Fiction in translation

Book Synopsis'One of the 20th century's greatest thinkers and prose stylists' New York Times 'A novel of the disquieting contours of family, and of the mind, and of life unceasing even in the midst of death by one of the most important, visionary writers of all time' Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy WITH A FOREWORD BY KATE ZAMBRENO There’s nothing to do about boredom, I’m bored, but one day I won’t be bored anymore. Soon I’ll know that it’s not even worth the trouble. We’ll have the easy life. Twenty-five-year-old Francine Veyrenattes, confined to the family farm, already feels that life is passing her by. But after Francine lets slip a terrible secret, culminating in the violent deaths of her brother and uncle, her world is shattered. Fleeing the farm for the seaside, Francine finds herself disintegrating. Lying in the sun with her toes in the sand, she restlessly wishes for things to be somehow easier, to have a life worth living. But then the calm and quiet is broken yet again – by another tragedy and a senseless death, in which Francine finds herself implicated. Cast out of paradise, and stranded between her home and the rest of the world, she must confront her rapidly dissolving sense of self if she is to find a way to survive. 'It’s a masterpiece, and a little known, if not unknown, masterpiece … Any serious reader of this author’s work must begin with this novel' YVES BERGER Trade ReviewReading The Easy Life, there is a sense of riding on the edge of a dark wave, a brilliant intensity only Marguerite Duras could bring into existence. A novel of the disquieting contours of family, and of the mind, and of life unceasing even in the midst of death. How exhilarating to be able to encounter Francine Veyrenattes, a character I won't forget, and for the first time in English, this early work by one of the most important, visionary writers of all time -- AMINA CAINEight decades on, Duras’s nascent talent is on display here * GUARDIAN *Full of desolation and longing ... Sit with the ennui and you may find moments of intense clarity * NEW STATESMAN *Chilly, introspective, told with barely any dialogue, yet shaped by white-hot melodrama, it’s a bracing, uncanny reading experience * DAILY MAIL *Simultaneously grotesque, beautiful and tragic * DAILY TELEGRAPH *In this powerful, immaculately translated novel, we watch the young Marguerite Duras move from the fierce, iron rigors of narrative to her more characteristic style of relentless introspection. This book, which she wrote in her twenties, already reveals all her powers -- EDMUND WHITEPraise for Marguerite Duras: By turns ardent, raging, sensual and embittered ... A dreamlike, savage world, in which the great themes of love, war and death found their most recklessly impassioned chronicler * Observer *A writer who believed that understanding suffering was an act of the imagination * New Yorker *Very beautiful, highly intelligent, enjoyable and original * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary and ambitious mosaic of a novel of a family over centuries, from Iceland's most exceptional contemporary storyteller.

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Book SynopsisThe novels that inspired Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders - the major TV series"Rebecka Martinsson: the new Scandi-noir heroine to rival Saga Noren and Sarah Lund" iNews"In a television world now awash in female coppers, there aren't many as interesting and human as Rebecka" Wall Street JournalAt the end of a deadly bear hunt across the wilderness of Northern Sweden, the successful hunters are shaken by a grisly discovery. Across in Kurravaara, a woman is murdered with frenzied brutality: crude abuse scrawled above her bloodied bed, her young grandson nowhere to be found. Only Rebecka Martinsson sees a connection. Dropped from the case thanks to a jealous rival, she now stands alone against a killer who brings death to young and old, spawned by a horrifying crime that festers after one hundred years on ice.

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Book SynopsisOsamu Dazai is one of the most famous--and infamous--writers of 20th-century Japan. A Shameful Life (Ningen shikkaku) is his final published work and has become a bestselling classic for its depiction of the tortured struggle of a young man to survive in a world that he cannot comprehend. Paralleling the life and death of Dazai himself, the delicate weaving of fact and fiction remorselessly documents via journals the life of Yozo, a university student who spends his time in increasing isolation and debauchery. His doomed love affairs, suicide attempts, and constant fear of revealing his true self haunt the pages of the book and reveal a slow descent into madness. This dark tale nevertheless conveys something authentic about the human heart and its inability to find its true bearing.Trade ReviewWinner of the William F. Sibley Memorial Subvention Award for Japanese Translation "Dazai's reputation has not waned a bit in seventy years. Reading Mark Gibeau's brilliant translation will show you why." --Roger Pulvers, award-winning translator, film director, and author of LIV

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Book Synopsis'Part thriller, part telenovela, a well-wrought tango noir' The Times 'Vivid and unforgiving' Guardian 'A breathless procedural' ____________ A devastating train crash in the suburbs of Buenos Aires leaves forty-three people dead, but not Hugo Lamadrid, a criminal wanted for murder. He seizes his change to disappear, abandoning his possessions - and, he hopes, his identity - among bodies mangled beyond all recognition. As the police descend of the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he's on Hugo's tail. But he hasn't banked on everything from the media to Hugo's mother-in-law getting in his way. This crackling, pacy noir shines a light on urgent social issues - if you loved The Khan by Saima Mir or Lightseekers by Femi Kayode then you'll love Urgent Matters! ____________ READERS LOVE URGENT MATTERS! 'If this novel by Paula Rodriguez is anything to go by Argentinian noir may be the next big thing' 'It is a perfect slice of Argentine Noir with a current of dark humour running through it and I would highly recommend picking this up if you are looking for a sharp, energetic and compelling read' 'The stand out element of the story was the fabulous character development. All the key players feel like they are pushing their way out of the book into my world' FURTHER PRAISE FOR URGENT MATTERS 'Written in the taut, clean style of the classic pulp noir' Irish Times 'Evokes the teeming metropolis of Buenos Aires in a vibrant fashion' Crime Time 'Frenetic pace and a hypnotic, disturbing plot... An essential read' Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender is the FleshTrade Review“[A] perfectly paced and plotted Argentine thriller... one of the most delightful cat-and-mouse thrillers I’ve read in quite some time.” --Crime Reads “Raymond Chandler by way of Jorge Luis Borges… for an adventurous reader of literary noir, Rodríguez’s intriguing take on the genre should prove a treat.” --Toronto Star“[A] breathless procedural... a notable addition to South American noir.” --Times and Sunday Times Crime Club"Part thriller, part telenovela, Paula Rodríguez’s bleakly comic novel is all Argentine in its awareness of how society makes accommodation with corruption… [a] well-wrought tango noir."--Times (UK)"A vivid and unforgiving depiction of a world in which everyone... is guilty of something." --Guardian"This fast-moving novel evokes the teeming metropolis of Buenos Aires in a vibrant fashion, travelling between its poles of social differences and affording insights into a country still divided by race and class."--Crime Time"Written in the taut, clean style of the classic pulp noir... the story barrels along at a ferocious rate"--Irish Times"Paula Rodriguez’s debut novel beautifully evokes the sense of disjointed strangeness and shattered reality that descends in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, before the dust has settled and the victims accounted for."--Breaking News"Fast-paced and funny, breathing life into an intriguing cast."--Observer"With frenetic pace and a hypnotic, disturbing plot, Urgent Matters is an exploration of how facts are constructed and which of them prevail to become realities. In the post-truth era, it is an essential read."--Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender is the Flesh“Brilliantly-developed characters and a suspenseful journey with an Argentinian noir backdrop.” --Murderjowrote “If this novel by Paula Rodriguez is anything to go by Argentinian noir may be the next big thing.” --Book Phace “It is a perfect slice of Argentine Noir with a current of dark humour running through it and I would highly recommend picking this up if you are looking for a sharp, energetic and compelling read.” --Life with all the books “The stand out element of the story was the fabulous character development. All the key players feel like they are pushing their way out of the book into my world.” --Grab this book

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Book SynopsisWhat did the disintegration of the Soviet Union feel like for the people who lived through it? Award-winning writer Sasha Salzmann tells this story in a remarkable novel about two women in extraordinary times As a child, Lena longs to pick hazelnuts in the woods with her grandmother. Instead, she is raised to be a good socialist: sent to Pioneer summer camps where she's taught to worship Lenin and sing songs in praise of the glorious Soviet Union. But perestroika is coming. Lena's corner of the USSR is now Ukraine, and corruption and patronage are the only ways to get by - to secure a place at university, an apartment, treatment for a sick baby. For Tatjana, the shock of the new means the first McDonald's in the Soviet Union and certified foreign whisky, but no food in the shops; it means terrible choices about how to love. Eventually both women must decide whether to stay or to emigrate, but the trauma they carry is handed down to their daughters, who struggle to make sense of their own identities. Glorious People is a vivid depiction of how the collapse of the Soviet Union reverberated through the lives of ordinary people. Engrossing, rich in detail and unforgettable characters, this is a captivating love letter to mothers and daughters.Trade Review''A story of several generations of women that poignantly demonstrates the imprint of history on people's lives, often with tragic consequences. Salzmann conveys the emotional turmoil and agonizing choices their characters make with exquisite nuance and sensitivity. Their distinctive voice, elegant prose and engaging narrative result in a marvelous work'' - Victoria Belim, author of The Rooster House'Glorious People is hypnotic, sweeping, and more relevant than ever. The mothers and daughters of Glorious People will stick with you long after you turn the last page of this mesmerizing, sharp, and devastating novel. They are searching for meaning and belonging as immigrants, mothers, wives, professionals, and citizens of a complex and ever-changing world. This novel offers a fresh take on the Soviet diaspora that offers both a meaningful critique and a semblance of much-needed hope for the future.' - Maria Kuznetsova, author of Something Unbelievable'In an unflinching examination of mother-daughter ties, Salzmann recreates the lost and newly found world, populating it with powerfully drawn, unforgettable characters. Masterful and haunting' - Elena Gorokhova, author of A Train to Moscow'[Salzmann] writes in a broad, timelessly epic style. There is a quiet sovereignty here that gives one great hope that we are reading one of the next great German storytellers' - Suddeutsche Zeitung'A brilliant book... [that] vibrates with the pleasure of narrating' - Neue Zurcher Zeitung

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Book SynopsisThe Israeli master’s exceptional final novelSHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2017 Shmuel – a young, idealistic student – has abandoned his studies in Jerusalem, taking a live-in job as a companion to a cantankerous old man. But Shmuel quickly becomes obsessed with the taciturn Atalia, a woman of enchanting beauty, who also lives in the house. As the household’s tangled, tragic past becomes apparent, so too does story behind the birth of the state of Israel. Journeying back into the deep past, Judas is a love story like no other by a master storyteller at the height of his powers.‘A hero of mine, a moral as well as literary giant’ Simon Schama‘One of his boldest works of all’ Boyd Tonkin, Financial Times‘Amos Oz…brought so much beauty, so much love, and a vision of peace to our lives. Please hold him in your hearts and read his books’ Natalie PortmanJudas is the first novel selected for the Amos Oz reading circle established by Natalie Portman. Trade ReviewJudas is many-layered, thought-provoking and – in its love story – delicate as a chrysalis, this is an old-fashioned novel of ideas that is strikingly and compellingly modern. -- Peter Stanford * Observer *A very absorbing addition to his remarkable oeuvre -- Andrew Motion * Guardian *This book is compassionate as well as painfully provocative, a contribution to some sort of deeper listening to the dissonances emerging from deep within the politics and theology of Israel and Palestine. -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *After almost two dozen books that track changes in both heart and state with untiring strength and subtlety, the Israeli master has delivered one of the boldest of all his works… Nicholas de Lange, Oz’s distinguished translator, steers these virtuoso transitions between debate and domesticity with unerring skill… Oz can imagine, and inhabit, treachery of every stripe. But he keeps faith with the art of fiction. -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *A big, beautiful novel… Funny, wise and provoking. -- Kate Saunders * The Times *challenging, complex and strangely compelling… The ideas at the novel’s centre have great vitality and force. The philosophical passages bristle with linguistic energy, scriptural references and dense detail, vividly conveyed in Nicholas de Lange’s translation. -- Eva Hoffman * Spectator *It is rich in material to grapple with. Oz engages with urgent questions while retaining his right as a novelist to fight shy of answers: it’s a mark of his achievement that the result isn’t frustrating but tantalising. -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Telegraph *A masterpiece: command of the word, mastery of construct, the ability to stimulate all the senses of the reader. * La Reppublica *Judas is a rich and thrilling novel, one of the most interesting books published this year. * Haaretz *Amos Oz belongs to the great authors of world literature * Suddeutsche Zeitung *

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Book SynopsisA spine-tingling, boundary-crossing, mind-blowing conceptual horror novel from the bestselling author of Let the Right One InTrade ReviewSpooky, creepily disturbing . . . If you like your reads uncomfortably supernatural, let Lindqvist scare the pants off you with this gem -- Jon Wise * Sunday Sport ***Book of the Month** The strength of the novel lies in the author's calm, unhurried reporting of increasingly supernatural events, and his decision tohave a fictional version of himself as narrator, which lends an unsettlingly autobiographical element and grounds the story in reality. I Always Find You is a compelling treatise on loneliness, alienation and the evil that lurks in every heart. -- Eric Brown * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIn May and September 1976, two earthquakes ripped through north-eastern Italy, causing severe damage to the landscape and its population. About a thousand people died under the rubble, tens of thousands were left without shelter, and many ended up leaving their homes in Friuli forever. The displacement of material as a result of the earthquakes was enormous. New terrain was formed that reflects the force of the catastrophe and captures the fundamentals of natural history. But it is far more difficult to find expression for the human trauma, the experience of an abruptly shattered existence. In Rombo, Esther Kinsky’s sublime new novel, seven inhabitants of a remote mountain village talk about their lives, which have been deeply impacted by the earthquake that has left marks they are slowly learning to name. From the shared experience of fear and loss, the threads of individual memory soon unravel and become haunting and moving narratives of a deep trauma.Trade Review‘In Kinsky’s novel, the land speaks...Kinsky expertly animates the natural world around her while removing her human hand. Kinsky lets nature uphold its own intractable logic… If trauma is the inability to redescribe, Rombo offers a powerful antidote in language and the infinite possibilities of description; like the trembling Friulian landscape, forever writing itself anew.’ —Matthew Janney, Financial Times‘Esther Kinsky has more eyes than most; in her novel Rombo she evokes the entire life of an Italian village before, during, and after the two devastating earthquakes of 1976, but each plant and animal central to the village is also a character, and the most important character of all is the landscape itself. The book becomes as much about the futures as the past, for our natural disasters are increasingly man-made, and we need more than ever this reminder of universal impermanence and the marks of memory we leave in its wake.’ — Mary Ruefle, author of Madness, Rack, and Honey‘A tragic travelogue to the underworld-turned-world that recasts a newly lost Italian past with a climate-wise chorus straight out of the most harrowing Greek drama.’ — Joshua Cohen, author of The Netanyahus‘In Esther Kinsky’s new novel, language becomes the highest form of compassion and solidarity – not only with us human beings, but with the whole world, organic, non-organic, speaking out with many mouths and living voices. A miracle of a book; should be shining when it gets dark.’ — Maria Stepanova, author of In Memory of Memory‘Esther Kinsky has created a literary oeuvre of impressive stylistic brilliance, thematic diversity and stubborn originality. ... It is always clear that for her the only landscape worth describing is the one in which she is currently situated. Far from “eco-dreaming”, without sorrow or critique, Kinsky’s novels and poems position humanity in relation to the ruins it has produced and what still remains of nature.’ — 2022 Kleist Prize jury‘[Kinsky] has a poet’s ear for rhythm and precision, elegantly rendered in Caroline Schmidt’s translation. The author has a great gift for describing landscape; she lingers meticulously over rocks and ridges and the ancient formation of mountains.’ — Charlie Lee, Times Literary Supplement‘While the narrator offers insights about collective trauma and the transformative impact of nature’s whims on one’s sense of home, the book is filled with the voices of the landscape’s inhabitants.’ — New Yorker‘In Esther Kinsky, German literature has an author whose books are full of poetic intelligence. ... A brilliant new novel.’ — Neue Zürcher Zeitung‘Rombo is staggering. There is something epic about it… It’s about how we make places habitable — homes, memories, the past — and carry on.’ — Magnus Rena, Review 31‘Moving testimonies from fictionalised inhabitants of Friuli are interspersed with detailed observations about the landscape, geology, history and folklore of the area, all set down in precise, mellifluous prose.’ — Michael Delgado, i News‘Gracefully translated by Caroline Schmidt, Rombo is ambitious in its aim of presenting the total ecosystem of an area: geology, gossip, flora and folktales rub up against each other in an accumulating series of vignettes. Each voice remains distinct, however, in Kinsky’s delicately insistent prose, which draws its reader into the confidence of the village community…The notion of tales ‘written into the landscape’ underpins a central preoccupation of Kinsky’s intimate and poised novel: what happens when a landscape loses its legibility?’ — Damian Walsh, Literary Review‘The quality of Esther Kinsky’s writing is so good that you cannot fail to be spellbound by it.’ — The Modern Novel

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Book SynopsisRead the spicy romance that became a TikTok and Netflix sensationRaquel Álvarez has one goal - to become a psychologist. Well, that and to get Ares Hildago to notice her.For as long as Raquel can remember, she has been obsessed with Ares - her rich, hot, mysterious neighbour. Even though he lives next door, Raquel has never spoken to him - until a chance encounter reveals her crush is anything but unrequited, and their steamy attraction grows into something much more.Raquel is all in with Ares. But Ares can't, or won't, commit, as his struggle with personal and family responsibilities leaves little room for falling in love.What burns bright burns fast, but for Ares and Raquel, can it last?

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Book SynopsisDuring his most productive decade, the 1880s, Maupassant wrote more than 300 stories, including 'Boule de Suif', 'The Necklace', 'The House of Madame Tellier', 'The Hand', 'The Horla' and 'Mademoiselle Fifi'. Marked by the psychological realism that he famously pioneered, the tales in this selection lead us on a tour of the human experience-lust and love, revenge and ridicule, terror and madness. Many take place in the author's native Normandy, but the settings range farther abroad as well, from Brittany and Paris to Corsica and the Mediterranean coast, and even to North Africa and India. Maupassant's remarkable range and ability to evoke an entire world in a few pages have ensured that his fiction has retained its power to entertain through generations of readers. Marjorie Laurie's accomplished translations from the 1920s have similarly stood the test of time.

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Book SynopsisMurakami's 69, a side-splittingly funny coming-of-age novel set in the Japan of the sixties In a small, inconsequential city in Japan, all that matters to 17-year-old Kensuke Yazaki and his friends is girls, rock music and, to a much lesser extent, school. Told at high speed and with irresistible humour by Kensuke himself, this is the story of their 1969, as they engage in heated conversations about Marxism, Rimbaud, Godard, the Beatles and the Stones, set up a barricade in their school, organise a rock festival and map out a highly successful strategy in girl-winning. This is a young Japan entirely turned towards the West, pervaded by Western music, where the girls have nicknames pulled from famous British films, but still locked in a fight with the rigid post-war conservatism of the older generation. Translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy and published by Pushkin Press 'A light, rollicking, sometimes hilarious, but never sentimental picture of late-sixties Japan.' Library Journal 'A great deal of fun, and Murakami ... is a find.' Kirkus Reviews 'The hero is a thoroughly engaging smartass.' Los Angeles Times A superb and very funny bluffer, and one sympathizes with him all the way. Atlantic Monthly 'A cross between The Catcher and the Rye and The Strawberry Statement.' Review of Contemporary Fiction Born in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, Ryu Murakami is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include Coin Locker Babies, Sixty-Nine, Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Audition, In the Miso Soup and From the Fatherland, with Love. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include Tokyo Decadence, Audition and Because of You.Table of ContentsBorn in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, Ryu Murakami is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include Coin Locker Babies, Sixty-Nine, Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Audition, In the Miso Soup and From the Fatherland, with Love. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include Tokyo Decadence, Audition and Because of You.

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Book SynopsisAn ambitious, epic dystopian novel - part political thriller and part satire. From the Fatherland, with Love is set in an alternative, dystopian present in which the dollar has collapsed and Japan's economy has fallen along with it. The North Korean government, sensing an opportunity, sends a fleet of rebels in the first land invasion that Japan has ever faced. Japan can't cope with the surprise onslaught of Operation From the Fatherland, with Love . But the terrorist Ishihara and his band of renegade youths - once dedicated to upsetting the Japanese government - turn their deadly attention to the North Korean threat. They will not allow Fukuoka to fall without a fight. Epic in scale, From the Fatherland, with Love is laced throughout with Murakami's characteristically savage violence. It's both a satisfying thriller and a completely mad, over-the-top novel like few others. Translated by Ralph McCarthy, Charles De Wolf and Ginny Tapley Takemori, and published by Pushkin Press 'A troubled meditation on the soul of modern Japan... Alarmingly pertinent in light of current British politics... A morbidly funny comedy... Above all, it is a phenomenal feat of storytelling 700 pages, dozens of characters and scores of ideas woven into one gripping whole.' Andrzej Lukowski, Metro 'This is a novel by the other Murakami. Not Haruki... If Haruki is The Beatles of Japanese literature, Ryu is its Rolling Stones... [From the Fatherland, with Love] has a Tolstoyan cast of characters, from crack North Korean commandos and hapless Japanese bureaucrats to a gang of hoodlums who eventually decide to save Japan. It unfolds with the pace of a thriller...' David Pilling, Financial TImes 'Massively ambitious and uncompromising... prescient in unexpected ways' Joanne Hayden, Sunday Business Post ''[Mixes] the thrills of a spy novel with some national soul-searching' Lionel Barber, Financial Times, Summer Books 'Definitely edgier and darker than Haruki [Ryu Murakami] has a worldwide following and is regarded by many as one of the most thrilling writers of contemporary Japanese fiction... [He] offers a thrilling insight - with a geopolitical panoramic view - into national character, human relationships, chaos and disorder' - Tatevik Sargsyan, Hunger Magazine 'Like nothing else out there... a Japanese Tarantino... Highly addictive' Morpheus Tales Born in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, Ryu Murakami is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include Coin Locker Babies, Sixty-Nine, Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Audition and In the Miso Soup. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include Tokyo Decadence, Audition and Because of You.Trade ReviewA troubled meditation on the soul of modern Japan... Alarmingly pertinent in light of current British politics... A morbidly funny comedy... Above all, it is a phenomenal feat of storytelling 700 pages, dozens of characters and scores of ideas woven into one gripping whole. -- Andrzej Lukowski Metro This is a novel by the other Murakami. Not Haruki... If Haruki is The Beatles of Japanese literature, Ryu is its Rolling Stones... [From the Fatherland, with Love] has a Tolstoyan cast of characters, from crack North Korean commandos and hapless Japanese bureaucrats to a gang of hoodlums who eventually decide to save Japan. It unfolds with the pace of a thriller... -- David Pilling Financial Times Massively ambitious and uncompromising... prescient in unexpected ways -- Joanne Hayden Sunday Business Post [Mixes] the thrills of a spy novel with some national soul-searching -- Lionel Barber Financial Times, Summer Books ...a truly unhinged bit of satire... this long and very strange political novel by the "other" Murakami seems even more beady-eyed after Fukushima... Sunday Telegraph

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Book Synopsis"It is rare to say about a book that you have never read anything like it, and this is one such case." Elle"A pure diamond, a magnificent event. A mind-blowing debut novel." Le PointEel is a 17-year-old girl who leaves her rock on the archipelago of Comoros to lose herself at sea. She drifts between two states of mind and between two islands 'in a hollow maze', evoking her memories so as to forget nothing and so as to delay the inevitable outcome.Confronted with the pressing immediacy of imminent death, Eel recounts the story of her whole life in one long, sustained breath, in a series of brief couplets.A story told in a single sentence, A Girl Called Eel is a memorial, a reckoning, and a powerful narrative imbued with a prevailing sense of urgency.

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Book SynopsisWhile her mother is in the hospital with a grave but unnamed illness, Marina spends the summer with her grandmother, waiting to hear whether she'll get to go home or be bundled off, newly orphaned, to a convent school. There are no rules at Grandma's, but that also means there are no easy ways to fend off the visions of sex and violence that torment and titillate the girl. Presenting a unique and vivid take on the coming-of-age novel, Oldladyvoice reimagines childhood through the eyes of its one-of-a-kind, hilarious, perceptive and endearing narrator.Trade Review‘Sad, funny, sharp, and poetic: the best possible ingredients for a book. The perfect chronicle of a smart girl in a stupid world.’ Ben Brooks----‘Perfectly captures what it was like to be a kid in the mythologised ’90s.’ Vice ----‘Elisa Victoria handles the child’s narration dexterously . . . Relying on short, declarative sentences, Victoria has a knack for bringing characters to life in few words.’ New York Times ----‘As a general rule, I am opposed to fiction written from the perspective of a child. It’s not that I’m uninterested in childhood as a concept, or even in children themselves – far from it – but some writers use childhood as a lazy shortcut, an easy way to introduce such broad themes as “innocence lost.” . . . Happily, the Spanish writer Elisa Victoria’s debut novel, Oldladyvoice (translated by Charlotte Whittle), is the exact opposite of this. . . Childhood makes a lot more sense when you remember that children are basically madcap little degenerates, fascinated by their own filth, and I love that Victoria isn’t shy about portraying this.’ Phrasebook ----‘A tender and poignant story, full of light and just the right amount of wickedness.’ El Mundo ----'From the first page, a seductive universe comes into view. It's similar to love at first sight, and there's no need for hesitation, just for the most innocent surrender.' Elvira Linda, El País ----'Good novels find their protagonist's voice and make the reader feel close to them. Such is the case of Oldladyvoice. [...] The magic of Oldladyvoice also lies in its supporting characters (the grandmother, mother and mother's boyfriend) and the conversations they have with Marina, which can make you smile and break your heart in the same line.' Paula de Aguirre, Le Cool Barcelona ----'Marina is firing the last bullets of her childhood, and she does it in a clean, powerful shot of poetry, hope, and zest for life.' Cesar Prieto, Efe Eme music magazine

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Book SynopsisIn post-Communist Romania, on the border with Transylvania, the sleepy little town of B. is losing its young people to the West. A young painter returned from Paris and her eccentric great-aunt seem unconcerned with the decline of the town, until a mutilated corpse is found in the family crypt of Prince Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula. As the world’s attention turns to B., the mayor and his son take advantage and turn the town into a vampire-inspired theme park. Tourists flock, but beneath the surface ancient horrors live on. Dracula Park by Dana Grigorcea is a breathtaking, atmospheric tale of revenge, extremism and the longing for a strong leader, for a strict, cruel judge - like Dracula.Trade Review‘An incredible writer.’‘A dreamy and rock-hard horror story.’ * Frankfurter Rundschau *‘An artistic Dracula story, an artist novel, a farce, and it’s all told with great eloquence.’ * SWR 2 *‘Topical and worth reading far beyond Romania.’ * SRF 2 *‘As dizzying as it is poetic and entertaining.’ * Die Presse *

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Book SynopsisÁróra becomes involved in the search for an Icelandic woman who disappeared from her home while making dinner, as she continues to hunt for her missing sister. The second breathtaking instalment in the chilling, addictive An Áróra Investigation series… ‘Icelandic crime-writing at its finest … immersive and unnerving’ Shari Lapena ‘Chilly and chilling … Lilja Sigurðardóttir's terrific investigator Áróra is back for another tense and thrilling read. Highly recommended!' Tariq Ashkanani ‘Lilja Sigurdardottir is rapidly becoming my favourite Icelandic writer. She doesn’t waste a word as she creates her twisty mysteries and her sly sense of humour highlights her clear-eyed view of human nature’ The Times ‘The Icelandic scenery and weather are beautifully evoked – you can almost feel the autumn fog seeping up from the pages – but it is the corkscrew twists that make it both chilling and mesmerising’ Daily Mail _____________________________ When entrepreneur Flosi arrives home for dinner one night, he discovers that his house has been ransacked, and his wife Gudrun missing. A letter on the kitchen table confirms that she has been kidnapped. If Flosi doesn’t agree to pay an enormous ransom, Gudrun will be killed. Forbidden from contacting the police, he gets in touch with Áróra, who specialises in finding hidden assets, and she, alongside her detective friend Daniel, try to get to the bottom of the case without anyone catching on. Meanwhile, Áróra and Daniel continue the puzzling, devastating search for Áróra’s sister Ísafold, who disappeared without trace. As fog descends, in a cold and rainy Icelandic autumn, the investigation becomes increasingly dangerous, and confusing. Chilling, twisty and unbearably tense, Red as Blood is the second instalment in the riveting, addictive An Áróra Investigation series, and everything is at stake… _________________________________ ‘Lilja is a stand-out voice in Iceland Noir’ James Oswald ‘Sure to please Scandi noir fans’ Publishers Weekly ‘One of my new favourite series … Áróra’s brains and brawn, combined with the super-cool Icelandic setting, is a winning combination’ Michael J. Malone ‘So atmospheric’ Crime Monthly ‘Áróra is a wonderful character: unique, passionate, unpredictable and very real’ Michael RidpathPraise for Lilja Sigurðardóttir ‘Another bleak, unpredictable classic’ Metro ‘Intricate, enthralling and very moving – a wonderful crime novel’ William Ryan ‘Three things we love about Cold as Hell: Iceland’s unrelenting midnight sun; the gritty Nordic murder mystery; the peculiar and bewitching characters’ Apple Books 'Smart writing with a strongly beating heart' Big Issue 'Tough, uncompromising and unsettling' Val McDermid 'Tense and pacey' Guardian 'Deftly plotted' Financial Times 'Tense, edgy and delivering more than a few unexpected twists and turns' Sunday Times ‘The intricate plot is breathtakingly original, with many twists and turns you never see coming. Thriller of the year’ New York Journal of Books 'Taut, gritty and thoroughly absorbing' Booklist 'A stunning addition to the icy-cold crime genre' Foreword Reviews

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Book SynopsisI lost him. I let go of his hand to do up my shoelaces and I lost him ... As a blizzard rages in the vast, white expanse of the Alaskan wilderness, a woman walks alone with a child. No-one sees her as she stops to tie her laces. Seconds later, the child has vanished. In the snow, every minute counts. Soon, each of the very few neighbours joins the search to find the boy before it's too late. As their hunt intensifies, connections are made, their secrets unearthed, and it seems that freezing to death is not the only danger they fear in this isolated edge of the world.Trade ReviewThe Alaskan wilds are the setting for Marie Vingtras's compelling Blizzard ... a chilling, tense read * Observer *A chilly tale marked by twisted fates . . . the book commands the reader's attention until the end * Kirkus Reviews *What is so striking about Blizzard . . . is Vingtras' immediate and formidable linguistic precision * Le Monde *A perfect structure. . . tension to the very end * Express *A dark but luminous novel * Libération *Standing proudly above everything else is the state of Alaska, majestically menacing in all its snowy glory. It's so well drawn as to induce shivers as you read ... Whatever your reading preferences, I'd recommend adding Marie Vingtras to list of your authors to watch. * Crime Fiction Lover *A rollercoaster read, wrap up warm as Blizzard will chill and thrill ... I could not put this down * Writing.ie *Thrilling and intriguing right from the very first page to the very last. I loved it. -- Michelle TeahanPacy and compelling ... the characters so intriguing and full of secrets ... I was with them every step! -- Jessica Irena Smith

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Book SynopsisThe sixth in the Millennium series featuring THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - more than 100 million copies sold worldwide.Trade ReviewA murder mystery inside an espionage conspiracy wrapped in an action thriller-a unique concoction that should leave Salander's legion of followers clamoring for more -- Tom Nolan * Wall Street Journal *Larsson had grand ambitions for his Millennium series, projecting a total of 10 novels. In Lagercrantz's hands, the series is realizing grand ambitions of another sort. -- Maureen Corrigan * Washington Post *He has developed Larsson's rage at right-wing perfidy and men who hate women, mixing it with his ability to depict physical beauty and superhuman survival skills to create fast-paced thrillers . . . The Girl Who Lived Twice is both exciting and disturbing -- Natasha Cooper * Literary Review *Lagercrantz's compassion for the underdog adds genuine emotion to his baroque plotting. There is much to admire in the way he has grasped a tricky assignment - to continue one of the biggest hits of recent years. Roll on the next "girl" -- James Kidd * South China Morning Post *Salander is centre-stage again in Lagercrantz's latest sequel . . . This is a pacy read . . . while still finding room for some nice eccentric touches -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express *David Lagercrantz is a pro. This is stylish, straight forward, classic Swedish crime . . . supporting characters are distinctly illustrated, larger than life . . . the dialogue is voluble; full of knives, Berettas, rich Russians and divinely gifted hackers. * Svenska Dagbladet *A book to devour . . . Difficult, or near impossible to put down, the plot is lavish, complex, remarkably well-composed and filled with unbearable suspense in certain places * Le Parisien *Salander is what she's always been: a force to be reckoned with, and one of the most remarkable series leads in the history of crime fiction. Salander fans, who long ago put aside any misgivings about Lagercrantz taking over the Millennium series, will be eager to follow the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as she attempts to sweep clean her family closet. * Booklist *A tantalizing ending hints at important changes for Blomkvist and Lisbeth ahead. Series fans will be pleased with the thoughtful way Lagercrantz develops the character of their beloved action heroine in this worthy outing. * Publishers Weekly *The Girl Who Lived Twice is the sixth, last and best from Stieg Larsson's universe. It is a vivacious and suitable conclusion of the Millennium saga * Aftenposten *David Lagercrantz has with professionalism and respect consolidated Lisbeth Salander as an archetype of current pop culture, and at the same time written very entertaining novels. * La Vanguardia *The result will satisfy any Lagercrantz fans, since the story goes on without pause until the last page, where the author uses fireworks to surprise the reader. * El Periodico *A great novel made of twists and turns, cliffhangers and detailed researches. Lagercrantz . . . An accomplished and elegant style . . . One of the most beautiful and innovative series of the last two decades. * La Repubblica *Lagercrantz perfectly knows how to embrace the atmosphere and the suspense of the Stieg Larsson saga. * Corriere della Sera *[A] fast-paced adventure -- Miles McWeeney * Irish Independent *

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Book SynopsisMarie, a nurse on the island of Mayotte, adopts an abandoned baby and names him Moïse, raising him as a French boy. As he grows up, Moïse struggles with his status as an outsider and to understand why he was abandoned as a baby. When Marie dies, he is left alone, plunged into uncertainty and turmoil, ending up in the largest and most infamous slum on Mayotte, nicknamed Gaza.Narrated by five different characters, Tropic of Violence is an exploration of lost youth on the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Shining a powerful light on problems of violence, immigration, identity, deprivation and isolation on this island that became a French département in 2011, it is a remarkable, unsettling new novel that draws on the author''s own observations from her time on Mayotte.Translated from the French by Geoffrey StrachanTrade ReviewA masterpiece -- François Busnel * La Grande Librairie *This hard, harsh story will wring out your heart with its otherworldly poetry -- Xavier Houssin * Elle *In the magnificent Tropic of Violence, Nathacha Appanah gives us a terrifying portrait of Mayotte -- Julien Bisson * Lire *A brief, beautiful, brutal portrait of this tiny island in the Indian Ocean -- Gladys Marivat * Le Monde *The strength and the elegance of this novel will take your breath away -- Marianne Payot * L'Express *The hell of Mayotte finds its redemption in the novel's restrained, imaginative use of language -- Claire Devarrieux * Libération *Brilliantly vivid * Guardian *Beautiful and brutal * New Yorker *Searing, lyrical, and ultimately devastating, Tropic of Violence might be Appanah's finest yet * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThe Darkest Day is the first novel in the five part Inspector Barbarotti series from renowned Swedish crime author Håkan Nesser.It’s December in the quiet Swedish town of Kymlinge, and the Hermansson family are gathering to celebrate a big family birthday. But beneath the guise of happy festivities, tensions are running high, and it’s not long before the night takes a dark and unexpected turn . . . Before the weekend is over, two members of the Hermansson family are missing, and it’s up to Inspector Barbarotti to determine exactly what happened on that darkest day, and unravel a web of sinister family secrets in the process . . .Continue the thrilling investigative series with The Root of Evil.'One of the best Nordic Noir writers' – GuardianTrade ReviewBarbarotti has to disentangle years of bad blood and resentment to get to the heart of a thrillingly complex case -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times *Told with wry humour and compassion, Nesser has four more Barbarotti stories to come — cherish them all -- Geoffrey Wansell * Daily Mail *In an exemplary translation by Sarah Death, this tangled tale of guilt and betrayal whets the appetite for translations of the other Barbarotti novels -- Barry Forshaw * Financial Times *A top-notch investigation into some grisly goings-on, courtesy of his latest crime-fighting duo Barbarotti and Backman * Riveting Reads *Fiendishly complex . . . Just the thing for a winter afternoon * Metro *

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Book SynopsisIn his latest tragicomedy Hamid Ismailov interrogates the intersection between tradition and modernity. A former radio-presenter wrongly interprets one of his dreams and thinks that he has been initiated into the world of spirits as a manaschi, one of the Kyrgyz bards and healers reciting Manas – the longest human epic, consisting nearly of a million verses – who are revered as people who are connected with supernatural forces. Travelling to a mountainous village populated by Tajiks and Kyrgyzs, he instead witnesses the full scale of the epic’s wrath on his life. Following on from the award-winning The Devils' Dance and Of Strangers and Bees, this is the third and final book in Ismailov's Central Asia trilogy.

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Book SynopsisWe call them the sleepers . . .At the elite Missing Persons bureau of the Federal Police, Mila Vasquez is tasked with finding the hundreds of lost people who vanished from their former lives. The longer they are gone, the more they are forgotten by the world.Now they are returning.Appearing at random and wielding devastation, they enact a horrifying pattern of murders, leaving Mila scrabbling to discover where they have come from and what they want. Yet the deeper into the case she gets, Mila begins to realise that her colleagues are hiding something from her - something which will jeopardise everything . . .Set in the world of Carrisi''s record-breaking debut, The Whisperer, The Vanished Ones is intelligent, thrilling and incredibly compelling.Trade ReviewGruesome and gripping . . . a taut psychological thriller - The Times on The WhispererMore than delivers on its ghoulish promise . . . you might not want to read this alone in the house - Time Out on The WhispererThe Whisperer is one hell of a ride. This story screams high tension, high stakes and high velocity - Michael ConnellyA gripping read . . . I defy anyone to guess the denouement - Guardian on The Whisperer

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Book SynopsisWhen Hana’s dying uncle calls her back from the city to the family home in the Albanian mountains, he tries to marry her to a local man who could run the household. Unable to accept the arranged marriage and determined to remain independent, Hana’s only option is to follow tradition and vow to live the rest of her life in chastity as a man – and so Hana becomes Mark. For a sworn virgin, there is no way back.Years later, Mark – now a raki-drinking, chain-smoking shepherd – receives an invitation to join a cousin in the US. This may be Mark’s only chance to escape his vow. But what does he know about being an American woman?Trade Review‘Elvira Dones is one of the most distinguished Albanian authors writing today. Astonishing, brilliant, and unabashed by taboos of any kind, she is as much at ease in Albanian as in the rest of European literature . . . The protagonist of this novel passes through all the tribulations of this frightening transformation like the actor in some extraordinary role in a classical drama that hurtles towards its dénouement.’ -- Ismail Kadare‘Translated from Italian by Clarissa Botsford with effortless musicality . . . I couldn’t put it down. Dones’s ability to tell a politically and psychically complex story with such lightness of touch is down to her flowing, spring-clear prose and slyly subversive vision.’ -- Kapka Kassabova * Guardian *‘This book by Elvira Dones grabs the attention with its subject matter even before you turn the first page … As well as this unusual coming-of-age story, with its shadow of death and grief, Dones gives us a compelling portrait of life under communist rule, where “anyone who owns a pair of jeans in Tirana is rich and powerful” . . . a fascinating story’. -- Jonathan Gibbs * Independent *‘A subtle, teasing examination of gender identity, cultural disorientation, and language as the basis of authentic personhood.’ -- Nat Segnit * Times Literary Supplement * ‘A subtle and provocative novel which leaves the reader full of admiration for the strength and stoicism of those who choose a path like Hana’s. And bristling with questions about the hypocrisy of a society which treats women in skirts as intellectually, emotionally and physically inferior to men, yet accepts the total equality of a woman in trousers.’ -- Helen Brown * Sunday Telegraph *‘The author puts a light touch on the issues of culture, immigration, gender tradition and race . . . The novel can be sensitive or brusque depending upon which sex is narrating.’ -- Harriet Addison * The Times *‘A vindication of the PEN Writers in Translation Programme, which supported the publication of this tender, funny and arrestingly original novel.’ -- Jane Shilling * New Statesman *‘A fascinating study in duality and blurred identity which takes as its subject-matter imposed gender realignment . . . a brave book which tackles big themes such as tradition and modernity, exile and belonging while never losing sight of the individual faced with life choices that are constantly opening up certain freedoms while closing the door on others.’ * New Internationalist *‘The latest hidden gem uncovered by this publisher . . . There is more to the book than the unearthing of a remarkable tradition: Dones’ characters are vibrant and her portrait of life in the mountains and in Tirana, the capital, is vivid . . . Clarissa Botsford’s translation (from the Italian – Dones writes in Albanian and Italian) is elegant and sensitive.’ -- Jethro Soutar * Independent *‘Dones’s deft and lively novel finds its sweet spot in a handful of dualities . . . Dones writes in a clean and breezy style, raising sly questions about culture, art, and, especially, gender. Her novel is provocative without being confrontational.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘A gripping, metamorphic tale. The themes of culture, gender, identity and family are explored with real understanding and piercing authenticity in this tender and arrestingly original novel’ * Which Book *‘Artfully written by one of Albania’s most distinguished authors, Sworn Virgin is a story that resonates far beyond one country’s borders.’ -- Elizabeth Milliard * Foreward Reviews *‘Sworn Virgin was made to be translated . . . [a] tight, utterly original story.’ -- Caite Dolan-Leach * The Quarterly Conversation *‘Sworn Virgin is the first novel Elvira Dones wrote in Italian. She adds her voice to the burgeoning new generation of “blended” Italians, who deliberately adopt a “dirty” immigrant/exile approach to their language.’ -- Scott Esposito * Conversational Reading *‘Keen observations on the performance of gender, as well as a good deal of humour . . . The interactions between cousins, at times tender and loving, at times cantankerous and fraught with misunderstandings, give this novel great momentum and allow the characters to fully come alive on the page.’ * Bitch Magazine *‘It’s a fascinating premise for a novel and Dones handles it beautifully . . . told in simple, direct language making the confusion of her identity all the more effective. In other less-skilled hands this is a story that could have fallen flat on its face but Dones – and her translator Clarissa Botsford – deftly avoid prurient sensationalism. The final sentence makes you want to jump up and cheer.’ -- Susan Osborne * Shiny New Books *‘Sworn Virgin is beautifully written, using small details to build scenes that are rife with meaning . . . an incredibly engrossing read, telling a story that is both engaging and transcendent.’ -- Beth Mellow * Bookslut *‘Without having to travel all over the world, one way to get to know other countries is through reading modern literature of that area. That is what we get with [Sworn Virgin]; a glimpse into the world of Albania . . . a place many people would be hard-pressed to find on a map, a place whose culture or customs are little known by the outside world.’ * San Francisco Book Review *‘Elvira Dones‘s engaging novel, Sworn Virgin (translated from Italian by Clarissa Botsford and regrettably the only Dones novel available in English), not only unpacks these fascinating gender questions, but transplants the issue between two nations.’ -- Edward Champion * Reluctant Habits *‘Dones has a light and easy way of writing so that the story sweeps you along . . . strength in Dones’s writing is in the characterisation.’ -- Belinda Farrell * Biis Books *‘Dones style is pared back and clean, letting the emotional honesty at the heart of our protagonists’ story shine through.’ -- Marie Claire Conlin * For Books’ Sake *‘Elvira Dones offers an emotionally involving account of an Albanian sworn virgin.’ * The Big Issue *‘The circumstances around Hana/Mark’s choices are convincingly described without sensationalism. Mark’s double culture shock, as an immigrant and as someone unused to traditional femininity, is also nicely handled. This is an engaging and absorbing novel that gives both an emotional experience and a good deal to think about.’ * Emerald Street *‘These are books that, even if I don’t have time to read them, I must own. As a complete set. That’s powerful in terms of marketing and branding, and is one—of many—things that And Other Stories has done right in launching their press.’ * Three percent *‘A thought-provoking story . . . Sworn Virgin works very well, and Dones is especially good at showing the struggles Hana faces in dropping the Mark persona, with Hana having to deal with much more than just superficial, cosmetic changes.’ -- Tony Malone * Tony’s Reading List *‘Important notice: Elvira Dones’ Sworn Virgin (tr. Clarissa Botsford) is one of those books that once you stop reading you just can’t put it down … Of all the books I’ve read for WITMonth so far, there’s no doubt in my mind that Sworn Virgin is the most thought-provoking . . . Sworn Virgin emerges as a wholly fascinating account of gender roles . . . completely worth reading.’ * Biblibio *‘Ms. Dones has a gift for slowly opening up her characters … Sworn Virgin is a fascinating novel, and highly recommended.’ -- Carolyn Oliver * Rosemary and Reading Glasses *‘Fascinating reading. The word pictures of people and of those repressive climates; dictatorship, rural isolation and patriarchy; that condition them are set out in very compelling prose. If you have never been to rural Albania, reading this novel will transport you there and bring you back again safely. It would be well worth the journey.’ ‘Sworn Virgin digs deeply into its protagonist’s psychology, and delineates the contours of her world.’ -- David Hebblethwaite * David's Book World *‘Sworn Virgin is quite simply a character study, which follows a young woman as she learns to fall in love with her life.’ * We Love This Book *‘As ever And Other Stories have turned up a quirky novel about a part of the world I always wanted to know more about.’ -- Stu Allen * Winstonsdad's Blog *‘Sworn Virgin is a punchy and poetic novel, which takes the reader into what is likely to be a totally unfamiliar world and makes it vivid and engaging.’ -- Thom Cuell * Workshy Fop *‘There is so much in this book. It’s about family and sacrifice and immigration and culture and growing up and gender roles/identity in society. So much. And a good story too. The idea of effectively changing your gender in order to have the kind of life you want or need, or to have the place in society that suits you, is really interesting . . . Sworn Virgin is a brilliantly written, fascinating book about culture, gender and family.’ * Mischief and Miscellany *‘Elvira Dones deals with issues at the heart of western civilisation today, such as migrant and gender identity, and the tormented relationships we may have with our bodies.’ ‘An intelligent and painful play on identity, and on the freedom of body and spirit’ -- Lara Crinò * Repubblica Donne *'An unusual and beautiful Bildungsroman’ -- Marilia Piccone * stradanove *‘Increasingly these days, true stories are turned into fiction, and novelists are able to tell these stories more successfully than journalists. Elvira Dones has finally given a voice to those Albanian women who hope one day to regain the femininity they once denied in order to be counted equal in society.’ * Repubblica *‘[Sworn Virgin] explores many binary oppositions—urban/rural, tradition/modernity, wealth/poverty, West/non-West, communism/capitalism, home/diaspora, male/female, body/soul—to reveal how sociopolitical forces mold individual lives. Ultimately, this spare but evocative novel portrays a woman who negotiates and finally reconciles those binaries to shape an identity that transcends history, tradition, and societal constraints.’ * World Literature Today *‘[A] very readable, enjoyable, gorgeous novel that deals with issues, serious and light, familiar and unfamiliar . . . That a novel covering such weighty issues as communism, patriarchal oppression, sexual violence, immigration and gender identity manages to be so warm and enjoyable is a huge achievement.’ -- Kate Gardner * Nose in a Book *‘[A] fascinating psychological portrait but also a careful exploration of desire and personal transformation.’ -- Michelle Bailat-Jones * Necessary Fiction *

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Book SynopsisThe profession he had always yearned for did not actually exist... he imagined a cross between a doctor and a priest, a man capable of understanding another's destiny at first glance. The very first investigation by eager young police secretary Jules Maigret leads him to a wealthy Paris family's dark secrets.Trade ReviewPraise for Georges Simenon:“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —The Independent (London) “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London) “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.”lle —Peter Ackroyd “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ― Times (London)"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ― Margaret Atwood"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ― Financial Times"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn."-- Stig Abell ― The Sunday Times (London)

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Book SynopsisComing back into town after a hunting expedition, Alexandre Dumas witnesses an incredible scene: a man has come to hand himself in to the mayor after decapitating his wife, terrified by the fact that her severed head spoke to him even after her death. This prompts the guests at a dinner Dumas attends later that evening to exchange stories of death and the supernatural, ranging from accounts of the guillotine during the Terror to tales of vampires and fratricide in the Carpathians. The Thousand and One Ghosts – here presented in its first and only translation into English – is a gloriously macabre work by the celebrated author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, which also touches on the serious political issue of capital punishment.Trade ReviewDeserves to have been disinterred and brought back to haunt us. * TLS *

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Book SynopsisOne Hundred Years of Solitude meets The Kite Runner in Saddam Hussein''s Iraq. A contemporary tragedy of epic proportions. No author is better placed than Muhsin Al-Ramli, already a star in the Arabic literary scene, to tell this story. I read it in one sitting. Hassan Blasim, winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for The Iraqi Christ. On the third day of Ramadan, the village wakes to find the severed heads of nine of its sons stacked in banana crates by the bus stop.One of them belonged to one of the most wanted men in Iraq, known to his friends as Ibrahim the Fated.How did this good and humble man earn the enmity of so many? What did he do to deserve such a death?The answer lies in his lifelong friendship with Abdullah Kafka and Tariq the Befuddled, who each have their own remarkable stories to tell.It lies on the scarred, irradiated battlefields of the Gulf War and in thTrade ReviewThough firmly rooted in its context, The President's Gardens' concerns are universal. It is a profoundly moving investigation of love, death and injustice, and an affirmation of the importance of dignity, friendship and meaning amid oppression. The novel is undoubtedly a tragedy, but its light touch and persistent humour make it an enormous pleasure to read. -- Robin Yassin-Kassab * Guardian. *A story buffeted by the wider tides of history: the bloody churn of dictatorship, invasion and occupation . . . The President's Gardens evokes the fantastical, small town feel of One Hundred Years of Solitude . . . Shocks and enchants. -- Tom Gordon * Financial Times. *A beautiful novel . . . Consistently compelling . . . In writing about ordinary Iraqis who pay the cost of wars waged by autocratic leaders, Al-Ramli touches on deep and timeless themes. -- Alastair Mabbott * Glasgow Herald. *Deeply painful and satirical, The President's Gardens is a contemporary tragedy of epic proportions. No author is better placed than Muhsin Al-Ramli, already a star in the Arabic literary scene, to tell this story. I read it in one sitting. -- Hassan Blasim, winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction PrizeLike Gabriel García Márquez, with whom he is often compared, Al-Ramli has created a specific village that manages to be universal and a story that is rooted in history while reaching forward into the present day. -- Kathy Watson * Tablet. *I took so much pleasure reading a book called The President's Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli. It's got that kind of magical feel that something like One Hundred Years of Solitude has, but it's about Iraq . . . And it is epic, it's absolutely epic . . . It's beautifully written . . . It's one of those novels that achieves something which is quite rare. It's absolutely specific in its context - Iraq, the Iraq conflict, the causes and consequences of it - but it's themes are universal: love, death, injustice, the importance of dignity; how do you find friendship and meaning amid oppression? It's a wonderful book. -- John Maytham * The John Maytham Show (South Africa) *A tour de force. -- Rachel Halliburton * Prospect. *A stunning read . . . So atmospheric, superb storytelling . . . I absolutely was taken into another world. -- Susan Cahill * Newstalk (Ireland). *A stunning achievement. -- Ben East * The National. *One of the most important contemporary Iraqi novelists and writers. * El Mundo. *A novel filled with details . . . with passion, homeland, revolution, and grief. It represents a landmark in the progression of Iraqi literature. -- Miral Al-Tahawi.How do you preserve dignity amidst the relentless carnage and mutilation of modern Iraq? Told with a fresh transparency and tender insight, The President's Gardens draws on the unfathomable resilience of the Iraqi people, leaving me speechless and humbled. -- Paul MacAlindin, author of Upbeat: The Story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq.Masterful. -- Malu Halasa, co-author and editor of Syria Speaks.

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Book SynopsisIcelandic detective Elma faces mortal danger as she investigates the death of a young man in a mysterious Akranes house fire, and a Dutch au pair’s perfect placement turns deadly … The breathtaking third instalment in the award-winning Forbidden Iceland series. ***WINNER of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger*** ‘Her best, boldest work to date: a mystery both merciless and compassionate, subtly eerie yet flat-out frightening, featuring a detective as complicated as Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole. This is virtuoso suspense writing’ A J Finn ‘Chilling and addictive, with a completely unexpected twist … I loved it’ Shari Lapena ‘Another beautifully written novel from one of the rising stars of Nordic Noir’ Victoria Selman _________________________ The small community of Akranes is devastated when a young man dies in a mysterious house fire, and when Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID discover the fire was arson, they become embroiled in an increasingly perplexing case involving multiple suspects. What’s more, the dead man’s final online search raises fears that they could be investigating not one murder, but two. A few months before the fire, a young Dutch woman takes a job as an au pair in Iceland, desperate to make a new life for herself after the death of her father. But the seemingly perfect family who employs her turns out to have problems of its own and she soon discovers she is running out of people to turn to. As the police begin to home in on the truth, Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life-changing event, finds herself in mortal danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets they’ll do anything to hide… ____________________________ ‘A creepily compelling Icelandic mystery that had me hooked from page one. Night Shadows will make you want to sleep with the lights on’ Heidi Amsinck ‘I loved everything about this book: the characters, the setting, the storyline, an intricately woven cast … this book had me utterly gripped!’ J M Hewitt ‘With the third release in the Forbidden Iceland series, Eva Björg establishes herself as not just one of the brightest names in Icelandic crime fiction, but in crime fiction full stop. Night Shadows is an absolute must-read!’ Nordic Watchlist ‘The author writes so beautifully you are immediately immersed in the chilly surrounds … a genuinely excellent novel’ Liz Loves Books ‘One of the most compelling contemporary writers of crime fiction and psychological suspense’ Duncan Beattie,Fiction from Afar Praise for the Forbidden Iceland series: ‘Fans of Nordic Noir will love this’ Ann Cleeves ‘Elma is a fantastic heroine’ Sunday Times ‘Complex, gripping and moving’ The Times ‘An exciting and harrowing tale’ Ragnar Jónasson ‘Eerie and chilling. I loved every word!’ Lesley Kara ‘Not only a full-fat mystery, but also a chilling demonstration of how monsters are made’ The Times ‘Beautifully written, spine-tingling and disturbing … a thrilling new voice in Icelandic crime fiction’ Yrsa Sigurðardóttir ‘As chilling and atmospheric as an Icelandic winter’ Lisa Gray ‘An unsettling and exciting read with a couple of neat red herrings to throw the reader off the scent’ NB Magazine ‘Chilling and troubling … reminiscent of Jorn Lier Horst‘s Norwegian procedurals. This is a book that makes an impact’ Crime Fiction Lover ‘Elma is a memorably complex character’ Financial Times ‘The twist comes out of the blue … enthralling’ Tap The Line Magazine For fans of Ragnar Jonasson, Camilla Lackberg, Ruth Rendell, Gillian McAllister and Shari Lapen

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Book SynopsisCuban writer Ivan Cardenas Maturell meets a mysterious foreigner on a Havana beach who is always in the company of two Russian wolfhounds. Ivan quickly names him "the man who loved dogs". The man eventually confesses that he is actually Ramon Mercader, the man who killed Leon Trotsky in Mexico City in 1940, and that he is now living in a secret exile in Cuba after being released from jail in Mexico. Moving seamlessly between Ivan's life in Cuba, Mercader's early years in Spain and France, and Trotsky's long years of exile, The Man Who Loved Dogs is Leonardo Padura's most ambitious and brilliantly executed novel yet. It is the story of revolutions fought and betrayed, the ways in which men's political convictions are continually tested and manipulated, and a powerful critique of the role of fear in consolidating political power.Trade Review"A stunning novel, chronicling the evisceration of the Communist dream and one of the most "ruthless, calculated and useless" crimes in history." Financial Times When this novel was published in Spanish, it received literary acclaim across Europe and rightly so, for it is a monumental work." Independent "Padura has entered the Latin American Modernist canon by writing a Russian novel with a Tolstoyan passion for historical trifles and Dostoyevskyan pleasure in examining the moral life of its characters" NY Times

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Book SynopsisSERGEI LUKYANENKO is the author of over 25 books. The Night Watch series has sold over two million hardbacks. The Night Watch and The Day Watch were both made into internationally successful films. Sergei Lukyanenko lives in Moscow.Trade ReviewThis modern day mythical fantasy is Anne Rice on an epic scale, a hugely imagined world ... a chiller thriller from cold of Russia, this one's been selling like hot cakes around the world * Sunday Sport *So good that the film feels like a trailer for it * Time Out *JK Rowling, Russian style ... arguably Russia's richest and most famous literary talent of the moment ... [a] cracking read, owing more to Rowling or Philip Pullman than it does to the horror genre ... surprisingly readable and addictive...it relies on suspense and psychological drama and a good dose of humour - rather than blood and guts * Daily Telegraph *When a particular kind of story, heavily based in one culture, gets transferred into a culture distinctly different, something magical happens ... Something modern, new and distinctly creepy ... continues to work because the magic is rooted in the realities of modern Russia ... Inventive, sardonic, and imbued with a surprising the sense that, for this author and his audience, much of this stuff is new-minted * Independent *Night Watch is an epic of extraordinary power -- Quentin Tarantino

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Book SynopsisMonsieur Goriot is one of a disparate group of lodgers at Mademe Vauquer's dingy Parisian boarding house. At first his wealth inspires respect, but as his circumstances are mysteriously reduced he becomes shunned by those around him, and soon his only remaining visitors are his two beautifully dressed daughters.

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Book SynopsisSelected by Marcel Berlins in The Times as one of the 50 best crime novels of the last 50 years: ''Deon Meyer is acclaimed for his portrayals of crime and the police after the end of apartheid. Non-white detectives hold positions once monopolised by their white bosses, and the tensions are high''After 602 days dry, Captain Benny Griessel of the South African police services can''t take any more tragedy. So when Benny is called in to investigate a multiple homicide, it pushes him close to breaking point - a former friend and detective colleague has shot his wife and two daughters, then killed himself. Benny wants out - out of his job, his home and his relationship with his singer girlfriend, Alexa. He moves into a hotel and starts drinking. Again.But Benny''s unique talent is urgently required to help investigate another crime - the high profile murder of Ernst Richter, MD of a new tech startup, Alibi, whose body is discovered buried in the sandTrade ReviewSharp and full of energy, his evocation of place and character second to none. The pace of the novel is breathless, yet Meyer never sacrifices authenticity or the quality of his writing. Crime, wine and a thrilling finale: a rare and unexpected treat. -- Simon Lelic, author of RuptureDeon Meyer's South Africa is laid bare in ICARUS . . . it is as glittering and hard as the diamonds his country is famous for . . . Meyer utilises the crime fiction genre as an apparatus to create a multifaceted, unsparing picture of his country -- Barry Forshaw * Independent *Meyer heightens the suspense . . . The richness of the characters, especially the multifaceted Benny, elevates this above most contemporary police procedurals. * Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) *ICARUS places [Deon] firmly in the top international league. It's the fifth, and best, of the Benny Griessel series. * The Times *South African author Deon Meyer's Benny Griessel series is one of the high points of contemporary crime fiction, and the fifth title, ICARUS, is his best yet ... expertly engineered. -- Laura Wilson * Guardian *Deon Meyer is not just South Africa's greatest crime writer, he's up there with the best in the world. * The Times, Saturday Review *Every once in a while there comes along a writer, an already accomplished storyteller, who grows into the stature of a great writer through one wonderful story. That author is Deon Meyer; the story he has masterfully crafted is ICARUS. * Thrillers4u *Praise for Deon Meyer * : *The narrative is well-plotted, and the novel brings to life the rich and volatile diversity of contemporary South Africa. There's nothing flashy here, just a good story, very well told. Would there were more like it. * Spectator *Deon Meyer is a top notch plotter and has created one of the best ensemble (and multi-racial) casts of any modern police procedural series. * Shots magazine *Deon Meyer's gritty crime novels [are] part police procedural, part political thriller . . . What makes Meyer such a national treasure - and as good as anyone in the world - is that even if you have no knowledge or interest in South Africa's history or present, his books are compelling page-turners. Politics and race are just part of the intricately crafted superstructure bolted onto the rock-solid chassis of a top-quality crime thriller, driven by a writer with deceptive skill. * Books Live *Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence. * Independent *Tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation. * Times Literary Supplement *This year's great discovery: classy, edgy writing, subtly plotted and beautifully balanced between fast-paced action, pungent social comment and the process of investigation. * Weekend Australian *

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Book SynopsisThe Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents'' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives.Trade Review“Filled with classical allusions, multilayered wordplay, and delightful poetry, Cao’s novel is a testament to what Chinese literature was capable of. Readers of English are fortunate to have David Hawkes and John Minford’s The Story of the Stone, which distills a lifetime of scholarship and reading into what is probably the finest work of Chinese-to-English literary translation yet produced. You will be rewarded every bit of attention you give it, many times over.” —SupChina, “The 100 China Books You Have to Read, Ranked” (#1)Table of ContentsThe Story of the Stone Volume 1Note on SpellingIntroductionChapter 1:Zhen Shi-yin makes the Stone's acquaintance in a dream; and Jia Yu-cun finds that poverty is not incompatible with romantic feelingsChapter 2:A daughter of the Jias ends her days in Yangchow city; and Leng Zi-xing discourses on the Jias of Rong-guo HouseChapter 3:Lin Ru-hai recommends a private tutor to his brother-in-law; and old lady Jia extends a compassionate welcome to the motherless childChapter 4:The Bottle-gourd girl meets and unfortunate young man; and the Bottle-gourd monk settles a protracted lawsuitChapter 5:Jia Bao-yu visits the Land of Illusion; and the fairy Disenchantment performs the 'Dream of Golden Days'Chapter 6:Jia Bao-yu conducts his first experiment in the Art of Love; and Grannie Liu makes her first entry into the Rong-guo mansionChapter 7:Zhou Rui's wife delivers palace flowers and finds Jia Lian pursuing night sports by day; Jia Bao-yu visits the Ning-guo mansion and has an agreeable collquy with Qin-shi's brotherChapter 8:Jia Bao-yu is allowed to see the strangely corresponding golden locket; and Xue Bao-chai has a predestined encounter with the Magic JadeChapter 9:A son is admonished and Li Gui recieves an alarming warning; a pupil is abused and Tealeaf throws the classroom in an uproarChapter 10:Widow Jin's self-interest gets the better of her righteous indignation; and Doctor Zhang's dianosis reveals the orgin of a puzzling diseaseChapter 11:Ning-guo House celebrates the birthday of an absent member; and Jia Rui conceives an illicit passion for his attractive cousinChapter 12:Wang Xi-feng sets a trap for her admirer; and Jia Rui looks into the wrong side of the mirrorChapter 13:Qin-shi posthumanously acquires the status of a Noble Dame; and Xi-feng takes on the management of a neighbouring establishmentChapter 14:Lin Ru-hai is conveyed to his last resting-place in Soochow; and Jia Bao-yu is presented to the Prince of Bei-jing at a roadside haltChapter 15:At Water-moon piory Xi-feng finds how much profit may be procured by the abuse of power; and Qin Zhong discovers the pleasures that are to be had sunder cover of darknessChapter 16:Jia Yuan-chun is selected for glorious promotion to the Imperial Bedchamber; and Qin Zhong is summoned for premature departure on the Journey into NightChapter 17:The inspection of the new garden becomes a test of talent; and Rong-guo House makes itself ready for an important visitorChapter 18:A brief family reunion is permitted by the magnanimity of a gracious Emperor; and an Imperial Concubine takes pleasure in the literacy progress of a younger brotherChapter 19:A very earnest young woman offers counsel by night; and a very endearing one is found to be a source of fragrance by dayChapter 20:Wang Xi-feng castigates a jealous attitude with some forthright speaking; and Lin Dai-yu makes a not unattractive speech impediment the subject of a jestChapter 21:Righteous Aroma discovers how to rebuke her master by saying nothing; and artful Patience is able to rescue hers by being somewhat less than truthfulChapter 22:Bao-yu finds Zen enlightenment in an operatic aria; and Jia Zheng sees portents of doom in lantern riddlesChapter 23:Words for the 'Western Chamber' supply a joke that offends; and songs from the 'Soul's Return' move a tender heart to anguishChapter 24:The Drunken Diamond shows nobility of character in handling his money; and the Quiet-voiced Girl provides material for fantasy by losing her handkerchiefChapter 25:Two cousins are subjected by witchcraft to the assaults of demons; and the Magic Jade meets an old acquaintance while rather the worse for wearChapter 26:A conversation on Wasp Waist Bridge is a cover for communication of a different kind; and a soliloquy overheard in the Naiad's House reveals unsuspected depths of feelingAppendixCharacters in Volume IGenealogical Tables

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Book SynopsisThe Designated Successor was found dead in his bedroom at dawn on December 14.Did he kill himself or was he murdered? This question slices through Ismail Kadare's masterful psychological thriller. As the state insists that the future leader died by his own hand, the rest of the world begins to have doubts. As the tension builds and rumours escalate, Kadare draws us into a nightmarish world controlled by rules no one understands, blending dream and reality to produce a mystery and a thriller that seduces and surprises up to the last page.Trade ReviewBrilliantly recreates the atmosphere of shadowy fear, rumours and recrimination in Albania. The Successor provides a mesmerically readable parable about the abuse of state power. * * Observer * *One of the most compelling novelists now writing. * * Wall Street Journal * *Suffused with the power of thought and feeling. Above all, Kadare creates a haunting sense of the absurd. * * Sunday Times * *From his youthful obsessions with Shakespeare and Homer, Kadare has retained not just a love of mystery and wit and a facility for clear, bleak language, but a sense of the text's own mystery and the impossibility of fully penetrating it... There is certainly nothing run-of-the-mill about Kadare's biting parable of tyranny. * * Australian Financial Review * *

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the Man Booker International Prize 2015 Michel is ten years old, living in Pointe Noire, Congo, in the 1970s. His mother sells peanuts at the market, his father works at the Victory Palace Hotel, and brings home books left behind by the white guests. Planes cross the sky overhead, and Michel and his friend Lounès dream about the countries where they'll land. While news comes over the radio of the American hostage crisis in Tehran, the death of the Shah, the scandal of the Boukassa diamonds, Michel struggles with the demands of his twelve year old girlfriend Caroline, who threatens to leave him for a bully in the football team. But most worrying for Michel, the witch doctor has told his mother that he has hidden the key to her womb, and must return it before she can have another child. Somehow he must find it. Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty is a humorous and poignant account of an African childhood, drawn from Alain Mabanckou's life.Trade ReviewIncomparable * Financial Times *Mabanckou's irreverent wit and madcap energy have made him a big name in France -- Giles Foden, author of the Last King of ScotlandA novelist of exuberant originality ... refreshing logic pervades this delightful comic novel in which the boy narrator's ingenuousness is teamed with a sly authorial wit ... Its seductive charm and intelligence recentre the world so that all readers can indeed become Congolese -- Maya Jaggi * Guardian *Perhaps his best yet ... Michel's voice is compelling ... he is, in fact, incomparable -- David Evans * Financial Times *Clear-eyed warmth and charm ... will cleanse the palate and refresh the spirit -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *

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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 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 Synopsis''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray When a tramp is recovered from the Seine, after being badly beaten, Maigret must delve into the man''s personal circumstances to figure out just who wanted to kill him.This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Dosser and Maigret and the Bum. ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories'' Guardian ''A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness'' IndependentTrade ReviewPraise for Georges Simenon:“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —The Independent (London) “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London) “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.”lle —Peter Ackroyd “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ― Times (London)"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ― Margaret Atwood"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ― Financial Times"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn."-- Stig Abell ― The Sunday Times (London)

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Book SynopsisA darkly satirical tale of the generation and gender gaps in Japanese society, Ruy Murakami's Popular Hits of the Showa Era is a literary karaoke act combining manga and street culture It's a set-up like a video game: two rival gangs fight to death for the control of a Tokyo district. In one gang, six young losers committed only to drinking, voyeurism and karaoke singing, in the other six tough independent older women. From ambush to revenge, both groups are gradually decimated until the ultimate showdown. In Murakami's inimitably brutal and brilliant style, Popular Hits dissects the gender and generational conflicts of contemporary society in a hilarious satire. Murakami is mercilessly funny as he tracks his characters' evolution from twits to scholars of guerrilla warfare'New Yorker 'One of the funniest and strangest gang wars in recent literature'Booklist Ryu Murakami's Popular Hits From the Showa Era is translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy and published by Pushkin Press Born in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, Ryu Murakami is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include Coin Locker Babies, Sixty-Nine, Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Audition, In the Miso Soup and From the Fatherland, with Love. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include Tokyo Decadence, Audition and Because of You.Trade ReviewMurakami is mercilessly funny as he tracks his characters' evolution from twits to scholars of guerrilla warfare New Yorker One of the funniest and strangest gang wars in recent literature Booklist

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Book SynopsisReconciliation, published here for the first time in the English language, is an understated masterpiece of the Japanese 'I novel' tradition (a confessional literary form). Naoya Shiga's novella is a quietly devastating reflection on all kinds of reconciliation: from his own familial reunion, to the universal need to reconcile ourselves to the inevitability of ageing, loss and death.Trade ReviewNaoya Shiga's engaging and finely wrought novella of birth, death, illness and a writer's angst opens a window onto a society and milieu that are both distant and relatable. Watching the autobiographical protagonist trip over his flaws as a husband and son is painful, but the resolution still lifts the heart a century after publication. Ted Goossen's nuanced rendition of this miniature classic is a marvel of the translator's art and a service to the Republic of Letters -- DAVID MITCHELLPraise for Naoya Shiga: [Shiga wrote] a number of short stories that are nearly perfect in their simplicity, directness and mastery of subject matter * * New York Times * *

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Book SynopsisOne of Elena Ferrante''s best 40 books by female writersWhen Maria, the fourth child of a widow, is adopted by the old and childless Bonaria Urrai, her life is instantly transformed - she finally has the love and affection she craves. But her new ''soul mother'' is keeping something hidden from her, a secret life that is intimately bound-up with Sardinia''s ancient traditions and customs. Midwife to the dying, easing their suffering and sometimes ending it, she is revered and feared in equal measure as the village''s Accabadora. Bonaria tries to shield the girl from the truth about her role as an angel of mercy, until, moved by the pleas of a young man crippled in an accident, she breaks her golden rule of familial consent. The consequences - for Bonaria, for Maria and for the whole village, are devastating - and cause a rift between the two women that can only be bridge by another death.Translated from the Italian by Silvester MazzarellaTrade Review'An original work of serious accomplishment' Paul Bailey, Independent. * Independent *'A curious and elegiac work, it takes no prisoners when it comes to the realities of birth and death. Tenderly translated by Silvestre Mazzarella' Independent. * Independent *'A powerful and at times genuinely spellbinding piece of work' Billy O'Callaghan, Irish Examiner. * Irish Examiner *'A real gem ... Beautifully written ... Wonderfully well evoked ... It reminded me a little of The Tiger's Wife' Liz Jensen, Radio Four. * Radio Four *'Her evocation of rural life feels authentic and the atmosphere of earthy darkness is well sustained' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *'Incredibly moving ... I really enjoyed it' Miranda Sawyer, Radio Four. * Radio Four *

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Book SynopsisAndrey Platonov (Author) Andrey Platonovich Platonov (1899-1951) began publishing poems and articles in 1918, while studying engineering. Between 1927 and 1932 he wrote his most politically controversial works, some of them first published in Russian only in the 1990s. After reading his story 'For Future Use', Stalin referred to Platonov as 'an agent of our enemies'. From September 1942, after being recommended to the chief editor of Red Star by his friend Vasily Grossman, Platonov worked as a war correspondent. He died in 1951, of tuberculosis caught from his son, who had spent three years in the Gulag. Happy Moscow, one of his finest novels, was first published in Russia only in 1991; letters, notebook entries and unfinished stories continue to appear.Robert Chandler (Translator) Robert Chandler's translations from Russian include works by Alexander Pushkin, Andrey Platonov, Vasily Grossman and Hamid Ismailov. He is the edi

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Book SynopsisAn old man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. A cryptic note and a photograph of a young girl's grave are left behind. DID THE DEAD MAN'S PAST COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM? Inspector Erlendur discovers that several decades ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime.Trade ReviewA chilling read * The Times *Highly recommended...thoroughly gripping...impressively moving * Time Out *A chilling Icelandic saga of the DNA age. This careful, sparsely-written book operates at a deeper level than most crime fiction * Independent *

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