Fiction in translation

Book Synopsis** The inspiration for the NETFLIX original series Young Wallander - out now **When Kurt Wallander first appeared in Faceless Killers, he was a senior police officer, just turned forty, with his life in a mess. His wife had left him, his father barely acknowledged him; he ate badly and drank alone at night.The Pyramid chronicles the events that led him to such a place. We see him in the early years, doing hours on the beat whilst trying to solve a murder off-duty; witness the beginnings of his fragile relationship with Mona, the woman he has his heart set on marrying; and learn the reason behind his difficulties with his father. These thrilling tales provide a fascinating insight into Wallander''s character, from the stabbing of a neighbour in 1969 to a light aircraft accident in 1989, every story is a vital piece of the Wallander series, showing Mankell at the top of his game. Featuring an introduction from the author, The PyraTrade ReviewMankell is the master of Scandinavian crime, much imitated, never bettered * Independent *An excellent collection * New York Times *[A] brilliant collection of stories from the grand master of chilly Scandinavian crime * Daily Mirror *Absorbing... A good book for newcomers to start with * Daily Telegraph *The master of the long, dark night * Crime Time *

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Book SynopsisA classic novel from recent Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano, now available to English-language readers in a superb new translationTrade Review“Mr. Modiano’s novels are pervaded by a sexual and moral ambivalence and by social and political ambiguity. Improbable aristocrats, likeable eccentrics, would-be actresses, circus performers and cabaret workers—no one is ever who they appear to be. And Paris features as a character in her own right, refusing to surrender the secrets of her past.”—The Economist“A timely glimpse at [Modiano’s] fixations. . . . In Mark Polizzotti’s spare and elegant translation, the writing conveys a sense of dreamy unease in which the real, the hypothesized, and the half-forgotten blend into a shimmering vagueness.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal“Elegant . . . quietly unpretentious, approachable. . . . Though enigmatic and open-ended, Modiano’s remembrances of things past and his probings of personal identity are presented with a surprisingly light touch. He is, all in all, quite an endearing Nobelist.”—Michael Dirda, Washington Post“Mr. Modiano writes clear, languid, and urbane sentences in Mr. Polizzotti’s agile translation. . . . These novellas have a mood. They cast a spell.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times“[After the Circus] transposes Modiano’s favorite themes into a taut, hard-boiled crime story. . . . Modiano is writing metaphysical mystery stories, in which the search for answers is never afforded an easy solution. The more of Modiano’s work you read, the more familiar and inevitable his peculiar set of obsessions starts to feel—which is one sign of a major writer.”—Adam Kirsch, Daily Beast“This brief, polished, ultimately poignant story is classic Modiano . . . superbly lean . . . moody, even noir . . . smart and strangely moving. . . . Modiano at his best.”—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review)“After the Circus is a little masterpiece in the French minimalist and ironic noir tradition, reminiscent of Godard’s Breathless or Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player.”—Colin Nettelbeck, Australian Book Review“At its opaque centre, this is the story of two lovers pitting themselves against the world in the vein of Faulkner’s The Wild Palms or Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. . . . In keeping with the territory, Modiano’s syntax is closer to Hemingway than Faulkner. A simple sentence can hold a beautiful heaviness. . . . The overall effect is like staring through the shutters of a gambling den and watching a seedy mystery unfold.”—Nick Major, Glasgow Herald“Modiano’s understated prose, which is beautifully translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti, truly captures the exhilaration and confusion of young love. . . . It’s a wonderful read, the kind of novel you can get completely caught up in as it transports you to another time and place, helped in part by the lovely languid writing and the dreamlike recollection of a different era.”—Reading Matters“After the Circus is a beautifully detailed evocation of an era and a state of mind. . . . Modiano is a master at exploring the emotions that resonate and remain with us. After the Circus is an excellent place to start if you want to discover this most private and subtle of French authors. If you already like his work, this new translation will only increase your admiration.”—Shoshi Ish-Horowicz, Jewish Renaissance"What makes the novel distinctive is its atmosphere of mystery and elusiveness… gripping throughout."—David Herman, Jewish Chronicle

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Book SynopsisThe classic novel from the author of Lolita, brilliantly portraying one man's ruin through love and betrayal.Trade Review"Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written—that is, ecstatically." -- John Updike

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Book Synopsis''A thriller that lingers in the memory'' SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB''Dark Nordic noir'' THE i ''A global bestseller'' SUNDAY TIMES The award-winning, international bestselling Swedish crime debut about a missing girl, and the detective who must return home and confront her darkest secrets in order to find her - for fans of MISSING, PRESUMED by Susie Steiner, I''M TRAVELLING ALONE by Samuel Bjork, and THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell.______________________________________THE MISSINGNora''s daughter Annabelle has disappeared, last seen on her way home from a party.THE LOSTGullspång''s inexperienced police are wilting under the national media spotlight - and its residents desperate for answers.THE CLOCK IS TICKINGStockholm DI Charlie Lager must return home to find Annabelle, and then get out of town as soon as she can. Before everyone discovers the truth about her . . .If you liked MISSING, PRESUMED by Susie Steiner, I''M TRAVELLING ALONE by Samuel Bjork, and THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell you will love FOR THE MISSING, the international crime bestseller with a stunning ending.______________________________________WHAT REAL READERS ARE SAYING:''Oh My Gosh! This is epic!''''This is a great crime mystery''''An interesting and fascinating read''''Highly recommended''''I am just amazed when a debut author presents a crime thriller in a fresh way''''The tension grows and grows up to a stunning conclusion''Trade ReviewThis smash hit Swedish debut breathes new life into a few well-worn det-fic themes to create a thriller that lingers in the memory * SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB *A powerful Scandi Noir debut by a promising new author ... Atmospheric, evocative and with a heroine who overcomes some of the genre's clichés, this is a first-class procedural with all shades of grey unveiled like onion peel as the narrative progresses. With various parallel story strands deepening the mystery before they all come together in a flurry of unwelcome truths, this makes for an altogether excellent thriller -- Maxim Jakubowski * CRIME TIME *This debut novel from a psychology teacher upholds the recent tradition of dark Nordic noir. A girl goes missing on her way home from the party in the forested village of Gullspang. Enter a Stockholm detective with a secret of her own * THE i PAPER *This may be the debut novel for Lina Bengtsdotter, but it immediately slots her into the pantheon of Scandi Noir greats. She is a seamstress. She weaves a wonderful, embracing picture of life in a down-at-heel, dying, remote and rusty, Swedish industrial eyesore; and gradually unpicks the different threads, laying each out, its sparse clarity giving the reader a myriad of separate storylines ... For The Missing begins with the speed and power of a hydrofoil on the dangerous lake, and delves deeply into a sea of contradictions: not just involving the search for the missing girl, but the enthralling personalities and twists that Bengstdotter creates ... the pace is fast and unrelenting, but the style allows the reader to relax and absorb the plot ... For The Missing takes crime fiction to a disturbingly personal, high level -- Tony R. Cox * SHOTS MAG *This debut novel is intelligent and arresting. And grim -- Mat Coward * MORNING STAR *A brilliant, dense crime novel * Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) *The next big Swedish crime sensation * Dagbladet (Norway) *A wonderful debut * Dziennik Zachodni (Poland) *The dark humour, compelling characters and exquisite writing means you're always in for a treat with Lina Bengtsdotter's novels * Camilla Läckberg *Lina Bengtsdotter's books are beautiful, dark and completely addictive. I love them! * Katrine Engberg *

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Book Synopsis From the bestselling Italian author comes a novel based on the true story of a priest who refused to surrender... The school year is finished, exams are over and summer stretches before seventeen-year-old Federico, full of promise and opportunity. But then he accepts a request from one of his teachers to help out at a youth club in the destitute Sicilian neighbourhood of Brancaccio. This narrow tangle of alleyways is controlled by local mafia thugs, but it is also the home of children like Francesco, Maria, Dario, Totò: children with none of Federico's privileges, but with a strength and vitality that changes his life forever. Written in intensely passionate and lyrical prose, What Hell Is Not is the phenomenal Italian bestseller about a man who brought light to one of the darkest corners of Sicily, and who refused to give up on the future of its children. Perfect for fans of Elena Ferrante and Roberto Saviano.Trade Review‘A beautifully written novel, translated from the Italian, with a heartwarming story... The language soars like a symphony. The notes are in perfect pitch.’ * New York Journal of Books *‘If, like me, you are a fan of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet, I urge you to check out What Hell is Not.’ * Literary Hub *‘A mature work that looks the theme of evil and violence in the eye.’ * Libero *‘Rich in figurative language... [the story is] equally rich in characterization and setting.’ * Booklist *‘D'Avenia convincingly conveys the extent of the deprivation and of the reach of the Mafia's influence and control... [He] has a lyrical touch amid the violence and the squalor.’ * Herald Scotland *‘The dark story of Father Pino’s passion and death is a long shriek of grief, but it is not in vain: it is also a hymn to love that becomes beauty.’ * Antonia Arslan, author of Skylark Farm *‘What Hell Is Not celebrates resilience in the face of deprivation and the transformative power of small acts of love.’ * Fra Noi, Chicago *‘Each short chapter of this book is a work of poetic beauty, some showing the transformative power of love and some showing the devastation that hate brings into the world.’ * Marjorie's World of Books, blog review *

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Book SynopsisAWARD-WINNING CRIME FICTION WITH SOUTH AFRICAN SOULTrade ReviewPraise for Deon Meyer * . . . *Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence. * Independent *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 *Benny is the central character in South African writer Deon Meyer's series of novels, set in Capetown, that grow richer and more sophisticated with each new book. This progression makes COBRA the most dazzling of the bunch. * Toronto Star *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 *Tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation. * Times Literary Supplement *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 (South Africa) *

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Book SynopsisWhat was it they were battling? Their smallness, of course, their smallness. A delicate and arresting queer novel from one of Korea's most celebrated contemporary writers d, a nonbinary gig worker living in Seoul, briefly escapes the grasp of isolation when they meet dd, only to be ensnared by grief when dd dies in a car accident. Meanwhile, the world around them reckons with the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that left more than 300 dead. As formally inventive as it is evocative, dd's Umbrella is composed of twin novellas. The first is told from the perspective of d, and the second from the perspective of a writer researching a book they may never write. Both figures dwell in society's margins-queer, working-class, and part of nontraditional family structures. As people across Korea come together to protest the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster, and to impeach the right-wing president in office, the novel examines how progressive movements coexist with social exclusion, particularly of women and sexual minorities, invisibilised in service of the 'greater cause'. dd's Umbrella is a meditative and off-centre novel about mourning and revolution.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Thirteen Hours - A Sunday Times ''100 best crime novels and thrillers since 1945'' pickAn antiques dealer is burned with a blowtorch and executed with a single shot to the back of the head. The only clues at the scene are a scrap of paper and an unusual choice of gun.Ex-cop Zatopek ''Zed'' van Heerden has just seven days to solve the case - an almost impossible task made even harder when he discovers that, until a few years ago, there was no proof that the victim even existed . . .Trade ReviewDeon Meyer recreates the beauty, wildness, and danger of modern Africa with an immediacy and force no other writer has achieved * Sunday Telegraph *If DEAD AT DAYBREAK is anything to go by, we are seeing the rise of a major new, international writing talent. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. * Big Issue *A highly entertaining, page-turning transposition of the American private eye genre to an exotic and vibrant setting . . . a terrific new talent. * Irish Independent *DEAD AT DAYBREAK is a gripping read with a flawed but human protagonist who invites our compassion. The brutal terror of the hunt that develops is matched by the compulsive but increasingly ominous revelations of van Heerden's past transgression. This is the second novel by South African Deon Meyer, a fresh voice and a compelling storyteller. * Manchester Evening News *A breathtaking pace, heart-pounding action set against a psychological backdrop, and a fascinating protagonist makes this book a winner. * Library Journal *South African crime writer Meyer's expertly crafted second thriller confirms his place as one of the genre's finest new stylists. This is a remarkable achievement from a singular new talent. * Publishers Weekly *Meyer manages to ratchet up the tension so effectively that readers will have a hard time decideing which mystery they wish to pierce first . . . A narrative gem. * Booklist *[A] densely woven crime thriller . . . With DEAD AT DAYBREAK Deon Meyer has built an impressive and gripping book, a double helping of suspense . . . gripping, exciting and solidly written. * Eurocrime *

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Book SynopsisAfter coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a fishing community at the edge of the world. Taken in by the village doctor, the boy once again has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame-haired Álfheiður, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnheiður, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village to which he must now inexorably return. Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north, The Heart of Man is a profound exploration of life, love and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Stefánsson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.Trade ReviewOverlays the colours of Dylan Thomas or Thomas Hardy on to spiritual scenery worthy of JRR Tolkien . . . Stefánsson's immersive prose swells, thunders and sparkles with all the shifting moods of the sea on an Icelandic summer's day . . . The Heart of Man completes . . . an epic trilogy -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Stefánson brilliantly conjures up the men's constant struggle against the relentless wind and cold, capturing their shifting emotional and physical states -- Lucy Dallas * Times Literary Supplement *Suspended between history and myth, this novel is peopled by uncanny characters roaming vast expanses. At hear this tale of tangled desire speaks lucidly of love, life and loss -- Richard Beard * Monocle *A satisfying showcase of an author critically acclaimed across Europe -- Val Nolan * Irish Examiner *Jón Kalman Stefánsson is a wonderful, exceptional writer. Whenever I read him I remember what writing - and the deceptively simple business of living - are all about. He is a timeless storyteller -- Carsten Jensen

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Book SynopsisMicromegas is a six-hundred-and-fifty-year-old, thirty-nine-kilometre-high giant from the planet Sirius who can speak a thousand languages and has been expelled from his homeland for writing a heretical tract. On Saturn he befriends the local secretary of the Academy of Sciences – a comparative dwarf, being only two kilometres high – and the two decide to travel to earth together, where they will make startling discoveries about human nature. At once a story-length Bildungsroman and a philosophical tale, ‘Micromegas’ is a classic Enlightenment text, and is accompanied in this volume by thirteen other pieces – including ‘Plato’s Dream’ and ‘Memnon’ – all in a new translation by acclaimed French specialist Douglas Parmée.Trade ReviewVoltaire will always be regarded as the biggest name of recent literature, and perhaps throughout all the centuries. -- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThis welcome selection of fourteen of the lesser-known fables and parables comes in a wonderfully loose-limbed and unstuffy translation which shows both Voltaire – and the late Douglas Parmée – on top form. * TLS *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisA foul-mouthed Prague prostitute muses on her profession, aging and the nature of materialism as imagined in her own reality TV series. In an unvarnished mixture of vulgar and poetic language, the episodes combine the mundane with fetishism, violence and dark humour.Trade Review'Frighteningly honest' - LA Review of Books; 'One of the most important authors writing in Czech today.' - Dr Peter Zusi, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies; 'Wonderfully rough, gloriously evil language' - Die Zeit; One of World Literature Today’s Notable Translations of 2017

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Book SynopsisIt is the winter of 1915 and Iraq has been engulfed by the First World War. Hungry for independence from Ottoman rule, Ahmad leaves his peaceful family life on the banks of the Tigris to join the British-led revolt. Thousands of miles away, Welsh teenager Carwyn reluctantly enlists and is sent, via Gallipoli and Egypt, to the Mesopotamia campaign. Carwyn's and Ahmad’s paths cross, and their fates are bound together. Both are forever changed, not only by their experience of war, but also by the parallel discrimination and betrayal they face. Ruqaya Izzidien's evocative debut novel is rich with the heartbreak and passion that arise when personal loss and political zeal collide, and offers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in Iraq.Trade ReviewOffers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in Iraq. * Cambrian News *“A novel defined by love and moral conviction. . . Izzidien’s great triumph is to illustrate how nuanced and knotty history can be” * The National *There is a nuanced complexity in the characters, family dynamics, historical context, and sense of time and geographical location . . . . a beautifully rendered panoramic study of some of World War I’s secondary theaters of war. * Media Diversified *

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Book SynopsisUniversally acclaimed as the master of the short-story form, Anton Chekhov begun his literary career as the author of brief tales and vignettes of Russian life when he was still a young medical student. Later rejected by the writer in the same self-effacing way in which he repudiated some of his most celebrated works, the stories in this collection are not only a testament to the early promise of his genius, but deserve to be appreciated for their lapidary vividness and their intrinsic stylistic quality. Mostly dealing with the lives of downtrodden "little" men and low-ranking civil servants as they steer their actions through the corruption and malpractice of Russian public officials, this volume - here presented in Stephen Pimenoff's lively new translation - bristles with wit and humour, and is tinged by that understated note of melancholy and lyricism that is a trademark of Chekhov's writing.

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Book SynopsisRecently widowed and caring for his young son, Andy Boyd thinks his life is over, until he meets the beautiful, enigmatic Anna. And that was his first mistake … A startling, emotive and stark psychological thriller from one of Scotland’s bestselling crime writers… ‘A stark, gripping storyline’ Scots 'Strong female characters, honest, pithy dialogue and ever-present empathy for the victims make this a deeply satisfying read’ Sunday Times ‘Vivid, visceral and compulsive’ Ian Rankin _________________ Some secrets should never be kept… Andy Boyd thinks he is the luckiest man alive. Widowed with a young child, after his wife dies in childbirth, he is certain that he will never again experience true love. Then he meets Anna. Feisty, fun and beautiful, she’s his perfect match … and she loves his son like he is her own. When Andy ends up in the hospital on his wedding night, he receives his first clue that Anna is not all that she seems. Desperate for that happy-ever-after, he ignores it. A dangerous mistake that could cost him everything. A brave, deeply moving, page-turning psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie marks a stunning departure for one of Scotland’s finest crime writers, exploring the lengths people will go to hide their deepest secrets, even if it kills them… _________________ ‘Malone tackles the taboo subject of female violence against men with insight and compassion (for Anna is no one-dimensional witch), while creating all the hallmarks of a fine, page-turning psychological thriller’ Daily Mail ‘A mystery involving some disturbing account anomalies at Andy’s bank is appropriately overshadowed by Malone’s painful depiction of a man in turmoil’ Publishers Weekly 'It’s a tough high-wire act, balancing believability with surprise, but the author pulls it off with aplomb. Excellent stuff’ Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue ‘Disturbing but compulsive … I loved it’ Martina Cole ‘Bristling with unease, this is domestic noir at its very darkest, twisting the marriage thriller into a new and troubling shape’ Eva Dolan ‘A deeply personal thriller that will keep the reader turning those pages, with twists and turns designed to keep the heart pumping’ Russel D. McLean ‘A tightly wound page-turner with real emotional punch’ Rod Reynolds ‘A dark and unnerving psychological thriller that draws you deep into the lives of the characters and refuse to let go’ Caroline Mitchell ‘A chilling tale of the unexpected that journeys right into the dark heart of domesticity’ Marnie Riches ‘Emotionally intelligent and engaging’ Caro Ramsay ‘A story that I won’t forget in a hurry. Malone is a massive talent’ Luca Veste ‘A disturbing and realistic portrayal of domestic noir with a twist … a shocking yet compelling read’ Mel Sherratt ‘Malone perfectly balances storytelling with a brutal commentary on a dysfunctional relationship’ Sarah WardTrade Review* `Gunnar Staalesen is one of my very favourite Scandinavian authors. Operating out of Bergen in Norway, his private eye, Varg Veum, is a complex but engaging anti-hero. Varg means 'wolf' in Norwegian, and this is a series with very sharp teeth' Ian Rankin * `A Norwegian Chandler' Jo Nesbo * `Gunnar Staalesen was writing suspenseful and socially conscious Nordic Noir long before any of today's Swedish crime writers had managed to put together a single book page ... one of Norway's most skillful storytellers' Johan Theorin * `With its exploration of family dynamics and the complex web of human behaviour, Staalesen's novel echoes the great California author Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer mysteries ... mature and captivating' Herald Scotland * `Norwegian master Staalesen is an author who eschews police procedural narratives for noirish private eye pieces ... with some abrasive social commentary' Financial Times

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Book SynopsisOne day, the children begin to show up in the subtropical town of San Cristóbal, unwashed and hungry. No one knows where they have come from or where they disappear to each night. And then they rob a supermarket and stab two adults, bringing fear to the town. So begins a thrilling morality tale that retraces the lines between good and evil, the civil and the wild, dragging our assumptions about childhood and innocence out into the light.Trade Review'A Luminous Republic has all the stark power of a folk-tale or a fable. It also raises concerns that are pressing and contemporary-about the function and source of language, about public paranoia and hysteria, about the idea of community and how information spreads. At the book's center is a moving personal story about memory and loss. The narrative is engaging, at times playful, wholly compelling' - Colm Toibin'At first you will feel fear, but what you feel next is something much deeper, disturbing and luminous' - Samanta Schweblin

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Book SynopsisIt's spring 1990 in a dingy small-town Moroccan bar. Zina is serving drinks when a mysterious man approaches her. The man gives Zina a handwritten note from her husband, Aziz, who disappeared the day after their wedding, eighteen years ago, after participating in the failed 1972 coup against King Hassan II. Zina has spent the past eighteen years searching for Aziz, who has been imprisoned in inhuman conditions in a solitary cell inside a secret desert jail. Will Zina finally find Aziz? Moving back and forth between 1990 and the past, A Rare Blue Bird That Flies with Me recounts the painful circumstances that brought Zina and Aziz together and the torture after the 1972 coup that tore them apart. Told from the perspective of several narrators-including Zina, Aziz, Aziz's two jailors-Youssef Fadel's novel is a masterful history of modern Morocco.Trade Review"A masterful history of modern Morocco."--BookShy Blog"[Fadel is] a valued asset of modern Moroccan literature."--Aujourd'hui le Maroc"Events progress rapidly and with the acute tension of a detective novel"--Leah Caldwell, The National"Fadel's daring account of modern Morocco widens the periphery of the English reader on a subject that is better known in Arabic and French."--Sherif Dhaimish, Qantara.de"A Rare Blue Bird Flies With Me reads like a taut and claustrophobic detective story."--Literary Hub"Fadel's novel brings out the importance of seeing one's place even in the darkest of times."--Wawa Book Review

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Book SynopsisA #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ''Outrageously entertaining'' The TimesREVENGE IS WORTH WAITING FOR... Jamal loves to run. But one morning - as he is training on a path winding up a steep cliff - he stumbles across a woman in distress.It''s a matter of seconds: suddenly she is falling through the air, crashing on the beach below.Jamal is only an unlucky bystander - or is he?His version of events doesn''t seem to fit with what other eyewitnesses claim to have seen. And how to explain the red scarf carefully arranged around the dead woman''s neck?Perhaps this was no accident after all.Or perhaps there is something more sinister afoot - a devilish plan decades in the making, masterminded by someone hell-bent on revenge.MICHEL BUSSI: THE MASTER OF THE KILLER TWISTBeloved by readers... ''I didn''t anticipate all the twists andTrade ReviewA labyrinth as exhilarating as anything in Bussi's breakthrough novel, After the Crash. * The Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month) *Never Forget wittily explodes the whole concept of the serial killer sub-genre. The result is outrageously entertaining. * The Times *Agatha Christie updated (with sex, DNA samples and that modern staple, the mobile phone) then cranked up to 11, and the reader will not mind that one jot as they go along for the ride: it's a blast. * Shots Magazine *PRAISE FOR MICHEL BUSSI'S NOVELSA novel so extraordinary that it reminded me of reading Steig Larsson for the very first time . . . Bussi breaks every rule in the book, but I doubt I'll read a more brilliant crime novel this year * Sunday Times on AFTER THE CRASH *You find yourself quite frantic to know the truth, before this cleverly constructed, smart mystery concludes by delivering a delicious sting in the tail. * Sunday Mirror on AFTER THE CRASH *Clear your schedule: this book is worth it! * Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author on AFTER THE CRASH *A work of genius. * Daily Express on BLACK WATER LILIES *A dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece. * Daily Mail on BLACK WATER LILIES *The novel ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction. * Sunday Times on BLACK WATER LILIES *Some writers try carefully calibrated alternations on a winning formula from book to book, but offer few surprises. That can't be said of the French author Michel Bussi... That refusal to repeat himself is evident in Don't Let Go, which is just as accomplished as its predecessors. * Guardian on DON'T LET GO *A thrilling ride across the remote isle in the Indian Ocean with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers gripped until an epic, unexpected conclusion. * Daily express on DON'T LET GO *As it draws towards its heart-pounding final pages, it's hard to concentrate on anything other than the outcome of the desperate manhunt - and the startling revelation of the truth. Inventive, original and incredibly entertaining. * Sunday Mirror on DON'T LET GO *Combines an extraordinarily inventive plot with characters haunted by long-ago events - and demonstrates why he has such a hold on readers. * Sunday Times on TIME IS A KILLER *

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Book Synopsis`Do you have to stare like that?' I asked. `Think about the actors in porn. They've got no problem showing themselves off.' `Think about when I broke your nose,'I replied.Ellinor is thirty-six. She wears soft black sweatpants and a Michelin Man jacket. She fights. Smart and unsentimental, she tries her hand at online dating, only to be stranded by a snowstorm in Stockholm, far from her village in the south of Sweden. Ellinor finds herself at the heart of an intrigue involving an ex-wife who happens to be a blind medium, an overweight literary critic with a Houellebecq obsession, and a manuscript: a very important manuscript. Cut to Max Lamas, its author, who dreams of a polyglot lover, a woman who will understand him, in every tongue. His search takes him to Italy, where he befriends a marchesa on the brink of ruin, and where her granddaughter, Lucrezia, brings this tale to its final, shocking conclusion. The Polyglot Lovers, winner of the 2016 August Prize, Sweden's most prestigious literary prize, is a masterclass in comic plot and timing, as well as a delight for readers, thanks to Wolff's trademark deadpan wit.Trade Review`It's been a long time since I read something this unique, seething, wilful.' Svenska Dagbladet`What a novel! I'm totally charmed! I was completely absorbed by The Polyglot Lovers . . . it's really, really fabulous. Every sentence is great. [This] is a book to read and discover and read over and over again.' Boras Tidning ---- `Dizzying . . . Lina Wolff has written a many-voiced, meandering, feminist, arresting and rather provocative novel.' Kulturnytt, Sweden Radio --- `Wolff has written a kind of blackened, heart-rending satire on gender roles, in which the tempo of the pacily inventive - and downright gorgeous - prose complicates, enlivens and plays with the eloquent lovers she's taken it upon herself to portray.' Kristofer Folkhammar, Aftonbladet --- `You know when a novel is so thrilling that you just don't want it to end? That's what it was like reading Lina Wolff's third book The Polyglot Lovers. I have high expectations . . . and yet they were surpassed.' Sydsvenskan --- Praise for Lina Wolff --- `Wolff's prose has a quality of "otherness" entirely in keeping with the surreal atmosphere of the novel. This strange, provocative debut sits well alongside the work of Roxane Gay, Katherine Angel, Maggie Nelson, Zoe Pilger and Miranda July . . . a cool, clever and fierce addition to the canon of modern feminist literature.' Sarah Perry, The Guardian --- `A filmic offering . . . channelling the spirit of Pedro Almodovar. A thoroughly invigorating novel.' Lucy Scholes, The Independent ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is storytelling as a martial arts combination move, delivered with precision, style and glee.' Sjon ---- `Like Virginie Despentes and Elfriede Jelinek, Lina Wolff stares the reader right in the eyes and speaks in a voice uniquely her own: The Polyglot Lovers is clear, stark, devastating.' Joanna Walsh ---- `whip-smart and deliciously cynical ... smart, funny, and sad in turns' - Kirkus Reviews ---- `Lina Wolff is one of my favourite writers of our time. From apparently innocuous starting points, she weaves the darkness into her stories and lets men expose themselves as pitiable when they thought they were being witty and cynical. Her writing detonates just when you are smiling calmly.' - Yuri Herrera ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is electric - it crackles with wit, ferocity and intelligence. We are lucky to have Lina Wolff.' - Elizabeth Perry, City Books, Hove ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is a testament to the temperamental nature of love and power, and the complexities that come with asserting one's own agency. This book is proof that irreverence and wit have a place in feminist theory. I was captivated from page one.' - Cristina Rodriguez, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas, TX ---- `Reading The Polyglot Lovers, I was struck once again by just how sharp a writer Wolff is. There are few writers out there capable of besting her. If she has a kindred spirit in contemporary fiction, it's Ottessa Moshfegh, with whom she shares a darkly funny and unflinching sensibility.'- Gary Perry, Foyles, London ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is an audacious and often very funny reckoning with the ways men view women by a novelist of rare talents. Lina Wolff, equal parts ferocious and sly, has proven herself one of our indispensable writers with this uppercut of a book.' -Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes, CA ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is a bracing and sharp exploration of identity, gender, and literature, told in prose and images that constantly unsettle the reader. It is also an exquisite act of literary revenge and should confirm Lina Wolff's status as a major voice in world literature.' - Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA ---- `An exquisite and insightful dive into the delights and horrors of our constant search for human connection, and what happens when women decide to set fire to the literary male gaze.'- Emma Ramadan, Riffraff, Providence, RI ---- `I absolutely loved it. Wolff's characters come to life with poignancy and dark humour. The Polyglot Lovers cuts to the heart.' - Tom Harris, Mr B's Emporium, Bath ---- `Lina Wolff's The Polyglot Lovers is a punch you in the face, grab you by the collar, and throw you across the room kind of novel. Brilliantly written, incisive and engaging, it is a stunning work. If you haven't yet (and why haven't you?) now would be a good time to add Wolff to your to-be-read pile.' - Tom Flynn, Volumes Bookcafe, Chicago, IL ---- `A sharp-eyed, sometimes surreal, often funny take on male-female power dynamics.' - Mary Ellen Quinn, Booklist ---- 'Keep an eye out for this one: The Polyglot Lovers is one of those rare birds that is both smart as hell and, in the parlance of our times, 'pace-y.' - Heather Cleary, Bookmarks ---- 'The edifice of male genius is annihilated in this galvanizing novel from Wolff. [...] Wolff orchestrates her divergent plots into riveting harmony, but more striking is the audacity with which she reveals Max and Ruben's reckless egoism. 'I'm an autodidact in male devastation,' Claudia declares before sticking the final pin in Max's inflated persona. Wolff's novel proves the necessity of cultivating such a specialty. Firing on all cylinders from beginning to end, this story pulses with intellect and vitality unmatched by the literary barons it deposes.' - Publishers Weekly ---- 'I loved The Polyglot Lovers by Lina Wolff (translated by Saskia Vogel), a funny, biting, and exhilaratingly shifty novel about literary revenge and the male ego.' - Gabe Habash ----`The Polyglot Lovers is an amusing take on modern life (literary and otherwise) and relationships between the sexes. All in all it makes for an interesting polychromatic fiction, a surprisingly ebullient story-carried along nicely by Wolff's entertaining and easygoing presentation-in a cleverly structured novel, its three separate parts neatly coming together by the end.' Michael Orthofer, The Complete Review ----`Wolff upsets the applecart, mercilessly mocking male hegemony and skewering literary pretensions. What could have been angry and strident is instead caustic and mischievous: both a bracing wind and a breath of fresh air. Wolff's constant supply of fire, bite and wit are compelling forces.' Malcolm Forbes, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)----`The edifice of male genius is annihilated in this galvanizing novel from Wolff...Firing on all cylinders from beginning to end, this story pulses with intellect and vitality unmatched by the literary barons it deposes.' Book of the Week, Publishers Weekly----`Mr. Houellebecq's books diagnose the soullessness of contemporary liberal democracies, where people futilely seek meaning for their lives in pornographic sex. The Polyglot Lovers shifts the focus from Mr. Houellebecq's destructive men to the women who are both victims of and accomplices to the cycle of narcissism. In Ms. Wolff's telling, intellectuals-the writers and theorists who wax poetically about falling in love-are the worst of the abusers.' Sam Sacks, `Fiction Chronicle', Wall Street Journal ----'The Polyglot Lovers is a quiet rapture - unsparing, startling, mesmeric, and told with the soberest of grins.' Yelena Moskovich, The TLS ----'The Polyglot Lovers' blithe disregard for social norms and finer feelings is exhilarating; it's pitiless and scathingly funny.' Lee Langley, The Spectator ---- 'A highly enjoyable absurdist comedy about love and desperation' Joanna, Kavenna, The Guardian ---- `Wolff's novel raises the following questions: how do we define literary genius, and who do we allow to define it for us?' Anna Vilner, The Arkansas International---- `The Swedish author of Bret Easton Ellis and Other Dogs enjoys nothing more than savaging the myths of male authorship. Here she lays into notions of male genius, as her protagonist, Ellinor, finds herself entangled with a literary critic who is fixated on a narcissistic author who is in turn obsessed with real-life enfant terrible of French letters, Michel Houellebecq.' Angel Gurria-Quintana, Financial Times

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Book SynopsisCatharine's trajectory in life is accompanied by failures in love, family traumas and an incredible romance with handsome Sinisa. The novel takes us through turbulent times in the Balkan region, from the eighties to the present day, portraying growing up in the twilight of communism, and giving intimate insights into all that happened to the region after that. Carefully crafted characters and masterful, dynamic storytelling place Catherine the Great and the Small in the company of the very best of novels, which speak about the reality of their geographic setting and are remembered for their convincing, strong, maladjusted characters. Catherine is certainly one of them: a powerful female voice seeking her place within her family, among friends, in the cities she lives in, and constructing her unique identity as a daughter, granddaughter, friend, mistress, wife and a mother.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Premio Bancarella, 2017 The second instalment in a prize-winning series charting the rise of the House of Medici as they become Masters of Florence and progenitors of the Renaissance. Florence, 1469. Lorenzo de' Medici is to be wed. The marriage will cement a powerful alliance for his family. But his heart belongs to another. Torn between love and power, he has become complacent. He has forgotten the bloody path he forged on his ascent to power, and the enemies left in his wake. When the family's historical enemies and shadowy new conspirators put their bloody plot into action, the consequences will be terrible. In order to protect their supremacy, the Medici will enact a violent vengeance from which few will be spared.Trade ReviewThe story of the Medici is so juicy and rich and Strukul makes good use of it. A page-turning adventure novel with a little depth to spice the mix. All life is here, lean back and enjoy * NB Magazine *Exciting. With an excellent translation by Richard McKenna, a strong plot and well-defined characters, the book brings alive the life and culture of 15th-century Florence * Historical Novel Society *PRAISE FOR MATTEO STRUKUL: 'Strukul has a brilliant style and a rare imagination' Tim Willocks, bestselling author of Green River Rising. 'Matteo Strukul is one of the most important new voices in Italian crime fiction' -- Joe R Lansdale, Edgar Winner for The Bottoms

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Book SynopsisTHE BESTSELLING LITERARY SENSATION FROM BRAZIL'A blaze of heat, love and risk that will leave you reeling.' DBC Pierre'An extraordinary writer.' Misha GlennyLONGLISTED FOR THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FIRST BOOK AWARDA FINANCIAL TIMES AND SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEARCapturing the texture of life growing up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the stories in The Sun on My Head tell us of days lived under incredible heat - and under the shadow of a ubiquitous drug culture, the constant threat of the police, and the confines of poverty, violence and racism. They are also hauntingly beautiful portrayals of friendship, romance and momentary release from the oppressions of everyday life. The Sun on My Head is a debut work of great talent and sensitivity, a daring evocation of life in the favelas by a rising star rooted in the very community he portrays.

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER BY THE AUTHOR OF THE MOUNTAINTrade ReviewFull of folklore and history as well as descriptions of astonishing hardship, Sanctuary is also a study of character and what happens to people's minds when they have to find a way to make sense of intolerable circumstances . . . -- Natasha Cooper * Literary Review. *With his first book, he was compared to Stephen King and the David Lynch of Twin Peaks. Here, D'Andrea will go even further into the depths of evil -- Alessia Rastelli * Corriere della Serra. *A clever, twisty and chilling page-turner. * Choice Magazine. *This immensely enjoyable chiller/thiller is a superb follow up to last year's bestseller, The Mountain. This novel demonstrates that D'Andrea has no problem at all with 'second album syndrome', Sanctuary is a brilliant piece of storytelling. * New Books Magazine. *D'Andrea's a name to add to your Eurocrime list. -- David Hewson, author of the Nic Costa novels and The KillingD'Andrea is a real master. -- Sergio Pent * La Stampa. *Pulsatingly exciting and astonishingly grisly in equal measure. * Irish Independent. *

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Book SynopsisThe arrival of a meteorite in a small Finnish town causes chaos and crime in this poignant, chilling and hilarious new thriller from the King of Helsinki Noir ***The Times BOOK OF THE YEAR*** ***Shortlisted for the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award*** ***Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger*** ‘With moral dilemmas, plenty of action, and the author’s trademark mixture of humour and melancholy, this is Tuomainen’s best yet’ Guardian ‘Scandinavia’s answer to Carl Hiaasen delivers another hectically silly crime caper involving a military chaplain, a suicidal rally driver and a very expensive meteorite’ The Times ‘Finnish criminal chucklemeister Tuomainen is channelling Carl Hiaasen in this hilarious novel’ Sunday Times _________________ A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland, when there is flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel. But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn’t his. As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation, and discover who the father of the baby really is. Transporting the reader to the culture, landscape and mores of northern Finland Little Siberia is both a crime novel and a hilarious, blacker-than-black comedy about faith and disbelief, love and death, and what to do when bolts from the blue – both literal and figurative – turn your life upside down. _________________ ‘Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe’ The Times ‘By no means Nordic noir of the familiar variety, this is eccentric, humorous fare, reminiscent of nothing so much as a Coen Brothers movie’ Financial Times ‘Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern Finland in this poignant, gripping and hilarious tale’ Daily Express ‘While the plots of many Nordic noir writers are turning ever more grim, Finland’s Antti Tuomainen opts these days for a wittier, lighter touch … quite the ride’ Observer ‘The biting cold of Northern Finland is only matched by the cutting dark wit and compelling plot on this must-read crime novel’ Denzil Meyrick ‘A brilliantly inventive and gloriously funny novel from Finland's greatest export’ MJ Arlidge ‘Told in a darkly funny, deadpan style … The result is a rollercoaster read’ Guardian ‘Right up there with the best’ The TLS ‘Through it all, Tuomainen maintains his singular tone, which mixes black humour with genuine, sometimes biting, sympathy for desperate people, provided that none take their needfulness too far … Little Siberia is a gripping thriller whose complications pile to precarious, intoxicating heights’ Foreword Reviews ‘Tuomainen also persuades readers how hard life makes it to do the right thing in a universe that too often feels like a profound personal insult. Fans of Scandinavian noir will relish this one’ Publishers Weekly 'You don’t expect to laugh when you’re reading about terrible crimes, but that’s what you’ll do when you pick up one of Tuomainen’s decidedly quirky thrillers' New York TimesTrade Review"As the standout scene in which Joel manipulates a corpse with the aid of a scarf while hiding in the back seat of an SUV suggests, none of this is meant to be taken too seriously; Antti Tuomainen is, after all, Scandinavia's answer to Carl Hiaasen. Nevertheless, Joel, suffering a crisis of faith, succeeds in facing this hilarious "series of unfathomable events" with admirable stoicism. "What should I think of this man? In the space of one night he has both saved my life and tried to kill me. Twice." Highly recommended." --Times Book of the Month "a gripping thriller whose complications pile to precarious, intoxicating heights."-- Foreword Reviews "[A] stunning comic noir...Fans of Scandinavian noir will relish this one."-- Publishers Weekly "With moral dilemmas, plenty of action, and the author's trademark mixture of humour and melancholy, this is Tuomainen's best yet." --Guardian "This enjoyable mystery explores how a bolt from above can, literally, turn your life upside down with both comedic and tragic consequences. Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern Finland in this poignant, gripping and hilarious tale." --Observer "While the plots of many Nordic noir writers are turning ever more grim, Finland's Antti Tuomainen opts these days for a wittier, lighter tough. So it is with Little Siberia, the tale of a meteorite that comes crashing into eastern Finland and eventually into the guardianship of local priest Joel. The rock is valuable and Joel is soon fending off the attempts of bungling criminals to steal it. Add Russians, a worrying pregnancy, a down-on-his luck rally driver and a neat subtext about faith, and Little Siberia (adroitly translated by David Hackston) is quite the ride." --Observer "Known as the king of Helsinki noir, Antti Tuomainen is among Finland's most acclaimed crime fiction writers. This forthcoming blacker-than-black comedy deals with the ramifications of a meteorite arriving in a small Finnish town." --Bookseller "Relentlessly funny. . . . Full of black ironies, this welter of suspicions, revenge, and hilarious physical and verbal combat makes some pungent reflections on life and death. Tuomainen probes the chilliest depths of noir comedy." --Publishers Weekly starred review of The Man Who Died "This one is a winner right from the first sentence. . . . An offbeat jewel." --Booklist starred review of The Man Who Died "U.S. audiences should prepare to be every bit as enthralled as the Finns. . . . Readers attracted either to dystopian fiction or to Scandinavian crime will find gold here." --Booklist starred review on The Healer "While Finland generally tends toward a reputation for the dour, Antti Tuomainen is bucking the trend with his hilariously dark crime comedies." --CrimeReads

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Book SynopsisOne of Tolstoy’s last published works of fiction, The Devil revolves around the young landowner Yevgeny’s irrepressible lust for Stepanida, a sensual peasant woman. Even when he gets married to a respectable upper-class lady, he finds himself unable to put an end to his encounters with Stepanida, and becomes increasingly consumed by guilt and helplessness in the face of his urges. In some ways comparable to the controversial Kreutzer Sonata, The Devil shows Tolstoy at his most salacious, and addresses the conflicts between desire, social norms and personal conscience. Also included in this volume is Family Happiness, one of Tolstoy’s earliest works, an entertaining and cynical account of marriage from the perspective of a disillusioned wife, and A Landowner’s Morning.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1831, Belkin's Stories was the first completed work of fiction by the founding father of Russian literature. Through a series of interlinked stories purporting to have been told by various narrators to the recently deceased country squire Ivan Belkin, Pushkin offers his own variation on themes and genres that were popular in his day and provides a vivid portrayal of the Russian people. From the story of revenge served cold in 'The Shot' to the havoc wreaked by a blizzard on the life of two young lovers, from the bittersweet tones of 'The Station Master' to the supernatural atmosphere of 'The Undertaker', this collection - presented here in a brand-new translation by Roger Clarke - sparkles with humour and is a testament to the brilliance and versatility of Pushkin's mind.Trade ReviewPushkin is an extraordinary phenomenon, perhaps the only phenomenon of the Russian spirit. -- Nikolai GogolTable of ContentsContains: The Shot, The Blizzard, The Undertaker, The Postmaster, Young Miss Peasant, A History of Goryukhino Village

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Book SynopsisAlessandro Baricco re-creates the siege of Troy through the voices of 21 Homeric characters. Sacrificing none of Homer's panoramic scope, Baricco forgoes Homer's detachment and admits us to realms of subjective experience his predecessor never explored. From the return of Chryseis to the burial of Hector, we see through human eyes and feel with human hearts the unforgettable events first recounted more than 3,000 years ago events arranged not by the whims of the gods in this instance but by the dictates of human nature.With Andromache, Patroclus, Priam, and the rest, we are privy to the ghastly confusion of battle, the clamour of the princely councils, the intimacies of the bedchamber until finally only a blind poet is left to recount secondhand the awful fall of Ilium.Imbuing the stuff of legend with a startlingly new relevancy and humanity, Baricco gives us The Iliad as we have never known it. His transformative achievement is certain to delight and fascinate all the readers of Homer's indispensable classic.Trade ReviewYou won't, and can't put it down * * Observer * *'A swift, stylish, summer-reading version of the great epic.' * * San Francisco Chronicle * *'A taut and mesmerizing tale.' * * Seattle Times * *'Baricco creates a persuasive atmosphere of character-driven impending doom . . . Both celebration and condemnation of war, this Iliad manages to speak to yet another generation that needs desperately to hear its message.' * * Kirkus Reviews * *

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Book SynopsisMadame tells the story of a self-absorbed Polish teenager as he pursues intellectual maturity, and the woman of his dreams, his French teacher 'Madame', in the communist-dominated Warsaw of the early 1970s.Libera paces his exuberant young hero's fulminations, fantasies and discoveries beautifully, building a remarkably subtle characterisation of a free mind in a repressive culture. This is one of those rare novels which reminds us why we love books. A consummate literary entertainment.Trade ReviewEssentially a vision of a life-changing teenage crush, Libera's debut novel . . . captures the frustrations of grasping for anything of the world from behind the Iron Curtain and of battling or passion of any kind. * * The Scotsman * *Madame is skilfully written and the subtle backdrop of communism is interesting and convincing. * * The List * *This is an old story made fresh with an excellent evocation of a spirit-crushing school system - a microcosm of communist rule under which the layers of life are corrupted by concessions, compromises and deceptions. * * The Times * *

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Book SynopsisIn Soviet Russia the desire for freedom is also a desire for the freedom to love. Lovers live as outlaws, traitors to the collective spirit, and love is more intense when it feels like an act of resistance. Now entering middle age, an orphan recalls the fleeting moments that have never left him - a scorching day in a blossoming orchard with a woman who loves another; a furtive, desperate affair in a Black Sea resort; the bunch of snowdrops a crippled childhood friend gave him to give to his lover. As the dreary Brezhnev era gives way to Perestroika and the fall of Communism, the orphan uncovers the truth behind the life of Dmitri Ress, whose tragic fate embodies the unbreakable bond between love and freedom.Trade Review'A poignant, poetically charged picture of a repressive society, leavened only by the freedom and possibilities of love' Mail on Sunday. * Mail on Sunday *'Makine's prose is both spare and meditative, and leads us deep into the memories of a world that is now gone' Gillian Slovo, Observer. * Observer *'I would rather read Andreï Makine than any other novelist of our time ... This new short, beautiful book is as good as anything he has written' Allan Massie, Scotsman. * Scotsman *

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Book Synopsis*The Missing File has now been adapted for television in a new series called The Calling out in November 2022*A sixteen-year-old boy is missing in a Tel Aviv suburb. His mother is worried. Inspector Avraham Avraham is not. It is unheard of for children to vanish in this city. But the boy has disappeared without trace. The parents are wretched, the neighbourhood suspicious; the boy's tutor harbours a secret. Avraham's only answer is so unthinkable, it will take all his courage to face.Trade Review'A wonderfully satisfying detective mystery, with a heartbreaking finale. A tense, gripping page-turner that I devoured in two days' S.J. Watson, bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep. * S.J. Watson *'An assured debut, with a wholly unexpected resolution' Guardian, best crime and thrillers of 2013. * Guardian *'Marks the start of what could become a fine series of detective novels, centred on a striking detective - the lugubrious, self-doubting Inspector' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *'Impressive! D.A. Mishani writes with profound originality and his main character is a quite remarkable man on the stage where detectives dance. Once again: impressive!' Henning Mankell. * Henning Mankell *

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Book Synopsis#1 bestseller in Sweden with over 1.5 million copies sold'Niklas Natt och Dag takes the contemporary Scandinavian crime story and gives it a startlingly gruesome historical twist' GuardianThe year is 1794. A young nobleman, Eric Three Roses, languishes in hospital. Some think he would be just at home in the madhouse across the road. Ridden with guilt, he spends his nights writing down memories of his lost love who died on their wedding night. Her mother also mourns her and when no one listens to her suspicions, she begs the aid of the only person who will listen: Jean Mickel Cardell, the one-armed watchman.Cecil Winge is six months in the ground but when his younger brother Emil seeks out the watchman to retrieve his brother's missing pocket watch, Cardell enlists his help to discover what really happened at Three Roses' estate that night. But, unlike his dead brother, the younger Winge is an enigma, and Cardell soon realises that he may be more hindrance than help. And when they discover that a mysterious slave trader has been running Three Roses' affairs, it is a race against time to discover the truth before it's too late.In 1794, the second installment of Niklas Natt och Dag's historical noir trilogy, we are reunited with Mickel Cardell, Anna Stina Knapp, and the bustling world of late eighteenth century Stockholm from The Wolf and the Watchman. The city is about to see its darkest days yet as veneers crack and the splendour of old gives way to what is hiding in the city's nooks and crannies.

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Book SynopsisThe darkest secrets leave the deepest scars, in this atmospheric thriller from award-winning international bestselling author, Anders de la Motte. Perfect for fans of Val McDermid and Henning Mankell. 'Tense, atmospheric' JOAN SMITH, SUNDAY TIMES'A top-notch addition to a series that offers a treat for every season!' LANCASHIRE EVENING POSTONE TRAGIC NIGHT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHINGSOUTHERN SWEDEN, 1990Five lifelong friends gather for a last farewell to their childhoods and each other at an abandoned quarry. The mood is effervescent, but under the surface tensions run deep as not everyone is ready to let go - or be left behind. When dawn breaks, only four remain alive. The police rule the death a tragic accident, but not everyone is convinced, and the incident remains an open wound in the community.AUTUMN, 2017When the old chief of police is replaced by Anna Vesper, a newly arrived detective from Stockholm, whispers and rumours about that night can no longer be silenced. Soon Anna is left with no choice but to ignore all warnings and reopen the case - while hoping her own sins won't catch up with her.BUT SOMEONE WILL DO ANYTHING TO HIDE THE TRUTH . . .PRAISE FOR ANDERS DE LA MOTTE'Enthralling ... superb' Joan Smith, Sunday Times'Mesmerising ... addictive' Lancashire Evening Post'A Swedish-set crime thriller for fans of The Dry ... Crime fiction at its best' Vaseem KhanTrade Review[Anders] is the author of the outstanding Seasons Quartet of crime novels. Deeds of Autumn is one of his finest ... [a] tense, atmospheric novel -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times *A top-notch addition to a series that offers a treat for every season! * Lancashire Evening Post *

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Book Synopsis'Stimulating, elengant, distinctive and thought-provoking' Sunday TimesFrom the internationally bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies comes an exquisitely crafted work of fiction. Jhumpa Lahiri sets her gaze on the eternally beautiful city of Rome, illuminating the frailties of the human condition and dissecting lives lived on the margins.A man recalls a summer party that awakens an alternative version of himself. A couple haunted by a tragic loss return to seek consolation. An outsider family is pushed out of the block in which they hoped to settle. A set of steps in a Roman neighbourhood connects the daily lives of the city’s myriad inhabitants. This is an evocative fresco of Rome, the most alluring character of all: contradictory, in constant transformation and a home to those who know they can’t fully belong but choose it anyway.Rich with Lahiri’s signature gifts, Roman StorTrade ReviewLahiri [works] over her themes with a precise and controlling intellect . . . These stories are stimulating, elengant, distinctive and thought-provoking * Sunday Times *A writer of formidable powers and great depth of feeling * The Observer *One of the most interesting American writers at work today * The Sunday Times *Lahiri steps back from the action, gets out of the way, so the people and things in her stories can exist the way real things do: richly, ambiguously, without explanation. * Time *A writer of uncommon elegance and poise * The New York Times *Lahiri has a talent for capturing the everyday * Spectator *Jhumpa Lahiri is intelligent, astute, informed and genuine * The Irish Times *Jhumpa Lahiri is an elegant stylist, effortlessly placing the perfect words in the perfect order time and again so we’re transported seamlessly into another place * Vanity Fair *Jhumpa Lahiri's writing is wonderful in the literal sense: on every page there is something to take your breath away * Sainsbury's Magazine *Lahiri has an extraordinary voice -- Salman RushdieJhumpa Lahiri is the kind of writer who makes you want to grab the next person you see and say “Read this!” She’s a dazzling storyteller with a distinctive voice, an eye for nuance, an ear for irony. She is one of the finest short story writers I’ve read. -- Amy TanAn urgent and affecting portrait of Rome in nine stories . . . * Guardian *Full of humanity and its joys and disappointments, tiny incidents resonate through time and relationships. The city feels like another character, slipping in and out of focus just as the fleeting lives of the characters do too. * The Independent *

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Book SynopsisCatharina Ingelman-Sundberg is a Swedish author who has written numerous books in several genres, including popular science, cartoon, children's and historical fiction, including the Little Old Lady series. A former journalist and marine archaeologist, she now works full-time as an author.Her individual writing style, featuring depth of insight, and sense of surprise and humour, gives her books a special appeal. So much so that in 1999 she won the prestigious Widding Prize as the best writer of popular history and historical novels.Trade ReviewGently humorous and pleasantly daft * Guardian *A good-natured, humorous crime caper * Independent on Sunday *A complete hoot * Saga Magazine *This laugh-out-loud international bestseller will have you chuckling one minute and crying the next * The Lady *A quirky, offbeat delight and a heart-warming reminder that one is never too old for some mischief and adventure -- Tom Winter, author of Lost & FoundA shining expression of how joyous life is. It is not dangerous to grow old if you are like Märtha and the gang * Hyllan, blogg *The funniest book this year! * Magazine Familjen, Norway *A book which should be read by people of all ages * Radio P4 *A hilarious farce . . . highly entertaining with very well crafted characters * Frettabladid newspaper, Iceland *It has humour, brilliant dialogue, irony and warmth. A light-hearted and enjoyable detective comedy with breath-taking events, which provide many smiles but also reflection on life * PRO Pensionären *Criminally fun! * Bonniers Bokklubb *Very imaginative, fun and filled with gallons of humour! * Katarina Mazetti *

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Book SynopsisIt is a winter evening, and Yegor Aduyev, the scion of a wealthy family from the landed gentry, slips into the house of Baron Neyleyn with the intention of asking his beautiful daughter, the eighteen-year-old Yelena, to be his wife. Will the besotted lover be successful in his pursuit or will the young coquette - who seems at times to reciprocate his feelings, but who lavished lingering looks on two dashing princes during a recent ball - shatter his hopes, his dreams and his entire world? A Serendipitous Error, written in 1839, when Goncharov was still in his twenties, is accompanied here by another early novella, An Evil Malady and a short fictional fragment. Taken together, these stories - translated for the first time into English - are further proof of the eclectic narrative skills of the celebrated author of Oblomov.

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Book SynopsisMonks devious and devout – and an age-defying royal pair – chronicle the history of their fictional island in this witty critique of Western civilization and history itself.Eugene Vodolazkin, internationally acclaimed novelist and scholar of medieval literature, returns with a satirical parable about European and Russian history, the myth of progress, and the futility of war.This ingenious novel, described by critics as a coda to his bestselling Laurus, is presented as a chronicle of an island from medieval to modern times. The island is not on the map, but it is real beyond doubt. It cannot be found in history books, yet the events are painfully recognizable. The monastic chroniclers dutifully narrate events they witness: quests for power, betrayals, civil wars, pandemics, droughts, invasions, innovations, and revolutions. The entries mostly seem objective, but at least one monk simultaneously drafts and hides a “true” history, to be discovered centuries later. And why has someone snipped out a key prophesy about the island’s fate?These chronicles receive commentary today from an elderly couple who are the island’s former rulers. Prince Parfeny and Princess Ksenia are truly extraordinary: they are now 347 years old. Eyewitnesses to much of their island’s turbulent history, they offer sharp-eyed observations on the changing flow of time and their people’s persistent delusions. Why is the royal couple still alive? Is there a chance that an old prophecy comes to pass and two righteous persons save the island from catastrophe?In the tradition of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, Julian Barnes’s A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, Vodolazkin is at his best recasting history, in all its hubris and horror, by finding the humor in its absurdity. For readers with an appetite for more than a dry, rational, scientific view of what motivates, divides, and unites people, A History of the Island conjures a world still suffused with mystical powers.Trade ReviewAcclaim for Vodolazkin’s previous title Laurus:“A quirky, ambitious book ... Eugene Vodolazkin succeeds gloriously.” —Janet Fitch, Los Angeles Review of Books“In Laurus, Vodolazkin aims directly at the heart of the Russian religious experience and perhaps even at that maddeningly elusive concept that is cherished to the point of cliché: the Russian soul.” —The New Yorker“Brilliant storytelling ... a uniquely lavish, multilayered work.” —Booklist“A timeless epic ... pointed, touching, and at times humorous, unpredictably straying from the path and leading readers along a wild chase through time, language, and medieval Europe.” —Asymptote Journal“An epic journey novel in all the best traditions. There are countless colorful characters, exciting twists of fate, and profound truths in the protagonist’s words and deeds.” — Russian Life Magazine“Love, faith, and a quest for atonement are the driving themes of an epic, prizewinning Russian novel that, while set in the medieval era, takes a contemporary look at the meaning of time.…This affecting, idiosyncratic novel ... is an impressive achievement.” —KirkusCompelling reading: brilliantly vivid and inventive, it combines magical-realist mischief with a compassionate, radically Christian perspective on the self-destroying idiocies of human history and political posturing. A masterpiece by one of Europe’s finest contemporary novelists. —Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

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Book SynopsisAn explosive feminist and anti-racist novel about the importance of friendship. We don’t exist in this world. Here, we are neither Germans nor refugees, we don’t report the news and we aren’t the experts. We’re some sort of wildcard. Hani, Kasih, and Saya have shared a deep friendship ever since they were kids. After years apart, the three young women meet again for a few days, to pick up where they left off. But regardless of what they have achieved, it becomes clear, again and again, that they can’t escape the racism that accompanies their daily lives: the glances, the chatter, the hatred, and the outright rightwing terror. But their friendship gives them stability. Until one dramatic night shakes everything up. Sisters in Arms is a provocative, uncompromising, and moving novel about the extraordinary alliance between three young women and the only thing that makes a self-determined life possible in a society that doesn’t tolerate otherness: unconditional friendship.Trade Review‘[W]ill appeal to fans of Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, and Kamila Shamsie … An immersive and thought-provoking read with a strong plot and relatable characters, and which explores urgent contemporary questions around racism and sexism in society.’ * New Books in German *‘This worthy novel about immigration and racism in contemporary Germany is tough going. Bazyar is astute in her depiction of a contemporary climate that explicitly “others” migrants.’ -- Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *‘Sends us on a journey of exploration, right into the abyss of German identity politics — a magnificent book.’ * Süddeutsche Zeitung *‘A smart, important novel that gives you a caress on the cheek and a punch in the jaw as you read it. The amazing thing is that in the end you want more of both.’ -- Pierre Jarawan author of Song for the Missing‘Shida Bazyar tells us — uncompromisingly, powerfully, and accusingly — what it means to have one’s origins constantly questioned.’ -- Judges’ comments for The German Book Prize‘It tackles the pressing issues of our time, and yet it is timeless. This is a story of friendship, marginalisation and society's blindness to its own deep-seated problems … A triumph. It has all the makings of great literature, literature that will endure … Sisters in Arms demonstrates that all the talk about the lack of social relevance of art and literature is a fatal mistake.’ -- Gerrit Wustmann * Qantara *‘An explosive feminist and anti-racist novel about the importance of friendship … Sisters ini Arms is a provocative, uncompromising, and moving novel about the extraordinary alliance between three young women and the only thing that makes a self-determined life possible in a society that doesn't tolerate otherness: unconditional friendship.’ * Female *‘Humane, relatable, and self-aware, Sisters in Arms is an involving novel that indicts polite neoliberalism and open racism alike for the ways in which people in contemporary societies are forced apart.’ * Foreword Reviews *

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