Family life fiction / Stories about family
Sourcebooks, Inc The Sisters We Were: A Novel
Book SynopsisThe weight of their family secrets could not have shaped Pearl and Ruby Crenshaw any differently. Ruby's a runner, living in Dallas and only reluctantly talking to their mother, Birdie, when she calls from prison. Pearl is still living in her mother's fixer-upper and finds herself facing a line in the sand: her weight is threatening to kill her. She's hundreds of pounds beyond the point where she can celebrate her curves or benefit from the body positivity movement, and unless she takes drastic action, the future looks dire.But when Ruby's buried rage explodes in a hilariously viral way, the mistake has life-altering consequences that throw the sisters back into living under the same roof as they try to put back together the pieces of their lives. Funny, cinematic and bursting with heart, this is a story of hope and redemption that celebrates the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
£8.54
Sourcebooks, Inc A Very Typical Family: A Novel
Book Synopsis"I couldn't put it down. Engrossing, satisfying. The minute I turned the last page I messaged three friends to tell them they had to grab it." -KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club pick The Chicken Sisters"Atmospheric and uplifting. A great recommendation for fans of Marian Keyes and Emily Giffin." -Booklist, STARRED reviewFor fans of Emma Straub and Jennifer Weiner, comes a heartfelt, darkly funny novel about learning to love (and forgive) your family...even when they accidentally put you behind bars.All families are messy. Some are disasters.Natalie Walker is the reason her older brother and sister went to prison over 15 years ago. She fled California shortly after that fateful night and hasn't spoken to anyone in her family since. Now, on the same day her boyfriend steals her dream job out from under her, Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her estranged mother has died and left the family's historic Santa Cruz house to her. Sort of. The only way for Natalie and her siblings to inherit is for all three adult children to come back and claim it-together.Natalie drives cross-country to Santa Cruz with her willful cat in tow expecting to sign some papers, see siblings Lynn and Jake briefly, and get back to sorting out her life in Boston. But Jake, now an award-winning ornithologist, is missing. And Lynn, working as an undertaker in New York City, shows up with a teenage son. While Natalie and her nephew look for Jake-meeting a very handsome marine biologist who immediately captures her heart-she unpacks the guilt she has held onto for so many years, wondering how (or if) she can salvage a relationship with her siblings after all this time.Written with delightfully dark humor and characters you can't help but cheer for, A Very Typical Family will have you reveling in the power of family and second chances. No one can change the past, but every day is an opportunity to choose your future.
£12.34
Sourcebooks Landmark The First Day Without You
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£16.14
Sourcebooks, Inc Hold My Girl
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£25.19
Sourcebooks, Inc The Comeback
Book SynopsisAriadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: that's the way she likes it. If she's going to make partner in Toronto's most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he's there. (Yeah, right.)Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn't long before she's falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a shocking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she's fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she's finally ready to be.
£8.54
Authorhouse My Father's Daughter: A Short Fictional Novel
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£12.39
Ruby Montalvo A Song for Jessica
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£10.79
What a Word Publishing and Media Group Brian's Journey
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£23.74
India Cafe It's Hard To Run In A Sari
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£11.39
ZE Books The Sterns Are Listening
Book SynopsisBenjamin and Dita Stern are seasoned New Yorkers whose life in the pre-war, Upper East Side building Benjamin’s grandfather built has settled into stasis—two children no longer at home, professional lives never fully realized. Then Benjamin's brash younger brother Spence, founder and CEO of the hearing aid company Belphonics, asks him to collaborate on a new product line inspired by the brothers' rock-and-roll youth at CBGB's—the club where, Spence believes, his hearing was permanently damaged. If the idea works, it might salvage Benjamin and Dita's tenuous financial position. Yet they both know that getting involved in Spence's schemes comes at a high price.A funny and deeply felt debut novel from poet and memoirist Jonathan Wells, The Sterns Are Listening explores a family on the verge of both collapse and regeneration. Brimming with affection for its troubled characters and the troubled city they call home, the novel traces a courageous path to the deeply uncomfortable heart of the matter, one that just might lead to redemption.
£17.00
Public Space Books The Sorrows of Others
Book Synopsis2024 WHITING AWARD WINNERA NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION 5 UNDER 35REPUBLIC OF CONSCIOUSNESS PRIZE LONGLISTTHE STORY PRIZE LONGLISTSet in China and America, in the generations after the Cultural Revolution, The Sorrows of Others is a dazzling collection about people confronted with being outsiders—as immigrants, as revolutionaries, and even, often, within their own families."Writers with virtually perfect debuts are certainly rare; Zhang joins that short list with a magnificent ten-story collection filled with lost souls aching for connection on both sides of the world." —Booklist starred reviewIn New York City, an art student finds an unexpected subject when she moves in with a grandmother from Xi’an, and boundaries are put into question. When a newlywed couple moves to Arizona, adapting to unfamiliar customs keeps their marriage from falling apart. A woman grapples with what it means to care for another, and the limits of that care, when her dying husband returns from Beijing years after abandoning her. And during a rainy summer in Texas, a visitor exposes the unspoken but unburiable history that binds two families together. Ada Zhang writes with startling honesty and love about lives young and old, in a stunning debut that explores what happens when we leave home and what happens when we stay, and the selves we meet and shed in the process of becoming.
£12.34
Mashiach Publishing Sunshine on My Mind
Book Synopsis
£10.24
Allen & Unwin Freeing Grace
Book SynopsisA tender and thought-provoking story exploring the sacrifices we make for family and what it takes to be a good parent.Grace's teenage mother dies shortly after giving birth and the perfect adoptive parents are found for her: David, the curate of an inner-city parish, and his wife Leila, who are unable to have children of their own. What they don't count on is Matt Harrison, Grace's shell-shocked young father who falls in love with his daughter and fights to keep her.The Harrisons are an unconventional family who see in Grace a chance for redemption. To convince the courts of their suitability will require a commitment from Matt's mother to return from Africa to her unhappy marriage. The Harrisons enlist their friend, the feckless, charming Jake Kelly, to retrieve her and he sets off on a quest that will force a confrontation.Ultimately, there are terrible decisions to be made about Grace's fate. Everyone only wants what's best for her - but who can say exactly what that is?Trade ReviewWill appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult...[Norman] is hot on their heels. * Daily Mail *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living *
£9.49
Allen & Unwin Pictures of You
Book SynopsisOne woman runs from her past, as another tries to escape her future; a young boy holds close a terrible secret, and a father does everything he can to protect him.Two cars collide on a foggy highway, and a woman dies. The survivor, Isabelle, is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life, but of the lives of the devastated husband and fragile son that the other woman, April, has left behind. Together, they try to solve the puzzle of where April was running to, and why. As these three lives intersect, questions arise: How well do we really know those we love - and how do we forgive the unforgivable? In the hands of Caroline Leavitt, nothing is quite as it seems; Pictures of You is a riveting mystery and a wholly satisfying read.Trade Review[Leavitt] creates the kind of psychological tension that has won Jodi Picoult her huge following. * Scottish Sunday Herald *
£7.59
Allen & Unwin A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea
Book SynopsisGrowing up in a small fishing village in 1980s Iran, 11-year-old Saba Hafezi and her twin sister Mahtab are fascinated by America. They keep lists of English vocabulary words and collect contraband copies of Life magazine and Bob Dylan cassettes. So when Saba suddenly finds herself abandoned, alone with her father in Iran, she is certain that her mother and twin have moved to America without her. Bereft, she aches for her lost mother and sister, and for the Western life she believes she is being denied. All her life Saba has been taught that 'fate is in the blood,' which must mean that twins will live the same life, even if separated by land and sea. Thus, as time passes and Saba falls in and out of love and struggles with the limited possibilities available to her as a woman in Iran, she imagines a simultaneous, parallel life - a Western version, for her sister. But where Saba's story has all the grit and brutality of real life in post-revolutionary Iran, her sister's life - as Saba envisions it - gives her a freedom and control that Saba can only dream of. Filled with a colourful cast of characters, A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea is told in a bewitching voice that mingles the rhythms of Eastern storytelling with straightforward Western prose to form a wholly original story about the importance of controlling your own fate.Trade ReviewThere's a kaleidoscopic quality to Dina Nayeri's prose, evoking the beat of Eastern storytelling, while its cadences remain resolutely American... The novel's message, however, is universal: we must do all we can to control our own fates. * Daily Mail *Infused with the prose of nostalgia, revelling in the simplicity of a rural culture that is gradually being eroded by ruthless oppression. Skilled writers such as Nayeri, Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) and Hisham Matar (Anatomy of a Disappearance) play a crucial role in making the personal political. * The Age *This ambitious novel set in northern Iran in the decade after the 1979 revolution contains not a teaspoon but a ton of history, imagination, and longing. * Publishers Weekly *It's hard to believe A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea is Nayeri's first novel as colorful phrases dance throughout this epic tale of grief and love, memory and myth. * Baltimore Times *A gripping tale of female oppression. * Australian Woman's Weekly *
£15.29
Allen & Unwin After the Fall
Book SynopsisIn the quiet of a New Zealand winter's night, a rescue helicopter is sent to airlift a five-year-old boy with severe internal injuries. He's fallen from the upstairs veranda of an isolated farmhouse, and his condition is critical. At first, Finn's fall looks like a horrible accident; after all, he's prone to sleepwalking. Only his frantic mother, Martha McNamara, knows how it happened. And she isn't telling. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Tragedy isn't what the McNamara family expected when they moved to New Zealand. For Martha, it was an escape. For her artist husband Kit, it was a dream. For their small twin boys, it was an adventure. For sixteen-year-old Sacha, it was the start of a nightmare.They end up on the isolated east coast of the North Island, seemingly in the middle of a New Zealand tourism campaign. But their peaceful idyll is soon shattered as the choices Sacha makes lead the family down a path which threatens to destroy them all.Martha finds herself facing a series of impossible decisions, each with devastating consequences for her family.Trade ReviewOriginal, wonderfully written and utterly gripping, this is a corker of a tale. * The Sun *After The Fall is a gripping tale that would appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult and Joanna Trollope... A page turning book to while away a winter's evening. * Red Online *Jodi Picoult had better look over her shoulder - she's got a new contender by the name of Charity Norman. * Sydney Morning Herald *A gripping story, which touches on the fragility of trust, the strength of love and, of course, second chances. This is Norman's second novel. Her style is emerging as reminiscent of bestselling author Jodi Picoult. * Sunday Canberra Times *Will appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult... [Norman] is hot on their heels. * Daily Mail on Freeing Grace *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living on Freeing Grace *
£9.49
Allen & Unwin The Son-in-Law
Book SynopsisOn a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them.This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...Trade ReviewEngrossing. * Woman and Home *The author's third novel, this is another wonderful and very thought-provoking story that I consumed in a single day. * The Sun *A gripping tale that would appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult and Joanna Trollope... A page turning book to while away a winter's evening. * Red Online on After the Fall *Original, wonderfully written and utterly gripping, this is a corker of a tale. * The Sun on After the Fall *Jodi Picoult had better look over her shoulder - she's got a new contender by the name of Charity Norman. * Sydney Morning Herald on After the Fall *Will appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult... [Norman] is hot on their heels. * Daily Mail on Freeing Grace *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living on Freeing Grace *
£9.49
Allen & Unwin The New Woman: A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick 2015
Book Synopsis*A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick 2015*'A poignant tale of one person's transgender journey.' - HeatLuke Livingstone is a lucky man. He's a respected solicitor, a father and grandfather, a pillar of the community. He has a loving wife and an idyllic home in the Oxfordshire countryside. Yet Luke is struggling with an unbearable secret, and it's threatening to destroy him. All his life, Luke has hidden the truth about himself and his identity. It's a truth so fundamental that it will shatter his family, rock his community and leave him outcast. But Luke has nowhere left to run, and to continue living, he must become the person - the woman - he knows himself to be, whatever the cost.'Move over Jodi Picoult. New Zealand-based author Charity Norman has the same clever knack of taking an issue and examining it from all angles, to see the effect it has on everyone involved.' New Zealand HeraldTrade ReviewA poignant tale of one person's transgender journey. * Heat *Completely brilliant - you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough. * Bella *I shouted at this novel. I cast it away, abandoned, only to return to its beguiling pages. * Buzz *This is the author's fourth book and although I've said it before, it's her best. I can't wait to see what subject she'll tackle next. * The Sun *Charity Norman traces the effects with skill and sensitivity in a convincing and often moving novel. * WI Life *The New Woman is an extremely moving story that examines what it is to live with gender identity disorder... You will find this a compelling read that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. * The Bookbag *Move over Jodi Picoult. New Zealand-based author Charity Norman has the same clever knack of taking an issue and examining it from all angles, to see the effect it has on everyone involved. * New Zealand Herald *This is another wonderful and very thought-provoking story that I consumed in a single day. * The Sun on The Son-in-Law *Engrossing. * Woman and Home on The Son-in-Law *A gripping tale that would appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult and Joanna Trollope... A page turning book to while away a winter's evening. * Red Online on After the Fall *Jodi Picoult had better look over her shoulder - she's got a new contender by the name of Charity Norman. * Sydney Morning Herald on After the Fall *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living on Freeing Grace *Will appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult... [Norman] is hot on their heels. * Daily Mail on Freeing Grace *
£9.49
Allen & Unwin See You in September
Book SynopsisCassy smiled, blew them a kiss. 'See you in September,' she said. It was a throwaway line. Just words uttered casually by a young woman in a hurry. And then she'd gone. It was supposed to be a short trip - a break in New Zealand before her best friend's wedding. But when Cassy waved goodbye to her parents, they never dreamed that it would be years before they'd see her again. Having broken up with her boyfriend, Cassy accepts an invitation to stay in an idyllic farming collective. Overcome by the peace and beauty of the valley and swept up in the charisma of Justin, the community's leader, Cassy becomes convinced that she has to stay.As Cassy becomes more and more entrenched in the group's rituals and beliefs, her frantic parents fight to bring her home - before Justin's prophesied Last Day can come to pass.A powerful story of family, faith and finding yourself, See You in September is an unputdownable new novel from this hugely compelling author.Trade ReviewThis is a big, gripping and heartbreaking read... I couldn't put it down. * Daily Mail *A riveting, fascinating read. I was absolutely gripped. * Julie Cohen *See You in September is one of those novels that really gets beneath the skin... I love the way Charity Norman is able to show the greys between the obvious black and whites; how she draws such multi-layered characters; and, of course, how she describes her stunning but often sinister locations. * Tracy Buchanan *Norman does a fine job delving into the insidious psychology of cults. But this is no human freak show: it's a creepy portrayal of an ordinary young woman, feeling the lure of total belonging, who is groomed into accepting a sinister price for it. * Sydney Morning Herald *This is the author's fourth book and although I've said it before, it's her best. I can't wait to see what subject she'll tackle next. * The Sun on THE NEW WOMAN *Completely brilliant - you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough. * Bella on THE NEW WOMAN *I shouted at this novel. I cast it away, abandoned, only to return to its beguiling pages. * Buzz on THE NEW WOMAN *Engrossing * Woman and Home on THE SON-IN-LAW *A gripping tale that would appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult and Joanna Trollope... A page turning book to while away a winter's evening. * Red Online on AFTER THE FALL *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living on FREEING GRACE *
£9.49
Allen & Unwin Harry Mac
Book SynopsisTom and Millie are best friends who live in a quiet lane on the edge of town. They rely on each other to make sense of what's going on in their lives and in the lives of their families - especially Harry Mac's.Harry Mac, Tom's dad, is a man of silences and secrets. And now Tom is involved in one of those secrets.At school, Tom sits through lessons on the arms race and President Kennedy, waiting until he can be back on the lane where life is far more interesting: why does a black car drive slowly up the lane every night? And what did Harry Mac mean when he wrote in his newspaper 'people disappear in the night'? A series of shocking events and discoveries lead Tom closer to the truth, but threaten to tear his world apart.Set within a fascinating period of South African politics, this is a coming-of-age story full of heart, soul and hope, in the tradition of Jasper Jones and To Kill a Mockingbird.Trade ReviewOne of the best coming-of-age novels I have read. -- Jean Ferguson * Illawarra Mercury *I was thoroughly engaged with the characters and the plot; the writing was terrific and I can highly recommend this book. * Queensland Times *Come into a world full of secrets and politics with the 12-year-old Tom Macgregor... I strongly recommend this book * Launceston Examiner *
£11.69
Allen & Unwin The Wonder Lover
Book SynopsisLonglisted for The Indie Book Awards 2016Longlisted for The Voss Literary Prize 2016This is the story of John Wonder, a man with three families, each one kept secret from the other, each one containing two children, a boy and a girl. As he travels from family to family in different cities, he works as an Authenticator, verifying world records, confirming facts, setting things straight, while his own life is a teetering tower of breathtaking lies and betrayals.'Some books read as if they are touched by magic, so wondrous and astonishing is the experience of immersing yourself in them. That's how I feel about The Wonder Lover. It is written with confidence and daring, with a joyous freedom and a love for story and language that is only possible when an artist has truly mastered their craft. It is a compulsive and thrilling read, a dazzling achievement. There is a word that should be used very rarely but I believe is absolutely right for this book: The Wonder Lover is superb.' -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The SlapTrade ReviewKnox has created a jewelled puzzle box in these pages. It is by some distance his most complex novel to date. * Weekend Australian *Gotta hand it to Knox. He knows how to grab the reader's full attention... The whole mess is expertly described and ends in a thoroughly satisfying way. * Country Style *A genuinely original and intriguing work. * Adelaide Advertiser *The Wonder Lover contains much fine writing and observation. * Sydney Morning Herald, Best Books of 2015 *An exquisitely wrought dissection of one man's downfall. * Sunday Age *A strange and beautiful creation. It reveals Knox to be an author of a controlled virtuosity with few peers in this country... It marks a considerable leap in Knox's formal ambition: an evolution thrilling to watch unfold. * Saturday Paper, Best Books of 2015 *It flows with easy energy to its exciting and startling finish. Enjoy Knox's rich, poetic and imaginative word power as you follow the amazing life of John Wonder. * Good Reading *Complex and ambitious... The last third of the novel is a wonderfully sustained serio-comic account of the collision of worlds that John strove so hard to keep apart. * Saturday Age, Best Books of 2015 *A deftly written and hypnotic tale about fidelity and longing. * Who Weekly *Few authors have such a sharp eye - or stylish pen - for the secret lives of men. * Australian Women's Weekly *
£11.69
Allen & Unwin After Isabella
Book Synopsis'Both heartwarming and sad, it's an insightful, thought-provoking glimpse into female friendships, love and loyalty.' - Julie Cohen'After Isabella is a beautiful, absorbing novel that deals with the issues at the very heart of what it means to be a woman.' - Tracy Buchanan'I was lost in this powerful, poignant tale.' - Amanda ProwseWhen Esther's childhood best friend Isabella dies of cancer, she is devastated. Years later, she is brought together with Isabella's sister Sally, who cared for Isabella in her last days, and who subsequently nursed their mother through years of dementia. English professor Esther sees shy, innocent Sally emerge from a life of isolation and loneliness. But as Esther herself suffers blow after blow, and sees her carefully ordered life collapse around her, she is forced to contemplate the notion of friendship and trust. Do the ones we hold dearest always have our best interests at heart?Trade ReviewIn After Isabella, Fiore has created a compelling and provocative read, nicely paced and thoroughly absorbing. At times, both heart-warming and poignant, it's impossible not to feel a sense of loss on turning the final page. * Irish Independent *A beautiful, heartfelt novel that swept me up and held me tight until the end. I was lost in this powerful, poignant tale. -- Amanda ProwseA heartfelt novel about how messy life is, and how relationships and families change over time. Both heartwarming and sad, it's an insightful, thought-provoking glimpse into female friendships, love and loyalty. -- Julie CohenAfter Isabella is a beautiful, absorbing novel that deals with the issues at the very heart of what it means to be a woman. I was drawn in from the very first page and loved the way Rosie handled both the harsh realities, and the beauty, of the friendships and family relationships that define us. I can't wait to read more from her! -- Tracy BuchananHeartwarming and beautifully written, it's a story of crossroads and choices, friendship and family. * Daily Express on Wonder Women *Touching and funny - an emotional roller-coaster of a read. * Closer Magazine on Babies in Waiting *
£7.59
Allen & Unwin The Eye of the Sheep
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary AwardShortlisted for the 2015 Voss Literary Prize and the 2015 Stella Prize Longlisted for the 2016 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardMeet Jimmy Flick. He's not like other kids - he's both too fast and too slow. He sees too much, and too little. Jimmy's mother Paula is the only one who can manage him. She teaches him how to count sheep so that he can fall asleep. She holds him tight enough to stop his cells spinning. It is only Paula who can keep Jimmy out of his father's way. But when Jimmy's world falls apart, he has to navigate the unfathomable world on his own, and make things right.Trade ReviewIt is outrageous that someone as young, beautiful and - goddamit - as happy looking as Sofie Laguna has written this wee beauty of a novel... As a "domestic" novel, it could be cliched, but Laguna, through Jimmy's wonderful eyes, makes every sentence, every word, sing and soar. * Irish Times *A book that crosses the boundaries of adult and YA fiction. * Guardian *Quite an achievement... It is quite a feat to write characters with such nuance... Laguna is an author proving the novel is a crucial document of the times. -- Louise Swinn * The Weekend Australian *Harrowing, beautifully written, insightful and absorbing... Unique, forceful and absolutely hypnotic... Fresh, honest writing. -- Emily Macguire * Canberra Times *A beautiful, sombre style, relieved by occasional happy-go-lucky moments and strangely surprising resilience... Laguna has vividly brought to life what it must be like to be a different child and the effect his condition can have on a family. * Sydney Morning Herald *Jimmy is a tour de force of a character, brilliantly maintained... Laguna's great skill is in conveying the contradictory human depths in all her characters. * Adelaide Advertiser *A book that intrigues and affects every essence of your humanity... A dark and terrible tale told in lyrical, poetic language and stark imagery. * Australian Bookseller and Publisher *Laguna's child narrator both emphasises and conceals, through simple yet articulate images, the complicated extent of suffering and release. * Guardian on One Foot Wrong *An extraordinary achievement. Hester's voice is original and compelling...compels us to see our familiar world as new and intriguing - no small feat. -- Jo Case * Big Issue on One Foot Wrong *
£8.54
Allen & Unwin What She Left
Book SynopsisWhat would make you walk away from your life, your family and friends, in search of a completel fresh start?Helen Cooper has a charmed life. She's beautiful, accomplished, organised - the star parent at the school. Until she disappears.But Helen wasn't abducted or murdered. She's chosen to walk away, abandoning her family, husband Sam, and her home.Where has Helen gone, and why? What has driven her from her seemingly perfect life? What is she looking for? Sam is tormented by these questions, and gradually begins to lose his grip on work and his family life.He sees Helen everywhere in the faces of strangers. He's losing control.But then one day, it really is Helen's face he sees...Trade ReviewA wistful, poignant novel. -- Sarah Naughton, author of TATTLE TALEIn After Isabella, Fiore has created a compelling and provocative read, nicely paced and thoroughly absorbing. At times, both heart-warming and poignant, it's impossible not to feel a sense of loss on turning the final page. * Irish Independent *A beautiful, heartfelt novel that swept me up and held me tight until the end. I was lost in this powerful, poignant tale. -- Amanda Prowse on AFTER ISABELLAA heartfelt novel about how messy life is, and how relationships and families change over time. Both heartwarming and sad, it's an insightful, thought-provoking glimpse into female friendships, love and loyalty. * Julie Cohen on AFTER ISABELLA *After Isabella is a beautiful, absorbing novel that deals with the issues at the very heart of what it means to be a woman. I was drawn in from the very first page and loved the way Rosie handled both the harsh realities, and the beauty, of the friendships and family relationships that define us. I can't wait to read more from her! -- Tracy BuchananHeartwarming and beautifully written, it's a story of crossroads and choices, friendship and family. * Daily Express on Wonder Women *I loved the ending, I don't want to say too much about it but it made me smile through the tears. Just lovely. * Steph's Book Blog *... there are more than a few surprises in store. Whatever you may think has happened, and wherever you think this story is heading, you'll probably be wrong! * Good and Read-y *I won't give anything away but towards the end there are some very true, reflective words in a stunning piece of writing which made me stop and think about my own life and journey. * Nicki's Book Blog *An enthralling read, (it would make a great TV drama) strong characters, and a plot that just flows seamlessly. I can't think of anything negative to say, I just loved it! * Waggy Tales Book Blog *This is a book I got into very quickly and kept a grip on me right through to the end. By the end of the book I had discovered secrets, past histories and missed opportunities. With a chance for new ventures and new beginnings, and Rosie has pulled together to make a real cracking read. -- Yvonne * Me and My Books *Between the secrets of the past and the burdens of the future, the truth is finally revealed. -- Abby * Anne Bonny's Book Reviews *
£11.69
Allen & Unwin Last Night at the Lobster
Book Synopsis'A book that embodies what's best in us.' - Stephen KingWashington Post Best Book of the Year,2017 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, 2017Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year,2017The Red Lobster chain restaurant perched in the far corner of a run-down American mall hasn't been making its numbers and has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift with a near-mutinous staff and the final onslaught of hungry retirees, lunatics, and office parties. All the while, Manny wondering how to handle the waitress he's still in love with, what to do about his pregnant girlfriend, and how to find the Christmas present that will make everything better.Stewart O'Nan has been called 'the bard of the working class', and Last Night at the Lobster is a American cult classic and a masterpiece of precision and empathy.Trade ReviewA book that embodies what's best in us. -- Stephen KingA delightful heartbreaker of a novel . . . Exquisite. * USA Today *O'Nan crafts a perfectly observed slice of working-class life. * Entertainment Weekly *A masterful portrait. * The Washington Post Book World *[A] deeply perceptive and observant little book, 140 pages that pack a bigger punch than all those 600 page tomes. * Dovegreyreader *
£8.54
Allen & Unwin Wish You Were Here
Book SynopsisA year after the death of her husband, Emily Maxwell gathers her family at Lake Chautauqua for what will be a last holiday at their summer cottage. Joining her is her sister-in-law Arlene, silently mourning both the loss of the lake house and a bygone love affair. Emily's firebrand daughter Meg, a recovering alcoholic recently separated from her husband, brings her children from Detroit. Emily's son Ken, who has quit his job and mortgaged his future to pursue his art, comes accompanied by his children and his wife, who is secretly heartened to be visiting the house for the last time.Memories of past summers resurface, old rivalries flare up and love is rekindled and born anew, resulting in a timeless novel that 'succeeds beautifully [and] showcases some of the finest character studies a contemporary reader could ask for' (Boston Globe).Trade ReviewStewart O'Nan loves us and forgives us and watches us when we aren't looking. And he has given us this big, fine, openhearted book in which the inner and outer lives of a family come together, with depth and art. -- Amy BloomAn unflinching portrait of an American family that's remarkable for its precision, intelligence, and heart. You will not soon forget these people. -- Richard Russo[O'Nan's] finest and deepest novel to date. * New York Times Book Review *Offers a stark and brilliantly mesmerising glimpse into the lives of the Maxwells, the most aggressively average American family this side of The Corrections. * Los Angeles Times *
£11.69
Allen & Unwin The Life to Come
Book SynopsisWinner of the Miles Franklin Award, 2018Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, 2018 New Statesman's best books of the year, 2018Michelle de Kretser's fifth novel is both a delicious satire on the way we live now and a deeply moving examination of the true nature of friendship.Pippa is a writer who longs for success. Céleste tries to convince herself that her feelings for her married lover are reciprocated. Ash makes strategic use of his childhood in Sri Lanka but blots out the memory of a tragedy from that time. Driven by riveting stories and unforgettable characters, here is a dazzling meditation on intimacy, loneliness and our flawed perception of other people.Profoundly moving as well as bitingly funny, The Life to Come reveals how the shadows cast by both the past and the future can transform, distort and undo the present. Travelling from Sydney to Paris and Sri Lanka, this mesmerising novel feels at once firmly classic and exhilaratingly contemporary.Trade ReviewIs it possible we already have the year's best novel? I'll be amazed if anything surpasses this compulsive, exquisitely light-footed narrative...glorious. * Daily Mail *De Kretser's satirical observations - on the literati, self-congratulation, suburban pretension - are so subtly deboning they remind me of Jane Austen's...The Life to Come deserves all the gongs we can bang for it. * The Spectator *Exhilaratingly good writing...each page yields sparkling sentences and keen observations. * Literary Review *[de Kretser's] writing captures, with unflagging wit, grace and subtlety, the spiritual as well as physical journeys of people on the move - between cultures, mindsets and stages of growth. -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *Funny and satirical, this is a biting look at the way we present ourselves and the way we are seen by others. * Stylist *As always, Michelle de Kretser offers a wide compassionate view...Above all, there is the pleasure of her writing. * Times Literary Supplement *Very few novels see through our times with such vision and perspicacity, such wit and compassion, and yet this profound book is the farthest thing imaginable from that journalistic demand made of literature, that it should "make sense of our times". It does, but not in any ways that you'd imagine. -- Neel Mukherjee * New Statesman *Superb, ambitious and deeply moving * The Australian *For a novel concerned with dislocation, there's a lot of grounding humour ...de Kretser's observations are so spot on, you'll forgive her even as you cringe. * New York Times *A remarkable achievement...wise and abrasive, witty and poignant. * The Saturday Paper *Her powers of description and evocation are remarkable...Michelle de Kretser has written a comic lament of disarming force. * Sydney Morning Herald *My book of the year is Michelle de Kretser's The Life to Come, a sharp and unsettling novel - narcissism of all kinds is skewered here - that is deeply pleasurable to read. * Ceridwen Dovey, The Australian *A joyful and mournful meditation on the endless small pleasures and complications of life...sure-footed and often surprising. * Publishers Weekly *
£8.54
Ultimo Press Something Blue
Book Synopsis‘Set in Sydney’s diverse Western suburbs, this tender coming-of-age story about love, loyalty and what home means also functions as a visceral love letter to the glorious, foliage-filled melting pot of its location… The author exposes various cultural stereotypes but then challenges and disrupts them, leaving us with a more nuanced view of the immigrant community she so evocatively describes. I rooted for Nicole and raced straight through to the end.’ – Daily Mail UKTwenty-six-year-old Nicole Najim is struggling to find herself after a painful breakup, just when she thought she was going to settle down. Working a dead-end job in the family car dealership and at a loose end, she picks up her camera and returns to the melting pot of Sydney’s West to rediscover her roots. When she catches up with childhood friend, Danny, who makes his living in a shadowy underworld, their relationship intensifies just as the law starts to close in. Nicole must weigh her feelings against her deepest fears, all while chasing her own dreams and capturing the hidden truths around her. Something Blue is a novel about loving home and leaving home, but never escaping your roots. Or your footy colours. Trade Review‘Set in Sydney’s diverse Western suburbs, this tender coming-of-age story about love, loyalty and what home means also functions as a visceral love letter to the glorious, foliage-filled melting pot of its location… The author exposes various cultural stereotypes but then challenges and disrupts them, leaving us with a more nuanced view of the immigrant community she so evocatively describes. I rooted for Nicole and raced straight through to the end.’ * Daily Mail UK *
£12.74
Ultimo Press Song of the Sun God
Book SynopsisSong of the Sun God is about the wisdom, mistakes and sacrifices of our past that enable us to live more freely in the future. Nala and Rajan, a young couple, begin their married life in 1946, on the eve of Ceylon’s independence from Britain. Arranged in marriage, they learn to love each other and protect their growing family, against the backdrop of increasing ethnic tension. As the country descends into a bloody civil war, Nala and Rajan must decide which path is best for their family; and live with the consequences of their mistakes. Over time, Nala and Rajan teach their family why some parts of their history and heritage are worth holding onto; and why some parts and people have to be left behind. Song of the Sun God spans three continents and three generations of a family that remains dedicated to its homeland, whilst learning to embrace its new home. Funny, warm and tender, we see Nala and Rajan’s family navigate war, migration, old loyalties and new beginnings, relying on the philosophy of their religion, their ancestors and each other.
£15.29
Ultimo Press Something Blue
Book Synopsis‘Set in Sydney’s diverse Western suburbs, this tender coming-of-age story about love, loyalty and what home means also functions as a visceral love letter to the glorious, foliage-filled melting pot of its location… The author exposes various cultural stereotypes but then challenges and disrupts them, leaving us with a more nuanced view of the immigrant community she so evocatively describes. I rooted for Nicole and raced straight through to the end.’ – Daily Mail UKTwenty-six-year-old Nicole Najim is struggling to find herself after a painful breakup, just when she thought she was going to settle down. Working a dead-end job in the family car dealership and at a loose end, she picks up her camera and returns to the melting pot of Sydney’s West to rediscover her roots. When she catches up with childhood friend, Danny, who makes his living in a shadowy underworld, their relationship intensifies just as the law starts to close in. Nicole must weigh her feelings against her deepest fears, all while chasing her own dreams and capturing the hidden truths around her. Something Blue is a novel about loving home and leaving home, but never escaping your roots. Or your footy colours.'hysterically funny … This is the chaotic love child of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bridget Jones's Diary.' – Glamour'It’s clear Sarkis loves the place she comes from: every suburb, street, home and hair salon is written with affection for the people and culture it represents.' – The Conversation Trade Review‘Set in Sydney’s diverse Western suburbs, this tender coming-of-age story about love, loyalty and what home means also functions as a visceral love letter to the glorious, foliage-filled melting pot of its location… The author exposes various cultural stereotypes but then challenges and disrupts them, leaving us with a more nuanced view of the immigrant community she so evocatively describes. I rooted for Nicole and raced straight through to the end.’ * Daily Mail UK *
£8.54
ECW Press Far Creek Road
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£15.96
Cormorant Books,Canada The Family Took Shape
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£9.49
Cormorant Books Radio Jet Lag
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£9.49
Cormorant Books Semi-Detached
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£19.96
House of Anansi Press Ltd ,Canada Bone and Bread
Book SynopsisWinner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. Shortlisted for 2016 CBC Canada Reads Beena and Sadhana are sisters who share a bond that could only have been shaped by the most unusual of childhoods -- and by shared tragedy. Orphaned as teenagers, they have grown up under the exasperated watch of their Sikh uncle, who runs a bagel shop in Montreal's Hasidic community of Mile End. Together, they try to make sense of the rich, confusing brew of values, rituals, and beliefs that form their inheritance. Yet as they grow towards adulthood, their paths begin to diverge. Beena catches the attention of one of the "bagel boys" and finds herself pregnant at sixteen, while Sadhana drives herself to perfectionism and anorexia. When we first meet the adult Beena, she is grappling with a fresh grief: Sadhana has died suddenly and strangely, her body lying undiscovered for a week before anyone realizes what has happened. Beena is left with a burden of guilt and an unsettled feeling about the circumstances of her sister's death, which she sets about to uncover. Her search stirs memories and opens wounds, threatening to undo the safe, orderly existence she has painstakingly created for herself and her son. Heralded across Canada for the power and promise of her debut collection, Mother Superior, Nawaz proves with Bone and Bread that she is one of our most talented and unique storytellers.Trade ReviewBone & Bread engages. Nawaz... is successful at building nuanced characters and reflecting the uneasy and untidy nature of family relationships. -- Nadia Kidwai * Winnipeg Free Press *Nawaz draws the core relationships with immaculately rendered delicacy; she gives the narrative time and space to unfold and evolve in a way that carries uncanny emotional punch. -- Ian McGillis * Montreal Gazette *Bone and Bread... is an emotionally complex, riveting story. [It] is a poignant read, but it captivates because it brims with humanity. Nawaz hustles the reader along with vivid writing, scintillating characters, and the alluring element of mystery. -- Jennifer Hunter * Toronto Star *Bone and Bread is ambitious... Nawaz successfully portrays a strong yet tumultuous bond between the two sisters. -- Heather Leighton * Globe and Mail *Nawaz invites her reader into an intimate and devastating history, and holds you right until the end. -- Emily M. Keeler * National Post *... absorbing... -- Athena McKenzie * Zoomer *Saleema Nawaz’s debut novel Bone and Bread sets poetic prose against the complex mythology of a small family... Nawaz’s wellcrafted narrative and vivid descriptions immerse the reader in Beena and Sadhana’s world. * Maisonneuve *Saleema Nawaz returns with a big and beautiful novel... a first novel that rewards the reader's emotional involvement with a quietly tragic examination of the numerous solitudes in the life of one family. -- Kamal Al-Solaylee * Quill & Quire *…emotionally complex and nuanced… -- Alexis Kienlen * Alberta Daily Herald Tribune *With an elegance and fluidity of prose rare in first novels, Canadian writer Nawaz presents a masterful examination of the ties that bind people together and the quiet endurance required for sustaining those bonds through the countless travails of life and death. * Booklist *
£12.34
Vagrant Press A Circle on the Surface
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£20.66
Nimbus Publishing (CN) Berth
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£20.66
Vagrant Press In the Wake
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£20.66
Inanna Publications & Education Lovers Fall Back to Earth
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£10.40
Inanna Publications & Education The Madrigal
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£13.25
Inanna Publications & Education A Season Among Psychics
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£13.25
Inanna Publications and Education Inc. Side by Side
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£10.40
Inanna Publications and Education Inc. Deuce
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£10.40
Inanna Publications and Education Inc. Tucked Away
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£10.40
Inanna Publications and Education Inc. Patterson House
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£10.40
Inanna Publications and Education Inc. Privacy Is a Foreign Word in Supino
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£14.24
Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group Cursed! Blood of the Donnellys: A Novel Based on
Book SynopsisIn the midst of the feuds and famine of Tipperary, Ireland in 1846, Jim Donnelly and Johannah McGee fall passionately in love. She is the beautiful daughter of an affluent estate manager, he the rebellious son of dispossessed peasants. With her father’s men in pursuit and a sizable price on Jim’s head, they board a ship set for Canada to start a new life and put the troubles of the old country behind them. Thousands of miles away in rural Ontario, they find the feuds and vendettas of Ireland are very much alive. Jim must make a place for his young family not just with his back, but with his fists. Fifteen years later, the Donnelly family have become one of the most powerful in Lucan Township, loved by some and hated by others. Jim and Johannah’s sons are notorious as both fighters and lovers and torment the townspeople, swinging shillelaghs, burning barns and seducing daughters. But certain citizens of Lucan have had enough. At midnight on February 3, 1880, a mob of thirty armed men in women’s clothing and carnival masks ride out for the Donnelly farm. Sustained by whisky and the blessings of the local priest, their goal is to wipe the Donnelly family from the face of the earth. Yet there is an eye witness and during the trial that follows, it becomes clear that in small town Ontario of the late 1800s, order is valued above truth. Eventful and conveyed with cinematic detail, Cursed! Blood of the Donnellys is an engaging and historically enlightening read.Trade ReviewBased on a true story, Cursed! Blood of the Donnellys is a vividly compelling and deftly crafted read from beginning to end. Showcasing author Keith Ross Leickie's impressive flair as a novelist for narrative driven storytelling, Cursed! Blood of the Donnellys is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community library Historical Fiction collections.
£15.29
Book*hug Mama's Boy Game Over
Book SynopsisAt the end of this story I'm going to kill myself. And then die. That's the way it is. All good things must come to an end, including me.Mama's Boy Game Over is the third and final book in David Goudreault's bleakly comic bestselling Mama's Boy trilogy. Mama's Boy has been transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital. He manages to escape, and goes on the run in Montreal, hiding in plain sight.In his short but eventful life, Mama's Boy has already managed to achieve most of his ambitions: fame, fatherhood and friendship, at least in his own rather skewed perspective. But one goal remains: tracking down and reuniting with his estranged mother. By turns poignant and deeply uncomfortable, Mama's Boy's final journey is a wild, desperate bid for freedom, love, and family.Trade Review"David Goudreault will captivate you from the first line!" -- Kim Thuy, author of Vi and Ru
£16.16
