Fiction in translation

Book SynopsisAn epic novel of postwar, nuclear-age Japan, by the author of Territory of LightMitch and Yonko haven't spoken in a year. As children, they were inseparable, raised together in an orphanage outside Tokyobut ever since the sudden death of Mitch's brother, they've been mourning in their private ways, worlds apart. In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, they choose to reunite, finding each other in a city undone by disaster.Mitch and Yonko have drifted apart, but they will always be bound together. Because long ago they witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, a tragedy that they've kept secret for their entire lives. They never speak of it, but it's all around them. Like history, it repeats itself.Yuko Tsushima's sweeping and consuming novel is a metaphysical saga of postwar Japan. Wildcat Dome is a hugely ambitious exploration of denial, of the ways in which countries and their citizens avoid telling the trutha tale of guilt, loss, and inevitable reckoning.''Tsushima evades any label, her fiction transcends gender to focus on the existential loneliness that is at the heart of humanity.'' Japan Times

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Book Synopsis''One of Japan''s most venerated writers'' David MitchellIn this unnerving fable from one of Japan''s greatest novelists, a recluse known as ''Mole'' retreats to a vast underground bunker, only to find that strange guests, booby traps and a giant toilet may prove even greater obstacles than nuclear disaster.''As is true of Poe and Kafka, Abe creates an unexpected impulsion. One continues reading, on and on'' New Yorker''Abe''s depiction of the deadly game of survival is hilarious but at the same time leaves us with a chilling sense of apprehension about the brave new world that awaits us'' Los Angeles TimesTranslated by Juliet Winters CarpenterTrade ReviewA large, ambitious work about the lives of outcasts in modern Japan and such troubling themes as ecological destruction, old age, violence and nuclear war * The New York Times Book Review *Abe's depiction of the deadly game of survival is hilarious but at the same time leaves us with a chilling sense of apprehension about the brave new world that awaits us * Los Angeles Times *As is true of Poe and Kafka - two writers whose influence does seem apparent - Abe creates on the page an unexpected impulsion. One continues reading, on and on * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisA Swedish crime writer as thrilling as Mankell, a detective as compelling as Wallander . . . Chief Inspector Van Veeteren delves into a dark family mystery in the sixth book in Håkan Nesser's Van Veeteren series, The Unlucky Lottery. Four friends celebrate winning the lottery. Just hours later, one of them - Waldemar Leverkuhn - is found in his home, stabbed to death. With Chief Inspector Van Veeteren on sabbatical, working in a second hand bookshop, the case is assigned to Inspector Münster. But when another member of the lottery group disappears, as well as Leverkuhn's neighbour, Münster appeals to Van Veeteren for assistance. Soon Münster will find himself interviewing the Leverkuhn family, including the eldest - Irene - a resident of a psychiatric clinic. And as he delves deeper into the family's history, he will discover dark secrets and startling twists, which not only threaten the clarity of the casTrade ReviewOne of the best of the Nordic Noir writers. * Guardian *The godfather of Swedish crime. * Metro *One of Sweden’s best crime writers. * Mail on Sunday *A master of suspense. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn a snowbound railway station deep in the Soviet Union, a stranded passenger comes across an old man playing the piano in the dark, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Once on the train to Moscow he begins to tell his story: a tale of loss, love and survival that movingly illustrates the strength of human resilience. ''A novella to be read in a lunch hour and remembered for ever'' Jilly Cooper, Books of the Year, Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewWhen I describe Andrei Makine as a great writer, this is no journalistic exaggeration but my wholly sincere estimate of a man of prodigious gifts. In his combination of clarity, concision, tenderness and elegiac lyricism, he is the heir to Ivan Bunin, the first Russian ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. * Francis King, Spectator *Makine here is as good as Stendhal - or Tolstoy ... [he is] storyteller, teacher, and enchanter most of all. I would rather read him than anyone else now writing, and then reread him. I think this is his best book so far. * Allan Massie, Literary Review *Makine's novellas are short in length but beautifully paced and filled with a lyricism that weaves reality and fantasy into a far bigger picture. Little wonder, then, that he's frequently likened to other Russian greats such as Nabokov and Chekhov ... an engrossing story of love, tragedy, betrayal and loss. Moving the plot forward effortlessly, he creates a mythic portrait of Communist Russia. * Scotsman *Beautifully paced and filled with a lyricism that weaves reality and fantasy into a far bigger picture ... engrossing * Scotsman *Geoffrey Strachan's strong and graceful translation of a novel written in French manages to let its Russian soul shine through. "A Life's Music" exchanges the lushness of Makine's earlier work ... for the fiercer pleasures of concise storytelling. This is Makine's art * Ann Harleman, New York Times *A Life's Music would make a terrific Tom Hanks movie. The tagline could be lifted straight from the book's jacket. A tale of war, heartbreak and survival. Both powerful and graceful, it has...depth and scope. * Scotland On Sunday *With matchless delicacy and economy ... Makine presents a movingly detailed history of survival, adaption and bitter disillusionment ... perfectly conceived and controlled. Its graceful narrative skilfully blends summarized action with powerfully evocative images charged with strong understated emotion ... masterly * Kirkus Reviews *[An] elegant, heart-rending little gem of a work ... entirely fresh and necessary. Highly recommended. * Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (New York) *A Life's Music again proves Makine to be a very fine craftman. * Times Play *Makine makes fresh images that are also profound and poignant, and this gives his portrait of a life derailed by history an irresistible authority. * Sam Thompson, Times Literary Supplement *A tale of war, heartbreak and survival. Both powerful and graceful, it has...depth and scope. * Scotland On Sunday *True to Makine's exquisite and haunting work, with its characteristic atmosphere born of pain and philosophy, this magnificent elegy of loss evokes the sheer size, mystery and chaos that is Russia. * Irish Times *The writing remains both poignant and subtle with the nuances of living a secret life given both colour and gravitas. A Life's Music makes for a fascinating - if all too brief - read. * Big Issue *This is truly a book to treasure. * Good Book Guide *No contemporary writer has expressed his simultaneous love of Russia and hatred of Communism as eloquently as Andrei Makine, and this exquisite, poignant novella is one of his most satisfying works * Sunday Telegraph *An unforgettable testament to the indestructibility of the human spirit. * Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday *Avoiding a heavy-handed treatment of Russian history, in little more than 100 pages Makine succeeds not only in condensing the life and loves of one man, but in capturing the fear that pervaded everyday life in Stalin's Soviet Union. It is the perfect riposte to anyone who believes that great Russian literature must be unwieldy and crammed with a cast of thousands * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisINTRODUCED BY STUART EVERS: ''A genuine, fully fledged masterpiece of the twentieth century; one that remains just as terrifyingly relevant and truthful in the twenty-first''An existential, political, literary thriller first published in 1944, Transit explores the plight of the refugee with extraordinary compassion and insight. Having escaped from a Nazi concentration camp in Germany and a work camp in Rouen, the nameless narrator finds himself in the dusty seaport of Marseille. Along the way he was asked to deliver a letter to Weidel, a writer in Paris whom he discovered had killed himself as the Nazis entered the city. Now he is in search of the dead man''s wife. He carries Weidel''s suitcase, which contains an unfinished novel - and a letter securing Weidel a visa to escape France.Assuming the name Seidler - though the authorities think he is in fact Weidel - he goes from cafe to cafe looking for Marie, who is in turn anxiously searching for her husband. As Seidler converses with refugees over pizza and wine, their stories gradually break down his ennui, bringing him a deeper awareness of the transitory world they inhabit as they wait and wait for that most precious of possessions: transit papers.''This novel, completed in 1942, is in my opinion the most beautiful Seghers has written . . . almost flawless'' - Heinrich BollTrade ReviewIn political, cultural and artistic terms, Transit offers a vital reading experience: one that is more than just a keen-eyed depiction of a dark and desperate time, but a radical, constantly evolving narrative that delves to the heart of what it is to be human in an inhuman society . . . a genuine, fully fledged masterpiece -- Stuart EversTransit belongs to those books that entered my life, and which I continue to engage with in my writing, so much so that I have to pick it up every couple of years to see what has happened between me and it -- Christa WolfThis novel, completed in 1942, is in my opinion the most beautiful Seghers has written . . . I doubt that our post-1933 literature can point to many books that have been written with such somnambulistic sureness and are almost flawless -- Heinrich BollNo reader will question the author's sincerity as she strives to anatomize the refugee mind -- New York Times Book ReviewOne the most respected and important German authors of the 20th century . . . an important untold story of the refugee situation in Second World War-era Europe . . . A masterpiece -- Joe Winkler * Vol. 1 Brooklyn *What makes Seghers's story so convincing is the human authenticity of her characters, and the masterly panorama of Vichy Marseille, that 'tiny spigot through which the world flood of Europe's fleeing thousands sought to pour.' Often as that heart-choking picture has been drawn before, both in factual reports and fiction, Seghers's presentation will stir the reader's imagination to its depth * Saturday Review *Transit is an eerily poignant read some eighty years after it was first published . . . It is a thriller, yes, but it is a strange one. It might also be called a tragicomedy. Its brilliance has to with this unpindownable-ness. It has to do with the contrast between the genre elements of the novel and the stark, autobiographical realism grounding the narrative. With the way that Seghers artfully renders her characters - comically, tenderly, at times unsympathetically. In big and small ways, the novel resonates -- Lauren Aimee Curtis * Granta Magazine *

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Book SynopsisDeath and detection . . . the perfect mix.' The TimesAn excellent page turner . . . the best so far.' 5* reader reviewNordic noir at its best.' PeopleAs the spring warmth melts the ice, divers search the wreckage at the bottom of the Ångermanland River but the murdered man they recover was put there much more recently than the historic artefacts they were seeking. Local Detective Eira Sjödin, newly pregnant and not talking about it, is proud to be put in charge of the investigation until she discovers the man's identity, and the evidence begins to point towards her own family. As Eira works to piece together the truth from the long-buried evidence and her mother's fragmented memories, she isn't sure she is prepared for the revelations this truth might unleash.Readers love Tove Alsterdal:A brilliant story with a very likeable police detective as the focus of all the twists and turns.' 5* reader review<

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Book SynopsisA new selection of 30 tales to mark the 200 year anniversary of Andersen''s birth in 2005. Tiina Nunnally''s sparkling translation captures the rawness and immediacy of Andersen''s style, for the first time enabling English readers to be as startled and amazed as his original readers were, and revealing the unique inventiveness of Andersen''s genius.At a time when children''s stories were formal, moral and didactic, Hans Christian Andersen revolutionized the genre, giving an anarchic twist to traditional folklore and creating a huge number of utterly original stories that sprang directly from his imagination. From the exuberant early stories such as ''The Emperor''s New Clothes'', though poignant masterpieces such as ''The Little Mermaid'' and ''The Ugly Duckling'', to the darker, more subversive later tales written for adults, the stories included here are endlessly experimental, both humorous and irreverent, sorrowful and strange. This book - beautifully illustrated with a selection of Andersen''s amazing paper cut-outs - will bring these magical tales to life for readers of any age.

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Book SynopsisHave you ever just clicked with someone?Is there a safer space for secret desires than virtual reality? Just what you need WENDY HOLDENIt begins by chance: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite he replies, and Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest in each other, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and longings. The erotic tension simmers, and it seems only a matter of time before they will meet in person. But they keep putting off the moment - the prospect both unsettles and excites them. And, after all, Emmi is happily married. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter?Translated from German by Jamie Bulloch and Katharina BielenbergTrade Review'Just what you need' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *'Short, striking and snappily written, Love Virtually explores the brilliant premise of love by accidental e-mail' Henry Sutton, Daily Mirror. * Daily Mirror *'Perhaps the first great romantic novel of the internet age' Sunday Express. * Sunday Express *'A modern romance that feels both fresh and traditional' Rebecca Wilson, Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *'I couldn't put it down ... like a jilted lover, when I reached the end I wanted more' Danielle Goldstein, Time Out. * Time Out *'it is tense and brilliantly paced' Independent on Sunday. * Independent on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis Officer Anne Capestan''s team of misfits will have to work together to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder . . . and in the process uncover a trail of corruption that leads to the top of the Paris police force.Marvelous . . . An absorbing, sometimes laugh-out-loud mystery. --New York Journal of BookA delightful creation. --The TimesQuirky and interesting . . . Much to savor. --Library JournalWas the old lady murdered seven years ago really just the victim of a botched robbery? Who was behind the dead sailor discovered in the Seine with three gunshot wounds? And why does there seem to be a curious link with a ferry that was shipwrecked off the Florida coast many years previously?Suspended from her job as a promising police officer for firing one bullet too many, Anne Capestan is expecting the worst when she is summoned to HQ to learn her fate. Instead, she is told that she will head up a Trade ReviewThis summer's crime read * Cosmopolitan *You will not want to tear yourself away ... Extremely original -- Jean-Louis Debré * Le Point *A scintillating read ... we are already hooked * Elle *From her first novel, Sophie Hénaff proves that she can really pull the trigger * Paris Match *Original and amusing, it's French noir with a sly smile. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe acclaimed, worldwide bestselling second book in the Brigade Criminelle Trilogy, reissued in a stunning new package to tie in with Lemaitre's standalone thriller Blood WeddingTrade ReviewAlex had me gripped more than almost any book I can remember, with one shout-out-aloud knockout twist after another * Peter James *MacLehose has done it again . . . in Pierre Lemaitre he has unearthed another master of crime fiction destined to become a household name. -- Adam Sage * The Times. *Grippingly original . . . It enthralls at every stage of its unpredictability. -- Marcel Berlins * The Times. *Moves from read-as-fast-as-you-can horror to an intricately plotted race to a dark truth . . . Alex is about thrills. -- Alison Flood * Observer. *An invigoratingly scary, one-sitting read. -- Laura Wilson * Guardian. *'An absolute gem' * Eurocrime *'Brutal crime writing with a tinge of Gauloise ... brilliant' * Daily Mail *'Relentlessly gripping, Lemaitre is worthy of all the fuss' * Independent *'Hailed as the most important crime novel in translation since Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Alex similarly features as an intriguingly flawed feminist heroine bent on vengeance, and will likely prove a sensation of the crime fiction year' Irish Times. * Irish Times *'Moves from read-as-fast-as-you-can horror to an intricately plotted race to a dark truth' Alison Flood, Observer. * Observer *'It enthrals at every stage of its unpredictability. Grippingly original' The Times. * The Times *'Brutal crime writing with a tinge of Gauloise ... brilliant' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *'A literary explosion' Marine Landrot, Télérama. * Télérama *'Powerful' Alain Beuve-Mery, Le Mond. * Le Mond *'Intelligent, complex, with a gripping plot and deeply intriguing characters. The author's early death is a great loss' Philip Pullman. * Philip Pullman *'What a cracking novel! I haven't read such a stunning thriller debut for years. Brilliantly written and totally gripping' Minette Walters. * Minette Walters *'I doubt you will read a better book this year' Val McDermid. * Val McDermid *'As good as crime writing gets' Times Literary Supplement . * Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis MEET COMMANDANT CAMILLE VERHOEVEN OF THE PARIS POLICE WITH NOTHING ELSE TO LOSEAnne Forestier finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when she blunders into a raid on a jeweller''s on the Champs-Élysées. Bludgeoned beyond recognition, she is lucky to survive. But her ordeal has only just begun.HE CAN BREAK ALL THE RULESLying helpless in her hospital bed, with her assailant still at large, Anne is in mortal danger. Only one thing gives her hope: Commandant Camille Verhœven.TO PROTECT THE WOMAN HE LOVES For Verhœven it''s a case of history repeating itself. He cannot lose Anne as he lost his wife. This time he faces an adversary whose greatest strength appears to be Verhœven''s matchless powers of intuition.Winner of the 2015 C.W.A. International DaggerTrade ReviewLemaitre is worthy of all the fuss. -- Barry Forshaw * Independent. *Crime fiction of the highest class. -- Geoffrey Wansell * Daily Mail. *Superior crime fiction, worthy of the international attention it has received. -- Patrick Anderson * Washington Post. *A satisfying finis to the trilogy. -- Barry Forshaw * Independent. *This original and poignant story is the final instalment in a trilogy that has been a dazzling success. -- Jessica Mann * Literary Review. *Delivering more than its fair share of twists and turns, Camille is also a beautifully naunced portrait of a most unlikely hero, and one who's absence - if this truly is the last we'll see of Commandant Verhœven - will be keenly felt. -- Declan Burke * Irish Times. *A really excellent suspense novelist. -- Stephen King.

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Book SynopsisSlick, sick and not for the faint-hearted. It will make you cry out (for more) - Mark Sanderson, The TimesExhilarating . . . This is not conventional crime Barry Forshaw, Independent Introducing Olivier Norek: Former police officer, writer on Spiral and an award-winning, million-copy bestseller.A corpse that wakes up during the autopsy. A case of spontaneous human combustion. There is little by the way of violent crime that Capitaine Victor Coste has not encountered in his fifteen years policing France''s most notorious suburb - but nothing like this. As he struggles to find a link between the cases, he receives a pair of anonymous letters highlighting the fates of two women whose deaths were never explained - two more blurred faces among the ranks of the lost and the damned.Why were their murders not investigated? Coste is not Trade ReviewNorek displays the mastery and assurance of an old hand. -- Bruno Corty * Figaro. *The French crime-writing revelation of the year. -- Barnard Lehut * R.T.L. *The suspense is sustained until the final page. A masterful crime novel. * L'Express. *Spiral obsessives will recognise the same gritty northern Paris suburb, Seine-Saint-Denis, with is no-go drug estates, as well as the wearily nonchalant detectives and city bigwigs shepherding their own crooked agendas. * Strong Words *The Lost and the Damned hits the ground running and never lets up . . . This impressive debut is slick, sick and not for the faint-hearted. The first 30 pages contain what must be one of the most shocking scenes ever committed to paper. It will make you cry out (for more). -- Mark Sanderson * The Times Crime Book of the Month *This is not conventional crime. Reading this full-throttle piece is a both a troubling and an exhilarating experience. -- Barry Forshaw * Financial Times. *

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Book SynopsisGripping . . . everything he writes is thrilling Literary ReviewHits the ground running and never lets up . . . Slick, sick and not for the faint-hearted . . . It will make you cry out (for more) - Mark Sanderson, The Times on The Lost and the DamnedOlivier Norek: Former police officer, writer on SPIRAL and a million-copy bestsellerThe summary execution of three dealers - one murdered in full view of a police surveillance team - is the signal for hell to be unleashed in France''s most notorious suburb. Now there''s a new kingpin in charge, using his ruthless teenage enforcer to assert an iron grip on his territory. And the local mayor, no stranger to the criminal underworld, is willing to make a pact with the devil if it will secure her a third term.Enter Capitaine Coste and his team, ready to break the rules to prevent the drugs squad from throwing an elderly stashTrade ReviewFans of the French TV series Spiral (with its unvarnished vision of urban crime) will find Olivier Norek's Turf Wars a pungent addition to his Banlieues Trilogy . . . As bracingly authentic as its predecessor. -- Barry Forshaw * Financial Times *Former cop Olivier Norek was one of the writers on the crime drama Spiral . . . there's no denying the visceral excitement and latent compassion of this policier par excellence -- Mark Sanderson * The Times *Norek served in the Seine-Saint-Denis Police Judiciaire for eighteen years and everything he writes is thrilling. This is a prime example of crime fiction as social history, but it is far more gripping - and moving - than any work of history * Literary Review *France makes moody crime films and TV, and Norek's latest Euro bestseller sizzles with similar noir atmosphere * Peterborough Telegraph *Dark, gripping and exciting . . . There is not only a great sense of place but also of characterisation * Shots Magazine *You will have to go a long way to find a better hard-boiled policier * Mark Ripley Books of the Month *

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Book SynopsisThe winner of the Danish Crime Novel of the Decade is a unique, deeply compelling crime novel that interweaves a murder investigation with the central mystery of the theory of evolution.Trade Review'A top-flight thriller - smart and outrageously entertaining' Christopher Fowler, Financial Times. * Financial Times *'Intelligently plotted and psychologically believable' The Times. * The Times *'Simply first class' Jyllands-Posten. * Jyllands-Posten *'Sissel-Jo Gazan has mastered the arts of suspense and revelation' Kristeligt Dagblad. * Kristeligt Dagblad *'Sissel-Jo Gazan's novel has by far outdone, not to say outshone, all other crime novels published this year' Politiken. * Politiken *

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Book SynopsisA glorious evocation of childhood in the early sixties.Trade Review'[An] intricately worked novel, as rich in detail and implication as it is classical in construction and stylistic restraint' Paul Binding, Independent. * Independent *'A gloriously intelligent novel that is so rewarding, funny, sad and human that the only advice to be given is to read it' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times. * Irish Times *'The kind of novel that never leaves you' Kristin Ewins, Times Literary Supplement. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisFeatures a benign old monk who listens to a prospective novice's tale of depravity, violence, and carnivorous excess while a nice little family drama - in which nearly everyone dies - unfurls. In this title, the author also treats us to a cornucopia of cooked animal flesh - ostrich, camel, donkey, dog, as well as the more common varieties.Trade Review"Mo the public figure is careful with words. But Mo the novelist slips past the censors by dressing up his cutting realism in absurd and fantastic clothing. In doing so, he's embracing a long tradition that stretches from Cervantes to the German novelist Gunter Grass.... Mo's skill makes POW! a wild, unpredictable ride-a work of demented and subversive genius." (Los Angeles Times)"

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Book Synopsis''It is impossible to exaggerate the power of this short, unbearably poignant novel.'' Mail on Sunday''A bold and elegant novel'' Helen Dunmore, Guardian''A haunting story, beautifully told'' Viv Groskop, ObserverAn extraordinary story of love and endurance during the Siege of Leningrad lies at the heart of a magnificent novel about Russia past and present, and the human condition.One night in St Petersburg, two men meet, both adrift in the brash new Russia: Shutov, a writer visiting after years of exile in Paris, and Volsky, an elderly survivor of the Siege of Leningrad and Stalin''s purges. His life story - one of extreme suffering, courage and an extraordinary love - he considers unremarkable. To Shutov it is a revelation, the tale of an unsung hero that puts everything into perspective and suggests where true happiness lies.Trade ReviewIt is impossible to exaggerate the power of this short, unbearably poignant novel. It is both brutal and lyrical. Makine consciously invokes Chekhov but his grasp of history is positively Tolstoy-like in scale. I can't think of a writer who would be a more deserving recipient of the Nobel literature prize. * Mail on Sunday *Makine's laconic, sardonic portrait of the new Russia is laced with fury . . . a bold and eloquent novel. * Helen Dunmore, Guardian *Makine is a consummate literary artist, but he is teacher as well as storyteller and, best of all, enchanter. * Alan Massie, Scotsman *Like all his work, this novel has a wonderful flavour of a contemporary Checkhov with a splash of Proust...What starts out an intimate account bursts out into something more ambitious and universal. Ultimately it's a haunting story, beautifully told. * Viv Goskop, Observer *It is impossible to exaggerate the power of this short, unbearably poignant novel. It is both brutal and lyrical. Makine consciously invokes Chekhov but his grasp of history is positively Tolstoy-like in scale. I can't think of a writer who would be a more deserving recipient of the Nobel literature prize. * Mail on Sunday *Makine's laconic, sardonic portrait of the new Russia is laced with fury...a bold and eloquent novel * Helen Dunmore, Guardian *Like all his work, this novel has a wonderful flavour of a contemporary Checkhov with a splash of Proust...What starts out an intimate account bursts out into something more ambitious and universal. Ultimately it's a haunting story, beautifully told * Viv Groskop, Observer *Makine is a consummate literary artist, but he is teacher as well as storyteller and, best of all, enchanter * Allan Massie, Scotsman *'Thoughtful and humane' * Kate Saunders, The Times *Seamlessly translated by Geoffrey Strachan, Makine's novel explores the attempt of two 'ordinary' people to transcend suffering and find life's essential meaning. It is difficult to write without sentimentality about such a subject, but Makine's intelligence and truthfulness dismiss banality. * Pamela Norris, Literary Review *A powerful, thoughtful book about the reliability of memory and how time mutates the meaning of both literature and history. * Tina Jackson, Metro *His novels possess an eerie beauty invariably capable of surpassing the polemic...If he has an artistic kindred spirit it is most probably the South African Nobel laureate JM Coetzee * Eileen Battersby, Irish Times *Thrilling...Makine's most beautiful novel since Le Testament Français * Le Figaro *told with an intimacy made potent by Makine's lyrical, spare prose and Strachan's lucid translation... reconnects both the reader and the protagonist with Russia's blood soaked history, to startling effect * The Financial Times *deeply poignant * David Charter, The Times Saturday Book club *Pulls the reader's emotions tight... It is a beautiful story * Peter Lansley, The Times August 6 2011 *strikingly visual...there are numerous searing images: a ragged choir singing on the front line of a snow-covered battlefield as lives are snuffed out around them; the moment of clarity when Volsky realises that the siege has changed Mila beyond recognition; the brief glimpse of a red-headed boy running after the car bearing away the closest thing he has to parents. * Wendy Ide, Times *

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Book SynopsisSet in Florence in the 1960s, this is the third in the Inspector Bordelli series of atmospheric Italian crime.Trade Review'Once again [Vichi's] depiction of Italian history and culture is both fascinating and complex . . . As a portrait of a country struggling with its past, present and future, DEATH IN SARDINIA is a sharply observed slice of crime fiction with real depth.' * www.crimetime.co.uk *'A real find for anyone who likes their crime novels atmospheric, discursive, humorous and thought-provoking.' * Guardian *'Vichi's crime novels are enjoyable, mystifying and well worth reading.' * Literary Review *'[Italian] writers are justifiably growing in popularity here: Marco Vichi deserves to be among them . . . [Bordelli] is stubborn, womanless, cynical and impatient, but strangely appealing.' * Marcel Berlins, The Times *'Over the course of his police procedurals, Vichi shows us ever more secret and dark sides to an otherwise sunny and open city. But his happiest creation, in my opinion, remains the character of Inspector Bordelli, a disillusioned anti-hero who is difficult to forget.' * Andrea Camilleri *'An outstanding package combining an envious narrative, a colourful and multi-faceted detective and a cornucopia of Italian food to die for . . . Magical and moreish' * www.milorambles.com on DEATH AND THE OLIVE GROVE *[The Inspector Bordelli books] feature a fascinating cop and disillusioned anti-hero who rails against both injustice and the corrupt system but faces classic murder cases with a familiar Christie-like ring * Maxim Jakubowski *'Vichi's stellar first in a new mystery series introduces endearingly melancholic Inspector Bordelli . . . [and] delivers a plausible solution worthy of a golden age crime novel. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this flawed hero.' * Publishers Weekly, starred review for DEATH IN AUGUST *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Thirteen Hours - A Sunday Times ''100 best crime novels and thrillers since 1945'' pickLEMMER is a professional bodyguard. Silent and invisible, he never gets involved. EMMA LE ROUX believed her brother died twenty years ago, until she sees him on the news as the prime suspect in the brutal killing of four poachers.As Lemmer and Emma join forces in pursuit of the truth, it soon becomes clear that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them.When that someone tries to murder them both, Lemmer is forced to step out of the shadows for the first time in his life.Trade ReviewMeyer, who writes in Afrikaans, is far and away the best crime writer in South Africa. The action is as exciting as any reader of thrillers has a right to demand. The writing is fluent and coherent and full of insight into the problems of South Africa. As Meyer writes, money and poverty and greed do not lie well together. But they make a hell of a thriller. * Guardian *Pulsating and gripping. * Sunday Times *Meyer is a serious writer who richly deserves the international reputation he has built. BLOOD SAFARI manages to be both an exciting read and an eye-opening portrait of a nation with problems perhaps even more complex and agonizing than our own. * Washington Post *BLOOD SAFARI is my first exposure to the man billed by his publishers as the "king of South African crime thrillers". For once the publicity spinners are not guilty of hyperbole -- Meyer is simply excellent . . . Lemmer is too good a character to be a one-novel phenomenon. He is a sardonic, accurate observer of South African foibles, especially those of the Afrikaner. It is all rendered with enough wry, dry humour to make the reader laugh out loud. * Business Day *Meyer's stellar stand-alone thriller delivers muscular prose with a hero to match. * Publishers Weekly *In his signature style, Meyer delivers a stinging critique of contemporary South African society by vivifying the tensions between native Africans, conservationists, and corporate profiteers . . . the crisp action scenes are never less than thrilling. A solid addition to the prizewinning crime novelist's growing body of work. * Booklist *This is a detective story/thriller that really delivers: an extremely well-constructed, intelligent plot; a committed political and social stance; and a genuine emotional engagement with minor as well as main characters. * Eurocrime *This is a book that both takes you away and makes you think, but most of all, it's a wonderful bit of masterful storytelling, with a gorgeous setting and complex, original characters. * Globe and Mail *

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Book Synopsis* WINNER OF THE BBC INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD 2012 *Prepare to discover a fascinating country; a land buffeted for centuries by power-struggles and revolts, lorded over by Turks, carved up by its neighbours, and subsumed into the Soviet Union. Yet also a land of proud and resilient people, of crawfish hunters and bagpipe makers, shepherds and gypsies, in which daily life goes on. So meet the teenager who swims by night across a border river to steal a kiss from his girlfriend, the ageing man who finds a cachet of loveletters his wife has kept for sixty years, and the post-Communist girl, an avowed thief with a heart of gold.Here are Miroslav Penkov''s beguiling, surprising and moving visions of his home country, Bulgaria: stories of people who mourn the way things were and long for what will never be, who wrestle with the weight of history, the debt to the family and the pangs of exile. And here is a remarkable new writer, who combines an eye for the absurd witTrade ReviewWINNER OF THE BBC SHORT STORY AWARD 2012. * . *Bulgaria past and present, its magical fables, absurdist realities and political exigencies, are presented through the eyes of homesick emigr?s and those who have remained. Penkov's stories combine toughness, vulnerability and bravado...he applies humour and compassion in equal measure: this is a sparkling collection. * Guardian *Humour, poignancy, tenderness and a deep sense of European history suffuse these lovely stories by a young Bulgarian writer of whom more will surely be heard. * Sunday Telegraph *His splendid prose can be fleet, leisurely, colloquial, or formal... These stories are not the promising work of a first-time author. They are already a promise fulfilled--wise, bright, and deep with sympathy. * Alec Solomita, The New Republic *There is a kind of magic at work in East of the West, a beautiful alchemy that combines wisdom and imagery, soul and story to render, finally, the pure gold of these tales. Miroslav Penkov is an extraordinary writer. May many books follow this one. * Bret Lott, author of Jewel and A Song I Knew by Heart *Miroslav Penkov unpacks his stories with great skill, drawing the reader so deeply into the world he has created that when the magic comes - a father wrapping his son's eyelash in a handkerchief - it knocks the wind right out of you. EAST OF THE WEST captures the moments that prove we are truly living. * Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief *Miroslav Penkov has successfully trapped two elusive creatures: the absurd beauty of Eastern Europe, and the emotional paradox of self-exile from that absurdity. His sense of history, his sense of humor, and his ability to create lasting characters make this book a dark yet hilarious pleasure. * Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian *I suspect that Miroslav Penkov would be a wonderful writer in any language, but lucky for us, it happens to be English, and what funny, tender, tragic, and soulful stories he spins from his adopted tongue. EAST OF THE WEST is, simply put, one of the best collections I have read in years, ambitious and accomplished enough in scope to encompass east, west, and all stations in between. * Ben Fountain, author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara *Miroslav Penkov spins magical tales. There is wonderful humor here, and characters you will never forget. You will love this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough. * Ellen Gilchrist, National Book Award-winning author of A Dangerous Age and I Cannot Get You Close Enough *Every once in a while, but no more often than that, a first book by a young writer comes along to restore a reader's faith in things. I mean big, serious things which matter, ones like memory, imagination, words, creativity and moral judgement...Rarely has such an intriguingly disparate cast been so deftly and dryly assembled...Penkov's stories are ironic without being trite, melancholic, but with a whiff of whimsy, revealing that they remain distinctly eccentric. He is a considerable, quirky, new talent. * Canberra Times *a series of superb tales of love and hate, home and homesickness, passion, exile, violence, history and humour. * Bendigo Advertiser *These eight stories play with dimensions of Bulgaria's beleaguered past and Turkish occupation through the eyes of an endearing set of appealing and convincing characters. Exile, betrayal, courage, hope, joy, death and anguish flow through these stories. * Sunday Territorian *Bulgaria past and present, its magical fables, absurdist realities and political exigencies, are presented through the eyes of homesick emigrés and those who have remained. Penkov's stories combine toughness, vulnerability and bravado...he applies humour and compassion in equal measure: this is a sparkling collection. * Guardian *There is a kind of magic at work in East of the West, a beautiful alchemy that combines wisdom and imagery, soul and story to render, finally, the pure gold of these tales. Miroslav Penkov is an extraordinary writer. May many books follow this one. * Bret Lott, author of Jewel and A Song I Knew by Heart *

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Book SynopsisAn abandoned yacht, a young family missing - chilling crime from the queen of Nordic Noir.Trade ReviewA corker of a locked-room mystery, with one of the most dramatic twists in recent crime fiction. * The Sunday Times *Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson. * Daily Telegraph *Yrsa is one of the most exciting new voices in the crime thriller world. -- Peter JamesA gripping thriller with enough mystery and horror to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat while you try to work out what happened. -- Peter Robinson

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Book SynopsisAll he wants is for them to say sorry... In the latest novel from the Queen of Icelandic crime, Freyja and Huldar must stop a ruthless killer taking revenge on teenage bullies.Trade ReviewFreyja and Huldar are one of the most intriguing crime detecting partnerships around and THE ABSOLUTION is a gripping, fascinating insight into the dark side of social media and children at risk. THE ABSOLUTION confirms Yrsa as a master storyteller with a satisfyingly slanted view of the world she recreates. -- William Ryan, author of A House of GhostsYrsa Sigurdardottir gets better and better with each book. The relationships and the humour lighten the darkest plot. -- Liz Nugent, author of Skin DeepSigurdardottir doesn't shy away from the hideous effects of bullying, combining a tough novel about a grim social phenomenon with a fast-paced plot * The Sunday Times *Praise for Yrsa Sigurdardottir's Freyja and Huldar series * . *Yrsa is a magnificent writer. -- Karin SlaughterOne of the best books I've read for a long time: dark, creepy, and gripping from beginning to end. -- Stuart MacBride, author of the Logan McRae seriesTHE RECKONING is another chilling, atmospheric tale from the undisputed Queen of Icelandic Noir. I loved it. -- Simon KernickIceland's outstanding crime novelist * Daily Express *Yrsa Sigurdardóttir has with her large-scale and genuinely intelligent stories attempted to find the core of Iceland's distinctive society, and thus pushed the Icelandic crime novel tradition many steps forward. -- Arne DahlA dark story by a brilliant author. A densely plotted, multifaceted and compelling book. Exceeds most novels in the thriller genre. -- Eric Axl SundIf you like your crime fiction dark and engaging, look no further. THE LEGACY is as brutal as it gets. A cracking start to a new series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. -- Mari Hannah, author of the DCI Kate Daniels seriesThere's no waffle in The Reckoning: it is brutal, baroque and ends with a brilliant last-minute twist. * Evening Standard *It's addictive, bleak, and will give you thrills and chills in equal measures. * Cosmopolitan Magazine *Yrsa remains the queen of Icelandic thriller writers. * Guardian *Credited as the queen of Icelandic crime, Sigurdardottir's story about the dark side of school and social media is as gripping as it is grisly * Heat *

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Book SynopsisThe perfect summer read set on the Mediterranean island of Sicily - perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Inspector Montalbano.Trade ReviewMario Giordano - a Bavarian of Sicilian parentage who writes in German - has created a delightful detective and a lively, humorous portrait of Sicilian society and gastronomy * The Times, Book of the Month *Mario Giordano - a Bavarian of Sicilian parentage who writes in German - has created a delightful detective and a lively, humorous portrait of Sicilian society and gastronomy * The Times, Book of the Month *Giordano is a novelist of high skill and originality with an eye for eccentric comedy, idiosyncratic characters and vivid scenes. John Brownjohn's translation is stylish and this book is a masterly treat * Times Literary Supplement *Giordano is a novelist of high skill and originality with an eye for eccentric comedy, idiosyncratic characters and vivid scenes. John Brownjohn's translation is stylish and this book is a masterly treat * Times Literary Supplement *Wonderfully evocative . . . a joyful light read * Crime Review *Wonderfully evocative . . . a joyful light read * Crime Review *The whole book is alive with a tang of lemons to set the senses zinging. Refreshing * The Spectator *The whole book is alive with a tang of lemons to set the senses zinging. Refreshing * The Spectator *The most enchanting novel I've read in ages! Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is a lush, sexy, and slightly madcap romp, much like Auntie Poldi herself. She's the aunt your mother warned you about - the one who never turns down a drink or a date with a dashing stranger, never mind the consequences . . . Mario Giordano has a gift for eccentric storytelling, snappy dialogue, and sly wit, making this a tart and delectable treat that you'll press on all your friends. I can't wait for the next installment! * Amy Stewart *The most enchanting novel I've read in ages! Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is a lush, sexy, and slightly madcap romp, much like Auntie Poldi herself. She's the aunt your mother warned you about - the one who never turns down a drink or a date with a dashing stranger, never mind the consequences . . . Mario Giordano has a gift for eccentric storytelling, snappy dialogue, and sly wit, making this a tart and delectable treat that you'll press on all your friends. I can't wait for the next installment! * Amy Stewart *Cross Alexander McCall Smith with Janet Evanovich, add a sensuously imagined Sicilian setting and an exuberant narrator, and you get the feel of Mario Giordano's Auntie Poldi detective books * The Times *Cross Alexander McCall Smith with Janet Evanovich, add a sensuously imagined Sicilian setting and an exuberant narrator, and you get the feel of Mario Giordano's Auntie Poldi detective books * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe President tells the story of a ruthless dictator and his schemes to dispose of a political adversary in an unnamed country usually identified as Guatemala. Drawing on his experience as a journalist writing under repressive conditions, Miguel Angel Asturias provides a blazing indictment of totalitarian government and its damaging psychological effects on society - from the harvest of terror to cowardice, to sycophancy, to treachery and intrigue, and the total sacrifice of human values to lust for power. Written in a language of freedom and originality, full of extraordinary symbolism, biting satire, poetry and dream sequences, with an imagination that is both lyrical and ferocious, The President is a surrealist masterpiece and one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewA phenomenal work that will never dateAsturias leaves no doubt about what it is like to be tortured, or what it is like to work for a man who is both omnipotent and depraved - TLS

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Book SynopsisWELCOME TO A SCHOOL REUNION YOU WON'T FORGET...Twenty-five years after a tragic incident, three friends return to their high-school for one final reunion: there's a body buried in the building, and they're the ones who put it there...Trade ReviewExtraordinary. -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times Culture *The Reunion will see him hailed as one of the great thriller writers of our age. -- Stuart Winter * DAILY EXPRESS *This vastly satisfying mystery is a huge bestseller in France - and it fully deserves to be... Written with fluency and charm, this is breathtakingly good. Do not miss it. * Daily Mail *Hugely enjoyable and beautifully staged, with an audacious authorial coup at the death that is simply breathtaking. -- Declan Hughes * Irish Times *Stylish and streamlined, nostalgic... More please. -- Mark Sanderson * The Times *A fun read, spiced with pop-cultural references. -- Laura Wilson * Guardian (Thrillers of the Month) *This immensely satisfying thriller about a prep school scandal and three friends' buried secrets had me turning the pages well into the night. The Reunion has everything a masterful thriller should: gut-wrenching suspense, a twisting story with blindsiding surprises, and a narrator with a mysterious past. It's no wonder that Guillaume Musso is one of France's most loved, bestselling authors. * Harlan Coben *In Musso's masterful plotting, Thomas faces fresh dangers at every turn. The atmospheric finale - which unfolds at Villa Fitzgerald and along Smugglers Way, the coastal path near some of the most lavish properties on the Côte d'Azur - brings shocking revelations. * BBC.com (The 10 Smartest Beach Reads of 2019) *Despite the ticking-clock premise, Musso takes time to set the atmosphere, with lush details that transport the reader to a locale that's at once glamorous and also laced with a deep, abiding sadness. * Crime Reads (The Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2019) *The French call it a coup de foudre: a strike of lightning. That's how The Reunion zapped me, electrified me. For almost a decade, Guillaume Musso has reigned supreme as France's most popular author, and with this, his American debut, he's instantly poised to join the ranks of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. The Reunion zigzags so nimbly - between past and present, from intrigue to terror, amid possible suspects and potential victims - that you're at very real risk of whiplash. Witty, elegant, and peopled with complex characters, it's one of the most sheerly suspenseful novels I've read in years - and among the most enjoyable, too. * A.J. Finn, #1 bestselling author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW *This is a suspenseful and utterly consuming novel... Highly addictive! -- Helena Gumley-Mason * THE LADY *Generations and eras intertwine against the backdrop of a murderous school campus... The perfect summer book to devour while lounging by a swimming pool * Elle *A fine tale of suspense from France's best-selling author. * Booklist *Despite the ticking-clock premise, Musso takes time to set the atmosphere, with lush details that transport the reader to a locale that's at once glamorous and also laced with a deep, abiding sadness. * CrimeReads *Long-buried secrets will give way to the truth in this tragic, riveting, French-Riviera-set story. * Globe and Mail *A fast-paced thriller, set on the Cote d'Azur, packed with a glamorous missing girl, a dead body, and enough references to Twin Peaks and raves and Belle and Sebastian to tickle anybody who came of age in the 1990s. * Vanity Fair *Hitchcock meets Twin Peaks * Repubblica *With a sun-drenched Cote d'Azur setting and a deliciously tangled plot of teenage passion, secret assignations, threats andbrutal violence, this elegant thriller keeps its nerve-jangling suspense until the very last page. -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL *

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Book SynopsisRoberto Saviano returns to the streets of Naples and the boy bosses who run them in Savage Kiss, the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Piranhas, the bestselling novel and major motion picture.Nicolas Fiorilla and his gang of children – his paranza – control the squares of Forcella after their rapid rise to power. But it isn’t easy being at the top.Now that the Piranhas have power in the city, they must undermine the old families of the Camorra and remain united among themselves. Every paranzino has his own vendettas and dreams to pursue – dreams that might go beyond the laws of the gang. A new war may be about to break out in this city of cut-throat bargaining, ruthless betrayal, and brutal revenge. Saviano continues the story of the disillusioned boys of Forcella, the paranzini ready to give and receive kisses that leave a taste of blood.Saviano’s Gomorrah was a worldwide sensation, and The Piranhas, called ‘raw and shocking’ by the New York Times Book Review, captured readers with its tale of raw criminal ambition, told with ‘openhearted rashness’ (Elena Ferrante). Savage Kiss, which again draws on the skills of translator Antony Shugaar, is a thrilling story from the brilliant Italian novelist.

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Book SynopsisA secluded hut in the middle of the woods. A double life that could be his downfall. The Secret Life of Mr Roos is the third Inspector Barbarotti novel from the ‘Godfather of Swedish crime’ (Metro), Håkan Nesser. At fifty-nine years old, Valdemar Roos is tired of life. Working a job he hates, with a wife he barely talks to and two step-daughters he doesn’t get on with, he doesn’t have a lot to look forward to. Then, one day, a winning lottery ticket gives him an opportunity to start afresh.Without telling a soul, he quits his job and buys a hut in the remote Swedish countryside. Every day he travels down to this man-made oasis, returning each evening to his unsuspecting wife. Life couldn’t be better, until a young woman arrives in paradise . . .Anna Gambowska is a twenty-one-year-old recovering drug addict. On the run from the rehab centre she hated and an abusive relationship she can’t go back to, all Anna’s prayers are answered when she comes across a seemingly vacant hut in the Swedish woodland. But it’s not long before Anna’s ex discovers her location, and an incident occurs that will mar the lives of both Anna and Valdemar forever.Inspector Barbarotti doesn’t take much interest when a woman reports her husband as missing. That is, until a dead body is found near the missing man’s newly bought hut, and Mr Roos becomes the number one murder suspect . . .The Secret Life of Mr Roos is the third novel in Håkan Nesser’s Inspector Barbarotti quintet.Trade ReviewThe godfather of Swedish crime * Metro *Told with wry humour and compassion, Nesser has four more Barbarotti stories to come – cherish them all -- Daily Mail on The Darkest DayA master of suspense * Sunday Times *In an exemplary translation by Sarah Death, this tangled tale of guilt and betrayal whets the appetite for translations of the other Barbarotti novels -- Financial Times on The Darkest DayOne of the best of the Nordic Noir writers * Guardian *One of Sweden’s best crime writers * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisRalf Rothmann is a German novelist, poet, and dramatist. His first novel to be translated into English, To Die in Spring, won the HWA Gold Crown for Best Historical Novel, was an international bestseller, and was translated into twenty-five languages.

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Book SynopsisThe Librarian of Auschwitz is ideal for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice, this graphic novel is the story of the smallest library in the world – and the most dangerous. Based on a true story, it is an extraordinary novel of courage and hope by Antonio Iturbe and Loreto Aroca.‘It wasn’t an extensive library. In fact, it consisted of eight books and some of them were in poor condition. But they were books. In this incredibly dark place, they were a reminder of less sombre times, when words rang out more loudly than machine guns . . .’Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious books the prisoners have managed to smuggle past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the secret librarian of Auschwitz, responsible for the safekeeping of the small collection of titles, as well as the ‘living books’ – prisoners of Auschwitz who know certain books so well, they too can be ‘borrowed’ to educate the children in the camp.But books are extremely dangerous. They make people think. And nowhere are they more dangerous than in Block 31 of Auschwitz, the children’s block, where the slightest transgression can result in execution, no matter how young the transgressor . . .Based on the incredible and moving true story of Dita Kraus, holocaust survivor and secret librarian for the children’s block in Auschwitz.Trade ReviewAn unforgettable, heartbreaking novel * Publishers Weekly, starred review *Like Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, it’s a sophisticated novel with mature themes, delivering an emotionally searing reading experience. An important novel that will stand with other powerful testaments from the Holocaust era. * Booklist, starred review *Though no punches are pulled about the unimaginable atrocity of the death camps, a life-affirming history. * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *this novel is one that could easily be recommended . . . alongside Elie Wiesel's Night and The Diary of Anne Frank . . . once read, will never be forgotten . . . A hauntingly authentic Holocaust retellingAn engrossing read, seamlessly translated from Iturbe's original Spanish. Iturbe retains the dignity and full horror of Dita's situation, while creating a narrative of hope and bravery in the face of fear. * Compass Magazine *

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Book SynopsisA bewitching novel by Brenda Lozano, one of the most prominent voices of the new generation of Latin American writers.'You can't really know another woman until you know yourself.'Weaving together two parallel narratives, this is the story of Feliciana, an indigenous curandera (healer), and of Zoë, a journalist: two women drawn together by the murder of Feliciana's cousin Paloma.In the tiny village of San Felipe in Jalisco province, where traditional ways of life and belief are a present reality, Feliciana tells the story of her life, her community's acceptance of her as a genuine curandera and the difficulties faced by her cousin Paloma who is a Muxe (both male and female), in her case a trans woman.Growing up in Mexico City, the heart of modern Mexico, Zoë attempts to find her way in a hostile world made for men, as she reflects on what drew her to Feliciana and Paloma, and her own relationship with the innate powers of a curandera.This extraordinary novel envisions the writer as healer, one who uses El Lenguaje (Language) to read El Libro (The Book) that contains the mystery of the world, and offers a generous and distinctly female way of understanding the complex world we all inhabit.Translated from the Spanish by Heather ClearyTrade ReviewBraiding together the voices of two women - a mystic and a skeptic - Witches, to borrow Brenda Lozano's words by way of Heather Cleary's translation, runs into shadows to bring light. This is a story of the world's repeated failure to control feminine power and the sheer magic of language itself. An enthralling, passionate story about secrets both holy and profane -- Catherine Lacey * author of Pew and Nobody is Ever Missing *Like the language of mushrooms: beautiful, brutal and beguiling, opening a new path to knowledge. -- Chloe AridjisHighly original, beautifully written and graced with a hypnotically compelling narrative style. A remarkable book -- Jon Lee AndersonAlternating between the quotidian and the incantatory, Witches weaves together two personal and political histories, casting a potent spell of fury and curiosity, heartache and healing. Sibylline, rich, and incredibly precise in its construction, Witches exhibits Lozano's total mastery of her art on every page, insisting on the primacy and power of storytelling, and the right of all Others to claim it -- Maryse Meijer * author of The Seventh Mansion *"Though the book chronicles violence against women and those who present as women, it highlights, in both rural and urban communities, an atmosphere of freedom and mobility that is a pleasure to read about" * New York Times *The language that Brenda Lozano invokes in Witches belongs to unknown realms but also builds bridges between worlds-it knits kinships and illuminates ancestral knowledge still present today. In this superb, precise and ethical translation by Heather Cleary, Lozano's language truly becomes a site of revelation -- Gabriela JaureguiThe two women's coming of age tales are simply and subtly told, and made more immediate by the book's structure with its emphasis on oral recall. Lozano manages to portray two disparate worlds convincingly, while persuading us of their parallels . . . [daring] to imagine a Mexico that sees commonalities across cultures and genders -- Patrick Graney * Literary Review *Lozano knows she is gifted and has no shame in showing it -- Margarita García Robayo * author of Fish Soup *Brenda Lozano is among several contemporary Mexican writers whose playfully innovative work has met with acclaim in the UK . . . Let's hope more of [her] work will follow * Guardian *An invitation for readers of all genders to disinherit themselves from their roles and to renounce the omnipresent male narrator * El Economista *An injection of electricity, a music that continues to be heard far beyond its pages * Mauro Libertella *Brenda Lozano is a splendid writer, brilliant, funny, subtly perverse, always moving -- Francisco Goldman

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Book SynopsisI might no longer exist here at this momentthis moment might no longer exist for meVioleta is driving along a lonely stretch of late-night motorway, caught in a tumultuous storm. When her tired eyes close for just a second, her car veers off the road, overturns, and comes to rest on an empty stretch of sodden ground.And as she lies amid the wreckage, suspended between this world and the next, Violeta's troubled life will quite literally flash before her eyes . . .Violeta Among the Stars weaves memories and feelings as Violeta reflects on her death and her life, the piercing highs and the seedy lows. An astonishing portrait of a seemingly insignificant life from one of Portugal's greatest living writers."An extraordinary piece of writing on the life of an ordinary woman" Litro"Absolutely compelling . . . this novel is truly unforgettable" Irish IndependentTranslated from the Portuguese by Ángel Gurría-QuintanaÁngel Gurría-Quintana is a historian, journalist and literary translator from Spanish and Portuguese. He writes regularly for the books pages of the Financial Times, and his translations include the anthology Other Carnivals: Short Stories from Brazil and The Return, by Dulce Maria Cardoso.With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European UnionTrade ReviewA vibrant style, a brilliant novel * De Standaard *Every word is in the right place and the result is pure music * De Volkskrant *A devastating novel * Matricule des Anges *A powerful, moving monologue that weaves intimate voices with the history of contemporary Portugal -- Véronique Rossignol * Livre Hebdo *Exceptional ... absolutely compelling ... this novel is truly unforgettable -- Anne Cunningham * Irish Independent *Quite extraordinary and a privilege to read . . . Devastating but immensely moving . . . Violeta among the Stars is related with rare eloquence -- Rosie Goldsmith * European Literature Network *Both the translator Ángel Gurría-Quintana and Cardoso herself are true masters of their craft . . . an artistic achievement in style and form that will move you, even if you don't want it to. It is an extraordinary piece of writing on the life of an ordinary woman. * Litro *

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Book Synopsis"Both a pleasure and a testament to life in Ukraine, before" Sunday Times"Ukraine's greatest living novelist" New European"A Ukrainian Murakami" GuardianA love letter to the beautiful city of Lviv, by the author of Death and the Penguin and Grey Bees.Strange things are afoot in the cosmopolitan city of Lviv, western Ukraine. Seagulls are circling and the air smells salty, though Lviv is a long way from the sea . . . A ragtag group gathers round a mysterious grave in Lychakiv Cemetery - among them an ex-KGB officer and an ageing hippy he used to spy on. Before long, Captain Ryabtsev and Alik Olisevych are teaming up to discover the source of the "anomalies".Meanwhile, Taras ­- who makes a living driving kidney-stone patients over cobblestones in his ancient Opel Vectra - is courting Darka, who works nights at a bureau de change despite being allergic to money.The young lovers don't know it, but their fate depends on two lonely old men, relics of another era, who will stop at nothing to save their city. Shot through with Kurkov's unique brand of black humour and vodka-fuelled magic realism, Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv is an affectionate portrait one the world's most intriguing cities.Translated from the Russian by Reuben WoolleyTrade ReviewPlayful and ebullient, shot through with magical twists and supernatural turns . . . A reminder of Kurkov's prodigious storytelling gifts and a throwback to an earlier, happier age * Observer *This beguiling literary postcard from a recent, now supplanted past brims with the bittersweet charm and rueful satire of the books, such as Death and the Penguin, that established Kurkov's international reputation * Financial Times *Both a pleasure and a testament to life in Ukraine, before -- David Sexton * Sunday Times *Entertaining and poignant . . . A multi-layered, Chagal-like picture of modern-day Ukraine. * Glasgow Herald *A craftily constructed novel that undermines and transforms itself in a consistently enjoyable manner without the haze of purple prose. * Irish Times *Charming . . . A love letter to Lviv, Ukraine's linguistic and cultural capital * Guardian *The characters are lovingly drawn and exude the sort of warmth with which the author imbues all of his creations. You enjoy the time spent in their company * The Times *Kurkov draws us with deceptive ease into a dense complex world full of wonderful characters -- Michael PalinA latter-day Bulgakov . . . A Ukrainian Murakami * Guardian *A post-Soviet Kafka * Daily Telegraph *A kind of Ukrainian Kurt Vonnegut * Spectator *Ukraine's greatest living novelist New European -- New European

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Book SynopsisA powerful tale of honour, prejudice and the twentieth century's most maltreated hero, by the acclaimed author of THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB.June 8, 1954. Alan Turing, the visionary mathematician, is found dead at his home in sleepy Wilmslow, dispatched by a poisoned apple. Taking the case, Detective Constable Leonard Corell quickly learns Turing is a convicted homosexual. Confident it's a suicide, he is nonetheless confounded by official secrecy over Turing's war record. What is more, Turing's sexuality appears to be causing alarm among the intelligence services - could he have been blackmailed by Soviet spies? Stumbling across evidence of Turing's genius, and sensing an escape from a narrow life, Corell soon becomes captivated by Turing's brilliant and revolutionary work, and begins to dig deeper. But in the febrile atmosphere of the Cold War, loose cannons cannot be tolerated. As his innocent curiosity takes him far out of his depth, Corell realises he has much to learn about the dangers of forbidden knowledge.Trade ReviewLagercrantz neatly intertwines the facts of Turing's life with the fiction of Corell's quest for knowledge to create an unsettling story of state secrets and sexual hypocrisy * Sunday Times *Has the faintest whiff of W.G. Sebald; haunted characters determined to pull others down into turbid, oppressive currents of memory and ideas. You are willingly drawn down with them * Spectator *Swedish crime fiction moves into Britain's heartland in this superbly written espionage and murder novel . . . Lagercrantz has the lingo, the mood and the place down pat. * Globe and Mail (Toronto) *Absorbing . . . Gets the synapses sparking . . . Lagercrantz is at home with a damaged hero who has more of an affinity with computers than humans * Sunday Telegraph *A persuasive evocation of Turing's genius and of a Britain still suffering under rationing and repression * Daily Mail *Perhaps the most signal achievement here is the clever melding of two narrative forms: a sympathetic biography of a real historical figure treated appallingly by the establishment, and a police procedural in which a dogged copper tries to crack a mystery in the teeth of bloody-minded intransigence * Independent *

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Book SynopsisOne of The Times' "Best Crime Novels by Women since 2000" "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 JournalThe frozen body of a woman is found in a fishing ark on the ice near Torneträsk in northern Sweden. She has been brutally tortured, but the killing blow was clumsy, almost amateur. The body is quickly identified, raising hopes of an open-and-shut solution. But when a six-month-old suicide is disinterred, Rebecka Martinsson and Anna-Maria Mella find themselves investigating shocking corruption at the heart of one of Sweden's most successful mining companies. One that has powerful enemies of its own.Trade ReviewÅsa Larsson's genius is in telling the story from multiple viewpoints, so cleverly that you can't see the dots connecting until they hit you right in the face at the end * The Times *

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Book SynopsisOprah.com raved that Asa Larsson's Rebecka Martinsson is a crime fighter who has all the needed gut insticts," and listed the series as "Mysteries Every Thinking Woman Should Read." In Until Thy Wrath Be Past the body of a young woman surfaces in the River Torne, in the far north of Sweden. Meanwhile, Rebecka Martinsson is working as a prosecutor in nearby Kiruna. Her sleep has been disturbed by haunting visions of a shadowy, accusing figure. Could the body be connected to the ghostly young woman in her dreams?Joining forces once again with Police Inspector Anna-Maria Mella, Rebecka is drawn into a murder and missing-person investigation that becomes entangled with old rumors of a German supply plane that mysteriously disappeared in 1943. Shame and secrecy shroud the locals' memories of the war, with Sweden's early collaboration with the Nazis still a raw wound. And on the windswept shore of a frozen lake lurks a faceless killer determined to keep the past buried forever beneath half a century's silent ice and snow. With its psychologically complex twists and turns, this harrowing thriller captivates from the very first page.Trade ReviewLarsson's laid-back style makes her unflinching probing of the icy depths of the human heart all the more chilling * Telegraph *In a world awash with female coppers, there aren't many as interesting and human as Rebecka * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisThe first-ever English translation reveals the inner voice of a brilliant Bolshevik journalist and politician Through this dramatic history by Stefan Heym, we become intimate with the story of the maverick and internationalist Karl Radek, known as the editor of the newspaper of record throughout the Soviet era, Isvestia. Beginning as Lenin's companion at the dawning of the October Revolution, Radek later became Stalin's favorite intellectual - only to find himself entangled in the great purges of the late 1930s and scripting his own trial. In this, his last historical novel, Heym reveals Radek as a brilliant Bolshevik journalist and politician who found himself at every turn of the wheel of fate. A central figure of the communist world, Radek was such a controversial and perennially ambiguous personality that even his historical biography seems a work of fiction. With his thick glasses and most non-Aryan appearance, marked by what some might have seen as distinctively Jewish argumentative skills and humor, Radek's enormous talent as a writer, political acumen, and continuous curiosity carried him through event after event. In the struggles of the revolutionary movement Radek changed sides several times and came into conflict with Stalin, was exiled to Siberia, capitulated and resumed his editorial duties at Isvestia - only to get caught up in the purge trials and sentenced to prison, where he died. As Heym sculpts credible conversations with Lenin, Luxemburg, Liebknecht, Trotsky, Stalin, and many others (all seen from Radek's perspective) we come to know Radek as a man haunted by the fear that the insurgency will cease to move forward, living his life as a frenzied chase in pursuit of the continuation of the revolution, until the very end. Originally published in Munich in 1995, this first-ever English translation of Radek fashions the inner voice of a unique figure in the global revolutionary wave of the first half of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisIn 1933, Victor Serge was arrested by Stalin’s police, interrogated, and held in solitary confinement for more than eighty days. Released, he spent two years in exile in remote Orenburg. These experiences were the inspiration for Midnight in the Century, Serge’s searching novel about revolutionaries living in the shadow of Stalin’s betrayal of the revolution.  Among the exiles gathered in the town of Chenor, or Black-Waters, are the granite-faced Old Bolshevik Ryzhik, stoic yet gentle Varvara, and Rodion, a young, self-educated worker who is trying to make sense of the world and history. They struggle in the unlikely company of Russian Orthodox Old Believers who are also suffering for their faith. Against unbelievable odds, the young Rodion will escape captivity and find a new life in the wild. Surviving the dark winter night of the soul, he rediscovers the only real, and most radical, form of resistance: hope. 

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Book Synopsis"Trieste is a monumental feat of the imagination. Impassioned and lucid, it is impossible to read it and not come away with a new understanding of the world. Daša Drndic has given us a masterpiece that is not only brilliant, but uncompromisingly humane. How lucky we are" MAAZA MENGISTE, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the Booker Prize"Although this is fiction, it is also a deeply researched historical documentary . . . It is a masterpiece" A.N. Wilson, Financial Times"Trieste is a work of European high culture. Drndic is writing neither to entertain (her novel is splendid and absorbing nevertheless) nor to instruct (its subject, the Holocaust, is too intractable to yield lessons). She is writing to witness, and to make the pain stick" Craig Seligman, New York TimesAn old woman sits alone in Gorizia, north-eastern Italy. She is waiting to be reunited with her son. He was fathered by an S.S. officer and stolen from her sixty-two years before by the Nazi authorities during the German occupation. By focusing on the experiences of one individual, Drndic engages head-on with the traumatic history of WWII and the Holocaust and deals unsparingly with the massacre of Jews in Trieste's concentration camp. A literary collage comprising photographs, scraps of poetry, interviews and testimonies from the Nuremberg Trials, it is a formally daring work of immense power and scope.Translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias-BursacTrade ReviewTrieste is a work of European high culture. Drndic is writing neither to entertain (her novel is splendid and absorbing nevertheless) nor to instruct (its subject, the Holocaust, is too intractable to yield lessons). She is writing to witness, and to make the pain stick. -- Craig Seligman * New York Times *Trieste is a monumental feat of the imagination. Impassioned and lucid, it is impossible to read it and not come away with a new understanding of the world. Daša Drndic has given us a masterpiece that is not only brilliant, but uncompromisingly humane. How lucky we are. -- MAAZA MENGISTE * author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the Booker Prize *'Although this is fiction, it is also a deeply researched historical documentary ... It is a masterpiece' A.N. Wilson, Financial Times. * Financial Times *'Original, moving and beautifully translated and produced' Guardian. * Guardian *'A literary tour-de-force' Amanda Hopkinson, Independent. * Independent *'The multifarious elements that comprise Haya's story and its grand context are an incredibly dense and potent mixture' Daniel Dahn, Independent on Sunday. * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn Rituals, Amsterdam of the fifties, sixties and seventies is viewed from the perspective of the capricious Inni Wintrop. An unintentional suicide survivor, the unexpected gift of life returned lends him the curiousity, and impartiality, to survey others' lives and rountines. Inni's opposite, the one-eyed downhill skier Arnold Taads measures his life by the clock, while his disowned son Philip follows Japanese rituals which themselves seem to render his existence meaningless. A novel for those who seek to unravel our mysterious, apparently directionless lives...Trade Review'Sharp, elegant prose ... It recalls, in tone, Vladimir Nabokov. The language is, by turns, delicately allusive and rich, even ripely comic' D.J. Enright, T.L.S. * TLS *'Should appeal to anyone who likes Italo Calvino or Paul Auster' Michael Dirda, Washington Times. * Washington Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom the moment he first gazes at Marjory across the roulette table in the Côte d'Azur Jean-Marie is entranced, and when their feverish holiday romance comes to an end he decides to take the biggest gamble of his life - to follow the beautiful Englishwoman back to rainy Edinburgh. But no sooner has Jean-Marie arrived than his luck runs out. He is drawn into an impenetrable mystery and soon, with blood on his hands, trapped in the grey-granite labyrinth of the city, he is running out of time to save his sanity and his life. The King of Fools is a fiendish tale of passion, betrayal and murder.Trade ReviewThe French master of noir The Observer Alongside the Maigret novels of Georges Simenon there is a rich vein of period French crime still to be tapped. Frederic Dard is a case in point Daily Mail At heart, The King of Fools is another Dard Noir Romance, a book about a love story gone bad, which is charming and engaging far beyond the plot details International Crime Fiction The literary descendant of Simenon and Celine Le Figaro No question: for me, he was the greatest Philippe Geluck France's most popular post-war author L'Express His language is cutting, his point-of-view original and his verdict uncompromising... One of the few twentieth-century authors to win both critical acclaim and great popularity Solidarite Militaire

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Book SynopsisA feverish classic from one of the modern masters of French prose No one can keep up with Pierre Niox, the speediest antiques dealer in Paris - although not necessarily the most competent. As he dashes about at a dizzying pace, his impatience becomes too much to bear for those around him: his manservant, his only friend and even his cat abandon him. He begins to find that while he is racing through life, it is passing him by. But when Pierre falls in love with the languid, unpunctual Hedwige, the man in a hurry has to learn how to slow down. This feverish classic by one of the modern masters of French prose is a witty and touching parable for our busy times.Trade ReviewWithout doubt the best French writer of the twentieth century -- Philippe Sollers Admired both by Ezra Pound and by Marcel Proust as a pioneer craftsman of Modernist French prose... The sheer shapeliness of his prose recalls Hemingway; the urbanity of his self-destructiveness compares with Fitzgerald's; and his camera eye is as lucidly stroboscopic as that of Dos Passos The New York Times Morand was the all-round aesthete -- Nicholas Lezard Morand was a citizen of the world, with a sharp eye and a neat turn of phrase The Tablet A French modernist on the scale of Proust and Celine... Pushkin Press's gorgeous new edition of Morand's masterpiece is a shockingly clever farce... Morand deserves to be widely revisited Publisher's Weekly

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Book SynopsisThe Baron, bored on holiday, begins a flirtation with a beautiful woman via her twelve-year-old son. He befriends the child and charms him, all the while attempting to seduce the mother - but he cannot begin to imagine the effect he is having on the boy's life... Burning Secret is a witty, potent look at innocence, adult attraction and childhood passion.Trade Review“What did Zweig have that brought him the fanatical devotion of millions of readers, the admiration of Herman Hesse, the invitation to give the eulogy at the funeral of Sigmund Freud? To learn that, we would have to have a biography that illuminated all aspects of his work, that read all of his books, and that challenged, rather than accepted, the apparent modesty of his statements about his life and work.” – Benjamin Moser, Bookforum “[Burning Secret is] a devastatingly accurate picture of childhood on the cusp of adolescent disillusion.” – Gary Indiana, Bookforum"Breathtaking... the final sentence is unlike anything I have ever read before; and transforms not only the book, but, in a way, the reader as well." - Nicholas Lezard, Guardian"Zweig is the most adult of writers; civilised, urbane, but never jaded or cynical; a realist who none the less believed in the possibility—the necessity—of empathy." - Independent "Touching and delightful. Those adjectives are not meant as faint praise. Zweig may be especially appealing now because rather than being a progenitor of big ideas, he was a serious entertainer, and an ardent and careful observer of habits, foibles, passions and mistakes." — A.O. Scott, The New York Times

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Book SynopsisAfter a deadly duel with a jealous rival, Pierre de Siorac must travel to Paris, to seek his pardon from the King. In the capital city he finds a world of sweet words and fierce pride, where coquettish smiles hide behind fans, and murderous intents behind elegant bows. But the court's elaborate social graces mask a simmering tension that will soon explode to engulf the entire city. When it does, Pierre faces the greatest challenge of his young existence-not merely to win a royal pardon, but to escape from Paris with his life, and the lives of his beloved companions, intact.Trade Review'Modern-day Dumas finally crosses the channel' - ObserverSwashbuckling historical fiction... For all its philosophical depth [The Brethren] is a hugely entertaining romp... The comparisons with Dumas seem both natural and deserved and the next 12 instalments [are] a thrilling prospect' - Christobel Kent, Guardian'A sprawling, earthy tale of peril, love, lust, death, dazzling philosophical debate and political intrigue... an engrossing saga' - Gransnet'Both wise and audacious, constantly nudging up against the extraordinary' - The New York Times Book Review'A vivid novel by France's modern Dumas' - Sunday Times'Spectacular' - Independent'A lively adventure' - Daily Telegraph'Cleverly depicts France's epic religious wars through the intimate prism of one family's experience. It's beautifully written too' - Metro

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Book SynopsisFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE GIRL IN THE EAGLE'S TALONS, THE NEW GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO THRILLER FEATURING LISBETH SALANDER STEEPED IN DARKNESS, COMPLICITY AND FORGIVENESS, THIS BESTSELLING SCANDI NOIR IS FOR FANS OF LITERARY FICTION SUCH AS MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, A LITTLE LIFE AND THE DISCOMFORT OF EVENING A MAJOR BESTSELLER OPTIONED FOR TV BY THE PRODUCERS OF THE BRIDGE SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS AUGUST PRIZE TRANSLATED INTO ELEVEN LANGUAGES 'Well worth the read' GUARDIAN 'Bleak and beautiful rural noir' CRIMEREADS'Perfect for fans of Scandi-noir dramas' CULTUREFLY ____________ Jana Kippo has returned to Smalånger to see her twin brother, Bror, still living in the small family farmhouse in the remote north of Sweden. Within the isolated community, secrets and lies have grown silently, undisturbed for years. Following the discovery of a young woman's body in the long grass behind the sawmill, the siblings, hooked by a childhood steeped in darkness, need to break free. But the truth cannot be found in other people's stories. The question is - can it be found anywhere? A literary noir of phenomenal power about the magnetic attraction of the wrong person, the brutality visited upon one human to another - and a rural community that stood by and did nothing ____________ FURTHER PRAISE FOR MY BROTHER 'Possesses the same melodramatic power as Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels' ETC 'A media sensation. . . remarkable' GP 'Brutal, colourful, carnal. . . Impossible to put down' Expresse 'A rare story-telling talent' Aftonbladet ____________ READERS LOVE MY BROTHER 'A powerful story, brilliantly translated' 'Rural and epic in landscape, deep and heart-breaking in loss, and truth' 'If you enjoyed The Discomfort of Evenings by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, I think you will enjoy this too!'Trade Review"Chinks of light appear as secrets are revealed… Well worth the read"--GUARDIAN "Original and fascinating, the best debut I’ve read from a Swedish writer in years"--MARTIN HOLMÉN, AUTHOR OF THE STOCKHOLM TRILOGY "Bleak and beautiful rural noir"--CRIMEREADS "From the start, there is an energy in the writing of this novel that only occasionally lets up… unfolding mysteries with miseries"--IRISH TIMES "My Brother is perfect for fans of Scandi-noir dramas"--CULTUREFLY"An exposition on human frailty and resilience, and on despair and hope… Darkly poetic"--EUROPEAN LITERATURE NETWORK"This year’s best novel… Brutal, colourful, carnal… Impossible to put down"--EXPRESSEN"Every now and then there are debut novels that appear like crown jewels… My Brother belongs there: clever, detailed and shimmering"--SVENSKA DAGBLADET "[Karin Smirnoff] is a rare story-telling talent"--AFTONBLADET "[My Brother] possesses the same melodramatic power as Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels"--ETC "Secrets and lies grow thick and tall like tree trunks… [My Brother] has its own logic and its own hard, coarse beauty"--SMÅLANDPOSTEN "Karin Smirnoff’s debut novel has become a media sensation… It’s a remarkable novel."--GP

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Book SynopsisWhen Charles Swann first lays eyes on Odette de Crécy, he is indifferent to her beauty. Their paths continue to cross in the drawing rooms and theatres of Parisian high society, and the seeds of desire in Swann begin to flourish. What follows is a journey through self-delusion, jealousy and delirious fantasy, which will take Swann far from the sedate comfort of his society life. A standalone novella from Proust's monumental masterpiece, Swann in Love is a sublimely witty and poignant story of the illusions of love and desire. Full of the rich social satire and penetrating insight that distinguish Proust's style, it is the perfect introduction to one of the world's great novelists.Trade Review “Where to start with... Marcel Proust.” --Lucy Raitz, The Guardian “If you can’t handle 1.5 million words of Proust, try Swann in Love.” --The Washington Post “Surely the greatest novelist of the 20th century.” --Sunday Telegraph “One of the miracles of European literature.” --Guardian

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Book SynopsisIn these tense, macabre stories, bodies fall from the sky, perfect nails conceal grisly secrets and violence pulses behind gleaming façades. From hellish visions to obsessive relationships, acclaimed author Agustina Bazterrica takes us to the dark heart of human desires and fears. Shocking, brutal, yet glinting with sharp humour, Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a breathtaking dive into human monstrousness from a master of contemporary horror.

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