Fiction in translation

Book SynopsisYukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committTrade Review[a] beautiful and austere tale… written in lush, languid prose, filled with beautiful sentences and turns of phrase, this is one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year * Reading Matters *Romantic obsession and sexual intrigue meet in the sumptuous historical melodrama * Variety *An austere love story, probably my favourite of his novels -- David Mitchell * Independent on Sunday *Mishima is the Japanese Hemingway * Life magazine *This tetralogy is considered one of Yukio Mishima's greatest works. It could also be considered a catalogue of Mishima's obsessions with death, sexuality and the samurai ethic. Spanning much of the 20th century, the tetralogy begins in 1912 when Shigekuni Honda is a young man and ends in the 1960s with Honda old and unable to distinguish reality from illusion. En route, the books chronicle the changes in Japan that meant the devaluation of the samurai tradition and the waning of the aristocracy. * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisIt is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary'Rediscover Kafka''s classic work of psychological horror. The Trial is the terrifying tale of Joseph K, a respectable functionary in a bank, who is suddenly arrested and must defend his innocence against a charge about which he can get no information. A nightmare vision of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the insanity of twentieth-century totalitarianism has resonated with readers for generations.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY PHILLIPE SANDSTrade ReviewIt is the fate and perhaps the greatness of that work that it offers everything and confirms nothing -- Albert CamusThe Dante of the Twentieth Century -- W. H. AudenNo other voice has borne truer witness to the dark of our times -- George Steiner

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Book SynopsisFROM THE PUBLISHER OF THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO - THE OFFICIALLY APPROVED TRANSLATION OF SOLZHENITSYN''S SEARING DEBUT NOVELThe Gulag, the Stalinist labour camps to which millions of Russians were condemned for political deviation, has become a household word in the West. This is due to the accounts of many witnesses, but most of all to the publication, in 1962, of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the novel that first brought Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to public attention. His story of one typical day in a labour camp as experienced by prisoner Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is sufficient to describe the entire world of the Soviet camps.Translated from the Russian by H. T. WillettsTrade ReviewA masterpiece in the great Russian tradition. There have been many literary sensations since Stalin died. Doctor Zhivago apart, few of them can stand up in their own right as works of art. Ivan Denisovich is different * New Statesman *For much of the century that he came to dominate, he was simply Russia's greatest writer * Guardian *Solzhenitsyn's little book on the Soviet camps, One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, has just been reissued, in a much-improved translation by Harry Willetts. It remains a devastating book - a classical tragedy... Solzhenitsyn is a genius and a hero: Ivan Denisovich stands with Animal Farm. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the Man Booker International Prize 2015 Gregoire Nakobomayo, a petty criminal, has decided to kill his girlfriend Germaine. He's planned the crime for some time, but still, the act of murder requires a bit of psychological and logistical preparation. Luckily, he has a mentor to call on, the far more accomplished serial killer Angoualima. The fact that Angoualima is dead doesn't prevent Gregoire from holding lengthy conversations with him. Little by little, Gregoire interweaves Angoualima's life and criminal exploits with his own. Continuing with the plan despite a string of botched attempts, Gregoire's final shot at offing Germaine leads to an abrupt unravelling. Lauded in France for its fresh and witty style, African Psycho's inventive use of language surprises and relieves the reader by sending up this disturbing subject.Trade ReviewTaxi Driver for Africa's blank generation... a pulp fiction vision of Frantz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth that somehow manages to be both frightening and self-mocking at the same time * Time Out New York *A smart satire on the deserving targets of corrupt officialdom, complacent media and blank-eyed consumerism * New Internationalist *Disturbing - and disturbingly funny ... although the title invokes American Psycho, the book owes more to Dostoyevsky and Camus * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE GREATEST WELSH NOVELThis outstanding novel tells of one boy's journey into the grown-up world. By the light of a full moon our narrator and his friends Huw and Moi witness a side to their Welsh village life that they had no idea existed, and their innocence is exchanged for the shocking reality of the adult world.One Moonlit Night is one of Britain's most significant and brilliant pieces of fiction, a lost contemporary classic that deserves rediscovery.Trade ReviewA remarkable book that recalls Under Milk Wood * * Times Literary Supplement * *One of the great lost voices . . . For its portrayal of a vanished way of life, and for its evocation of the tearless sadness of insanity, this strange, melancholy book deserves to be widely read * * Observer * *Heart-wrenching. A classic to be read and reread * * Daily Telegraph * *An esoteric masterpiece. -- Jan MorrisLyrical and visceral, comic and tragic, compellingly earthy and maddeningly gothic - after 40 years this literary oddity continues to elude classification * * Observer * *One of the oddest, most elusive, most haunting novels ever. -- Niall GriffithsA very moving, often funny account of childhood. * * Spectator * *Utterly compelling * * Guardian * *Premonitions of insanity and the mercurial personality of its narrator give the story a hallucinatory, ambiguous edge. * * Herald * *Lyrical . . . Prichard's elegiac account of a troubled boyhood belongs on the same shelf with Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy, Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes . . . Readers will inevitably be reminded of another Welsh work, Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, that portrays various colourful inhabitants of a minuscule community . . . Whether grim or playful, Prichard's vision in One Moonlit Night is communicated in language that provides intense esthetic pleasure. Those of us who do not know Welsh can only speculate about the texture and cadences of the original . . . The sketches of various townspeople are especially sharp and often moving * * New York Times * *Caradog Prichard's wild, kaleidoscopic One Moonlit Night is widely considered to be the finest novel written in the Welsh language . . . the obvious reference point is Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, but, for all its humour and energy, this is an altogether darker and more intense affair . . . Bleak as it is, One Moonlit Night is never less than beautiful, and Philip Mitchell's 1995 translation retains its power and sensitivity -- Tom Bullough * * Financial Times * *An early precursor to The League of Gentlemen * * Independent * *Philip Mitchell's reworking of Prichard's Welsh conveys the particularity of a time and place that existed recently in years, but a world away in feeling * * The Times * *

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Book SynopsisYasunari Kawabata, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature, was one of Japan's most distinguished novelists. Born in Osaka in 1899, he published his first stories while he was still in high school. Among his major novels published across the world are Snow Country (1956), Thousand Cranes (1959), The Sound of the Mountain (1972), and Beauty and Sadness (1975). Kawabata was found dead, by his own hand, in 1972.Trade ReviewThis novel is one of modern literature's greatest, most poignant elegies * Washington Post *Kawabata's narrative spirals through the book's events in ruminative glides and turns... There is a kind of low-key daring, an austere, autumnal nobility, in Kawabata's tale * Time *An archetypal saga... there are storms and landscapes as cool, as luminous, as any in Japanese paintings and woodcuts * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisDS Evert Bäckström is in charge of a rare kind of case. Finding a suspect for the murder of Thomas Eriksson – gangster lawyer and renowned defender of the guilty – isn’t difficult, but narrowing down the long list of people who wanted him dead is almost impossible. Certainly the only thing the detective is mourning is his obligation to process the paperwork. Fortunately, Bäckström has spent his years cultivating a group of questionable acquaintances. His colleagues don’t know that he only closes his cases with the help of these friends. Nor that Bäckström owes them a few favours. But this time they’re all in for a surprise because even the dirtiest cop couldn’t have predicted where this trail would lead or how far from comfortable Bäckström might be at its end.Trade ReviewUnquestionably among the most entertaining you can find in the season's crop of Swedish crime fiction. * Expressen (Sweden) *Leif GW Persson is a highly intelligent entertainer, able to make the reader writhe with laughter on one hand and flinch over the sharp and critical depictions of contemporary society on the other ... To put it simply, I haven't had this much fun reading a crime novel in a long time. * Skanska Dagbladet ( Sweden) *Leif GW Persson undoubtedly writes the most entertaining crime literature in Sweden right now, not least because of the priceless police detective Bäckström - a con man whom we love to hate. * Dala-Demokraten (Sweden) *Despite - or thanks to - Bäckström's asinine character the plot strands are elegantly woven together into a powerful whole that satisfies the readers' desire for a titillating cast of characters, strange coincidences, and a waft of history. * Aftonbladet (Sweden) *

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Book Synopsis*Featured in The Times top ten crime novels of the decade*THE NEW INSPECTOR ADAMSBERG NOVELShortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2017A woman is found dead in her bath. The murder has been disguised as a suicide and a strange symbol is discovered at the scene.Then the symbol is observed near a second victim, who ten years earlier had also taken part in a doomed expedition to Iceland.How are these deaths, and rumours of an Icelandic demon, linked to a secretive local society? And what does the mysterious sign mean? Commissaire Adamsberg is about to find out.Trade ReviewFrench crime queen's new mystery – her best yet. * Sunday Times *[Vargas] has won the CWA international dagger four times, confirming her place in the top rank of contemporary crime writers... [A Climate of Fear] is easily the best thing she has ever done... The idea of history repeating itself is at the heart of this stunning novel, which confirms Vargas’ fine understanding of the unchanging nature of human passions. * Sunday Times *A reminder that Fred Vargas is one of the most entertainingly eccentric of all current European crime writers... [It] demonstrates why Vargas is so highly esteemed... Highly impressive. -- Barry Forshaw * Independent *Vargas writes with strength, erudition and unique imagination... In the crowded world of crime fiction, she's a valuable one-off. A Climate of Fear is one of her best. -- Marcel Berlins * The Times *A rich and remarkable work that may be her masterpiece. * Crime Scene *

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Book SynopsisGillian seems to have it all - she is beautiful, successful, and securely married. But one night, after an argument with her husband, their car crashes on a wet road, and everything is lost. When she wakes in the hospital, she is a widow with a ruined face and no way back to the person she thought she was. It is only when she begins to piece together the painful shards of her present existence and revisit a relationship from her past that she is able to glimpse the freedom that might come with her loss. From the master of unadorned storytelling, All Days Are Night is a quietly disquieting exploration of identity, inside and out.

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Book SynopsisA vivid novel about the solitary life of a peasant family in a harsh and unforgiving land, austerely told by a classic Brazilian writer.Trade ReviewGraciliano Ramos is of the naturalistic tradition in the literature of Brazil, but this novel is not mere social protest. The author has a keen visual sense, and the reader becomes one with the part of the earth where Fabiano’s life unfolds.... Barren Lives is a moving novel, one to ponder on. * Library Journal *Table of Contents Introduction 1. A New Home 2. Fabiano 3. Jail 4. Vitória 5. The Younger Boy 6. The Older Boy 7. Winter 8. Feast Day 9. The Dog 10. Accounts 11. The Policeman in Khaki 12. The Birds 13. Flight

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of Isak, a worker of the land, with its roots in man's deepest myths about the struggle to cultivate the land and make it fertile. Sweeping and panoramic, the story moves at the pace of the passing seasons and with the growth of the crops on which the characters' lives depend.Hamsun's themes of individual freedom, and the fundamental human need to reconcile man with the natural world, speak even more resonantly than when the novel was first published.Trade ReviewOne of the great writers of this century... Hamsun's novels have the simplicity of total self-possession. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen a woman fails to return from a retreat in Italy, investigative journalist Henning Juul discovers that she never left Oslo … and her disappearance leads to a chilling case that has unexpected and devastating links to the past. ‘One of the most unusual and intense talents in the field’ Barry Forshaw, Independent ‘A sophisticated and suspenseful tale’ Jessica Mann, Literary Review ‘Suspenseful, dark and gritty … this is a must-read’ Booklist –––––––––––––––––––––––– What secret would you kill to protect? When Hedda Hellberg fails to return from a retreat in Italy, her husband discovers that his wife’s life is tangled in mystery. Hedda never left Oslo, the retreat has no record of her and, what’s more, she appears to be connected to the death of an old man, gunned down on the first day of the hunting season in the depths of the Swedish forests. Henning Juul becomes involved in the case when his ex-wife joins in the search for the missing woman, and the estranged pair find themselves enmeshed both in the murky secrets of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, and in the painful truths surrounding the death of their own son. When their lives are threatened, Juul is prepared to risk everything to uncover a sinister maze of secrets that ultimately leads to the dark heart of European history. Chilling, gritty and unputdownable, Cursed marks the return of one of Norway’s finest crime writers. –––––––––––––––––––––––– Praise for Thomas Enger ‘Satisfyingly tense and dark … a deep and complex book’ Sunday Times ‘MUST HAVE’ Sunday Express S Magazine ‘Intriguing’ Guardian ‘Full of suspense and heart’ Crime Monthly ‘Thomas Enger writes with verve, colour and a pace that builds to a thrilling climax’ European Literature Network ‘A crime series worth watching’ Library Journal ‘Superbly compelling … the characters leap right off the page, and the relationship between them is as twisted and complex as the story itself’ Shotsmag ‘Outstanding’ Ragnar Jónasson ‘A masterpiece of intrigue, fast-paced action and suspense that is destined to become a Nordic Noir classic’ Yrsa Sigurdardóttir ‘An intriguing new voice in crime’ NJ Cooper ‘Slick, compelling and taut’ Chris EwanTrade Review'A gripping narrative that begs comparison to Stieg Larsson' Bookpage * 'One of the most unusual and intense writers in the field' Barry Forshaw, Independent * 'An intriguing new voice in crime' NJ Cooper * 'Spine-chilling and utterly unputdownable. Thomas Enger has created a masterpiece of intrigue, fast-paced action and suspense that is destined to become Nordic Noir classic' Yrsa Sigurdardottir * 'Thomas Enger is one of the finest writers in the Nordic Noir genre, and this is his very best book yet. Outstanding' Ragnar Jonasson * 'Cursed is visceral and heartfelt - a gripping deep-dive into the secrets that hold families together and tear them apart' Crime by the Book * 'Slick, compelling and taut, Thomas Enger combines a sophisticated layers of mysteries with an intensely scarred hero embarked on a tragic quest. A dark and suspenseful blast of Nordic exposure' Chris Ewan * 'The Killing took us by surprise, The Bridge was a good follow-up, but the political drama Borgen knocked spots of both. For readers who enjoy these Scandinavian imports, this novel is a treat ... the dialogue is sharp and snappy, and the characters seem to come alive in this sophisticated and suspenseful tale' Jessica Mann, Literary Review * 'It has real strengths: the careful language, preserved in the fine translation, and its haunted journalist hero ... An intriguing series' Guardian * 'A powerful new voice and a writer I will follow with great interest' Raven Crime Reads

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Book SynopsisGabriel García Márquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature and author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, explores the loneliness of power in Autumn of the Patriarch.''Over the weekend the vultures got into the presidential palace by pecking through the screens on the balcony windows and the flapping of their wings stirred up the stagnant time inside''As the citizens of an unnamed Caribbean nation creep through dusty corridors in search of their tyrannical leader, they cannot comprehend that the frail and withered man lying dead on the floor can be the self-styled General of the Universe. Their arrogant, manically violent leader, known for serving up traitors to dinner guests and drowning young children at sea, can surely not die the humiliating death of a mere mortal?Tracing the demands of a man whose egocentric excesses mask the loneliness of isolation and whose lies have become so ingrained that they are indistinguishable fromTrade ReviewIt asks to be read more than twice, and the rewards are dazzling * Observer *Delights with its quirky humanity and black humour and impresses by its total originality * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisIn Korea, a little Buddhist monk (really very dwarf-sized) dreams of the Western world and secretly reads up on Western culture. When he meets the holidaying French couple Napoleon Chirac and Jacqueline Bloodymary he offers his services as their guide, in the hope they will take him, a penniless monk, to Europe. He whisks them off on a tour of the temples. Among the many twists and turns, our stunned tourists encounter a suicidal horse and discover that a person can also be a robot. Though our monk appears to them as the very spirit of tourism, nothing is natural in this tour de force of Aira's twisted imagination.Trade Review'Once you've started reading Aira, you don't want to stop.' Roberto Bolano --------- 'Hail Cesar!' Patti Smith --------- 'Aira writes at full tilt, going where the words take him (a style he calls "constant flight forward") so that reading him is dizzying.' Jane Housham, The Guardian ---------- 'Bewitching and bewildering ... Compulsively readable ... Aira's writing - with its equal measures of rich complications and airy whimsies - combines brevity with so many possible meanings, or none.' Arifa Akbar, Financial Times --------- 'Surreal and intriguing ... a drama is as fun as it is mystifying.' The Guardian --------- 'A work of literary trigonometry. The prose bounds along with a gleeful spring in its step, dragging the improbable story behind it ... If you're happy to have your buttons pushed, then you'll fall for this shaggy-dog-story-on-shrooms, and fall hard.' Roger Cox, The Scotsman --------- 'Funny, poetic and wonderfully readable ... Idiosyncratic and vivacious, The Seamstress and the Wind reads more like an afternoon in the pub with a dreamy Eddie Izzard than a sit-down session exploring prose form with Eimear McBride, and is all the better for it.' Big Issue --------- 'Sophisticated and energetic writing which will leave you scratching your head with curious wonder ... I admire the sheer uncompromising audacity and verve of this novel.' The Lonesome Reader ---------- 'Aira is firmly in the tradition of Jorge Luis Borges and W. G. Sebald.' Mark Doty, Los Angeles Times ---------- 'It works as a piece of art whose fresh, gorgeous images carry rich meanings about the nature of transformation. But it also works as a story that makes you miss your subway stop.' Electric Literature

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Book SynopsisThe story is violent, pacy and full of black humour. Imagine the Soprano family arriving in France, or perhaps better, Ray Liotta, the snitch from 'Goodfellas' settling down with his family in a small town in Normandy. Under cover of darkness, an American family moves into a villa in Cholong-sur-Avre in Normandy. Fred Blake tells everyone he is writing a history of the landings. In fact Blake is Giovanni Manzoni, an ex-Mafia boss who grassed and is now in the FBI Witness Protection Program. Having blown his cover a number of times in the US, the FBI finally sends him to France. Things happen to this thuggish family: a plumber who angers Fred with delays and exorbitant estimates 'falls down the stairs' and breaks both arms, the manager of the local supermarket insults Maggie behind her back so that afternoon his supermarket burns down, Warren, the son, starts a gang in his lycee, to intimidate and extort other pupils. A coincidence beyond belief blows Fred's cover yet again and, with the arrival of the shooters from Newark, he is able to dive back into the violent life of crime he misses so much.Trade Review"A sharp vengeance thriller filled with charm and humour." Times "Savagely funny and surprisingly touching." Guardian "What would happen if a mafia boss took FBI protection in return for grassing and settled in with his folks in Normandy? A queasily-comic, stylishly-executed romp." Independent

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Book SynopsisWritten over a period of more than half a century, Tolstoy’s enchanting short stories and novellas reflect every aspect of his developing art and outlook. Volume 1 of the Everyman Collected Shorter Fiction is dominated by the characteristic experiences of his early life as soldier, land-owner, husband and father, the life which shaped Anna Karenina and War and Peace. It also includes several short fables which point to his later preoccupation with the religious life. Volume 2 reveals how these spiritual intimations flowered into a series of extraordinary late masterpieces which equal anything in the earlier novels for intensity and power. Readers of The Death of Ivan Ilych, The Kreutzer Sonata, Father Sergius, Master and Man and Hadji Murad will recognize the brilliant younger novelist, now transfigured by his passionate quest for salvation and forgiveness.

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Book SynopsisIn the small Bosnian town of Visegrad the stone bridge of the novel's title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict. Visegrad has long been a bone of contention between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but the bridge survives unscathed until 1914, when the collision of forces in the Balkans triggers the outbreak of World War I.The bridge spans generations, nationalities and creeds, silent testament to the lives played out on it. Radisav, a workman, tries to hinder its construction and is impaled alive on its highest point; beautiful Fata leaps from its parapet to escape an arranged marriage; Milan, inveterate gamble, risks all in one last game on it. With humour and compassion, Andric chronicles the lives of Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Christians unable to reconcile their disparate loyalties.Trade ReviewIn high school, one Saturday, I started reading a book by the Yugoslav novelist Ivo Andric: The Bridge on the Drina. By the time I finished it something in me had shifted forever * New Statesman *Despite its scale, what makes the book extraordinary is the tender insight with which it treats these individual lives, whether Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim or Jewish * Independent *Perhaps the most widely translated Yugoslav book since the last war is Ivo Andric's The Bridge on the Drina... No better example could have been selected with which to introduce the American public to contemporary Yugoslav prose * New York Times *The best kind of fictionalised history * Daily Telegraph *The wealth and variety of its fictional elements carry it so far beyond the confines of a straightforward novel, it cannot be limited to such a description. It puts one in mind of a collection of tales, but no collection of tales (not even A Thousand and One Nights or Washington Irving's stories) ever possessed such a unity and continuity of theme * Le Monde *

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Book Synopsis''Happiness - was it right to name it without knowing it? It sounded shameless in my mouth, like when someone shows off about knowing a celebrity and just uses their first name, saying Marcello when they really mean Mastroianni ...''A young orphan boy grows up in Naples, playing football, roaming the city''s streets and hidden places. The older boys call him ''monkey'' because he can climb anywhere. He is alone, apart from Don Gaetano, the apartment caretaker, who feeds him, teaches him to play scopa, and tells him stories about women, history and the dark secrets of Naples'' past. Then one day the boy sees a young girl standing at a window. It is an encounter that will haunt his life for years and, eventually, shape his destiny. Lyrical and exuberant, told with the simplicity of a fairy tale and the intensity of a memory, The Day Before Happiness is the story of friendship, a city and what makes us who we are.Trade ReviewPowered by a combination of charm, warmth and simplicity... poignancy gives way to wry humour at regular intervals throughout the book, and the result is a brittle, lyrical, finely poised tragicomedy -- Malcolm Forbes * Herald Scotland *An economically expressed yet vividly imagined coming-of-age story... De Luca is a native of Naples and in a sense this book is a love letter to the city -- Roger Cox * Scotsman *High hopes in clear language, cautions against real evil, and scenes thick with poetic sentiment - these elements fuel the warmth to be found in De Luca's brief but affecting novels * The National *The only true first-rate writer that the new millennium has given us so far * Corriere della Serra *

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Book SynopsisAs a child, Elias Almeida loses both his parents during the Angolan uprising against colonial rule. As an adult and professional revolutionary, he bears witness to mankind at its pitiless worst. Yet he continues to believe in a better world and in the redeeming power of love -- even though he cannot be with the woman he loves, who rescued him from thugs one snowy night on the streets of Moscow. Spanning forty years of Africa''s past as a battleground between East and West, this powerful novel explores the heights and depths of human nature as it tells a profoundly affecting story of sacrifice and idealism.Trade ReviewA powerful meditation on the price of ideology and the nature of love . . . The novel, remorseless in its depiction of man's inhumanity, is poetically alive to the redeeming power of love. * Eithne Farry, Daily Mail *A beautiful, haunting fugue that carries the weight of decades of suffering on a continent that the West prefers to romanticise or ignore . . . [Makine's] reputation as one of the significant novelists of our age is only strengthened by this book. * Stephanie Merritt, Observer *Andreï Makine has exceptional gifts for getting to the heart of true feeling . . . HUMAN LOVE is a haunting, often very tender story written in a kind of meditative fury . . . one of the best novels about Africa in a long time * Christopher Hope, Guardian *All his books are wonderful . . . But HUMAN LOVE, full of feeling, wisdom and tenderness amidst horror, is one of his best. If you ever despair of modern literature, read Makine. * Allan Massie, Scotsman *Makine looks reality in the face and yet retains a belief in beauty and the transforming power of love * Allan Massie chooses his book of 2008 for the Spectator *Wonderful . . . his work is exhilarating * Alan Massie choses HUMAN LOVE for The Scotsman Christmas Books *

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Book SynopsisA rediscovered German classic novel from 1942, never before published in the UK, The Seventh Cross is both a gripping escape story and a powerful novel of resistance.Trade ReviewSimply put, a novel against dictatorship -- Marcel Reich-RanickiThe material that this book is made from is long-lasting and indestructible; very few things on earth can be compared to it. It is known as justice -- Christa WolfIt was [Seghers] who taught my generation and anyone who had an ear to listen after that not-to-be-forgotten war to distinguish right from wrong. The Seventh Cross shaped me; it sharpened my vision -- Gunter GrassAt once a suspenseful manhunt story and a knowing portrait of the perils of ordinary life in Hitler's Germany, The Seventh Cross is not only an important novel, but an important historical document. This new, unabridged translation is a genuine publishing event. -- Joseph Kanon, author of 'The Good German' and 'Leaving Berlin'A fascinating insight into life in pre-war Nazi Germany just as the horrors of the Nazi regime were beginning to unfold. This is an important novel, as much for its picture of German society as for its insight into the psyche of ordinary people confronting their personal fears and mixed loyalties while an escapee from an early concentration camp attempts to avoid recapture -- Simon Mawer, author of 'The Glass Room'A masterpiece. Written in the midst of terror, but with such clarity, such acuity; Seghers is a writer of rare insight -- Rachel Seiffert, author of 'A Boy in Winter'As a demonstration of what life under Nazism does to the mind and soul of many typical Germans, The Seventh Cross is a searching, brilliantly skilful job -- Orville Prescott * The New York Times *The Seventh Cross is multi-layered, compelling and so human, wise and compassionate. We are taken inside different characters' heads to see the human side of monstrous people and the monster within the most humane. We see the poignancy of ordinariness in times of crisis and horror. Through the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times we get to see how fascism can take hold and that is an important thing for us to grasp right now! -- Virginia Baily, author of 'Early One Morning'[The Seventh Cross] ranges over an array of characters and narrative strands to present a panoramic, yet fine-grained view of German society at a particular moment of the Nazi era . . . In the book's minor characters and subplots, Seghers shows the different ways Nazism ripples through people's lives. She powerfully conveys an atmosphere of paranoia and resignation, quiet resistance and flickering hope -- Jane Yager * TLS *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial—one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century—the haunting tale of K.’s relentless, unavailing struggle with an inscrutable authority in order to gain access to the Castle. Translated and with a preface by Mark Harman.Arriving in a village to take up the position of land surveyor for the mysterious lord of a castle, the character known as K. finds himself in a bitter and baffling struggle to contact his new employer and go about his duties. The Castle's original manuscript was left unfinished by Kafka in 1922 and not published until 1926, two years after his death. Scrupulously following the fluidity and breathlessness of the sparsely punctuated original manuscript, Mark Harman’s new translation reveals levels of comedy, energy, and visual power previously unknown to English language readers.

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Book SynopsisA woman finds herself filling a pit in the forest in the middle of the night; a family lock each other in their bedrooms to battle a strange plague; a wizard punishes two beautiful ballerinas by turning them into one hugely fat circus performer; a colonel is warned not to lift the veil from his dead wife''s face; and a distraught father brings his daughter back to life by eating human hearts in his dreams. In these blackly comic tales of revenge, disturbing deaths and haunting melancholy, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya blends miracles and madness in the darkest of modern fairy tales.Trade Review'Gave me nightmares ... These stories work the boundary states of consciousness like a tongue works an aching tooth' * Elle *'A revelation - like reading late-Tolstoy fables set in an alternative reality' * New Yorker *this short and rather extraordinary book of "Scary Fairy Tales" [...] succeed - in many cases quite hauntingly. -- Theo Tate * Sunday Times *An entrancing collection of tales, as humane and unsentimental as Chekhov, as grim and funny as Beckett, as dark and unsettling as Poe. -- Brandon Robshaw * Independent on Sunday *Penguin has given this book instant promotion to 'modern classic' status and it's easy to see why. It is an extraordinary collection of jet-black tales by one of Russian's foremost writers, which has understandably inspired comparisons with Tolstoy. Beat that. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisA middle-aged judge driven by curiosity and the intellectual challenge of his work, a nervous and neurotic young historian willing to run all manner of risks to uncover the state crimes of the forties, a nerdy, well-educated and good-natured young journalist motivated principally by the desire to enjoy life and not to dwell on the miseries of the past, a KGB general once responsible for some of the purges and now an Islamist radical, an inept, capricious and delightfully self-aware Jewish actor, and an Islamic cleric loyal to the Soviet Union, whose murder has so many repercussions, all these carefully constructed characters could be found in any society but Alessandro Barbero has brought them to life in one of the most elusive, unstable and neglected historical realities: Gorbachev's Russia. And this proves to be fertile ground for Barbero, one that generates endless themes and the opportunity to express his love for Russian literature and culture. Barbero used his skills as a historian to study the reality of that society through its newspapers and journals, and his skills as a novelist to weave a complex plot - a tale of two cities: Moscow and Baku. And throughout, the narrative voice - perhaps the greatest protagonist of them all - represents not the author's views but those of the Russian public as they emerged from one dismal reality and hurtled unknowingly towards another.Trade Review"The first surprise is that this novel was written by an Italian, since it deals so deftly with Russian history from the inside. ... He even writes in a bright and breezy satirical style, brilliantly conveyed by Allan Cameron in his translation, that leads the reader to believe that some Russian Master had been leaning over his shoulder, guiding his hand" - The Herald; "[Barbero's] book is first a quite remarkable piece of impersonation. He is Italian, his novel Russian, set during the Gorbachev years when Soviet certainties were crumbling and change and anxiety were in the air. ... the plot which the reader follows through a dense and intricately designed maze ... is a circuitous and often puzzling as in any Le Carre novel (and Le Carre fans will love this one too). Yes what is a plot for, as Scott remarked, 'but to bring in fine things?' and there are fine things in spades" - The Scotsman; "This is a literary miracle - unique, witty and gripping. It reads like Bulgakov's prose somewhat modernised or even a careful and sensitive translation of one of the great Russian classics. It is stunningly authentic, and I cannot believe that the author and translator are NOT Russian... A book to savour and consume slowly..." - Vitali Vitaliev; "Barbero uses the diabolic skills of an erudite and professional narrator to seek out massacres of the distant and recent past. The Anonymous Novel concerns the past-that-never-passes (whether Tsarist or Stalinist) and the future that in 1988 was impending and has now arrived" - Il Giornale; "As in a vast Russian rive, thousands of rivulets and currents intersect with each other in Barbero's novel, which provides us with an amazing snapshot of the reality of yesterday and today with all the endless nuances, and holds our attention with events of a police investigation" L'indice;

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Book SynopsisA great masterpiece never before available in English, Kornél Esti is the wild final book by a Hungarian genius.Trade Review"Each of these stories displays a mastery of texture, nuance, and pacing that is absolutely first rate." -- Christopher Byrd - The Daily Beast"Kosztolányi was a ringleader in the 20th-century flowering of Hungarian literature, a poet who reformed the language, and a fiction writer of world class." -- The Guardian"One of the most important and glittering writers of a Hungarian golden age, Kosztolányi is multicolored and ineffable, like a rainbow. At the end of his life, the virtuoso Kornél Esti appears." -- Peter Esterházy"If anyone ever truly wanted to write the history of the Hungarian people, the author would certainly take that Dantean first sentence of Kosztolányi’s Kornél Esti as the work’s epigraph: in a word, the most wondrous first sentence ever written in the Hungarian language." -- László Krasznahorkai"A tender comedy tinged with the absurdity of life, the thrill of sociability, and the imminence of death, which I guess is exactly the kind of book I like." -- Chad Harbach

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Book SynopsisFrom the writer adored by the likes of García Marquez, Calvino, and Francine Prose comes a collection of Hernández's classic talesTrade Review"Poetry that transforms the ordinary into the uncanny." -- Bookforum"Excellent … miraculously alive … wonderful." -- Michael Pye - The New York Times Book Review"A vision of such startling beauty that it flares up like an old-fashioned phosphorous match and illuminates our whole lives." -- Francine Prose"If I hadn't read the stories of Felisberto Hernandez in 1950, I wouldn't be the writer I am today." -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Book SynopsisThe controversial, gripping novel from the bestselling, highly acclaimed author of ATOMISED and SEROTONIN.''Essential reading for anyone concerned with the state of the contemporary world'' DAILY MAILWho, among you, deserves eternal life?Daniel is a highly successful stand-up comedian who has made a career out of playing outrageously on the prejudices of his public. But at the beginning of the twenty-first century, he has begun to detest laughter in particular and mankind in general. Despite this, Daniel is unable to stop himself believing in the possibility of love.A thousand years on, war, drought and earthquakes have decimated the earth and Daniel24 lives alone in a secure compound - his only companion, a cloned dog named Fox. Outside, the remnants of the human race roam in packs, while Daniel24 attempts to decipher his predecessor''s history. In a nightmarish vision of the implosion of the modern world, he, like his predecessor attempts to fathTrade ReviewTakes you by the throat and shakes you. A bracing mix of visionary Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh at his cruellest, and ranting John Osborne, THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND is a charging bull in the china shop of modern fiction * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND is above all an aesthetic achievement. For this, Houellebecq should win the Prix Goncourt that polemics and personalities have made so elusive * SCOTSMAN *His deftly constructed novel is a bleak comment on contemporary society, at times funny, brutal and revolting * THE ECONOMIST *An exhilarating writer....in a class of his own * LITERARY REVIEW *There is no doubt that he is a writer who deserves the serious attention that he is now receiving * THE TIMES *Provocative and satisfying fiction * HERALD *The novel is essential reading for anyone concerned with the state of either contemporary fiction or the contemporary world * DAILY MAIL *There are passages of irresistible black humour, savage condemnation and genuine (and surprising) sentiment * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *If you liked ATOMISED and PLATFORM, you'll love THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND ... the most talented of current French writers * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *It will sicken you, reduce you to laughter and stun you with its savage directness, but it will always leave you thinking * SPAIN MAGAZINE *The first 300 pages of this novel prove that Houellebecq is one of the best novelists writing today * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *The book shows his main strength: caustic wit with a moral force that cuts through complacent assumptions * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Houellebecq keeps us listening, even when we know we should leave * INDEPENDENT *Reading Houellebecq is like being caught up in a tropical storm: you are blown away by the ferocity of his imagination * OBSERVER *Europe's most inflammatory writer * INDEPENDENT *Houellebecq keeps us listening, even when we know we should leave. * THE INDEPENDENT *the book shows his main strength: caustic with with a moral force that cuts throug complacent assumptions. -- Katie Owen * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *

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Book SynopsisSet in an unspecified island kingdom, A Regicide tells the story of the statistician Boris who, after the electoral victory of the Church party in the country's elections, decides to assassinate the King on the day he is to visit the factory where he is employed. As the crime is described and relived, doubt sets in as to whether it has ever taken place.Written in 1949 but only published in 1979, Robbe-Grillet's first novel is a disquieting and satirical avant-garde political thriller which bridges the gap between traditional novel and the Nouveau Roman genre he would later espouse and make famous.

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Book Synopsis''The morning became a long, drawn-out afternoon that became depthless night dawning innocently through the house''Tales of desire and madness from this giant of Brazilian literature.Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

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Book Synopsis** NOW SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER**Gripping TatlerThe first in a thrilling new crime series set in Germany - the Black Forest Investigations Louise Boni, maverick chief inspector with the Black Forest crime squad, is struggling with her demons. Divorced at forty-two, she is haunted by the shadows of the past. Dreading yet another a dreary winter weekend alone, she receives a call from the departmental chief which signals the strangest assignment of her career - to trail a Japanese monk wandering through the snowy wasteland to the east of Freiburg, dressed only in sandals and a cowl. She sets off reluctantly, and by the time she catches up with him, she discovers that he is injured, and fearfully fleeing some unknown evil. When her own team comes under fire, the investigation takes on a terrifying dimension, uncovering a hideous ring of child traffickers. The repercussions of their crimes will change the coTrade ReviewAn exceptional crime novel. -- Kolja Mensing * TAZ *It's been a long time since any crime author started out so strongly, so visually. -- Tobias Gohlis * Die Zeit *Oliver Bottini, one of the few German authors who play in crime-writing's premier league, really knows how to tell a good story. * Frankfurter Rundschau *Tension without brutality, local colour without small-minded sentimentality, good intelligent reading with depth. -- Christine Hage * Handelsblatt *A piercing examination of our reality . . . Bottini uses the full potential of the genre to look deep into humanity's abyss and sees there the concealed traumas of German society -- Tomasz Kurianowicz * Die Zeit *Gripping. * Tatler. *The first of his award-winning Black Forest novels to appear in English. It has an arresting opening image: a Buddhist monk with a head injury strides across the snowy landscape of the border country between Germany and France . . . a surprising and genuinely shocking case. -- Joan Smith * The Sunday Times *A nicely done shock thriller * Weekend Sport *An atmospheric, original story that will keep you hooked tothe final heart-rending revelations * Crime Review *Bottini has established himself as a strong new voice in crime with this inventive mystery . . . The fictional landscape is beguiling and the story utterly gripping * Book Noir *With its cinematic writing style, its brilliant sense of location and its strong visual depiction of an inhospitable landscape, Zen provides an intelligent and engrossing crossover novel between a police procedural and the study of an individual's personal collapse -- Ewa Sherman * Riveting Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThe exquisite last novel from Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari KawabataIneko has lost the ability to see things. At first it was a ping-pong ball, then it was her fiancé. The doctors call it ''body blindness'', and she is placed in a psychiatric clinic to recover. As Ineko''s mother and fiancé walk along the riverbank after visiting time, they wonder: is her condition a form of madness - or an expression of love? Exploring the distance between us, and what we say without words, Kawabata''s transcendent final novel is the last word from a master of Japanese literature. ''Lusciously peculiar'' Paris ReviewTrade ReviewYasunari Kawabata's lusciously peculiar novel Dandelions was unfinished when he took his life in 1972. It's a story of love and loss and mania, told in sparse, arresting prose * Paris Review *Kawabata's novels are among the most affecting and original works of our time -- New York Times Book ReviewThere are few other writers who could invoke such a lasting memory of a single image with so few words. * San Francisco Chronicle *A literary habitat like no other?quietly devastating fiction. Behind a lyrical and understated surface, chaotic passions pulse * The Independent *

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Book SynopsisFor decades, a secret network in Stockholm has been exploiting young girls, ruthlessly eliminating anyone who threatens to reveal their secret. As oddly paired duo Teddy and Emelie - the thug and the lawyer - investigate, the terrifying noose tightens. The police force has established a special team to find out just who's involved in the network, but can't seem to get close enough. And who is it that's trying to silence Teddy and Emelie, using any means necessary?Trade ReviewAt last: an epic European thriller to rival the Stieg Larsson books. It's an entirely new criminal world, beautifully rendered - and a wildly thrilling novel. * James Ellroy on the Stockholm Noir trilogy *Jens Lapidus, with his dazzling book, Easy Money, is the new Swedish thriller writer everyone's been waiting for. * Reggie Nadelson *Jens Lapidus is a very talented crime author. He is also a young author. He is only going to get better - and he has every potential of becoming the best. * Leif GW Persson *Anything Jens Lapidus writes is a must-read for me. His writing crackles with a profound understanding of not simply why bad people do bad things, but how. * Ryan Gattis *Breathless staccato phrases matched with stylish acceleration a la James Ellroy's raw, terse prose... Lapidus delivers an intrigue that will keep you nailed to the pages * Politiken, Denmark *[Stockholm Delete] is intense and hyperrealistic, written by a suspense novelist who this time has created a near perfectly matched relationship between the novel's content and the form in which it is presented. * Dagbladet, Norway *For those who like their Scandi noir on the bleak side-and really, who doesn't?-Jens Lapidus is your man... Lapidus creates a layered and satisfying portrait of Stockholm and its residents, from the scummiest to the most privileged. * Crimereads *

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Book Synopsis 'Incredibly funny, incredibly insightful and incredibly moving' Fiona Mozley, author of Hot Stew A darkly comic and explosive tale of a world at war and one island girl's struggle to survive Eighty-year old Herra Björnsson lies alone in her garage waiting to die. Oh, she has two weeks left, maybe three - she has booked her cremation appointment, at a blistering 1,000 degrees, so it won't be long. But until then she has her cigarettes, her laptop, a World War II grenade, and her memories to sustain her. One of the most original narrators in literary history, Herra takes readers with her on a dazzling ride of a novel as she reflects - in a voice by turns darkly funny, poignant and always, always smart - on the mishaps, tragedies and turns of luck that shaped her life. And with a bawdy, uncompromising spirit, she has survived it all. As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, Hallgrímur Helgason tells the deeply moving story of a woman swept up by the forces of history. Trade Review‘Published in 13 languages, this novel about one feisty Icelandic woman's proximity to history's big moments is a thoroughly entertaining ride.’ * People magazine *‘A blitzkrieg of a novel… Funny, shrewd and reliably rude… This hugely entertaining tale is surely destined for classic status.’ * Guardian *‘In this black-humoured novel...the narrator recounts her misshapen life with engaging vividness.’ * The New Yorker *‘Breathtaking… Herra’s life, and voice, is deeply compelling.’ * Financial Times *‘The hottest new book from Iceland… [Herra’s] perspective might be just what we need in these uncertain times: She survives and shares her story on her terms. And what a story it is, one worth reading to further understand the complexity of World War II — and to enjoy the quick wit of a woman you won’t forget.’ * Washington Post *‘The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is incredibly funny, incredibly insightful and incredibly moving.’ * Fiona Mozley, author of Elmet *‘What a novel! Helgason’s Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a gutsy, brilliant book: I could not tear myself away from it. Octogenarian Herra Björnsson’s dying recollections, as she lies nursing a hand grenade between her legs in an Icelandic garage, hurtle the reader headfirst into an epic narrative of war, loss, desire and survival, across years and continents. Both funny and deeply moving, I finished it utterly dazzled, my ears ringing.’ * Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites *‘One of the most original novels of the year.’ * Irish Independent *‘An explosive experience.’ * Elle *‘By turns funny, sweet, gripping and sad but never sentimental, Helgason's work...is a sensitive tale of a nearly lived life.’ * Monocle *‘Herra…is exceedingly quick-witted and has a wickedly colorful way with words… Brilliantly written with flashing insights.’ * Kirkus *'The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a bold work of fiction that gnaws at the silence blanketing the blackest holes of humanity to lay bare the author's dark vision of truth.' * Washington Independent Review of Books *'This novel is a shock, a laugh, an evocation of grief, and a tribute to survival and imagination.' * Affinity Konar, author of Mischling *'Helgason’s sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year-old Herra Björnsson lies dying in a Reykavík garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II...In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on reticence and a brief summary of Iceland’s financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous.' * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘Compelling…uplifting…required reading for those who want sour along with the sweet of life.’ * New York Journal of Books *‘A very enjoyable story…a terrific read. Herra is a great character; she is bawdy, at times outright vulgar and mischievous.’ * The Bookshelf, ABC Radio Australia *'Gripping, darkly comic, and utterly original.' * Valerie Martin, author of Property *'Icelandic novelist Helgason shares with John Irving a knack for masterful plotting and clever, sarcastic humour...anyone willing to...revel in its flights of language will find much to enjoy.' * Booklist *‘Helgason’s characters are rare beauties. One falls for his absurd fantasies immediately.’ * Spiegel.de *‘Long after I read it, the story and its prickly protagonist has stayed with me.’ * Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican, New York Magazine *‘You don’t know her yet, but she already despises you… With a biting humour, she examines love, marriage, sex, politics, and those who practice them.’ * Le Figaro Magazine *‘Extraordinarily absorbing and enjoyable. The story revolves around a woman who lived ahead of her time. Many young women would idealize Herra Björnsson. At the same time, it gives an insight into life during World War II.’ * Washington Book Review *'This is a profoundly, triumphantly feminist book... There’s nothing like it in our language.' * Toronto Star *‘Helgason’s novel is superbly written, with characters and events that grab your attention and make it hard to put down.’ * Tulsa Book Review *‘Unpredictable and endearing.’ * Jacksonville Journal-Courier *‘It's a sophisticated work, combining elements of Bildungsroman, comic burlesque, fictional biography and historical commentary… The novel's sheer invention, talkativeness and linguistic zest recall Joyce, while the plot itself, with its logical progression into the absurd, is not too distant from the labyrinths of Kafka.’ * David McDuff, literary translator and critic *‘A magnificent novel about maybe the most memorable character in Icelandic fiction.’ * Fréttablaðið *‘A mind-blowing doorstopper’ * Le Monde des Livres *‘This novel is toxic. The cover, the crumpled lady with the pink wig should have been warning enough, still one is stunned. This novel charges at you like a little terrier after you have opened a garden gate. It barks short, hoarse sentences. However, you don’t want to put this book down again!’ * Der Spiegel 1 *‘A ride through the 20th century of the ice island through the Nazi German Reich to Argentina and back again – wildly, tough, and devilishly clever. “Like” it? It rocks!’ * Stern *‘The most surprising, funny, bonkers novel of the season’ * Lire *‘Passionate, explosive and fiery…’ * El Periodico *‘Book of the year!’ * SWR3 Radio *‘Irresistible.’ * Paris Match *‘A caustic and human story that is tragic with a great sense of humour at the same time.’ * ABC Libros *‘If this had been written by a different, non-Icelandic author, it would be a pulp Charles Dickens, with a bit of Chuck Palahniuk thrown in.’ * Il Giornale *‘Playing with time and with history, this is a tragicomic and hard-hitting novel in which the author gets to the heart of a global situation and the vagaries of Icelandic politics.’ * El Diario *

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Book SynopsisThe second of the Black Forest Investigations - for fans of Val McDermid and Henning MankellTrade ReviewOliver Bottini is a terrific storyteller and he evokes his setting - the Rhine borderlands of the Black Forest - with skill -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express *Its plot bristles with invention -- Barry Forshaw * Guardian *A Summer of Murder has a plot as surprising as the earlier novel . . . taut writing and pacy events -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times *Oliver Bottini, one of the few German authors who play in crime-writing's premier league, really knows how to tell a good story * Frankfurter Rundschau *Tension without brutality, local colour without small-minded sentimentality, good, intelligent reading with depth * Handelsblatt *It's been a long time since any crime author started out so strongly, so visually * Die Zeit *

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Book SynopsisCrime and Punishment is one of the most important novels of the nineteenth century. It is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes to set himself outside and above society. It is marked by Dostoevsky's own harrowing experience in penal servitude, and yet contains moments of wild humour.Trade ReviewSuperb... the Oxford University Press edition is beautifully produced and competitively priced. * Donald Rayfield, Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis A beautiful tribute to the international bestseller The Little Prince, with specially commissioned illustrations by the award-winning artist Pietari Posti Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. But even princes from faraway planets eventually grow up. No longer content with his tiny planet, the young prince sets off once again to explore the universe. And so begins another remarkable journey into the secrets and joys of living a meaningful life. A charming fable for all ages, this wonderful follow-up to the beloved classic overflows with love and wisdom, a true celebration of life as it should be lived in all its beauty and joy.Trade Review'This book reminds us of the values we should never have abandoned: the importance of friendship, family, community and compassion – the pillars of every civilized society.' * Bruno d’Agay *

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Book SynopsisA major new collection of Japanese short stories, many appearing in English for the first time, with an introduction by Haruki Murakami, author of Killing CommendatoreA Penguin Classics HardcoverThis fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the art of the Japanese short story, from its origins in the nineteenth century to the remarkable practitioners writing today. Edited by acclaimed translator Jay Rubin, who has himself freshly translated some of the stories, and with an introduction by Haruki Murakami, this book is a revelation.Stories by writers already well known to English-language readers are included--like Tanizaki, Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata, and Yoshimoto--as well as many surprising new finds. From Yuko Tsushima's "Flames" to Yuten Sawanishi's "Filling Up with Sugar" to Shin'ichi Hoshi's "Shoulder-Top Secretary" to Banana Yoshimoto's "Bee Honey," The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is filled with fTrade ReviewBrilliant, startling, a goldmine ... unfolds like an idiosyncratic mixtape, compiled with expert zeal by veteran translator Jay Rubin ... incredibly varied. Horror and mythology jostle with character comedies, domestic dramas and Proustian reveries ... it challenges notions of what translated literature should be -- Alex Dudok de Wit * Daily Telegraph *A feast of literature, a smorgasbord of over 30 widely varied modern Japanese writers ... Each lodges itself in memory ... Penguin's new anthology is a literature lover's dream, page after page of memorable writing, stories that leave a lasting impression yet can be fully absorbed in one sitting -- Kris Kosaka * Japan Times *An exhilarating glimpse into Japanese literature -- Patti Smith

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Book SynopsisNot so long ago Emilio Brentani was a promising young author. Now he is an insurance agent on the fast track to forty. He gains a new lease on life, though, when he falls for the young and gorgeous Angiolina-except that his angel just happens to be an unapologetic cheat. But what begins as a comedy of infatuated misunderstanding ends in tragedy, as Emilio's jealous persistence in his folly-against his friends' and devoted sister's advice, and even his own best knowledge-leads to the loss of the one person who, too late, he realizes he truly loves. Marked by deep humanity and earthy humor, by psychological insight and an elegant simplicity of style, As a Man Grows Older (Senilità, in Italian; the English title was the suggestion of Svevo's great friend and admirer, James Joyce) is a brilliant study of hopeless love and hapless indecision. It is a masterwork of Italian literature, here beautifully rendered into English in Beryl de Zoete's classic translation.

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Book SynopsisMonsieur Linh and His Child is a remarkable novel with an extraordinary twist, a subtle portrait of friendship and a dialogue between two cultures.Trade Review'an impossibly elegant novel, one that makes you sort of wistful at the beauty of the words and their meaning' Black Sheep Dances. * Black Sheep Dances *'A delicately sympathetic portrayal of trauma, as well as a poignant evocation of guilt' Maya Jaggi, Guardian. * Guardian *'This is an extraordinary, powerful and moving novel of the refugee experience ... Highly recommended' Sarah Bower, Historical Novels Society. * Historical Novels Society *'Claudel maintains a simplicity and sensitivity throughout the book, mirroring the compassion and sympathy that the men share for each other' Irish Times. * Irish Times *'Exquisite' Allan Massie, Scotsman. * Scotsman *'An exquisitely crafted little gem of a book' Rebecca Isherwood, Skinny. * Skinny *'Like all good fables, it conveys the sense of a greater significance beyond itself' Daniel Hahn, Independent. * Independent *'There is nothing sentimental about the prose, which is as restrained and delicate as a piece of Indochinese artwork' Ophelia Field, Guardian. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA carriage transporting ten passengers fleeing from Rouen is stopped at a village inn by Prussian soldiers, who decide to detain them until one of their party, the prostitute Boule de Suif, consents to sleep with their officer. When Boule de Suif refuses to do so on account of her principles and patriotic sentiments, the solidarity initially manifested by her fellow travellers becomes increasingly tested as the deadlock continues, and the strained relationship between her and her “respectable” counterparts gradually worsens. A scathing satire of bourgeois prejudice and hypocrisy and a compelling snapshot of France during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, ‘Boule de Suif’ – here presented with five other major stories by the author of Bel Ami – was declared a masterpiece by Flaubert and is widely considered to be Maupassant’s finest short story.Trade ReviewAn exceedingly sharp satire of flexible French morals among different classes during the nineteenth-century German occupation. * The Guardian *Table of ContentsContains:Boule de Suif, The Confession, First Snow, Rose, The Dowry, Bed 29

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Book SynopsisAn old man arrives at the offices of the lawyer Derville, claiming to be Colonel Chabert, a hero of the Napoleonic Wars who was left for dead on the battlefield, but in fact managed to survive under a pile of corpses before spending years as a recovering amnesiac. Having returned to Paris and discovered that his wife has married an aristocrat who has liquidated all his assets, Chabert enlists the help of Derville to recover both his name and his fortune. Part of Balzac’s La Comédie humaine cycle, Colonel Chabert is a poignant tale about the pursuit of justice, as well as a portrait of France’s transition from the Napoleonic Empire to the Restoration. Inspired by actual events, the novella has captured the imagination of generations of readers and has been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times.Trade ReviewReading Balzac is not a reassuring experience. It challenges our humanism, if we have any, but it ultimately does not destroy it. -- A.N. Wilson

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Book SynopsisThe Flanders Road' is not only a masterpiece of stylistic innovation, but also a haunting portrayal - based on a real-life incident - of the chaos and savagery of war.Trade ReviewHis imagination, working through the controlled riot of words, flames and flares magnificently, and nowhere is he better than in conveying the sense of disintegration that overtook the French in 1940. * The Times *

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