrets.But she's not alone. Something is here with her. And it's seeking revenge***Rich, chilling and gorgeously gothic. A Haunting in the Arctic is the kind of enchanting, terrifying mystery I just adore' Chris WhitakerCooke delivers yet another spine-chilling treat in this lushly imagined, terrifying novel' Emilia Hart, bestselling author of WeywardMesmerising and terrifying, this is a powerful story lovingly told Highly recommended' Lisa Ballantyne
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Berry Pickers
Book Synopsis''For fans of Celeste Ng and Ann Patchett, this quietly beautiful book will break, then mend, your heart'' Amazon, The Best Books of 2023WINNER OF THE 2023 BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZEWINNER OF THE 2024 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION***One family's deepest pain. Another's darkest secret. Who will they be when the truth comes out?On a hot day in 1960s Maine, six-year-old Joe watches his little sister Ruthie, sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of the blueberry fields, while their family, Mi'kmaq people from Nova Scotia, pick fruit. That afternoon, Ruthie vanishes without a trace. As the last person to see her, Joe will be forever haunted by grief, guilt, and the agony of imagining how his life could have been.In an affluent suburb nearby, Norma is growing up as the only child of unhappy parents. She is smart, precocious, and bursting with questions she isn't allowed to ask questions ab
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Daughter from the Dark
Book SynopsisIn this extraordinary stand-alone novel, the authors and translator of Vita Nostra return with a story about creation, music, and companionship filled with their hallmark elements of subtle magic and fantasy.Late one night, fate brings together DJ Aspirin and ten-year-old Alyona. After he tries to save her from imminent danger, she ends up at his apartment. But in the morning sinister doubts set in. Who is Alyona? A young con artist? A plant for a nefarious blackmailer? Or perhaps a long-lost daughter Aspirin never knew existed? Whoever this mysterious girl is, she now refuses to leave.A game of cat-and-mouse has begun.Claiming that she is a musical prodigy, Alyona insists she must play a complicated violin piece to find her brother. Confused and wary, Aspirin knows one thing: he wants her out of his apartment and his life. Yet every attempt to get rid of her is thwarted by an unusual protector: her plush teddy bear that may just transform into a fearsome monster.Alyona tells Aspirin tTrade Review“Vita Nostra—a cross between Lev Grossman’s The Magicians and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian . . . is the anti-Harry Potter you didn’t know you wanted.”— Washington Post on Vita Nostra “Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It’s a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get the global audience in English it so richly deserves.”—Lev Grossman on Vita Nostra
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Christmas Swap
Book SynopsisThis was truly the Christmas romance of my dreams 5 ?, Reader reviewWill all three women have their Christmas wishes come true?Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are needing change so swapping homes for the holidays could be the perfect present for all of them!Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally star-struck when she discovers who lives across the road.Lucy, who has jetted off to snowy Colorado for her dream-come-true white Christmas, is taken into the fold of Jules's loud and brash family, discovering more about herself in a few short days than she has in years.And Jules leaves the cold climes of Colorado to spend her Christmas on a beach with Chloe's friends in Melbourne, finding that time away is just what she needed.The only thing better than one Christmas romance is three, the perfect festive read for fans of Sarah Morgan, Holly Martin and Karen Swan.*Sandy's BRAND NEW Christmas romance, The ChriTrade Review“The Christmas Swap was GREAT! This was truly the Christmas romance of my dreams and I can't wait to read her other books.” “To say I really enjoyed this book may be an understatement!… I only found one drawback to this book, and that is it finished, so I'm hoping (well, more like begging) that this book turns into a series,” “This sweet holiday story had me totally hooked! If you’re looking for a fun, romantic, different take on a Christmas novel, you should absolutely pick this one up!” “I had so much fun reading this. It was super cheesy in the best way. I found myself grinning silly and trying to hide it while I read in public. ” “This story was everything I want in a holiday read” “What a delightful, heart-warming book! I absolutely adored reading this book that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy! If you’re a fan of The Holiday, you’ll definitely like this one. Three Christmas swaps in one book, what a treat!” “There’s such a tremendous warmth about the whole book – the settings, the festive touches, the way the characters develop and discover themselves, that strong friendship, the perfect romances – and I entirely loved it. You really must add it to your Christmas reading list – you’re going to love it too.” “This is a great escapist read and was just what I needed… This is a great read if you are looking for a warm and cosy snuggle up on the sofa with some happy feel good vibes.” “A great festive story, or three, for putting you in a Christmas mood – very enjoyable.” “This book was great. An easy, uplifting, hopeful read in these crazy Covid times”
£8.99
Charco Press Lexicon of Affinities
Book SynopsisA prowl through words reveals the unstable character of the cosmos. With entries as varied as elbow', Ophelia', progress', the painter Giorgio Morandi, chess', Eulalia' (a friend of the author's aunt), and unicorn', Ida Vitale constructs a dictionary of her long and passionately engaged artistic life. Taking the reader by the arm, she invites us to become her confidant, sharing her remarkable 20th century as a member of a storied generation of Latin American writers, of whom she is the last remaining alive. It's a compendium of friendship, travel, reading, and the endless opportunities she found for 'the joyful possibility of creation.' Like every dictionary, Lexicon of Affinities seeks to impose order on chaos, even if in its exuberant, whimsical profusion it lays bare the unstable character of the cosmos.
£10.79
Headline Publishing Group And Now Youre Back
Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 EBOOK BESTSELLER!''A fabulous, gorgeous read, with characters you''ll take to your heart'' MILLY JOHNSON''I loved the characters and relationships and found myself rooting for everyone. It left me with a lovely warm glow'' LIBBY PAGE''Such a joyful read and hugely entertaining . . . Readers are in for a real treat'' RUTH HOGANOne magical night in Venice, Didi fell in love. But it ended - and he left without even saying goodbye.Now, thirteen years on, Shay Mason is back.The old spark is still there, but Didi''s determined to ignore it. As manager of a stunning Cotswolds hotel, she''s happy at last, and soon to be married. Anyway, Shay isn''t staying. He''s made a promise to his father. He''s going to keep it. And then he''ll be gone.But Shay''s return stirs up long-forgotten emotions, and the scandal that led him to leave raises its head once again. It''s time for buried secretTrade ReviewOne of my favourite writers * KATIE FFORDE *'Jill Mansell is the queen of witty, heart-warming, feel-good love stories' * Red *'Reading Jill is always such a joy' * Veronica Henry *'Gripping and incredibly comforting' * Marian Keyes *'Like a little blast of sunshine - uplifting, heart-warming and supremely feelgood' * Sophie Kinsella *'A fab, feel-good read' * Prima *'Jill Mansell just gets better and better' ***** * Heat *'[A] compelling, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent book about love, friendship and not giving up' * Daily Mail *Warm, witty and life-affirming. I always feel better after reading Jill Mansell! * Jane Wenham-Jones *
£12.58
Headline Publishing Group Should I Tell You
Book SynopsisFrom the queen of feelgood fiction, an uplifting new novel of friendship, families and finding love . . .''What a gorgeous book! Jill has a great gift for characterisation - nuanced, interesting, believable people but created with a charming lightness of touch. Thanks to Jill''s warmth, wisdom and emotional intelligence, this book was a huge pleasure to read'' Marian Keyes ''A sparkling, joyful read! Jill''s books always keep you guessing to the very end'' Phillipa Ashley ''A good story like this needs a quiet afternoon, a sofa and a warm blanket. Moving and heartfelt! Enjoy'' Fern BrittonAmber, Lachlan and Raffaele met as teenagers in the Cornish seaside home of kind-hearted foster parents. Years on, the bond between them is unbreakable But Amber has a secret. She''s in love with Lachlan. She can''t tell him, because that would never work - he''s not the settling-dTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR SHOULD I TELL YOU?:'What a gorgeous book! Jill has a great gift for characterisation - nuanced, interesting, believable people but created with a charming lightness of touch. Thanks to Jill's warmth, wisdom and emotional intelligence, this book was a huge pleasure to read' * Marian Keyes *'What a sparkling, joyful read! Jill is the absolute Queen of creating characters you immediately want to be best friends with! * Phillipa Ashley *'Jill Mansell is the queen of feelgood romance . . . a witty, heartwarming story of friendship, family and enduring love' * Anne Cater, Sunday Express *'I love this book so much . . . like a wonderful, warm writing hug' * Joanna Cannon *'Warm, evocative and full of fun, with brilliant characters who jump off the page - such a moving and heart-warming story' * Fiona Gibson *'A good story like this needs a quiet afternoon a sofa and a warm blanket. Moving and heartfelt! Enjoy' * Fern Britton *'With wonderful characters, this will warm you on a January day' * Prima *'[A] romantic page-turner' * Good Housekeeping *PRAISE FOR JILL MANSELL'A real warm hug of a book' * Libby Page *'A fabulous, gorgeous read . . . I was totally hooked' * Milly Johnson *'Such a joyful read and hugely entertaining' * Ruth Hogan *'Feel-good fiction' * Choice Magazine *Heart-warming * My Weekly *'The queen of heartwarming love stories' * Prima *'One of my favourite writers' * KATIE FFORDE *'Gripping and incredibly comforting' * MARIAN KEYES *Like a little blast of sunshine - uplifting, heart-warming and supremely feelgood * SOPHIE KINSELLA *'Reading Jill is always such a joy' * VERONICA HENRY *
£8.99
Simon & Schuster Ltd That Bonesetter Woman
Book SynopsisIt’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all. Meet Endurance Proudfoot, the bonesetter’s daughter: clumsy as a carthorse, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie only wants one thing in life – to follow her father and grandfather into the family business of bonesetting. It’s a physically demanding job, requiring strength, nerves of steel and discretion – and not the job for a woman. But Durie isn’t like other women. She’s strong and stubborn and determined to get her own way. And she finds that she has a talent atTrade Review'Among the most impressive historical fiction out this July is Frances Quinn's That Bonesetter Woman (Simon & Schuster), based on a real story about two sisters in Georgian London, one who is desperate to be a female bonesetter and the other who is a determined social climber' * Independent *‘Quinn’s second book is a true celebration of courage, resilience and embracing being different’ * CultureFly *‘Endurance Proudfoot is an enduring heroine and her story is told with wit and warmth’ * Yours, Book of the Month *‘[An] intriguing tale, told with wit and compassion’ * Choice, Book of the Month *'This rambunctious ride of a book mixes historical fact with a really memorable lead character (I completely fell in love with her!). Endurance Proudfoot wants to be a bonesetter like her father and won’t let the fact that she’s a woman get in her way. Entertaining historical fiction' * Good Housekeeping *'The narrative is fast-moving and lively… this is an enjoyable read, feminist history which does not neglect sources of humour or romance. It deserves to be reach a wide audience' * Historical Novel Society *'Frances Quinn’s debut novel, The Smallest Man, was about a dwarf in the employ of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. That Bonesetter Woman shares similar themes about being an outsider trying to succeed in a hostile society. Like The Smallest Man it is written with a warmth and tenderness for the characters that makes it irresistible' * The Times *'This second novel by the author of historical hit The Smallest Man takes its inspiration from two of Georgian England’s most famous celebrities. Endurance Proudfoot is determined to go into the family trade and become a bonesetter, despite being a woman. But when she finds herself packed off to London with her sister, disgraced beauty Lucinda, the pair embark on a rollercoaster adventure' * BBC History *‘Durie Proudfoot is a brilliant heroine: stubborn, flawed and so entertaining to spend time with. I loved every step of her journey, and Frances Quinn is fast becoming one of my favourite historical novelists’ Louise Hare ‘I adored every second of this book - historical fiction at its finest, and Quinn is a natural storyteller. Quirky, funny and original. Durie and her lions will stay with me’ Ericka Waller ‘I feel as if I left a little bit of my heart between the pages of this extraordinary book’ Nicola Gill ‘Filled with hope and humour, That Bonesetter Woman is a novel that truly champions the underdog. I devoured it with as much gusto as the inimitable heroine sets people’s bones’ Polly Crosby ‘That Bonesetter Woman is a wonderfully uplifting, charming, addictive and unusual story. Quinn delivers astute and acutely observed aspects of human behaviour delivered with great humour and compassion. Replace the coffee houses and newspaper scribblers with Twitter and YouTube and I’d say, not so much has changed!’ Louise Fein ‘Frances Quinn has done it again! Georgian London is vividly brought to life in a fast-paced story full of quirky characters, wry wit, warmth and wisdom. I was completely charmed!’ Anita Frank
£8.99
Vintage Publishing I Served The King Of England
Book SynopsisWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ADAM THIRLWELL''Our very best writer today'' Milan KunderaSparkling with comic genius and narrative exuberance, I Served the King of England is a story of how the unbelievable came true. Its remarkable hero, Ditie, is a hotel waiter who rises to become a millionaire and then loses it all again against the backdrop of events in Prague from the German invasion to the victory of Communism. Ditie''s fantastic journey intertwines the political and the personal in a narrative that both enlightens and entertains.Trade ReviewThe fantasising and storytelling deliver a body blow of total irreverence to the solemn mythopoeia of monumental historiography * Times Literary Supplement *Hrabal bounces and floats. His mode is a sort of dancing realism, somewhere between fairytale and satire.He is a most sophisticated novelist, with a gusting humour and a hushed tenderness of detail. We should read him -- Julian BarnesWell worth reading * The Book Magazine *A master of rueful comedy and tender eroticism, Hrabal was, for all his eccentricity, a major figure in 20th-century world literature. -- Jonathan Coe
£999.99
Cornerstone Break No Bones
Book Synopsis___________________________________ A gripping Temperance Brennan novel from world-class forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the international no. 1 bestselling crime thriller writer and the inspiration behind the hit TV series Bones.Dr Temperance Brennan and her students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on an island near Charleston, South Carolina, when a decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach.The bone is fresh and the remains are still topped by wisps of hair it's a recent burial, and a case Tempe must take.Tempe determines that the deceased is a middle-aged white male - but who was he? Why was he buried in a clandestine grave? And what does an unusual vertical fracture of one of the vertebrae signify?Before long, another body is discovered - and Tempe finds herself drawn deeper into a shocking investigation which will challenge her entire view of humanity.____________Trade ReviewYou’ll want to keep turning the pages long after lights out to find out what happens next … Reichs’ real-life expertise gives her novels an authenticity that most other crime novelists would kill for * Daily Express *Reichs' seamless blending of fascinating science and dead-on psychological portrayals, not to mention a whirlwind of a plot, make Break No Bones a must read * Jeffery Deaver *With Kathy Reichs the reader knows they're in the hands of an expert * Sunday Express *Brennan is a winner, and so is Reichs * Daily News *A truly impressive writer * We Love This Book *
£8.99
Cornerstone Seizure
Book SynopsisThe breathtaking follow-up to Virals, Kathy Reichs'' brand new forensic seriesHEART-STOPPING FORENSIC ACTION WITH A LETHAL TWISTThe Virals'' home on Loggerhead Island is under threat, and only one thing can save it: a lot of money.A 300-year-old legendRumour has it that notorious pirate Anne Bonny hid her treasure somewhere in Charleston in 1720. No-one knows where, but Tory Brennan - great-niece of famous forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan - is certain that the Virals can work out Bonny''s cryptic clues.A deadly pathIt isn''t long before the Virals are on the right track. But they aren''t the only ones searching for the treasure.Someone is following them, and will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.Dead bodies litter the trail. Time is running out before the island will be sold. Will the Virals'' special powers be enough to save them?Trade ReviewIf you like Bones, you'll love Virals. * James Patterson *Kathy Reichs gets it dead right with sharp writing and a plot that throws a bunch of very real teens into a deadly adult world ... I loved it and I'm sure fans of Alex Rider will love it too * Anthony Horowitz *Mystery ... fantasy ... science ... and heart-stopping action - this book is DANGEROUS. After I read Tory Brennan's first adventure, I wanted more, more, MORE * R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps *
£9.49
Oxford University Press Sons and Lovers
Book SynopsisLawrence''s first major novel was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly-knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long.When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children''s lives. Their second son, Paul, craves the warmth of family and community, but knows that he must sacrifice everything in the struggle for independence if he is not to repeat his parents'' failure.Lawrence''s powerful description of Paul''s single-minded efforts to define himself sexually and emotionally through relationships with two women - the innocent, old-fashioned Miriam Leivers and the experienced, provocatively modern Clara Dawes - makes this a novel as much for the beginning of the twenty-first century as it was for the beginning of the twentieth. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Dilemma
Book SynopsisKnowing the truth will destroy her.Keeping it secret will destroy him.A powerful, beautifully crafted story that ratchets up the tension with every page and packs a huge emotional punch' TM Logan, bestselling author of The CatchIt's Livia's 40th birthday and she's having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who's studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she's secretly glad she won't be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she's waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he's secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she's so happy, so excited and the guests are about to arrive.The Dilemma how far would you go to give someone you loTrade Review Praise for The Dilemma: ‘A departure from B A Paris’s previous psycho-thrillers, this emotional story is gripping’ Daily Mail ‘A dark family drama … builds a palpable wall of tension that leaves you desperate to find out what happens next’ Sunday Mirror ‘A powerful, beautifully crafted story that ratchets up the tension with every page and packs a huge emotional punch’ TM Logan ‘A heartbreaking page-turner that will have you up at night reading just one more chapter’ Catherine Steadman ‘A beautifully written story of love and loss which will stay with me’ Louise Jensen ‘What a book… utterly unputdownable!’ Samantha King ‘The Dilemma is a beautifully written novel that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. B A Paris has a unique ability to get inside your head and stay there!’ HC Warner ‘Paris handles her complex, multifaceted story with aplomb, and the steady, inexorable release of information for both characters and reader is satisfying’ Financial Times ‘Master of plot twists and emotional thrillers, B A Paris strikes again … a riveting read’ OK! ‘If you loved B A Paris’s Behind Closed Doors, then you’ll love this … [B A Paris] is not afraid to push emotions to the extreme’ Woman ‘Compelling and full of suspense’ HELLO! ‘A brilliant title to debate in your book club’ Prima 'Heartbreaking, thought-provoking and utterly unputdownable' Roz Watkins ‘Emotional, gripping… a truly compulsive read’ KL Slater ‘B A Paris is a mistress at tapping into fears you didn’t even know you had. This is a poignant, thoughtful family tale with a difference’ Jane Corry ‘Dark family drama from a rising — or perhaps risen — British star of thriller writing’ Reader’s Digest
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Confession
Book SynopsisA Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy Bookclub pick, The Confession is an absorbing tale of secrets and self-discovery from Jessie Burton, the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. When Elise Morceau meets the writer Constance Holden, she quickly falls under her spell. Connie is sophisticated, bold and alluring – everything Elise feels she is not. She follows Connie to LA, but in this city of strange dreams and 1980s razzle-dazzle, Elise feels even more out of her depth and makes an impulsive decision that will change her life forever.Three decades later in London, Rose Simmons is trying to uncover the story of her mother, who disappeared when she was a baby. Having learned that the last person to see her was a now reclusive novelist, Rose finds herself at the door of Constance Holden’s house in search of a confession . . .'Without doubt one of the best novels of recent years' - Elizabeth Day, author of How to Fail.
£9.49
Faber & Faber Justine
Book SynopsisRediscover one of the twentieth century''s greatest romances: this seductive tale of four tangled lovers in wartime Egypt, introduced by André Aciman (Call Me By Your Name and Find Me), is ''wonderful'' (Elif Shafak)I remembered Justine saying harshly as she lay in bed: We use each other like axes to cut down the ones we really love''.Alexandria: the great winepress of love. Trams, palm trees, and watermelon stalls lie honey-bathed in sunlight; in darkened bedrooms, sweaty lovers unfurl. But in a world trembling on the brink of war, passion and death are inextricable. When a penniless schoolteacher begins an affair with Justine - a married Egyptian lady of unparalleled glamour - their partners are sucked into a whirlpool of jealousy and violence. One of the world''s greatest romances, rich in political and sexual intrigue, Lawrence Durrell''s scandalous ''investigation of modern love'' set the world alight in 1957 and
£9.49
Dover Publications Inc. Ubu Roi
Book SynopsisA stunning, controversial work that immediately outraged audiences with its scatological references during the 1896 premiere, the farce satirizes the tendency of the successful bourgeois to abuse his authority and become irresponsibly complacent. Championed as the first absurdist drama, Ubu Roi features a main character that is cruel, gluttonous, and grotesque.
£5.62
Penguin Books Ltd A Love Story for Bewildered Girls
Book Synopsis''An utterly gorgeous novel. It will forever hold my heart in its pages'' Pandora Sykes, co-host of The High-Low podcastGrace loves a woman. Annie loves a man. Violet isn''t quite sure. But you''ll love them all...Grace has what one might call a ''full and interesting life'' which is code for not married and has no kids. Her life is the envy of her straight friends, but all this time she has been waiting in secret for love to hit her so hard that she runs out of breath, like the way a wave in a rough sea bowls you over, slams you into the sand, and nearly drowns you.When Grace meets a beautiful woman at a party, she falls suddenly and desperately in love. At the same party, lawyer Annie meets the man of her dreams - the only man she''s ever met whose table manners are up to her mother''s standards. And across the city, Violet, who is afraid of almost everything, is making another discovery of her own: that for the first time in her life she''s falling in love with a woman.A Love Story for Bewildered Girls is a moving and exquisitely funny novel about love, sex and heartbreak.''Exquisitely tender, beautifully written, funny and sad'' Daisy Buchanan, author of How to Be a Grown-up ''Funny, honest, brilliant'' Nina Stibbe, bestselling author of Love, Nina''I absolutely loved this book by Emma Morgan which follows 3 women''s very different love lives... I inhaled it'' Emma Gannon, Sunday Times best-selling author and host of the podcast Ctrl-Alt-Delete''Funny, touching, uplifting, thoroughly modern'' Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?''I was transfixed by this funny and moving story of three women navigating their way through the complexities of love, life and the search for personal fulfilment'' Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus, a Richard & Judy Book Club Pick ''A charming modern romance'' Glamour ''Beautifully written, Morgan''s novel is a seriously impressive debut'' Stylist''Emma Morgan is an author to look out for'' Julie Cohen, author of ''Louis & Louise''LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE 2020Trade ReviewAn utterly gorgeous novel. It will forever hold my heart in its pages. -- Pandora Sykes, host of The High-Low podcastExquisitely tender, beautifully written, funny and sad. . . a story about women rescuing themselves and each other. It made my heart swell -- Daisy Buchanan, author of 'How To Be A Grown Up'I absolutely loved this book by Emma Morgan which follows 3 women's very different love lives... I inhaled it -- Emma Gannon, host of the podcast Ctrl-Alt-DeleteFunny, honest, brilliant -- Nina Stibbe, bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'Funny, touching, uplifting, thoroughly modern -- Lauren Bravo, author of 'What Would the Spice Girls Do?'A funny exploration of love, friendship and female sexuality, I found this novel difficult to put down -- Clare Fisher, author of 'All The Good Things'A Love Story For Bewildered Girls is a triumph and I don't use that word lightly. When I finished it, I wanted to start it all over again. -- Geraldine Quigley, author of 'Music Love Drugs War'A debut novel about three women exploring the highs and lows of first love. . . It's so good to read a romcom with LGBT+ characters and that focuses on the strength of female friendship as well as romance. * Red *I was transfixed by this funny and moving story of three women navigating their way through the complexities of love, life and the search for personal fulfilment. I was rooting for them from the start, willing each of them on to find their own particular key to happiness, which isn't necessarily where you think it will be. This exquisite depiction of misplaced love, heartbreak and emerging self-knowledge feels utterly true-to-life. -- Sarah Haywood, author of 'The Cactus', a Richard & Judy Book Club PickFunny, sweet, wise, beautifully observed and just so full of heart. I absolutely loved it. Emma Morgan is clearly a very talented writer indeed. -- Christina Patterson, author of 'The Art of Not Falling Apart'A charming modern romance * Glamour *Beautifully written, Morgan's novel is a seriously impressive debut * Stylist *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Before I Go To Sleep
Book SynopsisDiscover the haunting and deeply chilling debut thriller which has now sold more than six million copies worldwide.Memories define us.So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.Welcome to Christine''s life.______________PRAISE FOR BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP:''A cracking good thriller'' Lionel Shriver''Thrillers seldom come much better than this. Loved it'' Joanne Harris''So high-concept, so ambitious and so structurally brilliant'' Sophie Hannah''A deeply unsettling debut that asks the most terrifying question - what do you have left when you lose yourself?'' Val McDermid''I loved it from start to finish'' Mo Hayder''Brilliant in its pacing, profound in its central question, suspenseful on every paTrade ReviewQuite simply the best debut novel I've ever read -- Tess GerritsenBrilliant in its pacing, profound in its central question, suspenseful on every page - and satisfying in its thriller ending -- Anita ShreveA deft, perceptive exploration of a fascinating neurological condition, and a cracking good thriller -- Lionel ShriverA terrific first novel - well-written, genuinely unsettling and psychologically very plausible. Thrillers seldom come much better than this. Loved it, read it in one -- Joanne HarrisAn exceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page -- Dennis Lehane
£9.49
Faber & Faber In the Fold
Book SynopsisWhen eighteen-year-old Michael visits the Hanbury's remote family home he is captivated by their bohemian lifestyle. Years later, when he marries the strong-willed, beautiful Rebecca, he is secretly hoping to create his own version of that free-thinking family, but after the birth of their first child, their marriage begins to flounder. The chance to escape once more to his friend's country house comes as a welcome relief, until he discovers a family changed, and his own romantic notions of country life begin to disintegrate . . .
£9.49
Faber & Faber Jack Maggs
Book SynopsisLondon,1837. Jack Maggs, raised and deported as a criminal, has returned from Australia, in secret and at great risk. What does he want after all these years, and why is he so interested in the comings and goings at a plush townhouse in Great Queen Street? And why is Jack himself an object of such interest to Tobias Oates, celebrated author, amateur hypnotist and fellow burglar - in this case of people''s minds, of their histories and inner phantoms? A thrilling story of mesmerism and possession, of dangerous bargains and illicit love against the backdrop of Victorian London.
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Sea Glass
Book SynopsisThe year is 1929 and Honora Beecher and her husband, Sexton, are just settling into a new marriage and a cottage on the coast of New Hampshire. While Honora fixes up the derelict house and searches for bits of sea glass on the beach, Sexton risks everything they own to buy the house they both love. Along with millions of other Americans, he is blindsided by the stock market crash and finds himself penniless. The only work he can find is at a nearby mill, where a labour conflict is erupting into violence. Shaken by forces they scarcely understand, Honora and Sexton try to build a marriage and home while overwhelmed by passions of every kind.Writing with the power and immediacy that have made her novels bestsellers, Shreve unfolds interlocking lives, each with its own share of love, loss and challenge. This is another gripping and unforgettable story of the human heart from one of the most accomplished novelists of our time.
£9.49
Cornerstone The Power of the Dog
Book SynopsisDon Winslow has worked as a movie theatre manager, a production assistant, and as a private investigator. In addition to being a novelist he now works as an independent consultant in issues involving litigation arising from criminal behaviour. His novels include The Kings of Cool, Savages, The Death and Life of Bobby Z, California Fire and Life, The Power of the Dog, The Winter of Frankie Machine and The Dawn Patrol. In 2012 Savages was released as a blockbuster film.Trade ReviewThe Power of the Dog throws shadows a mile long. Fearless, humane, aesthetically fervent, it's also passionate, unapologetic, gorgeously written and unquestionably authentic. * Dennis Lehane *Don Winslow is the kind of cult writer who is so good you almost want to keep him to yourself. -- Ian RankinThe first great dope novel since Dog Soldiers thirty years ago. It's frightening and sad, with a superbly sustained intensity. A beautifully compressed vision of hell, with all its attendant moral madness. -- James EllroyA damn good read. If you've never read Don Winslow, start now. -- Val McDermidIt is impossible in a few words to do [it] justice ... It's a huge book, both in size and scope. * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Castle Of Crossed Destinies
Book SynopsisA group of travellers chance to meet, first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their stories. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives, and a fantastic, surreal and chaotic history of all human consciousness.Trade ReviewA work that celebrates storytelling… Magical. -- Fiona Wilson * The Times *The interlinking of tales is incredibly complex and subtle: a history of all human consciousness through the myths of Oedipus, Parsifal, Faust, Hamlet and so on. The Castle of Crossed destinies is a shamelessly original work of art-beautiful in the sense that it is the careful statement of an artist we have learned to trust * New Yorker *Italo Calvino has advanced far beyond his American and English contemporaries. As they continue to look for the place where the spiders make their nests, Calvino has not only found this special place but learned how himself to make fantastic webs of prose to which all things adhere -- Gore VidalThe marriage of the verbal and the visual in The Castle of Crossed Destinies seems almost prodigious. It is as if sulpher and mercury had at last fused into gold * Times Literary Supplement *
£12.34
Vintage Publishing The Italian Girl
Book SynopsisIris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919. She read Classics at Somerville College, Oxford, and after working in the Treasury and abroad, was awarded a research studentship in Philosophy at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1948 she returned to Oxford as fellow and tutor at St Anne's College and later taught at the Royal College of Art. Until her death in 1999, she lived in Oxford with her husband, the academic and critic, John Bayley. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 and in the 1997 PEN Awards received the Gold Pen for Distinguished Service to Literature.Trade ReviewShe was always in the front rank of unpredictable, original, serious writers exploring the deeper themes of ancient as well as contemporary experience * Guardian *Iris Murdoch really knows how to write - she can tell a story, delineate a character, catch an atmosphere with deadly accuracy -- John BetjemanI suspect that when the intellectual map of our own times comes to be sketched out, Iris Murdoch will occupy a position analogous to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky... Murdoch writes better than anyone about the condition of being love: both the ecstatic joys of it and its capacity to turn otherwise decent individuals into monsters of selfishness and cruelty... Her vision of the world is heart-rending, but ultimately celebratory -- A.N. Wilson
£999.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Narrows
Book SynopsisBY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE STREETWith a new introduction by Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie''Petry is the writer we have been waiting for . . . insightful, prescient and unputdownable'' TAYARI JONES ''A masterpiece'' NEW YORK TIMES ''A powerful and moving book . . . A book to watch'' KIRKUS REVIEWS It''s past midnight, and thick fog rolls in from the river like smoke. Link Williams is standing on the dock when he hears quick footsteps approaching, and the gasp of a woman too terrified to scream. After chasing off her pursuer, he takes the woman to a nearby bar to calm her nerves, and as they enter, it''s as if the oxygen has left the room: in the dim light, they can see that he''s Black and she''s white.Link is a brilliant Dartmouth graduate, who, because of the lack of opportunities available to him, tends bar; Camilo is a wealthy, married heiress who has crossTrade ReviewHer work endures not merely because of the strength of its message but its artistry . . . Petry will always feel on time. Her kind of talent will always feel startling and sui generis: The music of her sentences, and their discipline; her unerring sense of psychology; the fullness with which she endows each character, which must be understood as a kind of love; the plots that commandeer whole hours and days . . . Her work endures not only because it illuminates reality, but because it harnesses the power of fiction to supplant it * New York Times *Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time. Ann Petry, the woman, had it all, and so does her insightful, prescient and unputdownable prose . . . The Narrows is the story of a doomed interracial romance that proves that passion and prejudice are not mutually exclusiveAnn Petry's novels The Street and The Narrows are masterpieces of social realism - volatile but exacting, heartbreaking but often brutally funny . . . The Narrows is capacious, elliptical and immersive. Slowly and comprehensively, it envelops you . . . The scenes seethe with rage, and yet the book's sheer profusion makes it feel joyous and celebratory * Wall Street Journal *A powerful and moving book, dealing with an almost proscribed subject . . . A book to watch * Kirkus Reviews *Mainly about human beings, and the messes we sometimes make of our own lives * Yale Review *
£9.49
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press The Bird King
Book SynopsisFrom award-winning author G. Willow Wilson, The Bird King is an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.G. Willow Wilson's debut novel Alif the Unseen established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. The Bird King tells the story of Fatima, a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret - he can draw maps of places he's never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan's surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realising that she will see Hassan's gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.Trade ReviewBrilliantly imagines the fall of Muslim Granada....A warm, generous spirit underlies the entire novel. * New York Times Book Review *The Bird King is marvelous in the deepest sense - a treasure-house of a novel, thrilling, tender, funny and achingly gorgeous. I loved it. -- Lev Grossman, author of THE MAGICIANS trilogyG. Willow Wilson has a deft hand with myth and with magic, and the kind of smart, honest writing mind that knits together and bridges cultures and people. You should read what she writes. -- Neil GaimanThe Bird King takes a time period that's passed into cliché and makes it new and strange again. In this novel, the real runs alongside the fantastic, one informing the other, G. Willow Wilson's eye for detail and her titanic imagination pumping together like pistons. She's incredible. The Bird King has big things to say about states and souls, and it's going to take you on a rollicking ride while it says them. I was fascinated and riveted and, by the end, deeply moved. -- Robin Sloan, author of SOURDOUGHSteeped in magical realism . . . [and] enchanting otherworldly trappings, it is primarily a novel of ideas. [The Bird King] grapples with who we are, how we love, [and] why we worship . . . [with] prose so vivid and original that one can only read it with envy. * Tor.com *A gorgeous, ambitious meditation on faith, platonic love, magic and even storytelling itself, with a trio of unforgettable personalities serving as its beating, endlessly vital heart. The Bird King is a triumph . . . Wilson has once again proven that she's one of the best fantasy writers working today, with a book that's just waiting for readers to get happily lost in its pages. * BookPage *
£8.54
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Conservationist
Book SynopsisNadine Gordimer's Booker Prize-winning story of the forces and relationships seething in the South Africa of the dayTrade Review'This is a novel of enormous power' New Statesman 'Gordimer is a great writer ... It is Turgenev that she most brings to mind' New York Review of Books 'Nadine Gordimer writes of blacks and whites, but her steady, unblinking eye sees something grey there. You could call it human nature, and you would be right' Daily Telegraph 'Gordimer has undoubtedly become one of the World's Great Writers ... her rootedness in a political time, place and faith has never dimmed her complex gifts as an artist' Independent
£11.69
John Murray Press Starve Acre: 'Beautifully written and
Book SynopsisThe worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby's son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Starve Acre, their house by the moors, was to be full of life, but is now a haunted place.Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, to try and keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirt in search of a legendary oak tree.Starve Acre is a devastating new novel by the author of the prize-winning bestseller The Loney. It is a novel about the way in which grief splits the world in two and how, in searching for hope, we can so easily unearth horror.Trade ReviewA tour de force of physiological fantasia . . . Writing of this quality - sensuous, exact, observant - ensures that other scenes, too, pulse with vitality . . . Hurley's gothic storylines send spectres of deathliness through his fictional world. His prose brings it vividly alive -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *I will confidently predict that no reader will guess where it's heading, particularly in the novel's startling last sentence . . . Hurley's ability to create a world that's like ours in many ways and really not in many others is again on full display . . . Starve Acre, leaner and perhaps even more unsettling than its predecessors, may well be his best novel so far * The Times *Beautifully written and triumphantly creepy * Mail on Sunday *A perfectly pitched tale of suspense and the dark side of folklore . . . perfect, page-turning reading for a dark night * Herald *This kind of book, as with ghost stories from M.R. James to Susan Hill, demands a phenomenal control of language and atmosphere to work at all, and Hurley provides it in spades . . . This is a wonderful story of its type that has all the qualities of unease, nastiness, terror, psychological trauma and implied physical revulsion one expects from folk horror. But it's nothing to the denouement it foreshadows * The Spectator *Brilliantly written . . . Evoking Ted Hughes's style of writing, Hurley is adept at seamlessly intertwining the malignant savagery of nature with abstract use of imagery for horror effect. He has this uncanny ability of bringing the palpable supernatural to life with a neat, serene turn of phrase. All these hallmarks of superlative writing are in full display in this impeccable work of folk horror. Starve Acre is a haunting portrait of what happens in the liminal space between grief and sanity * Irish Times *The new novel from the award winning author of The Loney is a further entry in a genre that Hurley is fast making his own . . . Hurley adeptly creates an unsettling atmosphere and keeps us guessing about the extent to which his characters are haunted by grief, by more primordial supernatural forces, or both. This chilling story will set spines tingling and teeth on edge: just the thing for Halloween * Daily Express *Expertly paced . . . creepy and marvellous * Daily Mail *Hurley's striking prose evokes a rising sense of dread in this brief, unforgettable novella * Metro *Andrew Michael Hurley has been carving out a niche for himself as a notable writer of modern gothic since the success of his Costa winning debut, The Loney, and his third novel, Starve Acre, offers an atmospheric tale in the same tradition of English folk-horror . . . Hurley has a fine talent for evoking the menace of his northern landscapes . . . an enjoyably chilling tale for a wild winter night * Observer *An uncanny, unnerving work of rural Gothic . . . Starve Acre is a very fine novel, and quite a singular reading experience . . . the final third of Starve Acre is one of the most unnerving things I've ever read * Irish Independent *A nerve-shredding feat of compression * The i *Startlingly and daringly original, a story that shivers itself deeply into the consciousness * David Park, author of the 2018 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Travelling in a Strange Land *One of the most interesting and eerie writers of contemporary horror * The Scotsman *A perfectly pitched tale of suspense and the dark side of folklore * Press Association *The best closing line of any novel we have read this year . . . A strange and unsettling read * The Times, Fiction Book of the Year pick *Hurley shows himself a master of both murky menace and graphic prose * Sunday Times, Fiction Book of the Year pick *Hurley is a graceful, confident stylist and for this reason alone he is a joy to read * Guardian *One of the most interesting and eerie writers of contemporary horror * Independent *Hurley shows a wicked sense of control, masterminding a genuinely unsettling final act that runs to the very last sentence * TLS *A spookier take on parental guilt came from Hurley's chiller Starve Acre, about a couple mourning the death of their nightmare-plagued five-year-old in the Yorkshire Dales * Daily Mail, Books of the Year *This sensuous and vivid gothic terror tale, set in a haunted house, is the best novel yet * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Round the Bend
Book SynopsisWhen Tom Cutter hires Constantine Shaklin as an engineer in his air freight business, he little realises the extraordinary gifts of his new recruit. Shaklin possesses a religious power which inspires everyone he meets to a new faith and hope for humanity. As Cutter's business grows across Asia, so does Shaklin's fame, until he is widely regarded as a unifying deity. Though he struggles to believe Shaklin is indeed divine, the friendship will transform Cutter's life.Trade ReviewA story which grips and fascinates, a story enriched by the observation and understanding which have made Shute's work outstanding * Scotsman *He holds attention to the last page * Daily Telegraph *So convincingly does Shute tell the story and so cleverly does he leave the character of Shaklin deliberately vague that the book is as absorbing as anything he has written, and Cutter one of his finest creations * Glasgow Herald *
£9.49
Canongate Books The Hoarder
Book SynopsisA BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB CHOICESHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARDLONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARDUnintentional psychic Maud Drennan arrives to look after Cathal Flood, a belligerent man hiding in his filthy, cat-filled home.Her job is simple: clear the rubbish, take care of the patient. But the once-grand house has more to reveal than simply its rooms. There is a secret here, and whether she likes it or not, Maud may be the one to finally uncover what has previously been kept hidden . . .* In the US, this book is published under the title Mr Flood's Last ResortTrade ReviewThis dark but comical tale of haunting and hoarding ensnares . . . [Kidd's] imagination is vivid . . . Brilliant * * The Times * *A lyrical gothic detective saga . . . Wonderfully enigmatic and complex . . . [Kidd] is a writer with a poet's skill of balancing clarity and inventive flair -- ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY * * Guardian * *A brilliantly imaginative tale of secrets and lies, grief and guilt . . . Kidd's writing is gorgeous, the story is enthralling and emotions are sorrowfully raw and vivid in this funny, dark and original literary mystery * * Sunday Express, S Magazine * *Excellent . . . The observations are sharp and humorous . . . with pages of inventive and colourful description . . . The Hoarder is a strong follow-up from a very talented writer who seems to be honing her skills * * Sunday Times * *An arresting talent . . . Executed with irresistible panache, Kidd's novel is as full to the brim with the fantastic as Cathal's Gothic lair is with junk . . . A galloping yarn that entertains even as it disturbs * * Daily Mail * *Superb . . . Kidd writes brilliantly . . . A rather impressive second novel, whose imaginative prowess marks its author as one to watch -- JOHN BOYNE * * Irish Times * *Eerie, engrossing . . . The strong story and compelling characters shine through . . . utterly grips -- Anita Sethi * * Observer * *Engaging and beautifully judged . . . delivered with a lightness of touch and a sensibility that brings all the characters to life fully and believably . . . Excellent -- Doug Johnstone * * The Big Issue * *Riveting . . . Kidd's intelligent plotting and structure caper to a satisfying resolution: this is a twisting, fully original slice of literary horror, and one not to be missed * * Financial Times * *I tore through Kidd's debut, Himself, and I'm finding more of the same beautiful, funny and dark twistiness here. It reads like a grown up fairy tale, with none of the Disneyfied touches -- KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE
£8.54
John Murray Press Pictures of Him
Book Synopsis
£9.49
World Editions Ltd Two Blankets, Three Sheets
Book SynopsisA humorous account of nine years in an asylum centre.
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dragon Lady
Book SynopsisIn a period of civil unrest before the War of Liberation, a wealthy and influential couple leave Britain to make a new life in 1950s Rhodesia.Opening with the shooting of Lady Virginia ''Ginie'' Courtauld in her tranquil garden in 1950s Rhodesia, The Dragon Lady, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg, tells Ginie''s extraordinary story. From the glamorous Italian Riviera before the Great War to the Art Deco glory of Eltham Palace in the thirties, and from the secluded Scottish Highlands to segregated Rhodesia in the fifties, the narrative spans enormous cultural and social change. Lady Virginia Courtauld was a boundary-breaking, colourful and unconventional person who rejected the submissive role women were expected to play. Ostracised by society for being a foreign divorcée at the time of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson, Ginie and her second husband, Stephen Courtauld, leave the confines of post-war Britain to forge a new life in Rhodesia, only to find that beinTrade ReviewA fascinating fictionalised account of the life of Lady Virginia Courtauld... a spirited account of a flamboyant life. -- Antonia Senior * The Times *An intriguing portrait of an unconventional woman. * The Sunday Times *The Dragon Lady powerfully captures the colonial era in Zimbabwe … Lovers of historical fiction won’t be disappointed. * New York Journal of Books *Will keep readers spellbound. * Washington Independent Review of Books *beautifully written, absorbing book -- SD Sykes * Historia Mag *If you enjoy books that involve both fiction and non-fiction, then I am delighted to highly recommend The Dragon Lady. * The Last Word Book Review *I fell into the story and got lost in it, and I came out of it wanting to know more about Rhodesia/Zimbabwe history. * Fairy Bookmother *Louisa Treger’s latest novel, The Dragon Lady, is a frightening story of miscegenation and racism. This story will keep you turning pages well into a dark night. 5 Stars * KWBU-FM *A daring blend of romance, crime and history, and an intelligent exposé of the inherent injustice and consequences of all forms of oppression. -- Tsitsi Dangarembga, * Nervous Conditions *
£12.34
Little, Brown Book Group Island on the Edge of the World
Book SynopsisHaiti. A poor country rich in courage, strength and love. As these four women are about to discover.Charlie, the rootless daughter of American missionaries, now working as a hairdresser in Northern California. But the repercussions of a traumatic childhood far from home have left her struggling for her way in life.Bea, Charlie''s eccentric grandmother, who is convinced a reunion with her estranged mother will help Charlie heal.Lizbeth, a Texas widow who has never strayed too far from home. She is on a daunting journey into the unknown, searching for the grandchild she never knew existed.And Senzey, a young Haitian mother dealing with a lifetime of love and loss, who shows them the true meaning of bravery. Together they venture through the teeming, colorful streets of Port-au-Prince, into the worlds of do-gooders doing more harm than good, Vodou practitioners, artists, activists, and everyTrade ReviewDeborah Rodriguez is brilliant at transporting her readers to far-flung destinations * Sunday Express *This wonderful story of courageous, obstinate women transports you straight to the beating heart of a colourful land * People’s Friend *
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Pandemic
Book SynopsisPandemic is an explosive medical thriller about a deadly virus, from New York Times-bestselling author Robin Cook.In New York City, a young, seemingly healthy woman is struck down by a respiratory attack as she heads home on the subway. By the time she arrives in Manhattan, she’s dead. She ends up on forensic pathologist Jack Stapleton’s autopsy table, which reveals surprising findings about the cause of death.Fearing the woman’s case could be the first in a severe outbreak of a deadly airborne virus, Jack works in overdrive for a diagnosis. As the inconclusive tests come back, Jack urges his wife, and chief medical examiner, Dr. Laurie Montgomery, to sound the alarm at the mayor’s office, concerned that more cases may follow.When further cases do occur around the city, and then in Los Angeles, London and Rome, Jack enters a race against time to discover the link that connects all the victims before it’s too late . . .Enjoy more medical mystery thrillers with Contagion, Vector, and Genesis.Trade ReviewForensic pathologists and doctors-turned-detectives do battle against epidemics, lethal illness and drug-related deaths, the causes of which are far from natural . . . You’ll find yourself completely hooked * Daily Mail *Likeable heroes, a compelling medical mystery and growing suspense – the result is a highly entertaining read. Commercial fiction, at its best, is pure entertainment. But Cook, like Michael Crichton, offers readers a smart dissection of contemporary issues that affect us all * USA Today *Gripping . . . Terrifying * New York Times *Robin Cook virtually invented the medical thriller in the 1970s with Coma * Guardian *
£8.54
Fitzcarraldo Editions Old Food
Book SynopsisFrom one of the most lauded artists of his generation comes a purging soliloquy: a profound nowt delivered in some spent afterwards. Scorched by senility and nostalgia, and wracked by all kinds of hunger, Ed Atkins’ Old Food lurches from allegory to listicle, from lyric to menu, fetching up a plummeting, idiomatic and crabbed tableau from the cannibalised remains of each form in turn. Written in conjunction with Atkins’ exhibition of the same name, Old Food is a hard Brexit, wadded with historicity, melancholy and a bravura kind of stupidity. Ed Atkins is an artist who makes all kinds of convolutions of self-portraiture. He writes uncomfortably intimate, debunked prophesies; paints travesties; and makes realistic computer generated videos that often feature figures that resemble the artist in the throes of unaccountable psychical crises. Atkins’ artificial realism, whether written or animated, pastiches romanticism to get rendered down to a sentimental blubber – all the better to model those bleak feelings often so inexpressible in real life.Trade Review‘Violent, emetic, immoderate, improper, impure – that’s to say it’s the real thing. Atkins’s prose, which may not be prose, adheres to Aragon’s maxim “Don't think – write.”’ — Jonathan Meades‘Atkins, reflecting on the absence of humans in the exhibition, here favours the visceral impact of associated images and words, pumping the poetry-prose with lines that speak of our primeval instincts, needs and desires, in order to “seek empathic commons”.’ — ArtReview‘Ed Atkins is the artist of ugly feelings – gruesome and smeared and depleted. But everything he does in his videos or paintings, I’ve always thought, he really does as a writer. He uses language as a system where everything gets reprocessed and misshapen – a unique and constant mislaying of tone that’s as dizzying as it’s exhilarating.’ — Adam Thirlwell, author of Lurid & Cute ‘The universe is a rabble of contagion and miasma. The universe is a rabble of spheres, moved by mystical forces. Ed Atkins pokes this condition. He strokes and bursts it. He is the barber who doubles as doctor and a dentist, quick with his knife and flushes of blood. No page of Old Food is dry, it seeps with life, it breathes, bleeds, engorges, sticks you together with spit. Like bacterial cells on an errant loaf, Old Food is language in growth. ’ — Helen Marten, 2016 Turner Prize winner
£9.99
Verso Books Will and Testament
Book SynopsisLonglisted for The Millions Best Translated Book Awards for FictionLonglisted for the National Book Award for Translated LiteratureFour siblings. Two summer houses. One terrible secret. When a dispute over her parents' will grows bitter, Bergljot is drawn back into the orbit of the family she fled twenty years before. Her mother and father have decided to leave two island summer houses to her sisters, disinheriting the two eldest siblings from the most meaningful part of the estate. To outsiders, it is a quarrel about property and favouritism. But Bergljot, who has borne a horrible secret since childhood, understands the gesture as something very different-a final attempt to suppress the truth and a cruel insult to the grievously injured.Will and Testament is a lyrical meditation on trauma and memory, as well as a furious account of a woman's struggle to survive and be believed. Vigdis Hjorth's novel became a controversial literary sensation in Norway and has been translated into twenty languages.Trade ReviewHjorth parcels out the secrets with a precision worthy of Ibsen, so that the level of suspense is maintained up to the very last of the 343 pages. * Aftenposten *Vigdis Hjorth's new novel is furious and wise, trembling and stringent. Wills and Testaments examines who owns the past. This is the novel in weaponised form. * NRK *This was a novel that people could enjoy either as high literature or as a work of down-and-dirty revenge. The tabloids loved it as much as the broadsheets, and it became the bestselling novel of the year. * The Guardian *Its strong emotional truths take hold of you immediately - even before the family secret's consequences are made apparent: I dogeared page after page to mark off insights, movements, formulations. * Dagens Nyheter *The strength of the novel lies in Bergljot's convincing and continuing vulnerability, in her mixed feelings and her flaws . A clear-eyed and convincing story of a family's doomed attempt to reconcile and the limits of forgiveness. * Kirkus *Vigdis Hjorth is one of my favorite contemporary writers. -- Sheila Heti, author of Motherhood and How Should a Person Be?In a ruthless yet patiently delivered work, Hjorth does something that few writers achieve: Will and Testamentis both economical and overwhelming. -- Elsa Court * Financial Times *Devastating -- FriezeWill and Testament is a compulsively readable novel, one that turns questions of shame into weapons against silence. * Paris Review *Hjorth's thoughtful, drily funny, and often devastating novel will leave a deep and lasting impression on readers. * Publishers Weekly *Will and Testament is a reminder that it's easier to hide darkness than face it ... Hjorth argues cogently that conflicts and atrocities often stem from what a nation represses or denies. * Observer *Compelling ... Hjorth proves brilliant at revealing the stubborn, unredemptive quality of childhood suffering. -- Lara Feigel * Guardian *Even in the depths of family trauma, the scent of the forest, sea and meadow may still drift over the troubled cities and suburbs of Norwegian fiction. That forest may be a real place. It may also, as in Will and Testament, be a longed-for state of mind. -- Boyd Tonkin * Norwegian Arts *Hypnotic -- John Williams * New York Times Book Review *A powerfully humane novel about inheritance, trauma and the inheritance of trauma * Times Literary Supplement *Precise, contemplative, and deeply moving, it's a masterful unpacking of the tensions, secrets, and bonds that hold a family together. -- Hannah Williams * Los Angeles Review of Books *An extraordinary storyteller * LA Review of Books *Readers pining for a dose of brooding Norwegian writing in the style of Karl Ove Knausgaard may be drawn to this account of a woman's struggle to achieve reconciliation with a family that refuses to recognise she was the victim of abuse at the hands of her own father -- Ángel Gurría-Quintana * Financial Times *One of the year's gems in translation was Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund. A story of abuse, inheritance and the battle for the truth among a privileged Norwegian family, it grips like a vice while interrogating national as well as individual self-conception. * Guardian, Best Fiction of 2019 *Published to a storm of controversy in Vigdis Hjorth's native Norway in 2016, Will and Testament arrived in English this year. The novel is a meticulously paced account of a property dispute that bleeds poisonously back into the history of the narrator and the family members whose squabbling over a cabin comes to seem darkly absurd compared with the trauma she has suffered. -- Megan Nolan * New Statesman, Books of the year 2019 *Unsettling, beautifully constructed * Observer *Unspooling in a splenetic torrent of raw emotional intensity, [Will and Testament] speaks to wider issues of collective traumas that societies refuse to confront. * Morning Star *Add Vigdis Hjorth to the growing list of writers of significant autofiction, reality literature whose characters depend on recognizable people and actual situations. Like Karl Ove Knausgaard's monumental six volumes of the autobiographically inspired My Struggle and Elena Ferrante's indelible four-volume Neapolitan series (beginning with My Brilliant Friend), Hjorth's Will and Testament brilliantly examines the troubled life occasioned by recovered memories of a traumatic personal event. -- Robert Allen Papinchak * World Literature Today *A curious and very good short novel. -- Laura Waddell * Scotsman *
£10.44
