Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisWith a new introduction by DIANA EVANS''A writer of huge compassion and acute observation, and also of dazzling style . . . Her work is more relevant than ever'' Diana Evans''Timelessly cinematic, with painterly visual descriptions and pitch-perfect dialogue that ranges across class, region, race, age, and gender'' Emma Garman, Paris ReviewSet on a bucolic Martha''s Vineyard in the 1950s, The Wedding tells the story of life in the Oval, a proud, insular community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast''s black bourgeoisie. Within this inner circle of ''blue-vein society'', we witness the prominent Coles family gather for the wedding of their loveliest daughter, Shelby, who could have chosen from ''a whole area of eligible men of the right colors and the right professions.'' Instead, she has fallen in love with and is about to be married to Mead Wyler, a white jazz musician from New York. A shock wave breTrade ReviewIn The Wedding, West brilliantly portrays the ferocity of class, race, and gender distinctions within family, groups, and generations - Entertainment WeeklyWest published her second novel, The Wedding (1995), at the age of 87. It received an ecstatic reaction ... Set on the Vineyard on a single summer weekend, The Wedding is narrated by an irresistibly droll omniscient voice that veers across centuries to trace the knotty, reverberating heritage of an affluent African American family ... timelessly cinematic, with painterly visual descriptions and pitch-perfect dialogue that ranges across class, region, race, age, and gender - PAris ReviewThe tranquility of a late summer weekend in 1953 is shattered by a tragic accident in this spare, affecting novel by one of the last surviving members of the Harlem Renaissance ... Through the ancestral histories of the Coles family, West subtly reveals the ways in which color can burden and codify behavior. The author makes her points with a delicate hand, maneuvering with confidence and ease through a sometimes incendiary subject ... a triumph. - Publisher's WeeklyYou have only to read the first page to know that you are in the hands of a writer, pure and simple. At the end, it's as though we've been invited not so much to a wedding as to a full-scale opera, only to find that one great artist is belting out all the parts. She brings down the house - New York TimesWest is a wonderful storyteller, painting vivid and memorable scenes of the life and plight of African Americans from slavery to the fifties. The Wedding is an engrossing tale - USA Today

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Book SynopsisThomas Pynchon is the author of V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Slow Learner, a collection of short stories, Mason and Dixon, Against the Day and Inherent Vice. He received the National Book Award for Gravity's Rainbow in 1974.Trade ReviewA major political novel about what America has been doing to itself, to its children, all these many years...One of America's great writers has, after long wanderings down his uncharted roads, come triumphantly home -- Salman Rushdie * New York Times Book Review *Vintage stuff - funny, fantastically inventive, packed with improbable erudition * Times Literary Supplement *A essential novel of our fin de siecle, a finger pointing the way out of the 1980s * USA Today *His descriptive powers are breathtaking...Pynchon proves once again to be the master of what might be called the highbrow conspiracy thriller * Wall Street Journal *One of the funniest, most cleverly written, superbly characterised and beautifully structured books that I have read by a living author * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2018'An engrossing, unpredictable, beautifully crafted novel' RODDY DOYLEFarouk's country has been torn apart by war.Lampy's heart has been laid waste by Chloe.John's past torments him as he nears his end.The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home. Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways._________'A thing of such beauty and compassion, a reminder of what the very finest sentences can do to shatter and then reassemble our hearts' KAMILA SHAMSIE'I struggle to think of a writer who has been so prolific and consistent in quality as Ryan ... Brutally honest, moving and often hilarious' GUARDIAN'Donal Ryan has not only bounded over a wall into new territory, but built himself a castle there . . . This is a superb novel.' JOHN BOYNE'Beautiful and affecting' DAVID NICHOLLS'Donal Ryan writes characters so well that as a reader you think 'I've met that man', or 'I know that woman.' But as a writer you simply wonder 'how does he do it?' From a Low and Quiet Sea is brutal and beautiful, carefully crafted portraits, deep and real, tied together, fashioned by a true artist. I absolutely loved it.' KIT DE WAALTrade ReviewA thing of such beauty and compassion, a reminder of what the very finest sentences can do to shatter and then reassemble our hearts * Kamila Shamsie *Beautiful and affecting * David Nicholls *I struggle to think of a writer who has been so prolific and consistent in quality as Ryan . . . Brutally honest, moving and often hilarious * Guardian *An engrossing, unpredictable, beautifully crafted novel; Donal Ryan is giving us characters - their angles and their language - that we haven’t seen in Irish literature before. -- RODDY DOYLEDonal Ryan has not only bounded over a wall into new territory, but built himself a castle there . . . This is a superb novel. -- JOHN BOYNEFrom a Low and Quiet Sea is not only very cleverly constructed, but deeply moving too. I loved it. * Louis de Bernières *Donal Ryan writes characters so well that as a reader you think ‘I’ve met that man’, or ‘I know that woman.’ But as a writer you simply wonder ‘how does he do it?’ From a Low and Quiet Sea is brutal and beautiful, carefully crafted portraits, deep and real, tied together, fashioned by a true artist. I absolutely loved it. -- KIT DE WAALThemes of kindness and humanity are the binding thread…and Ryan writes of them with characteristic warmth and insight. * Sunday Times *The book has stayed with me -- Jonathan Franzen * Guardian, Best Books of 2018 *It’s a beautiful, luminous kind of piece - full of mystery, compassion, woven with such skill; heartbreaking and restorative. I will carry these splintered men around with me for a long time, along with the women who have loved them. -- RACHEL JOYCEFrom a Low and Quiet Sea is beautifully written, compassionate and almost unbearably moving. I loved it. I would struggle to think of any other Irish author working today who writes with as much compassion as Donal Ryan. -- LOUISE O'NEILLDonal Ryan writes with such sharp observation and humanity, that he makes us sit up and wonder at the tiny quiet internal lives of strangers. His writing is a wonderful gift to all of us. From a Low and Quiet Sea is another short and perfect novel to be inhaled in one heart-lurching gulp. -- LIZ NUGENTRyan is not the first Irish writer indebted to Joyce, but his work reminds me of something Sylvia Beach said about Joyce: “He told me that he had never met a bore.”…Wonderful * Irish Times *Deft and devastating…this book is both hard-hitting and uplifting: it serves as an indictment of the care industry, but also as a tribute to the way that humans care for one another. * The Observer *The denouement, which comes in breathless bursts, is devastating. From a Low and Quiet Sea leaves you with that sense of discombobulating enlightenment that so often characterises the quiet epiphanies of great short stories. * Sunday Times *A masterly portrait . . . the confidence with which Ryan dons the clothing of another culture marks a departure for his writing . . . a successor to John McGahern . . . It is exciting to see his subject matter move beyond his country’s borders, with the prospect of more of this to come.’ * The Spectator *Haunting ... utterly persuasive -- Joseph O'Connor * Irish Times, Books of the Year *The lives and stories, loves and tragedies, animating From a Low and Quiet Sea are wonderfully individual and finely alive. This is a brief book: yet one that lingers long in the reader’s mind. * New Statesman *As moving as anything written about Syria * Mail on Sunday *It is vomit-inducing, it’s so good. * Kit de Waal, Observer *

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Book SynopsisBy the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in LiteratureLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE''One scarcely dares breathe while reading it for fear of breaking the enchantment'' The TimesGurnah is a master storyteller'' Financial TimesOn a late November afternoon Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport from Zanzibar, a far away island in the Indian Ocean. With him he has a small bag in which lies his most precious possession - a mahogany box containing incense. He used to own a furniture shop, have a house and be a husband and father. Now he is an asylum seeker from paradise; silence his only protection. Meanwhile Latif Mahmud, someone intimately connected with Saleh''s past, lives quietly alone in his London flat. When Saleh and Latif meet in an English seaside town, a story is unravelled. It is a story of love and betrayal, seduction and possession, and of a people desperately trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times.Trade ReviewRarely in a lifetime can you open a book and find that reading it encapsulates the enchanting qualities of a love affair ... one scarcely dares breathe while reading it for fear of breaking the enchantment * The Times *

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Book Synopsis‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ Stephen KingFrom the master of police procedural and bestselling author of Standing in the Shadows comes Past Reason Hated, book five in Peter Robinson’s the Inspector Banks series.A BRUTAL KILLING. NUMEROUS SUSPECTS. BANKS MUST UNCOVER THE TRUTH.It should have been a cosy scene – log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For Caroline Hartley, lying quietly on the couch, has been brutally murdered.Inspector Alan Banks is called to the grim scene. And he soon has more suspects than he ever imagined. As he delves into her past, he realizes that for Caroline, secrecy was a way of life, and her death is no different. His ensuing investigation is full of hidden passions and desperate violence . . .Past Reason Hated is followed by Wednesday’s Child in the Inspector Banks series.

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Book SynopsisThe breakthrough book from the highly acclaimed author of By the SeaTrade ReviewRich in detail and filled with acute observations, this novel movingly examines the absences eating away at the core of all of its characters * Sunday Telegraph *As beautifully written and pleasurable as anything I've read ... Gurnah's portrait is the work of a maestro * Guardian *This is an impressive and deeply serious book, a careful and often heartfelt exploration of the way memory inevitably consoles and disappoints us * Sunday Times *An absorbing novel about abandonment and loss ... Gurnah writes beautifully, with the satisfying assurance of someone who knows how to achieve his effects without undue fuss but with absolute precision * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisLRB BOOKSHOP'S AUTHOR OF THE MONTH ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019'If you haven't read Bernhard, you will not know of the most radical advance in fiction since Joyce ...

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Book SynopsisThe second Fairacre novel, from the bestselling author of VILLAGE SCHOOL.In her first book VILLAGE SCHOOL, Miss Read drew a picture of the small but detailed world of a typical primary school in a remote country area, a world peopled by the children themselves, Miss Clare the venerable infants teacher, glum Mrs Pringle the cleaner, the vicar and other inhabitants of Fairacre. In VILLAGE DIARY, Miss Read describes the people of Fairacre with the same exactitude, sense of comedy and sharp observation. In addition to those characters familiar to readers of VILLAGE SCHOOL there are newcomers, including dictatorial Amy, an old college friend, Mr Mawne, whom the village sees as a possible husband for the unwilling Miss Read; and the earnest new infants teacher. Overshadowing everything, there is the mammoth country pageant over which Fairacre is so sharply and painfully divided...

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Book Synopsis*Escape with the gripping new novel from Lucy Clarke, THE SURF HOUSE, available to buy now*Nothing has felt right since Elle rented out her house . . .I'M IN YOUR HOUSEThere's a new coldness. A shift in the atmosphere. The prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows.I'M IN YOUR HEADMaybe it's all in Elle's mind? She's a writer her imagination, after all, is her strength. And yet every threat seems personal. As if someone has discovered the secrets that keep her awake at night.AND NOW I KNOW YOUR SECRETAs fear and paranoia close in, Elle's own home becomes a prison. Someone is unlocking her past and she's given them the keySpine-tingling, chilling, and utterly compulsive, this is the thriller that EVERYONE is talking about right now Brilliantly creepy' Sabine DurrantSuper-believable, super creepy and super-readable (if terrifying!)' FabulousClever, tense, twisty' C.L. TaylorA tour de force' Gillian McCallisterRiveting, atmospheric and unsettling' HeatBrilliant and chilling' Karen HamiltonTrade Review‘Wonderfully atmospheric with a brilliantly creepy setting and deliciously shifty characters. I gulped it in’ – Sabine Durrant ‘Clever, tense, twisty and unpredictable, You Let Me In is Lucy Clarke's best book yet! Brilliant’ – C.L. Taylor ‘Clever, compelling and riveting’ – Prima ‘Utterly compulsive! Twisty, atmospheric, and beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down’ – Claire Douglas ‘A tour de force; both a page-turning suspense novel and a dark look at modern life and the falsehoods we hide behind, with an extremely clever, layered ending: I love it’ – Gillian McAllister ‘An engrossing read with a clever twist’ – Good Housekeeping ‘A satisfying, gripping read that sucked me in and kept me guessing’ – Cass Green 'Lucy Clarke is brilliant at creating a sense of rising panic and fear. Beautifully written and cleverly constructed, You Let Me In conjures up every author's worst nightmare as her heroine's perfect life becomes a trap’ – Jane Casey ‘A wonderfully creepy read, full of suspense and once I started, I had to race through to the end . . . Brilliant and chilling’ – Karen Hamilton ‘Super-believable, super creepy and super-readable (if terrifying!)’ Fabulous ‘Such compulsive reading . . . I was hooked from the first page. A deeply satisfying novel, perfectly structured and paced’ – Emylia Hall ‘The very definition of a page-turner’ – Clare Mackintosh ‘Tense, moody and totally gripping, the scenes felt cinematic and it kept me guessing until the very last pages’ – Fionnuala Kearney ‘Riveting, atmospheric and unsettling, this is a read-in-one-sitting gem of a novel that will grab you right from the first page’ – Heat ‘Another first-class novel from Lucy Clarke. You Let Me In is a masterclass in how to combine a spine-tingling twisty plot with beautiful atmospheric writing. I’m now going to check my windows and doors are locked…’Tracy Buchanan

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Book SynopsisWarm, uplifting & importanta very VERY special book' Marian KeyesBeautifully moving and uplifting' Cecelia AhernMeet Tom. Or Dr O'Grady, as he used to be called. When you pass him on the street, most people don't even give him a second glance. You see, Tom isn't living his best life. Burdened by grief, he's only got his loyal dog, Bette Davis, for company and a rucksack containing his whole world.Then there's Ruth and her son, DJ, who no longer have a place to call home.But Ruth believes that you can change the world by helping one person at a time and Tom needs her helpWhy readers and authors love Carmel Harrington:At 72 years old I have lived a life that encompasses most of your stories and you give a lift to my soul that inspires me' Ruth, NorwichConvincing characters, always gripping, endearing, with a cracking pace' IRISH INDEPENDENTBeautifully written, emotionally intelligent & moving in the extreme' DAILY MAILBrave and original' Liz NugentImportant, life-affirming and bursting with Carmel's trademark warmth and hope. It belongs on everyone's shelf, and in everyone's hearts' Hazel GaynorTimely, moving and FULL of heart' Catherine Ryan HowardA remarkable, special, joyous book that captured my heart' Alex BrownFearless, brave and so full of heartCarmel has written her first number one' Claudia CarrollTrade ReviewConvincing characters, always gripping, endearing, with a cracking pace.IRISH INDEPENDENT A popular voice in Irish publishing, often compared to the beloved Maeve Binchy, Harrington focuses her books on relationships, with a strong emotional overlay.LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW Carmel Harrington is a natural storyteller … with heart, humour & hope. RTE Beautifully written, emotionally intelligent & moving in the extreme. DAILY MAIL UK Heartwarming humour, with tears, laughter & friendship. Immensely enjoyable.IRISH TIMES Will make you see life in a different way. WOMAN'S WAY Her books are like a hug, they envelop you … clever, finely honed, they make you think & make you grateful. IRELAND AM BOOK CLUB An uplifting, relevant must-read. IMAGE MAGAZINE Heartwarming & emotional. IRISH COUNTRY MAGAZINE A nuanced read, but at its heart, warm. SUNDAY INDEPENDENT Get your tissues ready! BEST MAGAZINE Stunning. IRISH TIMES GLOSS MAGAZINE Touching, heart-aching, yet feel good read, full of love & humour. LOVEREADING.CO.UK Will melt even the coldest of hearts. NOVELICIOUS Quietly brilliant, will make you cry, laugh & cry all over again. FEMALE FIRST MAGAZINE Heartwarming & Heartbreaking. EVENING HERALD The lesson A Thousand Roads Home teaches you, is one that will stay in your heart a very long time. SHEMAZING MAGAZINE One of Ireland’s most talked about female authors. THE IRISH WORLD Carmel’s writing is exquisite and she has a real talent for making you believe that you can be extraordinary too. INDULGE ME MAGAZINE

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Book SynopsisTHROUGH THE EYE OF ETERNITY TO A WORLD OF PASSION, INTRIGUE AND ENCHANTMENTThe sorcerer beckoned to her from a land of ice and snow and, stricken by the death of her husband and the loss of the lands they ruled together, she followed his call. He led her to a world ruled by wizards who played a deadly game of court intrigue, with a kingdom as the prize. He brought her to their court wrapped in the protection of his sorceries and then he died. And she was left in the centre of the game, with no knowledge of the rules or the players, no way of knowing who played with White magic and who played with BlackTrade Review‘A gifted creator of wonder’Raymond E. Feist ‘Janny Wurts is a great natural storyteller’L. Sprague de Camp ‘It ought to be illegal for one person to have so much talent’Stephen Donaldson

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Book SynopsisTHE WORLD''S FAVOURITE AUTHOR ONE BILLION COPIES SOLDA queen of hearts . . . aloneTo the doctors the woman in the ambulance was just another casualty - just more beautiful than most, more badly hurt, like a delicate damaged butterfly . . . surely someone was waiting for her to come home? Surely a husband or a lover would call?Daphne Fields is loved and known by millions. Her novels turn pain to joy, give her readers hope and the promise of new love when tears blind them. Her stories are drawn from her own struggle: to choose between two men . . . to choose between being a mother, an artist, or a lover.She has now found strength, friendship, passion . . . but now, when she needs it, can she hope to find the reality of true love more than once in a lifetime?An epic and romantic tale from one of the best-loved writers of all time. Perfect for fans of Penny Vincenzi, Lucinda Riley and Maeve BinchyPRAISE FOR DANIELLE STEEL:''Emotional and gripping . . . I was left in no doubt as to the reasons behind Steel''s multi-million sales around the world'' DAILY MAIL''Danielle Steel is undeniably an expert'' NEW YORK TIMESTrade ReviewThere are currently no reviews for this title/product

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Book SynopsisTHE WORLD''S FAVOURITE AUTHOR ONE BILLION COPIES SOLDAt journey''s end would a new life begin? When Liane crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Europe, the future seemed bright and beautiful. Only the image of a face haunted her new life in France. Then the Second World War sent her on a fateful crossing, leaving her husband far behind. Suspended between two worlds, Liane was swept into a passionate affair, a bright brief moment of total happiness. Would the voyage seal her love for ever, or leave her stranded on the shores of heartbreak and despair?PRAISE FOR DANIELLE STEEL:''Emotional and gripping . . . I was left in no doubt as to the reasons behind Steel''s multi-million sales around the world'' DAILY MAIL''Danielle Steel is undeniably an expert'' NEW YORK TIMES

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Book SynopsisThe moving, uplifting novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Sunny Days and Sea Breezes One day she had everything - the next it was gone.William and Amy love their busy city life, but when Will collapses on his way into work he decides enough is enough and moves his family to the country.Three months later, Amy is standing outside Helmshill Grange, a sullen monstrosity of a house, deep in the Yorkshire moors. Within days, Will has traded in the Audi for a Land Rover, and brought home chickens, goats, sheep, a serial-killer cat and a mad dog.But when tragedy strikes, Amy finds herself living a dream that isn''t hers . . .Your favourite authors love Carole Matthews:''A gorgeous novel that will delight''KATIE FFORDE''Fun, fantastic and brimming with Matthews magic''MILLY JOHNSON''A life-affirming story full of joy and hope''CATHY BRAMLEYTrade ReviewAll the warmth and wit we expect from Carole Matthews. Perfect * Bella *Witty, funny and incredibly touching * Heat *Simply brilliant * Closer *Hilarious * OK! *

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Book SynopsisGoodreads finalist 2012 as voted by over 1 million readersMy name is BUDO.I have been alive for 5 years.5 years is a very long time for someone like me to be alive.MAX gave me my name. Max is 8 years old.He is the only human person who can see me.I know what Max knows, and some things he doesn''t.I know that Max is in danger. And I know that I am the only one who can save him.Trade ReviewFrom no. 1 bestselling author Jodi Picoult: 'A novel as creative, brave, and pitch-perfect as its narrator, an imaginary friend named Budo, who reminds us that bravery comes in the most unlikely forms. It has been a long time since I read a book that has captured me so completely, and has wowed me with its unique vision. You've never read a book like this before. As Budo himself might say: Believe me' * Jodi Picoult *Remarkably fun, has adventure and mystery and unlike anything you'll have read before . . . It is undeniably an absorbing story that is more than a little magical * Bookbag blog *An endearing tale of love, loyalty and the extraordinary power of a child's imagination * Glamour *This story is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, essentially celebrating the extraordinary power of the mind * Image Magazine *A captivating novel that you'll want to read in one sitting * Bella *This debut is a fantastic idea that'll really capture the imagination * Star *Uplifting..Don't Miss * Woman and Home *An endearing tale of love, loyalty and the extraordinary power of a child's imagination * Glamour *This story is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, essentially celebrating the extraordinary power of the mind * Image magazine *An absorbing, moving story * Cosmopolitan *Seriously impressive * Heat *A perfect read for fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time * Holiday magazine *Refreshingly different * Woman *

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Book Synopsis''A sheer delight from start to finish'' Sophie Kinsella Come and meet Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Café . . . ''An evocative, sweet treat'' Jojo Moyes ''Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting'' Marian Keyes ''Irresistible'' Jill Mansell ''Just lovely'' Katie Fforde ''Naturally funny, warm-hearted'' Lisa Jewell ''A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book'' Mike Gayle ___________________________________Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe''s bakery, she has undoubtedly inherited his talent.When she''s made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment. Armed with recipes from Grampa, and with her best friends and local bank manager fighting her corner, The Cupcake Café opens its doors. But Issy has absolutely no ideTrade ReviewSheer indulgence from start to finish * Sophie Kinsella *

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Book SynopsisWhen her beloved grandmother is hospitalised, Jennifer returns to the lakeside home where she spent a magical childhood. There she finds a package of letters addressed to her that tell of passion, intrigue and desire. This is the real tale of her grandmother''s life. It''s a shocking family secret, concealed for decades, and the most moving love story Jennifer has ever heard.Then comes the biggest surprise of all. Jennifer lets her guard down for a moment and is overcome by exhilarating new emotions. It might come with an unbearable cost - but her grandmother''s letters make Jennifer think that love may help her find a way.Trade Review'The novel's structure works brilliantly, with Patterson as usual using brief chapters and simple prose to propel the reader onward... [A tale] that few if any will put down as Patterson again shows how it is done' Publishers Weekly, 7/6/04 * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisHelen Ross, a twenty-nine-year-old biologist, is sent to a sleepy Rocky Mountain ranching town to defend a pack of wolves from those who want to destroy them. For in Hope, Montana, a century ago, the wolf was slaughtered to extinction and though now protected by law as an endangered species, the old hatred runs deep.Alone in this hostile place, bruised by a broken love affair, Helen struggles for self-esteem and survival, embarking on a dangerous alliance with the son of her most ferocious opponent, the brutal and charismatic Buck Calder.Trade ReviewThings aren't going too well for wolf biologist Helen Ross. At 29, she's unemployed (recently retired dishwasher), single (boyfriend of two years left her for Africa), and has just learned that her father is marrying someone younger, richer, and prettier than herself (completely accurate). Back in her lonely log cabin in Cape Cod, frantically chain-smoking, she receives a message from her former lover Dan Prior. Prior, also a biologist, works for the US Fish & Wildlife Service wolf-recovery program. In return for helping him track the lupine posse, Prior will provide her with a cabin, truck, and a snowmobile for good measure in a rustic little town called Hope, just outside of Helena, Montana. Apparently, Ross has never heard the proverb "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," and happily skips off to Big Sky Country. Within moments of her arrival, she finds out what she's up against: a small town with a long history of wolf fear and loathing, no resources (big surprise) and a powerful rancher who will do whatever it takes to eliminate the wolves. The rancher, testosterone-saturated Buck Calder, has got the community riled up after a wolf stalked his daughter's home and killed the family dog. He won't stop until every last endangered wolf is dead, which proves problematic for Ross when she decides to romance his 18- year-old son, Luke. Cynics be warned: their love affair spawns a trove of gooey pillow talk and syrupy prose. Even so, Evans has made impressive strides as a writer since his debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, and his storytelling has reached a noticeably new level of sophistication: the plot is tight, the characterisation is realistic, and the dialogue is crisp. Rebekah Warren

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Book SynopsisWeaving together the historical and the imagined, China Miéville's The Last Days of New Paris is a surreal and extraordinary work, from the author of The City & The City.1941. In the chaos of wartime Marseille, American engineer and occult disciple Jack Parsons stumbles onto a clandestine anti-Nazi group, including Surrealist theorist André Breton. In the strange games of dissident diplomats, exiled revolutionaries, and avant-garde artists, Parsons finds and channels hope. But what he unwittingly unleashes is the power of dreams and nightmares, changing the war and the world for ever.1950. A lone Surrealist fighter, Thibaut, walks a new, hallucinogenic Paris, where Nazis and the Resistance are trapped in unending conflict, and the streets are stalked by living images and texts - and by the forces of Hell. To escape the city, Thibaut must join forces with Sam, an American photographer intent on recording the ruins, and Trade ReviewA dazzling scholarly fantasy . . . The bestiary of surrealist manifs, or manifestations, that Miéville parades before us is dazzling . . . the effect is exhilaratingly precise and serious, as though Albert Camus had rewritten Raiders of the Lost Ark . . . At the story’s climax it turns out to be satisfyingly horrible, but not as bad as what follows – a brilliantly eerie apparition that it would be invidious to reveal here . . . This intense, scholarly fantasy speaks to our age. * Guardian *Treading the line between beauty and horror, history and fantasy, Miéville filters a clash of art and philistinism through the medium of wartime spy fiction. This dense, clever book’s flights of fancy are grounded in details such as “a miraculously uneaten cat” dashing for cover, the whole thing rounded off with a knowing satirical wink. * Financial Times *[The Last Days of New Paris] has a hallucinatory jeu d’esprit . . . Fun, very inventive and thoughtful, particularly for readers interested in Surrealism’s revolutionary politics. I loved it. * Daily Telegraph *If anyone were to write a sequel to Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino’s dreamlike catalogue of fantastic places, then China Miéville might well be the man for the job . . . Miéville has always had a knack for visions of the uncanny . . . Here he is evoking other people’s imaginings, still with precision and grace. * Times Literary Supplement *Initially joyous, fundamentally chilling book . . . Riotous . . . With its fractured oppositions, bad taste, demagoguery and monstrous alliances it seems all too relevant. * Spectator *There's so much absurd beauty among the fauna in this story of surrealist art come to life in Nazi-occupied France, in fact, that the author's subtler points about imagination and oppression arrive as a surprise . . . The finale of The Last Days of New Paris is both moving and disturbingly timely: Imagination has often been used to puncture fascism; now Miéville asks whether fascism can defeat and subvert art. * Newsday *A fine introduction to [Miéville's] unique imagination * Chicago Tribune *A strange and compelling tale. * New York Post *A novel both unhinged and utterly compelling, a kind of guerrilla warfare waged by art itself, combining both meticulous historical research and Miéville's unparalleled inventiveness. * Los Angeles Times *Hauntingly poetic, strangely beautiful . . . The characters, especially Sam the journalist, are vividly drawn into life. This is a book that deftly balances thumping action with quiet contemplation. * San Francisco Book Review *Miéville’s subtle understanding of politics, married to his sophisticated interest in science and art, gives us a short tale that is packed with ideas and inventions . . . A page-turner whose end left me almost physically applauding. -- Michael Moorcock * New Statesman *Fascinating . . . an unforgettable dreamscape superimposed on the familiar, a manifestation of the mind worth examining. -- Barnes and Noble blogFantasy and historical events intermingle in a visionary tale of war and resistance taking in surrealist André Breton, the Nazi occupation and the forces of hell * Guardian *That you really want to know what side will win says much about the quality of a necessarily strange and uncompromising book that reminds us that the old weird of surrealism still has the power to shock if we remember to look at it with fresh eyes. * SFX *Miéville takes one of the most exhausted tropes of alternate history – a counterfactual Second World War – and breathes joyously vivid life into it. With relish and thoughtful deliberation, he juxtaposes the intentional irrationality of Surrealism with the uglier, bloodier irrationality of warfare . . . The Last Days Of New Paris not only delivers all the fun its premise suggests, but thrills with the sheer depth of its ambition, invention and historical detail. * Sunday Herald (Glasgow) *Beautiful, stunningly realized . . . [The Last Days of New Paris] is a brief vacation in alien latitudes, a midnight layover in an imaginary place. -- NPR

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Book Synopsis''Few novels are life-changing; this one just might be'' Daily MailLeaving home is one thing. Surviving is another.In 1940s Lahore, the Punjab, two brothers and two sisters are beaten and browbeaten into ''good children''.Each has a destiny to fulfil. Sully and Jakie will be doctors, Mae and Lana dutiful wives. But Sully falls for an unsuitable girl, Jakie an unsuitable man. Mae and Lana disgrace themselves and disobey.Rebelling is easy when you''re far from home. But the ties that bind them across cultures, continents and time can never be broken. And when, decades later, death draws them back, it will affect them in ways they never imagined.Trade ReviewOne thing will always stand out when it matters: the author's voice. And Farooki has one to be proud of - Independent on SundayFarooki writes tales of multicultural, contemporary Britain populated by funny, believable characters - Financial TimesFarooki manages the emotional minefield with humour and compassion - The Times

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Book SynopsisJill Mansell''s bestseller PERFECT TIMING is a sweet and funny tale of a romantic encounter with unexpected consequences. Not to be missed by readers of Lucy Diamond, Cecelia Ahern and Cathy Kelly. Reviewers love Jill''s books: ''Glorious, romantic, heartwarming'' Woman & HomePoppy Dunbar is out on her hen night when she meets Tom Kennedy. With his dark eyes and quirky smile, he could lure any girl off the straight and narrow, but what really draws Poppy to him is the feeling that she''s known him all her life. She can''t go through with the meeting they arrange - but she can''t go through with the wedding either. Suddenly notorious as ''The Girl Who Jilted Rob McBride'', Poppy moves to London. Soon Poppy''s installed in the bohemian household of Caspar French, a ravishingly good-looking young artist with a reputation for breaking hearts. But even in her colourful new home, Poppy can''t get Tom off her mind. Until she''s tracked him down, she''llTrade Review'Thoroughly enjoyable' * Publishers Weekly *'A light-hearted and likeable tale' * Prima *'Racy love story' * Best *'Mansell's Brit chick lit invasion continues with this enjoyable romp' * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Kate Morton andThe Light Between Oceans, this exquisitely written, a true book of wonders (Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author) explores the aftermath of World War II in an Australian seaside town, and the mysterious poem that changes the lives of those who encounter it.Trade ReviewExquisitely written and deeply felt, The Railwayman's Wife is limpid and deep as the rock pools on the coastline beloved by this book's characters and just as teeming with vibrant life. Ashley Hay's novel of love and pain is a true book of wonders. * Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of YEAR OF WONDERS *A fine evocation of place and time - a vivid love letter to a particular corner of post-war Australia. Ashley Hay writes with subtle insight about grief and loss and the heart's voyage through and beyond them. It's a lovely, absorbing, and uplifting read * M.L. Stedman, author of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS *A beautifully attentive study of what comes after - after a funeral, after a war - and Ashley Hay is a wise and gracious guide through this fascinating territory. This is a book in which grief and love are so entwined they make a new and wonderful kind of sense. * Fiona McFarlane, author of THE NIGHT GUEST *Ashley Hay's beautiful romance of grief and love [is] set in the escarpment landscape that once enchanted D.H. Lawrence Everything about this novel - sudden loss, unexpected love, misdirected hope and desire, as well as the mysterious power of the written word and the candescence of the coastal landscape itself - is expressed with a profound understanding of every nuance of emotion. The Railwayman's Wife illuminates the deepest places of the human heart. * Debra Adelaide, author of Letter to George Clooney *A beautifully rendered and psychologically acute picture ... Finally, though, Thirroul itself emerges as a central presence in the novel ... we know D.H. Lawrence got in first ... Yet it is fair to say Hay, who spent her childhood in the same town, brings her own poetry to bear... in a manner that recalls the sour-sweet best of Michael Ondaatje's fiction. Another author, Ford Madox Ford, began his The Good Soldier by claiming, "This is the saddest story." It isn't. That title rightly belongs to The Railwayman's Wife. * Geordie Williamson, The Australian *A book that overflows with gratitude for the hard, beautiful things of this world, and for the saving worlds of our imagination. * Helen Garner *I love Ashley Hay's writing ... it's so poised and beautiful. And I know Ashley, and she writes as she is. I always like that in a person: when the writing that they do is very much the person that you get, it has an integrity about it that I enjoy ... She can't write a bad sentence * Guardian *Melancholic, but in the best possible way * Lady *

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Book SynopsisHer father died instantly, her mother in the hospital. She has learned to say this flatly and without emotion, the way she says her name (Marina), her doll's name (also Marina) and her age (seven). Her parents were killed in a car crash and now she lives in the orphanage with the other little girls. But Marina is not like the other little girls. In the curious, hyperreal, feverishly serious world of childhood, Marina and the girls play games of desire and warfare. The daily rituals of playtime, lunchtime and bedtime are charged with a horror; horror is licked by the dark flames of love. When Marina introduces the girls to Marina the Doll, she sets in motion a chain of events from which there can be no release. With shades of Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro and Mariana Enríquez, Such Small Hands is a beautifully controlled tour-de-force, a bedtime story to keep readers awake.

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Book SynopsisIf you enjoyed How to Keep a Secret, don’t miss Sarah Morgan’s wonderful new summer read, Family for Beginners! * * * * Your fav authors love Sarah Morgan! ‘Joyful, uplifting and overflowing with love’ Cathy Bramley‘Comfort reading at its best’ Veronica Henry ‘A master storyteller’ Laura Jane Williams‘I loved every sparkly, big-hearted, warm-hug moment’ Miranda Dickinson‘Full of warmth, humour and heart’ Katie Marsh * * * * This summer one family will discover that together, they can do anything. Matriarch Nancy knows she hasn't been the best mother but how can she ever tell her daughters the reason why? Lauren and Jenna are as close as two sisters can be and they made a pact years ago to keep a devastating secret from their mother – but is it time to come clean? Lauren's teenage daughter Mackenzie masks her own pain by keeping her mother at a distance. Her mother, aunt and grandmother keep trying to reach her but will it take a stranger to show her the true meaning of family? When life changes in an instant, the Stewart women are thrown together for a summer and suddenly they must relearn how to be a family. And whilst unravelling their secrets might be their biggest challenge, it could also be their finest moment . . . * * * * Praise for How to Keep a Secret: ‘Heart-warming, emotional, funny and real – I adored this book! Jill Shalvis ‘A warm, wonderful rich story told with care and skill that broke my heart and then put it back together again’ Alex Brown ‘A delightful escape’ Woman & HomeTrade Review MORE PRAISE FOR HOW TO KEEP A SECRET: ‘I laughed, I cried, I held my breath. I absolutely adored it’Cathy Bramley ‘Sarah Morgan just gets better and better’Veronica Henry ‘A compelling, gorgeously drawn story with laughter and tears, warmth and so much heart’Miranda Dickinson ‘This sweeping novel will have you questioning all the secrets you've ever kept. I loved it’Penny Parkes, author of Practice Makes Perfect PRAISE FOR SARAH MORGAN: ‘An uplifting and satisfying tale’My Weekly ‘Full of romance and laughter’HELLO! ‘Feel-good fiction – with edge’Heat ‘A joyous and stirring mix of romance, secrets and family’S Magazine ‘Enjoyably escapist romance’Sunday Mirror

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Book Synopsis'Though their house was new, the wall had been there a long time.' In these two stories, which have never before been translated into English, Tsushima shows how memories, dreams and fleeting images describe the borders of our lives. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

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Book SynopsisA transwoman must come to terms with her history after the death of a family member in this Lambda Award-winning novel.

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Book SynopsisThe debut collection from the acclaimed author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed and Our Share of Night. 'An utterly brilliant measure of deep existential terror... You [will] return home looking pale and haunted' Observer Sleep-deprived fathers conjuring phantoms; sharp-toothed children and stolen skulls; persecuted young women drawn to self-immolation. Organized crime sits side-by-side with the occult in Buenos Aires - a place where reality and the supernatural fuse into strange, new shapes. These acclaimed gothic tales follow the wayward and downtrodden, revealing the scars of Argentina's dictatorship and the ghosts and traumas that have settled in the minds of its people. Provocative, brutal and uncanny, Things We Lost in the Fire is contemporary gothic at its darkest and best. 'The only book that's ever left me afraid to turn out the lights... mercilessly incisive and deeply creepy' Irish Times 'Books of the Year' 'These spookily clear-eyed, elementally intense stories are the business' Helen OyeyemiTrade ReviewBright with brilliance... The stories [create] a sensibility as distinctive as that found in Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. They are a portrait of a world in fragments, a mirrorball made of razor blades -- John Self * Guardian *An utterly brilliant measure of deep existential terror ... you [will] return home looking pale and haunted -- ‘Best Summer Books’ selected by Mark O’Connell * Observer *Slim but phenomenal... The spookiness of these 12 stories sets into the reader's mind like a jet stone, sparkling through all that darkness * Vanity Fair *The only book that's ever left me afraid to turn out the lights... mercilessly incisive and deeply creepy -- ‘Books of the Year’ selected by Lisa McInerney * Irish Times *Fiction doesn't get much better than this -- John Ajvide Lindqvist, author * Let the Right One In *Teeming with death, sex and the macabre, this short-story collection by one of Argentina's rising literary talents might best be described as Buenos Aires gothic -- Best Summer Books * Financial Times *[Full of] claustrophobic terror... stylish and compelling -- Luke Brown * Financial Times *Propulsive and mesmerising... I will be haunted for some time by this book * New York Times Book Review *Enríquez is a mesmerizing writer who demands to be read... her fiction hits with the force of a freight train -- Dave Eggers, author * The Circle *Beautiful but savage... [Enriquez] gives the best horror stories a run for their money... This is the best short story collection I have read this year -- Lucy Scholes * National *An utterly brilliant measure of deep existential terror ... you [will] return home looking pale and haunted -- Best Summer Reads * Guardian *Exquisite... unsettling and haunting... engaging and compelling * New Internationalist *These spookily clear-eyed, elementally intense stories are the business. I find myself no more able to defend myself from their advances than Enríquez's funny, brutal, bruised characters are able to defend themselves from life as it's lived -- Helen Oyeyemi, author * Boy, Snow, Bird *It seems wrong, somehow to call this grouping of Mariana Enríquez's stories a collection. There is nothing collected about these stories. These stories unsettle; they disturb; they disquiet. Read them! -- Kelly Link, author * Get in Trouble *Many of us have long looked up to Mariana Enríquez, one of the great talents of the new literature from Argentina. Possibly the most intimate one. Her writing is a prodigious blend which reimagines certain traditions under that dreadful clarity we identify as an author's voice. Sharp and intricate, her genre awareness is deserving of nothing but my admiration. Sharing her work is great cause for celebration -- Andrés NeumanWhen I read Mariana Enríquez's stories, I forget where I am. I miss my subway stop. I hold my breath. Her fiction is that pulse-racingly superb, that electric and original. Mariana Enríquez is an essential voice in contemporary fiction, and The Things We Lost in the Fire will be a sensation -- Laura van den Berg, author * Find Me *Enriquez's stories are not only supremely important, but addictive and joyfully grotesque... Born from the scars of a nation, they will leave a lasting mark on you -- Alan Bett * Skinny *Gripping * Monocle *Enriquez scratches satisfyingly at Argentina's underbelly * Newsweek *A detailed cultural portrait and a blend of realistic fiction and fantasy, the stories feature spirits and murders, marriages happy and sad, friendships and heartaches, all against the backdrop of past and present Argentina... The author picks apart the intricacies of human relationships and lays them out on the page in a manner that is simple, but delicate...A thorough exploration of the human condition, -- Alice Kouzmenko * Storgy Online *

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Book SynopsisThe Prince of Darkness has been given one last chance: he will be readmitted to the company of his fellow angels if he agrees to live out a human life. Highly sceptical (naturally), the Old Deal-maker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh. The body, though, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted mid-suicide. Making the best of a bad situation, Luce himself takes to writing - to explain, to strip back the Biblical spin, to help us see the whole thing from his point of view. And to knock that Jesus off his perch. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, Lucifer slowly begins to learn what it''s like to be us. Glen Duncan''s brilliantly written new novel is an investigation of the world of the senses - the seductiveness of evil, and the affection which keeps us human.

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Book SynopsisThis is a modern-day adventure story featuring Paulo’s supernatural encounter with angels – who appear as warrior women and travel through the Mojave desert on their motorbikes.Trade Review‘Coelho’s writing is beautifully poetic but his message is what counts… he gives me hope and puts a smile on my face.’DAILY EXPRESS ‘One of the few to deserve the term“publishing phenomenon”’INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ‘His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people.’THE TIMES

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Book SynopsisThe Multi-Million Copy International BestsellerReleased in 2010 as a major motion picture starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sarah''s Key is perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and All the Light We Cannot See. ''A remarkable novel. Like Sophie''s Choice, it''s a book that impresses itself upon one''s heart and soul forever'' Naomi Ragen, author of The Saturday WifeParis, July 1942. Sarah, a ten-year-old Jewish girl, is arrested by the French police in the middle of the night, along with her mother and father. Desperate to protect her younger brother, she locks him in a cupboard and promises to come back for him as soon as she can. Paris, May 2002. Julia Jarmond, an American journalist, is asked to write about the 60th anniversary of the Vel'' d''Hiv'' roundup - the infamous day in 1942 when French police rounded up thousands of Jewish men, women and children, in order to send them to conceTrade ReviewSarah's trials are so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, the book is hard to put down * Publishers' Weekly *Masterly and compelling, it is not something that readers will quickly forget. Highly recommended * Library Journal *A gripping story of loss, family secrets and silence * Warwickshire Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIt is four years since the virus came, killing every adult in its path. Not long after that the electricity failed. Food and water started running out. Fires raged across the country. Now Anna cares for her brother alone in a house hidden in the woods, keeping him safe from 'the Outside'. But, when the time comes, Anna knows they must leave their world and find another. By turns luminous and tender, gripping and horrifying, Anna is a haunting parable of love and loneliness; of the stories we tell to sustain us, and the lengths we will go to in order to stay alive.Trade ReviewAmmaniti sets a new standard in post-apocalyptic fiction . . . This story of children running wild in Sicily brilliantly manipulates the usual models even as it transcends their limits . . . In the midst of wonderfully detailed disorder, one girl named Anna struggles to survive, fighting off feral dogs and crazed children and enduring one of recent literature's most nightmarish visions of hell on earth as she tries to feed and protect her young brother, Astor -- John Burnside * * Guardian * *From The Lord of the Flies to The Road, we do love a dystopian tale of survival. And it's apt that in these uncertain modern times, here comes arguably the best one yet . . . Complex, moving and scary, this one will stay with you long after the last page * * Sunday Telegraph * *Ammaniti's Italian bestseller has been compared to . . . Lord Of The Flies and The Road . . . It's a powerfully disturbing and thought-provoking read * * Daily Mail * *One of Italy's foremost literary talents . . . Combines the wayward fantasy of J.G. Ballard with comic-strip adventure . . . Ammaniti has lost none of his gift for landscape description -- Ian Thomson * * Times Literary Supplement * *Brave and uncompromising writing . . . A brutal but moving post-apocalyptic tale set in a world where adults have all been wiped out . . . reminiscent of Lord of the Flies or Cormac McCarthy's The Road . . . written with such heart and compassion for the plight of the characters that you can't help but get sucked in and root for them. Compelling and moving writing -- Doug Johnstone * * Big Issue * *Unbeatable storytelling - an immediate and engaging study of humanity at its best and worst * * Financial Times * *A gripping tale of resilience, friendship and sibling love in a brutal and dangerous world. I loved it! -- MEGAN BRADBURY, author of EVERYONE IS WATCHINGAmmaniti won the Italian Strega Prize for I'm Not Scared, and Anna has the same taut narrative, with straight-from-the-bow suspense, but its mark is philosophical . . . concerned not only with the will to live but also with what makes us alive * * Irish Times * *Ammaniti has an enviable ability to keep readers thoroughly absorbed * * The Herald * *Anna has pretty much everything you could hope for from a post-apocalyptic picaresque adventure story * * London Review of Books * *

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Book SynopsisI invited her in and she took everything'A gripping story of friendship and betrayal from the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author, Adele ParksReally REALLY good absolutely brilliant' Marian Keyes, No.1 bestselling author of Grown UpsWhen Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn't hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel's unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi's lives couldn't be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needTrade Review Praise for I Invited Her In: ‘Really REALLY good… absolutely brilliant’ Marian Keyes ‘Packed with secrets, scandal and suspense, this is Adele Parks at her absolute best’ Heat ‘Wow! What a read. Intense, clever and masterful’ Lisa Jewell 'Original and compelling. I read it in one sitting’ Jane Fallon ‘Fabulously gripping. Superb’ Ruth Jones ‘A beautifully written tale of revenge and retribution, full of unexpected plot twists’ The Daily Mail ‘Weaving together the emotions and ties that bind female friends with a cracking paced twist of a tale’ Stylist ‘This chilling domestic noir tale is full of revenge, betrayal and gasp-out-loud moments’ Fabulous Magazine ‘A tale of revenge and retribution that I read in a single, mesmerised sitting’ Woman & Home ‘A gripping read from the brilliant Adele Parks’ HELLO ‘Entertaining domestic noir’ Sunday Mirror ‘The bestselling domestic noir chiller… Dark and delicious’ HEAT ‘Beautifully written, dark, twisty tale of revenge and retribution filled with unexpected plot twists’ MAIL ONLINE Praise for Adele Parks ‘Tightly plotted, brilliantly conceived and totally gripping’ Lisa Jewell ‘Twisty, unputdownable and utterly engrossing’ Jenny Colgan ‘Gripping, twisty and heartbreaking, this standout story is a triumph’ Isabelle Broom ‘Unpredictable and gripping until the end’ The Lady ‘The plot twists and turns… the reader is left frantic to know how it's going to work out’ Woman ‘The secrets, lies and suspense kept me engrossed’ Daily Mail

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Book SynopsisThe provocative novel by ''one of the greatest writers of our era'' (Hilary Mantel) and ''the Irish novelist everyone should read'' (Colm Tóibín).A writer of pornographic fiction, creates an ideal world of sex through his two stock athletes, Colonel Grimshaw and Mavis Carmichael, while he bungles every phase of his entanglement with an older woman who has the misfortune to fall in love with him. But his insensitivity to this love is in direct contrast to the tenderness with which he attempts to make his aunt''s slow death in hospital tolerable, while his employer, Maloney, failed poet and comic king of pornographers, comes gradually to preside over this broken world. Everywhere in this rich novel is the drama of opposites, but, above all, sex and death are never far from each other.''Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.'' David Mitchell''I have admired, even loved, John McGahern''s work since his first novel.'' Melvyn Bragg

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