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
Hodder & Stoughton Delirium Delirium Trilogy 1
Book SynopsisFrom the author of BEFORE I FALL comes the first book in the remarkable New York Times bestselling trilogy about forbidden love, revolution and the power to choose.Trade ReviewFast paced and consistently poignant, this tale quickly becomes hypnotically addictive ... A thoughtful, exciting and moving story that reminds us just how important love is. Devour it, then go and give all your friends a big hug. * Heat *Crackling with tension, Lauren Oliver's follow up to DELIRIUM is as whip smart and addictive as her dystopian debut. * Marie Claire *A dystopian Romeo and Juliet story that deserves to be as massive as Twilight. * Stylist *Amazing, unputdownable! * Grazia *We're big fans of Lauren Oliver and this is the emotionally charged follow-up to last year's futuristic love story DELIRIUM. With echoes of Brave New World, we catch up with young heroine Lena as she attempts to survive in the dangerous Wilds . . . Now we just have to wait for the final episode in the trilogy. -- Bella on PANDEMONIUMIn the same mode as Suzanne Collins in her Hunger Games trilogy, Oliver, too, posits a feisty, physically able heroine, giving as good as she gets, in a fast-paced YA thriller: this trend is a welcome one -- Independent on Sunday on PANDEMONIUMThe new Hunger Games . . . We loved the first two books, and spring sees the publication of the final instalment . . . With a movie trilogy in the pipeline too, you'd better get reading! -- Cosmopolitan on REQUIEMLena Haloway's journey will have readers breathlessly turning the pages . . . A dystopian tour de force. -- Kirkus Reviews on REQUIEM
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Breaking the Rules
Book Synopsis Forty years ago, the world was introduced to Emma Harte. Now meet M, a new woman of substance guaranteed to win our hearts all over again. A new era has begun… Trade Review Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford: 'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian ‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday ‘Memorable and moving…a sure-fire winner’ Express
£10.44
Penguin Putnam Inc The Joy Luck Club
Book Synopsis“The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.” —Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich AsiansAmy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters, now the focus of a new documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir on Netflix Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's saying the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. To despair was t
£14.45
Penguin Putnam Inc Sometimes a Great Notion
Book Synopsis
£18.00
HarperCollins Publishers Seating Arrangements From the Booker Prize 2021
Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling author of Great CircleJoyously good' DAILY MAILA ferociously clever comedy of manners' GUARDIANA wise, sophisticated and funny novel about family, fidelity, class and crisis' MARIE CLAIREA well-observed, hilarious, yet moving novel' WOMAN & HOMENew York Times bestseller and winner of the 2012 Dylan Thomas Prize and 2012 L.A. Times First Novel PrizeThe Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the New England island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne to an impeccably appropriate young man. The weekend is full of lobster and champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust seep through the cracks in the revelry.Winn Van Meter, father-of-the-bride, has spent his life following the rules of the east coast upper crust, but now, just shy of his sixtieth birthday, he must finally confront his failings, his desires, and his own humanityMaggie Shipstead is a hugely talented young writer definTrade Review‘Joyously good’ Daily Mail ‘A ferociously clever comedy of manners’ Guardian ‘Shipstead’s sophisticated and summery debut more than lives up to the hype’ Independent ‘Distinctive and dazzling … The world has found a remarkable, humane new voice to explain us to ourselves’ Allison Pearson, Telegraph ‘A wise, sophisticated and funny novel about family, fidelity, class and crisis’ Marie Claire
£9.49
Granta Books Reef
Book SynopsisA single lighted match banishes Triton from his father's home to the employ of Mister Salgado, a marine biologist obsessed by swamps, sea movements and a Sri Lankan island's disappearing reef. Stranded in London years later, Triton plumbs the depths of his childhood memories - a period of brewing political, ethical and religious turmoil - and brings us to understand how he has navigated this brave new world, which once lost will haunt him forever.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Origin
Book Synopsis2015: Astronaut Reid Malenfant is flying over the African continent, intent on examining a mysterious glowing construct in Earth’s orbit.Trade Review‘The most important living science-fiction writer in the country’THE TIMES ‘The best SF writer in Britain’SFX Praise for The Manifold Trilogy: ‘Pacy, visionary, extravagantly imagined, TIME places Baxter firmly in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov’THE TIMES ‘Highly intelligent, with original ideas in almost every sentence’THE GUARDIAN ‘Baxter is taking basic SF ideas and rebuilding them based on current science, technology and politics … [He] apparently has the ambition and the energy to reinvigorate hard SF all by himself’LOCUS ‘It’s time for Baxter to take his place alongside Asimov and Heinlein’EDGE
£9.89
Zaffre Lost For Words: A heartwarming novel, perfect for
Book SynopsisCompelling, irresistible, feel-good read. Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.'Quirky, clever and unputdownable' Katie Fforde 'An exquisite story' Liz Fenwick'Burns fiercely with love and hurt' Linda Green'I cried like a motherf***er' Shelley Harris'Intriguing and touching' SUNDAY EXPRESS'An appealing character with a fascinating hinterland' DAILY MAIL'A beautiful book' PRIMATHIS BOOKSHOP KEEPS MANY SECRETS . . .Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you.Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories.Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story?It's time to turn the pages of her past . . .Praise for Lost for Words:'Loveday is a marvellous character and she captured my heart from the very first page . . . and her bookshop is the bookshop of readers' dreams.'Julie Cohen, bestselling author of Dear Thing'Loveday is so spiky and likeable. I so loved Archie, Nathan and the book shop and the unfolding mystery' Carys Bray, author of A Song For Issy Bradley and The Museum of You'Beautifully written and atmospheric. Loveday is an endearing heroine, full of attitude and fragility. The haunting story of her past is brilliantly revealed.'Tracy Rees, Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of Amy SnowWhat you are saying about Lost for Words:'Best book by far I've read this year''Sat in tears, stunned in silence . . . by far my new favourite book''I loved everything about Lost for Words''This is a truly magical book''Warm, wise and funny tale . . . with a dark and shocking twist''Could not put it down - absolutely, utterly loved it and hung on every word''I loved smart, spiky, sad Loveday and cried real tears''Will melt your heart and make you cry''Everything you could want from a book''One of the best books I have ever read''Loved this book. I laughed & cried & gripped the edge of the seat at times''A book you keep in your bag and can't wait for another spare 15 minutes to read some more''I laughed, I cried and, more importantly, I couldn't put the book down'If you loved Lost for Words, don't miss Stephanie Butland's next book, where Ailsa Rae learns how to live . . .Search for The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae (9781785764417).Trade ReviewLoveday is a compelling character, you love her in the way you love a cat who always scratches but you love it anyway . . . this book is quirky, clever and unputdownable. I really enjoyed it. * Katie Fforde *Loveday is a marvellous character and she captured my heart from the very first page . . . and her bookshop is the bookshop of readers' dreams. * Julie Cohen, bestselling author of Dear Thing *Loveday is so spiky and likeable. I so loved Archie, Nathan and the book shop and the unfolding mystery * Carys Bray, author of A Song For Issy Bradley and The Museum of You *Burns fiercely with love and hurt. A quirky, rare and beautiful novel, one you'd be delighted to unearth in any bookshop. And Loveday Cardew is a character who leaps from the pages into our hearts. * Linda Green, bestselling author of While My Eyes Were Closed *It is such a beautiful read and Loveday's voice is so compelling . . . an exquisite story that I couldn't put down. * Liz Fenwick *Beautifully written and atmospheric. Loveday is an endearing heroine, full of attitude and fragility. The haunting story of her past is brilliantly revealed. * Tracy Rees, Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of Amy Snow *What an absolute stunner of a book. I LOVED it and cried like a motherf***er. If you care about books (or humans) read it! * Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee *This book will warm and break your heart in equal measure! Loveday Cardew is funny and sassy, angry and loving, and she is running scared; she wears her scars deep within her and on the outside too. In Butland's consummate hands, the story of Loveday's past and her present is bravely told and is transformative. This is a must-read novel. * Claire Dyer, award-winning poet and author of The Perfect Affair *A beautiful, touching, moving, sweet treat of a book. Sad, intriguing, cleverly plotted, sometimes shocking, compelling read. I was with Loveday all the way. I absolutely loved it * Jane Wenham-Jones, author of Prime Time *I just finished. I can totally see why you fell in love with it. What a unique, beautiful novel that cleverly builds to a heart-stopping climax. Any book lovers out there would be mad not to adore the quirkily drawn character of Loveday who pulls you in right from the get go with her distinctive voice! * Tracy Buchanan, number one bestselling author of My Sister' s Secret, The Atlas Of Us and No Turning Back *Wonderful. So many beautiful one-liners too! * Ayisha Malik, author of Sofia Khan is Not Obliged *OH poor, brilliant Loveday. Gorgeous, gorgeous bookshop book . . . So, so lovely! * Sarah Franklin, author and Costa Book Awards judge *Loveday is an incredible character.Oh, the w riting . . .Vibrant, vivid, sometimes visceral;Engaging, funny, searing.Dares to mix prose and poetry seamlessly.Archie had me head-over-heels in love.You can't help but hurt w hen it's over * Helena Sheffield, author of The Art of Wearing Hats *I loved it! Spent all day today engrossed in Loveday . . . a superbly drawn character. * Alex Gray, bestselling author of The Darkest Goodbye *I very quickly fell in love with the protagonist, Loveday Cardew...This is a story about hurt and self-preservation but above all else love... * Boofs Books *I enjoyed Lost For Words; I found it readable, humane and rather perceptive...it's so well done that it felt very fresh and involving to me. Loveday's narrative voice is authentic and very engaging...it is intelligent and thoughtful and almost entirely without implausible sentimentality. There is a distinct whiff of a Richard Curtis film about the plot...I found it genuinely funny in places and very touching in others...an engaging and quite gripping read which I can recommend. * Sid's Book Reviews *Love at first word! Fascinating. Truly fascinating and spectacular * Articles and More *A wonderful read for a holiday or weekend. It's a great, immersive read with a big heart. What more could you want? * Hannah Bullimore *I found myself faced with the question of how much you can hold a mentally ill person accountable for their violent tendencies, and how do you measure whether its their illness or just their evil? If you're looking for a light read with a dark twist I'd recommend Lost for Words. It was a comfort read for me, especially because of the familiarity that comes from a bookish protagonist. * Sumaiyya Reads *This is the perfect read for any bookworm... The story is warm, effortless, and comfortable. Most of all, it was lovely to be able to connect to a character that felt exactly the same way about books as you do....Read this book. Even if you think this 'might not be your thing' like I did, give it a chance. You might just have found your new favourite book. * A Literary Mind *I have a fatal weakness for books set in bookshops and whimsical heroines for Lost For Words pushes all my bookish buttons. Loveday Cardew infinitely prefers books to people; she works in a second-hand bookshop called Lost For Words and has her favourite lines from her favourite novels tattooed on her skin. But then mysterious packages begin to arrive for Loveday, each one containing a book that stirs up unsettling memories for her, especially as someone seems to know the secret that Loveday has been hiding for so many years. * Red Magazine *I loved so many things about this book. It is narrated by the most appealing heroine named Loveday. Loveday is a fantastic character, defensive and spirited...a brilliant story about surviving, and full of hope. I loved this author's way with words and her astute observations. It is is surprising, affecting and beautifully finished but the main thing is that it is brilliant and I suspect my voice will be one of many shouting about how good it is. * Kitty Loves Books *This book is beautiful * Prima magazine *'A beautiful book' * Prima magazine *Lost for Words is a book I adored. It's full of warmth with wonderful characters and it's full of the magic and power of books. If you love books set in bookshops, you'll love it. If you love books about damaged people learning to love again, you'll love it. If you love books with quirky characters, you'll love it. In fact, if you love any beautifully written story, you'll love Lost For Words! * Portobello Book Blog *Fierce, tender, quirky, well-written - Lost for Words is all this and more. There's much to love in this book, but what really makes it stand out is its appeal for readers who don't just read books but adore them: the bookstagrammers, the paperback hoarders, the page sniffers. * the Book Specialist *The past is handled so very well, and makes the present scenes very understandable and real. As I said, by the time I got to the last few chapters I was invested enough to be teary about it all. * Little Frog Scribbles *I could gush for hours about Lost For Words; the setting, the characters, the quite dark and disturbing themes...I'd just like everyone to go out and buy a copy and savour it and love it as much as I did. I expect most people will shed a tear or two, and I know that there will be laughs and gasps along the way too. This really is a poignant and beautiful story, told by an author who can captivate an audience so easily. Wonderful. Highly recommended from me. * Random Things Through My Letterbox *Oh how I adored this book. I loved everything about it. The only thing wrong with it was that I could have read another 100 pages. This is a novel that is an ode to the written word, to the beauty of poetry and the solace that books can provide. But it is not just a celebration of books. It is a novel about how our history shapes us, but doesn't have to define us. It is a novel about love, in its many guises, of friendship and of how we can always re-write our own story. Simply beautiful. * From First Page To Last *I truly liked Loveday, Nathan and Archie. I wanted to unwrap Loveday's past and find out what keeps her so guarded and untrusting. A wonderful, heartfelt story that pulls on your heart strings and leaves you bereft when finishing it. I could have read on after the book finished, I'm still hungry for more. * Lip Squid Book Blog *LOST FOR WORDS by Stephanie Butland is such a heartbreaking story...the author perfectly portrays the significance that a book can play in someone's life - the memories they invoke, the connection they can make with the reader, the emotions, the dreams, just everything...a must read for fiction fans everywhere, but especially for those who find books their connection to the world. A beautiful, all-consuming read! * Books of All Kinds *And oh, how I absolutely loved it. I was completely drawn in from the beginning, loosing track of what was going on around me and completely involved in Loveday's story. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I cared for a fictional character as much as I did this one. It made me laugh and cry, it's both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and it's sad yet filled with hope. And I guarantee you will fall in love with Loveday Cardew too. * Cosy Books *this is a story with a mystery at its heart, that deals with some hard-hitting subjects... heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure with more than one heart stopping moment. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, it is quite simply brilliant. * Jill's Book Cafe *Lost For Words is that rare thing . . . a warm, wise and funny tale of our times with a dark and shocking twist . . . truly is a book lover's dream . . . an intriguing story set in an irresistibly charming bookshop, packed with literary references, featuring a cast of eclectic characters and with a gripping and unexpected dénouement guaranteed to keep readers on the edge of their seats. * Lancashire Evening Post *Intriguing and touching story * Sunday Express, S Magazine *an easy, breezy read... Loveday is an appealing character with a fascinating hinterland. * Daily Mail *I enjoyed reading this story. The premise is a good one, the ending was heartfelt and I loved the poetry included as part of what helps brings two people together in this story. * Layered Pages *Yes, I really loved everything about this novel and it's one of my favourite releases of 2017 so far. All in all, 'Lost for Words' is a compelling and lovely read that will warm your heart and leave you with a smile on your face. If you love books about book shops, then definitely do not miss out on this one! * A Spoonful of Happy Endings *I'm just going to go ahead and say, if you love books, read this one. Seriously it's beautiful and sweet and comforting and heartbreaking. * Is this Real Life *BOOK OF THE MONTH: Loveday Cardew is a quirky, fiery, likeable character who works at the Lost for Words Bookshop in York. Preferring books to people, she keeps the memories of her painful childhood to herself, hiding her scars deep within her. Warm and spiky, beautifully written and plotted, you'll be swept along by the bitter-sweet storyline to the very end. * Candis Magazine *Oh, wow. Just...wow... Butland has created such an unforgettable character...To create ONE storyline full of endless emotions, good memories and bad memories, multiple layered characters, AND an exceptional plot and setting, is just...mind-blowing. Stephanie Butland's outstanding writing style is what makes this storyline stand out from the rest, alongside her beautiful creation that is; Loveday. Poignant, heart warming, and totally unforgettable; 'Lost for Words' is the soul-searching, exceptional novel that I have been waiting for. * The Writing Garnet *If you like something more than just romance in your chick-lit then maybe Loveday's story is one for you. * Shhh we're reading *There was so much more to this story than I was expecting and I loved how it took me as a reader on a roller-coaster of emotions - I may have shed a few tears! The supporting cast of characters are also beautifully created and add so much to the story of Loveday and it captured my heart as I followed her story. * Books and Me *'As soon as I read the first few pages though I realized that this book was something special. In fact, I would say it is a book lover's dream, with endless references to all our favorite books, charming and really interesting characters and the perfect setting, a bookshop full of rarities, surprises and secrets... All in all, I cannot recommend this story enough. It had been a while since I had felt so involved in a story like this one. It is inspiring but heat-breaking, a real gem of a book that I have no doubt will be on my top ten books of the year.' * Alba In Bookland *My favorite thing about Lost for Words was how powerful some scenes were... This book is not a fast read, but then again neither is one of my favorite books of all time...Not all books have to be, when the author can find the right pace and divulge the inner workings of their characters in the proper moment. * The Hermit Librarian *'This is a lovely book with an endearing main character who we care for as she slowly takes us through her history. The book is beautifully written with its theme of how the past can affect the present if we let it. It deserves to be a best seller.' * The Yorkshire Gazette and Herald *If you are looking for a book set in a bookshop with a mix of romance, drama and action then I'd definitely encourage you to pick up this book ASAP! * A Cup of Wonderland *if you're looking for something that you can get lost in Lost for Words is for you, definitely recommend it! I'm looking forward to reading more books by Stephanie Butland. * Always on the Road *Stephanie Butland has a stunning writing style and I enjoyed every single sentence of Lost for Words. The book is a true treasure, it's fabulously written, delightfully interesting and absolutely spellbinding. I loved the story from beginning to end, every chapter is exactly as it should be. The story has plenty of emotional layers, the main characters are easy to love or hate, depending on their role, and I effortlessly got lost in Loveday's world and never wanted to put the novel down again. I highly recommend this brilliant book * With Love For Books *contained within the cover is a very addictive story. So addictive that I almost burnt the evening meal and drank several forgotten about cold cups of coffee, this was my commitment to reading this book. I would highly recommend this book to people who like a heartbreaking and heartwarming contemporary fiction read * VonnieBee *This book is sure to make you laugh and cry in equal measure (although maybe cry just a little bit more) * Buzzfeed *What's not to love about a story set in a bookstore in York with a heroine named Loveday Cardew? It's charming and sweet but also very intense with some deeper and darker themes than you'd first expect. * 1 girl 2 many books, top books of 2017 *A first class book * Mike Finn's Fiction *I was delighted to read about a care experienced character who was intelligent, articulate, a lover of words and books and of course feisty, vulnerable and not a stereotype. * Care Leavers in Fiction *You know that rare feeling when you slip into a character's skin and become them, feel their feelings and see the story through their eyes? That's how Loveday felt for me. It's always so amazing when you stumble across a book which is not only a great story which holds your attention but makes you feel all the feels too. * Life Has a Funny Way *In one way, Lost for Words is a book about books and the power and influence they have in many people's lives but it is also a book about love and hope. Stephanie Butland has written a beautiful book that I urge you to read. * Dot Scribbles *A joy * Sainsbury's Magazine *Darker than expected novel about domestic violence, with a surprisingly different and complex protagonist, a realistic romance, a bit of a mystery, and a bookshop! * Your Heroine Reads *lots to love... this book is a delight * Book Myopia *the further I read, the more Loveday allowed me in to her life, thoughts and memories, and the more enchanted I became with her individuality * Bookshine and Readbows *
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Female of the Species
Book SynopsisThe first novel from the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk about Kevin is a compelling and provocative story of love and how we suffer for it.Still unattached and childless at fifty-nine, world-renowned anthropologist Gray Kaiser is seemingly invincibleand untouchable. Returning to make a documentary at the site of her first great triumph in Kenya, she is accompanied by her faithful middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, who has loved her for years in silence.When young graduate assistant Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray is captivated and falls hopelessly in lovebefore an amazed Errol''s eyes. As he follows their affair with jealous fascination, Errol watches helplessly from the sidelines as a proud and fierce woman is reduced to miserable dependence through miserable dependence.Trade Review‘Terrific - a provocative tale of devotion, suffering, and other familiar accoutrements of love’ PEOPLE Praise for Lionel Shriver: ‘One of the most magnetically compelling writers working today. Witty, caustic and worldly’ WALL STREET JOURNAL ‘A brilliant writer. She has a strong, clear and strangely seductive voice. The characters are strong . . . so moving it will make you want to gasp or cry’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Shriver is an incisive social satirist with a clear grip on the ironies of our contemporary age’LA Times
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Quiet Game
Book SynopsisThe first thriller in the New York Times No.1 bestselling series featuring Penn Cage: a prosecutor in a corrupt system, a husband whose wife has died, and a father who must protect his daughter. An engrossing, page-turning ride' (Jeffery Deaver).Don't say a wordNatchez, Mississippi. A city of old money and older sins. A place where a thirty-year-old crime lies buried, and everyone plays the quiet game. But one man cannot stay silent.Returning to his hometown, former prosecuting attorney Penn Cage is stunned to discover that his father is being blackmailed over a decades-old murder.Negotiating the town's undercurrents of greed, corruption, and racial tension, Penn uncovers a powerful secret that reaches to the highest levels of government.And as the town closes ranks, Penn realises that his crusade for justice has taken a dangerous turn one which could cost him his lifeTrade ReviewPraise for Greg Iles: ‘A scorching read’ John Grisham ‘Iles is a phenomenal thriller writer’ Independent on Sunday ‘An engrossing page-turning ride’ Jeffery Deaver ‘A rarity. A thriller that really thrills’ Stephen King ‘Alarming, believable, and utterly consuming’ Dan Brown ‘Splendidly creepy … compulsive’ Daily Telegraph ‘An incredible web of intrigue and suspense, an avalanche of action from first page to last’ Clive Cussler
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Cavendon Hall Book 1 Cavendon Chronicles
Book SynopsisA sweeping saga set around the aristocratic Ingham family of Cavendon Hall and the Swanns who serve them, set on the eve of World War 1.Two entwined families: the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. One stately home: Cavendon Hall, a grand imposing house nestled in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. And a society beauty: Lady Daphne Ingham is the most beautiful of the Earl's daughters, a glittering marriage her destiny.But in the summer of 1913, a devastating event changes her future forever, and puts the House of Ingham at risk. Life as the families of Cavendon Hall know it Royal Ascot, supper dances, grouse season feasts is about to alter beyond recognition as the storm clouds of war gather.Trade Review‘Barbara Taylor Bradford returns to her roots with this classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail ‘A stately home, a dangerous secret and two families whose fates have been intertwined for generations…a gripping period piece set on the brink of the Great War. Exquisite escapism of the highest order’ The Lady ‘A glorious family saga for Downton Abbey fans…This is Barbara Taylor Bradford in her element, terrific stuff full of drama, passion, romance and danger.’ Sarah Broadhurst, Lovereading.co.uk ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns’Guardian
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Good Terrorist
Book SynopsisA group of squatters rebel against Mrs Thatcher and erupt into violence in this politicised novel from the author of The Golden Notebook'.In a London squat a band of bourgeois revolutionaries are united by a loathing of the waste and cruelty they see around them. These maladjusted malcontents try desperately to become involved in terrorist activities far beyond their level of competence. Only Alice seems capable of organising anything. Motherly, practical and determined, she is also easily exploited by the group and ideal fodder for a more dangerous and potent cause. Eventually their naïve radical fantasies turn into a chaos of real destruction, but the aftermath is not as exciting as they had hoped. Nonetheless, while they may not have changed the world, their lives will never be the same againTrade Review‘In “The Good Terrorist” we are in the world of the subsidized sub-culture of the Marxist groupuscules of contemporary Britain…Lessing has a wit, an indignation and a narrative agility which leave few left-wing sacred cows unscathed…hugely enjoyable.’ Sunday Times ‘Doris Lessing writes about the parts other novelists cannot reach. This is a totally absorbing, subtly observed, complicated and stimulating novel.’ Observer ‘“The Good Terrorist” is a work of acute intelligence, incisive and compelling…it shows Doris Lessing at her mature best.’ Listener Praise for Doris Lessing: ‘Doris Lessing has changed the way we think about the world.’ Blake Morrison ‘Thank goodness for Doris Lessing. While the rest of us flounder about noisily in the muddy waters of life, she never fails to expose with startling clarity the essential folly of our dreams and good intentions.’ Kate Chisholm, Evening Standard ‘She’s up there in the pantheon with Balzac and George Eliot. We’re lucky she’s still writing.’ Lisa Appignanesi, Independent
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Distant Voices Get lost in a collection of
Book SynopsisIn her second volume of short stories, which follows the hugely successful ''Encounters'', Barbara Erskine has created a compelling world of love, betrayal, suspense and grief.A biographer investigating a tragic death hears voices from the past drawing her towards the truthA nineteenth century parson's daughter is caught up in the excitement and romance of a smuggling intrigueA young boy from a deprived background finds his own haven in the wastelands of the inner cityContemporary, historical, spooky, and humorous there are over thirty delightful stories, each one guaranteed to capture the reader's imagination, and all demonstrating Barbara Erskine's unique powers as a storyteller.Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:Atmospheric' ?????Enthralling' ?????Spellbinding' ?????Another fabulous read from the mistress of the genre' ?????Immensely and deeply immersive fiction' ?????I loved every minute' ?????An exceptional writer of great books' ?????You can rely on this author to keep you wanting morTrade ReviewPraise for Barbara Erskine: ‘Her forte is mood, atmosphere and the toe-curling frisson’, Sunday Times ‘Barbara Erskine’s storytelling talent is undeniable’ The Times ‘Marvellous, escapist stuff’ Woman and Home
£9.49
Random House USA Inc The Road
Book Synopsis
£13.60
Pushkin Press Fat City
Book Synopsis'Tremendous' Geoff Dyer 'A pitch-perfect account of boxing, blue-collar bewilderment and the battle of the sexes' San Francisco Chronicle A major cult film directed by John Huston Stockton, California: a town of dark bars and lunchrooms, cheap hotels and farm labourers scratching a living. When two men meet in the Lido Gym - the ex-boxer Billy Tully and the novice Ernie Munger - their brief sparring session sets a fateful story in motion, initiating young Munger into the "company of men" and luring Tully back into training. Fat City is a vivid novel of defiance and struggle, of the potent promise of the good life and the desperation and drink that waylay those whom it eludes. This acclaimed American classic tells of their anxieties and hopes, their loves and losses, and the ephemeral glory of the fight.Trade ReviewA classic story about pugilists and poverty in 1950s California hits hard nearly five decades on -- Nicholas Lezard Guardian The most beautifully written book... It's bleak but it's saved from being unrelenting bleakness by the beauty of the writing. Not a single word is wasted and Gardner here paints a very visceral picture of the despair but also the hope they just might make it out... It's a stunner RTE Arena A terrific read Irish Times Tremendous -- Geoff Dyer A brass-knuckle sucker punch of a novel Paris Review Fat City, Leonard Gardner's pitch-perfect account of boxing, blue-collar bewilderment and the battle of the sexes, is cause for celebration, and reflection San Francisco Chronicle A slim, taut book that has earned its status as a classic by dint of its immaculate, evocative prose, a compassionate but dour view of the human condition, and the absolute credibility of its depiction of the sport of the busted beaks...It is seductive, engaging, and lit, despite the odds, by a vitality that is in itself a form of hope. We come away from it burnt clean Slate Gardner has got it exactly right... but he has done more than just get it down, he has made it a metaphor for the joyless in heart -- Joan Didion Gardner has laid claim to a locale that others have explored, but seldom with such accuracy and control... in a tone that is both detached and lyrical. The triumph of the book is its action. Running, fighting, loving, weeding, harvesting, these men stay in motion in order not to be doomed. So powerfully does Gardner record their actions that we recall their lives, not their defeats New York Times Book Review Really a superior performance... Gardner takes us into the bitter fancies of two professional prizefighters... the first is a has-been, the second is learning to lose. A third character, their manager, links the pair in defeat and frustration... Gardner strips them of everything except the most important thing: their singularity... of such a seemingly small gift is dignity born and success measured Newsweek The stories of Ernie Munger, a young fighter with frail but nevertheless burning hopes, and Billy Tully, an older pug with bad luck in and out of the ring, parallel one another through the book. Though the two men hardly meet, the tale blends the perspective on them until they seem to chart a single life of missteps and baffled love, Ernie its youth and Tully its future. I wanted to write a book like that -- Denis Johnson In his pity and art Gardner moves beyond race, beyond guilt and punishment, as Twain and Melville did, into a tragic forgiveness. I have seldom read a novel as beautiful and individual as this one -- Ross MacDonald Leonard Gardner wrote Fat City as a moody elegy to the wayward dreamers who fight in tank-town arenas, then retreat to flophouses and shotgun weddings, day labor and rotgut drinking binges Los Angeles Times Flawlessly rendered, unforgettable Joyce Carol Oates
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Diary of a Madman The Government Inspector
Book SynopsisAuthor, dramatist and satirist, Nikolai Gogol deeply influenced later Russian literature with his powerful depictions of a society dominated by petty bureaucracy and base corruption. This volume includes both his most admired short fiction and his most famous drama. A biting and frequently hilarious political satire, The Government Inspector has been popular since its first performance and was regarded by Nabokov as the greatest Russian play every written. The stories gathered here, meanwhile, range from comic to tragic and describe the isolated lives of low-ranking clerks, lunatics and swindlers. They include Diary of a Madman, an amusing but disturbing exploration of insanity; Nevsky Prospect, a depiction of an artist besotted with a prostitute; and The Overcoat, a moving consideration of poverty that powerfully influenced Dostoevsky and later Russian literature.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking wTable of ContentsThe Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector, and Selected StoriesChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingTable of RanksIvan Fyodorovich Shponka and His AuntHow Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan NikiforovichNevsky ProspektThe NoseThe OvercoatDiary of a MadmanThe CarriageThe Government InspectorPublishing History and Notes
£9.49
Titan Books Ltd Malvineau Prison: The Twenty-Year Death Trilogy
Book SynopsisThe body found in the gutter in France led the police inspector to the dead man's beautiful daughter - and to her hot-tempered husband.Trade Review"This is a smart, audacious, finely-honed work of fiction." - Five Leaves Book Shop
£7.59
Quercus Publishing The Gift of Darkness
Book SynopsisA heart-stopping thriller perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Sharon Bolton and Alex Marwood. Twenty-five years ago in the woods by the Hoh River near Seattle, three boys were kidnapped. One never came home. Last night, a family of four was found brutally murdered, the words 'thirteen days' carved near their lifeless bodies. Homicide Detective Alice Madison - a one-time child runaway with a murky past - now spends her life hunting down the very worst humanity has to offer. Madison has a hunch that the two murders are linked . . . and she has thirteen days to prove it. To stop a psychopath, Madison returns to the woods to confront the unsolved mystery of the Hoh River Boys. She must forget her training and follow her instincts to the terrifying end as enemies become allies and, in the silent forest, time is running out to save another life.Discover more Detective Alice Madison with the next instalments of the gripping series - The Dark and Blood and Bone. Trade ReviewThe Gift of Darkness is not just a stunning debut it's a stunning book, full stop . . . read it - immediately. * Simon Toyne *
£7.49
Oneworld Publications Preparation for the Next Life: Winner of the 2015
Book Synopsis'BLISTERING' THE TIMES * 'EXTRAORDINARY' FINANCIAL TIMES *Winner of the New York City Book Award for Fiction* *Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Fiction* New York Times Best of 2014 Wall Street Journal's Best of 2014 Vanity Fair's Best of 2014 Publishers Weekly's Best of 2014 BuzzFeed's Best of 2014 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2015 Set in the underbelly of New York, Preparation for the Next Life exposes an America as seen from the fringes of society and, in devastating detail, destroys the myth of the American Dream through two of the most remarkable characters in contemporary fiction. Powerful, realistic and raw, this is one of the most ambitious – and necessary – novels of our time. Trade Review'Extraordinary, challenging and...thrilling...So simple, so heartbreaking, so very, very good'. * Independent *'[An] unfailingly vivid and engaged portrait of life on the margins of society' * Financial Times Books of 2015 *‘Punches its way, bare-knuckled, through every millennial New York novel centring around middle-class intellectual characters… kicking typical tales of artsy, east-coast intelligentsia romance into a dumpster. But its real target, sought out with a heat-seeking precision, is far weightier, and that is America itself’ * Observer *‘Extraordinary… “Make it new” was Ezra Pound’s exhortation… Lish does exactly that… astonishing… nothing less than a triumph, worthy of every heroic adjective a critic could throw. It is a reminder, plain and simple, of what fiction is for’ * FT *‘Powerful… Lish writes with rare confidence… he doesn’t forget that a good love story should break your heart’ * Metro *‘A blistering novel… bigger than the sum of its parts. I can think of no better recent fiction book to read as the presidential election circuit gears up.’ * The Times *'Atticus Lish is a writer on a stratospheric rise, and rightly so...the book is getting plenty of attention for all the right reasons' * Irish Independent *'This book is a masterwork.' * Alan Warner, author of Morvern Callar *‘Impressive.. Charged with breathless momentum… substantial and beguiling…This is, in the end, a profoundly political book’ * Guardian *'Here is a raw first novel with a low center of gravity. Set in Queens, it dilates upon blinkered lives, scummy apartments, dismal food and bad options. At its heart is a love story between a Chinese immigrant and a veteran of the Iraq war. Mr. Lish’s narrative is intense, moving and somehow necessary.' -- Dwight Garner * New York Times, 2014 Books of the Year *'A raw, sharply rendered love story, a stark portrayal of New York, an unsparing autopsy of the Bush years, and as ambitious and impressive a debut as you could wish for'. * Irish Times *‘Extraordinarily powerful… The burning intensity of the prose… fully absorbs all the detail… Lish’s remarkable debut fuses raw realism with narrative poetry to truly memorable effect’ * Sunday Times *‘A significant contribution… striking… [Lish] isn’t catching a mood but building a world… we look to long novels for richness, not perfection, for power, not precision, so we should savour Lish’s audacity and open heart, his refusal to coddle or console’ * Daily Telegraph *‘Magnificent… one of the best recent novels I have read about work as it exists for millions of people… attests to a more profound and intimate knowledge of how life functions on the margins’ * New Statesman *‘The finest and most unsentimental love story of the new decade.’ * New York Times *'A tragedy-bound love story with a gritty contemporary setting...Lish's matter-of-fact style somehow manages to elevate the everyday and urban into an art form...There is an echo here of T. S. Eliot or...The Great Gatsby'. * Third Way Magazine *'Extraordinary, challenging and...thrilling'. * Belfast Telegraph *'Deeply moving' * Carnegie Europe *‘A stunning debut novel… Lish’s prose is at once raw and disciplined, and every word feels necessary.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Will pull you in… completely compelling and persuasive… a New York which you won’t read about that often… poetic… there’s a beautiful exactness’ * RTE *‘Importan[t]…Lish excels at dialogue’ * Literary Review *‘Astonishing, gorgeous… It is hard to imagine a more daunting task for a novelist than to say something new about 9/11. Preparation for the Next Life is dizzying in its ambition and exhilarating in its triumph.’ Clancy Martin, -- Clancy Martin * New York Review of Books *‘A tremendous book, relentless, moving, written in prose of marvellous integrity. Now that America and the novel are dead, I hope we can have more great American novels as alive as this one.’ * Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask *‘A tour de force of urban naturalism… a love story that’s as bold and urgent as any you’ll read this year.’ -- Sam Sacks * Wall Street Journal *‘The most relevant, and beautiful, novel of the year.’ * Scott McClanahan, author of Crapalachia and Hill William *'Lovely and soft, tragic and cutting... maybe the most surprising novel of the year, for the author's sudden, astounding appearance on the scene, yes, but more for the temporal details matched succeeded by glowing tenderness.' -- Vanity Fair'A bare-knuckled tale about two lost souls.' -- O, the Oprah Magazine'A sledgehammer to the American dream.' -- Kirkus'Atticus Lish writes with beauty, striking attention to detail, and painful honesty about life on the margins of America ― about the people we don’t see, the places we don’t go.' -- BuzzFeed'Not since Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain have such arduously yearning treks been made through maddening, heartbreaking obstructions in the name of love.' -- New York Journal of Books'In the twenty-first-century United States, oppression is disorganized, random and proceeds largely through neglect. Still, it crushes plenty of people. The wretched of the earth are here among us, for the most part silenced―but with this novel, Lish has given them an unmistakable voice.' -- The Nation'So much of American fiction has become playful, cynical and evasive. Preparation for the Next Life is the strong antidote to such inconsequentialities. Powerfully realistic, with a solemn, muscular lyricism, this is a very, very good book.' -- Joy Williams, author of State of Grace'Violent, swift, and gloriously descriptive. [Preparation for the Next Life] is love story and lament, a haunting record of unraveling lives. Lish says starkly and with enormous power: the spirit prevails until it doesn’t. A stunning debut.' -- Noy Holland, author of Swim for the Little One First'Preparation for the Next Life is that rare novel that grabs you by the shirt and slaps you hard in the face. Look, it says. It isn't pretty. Turn away at your own risk. In case you haven't noticed, the American Dream has become a nightmare. Atticus Lish has your wake up call.' -- Christopher Kennedy, author of Ennui Prophet
£10.79
HarperCollins Publishers Garden of Shadows
Book SynopsisThe prequel to the compelling saga that began with Flowers in the Attic', repackaged for a new generation of fans.THEIR DARKEST SECRETS WOULD TURN TO SHAME AND HAUNT THEIR CHILDREN''S CHILDREN.Olivia Winfield''s hopes blossomed when the dashing Malcolm Foxworth asked her to marry him. But her hopes withered like flowers in the scorching sun when his true nature was revealed. Foxworth Hall, the beautiful home that should have given them so much happiness, became like a prison to her, with Malcolm the cruellest of jailers.Suddenly, unexpectedly, the hand of friendship was offered to Olivia when Alicia, her father-in-law''s new young bride, came to Foxworth Hall. The two women were unlikely companions, but soon the laughter of their youth filled the gloomy place. Yet over them both loomed the shadow of Malcolm, whose dark desires were to sow the seeds of a shocking secret that would lead in time to a darkened, locked attic roomTrade ReviewPraise for Viginia Andrews: ‘Beautifully written, macabre and thoroughly nasty… it is evocative of the nasty fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and The Babes in the Wood, with a bit of Victorian Gothic thrown in. … What does shine through is her ability to see the world through a child’s eyes’ Daily Express ‘Makes horror irresistible’ Glasgow Sunday Mail ‘A gruesome saga… the storyline is compelling, many millions have no wish to put this down’ Ms London ‘There is strength in her books – the bizarre plots matched with the pathos of the entrapped’ The Times
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd One Hundred Years of Solitude
Book SynopsisThough little more than a settlement surrounded by mountains, Macondo has its wars and disasters, even its wonders and miracles. A microcosm of Columbian life, its secrets lie hidden, encoded in a book and only Aureliano Buendia can fathom its mysteries and reveal its shrouded destiny.Trade ReviewGetting lost and succumbing to the mastery of Gabriel García Márquez's storytelling is all part of the joy of this epic tale ... This incredible novel put me under a spell -- Dua Lipa
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Reflections in a Golden Eye
Book Synopsis''A masterpiece . . . as mature and finished as Henry James''s The Turn of the Screw'' TimeSet on a Southern army base in the 1930s, Reflections in a Golden Eye tells the story of Captain Penderton, a bisexual whose life is upset by the arrival of Major Langdon, a charming womanizer who has an affair with Penderton''s tempestuous and flirtatious wife, Leonora. Upon the novel''s publication in 1941, reviewers were unsure of what to make of its relatively scandalous subject matter. But a critic for Time magazine wrote, In almost any hands, such material would yield a rank fruitcake of mere arty melodrama. But Carson McCullers tells her tale with simplicity, insight, and a rare gift of phrase. Written during a time when McCullers''s own marriage to Reeves was on the brink of collapseTrade ReviewThe greatest prose writer that the South produced -- Tennessee WilliamsAgain [McCullers] shows a sort of subterranean and ageless instinct for probing the hidden in men's hearts and minds * New York Herald-Tribune *A masterpiece . . . as mature and finished as Henry James's The Turn of the Screw * Time *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Lolita
Book Synopsis''Lolita is comedy, subversive yet divine'' Martin Amis, ObserverPoet and pervert, Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed by twelve-year-old Lolita and seeks to possess her, first carnally and then artistically, ''to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets''. Is he in love or insane? A tortured soul or a monster? Humbert Humbert''s fixation is one of many dimensions in Nabokov''s dizzying masterpiece, which is suffused with a savage humour and rich, elaborate verbal textures. Filmed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne, Lolita has lost none of its power to shock and awe.''There''s no funnier monster in literature than poor, doomed Humbert Humbert'' IndependentTrade ReviewHe did us all an honour by electing to use, and transform, our language. * Anthony Burgess *Nabokov can move you to laughter in the way that masters can - to laughter that is near to tears. * The Guardian *There's no funnier monster in modern literature than poor, doomed Humbert Humbert. * The Independent *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Town and the City
Book Synopsis''It is the sum of myself, as far as the written word can go'' Kerouac on THE TOWN AND THE CITY Kerouac''s debut novel is a great coming of age story which can be read as the essential prelude to his later classics. Inspired by grief over his father''s death and gripped by determination to write the Great American Novel, he draws largely on his own New England childhood.
£11.69
Pan Macmillan Tender
Book SynopsisBelinda McKeon's first novel, Solace, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Sunday Independent Best Newcomer Award and was named Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book of the Year in 2011, as well as being shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Her essays and journalism have appeared in the New York Times, the Paris Review, the Guardian and elsewhere. She grew up in rural Ireland and now lives in New York, where she teaches at Rutgers University. Tender is her second novel.Trade ReviewTender is an amazing novel, gripping, completely compelling, and at once demanding and satisfying. Belinda McKeon has an inimitable, to-die-for writing style, and a sublime talent for constructing a clear, often poetic exposition of the complexities of friendship and love, of the unfathomable nature of human relationships. -- Donal Ryan, author of THE SPINNING HEARTTender rises above every other book on the shelf for its language alone; the beauty of each sentence will break your heart. But the story, full of the pleasures and terrors and betrayals of youth, will do that anyway. There is no way around it: you will weep. Spectacular. -- Andrew Sean Greer, author of THE STORY OF A MARRIAGEUtterly exquisite, unflinchingly observed, Tender is the story of a specific obsessive love, but also the story of youth itself, the blinding needs of heart and body, the illusion that one can change reality to suit one's desires - just by wanting to enough. McKeon's intelligence and insight shine through every page, and the words themselves perform miracles of revelation as they dance from one sentence to the next. -- Robin Black, author of LIFE DRAWINGIt's a great pleasure to read something so acute and beautifully written - especially the dialogue, the voices spring off the page - and also so subtly subversive. It's a story of self-realisation and artistic freedom told by the person who was realised upon. So many women will recognise themselves in Catherine. -- Kate Clanchy, author of MEETING THE ENGLISHTender is compelling and deeply affecting: McKeon's prose describes the calibrations of emotions wonderfully, and the novel is great on friendship, on art, on being young and in love . . . I read it in a day. -- Nick Laird, author of TO A FAULT'A perceptive, unexpectedly moving novel about friendship and love and all heart-stopping moments in between.' -- Jenny Offill, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of DEPT. OF SPECULATIONMcKeon's first novel, Solace, was a work of quiet beauty that won the Irish Book of the Year Award. Here we go back to Ireland in the late 1990s where Catherine, a student of literature, embarks on an intense friendship with James, an artist in the making. I don't want to give anything away, but one of the joys of this novel is the unpredictable direction it takes and I read it in one sitting in a state of continual surprise. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * The Bookseller *The extraordinary precision in the prose serves as a perfect counterpoint to the psychic chaos that Tender so hauntingly evokes. A coming-of-age drama edges into the sinister as a longed-for consummation becomes prelude to an obsession that will alter several lives. Tender combines the urge to escape the ordinary of Brideshead Revisited with the tormented devotion of McEwan's Enduring Love. McKeon's book is chilling, gorgeous, and profoundly insightful into the very human urge to wreck oneself on the shoals of a great ambition -- Matthew Thomas, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of WE ARE NOT OURSELVESTender charts the marshy territory of friendship, obsession and love, and offers no easy path. . . richly nuanced and utterly absorbing * Guardian *McKeon is a superb and sophisticated writer, who captures the barely articulable feelings between young people on the brink of adulthood -- Fiona Wilson * The Times *Tender is the best Irish novel I've read since The Spinning Heart, a work rich with wisdom, truth and beauty. . . I can scarcely think of higher praise than to say that Belinda McKeon could be our Anne Tyler. There is simply not a false note anywhere in Tender -- John Boyne * Irish Times *Student life and coming-of-age in Ireland in the late 1990s are adroitly captured in all their drunken glory, but it is the couple's relationship that comes alive as McKeon traces, with intense subtlety and humaneness, the causes and patterns of infatuation * Sunday Times *An elegant exploration of a friendship turned sour. . . [this] carefully constructed tale of loss and betrayal thrums with sadness, danger and the dizzying desire to possess * Financial Times *A devastating portrait of a friendship and a pitch-perfect encapsulation of youthful obsession and self-delusion. -- Anna Carey, Books to Pack This Summer * Irish Times *Belinda McKeon writes like a dream, and TENDER proves that she belongs among the most revered novelists in the English language -- Heidi Julavitz, author of THE FOLDED CLOCKMcKeon. . .captures what it is like to be young in Dublin with grace, subtlety and sympathy. She makes her characters both alluring and complex, and indeed dangerous, too -- Colm ToibinOne of the most exquisite endings I've read in some time. . . [this] moving novel suggests that while love may not be undying, try as we might, it is uncontrollable * NPR *Stunning. . a profoundly moving, deeply disturbing examination of the nature of love and relationships, of friendship and loss, of obsession and the psychic violence of love, a book which surprises at every turn. . With this careful attention to craft, and her subtle interweaving of the larger world into the almost claustrophobic intimacy of the central relationship, McKeon has created a powerful coming of age story, wrapped within a surprising story of love, one which rings painfully true -- Robert Wiersema * Toronto Star *McKeon regards the characters in her keenly wrought love story—for all their flaws and fragility – with insight, sensitivity, and a compassion that proves contagious * Kirkus *
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman
Book SynopsisDesiderio, an employee of the city under a bizarre reality attack from Doctor Hoffman''s mysterious machines, has fallen in love with Albertina, the Doctor''s daughter. But Albertina, a beautiful woman made of glass, seems only to appear to him in his dreams. Meeting on his adventures a host of cannibals, centaurs and acrobats, Desiderio must battle against unreality and the warping of time and space to be with her, as the Doctor reduces Desiderio''s city to a chaotic state of emergency - one ridden with madness, crime and sexual excess.A satirical tale of magic and sex, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman is a dazzling quest for truth, love and identity.Trade Review'One of the most original, radical and stylish fiction writers of the twentieth century' * Independent *She belonged at the centre of the literature of her time -- Salman Rushdie * New York Times *
£8.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Enchanter Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisNabokov described this novella, written in Paris in 1939 but only published twenty years later, as ''the first little throb of Lolita''. The plot is similar: a middle-aged man wedding an unattractive widow in order to indulge his paedophilic obsession with her daughter. However, The Enchanter has an utterly different atmosphere, as time, place and even names remain a mystery. Nabokov transforms his protagonist''s attempts to lull his twelve-year-old step-daughter into a state of ''enchantment'' into a graceful, chilling fairytale.
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd Naked Lunch
Book SynopsisNightmarish and fiercely funny, William Burroughs'' virtuoso, taboo-breaking masterpiece Naked Lunch follows Bill Lee through Interzone: a surreal, orgiastic wasteland of drugs, depravity, political plots, paranoia, sadistic medical experiments and endless, gnawing addiction. One of the most shocking novels ever written, Naked Lunch is a cultural landmark, now in a restored edition incorporating Burroughs'' notes on the text, alternate drafts and outtakes from the original.''A masterpiece. A cry from hell, a brutal, terrifying, and savagely funny book that swings between uncontrolled hallucination and fierce, exact satire'' Newsweek ''Naked Lunch is a banquet you will never forget'' J. G. Ballard
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd On the Road The Original Scroll Penguin Modern
Book SynopsisFive decades after it was first published, Jack Kerouac''s seminal Beat novel On the Road finally finds its way to the big screen, in a production from award-winning director Walter Salles (Motorcycle Diaries) starring Sam Riley (Control, Brighton Rock), Garret Hedlund (Friday Night Lights), Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams and Viggo Mortensen.This edition is transcribed from the original manuscript: hundreds of typed pages taped together by Kerouac to form a ''scroll'', published word for word as it was originally composed.Sal Paradise (Sam Riley), a young innocent, joins his hero Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund), a traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat, on a breathless, exuberant ride back and forth across the United States. Their hedonistic search for release or fulfilment through drink, sex, drugs and jazz becomes an exploration of personal freedom, a test of the limits of the American dream.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Woman Who Stole My Life
Book Synopsis*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***Discover the entertaining, uplifting and intriguing tale of finding true happiness in unexpected places from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups''A total triumph'' DAILY MAIL___________Ever wished you could trade your life in for a better one?One day, sitting in traffic, married Dublin mum Stella Sweeney attempts a simple good deed.When the result is a terrible car accident, she meets a handsome stranger with a Range Rover who wants her number - no, for insurance purposes - and in this meeting a seed is born which will change Stella''s life forever.What happens next will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart . . .Was meeting Mr Range Rover destiny or karma?Should she be grateful or just hopping mad?And can Stella grab a chance at real, honest-to-goodness happiness now it finally seems within her reach?___________''Keyes can deftly mix dark and light, tragic and comic in a way that only a handful of writers can'' Irish Times''One of our finest writers'' Jojo MoyesPraise for Marian Keyes:''Comic, convincing and true'' Guardian''Mercilessly funny'' The Times''Funny, tender and completely absorbing!'' Graham NortonTrade ReviewStella Sweeny writes off her car . . . and his. But is it a blessing in disguise or just a taste of more to come? Entertaining and uplifting, The Woman Who Stole My Life is BESTSELLING author Marian Keyes' intriguing tale of finding true happiness in unexpected places . . . Ever wished you could trade your life in for a better one? * From the publisher's description *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan King Rat
Book SynopsisChina Miéville lives and works in London. He is three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award (Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The City & The City) and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice (Perdido Street Station and The Scar). The City & The City, an existential thriller, was published to dazzling critical acclaim and drew comparison with the works of Kafka and Orwell (The Times) and Philip K. Dick (Guardian).Trade ReviewTackles his theme with a dark assurance . . . with its original blend of twisted urban fairytale and modern gothic horror, King Rat marks out China Miéville as an author to be watched. * The Times *Brings together elements of fantasy, fairytale and the detective story . . . I greatly enjoyed Miéville's weird and engaging myth-making. * Daily Telegraph *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Night Road
Book SynopsisThe consequence of one terrible night changes a group of young people's lives forever. Night Road is an unforgettable story from the internationally bestselling author of The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah.'Movingly written and plotted . . . you’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob' – Daily MailLexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Different in so many ways – Lexi is an orphan and lives with her aunt on a trailer park, while Mia is a golden girl blessed with a loving family, and a beautiful home. Yet they recognize something in each other which sets them apart from the crowd, and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi’s steadfast friendship.Mia’s beloved, and incredibly good-looking, twin brother Zach, finds life much less complicated than his sister. He'd always sailed through life easily achieving whatever he, and his family, wanted and expected Trade ReviewMovingly written and plotted with the heartless skill of a Greek tragedy, you’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob. * The Daily Mail *Hannah masterfully details the unraveling of a family. * People magazine *Hannah is superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling. * The Washington Post *A moving coming-of-age story. * Heat *Unforgettable. * Easy Living *A gripping, emotional read. * SHE magazine *Night Road is one special book that can transform the lives of readers by influencing how they think about certain important life issues . . . the entire range of human emotions are explored in this hopeful book about the triumphant power of the human spirit in the process of forgiveness. * New York Journal of Books *A rich, multilayered reading experience, and an easy recommendation for book clubs. * Library Journal (starred review) *A story of sibling love, friendship and loss. I cried a lot. * Look magazine *Night Road is like a guilty pleasure. It’s a more grown-up, present-day version of The O.C. and is about a group of young people, who’ve something terrible happening in their lives. The book is basically about the consequence of this one terrible night and how it changes their lives forever. * Saturday Magazine, Daily Express *One night can alter a lifetime and twins Mia and Zach and their friend Lexi discover how hearts can be broken, loyalties challenged and hopes dashed in the blink of an eye. * The Sun *A gripping tale of family, love, grief and forgiveness from New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah. * Sunday Express *
£7.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Bonesetters Daughter
Book SynopsisA major novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club', The Kitchen God's Wife' and The Hundred Secret Senses'.LuLing Young is in her eighties, and finally beginning to feel the effects of old age. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write down all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile, her daughter Ruth, a ghostwriter for authors of self-help books, is losing the ability to speak up for herself in front of the man she lives with. LuLing can only look on, helpless: her prickly relationship with her daughter does not make it easy to discuss such matters. In turn, Ruth has begun to suspect that something is wrong with her mother: she says so many confusing and contradictory things.Ruth decides to move in with her ailing mother, and while tending to her discovers the story LuLing wrote in Chinese, of her tumultuous life growing up in a remote mountain village known as Immortal Heart. LuLing tells of the secrets passedTrade Review‘Compelling … exotic lands and the past lend themselves to poetry. Tan turns the familiar but harrowing accounts of pre-Communist Chinese women into a romantic and intriguing tale. LuLing is a classic Tan character, a resilient survivor who, like Olivia in “The Hundred Secret Senses”, betrays someone close to her with dire consequences.' TLS 'A classic … [told with] originality and humour … this is a delicious page-turner that keeps you guessing, laughing and crying until the end.' Sunday Express
£9.49
Saqi Books The Ministry of Pain
Book SynopsisTanja Lucic teaches at the University of Amsterdam and lives on the edge of the city's red light district. She and her pupils, fleeing the violent break-up of their homeland Yugoslavia, have found temporary refuge in the Department of Slavonic Languages. Desperate to make ends meet, many of the students find work at the 'Ministry', a fetish-wear factory in North Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Tanja and her student Igor form a dangerously close relationship that threatens to unleash all the tensions of life in exile. With her sharp and melancholy observations, Dubravka Ugresic illuminates with savage compassion our shared human homelessness.Trade Review'One of the ten greatest writers you've never heard of.' Guardian'A disturbing read that should have you in its thrall.'The Times'Ugresic builds her palace of art out of the blood-soaked debris of politics.' Boyd Tonkin, Independent'This edgy, extraordinary novel ... vividly exposes the isolation, fear and confusion of enforced exile.' Joan Smith, The Sunday Times'Like Nabokov, Ugresic affirms our ability to remember as a source for saving our moral and compassionate identity.' The Washington Post
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers A Secret Affair
Book SynopsisA delightful novella from the internationally bestselling author of A Woman of SubstanceThirty-three-year-old Bill Fitzgerald is an acclaimed American television foreign correspondent. War-weary and exhausted after a long stint in Bosnia, he travels to Venice to meet an old friend and war correspondent.Whilst with his friend at the Gritti Palace Hotel on the Grand Canal, Bill is struck by the dark beauty of a young woman seated alone. The young woman is Vanessa Stewart: a glass designer from New York, visiting Murano.And that evening, full of warmth and comaraderie, the two begin an illicit, though fateful, love affair.A dramatic and inspiring page-turner that illuminates the power of love.Trade Review Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford: 'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian ‘A classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail ‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday ‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun ‘The storyteller of substance.’ The Times
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Morning Noon and Night
Book SynopsisHarry Stanford is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and his family one of the most respected in America. When he mysteriously drowns while cruising on his yacht, things begin to change. Is the beautiful young woman who appears at the funeral really who she claims to be, or is she an imposter?
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Space Between Us
Book SynopsisIn this beautifully crafted novel about the interlinked lives of two women, Thrity Umrigar explores the complex relationships between the classes in India, rarely addressed in contemporary fiction.''Bhima is real. She worked in the house I grew up in, year after year, a shadow flitting around our middle-class home, her thin brown hands cleaning furniture she was not allowed to sit on, cooking food she was not allowed to share at the family dining table, dusting the stereo that mainly played American rock and roll, music that was alien and unfamiliar to her, that only reminded her of her nebulous presence in our home, our world, our lives.'' Thrity UmrigarSet in contemporary Bombay, The Space Between Us' tells the story of Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife and Bhima, the woman who works as a domestic servant in her home. Despite their class differences, the two women are bound by the bonds of gender and shared life experiences both had marriages that started out with gTrade Review'A Mumbai Parsi novel, a post-nationalist slum poverty novel, and perhaps most compellingly, a maid-and-mistress story: think Douglas Sirk's film “Imitations of Life”. The varied elements of this tale of affection and class conflict are carried off with a winning ease and enthusiasm that make it both engrossing and moving.' The Independent 'Thrity Umrigar has a striking talent for portraying pain and suffering and the sheer unfairness of life…The result is a vital social comment on contemporary India.' The Financial Times ‘It is a great book; I love it…I am so happy for Thrity Umrigar! And proud of her as a woman, too. What a gift she has given us. Please tell her of my admiration, joy, delight and relief (it is so precious to have a book about a woman one rarely even "sees" in society, whether Indian or American).’ Alice Walker, author of ‘The Colour Purple’ 'Joyful, lyrical, tragic – and a real page-turner.' Voyager magazine
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers A Place Called Here
Book SynopsisA redemptive and captivating novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of PS. I Love You.Ever wondered where lost things go?Ever since the day her classmate vanished, Sandy Shortt has been haunted by what happens when something or someone disappears. Finding has become her goal.Jack Ruttle is desperate to find his younger brother who vanished into thin air a year ago. He spots an ad for Sandy''s missing persons agency and is certain that she will answer his prayers and find his brother.But then Sandy disappears too, stumbling upon a place that is a world away from the only one she has ever known. Now all she wants, more than anything, is to find her way home.Trade Review‘There’s more than a touch of fairytale about Cecelia Ahern’s novels… thanks to a liberal sprinking of magic’ Glamour ‘A contemporary fairytale’ Irish Times ‘An enchanting blend of magic and whimsy’ Daily Mail
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers On Off
Book SynopsisThe captivating new novel from the international bestselling author of The Thorn Birds'.Innocence is no protectionIn Holloman, Connecticut, someone is preying on the innocent. At a prestigious research centre fondly known by its staff as the ''Hug'', parts of a mutilated body are found. Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico of the Holloman Police learns that a string of horrifying murders each with the same modus operandi as the one at the Hug have been commited throughout the state. When another body is found, the medical staff become prime suspects.With the powers that be in turmoil and every member of staff hiding something, Delmonico must delve into the lives of each and every Hug employee. This is the case of his career and he is determined to solve it. But how, when he is hunting a monster who leaves no clues and is always two steps ahead?Trade ReviewPraise for Colleen McCullough: 'Compelling, passionate and gritty.' She ‘Fast-moving and immensely readable…this book is a page turner from start to finish.’ Maeve Binchy 'Probes the depths of the human heart in a haunting, multi-layered novel.' Good Book Guide 'McCullough piles on the drama.' Daily Mail 'Sizzling family drama stuffed with passion, tragedy, love and sex.' More 'Absorbing.’ Sunday Telegraph 'Deliciously addictive…a classic tale of wealth and power–an engrossing read.' Sainsbury's magazine
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Just Rewards
Book SynopsisThe conclusion to the extraordinary tale of Emma Harte, the original Woman of Substance, and the powerful Harte clan…Trade Review Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford: 'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian ‘A classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail ‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday ‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun ‘The storyteller of substance.’ The Times
£9.89
Canongate Books Adios Hemingway
Book SynopsisA classic detective story that explores the last years of Hemingway's life, evoking both Cuba and this giant of American letters with enormous skill and wit. When the bones of a man murdered forty years earlier surface on the Havana estate of Ernest Hemingway, writer and ex-cop Mario Conde is called in to investigate. As he unearths the truth of the night of 3 October 1958, he is forced to come to terms with a very different side to his former literary hero.Padura Fuentes switches between Conde's world and that of Hemingway's Cuba four decades earlier; in the heat and rum haze, the two seem slowly to merge. In an extraordinary journey into the past and into the personality of one of the twentieth century´s most enigmatic and powerful writers, a masterful and totally convincing portrait emerges, as well as a riveting mystery that will keep you in suspense until the very final pages.Trade Reviewintelligent, moving and delightful...It makes you think and feel. What more can you ask for?...a lovely little novel. * * The Scotsman * *Fact and fiction are seamlessly merged... * * Buzz * *. . . the gently melancholic tone, beautifully rendered here by John King, subverts any literal reading. * * The Guardian * *a well-paced and beautifully characterised detective story. * * The Observer * *a superb piece of crime literature...a thrilling and engaging mystery. * * City Life * *beautifully recreates a complicated and interesting man. * * Event Magazine * *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Crossing to Safety
Book SynopsisA novel of the friendships and woes of two couples, which tells the story of their lives in lyrical, evocative prose by one of the finest American writers of the late 20th century.When two young couples meet for the first time during the Great Depression, they quickly find they have much in common: Charity Lang and Sally Morgan are both pregnant, while their husbands Sid and Larry both have jobs in the English department at the University of Wisconsin. Immediately a lifelong friendship is born, which becomes increasingly complex as they share decades of love, loyalty, vulnerability and conflict. Written from the perspective of the aging Larry Morgan,Crossing to Safety is a beautiful and deeply moving exploration of the struggle of four people to come to terms with the trials and tragedies of everyday life.With an introduction by Jane Smiley.Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) was the author of, among other novels, Remembering Laughter, 1937; A Shooting Star, 1
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group MaddAddam
Book SynopsisBy the author of The Handmaid's Tale and Alias GraceToby, a survivor of the man-made plague that has swept the earth, is telling stories.Stories left over from the old world, and stories that will determine a new one. Listening hard is young Blackbeard, one of the innocent Crakers, the species designed to replace humanity. Their reluctant prophet, Jimmy-the-Snowman, is in a coma, so they've chosen a new hero - Zeb, the street-smart man Toby loves. As clever Pigoons attack their fragile garden and malevolent Painballers scheme, the small band of survivors will need more than stories.Trade ReviewA fierce, learned intelligence . . . MaddAddam is a wild ride * Guardian *A fierce, learned intelligence . . . MaddAddam is a wild ride * Guardian *Mordant satire, deadpan wit and verbal brio sizzle through this concluding book in Atwood's global disaster trilogy * Sunday Times *Mordant satire, deadpan wit and verbal brio sizzle through this concluding book in Atwood's global disaster trilogy * Sunday Times *[Atwood's] vivid wit and essential humanity make MaddAddam an invigorating read. A fitting conclusion to a genre-defying series * Mail on Sunday *[Atwood's] vivid wit and essential humanity make MaddAddam an invigorating read. A fitting conclusion to a genre-defying series * Mail on Sunday *Moving, but also very funny . . . MaddAddam is an extraordinary achievement * Independent on Sunday *A fierce, learned intelligence . . . MaddAddam is a wild ride . . . great fun * Guardian *Atwood has brought the previous two books together in a fitting and joyous conclusion . . . Atwood's prose miraculously balances humor, outrage and beauty . . . This finale to Atwood's ingenious trilogy lights a fire from the fears of our age, then douses it with hope for the planet's survival * New York Times *There are few writers able to create a world so fiercely engaging, so funny, so teeming - ironically - with life. MaddAddam is ultimately a paean to the enduring powers of myth and story, and like the sharpest futuristic visions, it's really all about the here and now * Daily Mail *This final volume deploys its author's trademark cool, omniscient satire, but adds to that a real sense of engagement with a fallen world. Atwood has created something reminiscent of Shakespeare's late comedies; her wit and dark humour combine with a compassionate tenderness towards struggling human beings . . . Since almost everything in the world has been broken or has broken down, the novels' form, whirling as brilliantly as the bits of glass in a kaleidoscope, or the pixels in a complex computer game, seems simply to replicate that chaos. However, behind the apparent disorder Atwood the conjuror remains in firm control, juggling her narrative techniques with postmodern glee * Independent *A haunting, restless triumph . . . A writer of virtuoso diversity, with an imagination that responds as keenly to scientific concerns as it does to the literary heritage in which she is steeped . . . A dystopia over which Atwood sets swirling a glitterball of different kinds of fiction * Sunday Times *It may have been a decade in the making, but it has been well worth the wait . . . Margaret Atwood not only completes one of the most harrowing visions of a near-future dystopia in recent fiction, but lures us even further into new zones of existential terror * The Times *
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group The Lady and the Unicorn: A Virago Modern Classic
Book SynopsisBy the author of Black Narcissus and The River'Rumer Godden's novels have a timeless shimmer' GUARDIAN 'Touching, amusing, enchanting . . . an exceptional work' OBSERVER'Her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' NEW YORK TIMES In a crumbling Calcutta mansion, with faded frescos and a jasmine-covered garden, the Lemarchant family live, clinging to the fringes of respectability: neither Indian nor English, they are accepted by no one and exploited by all.After only a day in India, Stephen Bright meets Rosa Lemarchant. In an ill-fitting dress once belonging to her sister, she is awkward, shy and couldn't be more different from the stories he has heard of fast 'Eurasian' girls. Ignorant of Calcutta's strict codes of conformity, he falls in love with Rosa and becomes enchanted by the building in which she lives, determined to uncover its secrets.Mystery pervades this story of a memory-haunted house in old Calcutta, as secret as a sundial in a ruined garden.Trade ReviewRumer Godden's novels have a timeless shimmer. But powerful adult themes underlie their surface -- Rosie Thomas * Guardian *Touching, amusing, enchanting . . . an exceptional work * Observer *Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty * New York Times *One of our best and most captivating novelists -- Philip HensherThis tale of a haunted house in a decayed quarter of Calcutta cannot fail to delight . . . graceful and perceptive * Scotsman *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Everyone Worth Knowing
Book SynopsisDripping with New York glamour, this bestseller will capture the hearts of all those who loved The Devil Wears PradaBette gets paid to party And she can hardly believe her luck. Gaining VIP access to Manhattan''s hottest spots and meeting ''everyone worth knowing'' is a million miles away from her old job. Overnight, New York has become her sexy late-night playground.But quicker than you can say Chanel, Bette turns up in the gossip columns as girlfriend to a notorious British playboy. It''s news that delights her new boss but her friends want to know what's happened to the girl they love, who always had time for nights filled with 80s music, junk food, trashy rom-coms and her mates.Can Bette say goodbye to the parties and the Prada and step back into the real world and find a prince who''s got a heart to match his charm?Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: ‘This little gem mixes Sex and the City charm with dry New York wit.’ REAL ‘Sassy, insightful and sooo Sex and The City, you'll be rushing to the bookshop for your copy like it's a half price Prada sale.’ COMPANY ‘The most fun we've had in ages.’ HEAT ‘Delicious…a great insight into the world of magazines and fashion.’ RED
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Kitchen Gods Wife
Book SynopsisA stunning reissue of the international bestseller, from the much-loved author of The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter.Pearl Louie Brandt has a terrible secret which she tries desperately to keep from her mother, Winne Louie. And Winnie has long kept her own secrets about her past and the confusing circumstances of Pearl's birth. Fate intervenes in the form of Helen Kwong, Winnie's so-called sister-in-law, who believes she is dying and must unburden herself of all falsehoods before she flies off to heaven. But, unfortunately, the truth comes in many guises, depending on who is telling the taleThus begins a story that takes us back to Shanghai in the 1920s, through World War II, and the harrowing events that led to Winnie's arrival in America in 1949. The story is one of innocence and its loss, tragedy and survival and, most of all, the enduring qualities of hope, love and friendship.Trade Review‘In this remarkable book Tan manages to illuminate the nobility of friendship and the necessity of humour. Give yourself over to the world she creates.’ New York Times ‘Once again this wonderful novel has extended experience. There is something dizzyingly elemental about Tan’s storytelling; it melds the rich simplicities of fairytales with a delicate lyrical style.’ Sunday Times ‘Tan is a prodigal with her talent. She weaves a dazzling web of unfamiliar colours, smells, tastes and landscapes.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Amy Tan writes with passion and humour, making East and West mutually more comprehensible.’ Daily Mail
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers NOTHING BUT GHOSTS
Book SynopsisThe brilliant second collection of stories from Germany's answer to Zadie Smith. Judith Hermann's first collection, The Summer House, Later', sold 250,000 hardbacks in Germany, and was shortlisted for both the IMPAC award and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.Judith Hermann''s first book, The Summer House, Later' was described as a book about a certain kind of young woman, trying to get a boyfriend, to get some fun out of life, but with a sense of melancholy and a sense of loneliness that seems to define a generation'.Now in Hermann's second collection, Nothing but Ghosts', that generation has moved on, grown up perhaps, and the women have indeed found boyfriends but the relationships, described here with painstaking honesty, are all on the turn in some way and have passed their first flush of romantic love. We join many of these characters just as they have stopped communicating; the talking has stopped and the women, with their lives in stasis, have become watchful and disappointTrade Review‘Hermann is a reserved and careful writer…Several stories here throw up moments of startling clarity.’ Metro ‘A fascinating writer who, in the short story, had found the perfect form.’ Independent Praise for ‘The Summer House, Later’ (2001): ‘A daringly lyrical collection.’ Oprah Magazine ‘An elegant and perceptive reading on the emptiness that fills our lives. Its author is a master storyteller.’ Independent ‘A collection of striking distinction and poise. Some of the stories touch on brilliance. She can rival the best contemporary exponents of short fiction. Exceptional.’ Sunday Business Post ‘Tales of impressive quality and formidable originality.’ Sunday Times ‘Cool…told without sentimentality, drawing power from the precision of the language and from a laconic style that narrates but refuses to explain.’ TLS
£9.49
Granta Books Jesus' Son
Book SynopsisA classic of Twentieth-Century American literature from one of America's greatest writers. 'Intense, vicious, and beautiful... Denis Johnson is an exquisite writer' Mary Gaitskill Jesus' Son is a visionary chronicle of dreamers, addicts, and lost souls. It is a record of spiralling grief and transcendence, of rock bottom and redemption, of getting lost and found and lost again. The narrator of these interlinked stories is a young, unnamed man, reeling from his addiction to heroin and alcohol, his mind at once clouded and made brilliantly lucid by drugs. In the course of his adventures he meets others who seem as alienated and confused as he; sinners, misfits, the lost, the damned, the desperate and the forgotten. Out of their bleak, seemingly random lives, Denis Johnson creates modern-day parables of a harsh and devastating beauty. 'Writing of a ferocious intensity... No American novelist since William Burroughs has so flagrantly risked "insensitivity" in an effort to depict the pathology of addiction' New York Times 'The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humour like Denis Johnson's' Jonathan FranzenTrade ReviewTruly extraordinary -- Marc Lambert, Books of the Year * Scotland on Sunday *The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humour like Denis Johnson's -- Jonathan FranzenDenis Johnson is inspired, in the truest sense of that once-potent, even dangerous word. * LA Times *Writing of a ferocious intensity ... No American novelist since William Burroughs has so flagrantly risked "insensitivity" in an effort to depict the pathology of addiction. -- James McManus * New York Times *Intense, vicious, and beautiful ... Denis Johnson is an exquisite writer -- Mary GaitskillModern-day parables that glow with a strange, radioactive light -- Michiko Kakutani * The New York Times *A distinctive turn in the history of the form * Atlantic Monthly *A mini masterpiece * Sunday Times *Johnson is probably the best writer of English prose around... It's all delivered with an astonishing beauty -- David Flusfeder * Metro *
£8.99
