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
HarperCollins Publishers Christmas Island Escape to a winter wonderland in
Book SynopsisCosy up in front of a fire and discover Christmas the Norwegian wayfull of romance, cosy traditions and hygge!In the bleak midwinterA really frosty wind is making Holly's life absolutely miserableAfter all the years of hard work it took Londoner Holly Greene to become a doctor, now it could all be taken away and she only has herself to blame. She's retreating to her brother's rustic home on an island off the coast of Norway to lick her wounds. Only, it's the middle of winter and icy slush plus endless darkness isn't exactly the cheery, festive getaway she had imagined.Nearly stumbling off the edge of a cliff in the dark, Holly is saved by Frøy, a yellow-eyed cat of fearsome but fluffy proportions, and his owner grouchy, bearded recluse, Tor. Tor has his own problems to face but the inexplicable desire to leave a bag of freshly baked gingerbread men on Holly's doorstep is seriously getting in the way of his hermit routine.Call it kindness, call it Christmas, but Holly's arrival means m
£11.07
Europa Editions The Story Of A New Name: Book 2
Book SynopsisIn 2012, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend introduced readers to the unforgettable Elena and Lila, whose lifelong friendship provides the backbone for the Neapolitan Novels.The Story of a New Name is the second book in this series. With these books, which the New Yorker's James Wood described as large, captivating, amiably peopled...a beautiful and delicate tale of confluence and reversal, Ferrante proves herself to be one of Italy's most accomplished storytellers. She writes vividly about a specific neighborhood of Naples from the late-1950s through to the current day and about two remarkable young women who are very much the products of that place and time. Yet in doing so she has created a world in which readers will recognize themselves and has drawn a marvelously nuanced portrait of friendship.In The Story of a New Name, Lila has recently married and made her entrée into the family business; Elena, meanwhile, continues her studies and her exploration of the world beyond the neighborhood that she so often finds stifling. Love, jealousy, family, freedom, commitment, and above all friendship: these are signs under which both women live out this phase in their stories. Marriage appears to have imprisoned Lila, and the pressure to excel is at times too much for Elena. Yet the two young women share a complex and evolving bond that is central to their emotional lives and is a source of strength in the face of life's challenges. In these Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante, the acclaimed author of The Days of Abandonment, gives readers a poignant and universal story about friendship and belonging.
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Christmas Magic
Book SynopsisA festive collection of short stories by No. 1 bestseller, Cathy Kelly. The perfect stocking filler!Lose yourself in this warm and wonderful collection of short stories from bestselling Irish storyteller Cathy Kelly.From weddings and summer holidays to Christmas with uninvited family or long-lost friends returning, this anthology captures the hopes, tears, laughter and loves of all kinds of women and their families and friends with Cathy' s inimitable warmth.The holiday season comes but once a year, so curl up by a roaring fire and let the magic reel you inThis is perfect!' EssentialsFunny and touching Kelly's witty writing will warm you up' Woman's OwnTrade Review‘The perfect way to take time out from Christmas shopping. Five stars’ Star Magazine ‘Funny and touching … Kelly’s witty writing will warm you up’ Woman’s Own ‘This is perfect!’ Essentials Magazine
£7.59
Right Nuisance Publishing Ltd The Enlightened Spaniel: A Dog's Quest to be a
Book Synopsis
£7.99
Faber & Faber Terrific Mother
Book SynopsisFaber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. Adrienne is living in a puritanical age, when the best compliment a childless woman can get is: You'd make a terrific mother'. That's when she goes to her friends' Labor Day picnic and accidentally kills their baby.The shock of this scene is expertly packed into two brief paragraphs. What follows is Adrienne's retreat from life and her attempt to return to it.Her sharp scepticism about the people around her is achingly funny. Yet beyond derision there is forgiveness and something along the lines of love.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.
£6.23
Amazon Publishing What the Wind Knows
Book SynopsisAn Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller. In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything… Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time. The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own. As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
£12.32
Pan Macmillan A Dog's Journey
Book SynopsisNow a major film, starring Dennis Quaid.From W. Bruce Cameron, the author of A Dog's Purpose, the phenomenal New York Times Number One bestseller about the unbreakable bond between a dog and their human.Buddy is a good dog. He thought he had found and fulfilled his purpose, over the course of several lives, in helping his beloved boy Ethan. On the farm, Buddy watches over Ethan’s granddaughter, curious baby Clarity, trying to keep her out of mischief. He begins to realize that this is a little girl very much in need of a dog of her own.Buddy realizes that he has a new destiny. Reborn once more, he's overjoyed when he is adopted by Clarity, now a vibrant but troubled teenager. When they are suddenly separated, Buddy despairs – who will take care of his girl? With her selfish mother determined to keep them apart, and an unpredictable, obsessive boyfriend, Clarity's life threatens to spiral out of control – she needs help more than ever, but can Buddy find his way back to her in time?A charming and heartwarming story of hope, love, and unending devotion, A Dog's Journey asks the question: Do we really take care of our pets, or do they take care of us? This is a moving story of unwavering loyalty and a love that crosses all barriers.Trade ReviewReaders will devour this wonderful story and cry from beginning to end. Sweet and heartfelt, Cameron likely has another bestseller on his hands -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton
Book SynopsisA Richard and Judy Book Club pick, set in Paris and Italy, The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a beautiful and uplifting exploration of love, loss and hope ‘The real truth and triumph of this gem of a story is simple: it is one of the best and most gripping descriptions of heartbreak that either of us have ever read’ Richard and Judy’s review Grace Atherton, a talented cellist, is in love with David. Together in their apartment in Paris, Grace and David are happy until an unexpected event changes everything. Nadia is seventeen and furious. She knows that love will only let her down: if she is going to succeed it will be on her own terms. At eighty-six Maurice Williams has discovered a lot about love in his long life, and even more about people. And yet he keeps secrets. When Grace’s life falls apart in the most shocking of ways Maurice and Nadia come to
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Wedding In December
Book Synopsis ‘Sarah Morgan is back in style with a perfect snow-filled read’ Woman & Home ‘A sparkling winter romance with a lively family at the centre of it all’ Woman ‘As always, Sarah Morgan takes us to a glamorous setting and throws in a whole heap of drama. Such fun!’ Heat ‘An emotional, uplifting and heart-warming winter novel that’s perfect for those chilly nights in’ OK! * * * * * In the snowy perfection of Aspen, the White family gathers for youngest daughter Rosie's whirlwind Christmas wedding. First to arrive are the bride’s parents, Maggie and Nick. Their daughter’s marriage is a milestone they are determined to celebrate wholeheartedly, but they are hiding a huge secret about their own: they are on the brink of divorce. After living apart for the last six months, the last thing they need is to be trapped together in an irresistibly romantic winter wonderland. Rosie’s older sister Katie is also dreading the wedding. Worried that impulsive, sweet-hearted Rosie is making a mistake, Katie is determined to save her sister from herself. If only the irritatingly good-looking best man, Jordan, would stop interfering with her plans… Bride-to-be Rosie loves her fiance but is having serious second thoughts. Except everyone has arrived – how can she tell them she's not sure? As the big day gets closer, and emotions run even higher, this is one White family Christmas none of them will ever forget. * * * * * A Wedding in December is everyone’s favourite read this Christmas: ‘Blissful escapism, vicarious luxury and enough romance to warm your heart…a must-read item on your pre-festive To-Do list’ Penny Parkes, author of the bestselling Practice Makes Perfect ‘A Wedding in December was just the tonic needed . . . Put your feet up, relax and unwind in front of the fire with a glass of mulled wine and this gorgeous tale, you won't be disappointed’ Amazon 5* ‘It sucks you right in, leaving you desperate to see how everything comes together’ Amazon 5* ‘Best read this year’ Amazon 5*Trade Review PRAISE FOR A WEDDING IN DECEMBER ‘You can always rely on Sarah Morgan to deliver blissful escapism, vicarious luxury and enough romance to warm your heart no matter how frosty your winter. A Wedding in December has to be a must-read item on your pre-festive To Do list’ Penny Parkes, author of the bestselling Practice Makes Perfect ‘I raced through the wonderful A Wedding in December, unable to put down this deliriously romantic story of a family forced to confront its secrets amidst the snowy peaks and crackling frosts of Aspen, Colorado. This is escapist fiction at its absolute best, full of warmth, humour and heart – with everything a romantic reader could want. Irresistible, joyful and a celebration of family love’ Katie Marsh, author of My Everything ‘A sparkling winter romance with a lively family at the centre of it all’ Woman ‘Sarah Morgan is back in style with a perfect snow-filled read’Woman & Home ‘An emotional, uplifting and heart-warming winter novel that’s perfect for those chilly nights in’ OK! ‘As always, Sarah Morgan takes us to a glamorous setting and throws in a whole heap of drama. Such fun!’ Heat ‘The perfect light-hearted read for that Boxing Day food coma’Living North
£9.49
Saqi Books The Quarter
Book SynopsisNewly discovered collection of unpublished stories by key figure and Nobel Prize winner in literature, these fable-like stories carry Mahfouz's signature observations of the human character, taking the reader deep into the beating heart of CairoTrade Review`A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling' The Guardian; `A towering literary figure, and the joyous chronicler of a turbulent Egyptian century' The Economist; `Egypt's greatest living writer ... one of the world's most humane literary figures' Laila Lalami, The Nation; `The Arab Tolstoy' Simon Sebag Montefiore; `Adds yet another essential chapter to the oeuvre of a literary figure of greatness.' The National; `Smooth reading ... a compelling experiment in sound and echo.' Qantara; `This new folio of interconnected stories is very much part of Mahfouz's late experiments.' ArabLit; `A glimpse into a world that seems both ancient and distant ... [Mahfouz's] "simple" characters reveal to the reader not just the brutality of everyday life but also its distorted beauty. They show the complexities and uniqueness of their world and in doing so offer lessons for all of humanity to draw on ... a teasing glimpse of Mahfouz's work ... seek it out.' Socialist Review; `Masterly ... Unmistakably Cairene ... translated with practised clarity by Roger Allen.' TLS; `Naguib Mahfouz's legacy as Egypt's greatest novelist is sustained with these engaging short stories ... their themes are timeless.' New Statesman
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Gallows Pole
Book Synopsis____________________ The inspiration for the BBC TV series, directed by Shane Meadows and starring Tom Burke, George MacKay and Thomas Turgoose WINNER OF THE 2018 WALTER SCOTT PRIZE ____________________ ‘Powerful, visceral writing, historical fiction at its best. Benjamin Myers is one to watch’ - Pat Barker ‘Phenomenal’ - Sebastian Barry ‘Superb’ - The Times ____________________ From his remote moorland home, David Hartley assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history. They are the Cragg Vale Coiners and their business is ‘clipping’ – the forging of coins, a treasonous offence punishable by death. When an excise officer vows to bring them down and with the industrial age set to change the face of England forever, Hartley’s empire begins to crumble. Forensically assembled, The Gallows Pole is a true story of resistance and a rarely told alternative history of the North. ____________________ 'One of my books of the year … It’s the best thing Myers has done' - Robert Macfarlane, Big Issue Books of the YearTrade ReviewOne of my books of the year … It’s the best thing Myers has done * Robert Macfarlane, Big Issue Books of the Year *A windswept, brutal tale of eighteenth-century Yorkshire told in starkly beautiful prose * Guardian *A brutal tale told with an original, muscular voice * The Times, summer reads picks 2018 *Powerful, visceral writing, historical fiction at its best. Benjamin Myers is one to watch * Pat Barker, Guardian *A phenomenal and highly energised novel * Sebastian Barry *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Bridge of Clay
Book SynopsisMARKUS ZUSAK is the bestselling author of six novels, including THE BOOK THIEF. His books have been translated into more than forty languages, to both popular and critical acclaim. He lives in Sydney with his wife and two children.Find Markus on his blog www.zusakbooks.comFacebook /markuszusakInstagram @markuszusak.Trade Review[Zusak] flings his readers straight into the deep end of his new vast, teeming novel . . . Warm and heartfelt . . . This is a tale of love, art and redemption; rowdy and joyous, with flashes of wit and insight, and ultimately moving. -- Kate Saunders * Times *If The Book Thief was a novel that allowed Death to steal the show... [its] brilliantly illuminated follow-up is affirmatively full of life. -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *The wait is over. * New York Times *This vast novel is a feast of language and irony. There is sly wit on every page... it is hard not to fall a bit in love with it. -- Michael McGirr * Sydney Morning Herald *Bridge of Clay has been more than a decade in the making, and it shows: The characters are clearly loved, and the artistry of language will leave you gasping at times. * New York Times *Devastating, demanding and deeply moving, Bridge of Clay unspools like a kind of magic act in reverse -- Meghan Cox Gurdon * Wall Street Journal *Eleven years after his multi-million selling hit The Book Thief, Zusak has returned with this sweeping and compelling family tale... Give it your time and you'll be repaid with a moving and epic read. * Stylist *Bridge of Clay is one of those monumental books that can draw you across space and time into another family's experience in the most profound way. -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *Exquisitely written ... A sensitively rendered tale of loss, grief, and guilt's manifestations * Publisher's Weekly US *This book BLEW ME AWAY * Jodi Picoult *A captivating book with a mighty, fearless heart, Bridge of Clay is filled with characters to believe in and care about ... achingly moving, delightfully funny, and thoroughly uplifting. * M L STEDMAN, bestselling author of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS *Unusual, boisterous and playful * Good Housekeeping *This epic family saga is a sweeping reflection on love and loss etched in vibrant writing, vivid characterisations and heartfelt emotion . . . A book to lose yourself in on long autumn nights. -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express *Markus Zusak crafts an unforgettable saga. * US Weekly *In a complex narrative that leaps through time and place and across oceans, Zusak paints a vivid portrait of the brothers trying to regain their balance by keeping their family’s story alive. * Time *If The Book Thief is his most famous book, Bridge of Clay is his magnum opus. -- Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore * Guardian *[A] journey in a unique circumnavigatory style, blending past and present until we reach its heart-wrenching conclusion… The prose sings with spunky originality. * Irish Independent *A sweeping story following the five Dunbar brothers through times of grief, love, and anger, Bridge of Clay is a time-jumping, dreamlike exploration of family. * Entertainment Weekly *
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group A Symphony of Echoes
Book SynopsisThe second book in the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary''s series which follows a group of tea-soaked disaster magnets as they hurtle their way around History. If you love Jasper Fforde or Ben Aaronovitch, you won''t be able to resist Jodi Taylor.Wherever the historians go, chaos is sure to follow...Dispatched to Victorian London to seek out Jack the Ripper, things go badly wrong when he finds the St Mary''s historians first. Stalked through the fog-shrouded streets of Whitechapel, Max is soon running for her life. Again.And that''s just the start. Max finds herself in a race against time when an old enemy is intent on destroying St Mary''s. An enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy History itself.From the Hanging Gardens of Nineveh to the murder of Thomas a Becket, via an unscheduled dodo rescue mission, join the historians of St Mary''s as they hurtle around History on more hilarious, hair-raising escapades Trade ReviewTakes readers on a carnival ride through laughter and tears with a bit of time travel thrown in for spice - Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewA true page-turner - SF RevuI've never seen time travel handled this way. I like it - Wethenerdy.com[An] appealing cast of characters... [with] with plenty of humour, lots of action, and even a touch of romance - Library Journal
£10.44
Faber & Faber A Weekend in New York
Book Synopsis''Elegant and absorbing.'' GuardianA book to be savoured.'' ObserverIntimate, funny . . . Masterfully done.' Daily MailSophisticated and engrossing.'' Literary ReviewPaul is a mid-ranking tennis professional on the ATP tour. His girlfriend Dana is an ex-model and photographer, and together with their two-year-old son they form a tableau of the contented upper-middle-class New York family. But Paul's parents and siblings have come to stay in the build-up to the US Open, and with summer storms brewing, several generations of domestic tension are brought to boiling point . . .
£8.54
Oxford University Press The Sin of Abbé Mouret
Book SynopsisThe Sin of Abbé Mouret is the fifth novel in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series. It follows Serge Mouret, a young priest, aspiring to perfect purity and sanctity. An illness leaves him with amnesia, and no longer knowing he is a priest, he falls in love with his nurse. Together they roam an Eden-like garden called the 'Paradou'.Trade ReviewIt is easy to savor certain installments in isolation [...] But to read through the Rougon-Macquart in Oxford's fine new translations - fourteen of the twenty volumes retranslated since 2000, seven in the last four years - is to see the mosaic that only Zola's full scheme makes possible. * Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Day We Meet Again Escape with the most
Book SynopsisTheir love story started with goodbyeFrom the Sunday Times bestseller comes a story of what-ifs and maybes and how one decision can change your life forever.* * * * *We'll meet again at St Pancras station, a year from today. If we're meant to be together, we'll both be there. If we're not, it was never meant to be . . .'Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn't part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in twelve months'' time if they still want to be together.But is life ever as simple as that?* * * * *Everyone has been swept away by The Day We Meet Again:A spark of true joy. I adored every page' JOSIE SILVERAn engrossing love story, beautifully written' SARAH MORGANExquisitely tender and breathtakingThis is Miranda at her best' CATHY BRAMLEYEmotional storyfull of both heart and soul' FabulousA sparkling romance, packed with tenderness' WTrade Review MORE Praise for THE DAY WE MEET AGAIN ‘A love story we can all connect with’ Woman & Home ‘This is a sweet, clever love story with a big, beautiful “will they won’t they” heart beating at its centre… I was rooting for Phoebe and Sam the whole way through. I adored this book. Do yourselves a favour and indulge in something truly charming’ Dorothy Koomson, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘One of the most moving stories I’ve read in a long time. It’s an epic love story about second chances, courage and finding the faith to follow your dreams. Beautifully written and heart-stoppingly romantic, it’s an absolute triumph!’ Katie Marsh, bestselling author of A Life Without You ‘This is an epic love story that kept me guessing right to the last page. Absolutely and utterly amazing. Miranda broke my heart and then made it burst. I’m an emotional wreck!’ Laura Kemp, author of The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness ‘I’m totally in love with Phoebe and Sam. The Day We Meet Again is one of those books you want to savour’ Holly Hepburn, author of A Year at Castle Court ‘Romantic, heartbreaking and emotional, The Day We Meet Again squeezed my heart. It is a magical story about love, hope and forgiveness, and I am envious of anyone who has yet to read it’ Cressida McLaughlin, author of The House of Birds and Butterflies ‘A novel about friendship and taking risks, about kindness and gratitude, but mainly about having the courage to love’ Caroline Smailes, author of The Drowning of Arthur Braxton ‘I finished The Day We Meet Again, with breath held and love in my heart. You’re in for a treat!’ Anna Mansell, author of Her Best Friend’s Secret
£11.07
HarperCollins Publishers The Shadow Isle Book 3 The Silver Wyrm
Book SynopsisBook fourteen of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years.As the tale of Deverry and her people draws near to its close, questions will be answered and mysteries uncoveredThe wild Northlands hold many secrets, among them the mysterious dweomer island of Haen Marn, the mountain settlements of Dwarvholt, and the fortified city of Cerr Cawnen, built long ago by escaping bondmen from Deverry itself. And just who or what are the mysterious Dwgi folk?Thanks to the Horsekin, who continue to push their religious crusade south toward the borders of the kingdom, the human beings of Deverry and their elven allies realize that the fate of the Northlands lies tangled with their own. Although the dwarven race holds strong, the island of Haen Marn has fled and Cerr Cawnen seems doomed. Only the magic of Dallandra and Valandario and the might of the powerful dragons, Arzosah and Rori, can rTrade ReviewPraise for Katharine Kerr and the Deverry novels: ‘Kerr is an excellent writer, her stories live and breathe – exciting, unpredictable, and engaging in equal measure.’Mark Lawrence ‘A fantastic plot which turns a simple story into something far more original … a cracking read … engrossing’ SFX ‘A criminally under-rated and overlooked epic fantasy sequence [with] a keen sense of history, well drawn characters, and a complex plot’ Kate Elliott, author of the Spiritwalker Trilogy ‘An unusually scholarly writer of fantasy’ TELEGRAPH ‘Much as I dislike comparing anything to The Lord of the Rings, I have to admit that on this occasion it’s justified’ INTERZONE ‘Kerr is a master of her trade…She has created a world that might very well go on for ever, and this one reader sincerely hopes it does’ VECTOR ‘An extensive and complete world, whose endlessly fascinating details grow book by book’ STARLOG
£8.54
Talon Books,Canada Anima
Book SynopsisThis award-winning novel by playwright Wadji Mouawad is a thriller and a road novel written in the North African storytelling tradition in which events unfold from an animal point of view. The novel opens with a brutal murder: the protagonist arrives home to find his wife lying in a pool of blood. Driven by grief and the need to find whoever did this I want to see his face, I want to know who he is the protagonist sets out on desperate journey from Montreal to Indian reserves along the CanadaU.S. border, south through Civil War sites in the Midwest, to Animas, New Mexico. The furious odyssey awakens long-buried memories that make present circumstances even more painful. This masterful novel is told in a bestiary of voices, more than fifty animals, birds, and insects, each with their own characterization and style of speaking, reveal the unflattering contrast between the human and the natural. Violent and dark, the novel nevertheless moves beyond the thriller genre to become a book of multiple levels, rich in symbolism and open to complex interpretation. While set in North America, Mouawad's Lebanese roots suffuse the text, which becomes an examination of cultural influences and at the same time an excavation of childhood trauma and the legacy of war. Anima has resonated with readers worldwide. It's been translated into German, Italian, Spanish, and Catalan. It won the Thyde Monnier Grand Prize from the Société des Gens de Lettres, the Mediterranean Prize, the Literary Prize for a Second Novel in Laval, the Golden Alga Award, the Phoenix Award (as part of the Beirut Spring Festival), and the Catalan Llibreter Prize for Foreign Novel, all in 2012 and 2013. In 2015, Anima won the Lire en Poche, a prize awarded annually in France in celebration of the paperback book. An elegant translation by Linda Gaboriau brings this celebrated novel to English readers.
£12.34
Vintage Publishing Fireworks
Book Synopsis‘I started to write short pieces when I was living in a room too small to write a novel in.’ So says Angela Carter of this collection, written during a period living in Toyko. These exotic, sensuous stories represent Carter’s first major achievement in the short story form. Lush imaginary forests, a murderous puppet show and an expressionistic vision of Japan: each one instantly conjures an atmosphere, dark and luminous in turn, and from the recognisably daring imagination of one of the great twentieth-century stylists.Trade ReviewExotic and sensuous * Sunday Times *Luminous * The Age *It is hard to imagine the literary landscape without Angela Carter. Hers is a legacy that extends way beyond the bounds of her own work * Independent *I can't think of anyone who is at that pitch of intellectual commentary, fictional experimentation and fullness of expression. I'm not a patch on her. Jesus, I wish I was -- Ali SmithIts autobiographical stories set in Japan, where she had gone to live with a Japanese lover, give off a direct and poignant emotion. They show her changing, too * Independent *
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group Miracle on Cherry Hill
Book SynopsisCelebrated bestselling author Sun-mi Hwang is back with a heartwarming new novel about renewal and friendship. This is the story of a man named Kang Dae-su. His whole life is a miracle, rising from poverty to running a successful construction company. In his twilight years, Kang is diagnosed with a brain tumour. He returns to his childhood home of Cherry Hill. He acquires a crumbling old house in which to retreat from the world, yet the residents of the town have other plans. They seem hell-bent on intruding on Kang''s private property. But who does the house, and Cherry Hill, really belong to? Is it owned by the construction company who is trying to rejuvenate the neighbourhood? Or does it belong to the residents who have used the land to play, think, walk, love and explore for generations? And how is the bitter and despondent Kang''s childhood tied to this magical place? Miracle on Cherry Hill is a redemptive story of a damaged man regaiTrade ReviewA very special little book. I absolutely loved it, and I find myself still thinking about Sprout. She embodies all the best characteristics of deep-hearted mother-love: loyalty, sacrifice, and courage * Lisa See, author of the New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *Sometimes the simplest character, expressed in the sparest prose, embarks upon life's most heroic journey. Meet Sprout, a plucky hen whose modest dream to hatch a single egg will take her down a path that leads to her true place in the natural world. Heart, determination, and empathy are the only skills Sprout needs to navigate this perilous passage in Sun-mi Hwang's lovely The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, a novel uniquely poised at the nexus of fable, philosophy, children's literature, and nature writing * Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestseller The Orphan Master’s Son on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *Everything wonderful about the world is contained in this small gem of a novel, which brims with dream-fulfilling adventures and the longing that underlies love * Kyung-sook Shin, New York Times bestselling author of Please Look After Mom on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *[A] simply told but absorbing fable . . . Spare but evocative line drawings . . . add to the subtle charm * Publishers Weekly on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *An adroit allegory about life . . . in the vein of classics like Charlotte's Web and Jonathan Livingston Seagull . . . A subtle morality tale that will appeal to readers of all ages * Kirkus Reviews on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *Recalling Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970), this slim but powerful tale will resonate with readers of all ages, who can take it at face value or delve deeper into its meditations on living courageously and facing mortality. . . . The English translation moves smoothly and straightforwardly and is aided by graceful black-and-white illustrations * Booklist on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *I was completely sucked into this story bursting with originality . . . an instant classic * Guardian on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *Bewitching . . . a fabular bestseller . . . will make grown men and women cry * Independent on The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly *
£9.49
Oneworld Publications Slumberland: From the Man Booker prize-winning
Book Synopsis‘Shockingly original’ The Times ‘A literary freestyler with brio to burn…scabrous and very funny’ Guardian ‘A no-holds-barred comedic romp’ Junot Diaz After creating the perfect beat, DJ Darky goes in search of Charles Stone, aka the Schwa, a little known avant-garde jazzman, to play over his sonic masterpiece. His quest brings him to a recently unified Berlin, where he stumbles through the city's dreamy streets ruminating about race, sex, love, Teutonic gods and the Berlin Wall in search of his artistic – and spiritual – other. Ferocious, bombastic and laugh-out-loud funny, Slumberland is the second novel from Man Booker-winner Paul Beatty, a comic genius at the top of his game.Trade Review‘What Gore Vidal did for sex and gender constructs, Beatty does for race and prominent black Americans, with sacred cow-tipping on nearly every page. Waterfalls of wordplay that pool and merge like acid jazz on the page.’ * Washington Post *‘A remarkably strange and funny meditation…revelatory and mind-blowing.’ * Seattle Times *
£8.54
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Dream of a Tree
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The History of Bees Longyearbyen, 2110: Far to the North, buried deep in the mountains, is a massive vault filled with seeds from every corner of the Earth. Tommy grows up in the brutal landscape of Spitzbergen alongside his two brothers, for whom he would do anything, and his grandmother, the seed keeper of the vault. Life just to the South of the North Pole is demanding, but their tiny community has found its shape. It has been many years since they cut off contact with other countries, and in their isolation, they live in harmony with nature. When Longyearbyen is hit by a disaster, Tommy, his brothers, and his grandmother are among the few survivors. Six lonely people in a deserted landscape, in possession of a treasure the world thought forever lost. At the same time, in a place far, far away, Tao subsists on the memories of her son Wei-Wen, whom she lost twelve years ago. Every day is the same; she is numb
£17.00
Canongate Books The Spare Room
Book SynopsisWhen Helen offers her spare room to her old friend Nicola, she has little idea of what lies ahead. Nicola has cancer and, sceptical of the medical establishment, is in the city for a course of alternative treatment. She is determined to deal with her illness in her own way, regardless of the advice that Helen can offer.In the weeks that follow, Nicola's fight against cancer will turn not only her own life upside down but the lives of everyone around her. Told with humour and honesty, this unforgettable novel charts a friendship as it is tested in the face of death.Trade ReviewAt once artful, gripping and fiercely beautiful . . . even at the most painful moments Garner maintains a characteristic lightness of touch, a combination of wit and lyricism that is immensely alluring . . . [an] extraordinary, exhilarating novel [and] a burningly passionate account of the one experience we will all share -- OLIVIA LAING * * Observer * *A perfect novel, imbued with all Garner's usual clear-eyed grace but with some other magnificent dimension that hides between the lines of her simple conversational voice. How is it that she can enter this heartbreaking territory - the dying friend who comes to stay - and make it not only bearable, but glorious, and funny? There is no answer except: Helen Garner is a great writer; The Spare Room is a great book -- PETER CAREYOnly great fiction demands us to reset our moral compass and look at our value coordinates all over again. The Spare Room achieves this . . . And yet in a book this spare, written with such grace, Garner introduces in the interstices a calm, precise poetry * * The Times * *Exceptional . . . an unsettling and skilled work that raises important questions about the process of dying and what caring well for the dying requires . . . So powerful is The Spare Room's communication of the the triumphs and failures involved in dying . . . [that] the reader painfully ricochets between the various positions . . . Somehow as we read we actually become these characters . . . This extraordinary effect results in an uncomfortable read. Yet it is also an oddly exhilarating book - often funny, and grounded in a kind of ordinariness that is deeply restorative * * Financial Times * *A wise and affecting book * * Daily Mail * *In its bleak and highly comic storytelling, in spite, or perhaps, because of its subject matter, The Spare Room could be called a comedy of manners, in that its concern is how people behave towards each other and the repercussions of that behaviour. Its embattled characters are so real that by the last page you feel not just that you have read a magnificent novel but that you have experienced life itself -- PENNY PERRICK * * Sunday Times * *This is no mere cancer memoir. Rather, in Garner's brilliant retelling, it is a complex examination of the limits of friendship and of the problems of remaining a single woman into middle age . . . This is a superbly clever novel * * Guardian * *Swift, beautiful and relentless, The Spare Room is a brutal novel in the best sense -- ALICE SEBOLDCompulsively readable, searing . . . The best book I have read for years. Beautifully written, The Spare Room is terse and pacy. Every taut sentence rings with painful purity and attack -- STEVIE DAVIES * * Independent * *This novel's extraordinary feat is to be at once affecting, involving and sharply funny * * Sunday Times * *
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Her Husbands Mistake
Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 BESTSELLERHer husband has betrayed her. Can she forgive him - and should she? From the bestselling author of Three Weddings and a Proposal and The Missing WifeWhat readers are saying about Her Husband''s Mistake:''I loved this book. So many will be able to identify'' *****''A truly brilliant book'' *****''Could not put it down!'' *****''Just had to keep on reading to find out what''s was happening'' *****Dave''s made a BIG mistake. What''s Roxy going to do about it? The riveting new novel from No. 1 bestselling author Sheila O''Flanagan. Perfect for readers of Marian Keyes and Amanda Prowse. Roxy''s marriage has always been rock solid.After twenty years, and with two carefree kids, she and Dave are still the perfect couple.Until the day she comes home unexpectedly, and finds DaTrade ReviewPraise for HER HUSBAND'S MISTAKE: 'Another gem from O'Flanagan * Heat *A classic tale of the perfect wife and mother rediscovering her potential * Women's Weekly *An inspiring tale of strength, love and self-discovery from Roxy's dilemma. It's a novel that will resonate with many women, and you'll be cheering Roxy on throughout * S Magazine *Praise for Sheila O'Flanagan's irresistible novels: 'A hugely enjoyable romance, written with pace and heart. It will make you long to jump on a plane * Sunday Mirror *You'll race through this warm, heart-felt read * Best *This GONE GIRL-esque novel will have you gripped until the very end * Look *Escapist in every sense, this easy-to-read romance has a steely edge * Sunday Mirror *I read the book in one sitting as it was so enjoyable, full of romance and kept you riveted until the last page * Woman's Way *An exciting love story with a deliciously romantic denouement * Sunday Express *Make some space in your suitcase * Candis *The perfect holiday companion... O'Flanagan is one of our best-known, best-loved and most prolific women's fiction authors * Irish Independent *
£8.09
Little, Brown Book Group The Burning Girl
Book SynopsisBY THE AUTHOR OF THE 2024 BOOKER LONGLISTED THIS STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY A bracing and hypnotic portrait of the complexities of female friendship''Messud is a storyteller: the ability to compel and hold the reader''s interest may not be the crown and summit of novel writing, but it''s the beginning and end of it'' Ursula K. Le GuinJulia Robinson and Cassie Burnes have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town of Royston, Massachusetts. But as the two girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge: while Julia comes from a stable, happy, middle-class family, Cassie never knew her father, who died when she was an infant, and has an increasingly tempestuous relationship with her single mother, Bev. When Bev becomes involved with the mysterious Anders Shute, Cassie feels cruelly abandoned. Disturbed,Trade ReviewMessud is magnificent on female fury . . . The Burning Girl is an astute, subtle novel that conceals an eloquent and clear-eyed rage simmering beneath its surface -- Francesca Segal * Financial Times *Messud captures young adolescence vividly and unjudgementally . . . this is a hard book to stop reading -- Ursula K Le Guin * Guardian *A novel of deep emotional intelligence . . . There are insightful, psychologically astute meditations throughout the narrative, written in the precise, elegant prose we've come to expect from this master storyteller . . . The Burning Girl is reminiscent of My Brilliant Friend -- Lucy Scholes * Independent *Emotionally intense and quietly haunting * Kirkus Reviews *The Woman Upstairs was a clever, audacious portrayal of an untrustworthy protagonist. Informed by the same sophisticated intelligence and elegant prose, but gaining new poignant depths, this novel is haunting and emotionally gripping * Publishers Weekly *A novel that packs a massive punch as it delves into the devastating results of a fractured friendship * Woman & Home *Messud's gift is to understand the nuances of female relationships and believe that they are worthy of sustained and unhurried attention * Evening Standard *Two best friends from childhood are forced on to different paths in The Burning Girl. But Claire Messud's moving writing makes it so much deeper, and gets us to think about growing up, friendship and how girls are treated by society * Good Housekeeping *This is a terrific novel, beautifully written and crafted; I don't believe Messud could write a duff sentence if she tried -- Kate Saunders * The Times *This fierce, melancholy book lays bare the girls' shared desire to escape their small-town American home for something bigger and brighter, and explores why it went badly awry * Sunday Express *Lingeringly evocative, this is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale whose insights - into girlhood especially - are braided with mystery and menace * Mail on Sunday *Claire Messud's elegant, understated new novel . . . Messud brilliantly renders the uncertainty of Julia's sense of identity . . . beautifully evocative * Times Literary Supplement *Gripping * Vogue *This is a taut, sure-footed and sobering exploration of girlhood * Daily Mail *An exceptionally well-written and emotionally powerful account of one such loss, in which the intense friendship between two prepubescent girls fails as they move from the clarity of childhood towards the uncertainties and dangers of adolescence . . . This novel serves as an examination of the power of the storyteller as much as a reworking of the classic themes of innocence betrayed and love lost . . . Exhilarating, because of Messud's sheer intelligence, the richness and beauty of her prose and her understanding of the art and value of storytelling. It is a haunting, stunning novel and deserves every prize -- Anne Chisholm * Literary Review *Messud's cut-glass prose reels you into a quietly shocking narrative that chillingly portrays female coming-of-age as a terrifying loss of freedom * Metro *Messud painstakingly follows the ebbs and flows of the minutiae of what it means to be and to have a friend when you are struggling to develop an adult identity -- Linda Grant * Telegraph *This fierce, melancholy book lays bare the girls' shared desire to escape their small town American home for something bigger and brighter, and reveals how things go terribly awry * Psychologies *Lingeringly evocative, this is an indelible, heartfelt coming-of-age tale whose ample insights are braided with menace -- Craig Brown * Daily Mail *It is a delight to be continuously wrong-footed and bowled over . . . Messud skilfully and compellingly traces the intricacies of friendship and the tragedies that erupt when lives are unmade * Weekend Australian *
£9.49
Canongate Books The Complete Short Stories
Book SynopsisFrom the cruel irony of 'A member of the Family' to the fateful echoes of 'The Go-Away Bird' and the unexpectedly sinister 'The Girl I Left Behind Me', in settings that range from South Africa to the Portobello Road, Muriel Spark probes the idiosyncrasies that lurk beneath the veneer of human respectability, displaying the acerbic wit and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her unique talent. The Complete Short Stories is a collection to be loved and cherished, from one of the finest short story writers of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewIt is perhaps her short stories that demonstrate her gifts best: wit, perception, acute characterisation, elegance and precision. They mark her out as one of the finest writers of her generation * * Observer * *Glittering, concise, funny and beautifully written * * Telegraph * *Completely, searingly original. There is nobody remotely like her * * Independent * *None could equal the cool perception with which she chronicles the darker mysteries of the human conidtion -- John Mortimer * * Evening Standard * *One of the most decisive and unmistakable voices in contemporary fiction - youthful, witty, sly, maternal, intimate, and alive with opinion -- Stephen Schiff * * New Yorker * *My admiration for Spark's contribution to world literature knows no bounds. She was peerless, sparkling, inventive and intelligent - the crème de la crème -- Ian RankinA wholly original presence in modern literature -- Andrew MotionMuriel Spark's novels linger in the mind as brilliant shards, decisive as a smashed glass is decisive -- John Updike * * New Yorker * *Dullness is as alien to her as inelegance * * New Statesman and Society * *You've got to hand it to Canongate. When it comes to repackaging their back catalogue, they're in a class of their own . . . What have [the Canons] in common? Nothing - except for a subtle yet powerful branding . . . the way they are marketed has a touch of genius * * Scotsman * *
£13.49
The Indigo Press Silence is My Mother Tongue
Book SynopsisIn a time of war, what is the shape of love? Saba arrives in an East African refugee camp as a young girl, devastated to have been wrenched from school and forced to abandon her books as her family flees to safety. In this unfamiliar, crowded and often hostile community, she must carve out a new existence. As she struggles to maintain her sense of self, she remains fiercely protective of her mute brother, Hagos – each sibling resisting the roles gender and society assign. Through a cast of complex, beautifully-drawn characters, Sulaiman Addonia questions what it means to be a man, to be a woman, to be an individual when circumstance has forced the loss of all that makes a home or a future.Trade Review‘Silence is My Mother Tongue offers a bold and at times shocking insight into what life can be like living in a refugee camp . . . the way in which Addonia has created these characters and ties them together to create this uncertain world in which they live in makes this a compelling read’ https://lovelondonloveculture.com/2018/10/06/review-silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia/ -- Emma Clarendon * Love London Culture *‘An excellent read for anyone interested in humanity and good stories, Silence is My Mother Tongue will be remembered for years to come.’ https://jeviscachee.com/2018/10/23/silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia/ * Scar De Courcier *‘Writing Like Degas Paints: Sulaiman Addonia on how Edgar Degas’ nude portraits inspired his latest novel, Silence is My Mother Tongue’ -- Suliaman Addonia * Granta *‘This is such an intensely immersive, moving piece of fiction throughout which so much is left unsaid, so much forbidden.’ https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2018/10/silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia-the-quiet-power-of-the-novella/ * A Life in Books *‘Brims with the sensory flavours of remembered experience’ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-6343297/LITERARY-FICTION.html -- Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *‘Addonia, who spent his own earl life in a Sudanese refugee camp, has a unique and intelligent voice which makes sensual evocative poetry of the deepest, fiercest emotions’ https://lovelondonloveculture.com/2018/10/06/review-silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia/ -- Jane Graham * The Big Issue *‘Murder, migration and mother love: the making of the novelist Sulaiman Addonia’ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/21/murder-migration-mother-love-novelist-sulaiman-addonia?CMP=share_btn_tw -- Sian Cain * The Guardian *‘Just when we thought the year couldn’t yield any more gems, Sulaiman Addonia’s Silence is My Mother Tongue comes out and wows us with one of the most lovable female characters we’ve seen in African fiction this year’ https://brittlepaper.com/2018/12/welovebooks-silence-mother-tongue-sulaiman-addonia/ * Brittle Paper *Best Books of 2018 ‘Written in lambent, lyrical prose, with deep human empathy, Silence is My Mother Tongue is a timely and fierce novel about survival, conflict and immigration’ http://review31.co.uk/essay/view/65/review-31's-best-books-of%20%E2%80%A6 * Review 31 *‘The exchange of masculine and feminine roles within the context of a sexually conservative culture makes for a gripping and courageous narrative’ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/dec/14/silence-is-my-mother-tongue-sulaiman-addonia-review -- Jane Housham * The Guardian *‘A beautiful and articulate novel, Silence is My Mother Tongue fuses themes of feminism, war and postcolonialism, portraying the story of refugees far from today’s one-dimensional depiction.’ https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2019/2/6/exile-and-survival-silence-is-my-mother-tongue -- Ilham Essalih * The New Arab *‘A beautiful and articulate novel, Silence is My Mother Tongue fuses themes of feminism, war and postcolonialism, portraying the story of refugees far from today’s one-dimensional depiction.’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/17771710.paperbacks-breath-dying-embers-lying-money-silence-mother-tongue/ -- Alasair Mabbott * The Herald Scotland *‘‘Silence is My Mother Tongue’ is a brave and uncompromising book, written in a style that is unambiguous on the one hand and nuanced on the other – depicting societal problems in a manner that is clear but sensitive.’ http://literandra.com/book-review-silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia/ -- Alessandra Bassey * Literandra *‘Virginia’s spirited dedication to her work gave my soul the belief, just as he writing proved to be inspirational to my ink, not merely to carry on but to soar at my writing desk’ https://www.passaporta.be/en/magazine/for-virginia-woolf * passa porta *‘In Search Of Beauty: Blackness As A Poem in Saudi Arabi’ https://granta.com/in-search-of-beauty/ -- Suliaman Addonia * Granta *Books of the year 2019 ‘It is brutal on aid politics, it is damning on FGM, yet this book is infused with love as Saba, the heroine, outwits all the voyeurism of the refugee camp and of the novel form’ https://www.newstatesman.com/best-books-this-year-2019 -- Preti Taneja * New Stateman *‘There is no doubt Addonia, as a writer, is an artist and by casting his bedraggled refugees in the light and colour of the Renaissance masters … he has managed to give them the dignity and courage they have mostly lacked in contemporary literature’ https://thelagosreview.ng/silence-is-my-mother-tongue-review-abubakar-adam-ibrahim/ -- Abubakar Adam * The Lagos Review *‘through the sheer force of prose, Sulaiman Addonia’s sophomore novel, ‘Silence is My Mother Tongue (Indigo Press, London), drags Eritrea from the literary precipice into the spotlight.’ https://thelagosreview.ng/silence-is-my-mother-tongue-review-abubakar-adam-ibrahim/ -- Abubakar Adam Ibrahim * Daily Trust *‘I took my book and walked away from those who tried to censor my imagination, in the same way I had cast aside my mother’s pleas. And I kept walking with my book until I found it a home where words are—truly—free’ https://brittlepaper.com/2019/12/the-voices-i-overcame-to-write-silence-is-my-mother-tongue-sulaiman-addonai/ -- Suliaman Addonia * Brittle Paper *Book of the Month ‘the author forces you to see what it means to be a human being living in those conditions, and what violence does to us as human beings’ https://www.bellanaija.com/2019/12/bn-book-of-the-month-silence-is-my-mother-tongue-by-sulaiman-addonia/ * BellaNaija *‘Addonia (The Consequences of Love) chronicles the lives of two siblings in a Sudanese refugee camp in his darkly poetic second novel.’ https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-64445-033-8 * Publisher's Weekly *In This Novel of Exile, Sulaiman Addonia Writes From Experience ‘The novel leaves us with the lingering imprint of the siblings’ many sacrifices, and their ever-growing love.’ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/books/review/sulaiman-addonia-silence-is-my-mother-tongue.html -- Jamil Jan Kochai * The New York Times *‘Imagination as Oasis: A Conversation with Sulaiman Addonia’ ‘Silence is My Mother Tongue dissects how a refugee camp erases one’s individuality, what communities demand of women, and how, in the face of great loss and scrutiny, one can find a way to redeem individuality by redefining love, sex and gender roles.’ https://therumpus.net/2020/09/the-rumpus-interview-with-sulaiman-addonia/ -- Donna Hemans * The Rumpus *
£10.79
HarperCollins Publishers A Tapestry of Treason A gripping escapist
Book SynopsisGripping' The TimesFans of Philippa Gregory and other historical fiction writers will love Anne O'Brien's A Tapestry of Treason' YoursHer actions could make history but at what price?1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, The House of York.Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband Thomas and ruthless siblings Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry IV. Will it be possible for this Plantagenet family to safeguard its own political power by restoring either King Richard II to the throne, or the precarious Mortimer claimant?Although the execution of these conspiracies will place them all in jeopardy, Constance is not deterred, even when the cost of her ambition threatens to overwhelm her. Even when it endangers her new-found happiness.With treason, tragedy, heartbreak and betrayal,Trade Review Praise for A Tapestry of Treason ‘A wonderful novel . . . a rich, gripping, enchanting read. Anne’s vivid writing took me straight to the year 1400 and kept me wonderfully lost there throughout’ Joanna Courtney Praise for Anne O’Brien ‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale’ The Times ‘O’Brien is a terrific storyteller’ Daily Telegraph ‘A gripping story of love, heartache and political intrigue’ Woman & Home ‘Packed with drama, danger, romance and history … the perfect reading choice for the long winter nights’ The Press Association ‘A gripping historical drama’ Bella
£8.54
Orion Publishing Co A Patchwork Family
Book Synopsis A feel-good story about friendship, family and finding your perfect fit... ''A book full of warmth and kindness. I loved it'' Sarah Morgan''A gorgeously romantic comfort read'' Rachael Lucas''Warmth, love, family dynamics and sparky drama'' Sue Moorcroft''A warm hug of a book'' Phillipa Ashley-----------Gina Moss is single and proud. She''s focused on her thriving childminding business, which she runs from her cottage at the edge of The Evergreens: a charming Victorian home to three elderly residents who adore playing with the kids Gina minds. To Gina, they all feel like family.Then a run-in (literally) with a tall, handsome American stranger gives her the tummy-flutters... Before a tragedy puts her older friends at risk of eviction - and Gina in charge of the battle to save them. The house sale brings her closer to Dexter, one of the owners - and the stranger who set her heart alight.ATrade ReviewWith its bubbly narrative, believable characters and picturesque setting, this a read that will soon have you swept along for the ride. * Woman's Weekly Fiction Special *A heart-warming tale of self-discovery * Woman & Home *This engaging story centring on love, friendship and family is a joy to read. * Candis *This is feel-good fiction for all ages. * S Magazine, Sunday Express *
£8.54
Dover Publications Inc. The Blazing World
Book SynopsisA certain Lady is kidnapped, shipwrecked, and transported to the extraordinary Blazing World, where she marries an emperor and attains unlimited power. Hers is a benevolent reign that ends war, religious conflict, and gender discrimination. Remarkably, the Lady''s story was conceived in the seventeenth century, when utopian fiction was in its infancy. The tale is all the more noteworthy for its progressive ideals, its female protagonist, and its authorship by a woman. Originally published in 1666, The Blazing World was written by Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle and a prolific writer who made thriving ventures into the male-dominated fields of politics, science, philosophy, and literature. This science fiction prototype is also a romance, an adventure story, and even an autobiography, with a cameo appearance by the Duchess herself. A pioneering vision of a feminist utopia, it offers a fascinating firsthand view of the ideas that powered the Scientific Revolution.
£7.14
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Moscow Sleepers
Book SynopsisFor fans of Spooks, Homeland, McMafia and The Night Manager, the latest thriller in Stella Rimington's gripping espionage series sees Liz Carlyle investigating a sinister Russian plot tense, gripping and global in scopeA man lies dying in a hospital in upstate Vermont. The nurses know only that he is an academic at a nearby university but they have been instructed to call the FBI should anyone visit their patient. News of this suspected Russian illegal soon reaches MI5 in London where Liz Carlyle has been contacted by a top secret source known as Mischa who is requesting a clandestine rendezvous in Berlin. Meanwhile, in Brussels a Russian sleeper agent who has lived undercover for years is beginning to question his role, while suspicions have been roused about a boarding school in Suffolk that has recently changed hands in mysterious circumstances. The latest expertly plotted thriller in Stella Rimington''s bestselling series, The Moscow SleepeTrade ReviewPraise for Stella Rimington * . *Rimington provides lots of detail of intelligence work used to counter today’s terrorists that seem real – and intriguing * Financial Times *This spy story is as authentic as it could be ... Highly satisfying * Country Life *Damn good * Daily Telegraph *Liz Carlyle remains one of the most interesting characters in the male-dominated world of the spy thriller * Daily Express *She bids to join the ranks of such secret-agent authors as Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene and John le Carré * Wall Street Journal *This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication, that is true to the character and spirit of intelligence work * Mail on Sunday *Faster than le Carré, she creates the same sense of real characters struggling with real problems * John Sandford *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Rest and Be Thankful
Book Synopsis‘Gorgeously written ... It’s heartbreaking but beautiful, and perfect for escaping into' FLORENCE WELCH ‘Haunting yet beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down. A masterpiece’ POPPY DELEVINGNE Laura is a nurse in a paediatric unit. On long shifts she cares for sick babies, carefully handling their exquisitely breakable bodies. Laura needs a rest. When she sleeps, she dreams of drowning; when she wakes, she can’t remember getting home. And there is a strange figure dancing in the corner of her vision, with a message, or a warning. ‘Blends gnawing tension and surging tenderness ... Glass’s battlefield prose calls to mind the literature of the trenches. This, though, is a trauma-generating war on death and despair fought for us in every city, every day’ i paper ‘Touching, devastating, almost absurdly pertinent ... What, Glass asks, do we expect from our caregivers, and how do we repay them for the burdens we lay on them?’ Times Literary Supplement ‘The ward scenes, with their crystalline descriptions of the vertiginous business of care, exquisitely beat out the ceaseless rhythms of life on a hospital front line’ Metro ‘Thrusts the reader into the pulse-raising fear, frenzy and relief of work in a paediatric intensive-care unit ... A battlefield atmosphere arises from Glass’s prose as she recounts the time-stopping teamwork that aims to preserve tiny, fragile lives’ EconomistTrade ReviewGorgeously written ... It’s heartbreaking but beautiful, and perfect for escaping into -- Florence WelchGlass evokes the exhaustion and relentlessness of working long shifts, the pain, the bleeding and cracked skin that comes with endless hand scrubbing, and most poignantly, the grief of the bereaved, all in excruciating detail. There’s a ghost story element too, which adds a lovely frisson to the proceedings * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *Haunting yet beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down. A masterpiece -- Poppy DelevingneIn Glass’s trademark, lyrical style, it follows a woman on the edge - a night-shift nurse in a pediatric unit who may or may not be seeing things * LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2020 *Atmospheric and eerie, Rest and Be Thankful is full of Glass's poetic observations, and will leave you thoroughly haunted and entranced * Refinery29 *Blends gnawing tension and surging tenderness ... Glass’s battlefield prose calls to mind the literature of the trenches. This, though, is a trauma-generating war on death and despair fought for us in every city, every day * i paper *Touching, devastating, almost absurdly pertinent ... What, Glass asks, do we expect from our caregivers, and how do we repay them for the burdens we lay on them? * Times Literary Supplement *Thrusts the reader into the pulse-raising fear, frenzy and relief of work in a paediatric intensive-care unit ... A battlefield atmosphere arises from Glass’s prose as she recounts the time-stopping teamwork that aims to preserve tiny, fragile lives * Economist *Glass wants readers inside Laura’s body, tasting seawater in her nightmares of drowning, feeling her limb-heaviness as she falls asleep at a friend’s kitchen table. Such richness makes all of Glass’ writing stand out, but this glimpse into the world of nursing feels like a true literary rarity ... A heart-wrenching and poetic look at a profession that deserves more literary attention * Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review *A slim, dreamy sophomore novel ... Glass’s prose perfectly elicits the restless waking torment that drapes over Laura. The novel is visceral, and readers will keep turning the pages in fascinated dread. * Publishers Weekly *A visceral and dreamlike literary portrait of a burned-out pediatric nurse working night shifts in a neonatal ward * USA Today *The ward scenes, with their crystalline descriptions of the vertiginous business of care, exquisitely beat out the ceaseless rhythms of life on a hospital front line * Metro *
£8.54
Hodder & Stoughton The Book of Two Ways The stunning bestseller
Book Synopsis''A writer the world should be reading right now.'' IndependentWho would you be, if you hadn''t turned out to be the person you are now?Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully.But when the plane she''s on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago - when she left behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved.Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to - but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain.As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she''s never truly asked: What does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?Two possible futures. One impossible choice.----------------------------------------------------------------''It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes.'' Financial Times''Her intelligent, meticulously researched novels explore ethical dilemmas through heartrending, headline-grabbing scenarios.'' The Sunday Times''A matchless talent for hitting emotional notes.'' Irish TimesMAD HONEY, the stunning and compelling Sunday Times bestseller by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is available now.Trade ReviewA writer the world should be reading right now * Independent *It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes * Financial Times *A wise, cerebral, propulsive adventure . . . It eruditely spans the worlds of Egyptology, university physics and end-of-life care, while never losing sight of its high-stakes human story... a captivatingly immersive, multilayered, painstakingly researched and impressively realised exploration of deeply human geographies -- Patricia Nicol * Sunday Times *Ambitious * The Times *This complex, time-shifting romance combines moral hazard with Wuthering Heights echoes and degree-level Egyptology. And there aren't many books you can say that about. -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *The pull of the well-drawn characters and powerful themes of regret and love make this head-spinning story a compelling read * Sunday Mirror *Literary powerhouse Jodi Picoult writes novels that make you think and her latest is no exception * Sunday Express *This brilliant Sliding Doors-style novel will really get you thinking * Sun, Fabulous Magazine *Riveting * Hello *A consummate storyteller * Saga *A thrilling adventure ... one that will lead readers to both learn a lot and also ask themselves key questions about how to create happy lives for themselves * Associated Press *Similar to Alice Hoffman's depiction of complex family ties, Picoult's latest stretches the importance of recognizing our bonds to those we love. Highly recommended for open-minded readers. * Library Journal, starred review *The Book of Two Ways is a return for Picoult to the themes of her earliest books -motherhood, complicated romantic love . . . Picoult, at this point in her career, could skilfully build tension in a broom closet, but the best part of this book is not the suspense; it's the look at the complexity of a woman as she enters middle age . . . [Picoult] always tells both sides of a story not with judgment, but with grace. * Washington Post *Picoult's fans will appreciate this multifaceted, high concept work. * Publishers Weekly *Picoult's fans will be more than ready for this puzzle of a novel . . .[they] will find heady themes to consider. * Booklist *Powerful and compelling * VIP Magazine *You're sure to be moved by the questions it poses about the meaning of life and death. Food for thought in these current crazy times * Heat *If you've ever wondered if you could have lived another life, you'll like this * Sun *Picoult's writing is insightful and richly descriptive * Press Association *A stunning Sliding Doors-style novel about life, death, and missed opportunities * East Anglian Daily Times, Top 10 of 2020 *
£8.49
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial La casa de los espiritus Contempornea
Book Synopsis
£14.79
HarperCollins Publishers The Summer Seekers
Book SynopsisThe feel-good Sunday Times Top 5 bestseller! ‘The road trip of a lifetime – terrific fun, and will have you reaching for your car keys’ Veronica Henry, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘Such good fun! An inspiring, romantic and joyful tale that proves it really is never too late for adventure!’ Laura Jane Williams, Our Stop ‘Warm-hearted, tender and wise, a truly uplifting story of life, love and daring to discover what lies beyond what you know’ Miranda Dickinson, Our Story ‘Thought-provoking fun, no matter what your age’ Woman’s Weekly ‘A warm-hearted tale of friendship, joy and sunshine with a message that it's never too late to embark on an adventure. Whisks you away on your very own road trip escape’ Yours * * Kathleen is eighty years old. After a run-in with an intruder, her daughter wants her to move into a residential home. She’s not having any of it. What she craves – needs – is adventure. Liza is drowning under the daily stress of family life. The last thing she needs is her mother jetting off on a wild holiday, making Liza dream of a solo break of her own. Martha is having a quarter-life crisis. Unemployed, unloved and uninspired, she just can’t get her life together. But she knows something has to change. When Martha sees Kathleen’s advert for a driver and companion to take an epic road trip across America, she decides this job might be the answer to her prayers. Travelling with a stranger? No problem. She's not the world's best driver, but it couldn’t be worse than living with her parents again. And anyway, how much trouble can one eighty-year-old woman be? As these women embark on the journey of a lifetime, they all discover it’s never too late for adventure… * * Readers love The Summer Seekers! ‘Reading a Sarah Morgan book is like receiving a warm hug, and this one is no exception’ NetGalley reviewer, 5* ‘One of my top reads of 2021. A truly wonderful read, a tonic, a pick-me-up and a smile. 10* if I could’ NetGalley reviewer, 5* ‘The absolute perfect summer read that you need in your life’ NetGalley reviewer, 5*Trade Review PRAISE FOR THE SUMMER SEEKERS ‘The road trip of a lifetime – terrific fun, and will have you reaching for your car keys. The Summer Seekers is the perfect roadmap out of lockdown’ Veronica Henry, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘Such good fun! An inspiring, romantic and joyful tale that proves it really is never too late for adventure!’ Laura Jane Williams, bestselling author of Our Stop ‘The Summer Seekers is warm-hearted, tender and wise, a truly uplifting story of life, love and daring to discover what lies beyond what you know. I loved travelling across America with Kathleen, Liza and Martha on their joyous, epic road trip!’ Miranda Dickinson, author of Our Story ‘A warm-hearted tale of friendship, joy and sunshine with a message that it's never too late to embark on an adventure. Whisks you away on your very own road trip escape’ Yours ‘Big-hearted book from bestseller Morgan’ My Weekly ‘Heart-warming’ Bella ‘Thought-provoking fun, no matter what your age’ Woman’s Weekly ‘Feel-good tale’ Choice ‘The perfect book for an escapist summer read’ East Anglian Daily Times ‘The Summer Seekers is the ultimate road trip book, a story of inspiration and transformation, filled with moments of genuine humor, deeply felt grief, and wrenching choices, set against a changing and wonderfully wrought background. The wisdom and joy of Kathleen, Martha, and Liza will stay with you long after the last page is turned’ Susan Wiggs, New York Times number one bestselling author ‘Sunshine in a book! Joy and optimism infuse every word of this delicious novel – I couldn’t put The Summer Seekers down’ Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
£8.54
Arabia Books Ltd The Calligrapher's Secret
Book SynopsisEven as a young man, Hamid Farsi is acclaimed as a master of the art of calligraphy. But as time goes by, he sees that weaknesses in the Arabic language and its script limit its uses in the modern world. In a secret society, he works out schemes for radical reform, never guessing what risks he is running. His beautiful wife, Noura, is ignorant of the great plans on her husband's mind. She knows only his cold, avaricious side and so it is no wonder she feels flattered by the attentions of his amusing, lively young apprentice. And so begins a passionate love story of a Muslim woman and a Christian man.Trade Review'Warmly observed, richly detailed, and often bold and exciting, Schami's fine portrait of life in Damascus, Syria, in the middle of the 20th century is filled with a compelling set of characters. Noura is a Muslim girl who looks like Audrey Hepburn. Rami Arabi, her father, a noted sheikh, is frustrated that those who attend his mosque 'treat God like a waiter in a restaurant.' Salman is a Christian boy, hated by his drunkard father and devoted to his dog, and to Noura. Nasri Abbani is a wealthy man from an important family, but also a hopeless playboy, his business kept afloat only because of his clever clerk, Tawfiq. When Nasri sets foot in the studio of Hamid Farsi, the leading calligrapher in all of Syria, tragic and wondrous events are set in motion that will affect all in the most emphatic ways. Schami, born in Damascus, is one of Germany's most respected writers, bridging Arab and Western culture with his exquisite storytelling. A novel to be savored.' Publishers Weekly 20101025 The background to this bold and political novel is cosmopolitan: Jews, Armenians, Arabs and Iranians live cheek by jowl in Schami's Damascus. Finely rendered into English by Anthea Bell, The Calligrapher's Secret is a celebration of diversity. Rightly so; after all, as Serani, Farsi's old master points out: 'the Quran was revealed in Mecca and Medina, recorded in Baghdad, recited in Egypt, but written most beautifully of all in Istanbul. -- Andre Naffis-Sahely Times Literary Supplement 20111207 'Suspensful, spectacular, and searing are not adjectives one would use to describe The Calligrapher's Secret. Intriguing, intelligent, and multifaceted are far more accurate to convey what readers can expect from this well written story about love, art, family and Syrian culture.' New York Journal of Books 20111101
£11.69
Headline Publishing Group Hard Time
Book Synopsis''Perfect for anyone who loves fast-paced action with strong, memorable characters who drive the story forward with a combination of ingenuity and incompetence. Highly recommended'' BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY''Immersive, heart-warming, entertaining'' THE SCIENCE FACT AND FICTION CONCATENATION BOOK 2 IN THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING TIME POLICE SERIES, FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE CHRONICLES OF ST MARY''SA very British novel, for fans of Richard Osman''s Thursday Murder Club, Jasper Fforde and Doctor Who. ---There have always been idiots who want to change history. But now temporal tourism is on the rise. Highly illegal, highly risky - and highly lucrative. The Time Police despatch their toughest undercover agents to take out the perpetrators. Then the unthinkable happens. Replacements are needed fast and who better than three young officers who barely look the part? Step forward Team Weird - Luke, Jane and
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Wish List Escape with a funny and feelgood
Book SynopsisThis Christmas, love is top of Florence Fairfax's wish list'Feel-good and enormous fun' Sophie KinsellaFull of wit, warmth and heart' Beth O'LearyYou want me to write a list? Like a shopping list?''''Exactly. But for what you want from a man'Florence Fairfax might have been single for quite a while well, forever, actually but she isn't lonely. She loves her job at the little bookshop in Chelsea and her beloved cat Marmalade who keeps her company at night. She's perfectly happy, thank you.So when Florence meets an eccentric love coach who asks her to write a wish list describing her perfect man, she refuses to take it seriously. Until later that week, Rory, a handsome blond man with the sexual athleticism of James Bond she asked for just happens to walk into the bookshopRory seems to tick all of the boxes on Florence's list. But is she about to discover there's more to love than being perfect on paper?A gloriously funny and feel-good read for anyone searching for their perfect match wTrade Review Praise for Sophia Money-Coutts: ‘So funny. And the sex is amazing!’ Jilly Cooper ‘Howlingly funny’ Sunday Times ‘The new Queen of rom-coms. Pacey, laugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming’ Evening Standard ‘Equally saucy and heart-warming. The Wish List will satisfy all your cravings for a fix of feel-good fiction’ Red ‘A high-spirited account of the pitfalls of looking for love, and how it can surprise you when you least expect it’ Daily Mail ‘Surprisingly saucy and distractingly funny’ Grazia ‘A laugh-a-minute page-turner’ HELLO! A saucy, fizzing comedy – a slice of escapism’ Metro ‘Very funny and truly heartwarming, a gloriously escapist romp’ Best ‘Hilarious, emotional and relatable’ Woman’s Weekly ‘This saucy read is great sun-lounger fodder’ Heat ‘Smartly written with humour and warmth. A modern romance to savourThe Sunday Mirror
£8.54
Turnpike Books The House of Dolls
Book Synopsis
£9.50
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Abstainer
Book Synopsis‘Truly terrific' Richard Ford'Dickens for the twenty-first century' Roddy Doyle'A powerful, gripping tale' Sunday TimesA man hanging on by a thread. A city about to snap. From the acclaimed author of The North Water comes an epic story of revenge and obsession. Manchester, 1867 Two men, haunted by their pasts.Driven by the need for justice. Blood begets blood. In a fight for life and legacy. Stephen Doyle arrives in Manchester from New York. He is an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War and a member of the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland, by any means necessary. Now he has come to seek vengeance. James O'Connor has fled griTrade Review'Unforgettable... McGuire's portrait of two men locked in a grisly, vengeful dance with each other is masterly' The Times‘The book is written with the vividness and economy of a screenplay, unfolding through a series of sharply observed scenes full of cliffhangers, misdirection and reverses. Its lovely, rhythmic prose evokes the stinks of the Victorian city, its factories, rat-baiting arenas and slaughterhouses. […] McGuire does everything well: evoking the pungent atmosphere of a teeming industrial city, recreating the period in a way that resonates with our own time without seeming preachy, and writing sharp dialogue that crackles with subtext’ Guardian'McGuire once again crafts compelling and disturbing fiction, rich with atmosphere and carried firmly by a galloping plot' New Statesman'A powerful, gripping tale' Sunday Times'The blend of politics, personal tragedy and revenge is moreishly compelling. The book’s powerful setting is almost a character in itself... The physical world that [McGuire] imagines assails the reader’s senses: the stink of a tannery, the clangour of factory bells and the way O’Connor’s grief drives him to a ruthlessness beyond his nature' The Economist'This carefully researched novel is gripping, touching and quietly devastating' Sunday Express'The Abstainer tells a story of people trapped by class, a simmering revolution, and their own frailty, but it’s ultimately a very human and compelling novel that gives us a clear glimpse into the hearts and souls of its characters. McGuire is a writer who isn’t afraid to take risks and change course from his previous books.' Philipp Meyer, author of The Son‘The Abstainer is truly terrific – a can't-put-down book. It's no less than a tight 'n spare 'n suspense-filled noir novel, masterfully set in 1860s Britain and America. And like all superb historical novels, it seems as modern and as contemporary as this morning.’ Richard Ford‘McGuire has crafted a riveting tale of violence and retribution against the backdrop of the 1860s Fenian rebellion – precursor to the Troubles and one of those rich historical incidents you learn about and wonder, Why didn't I know about this before? He has a keen sense of how to mix precise local details with transcendent global themes.’ Michael Punke, Author of The Revenant'This is Dickens in the present tense, Dickens for the twenty-first century.' Roddy Doyle, New York Times Book Review'The Abstainer succeeds in keeping the reader tense and uneasy, much like the polluted, portentous air hanging over Manchester. The brooding and lyrically written cat-and-mouse narrative of Doyle and O’Connor is excellent. If the reader is looking for a taut tale exploring the brutal vagaries of men’s hearts, The Abstainer is a provocative novel that invites further discovery of a troubled time.' Historical Novels Review 'O’Connor’s showdown with Stephen Doyle delivers a gut-wrenching finale that will leave readers hoping desperately that McGuire (The North Water, 2016) has an O’Connor prequel in the works. O’Connor’s palpable alienation and the subtly drawn comparisons between the Irish insurgency and America’s then-recent civil war create layers of depth in this exceptional period thriller.' Booklist'[A] taut, atmospheric tale... McGuire demonstrates a mastery of classic realism. [This] crackling work is one to savour.' Publishers Weekly
£8.54
Profile Books Ltd We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves:
Book Synopsis'Wise, provocative and wildly endearing' Guardian 'Readably juicy and surreptitiously smart' Barbara Kingsolver THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER A Meghan Markle Book Recommendation Rosemary doesn't talk much, and about certain things she's silent. She had a sister, Fern, her whirlwind other half, who vanished from her life in circumstances she wishes she could forget. And it's been ten years since she last saw her beloved older brother Lowell. Now at college, Rosemary starts to see she can't go forward without going back to the time when aged five, she was sent away from home to her grandparents and returned to find Fern gone. It was Rosemary's parents who began all of the trouble - isn't it always? But, dear reader, exactly how they did it is a twist you'll have to discover for yourself.Trade ReviewReadably juicy and surreptitiously smart -- Barbara KingsolverExplosive, provocative, and thoughtful -- Philippa GregoryA dark cautionary tale hanging out, incognito-style, in what at first seems a traditional family narrative -- Alice SeboldOne of the best novels I've read ever. It just destroyed me ... she's writing at the absolute top of her game -- Romola GaraiAn original and spontaneous take on family that grabs you and doesn't let you go. -- Judy Blume * Elle *Wise, provocative and wildly endearing ... achingly funny, deeply serious heart-breaker -- Liz Jensen * Guardian *Full of surprises, containing a real-life premise that beggars belief, a twist to rival anything in recent memory, and an ending that will have you in floods of tears -- Independent on SundayThere have been many books written about sibling love and rivalry but few, I'm sure, can rend the heart and bore beneath the skin quite like this one. I began lightly sobbing at about page 77 and continued intermittently until the end when the final few pages prompted a full-on, nose-blowing blubfest ... prepare to be charmed and traumatised -- Carol Midgley * The Times *Both one giant moral compass and a harrowing depiction of one family's tragic implosion, the prose zings on the pages -- Lucy Scholes * Observer *One of the most fabulous plot twists since Magwitch was revealed as Pip's benefactor ... perceptive, poignant -- IndependentSo readably juicy and surreptitiously smart ... this is a story of every family in which loss engraves relationships, truth is a soulful stalker and coming-of-age means facing down the mirror, recognizing the shape-shifting notion of self -- Barbara Kingsolver * New York Times Book Review *Wise, provocative and wildly endearing ... Many a novel has devoted itself to exploring variations of Larkin's lament about what mums and dads do to their kid. But if any other book has done it as exhilaratingly as the achingly funny, deeply serious heart-breaker that is Fowler's 10th novel, and made it ring true for the whole of mankind, I've yet to read it. This is a moral comedy to shout about from the rooftops -- Liz Jensen * Guardian *Karen Joy Fowler has written the book she's always had in her to write. With all the quiet strangeness of her amazing Sarah Canary, and all the breezy wit and skill of her beloved Jane Austen Book Club, and a new, urgent gravity, she has told the story of an American family. An unusual family - but aren't all families unusual? A very American, an only-in-America family-and yet an everywhere family, whose children, parents, siblings, love one another very much, and damage one another badly. Does the love survive the damage? Will human beings survive the damage they do to the world they love so much? This is a strong, deep, sweet novel -- Ursula K Le GuinIt's been years since I've felt so passionate about a book. When I finished at 3 a.m., I wept, then I woke up the next morning, reread the ending, and cried all over again -- Ruth OzeckiThe kind of book you'll want all your friends to read ... funny, surprising and heartbreaking * Stylist *So thought provoking that it could alter your future decisions as a consumer. I don't want to say much about the plot of the book ... except to compare it to Ann Patchett's State of Wonder in terms of weaving a larger story of radical, scientific experimentation into a very personal woman's narrative * MSN *The strength of Fowler's writing is its piercing evocation of the dynamics of family ... probing the intricacies of love and loss with brave humour -- Henry Hitchings * Financial Times *Explosive, provocative, and thoughtful, but still very funny. I'm so glad to have discovered the author. -- Philippa Gregory * Mail on Sunday *Holds a mirror up to reflect what we're really made of -- Elena Seymenliyska * Daily Telegraph *A dark cautionary tale hanging out, incognito-style, in what at first seems a traditional family narrative. It is anything but. This novel is deliciously jaunty in tone and disturbing in material. Karen Joy Fowler tells the story of how one animal - the animal of man - can simultaneously destroy and expand our notion of what is possible -- Alice SeboldA comic novel that wrestles seriously with serious moral questions ... Fowler knows how to make her story funny and sad and disturbing and revelatory by erecting a space in which her reader is allowed to feel all of that for herself * Salon *Rosemary's voice is achingly memorable, and Fowler's intelligent discourse on science vs. compassion reshapes the traditional family novel into something more universally relevant... This brave, bold, shattering novel reminds us what it means to be human, in the best and worst sense * Miami Herald *Hinges upon Rosemary's sharp voice, which at its best includes funny, self-aware asides such as an early reference to a character at a holiday dinner where she flippantly advises the reader, "Don't get attached to him; he's not really part of this story" * LA Times *Halfway through Karen Joy Fowler's enthralling novel "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves," I was sort of beside myself, too, with that electric thrill of discovering a great book. I wanted to stay up all night to finish it, but I also wanted to stop and call all my book-loving friends immediately and blurt, "You have to read this book!" * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Fascinating, moving, and beautifully written, but also it ripples with humor ... Layered with a huge moral compass and enormous humanity, this portrait of a family will touch and delight every human * Boston Globe *[A]n unsettling, emotionally complex story that plumbs the mystery of our strange relationship with the animal kingdom - relatives included -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *No contemporary writer creates characters more appealing, or examines them with greater acuity and forgiveness, than she does -- Michael ChabonA profound, moving and enchanting look at a very complex family. -- Anna Carey * Irish Times *An astonishing achievement. Giant-stepping back and forth through the life of its put-upon narrator, Rosemary Cooke, the youngest of three siblings, the reader is treated to a wild ride of tragic hilarity, but one which only ever serves to heighten its beautiful, heartbreaking core... a genuinely stunning novel - certainly one of the year's finest. -- Billy O'Callaghan * Irish Examiner *With all the pace of a thriller and the emotional pull of a romantic novel, this masterful work is intelligently written and will reel you in, hook, line and sinker. * The Lady *My favourite book this year. -- Justine Carbery * Irish Independent *Karen Joy Fowler is a very fine novelist indeed. -- Alan Murrin * TLS *The most impressively original book I've read this year. -- Liz Nugent * Irish Times *Dazzling ... shattering * Daily Telegraph *I couldn't put it down. Explosive, provocative and thoughtful, but still quirky and funny. It's very, very good novel -- Philippa Gregory
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd A Family Reunion
Book SynopsisThe brilliant new novel from the beloved Sunday Times-bestselling author of Orange Blossom DaysTrade Review'Bestselling writer Patricia Scanlan returns with a dramatic novel that tracks four feisty women as they prepare to meet up for a family reunion... Dramatic and twisty, this novel is a riveting read' * OK! *'A must-read' * Bella *'Explosive' * Best *
£8.54
Penguin Random House Group The Personal Librarian
Book Synopsis
£21.24
HarperCollins Publishers Paradise City
Book SynopsisAn audacious, compassionate state-of-the-nation novel about four strangers whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences.Beatrice Kizza, a woman in flight from a homeland that condemned her for daring to love, flees to London. There, she shields her sorrow from the indifference of her adopted city, and navigates a night-time world of shift-work and bedsits.Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire who has risen from Petticoat Lane to the mansions of Kensington on a tide of determination and bluster. Yet self-doubt still snaps at his heels and his life is shadowed by the terrible loss that has shaken him to his foundations.Carol Hetherington, recently widowed, is living the quiet life in Wandsworth with her cat and The Jeremy Kyle Show for company. As she tries to come to terms with the absence her husband has left on the other side of the bed, she frets over her daughter''s prospects and wonders if she''ll ever be happy again.Esme Reade is a young journalist learning to muck-rake andTrade Review‘An acutely observed and insightful portrait of contemporary urban life. Audacious, funny and shrewdly telling - written with tremendous confidence and brio’ William Boyd ‘A wise, big-hearted novel. I was utterly caught up in Day's four interweaving lives’ Esther Freud ‘Combines great story-telling with finely detailed characterisation: a literary page-turner’ David Baddiel ‘A beautiful portrait not only of four lives but of a city - London springs vividly to life in this tender, absorbing novel. Elizabeth Day is a wonderful story-teller’ Francesca Segal ‘The four desperate Londoners forge life-changing connections in this ambitious novel. Day's protagonists are rounded and believable, and the big city - in all its maddening, bustling glory - is the unofficial fifth character’ Glamour ‘As a state-of-the-city novel, it's richer than John Lanchester's Capital and less pleased with itself than Ian McEwan's Saturday’ Evening Standard
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Lost Boys The gripping new crime mystery
Book SynopsisThe twenty-sixth book in the hugely popular Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series from New York Times bestselling author Faye KellermanA disappearanceWhen Bertram Lanz, a disabled man, goes missing from a local diner, detective Peter Decker is put on the case. He soon realizes there is more to the disappearance than meets the eye when he discovers Lanz's nurse is missing too, and blood is found in her house.A bodyThen, while combing the woods, searchers discover the remains of a young man who vanished during a camping trip years ago.A detective facing his toughest case yetJuggling a hot case and a cold case, Decker races to find justice for the families. But as the answers become ever more elusive, he is forced to question if the woods will ever give up their dark secrets . . . and if these intertwining cases will ever be solved.Praise for Faye KellermanKellerman is an excellent writer'' The Times''Very exciting'' Daily Mail''Brutal but thoughtful and well plotted, fast moving and well Trade ReviewPraise for Faye Kellerman ‘Kellerman is an excellent writer' The Times 'Very exciting' Daily Mail 'Brutal but thoughtful and well plotted, fast moving and well told' Observer 'Sensational' Mirror 'Kellerman creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, against a background of seediness, violence and distrust' Sunday Telegraph 'Kellerman moves her gritty mean streets LA plot along with breakneck pace' Irish Independent ‘Hands down, the most refreshing mystery couple around’ People
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
Book SynopsisAn Ali McNamara novel is the perfect escape.Welcome to Bluebell Wood where the sun shines, the locals are kind and there''s something more than a little bit magical about the place.Ava loves city life but when something happens to make her feel unsafe, she retreats to the calm and quiet of Bluebell Wood. The once high-flying Ava now locks herself away in her fairy-tale cottage, only leaving to explore the trails of the nearby woods or to potter in the garden with her dog, Merlin. When Ava begins to feed the wild birds that flock to her bird table, they start leaving her trinkets of appreciation in return. The gifts seem innocent at first, but they soon seem to take on a deeper meaning. It isn''t until Ava meets Callum, the handsome parish priest, that she can''t help but wonder if the birds might have been trying to get her out of the house all along. But will their curious behaviour help to heaTrade ReviewA journey of love and healing * Woman's Own *
£7.19
Gallimard Le mystere Henri Pick Roman
Book Synopsis
£16.12
Simon & Schuster Ltd Tomorrow I Become a Woman
Book Synopsis‘Searing and beautifully rendered’Koa Beck, author of White Feminism'This story of love, loss and resilient female friendship is a definite must read.’Tola Rotimi Abraham, author of Black Sunday'Unflinching and cuts to the core'Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street‘An accomplished and emotional triumph’Louise Beech, author of How To Be Brave What can I do?’ she asked. You can fight, I thought, you can fight for your daughters. But then again, who was I to speak of such things When Gozie and Obianuju meet in August 1978, it is nothing short of fate. He is the perfect man: charismatic, handsome, Christian, and – most importantly – Igbo. He reminds her of her beloved Uncle Ikenna, her mother’s brother who disappeared fighting in the Civil Trade Review'Tomorrow I Become a Woman is an accomplished and emotional triumph. With deft language and in-depth characters, the book explores female friendships, difficulties and loss. It pulses with life, and taught me a lot.' -- Louise Beech, author of How To Be Brave and The Mountain in My Shoe'Never have I wanted to scream, wail and rip out pages of a book in solidarity with our female protagonist Uju. Never had I been so invested in a character... There was so much of this book that resonated with me despite the difference in generation and cultures... What makes this book so special and powerful is that this is based on real stories of real women known to the author. Uju and her friends may be fictional characters but their stories are real, and they are women that I know, women that I love, women that will stay with me forever. This isn’t an easy read, there are triggers of domestic violence but it must be read and shared.' -- Di Lebowitz, author of The Marks Left On Her'Searing and beautifully rendered, Aiwanose Odafen’s writing acutely speaks to intimate experiences at the crux of race, gender, class, culture, and tradition.' -- Koa Beck, author of White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind'Odafen writes with compelling craft of a world where certain expectations are put on women. Her exploration of the Nigeria her characters inhabit is unflinching and cuts to the core. It lets no one off the hook. Tomorrow I Become a Woman is ultimately a celebration of the irrepressible strength of its protagonist. This is a necessary book.' -- Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street‘Aiwanose Odafen’s unforgettable debut stuns and enlightens. You will not forget Uju, Ada and Chinelo. Tomorrow I become A Woman overflows with compassion for its characters. This story of love, loss and resilient female friendship is a definite must read.’ -- Tola Rotimi Abraham, author of Black Sunday
£13.49
