Contemporary Fiction

"Alexis Daria's A Lot Like Adiós is a charming, sexy spitfire of a novel! Romance readers, this is your new favorite book!" --Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on VacationThe national bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola returns with a seductive second-chance romance about a commitment-phobic Latina and her childhood best friend who has finally returned home.Hi Mich. It’s Gabe.After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago.It’s been a long time.Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him.I’ve missed you.Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again?

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The Blazing World is one of the most fascinating, unusual and astonishing pieces of literature in the English language. Written in 1666 by Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, the story follows a young woman who is transported to a world of animal-people, becomes their empress, and eventually leads an invasion back into her own world, complete with bird-man bombardiers and submarine ships. The tale involves spirit possession, astral projection, the many-worlds theory, and an interdimensional otherworldly queer romance that is centuries ahead of its time. Featuring numerous full-page and spot illustrations, and housed in an elaborately die-cut and embossed slipcase, this is an heirloom edition designed to be a work of art in its own right. With an introduction by Brooke Bolander. 9x12", 138 pages.

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Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest, where they shoot down bats with glee, and cook their prey over an open fire. Within a month, they are dead, bodies ravaged by an insidious disease that neither the local healer's potions nor the medical team's treatments could cure. Compounding the family's grief, experts warn against touching the sick. But this caution comes too late: the virus spreads rapidly, and the boys' father is barely able to send his eldest daughter away for a chance at survival.

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AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF THE ICELANDIC LITERATURE PRIZE"The Icelandic Dickens" Irish Examiner"Stefánsson shares the elemental grandeur of Cormac McCarthy" EILEEN BATTERSBY, T.L.S. Supplement"A wonderful, exceptional writer . . . A timeless storyteller" CARSTEN JENSEN"Sometimes, in small places, life becomes bigger" Sometimes a distance from the world's tumult opens our hearts and our dreams. In a village of four hundred souls, the infinite light of an Icelandic summer makes its inhabitants want to explore, and the eternal night of winter lights up the magic of the stars. The village becomes a microcosm of the age-old conflict between human desire and destiny, between the limits of reality and the wings of the imagination. With humour, with poetry, and with a tenderness for human weaknesses, Stefánsson explores the question of why we live at all.Translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton

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The Hollow Shore is both fictional and real. It is a place where flowers undermine railway tracks, relationships decay and monsters lurk. It is the shoreline of a receding, retreating England. This is where things fall apart, waste away and fade from memory.

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'If we want to understand what has been lost to time, there is no way other than through the exercise of imagination ... imagination applied with delicate rather than broad strokes'. So wrote the award winning Japanese author Kyoko Nakajima of her story, Things Remembered and Things Forgotten, a piece that illuminates, as if by throwing a switch, the layers of wartime devastation that lie just below the surface of Tokyo's insistently modern culture. The ten acclaimed stories in this collection are pervaded by an air of Japanese ghostliness. In beautifully crafted and deceptively light prose, Nakajima portrays men and women beset by cultural amnesia and unaware of how haunted they are - by fragmented memories of war and occupation, by fading traditions, by buildings lost to firestorms and bulldozers, by the spirits of their recent past.

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***WINNER of the 2021 RSL Ondaatje Prize***'I binged it like a Netflix show... It's stunning' Luke Kennard, author of The Transition______________________________A photograph is hung on a gallery wall for the very first time since it was taken two decades before. It shows a slaughter house in rural Ireland, a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, a meat hook suspended from the ceiling - and, from its sharp point, the lifeless body of a man hanging by his feet. The story of who he is and how he got there casts back into Irish folklore, of widows cursing the land and of the men who slaughter its cattle by hand. But modern Ireland is distrustful of ancient traditions, and as the BSE crisis in England presents get-rich opportunities in Ireland, few care about The Butchers, the eight men who roam the country, slaughtering the cows of those who still have faith in the old ways. Few care, that is, except for Fionn, the husband of a dying woman who still believes; their son Davey, who has fallen in love with the youngest of the Butchers; Gra, the lonely wife of one of the eight; and her 12-year-old daughter, Una, a girl who will grow up to carry a knife like her father, and who will be the one finally to avenge the man in the photograph.

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The funny, touching and unpredictable No. 1 New York Times bestseller, now a major Netflix TV series'A brilliant and comforting read' MATT HAIG'Funny, compassionate and wise. An absolute joy' A.J. PEARCE'A surefooted insight into the absurdity, beauty and ache of life' GUARDIAN'I laughed, I sobbed, I recommended it to literally everyone I know' BUZZFEED'Captures the messy essence of being human' WASHINGTON POSTFrom the 18 million copy internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove_______It's New Year's Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment when an incompetent bank robber rushes in and politely takes everyone hostage.For Anna-Lena and Roger, busy buying-up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage, it's something else to talk about.For Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be, it's yet another worry.Lonely bank manager Zara only came here for the view.While 87-year-old grandmother Estelle seems rather pleased by the company . . .As the police gather outside, the anxious strangers huddled within try to make the best of a very sticky situation - but could it be that they have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye?_______Readers are loving Anxious People!'Backman never disappoints . . . heartwarming and multi layered' 5***** READER REVIEW'As always Backman manages to delight . . . a really satisfying ending that makes you feel better about the world' 5***** READER REVIEW'A wonderfully unusual tale, told with flair and finesse that is so wonderful it is sure to cure everything that ails you. Don't miss out on this beautiful book' 5***** READER REVIEW 'This novel is about humanity at its most raw and at its most wonderful and I LOVED it!' 5***** READER REVIEW

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Don’t miss the gripping new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author! A loving marriage… Golden couple Annie and David Crayce have it all. A perfect marriage, three beautiful children and a thriving family business. Life couldn’t be better. Until the unthinkable happens… A long-buried crime… Suddenly, David is the prime suspect of a murder committed twenty years ago. As the police investigate the cold case, so does Annie. But it all comes down to a few lost hours she can’t solve. Now Annie must prove the man she loves is innocent. The clock is ticking… Praise for Susan Lewis ‘Susan Lewis has a gift for telling warm family stories that also take you by surprise’ Jane Corry ‘A master storyteller’ Diane Chamberlain ‘Full of drama, intrigue with so many twists and turns’ Carmel Harrington ‘Rich, seamless and masterful storytelling’ Rebecca Thornton

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Traumatized by memories of his war-ravaged country, and with his son and daughter-in-law dead, Monsieur Linh travels to a foreign land to bring the child in his arms to safety. The other refugees in the detention centre are unsure how to help the old man; his caseworkers are compassionate, but overworked. Monsieur Linh struggles beneath the weight of his sorrow, and becomes increasingly bewildered and isolated in this unfamiliar, fast-moving town. And then he encounters Monsieur Bark. They do not speak each other's language, but Monsieur Bark is sympathetic to the foreigner's need to care for the child. Recently widowed and equally alone, he is eager to talk, and Monsieur Linh knows how to listen. The two men share their solitude, and find friendship in an unlikely dialogue between two very different cultures. Monsieur Linh and His Child is a remarkable novel with an extraordinary twist, a subtle portrait of friendship and a dialogue between two cultures.

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A sensational bestseller when it appeared in 1986, The Garden of Edenis the last uncompleted novel of Ernest Hemingway, which he worked on intermittently from 1946 until his death in 1961. Set on the Côte d'Azur in the 1920s, it is the story of a young American writer, David Bourne, his glamorous wife, Catherine, and the dangerous, erotic game they play when they fall in love with the same woman. "A lean, sensuous narrative...taut, chic, and strangely contemporary," The Garden of Edenrepresents vintage Hemingway, the master "doing what nobody did better" (R. Z. Sheppard, Time).

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Is there such a thing as a perfect marriage?David thought so. But when his wife Mary Rose dies suddenly he has to think again. In reliving their twenty years together David sees that the ground beneath them had shifted and he simply hadn't noticed. Or had chosen not to.Figuring out who Mary Rose really was and the secrets that she kept - some of these hidden in plain sight - makes David wonder if he really knew her. Did he even know himself?Nothing But Blue Sky is a precise and tender story of love in marriage - a gripping examination of what binds couples together and of what keeps them apart.______________'Touching and enthralling' Sunday Times'What a beautiful novel ... Elegant, understated, subtly powerful, and rings so perfectly true' Donal Ryan'Heart-rending ... MacMahon's words ring with the honesty of truth, offering genuine insight into the human condition' Business Post'Beautiful and moving' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground'Skilfully written with a wonderful lightness of touch' Irish Times'Gentle and triumphant, MacMahon offers us a novel seeped in beautiful prose and poignant tenderness' Anne Griffin'A beautifully written and powerful tale' Woman & Home'A tender dissection of a marriage' Independent'A piece of perfection ... the best book I've read all year' Irish Examiner'Sure and subtle, MacMahon holds the reader in her spell. She is a born storyteller' Mike McCormack

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Cairo at the very end of Ottoman rule. Behind the doors of the Automobile Club of Egypt, Egyptian staff attend to the every need of Cairo's European elite - the way they always have done, it seems.But soon the social upheaval out on the street will break its way through the club's gilded doors, and its inhabitants above and below stairs must all confront their choices: to live safely without dignity, or to fight for their rights and risk everything.

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Luke is twenty-five and allergic to the sun. He is stuck in his bedroom, where the world comes to him through TV, the internet and Julie's visits. Julie, meanwhile, is brilliant, kind and could be changing the world. Unfortunately she is too terrified of aeroplane crashes, road accidents and potentially life-threatening bacteria to leave her home town.When someone contacts Luke and claims that he can cure him, Luke and Julie have to deal with their fears and face the world outside. With four friends, wellies and a homemade space suit, they set off in a VW Camper van along Britain's B-roads. It is a journey that might just change their lives.

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Sarah and Jack have never doubted that they are made for each other.But there is someone in Sarah's family who will not tolerate the relationship.The reason lies in both the past and the present, and it will take Sarah across an ocean to a place she never imagined she would be.Kate Grenville takes us back to the Australia of The Secret River in this novel about love, tangled histories and how it matters to keep stories alive.

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A heartbroken American writer starts a story about an ice-cold sombrero that falls inexplicably from the sky and lands in the centre of a small Southwest town. Devastated by the departure of his gorgeous Japanese girlfriend, he cannot concentrate on his writing and in frustration he throws away his beginning.But as the man searches through his apartment for strands of his lost love's hair, the discarded story in the wastepaper basket - through some kind of elaborate origami - carries on without him. Arguments over the sombrero begin, one thing leads to another and before long all hell breaks loose in the normally sleepy town.Brautigan's fertile imagination twists and pulls at the ensuing chaos to come up with a tender, moving, surreal and incredibly funny tale that is told by a writer at the very peak of his creative powers.

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'Bright Young Things wanted for Big Project.'They're in the prime of their lives but our bright young things are all burnt out. Six sparky twenty-somethings just out of university and working dead-end jobs, they are all bored to tears with their lives and looking for a way out. When a mysterious job is advertised in the newspaper, they all apply. What they least expect is to find themselves prisoners on a deserted island. There's food in the fridge and they have a bedroom each, but there's no telephone, no television, and no way to escape.

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*Longlisted for the 2016 International DUBLIN Literary Award*Once upon a time there was a Persian prince. The prince had many brothers, for his father had married over a thousand wives, but Prince Naser alone stood to inherit the kingdom. As the prince ascends to the throne we lurk in his shadow to overhear the whispered intrigues and plotting of bloody battles. The weight of the nation bears heavily on Shah Naser's shoulders. Will this young king triumph or will he succumb to the forces that threaten to engulf him? Enter the court of the King of Persia . . .

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1958. In a dorm room in Moscow, a young writer is woken by the sound of angry voices on the radio. Through the fog of a hangover he hears the news that a novel called Doctor Zhivago has earned its author the Nobel Prize. There is uproar. The author, Boris Pasternak, faces exile, the press hound him and demand that he refuse the award. A few days earlier the young writer found a copy of this book - could those simple pages really be so dangerous?Based on Ismail Kadare's own experience, Twilight of the Eastern Gods is a portrait of a city, a story of youthful disenchantment and a reminder of the incredible importance of the written word.

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This debut collection from the man Malcolm Gladwell described as a genius took readers by storm. From the slums of Haiti to a golf course in Myanmar, and from the Colombian jungle to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone, Ben Fountain's impeccable and devastatingly funny stories describe a world in political and social upheaval, and the lives caught in the balance.

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A moving, compelling story about three women fighting to break free, from the Richard & Judy recommended bestselling author Julie Cohen.'Haunting, tender and true - this story cast a spell on me' Kirsty Logan'Wonderfully written and evocative' Woman & Home, BOOK OF THE MONTH'This haunting story about the power of love will give you the shivers' Best------------------------------------------Viola has an impossible talent. Searching for meaning in her grief, she uses her photography to feel closer to her late father, taking solace from the skills he taught her - and to keep her distance from her husband. But her pictures seem to capture things invisible to the eye . . .Henriette is a celebrated spirit medium, carrying nothing but her secrets with her as she travels the country. When she meets Viola, a powerful connection is sparked between them - but Victorian society is no place for reckless women.Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, invisible threads join Viola and Henriette to another woman who lives in secrecy, hiding her dangerous act of rebellion in plain sight.Faith. Courage. Love. What will they risk for freedom? Driven by passionate, courageous female characters, SPIRITED is your next unforgettable read!Perfect for fans of other bestselling historical novels The Binding by Bridget Collins, The Familiars by Stacey Halls, and Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. ------------------------------------------Praise for SPIRITED:'A testament to the enduring power of love' Sunday Mirror'Mindful, vivid, and strong Spirited explores death, grief, faith, class and gender, while at its heart relationships expand to make this such an engaging and rewarding novel' Love Reading'This vivid tale is simmering with passions - some more repressed than others' The People'A tender and haunting tale, this is a slow-burn read which sparks into flame, as passion kindles in the heart of her beautifully realised characters' Daily Mail'A thrilling, spooky tale that has all the ingredients of a bestseller' Cambridge Independent------------------------------------------Praise for the Richard & Judy Bookclub Pick TOGETHER by Julie Cohen:'A bold, breathtaking and truly compelling love story' Lisa Jewell'Moving and beautiful' Joanna Cannon'One of the most beautiful and heart-breaking stories I've read' Emma Flint'Reminded me of One Day & The Time Traveler's Wife' Erin Kelly'The kind of novel that will stay with you forever' Rowan Coleman'A page-turner with real emotional punch' Catherine Isaac'Original, poignant and beautifully told' S Magazine'A must read' Good Housekeeping'A taut, beguiling love-story-in-reverse that reveals just how far people will go to protect themselves from facing the truth' Elle'Every now and again, a novel comes along that is so different, so affecting and so unforgettable, that you simply must tell everyone you know to read it' Heat------------------------------------------Praise for the Polari Prize 2019 longlisted novel THE TWO LIVES OF LOUIS & LOUISE by Julie Cohen:'Brilliant . . . I enjoyed it hugely' Marian Keyes'Hugely original and heartbreakingly real' Rosie Walsh'Not often does a story remind us of what beautifully complex creatures we are. Julie Cohen has given us that rare gift' Christina Dalcher'Elegant, thoughtful and powerful' Daisy Buchanan'So cleverly done and authentic' A J Pearce'Beautifully written and thought-provoking' Kate Eberlen'A timely read that will stay with you long after you put it down' Libby Page'A cobweb of a book: beautifully intricate and delicate' Veronica Henry'Engaging, moving, arresting' Sunday Times'A powerful and memorable story' Sunday Express'A modern tale told with heart' Grazia

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'Heartbreaking, beautiful, epic. I loved it.' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of The MerciesWhat does it mean to be adored?Aida is the defining rock star of her age; her every move observed, examined and owned by a devoted, cultish fanbase. When she disappears without a trace into a complicated love affair, her fans are determined to find her, uncover her truths and own her once more.Away from the spotlight, Aida and Ehsan reconnect after a decade apart, hoping to recapture the innocent, lost love of their youth. But before long, their connection is strained by secrets and jealousies. The past begins to blur with their present as they follow in the footsteps of tragic, mythic lovers before them.Inaugural winner of the Mo Siewcharran prize and shortlisted for the Encore Award, The Giant Dark is a stunning and heartbreaking literary novel about love and fame.'A beautiful and imaginative reinterpretation that had me spellbound.'JENNIFER SAINT, author of Ariadne'Blindingly brilliant... I cannot wait to read everything she writes.'DAISY JOHNSON, author of Everything Under'Wholly original.'GUARDIAN

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The delicious new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Heidi Swain: ‘Heidi’s known for her feel-good factor and this story is a delight’ New! Magazine ‘A charming, summery read’ The People’s Friend ‘A summer trip to Wynbridge will never disappoint. Swain’s writing as always is so delicious you could eat it all up’ My Weekly ‘Visions of luscious strawberries and raspberries leap from the pages’ My Weekly Special ‘A story so full of sunshine you almost feel the rays’ Woman’s Weekly ‘Family always comes first in Swain’s inspirational books and A Taste of Home brims with the real-life issues, evocative landscapes, heartfelt emotions and all the love, laughter and tears that we have come to expect from this accomplished author’ Lancashire Post Fliss Brown has grown up living with her mother on the Rossi family’s Italian fruit farm. But when her mother dies, Fliss finds out she has a family of her own, and heads back to England with Nonna Rossi’s recipe for cherry and almond tart and a piece of advice: connect with your family before it is too late… Fliss discovers that her estranged grandfather owns a fruit farm himself, on the outskirts of Wynbridge, and she arrives to find a farm that has fallen into disrepair. Using her knowledge gleaned from working on the Rossi farm and her desire to find out more about her past, Fliss rolls her sleeves up and gets stuck in. But what will she discover, and can she resurrect the farm’s glory days and find a taste of home…? Your favourite authors love Heidi Swain's books:A summer delight!' SARAH MORGAN‘I loved this gorgeous story of family secrets and second chances’ RACHAEL LUCAS, author of The Telephone Box Library‘A delightfully sunny read with added intrigue and secrets’ BELLA OSBORNE 'I so enjoyed my seaside escape at Wynmouth. With heart-warming characters, a gorgeous summer setting, and a great story with secrets aplenty to keep you turning the pages, it's the perfect read to relax and curl up at home with' CAROLINE ROBERTS 'A ray of reading sunshine!’ Laura Kemp, author of A Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness ‘A lovely, sweet, summery read’ Milly Johnson

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Mungo McGrotty's career in Whitehall is going nowhere. But when he finds the mysterious (and deadly) Harbinger Report, he realises he can blackmail his way to the very top.This twisted Grayian retelling of the Aladdin story under the Thatcher regime sees our hero rise from pawn to power. But at what cost?

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'Touching, tender . . . filled with wonderful humour' Sarah Haywood'A very special book' Katie FfordeThe Sunday Times bestselling novel, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Rosie Project.My name is Hope Nicely. Why am I writing this book? That's easy. This book is going to change my life.My boss, Karen, says a friend is a stranger you haven't met yet. I think that's right. Veronica Ptitsky and Danny Flynn are strangers, except I have met them now because they're in my writing class. Karen says friends always have your back. They don't mean your real back, of course. It's called an analogy. But I don't want any friends, actually (only dog ones). I have my mum, Jenny Nicely, who says adopting me was the best thing she ever did, even if my thoughts bounce a bit differently to other people's thoughts. She is proud of me for writing my book which will be a Big Achievement. I tell her that writing my story is going to change my life.Except when my life does change it isn't because of my writing but because something happens to my mum, Jenny Nicely, and she isn't here anymore. And, flip a pancake, this is not what I wanted. I'm not very good at being on my own and I wish she were here to tell me everything will be right as rain again soon. Maybe I do need some human friends after all . . . 'A gorgeous, funny, heartwarming read. Leaves you smiling' Ericka Walker, author of Dog Days

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The Gospel according to Amélie Jesus is perhaps the most universally known figure in the Western world, yet he remains one of the most obscure. In her reinterpretation of the story of the Passion and crucifixion, Nothomb gives voice to a transgressive Messiah, the son of God portrayed as deeply human. Not so much because of his broken chastity vows, rather because of his inability to forgive himself for the pointless and sadistic mise-en-scène that is the Passion. It all starts with the farcical trial at the court of Pontius Pilate. When the witnesses for the prosecution stand up one by one, they turn out to be, paradoxically, the very ones who were healed by Jesus’ miracles, from the disgruntled beggar no longer able to solicit alms, to the man who, freed from satanic possession, now finds his life fatally boring. As the familiar, harrowing tale unfolds in all its dramatic intensity, Nothomb veers from the tragic to the comic, from deep compassion to cold mercilessness. She distils the essence of life down to its basic components – love, death and thirst – revealing that real human strength resides in the body, not in the spirit.

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''A burst of warmth and wit, twists and turns'' MARIAN KEYES''This is Cathy Kelly on top form writing about warm, believable women with real, messy lives'' RACHEL HORE''Other Women captures the stories of three modern women... A real feel-good read'' HEAT''The brilliant storyteller is back with another perfectly concocted tale'' OK!---Three women. Three secrets. Three tangled lives...Sid wears her independence like armour. So when she strikes up a rare connection with unlucky-in-love Finn, they are both determined to prove that men and women can just be friends. Can''t they?Marin has the perfect home, attentive husband, two beloved children - and a secret addiction to designer clothes. She knows she has it all, so why can''t she stop comparing herself to other women?Bea believes that we all have one love story - and she''s had hers. Now her life centres ar

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Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2020 A Spectator Book of the Year ‘A literary rendering of the Top Boy generation… I cannot conjure another work which captures this culture in such depth – or with such brutal honesty – as only lived experience can tell ’ Graeme Armstrong, author of The Young Team ’An astonishingly powerful book’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love This life is like being in an ocean. Some people keep swimming towards the bottom. Some people touch the bottom with one foot, or even both, and then push themselves off it to get back up to the top, where you can breathe. Others get to the bottom and decide they want to stay there. I don’t want to get to the bottom because I’m already drowning. This is a story of a London you won’t find in any guidebooks. This is a story about what it’s like to exist in the moment, about boys too eager to become men, growing up in the hidden war zones of big cities – and the girls trying to make it their own way. This is a story of reputations made and lost, of violence and vengeance – and never counting the cost. This is a story of concrete towers and blank eyed windows, of endless nights in police stations and prison cells, of brotherhood and betrayal. This is about the boredom, the rush, the despair, the fear and the hope. This is about what’s left behind.

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From Kiese Laymon, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Heavy, comes a “funny, astute, searching” (The Wall Street Journal) debut novel about Black teenagers that is a satirical exploration of celebrity, authorship, violence, religion, and coming of age in post-Katrina Mississippi. Written in a voice that’s alternately humorous, lacerating, and wise, Long Division features two interwoven stories. In the first, it’s 2013: after an on-stage meltdown during a nationally televised quiz contest, fourteen-year-old Citoyen “City” Coldson becomes an overnight YouTube celebrity. The next day, he’s sent to stay with his grandmother in the small coastal community of Melahatchie, where a young girl named Baize Shephard has recently disappeared. Before leaving, City is given a strange book without an author called Long Division. He learns that one of the book’s main characters is also named City Coldson—but Long Division is set in 1985. This 1985-version of City, along with his friend and love interest, Shalaya Crump, discovers a way to travel into the future, and steals a laptop and cellphone from an orphaned teenage rapper called...Baize Shephard. They ultimately take these items with them all the way back to 1964, to help another time-traveler they meet to protect his family from the Ku Klux Klan. City’s two stories ultimately converge in the work shed behind his grandmother’s house, where he discovers the key to Baize’s disappearance. Brilliantly “skewering the disingenuous masquerade of institutional racism” (Publishers Weekly), this dreamlike “smart, funny, and sharp” (Jesmyn Ward), novel shows the work that young Black Americans must do, while living under the shadow of a history “that they only gropingly understand and must try to fill in for themselves” (The Wall Street Journal).

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Paul Auster has earned international praise for the imaginative power of his many novels, including The New York Trilogy, Moon Palace, The Music of Chance, Mr. Vertigo, and Timbuktu. He has also published a number of highly original non-fiction works: The Invention of Solitude, Hand to Mouth, and The Art of Hunger. In The Red Notebook, Auster again explores events from the real world large and small, tragic and comic—that reveal the unpredictable, shifting nature of human experience. A burnt onion pie, a wrong number, a young boy struck by lightning, a man falling off a roof, a scrap of paper discovered in a Paris hotel room—all these form the context for a singular kind of ars poetica, a literary manifesto without theory, cast in the irreducible forms of pure story telling.

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The Austrian playwright, novelist, and poet Thomas Bernhard (1931-89) is acknowledged as among the major writers of our times. At once pessimistic and exhilarating, Bernhard's work depicts the corruption of the modern world, the dynamics of totalitarianism, and the interplay of reality and appearance.In this stunning translation of The Voice Imitator, Bernhard gives us one of his most darkly comic works. A series of parable-like anecdotes—some drawn from newspaper reports, some from conversation, some from hearsay—this satire is both subtle and acerbic. What initially appear to be quaint little stories inevitably indict the sterility and callousness of modern life, not just in urban centers but everywhere. Bernhard presents an ordinary world careening into absurdity and disaster. Politicians, professionals, tourists, civil servants—the usual victims of Bernhard's inspired misanthropy—succumb one after another to madness, mishap, or suicide. The shortest piece, titled "Mail," illustrates the anonymity and alienation that have become standard in contemporary society: "For years after our mother's death, the Post Office still delivered letters that were addressed to her. The Post Office had taken no notice of her death."In his disarming, sometimes hilarious style, Bernhard delivers a lethal punch with every anecdote. George Steiner has connected Bernhard to "the great constellation of Kafka, Musil, and Broch," and John Updike has compared him to Grass, Handke, and Weiss. The Voice Imitator reminds us that Thomas Bernhard remains the most caustic satirist of our age.

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Covering the second half of Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro's career, these are some of the best, most touching and powerful short stories ever written.'Munro is still one of our most fearless explorers of the human being'The TimesSpanning her last five collections and bringing together her finest work from the past fifteen years, this new selection of Alice Munro's stories infuses everyday lives with a wealth of nuance and insight.Beautifully observed and remarkably crafted, written with emotion and empathy, these stories are nothing short of perfection. A masterclass in the genre, from an author who deservedly lays claim to being one of the major fiction writers of our time.

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London 1968:The Unstable Boys are the name on every music insider's lips and tipped to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This is their chance to hit the bigtime. They don't know they're about to be obliterated by a series of tragedies and a chaotic breakup that puts paid to the band's starry-eyed dreams of stratospheric success. One day you're the dog's bollocks; the next day you're a nobody - fame is a fickle friend.London 2016:Bestselling crime writer Michael Martindale has reached breaking point. Estranged from his wife and children following the very public fallout of his disastrous affair, he is alone, with only his self-pity to keep him warm at night. Until he makes the mistake of publicly declaring his admiration for his teenage musical obsession, the Unstable Boys. When the band's twisted and feral frontman, the Boy, turns up on his doorstep, Martindale quickly learns that sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.Razor-sharp and laced with a caustic wit, The Unstable Boys is a dark comic caper with an unmistakeable musicality from legendary music journalist Nick Kent.

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'An original and fascinating concept that'll keep you hooked and turning the pages' Sunday Post'Expertly done' The Times'[A] compelling, original novel' IndependentIn Jonathan Dee's explosive novel, an unnamed male narrator has hit the road with a large sum of cash stashed under his car seat. Vigilantly avoiding security cameras, he drives until he meets a city where his past is unlikely to track him down. Renting a room from a less-than-stable landlady whose need for money outweighs her desire to ask questions, he seems to have escaped his former self. But can he?In a story that moves with swift dark humour and insight, Dee takes us through his narrator's attempt to disavow his former life of privilege and enter a blameless new existence. Having opted out of his material possessions and human connections, the pillars of his new self - simplicity, kindness, and above all invisibility - grow shakier as he butts up against the daily lives of his neighbours in their politically divided working-class city. Sugar Street is a risky, engrossing and visceral story about a white man trying to escape his own troubling footprint and start his life over.

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'A beautiful exploration of grief and family, written in exquisite prose and told with compassion and tenderness.' Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half'Tender and honest, pulsing with love. Nzelu is the future of Black British writing.' Derek Owusu, author of That Reminds MeFrom award-winning author Okechukwu Nzelu comes a spellbinding literary novel that asks, how do you move forward when the past keeps pulling you back?Achike Okoro feels like his life is coming together at last. His top-floor flat in Peckham is as close to home as he can imagine and after years of hard work, he's about to get his break as an actor. He's even persuaded his father, Chibuike, to move in with him, grateful to offer the man who raised him as a single parent a home of his own. Between filming trips, Achike is snatching a few days in London with Ekene, his best friend of twenty years, the person who makes him feel whole. Achike can put the terrible things that happened behind him at last; everything is going to be alright. Maybe even better.But after a magical night, when Achike and Ekene come within a hair's breadth of admitting their feelings for each other, a devastating event rips all three men apart. In the aftermath, it is Ekene and Chibuike who must try to rebuild. And although they have never truly understood each other, grief may bring them both the peace and happiness they've been searching for... A heartbreaking and immensely uplifting novel about lovers, fathers and sons. If you love The Vanishing Half, Shuggie Bain or Moonlight then you'll adore this this incredibly moving book that shows the power of family - both the one into which we are born and those we choose for ourselves.What readers are saying about Here Again Now:'A deeply intimate novel. Nzelu's incisive style probes beneath his characters' layers to expose vulnerability, joy, and love... Here Again Now is a revelation.' Courttia Newland'I loved these heartbreaking characters, their flaws were never glossed over in Nzelu's work, and their humanity shines out all the brighter for that. I cannot recommend this novel enough.' Paterson Joseph'Okechukwu Nzelu is truly coming into his power as a novelist. It's a beautiful and memorable book. Watch him soar.' Niven Govinden'WOW, Nzelu is a BEAUTIFUL writer. A truly stunning love story. Heavy themes captured with grace and lightness. Tender, erotic, a total pleasure to read. Pre-order and be smug when it wins all the awards.' Daisy Buchanan'His most assured, daring work. Telling a riveting and heartbreaking tale... A gloriously moving book which willsurely collect every award going.' Harper's Bazaar'A novel of great tenderness and understanding. Nzelu's words feel both wise and fresh on the page.' Elizabeth Day 'An elegiac take on the unpredictabilities of the heart and a love that survives loss.' Paul Mendez'A book so beautiful, it makes your heart ache on every page. Utterly brilliant, I loved it.' Julie Owen Moylan'One to watch next year.' Stylist'A powerful and heartbreaking novel; Okechukwu Nzelu is a vital voice.' Andrew McMillan'Nzelu confirms his place as one of the most exciting and versatile writers of his generation.' Angela Chadwick'A transgenerational story of grief as tender, potent and nimble as love.' Kit Fan

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Even Death can't keep them apart. After falling in love with a ghost, Joey has succeeded in saving her boyfriend from Death, not once but twice. But then a mysterious and horrifying creature begins stalking Joey - can Tristan save her before it's too late?

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The enchanting story of a very remarkable dog from the author of the bestselling Captain Corelli's Mandolin.‘In early 1998 I went to Perth in Western Australia in order to attend the literature festival, and part of the arrangement was that I should go to Karratha to do their first ever literary dinner. Karratha is a mining town a long way further north. The landscape is extraordinary, being composed of vast heaps of dark red earth and rock poking out of the never-ending bush. I imagine that Mars must have a similar feel to it. I went exploring and discovered the bronze statue to Red Dog outside the town of Dampier. I felt straight away that I had to find out more about this splendid dog. A few months later I returned to Western Australia and spent two glorious weeks driving around collecting Red Dog stories and visiting the places that he knew, writing up the text as I went along. I hope my cat never finds out that I have written a story to celebrate the life of a dog.’ Louis de Bernières.‘If you love Australia it will have you aching for the scent of gums and sight of the Southern Cross, while if you love dogs it is sure to make you highly indulgent towards the one you love’ Observer

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Ted Wallace is a sour, old, cantankerous beast, a womanising and whisky-sodden bounder of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too. Fired from his newspaper, months behind on his alimony payments and disgusted with a world that undervalues him, Ted seeks a few months' repose and free drink at Swafford Hall, the country mansion of his old friend Lord Logan. But strange things have been going on at Swafford. Miracles. Healings. Phenomena beyond the comprehension of a mud-caked hippopotamus like Ted. 'Clever...witty...not what it seems' The Times 'My goodness what fruity language Fry uses! You can feel his enjoyment, and also the huge force of his desire to please you, as you read this' Daily Mail

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