Fiction in translation

Book Synopsis'I think the world should read it' LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN A Guardian Book of the Year After the unexpected death of her partner, Carolina Setterwall found herself bereft and rudderless at thirty-six, faced with the seemingly impossible task of raising her son alone. In this remarkable Swedish memoir about grief and guilt, memory and intimacy, she explores the nature of bereavement itself – the difficulty of learning to live with the ones we love, and the trials of living without them. 'The most compelling book I’ve read in years’ The Times ‘It’s impossible not to draw comparisons with Karl Ove Knausgaard. I absolutely loved it' Evening Standard 'Every spare, controlled sentence has the ring of truth. Gripping' Daily MailTrade ReviewThis book! Swedish, confessional, shockingly honest about desire, love, loss. I've read it twice now and can't stop thinking about Carolina. Utterly compulsive -- Marian KeyesPainfully clear-sighted, unsentimental . . . It’s about grief in all its raw messiness * Daily Mail *Brutally candid. The book’s power lies in Setterwall’s lacerating honesty. It’s the most compelling book I’ve read in years * The Times *Quite simply one of the best bereavement memoirs I’ve read. It’s impossible not to draw comparisons with Karl Ove Knausgaard, but there is a unique voice here, a style of disclosure all her own, incidentally beautifully translated. It’s an emotional battering ram, I thought, and I absolutely loved it * Evening Standard *Heart-wrenching and unsettling -- Rowan Coleman, internationally bestselling authorMoving, tender . . . Depicts the obsessive interiority of grief * Kirkus Reviews *The kind of book that you’ll never forget. It gets under your skin. It moves into the heart. The story is so vulnerable and direct that one cannot avoid caring for the people it is about, and to love them . . . I have never read a book that, so beautifully, puts into words how difficult it is to live without – but also to live with – the one you love. One of the best, most touching and most relevant books I’ve ever read * Randiglensbo.dk *An electrifying read. A book that forces itself upon you, impossible to resist and difficult to pause * Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) *A rich, honest, and poignant portrayal of the many dimensions of grief * Alba.Nu *One of the best books I’ve ever read . . . You’re drawn into her raw grief, anger, guilt, bitterness, fear and loss – all of it, without any filter . . . Real and alive * Sidses Bogreol *Breathtaking . . . Astoundingly well told * NWT *A magnificent reading experience * Magasinet Liv *Honest and unvarnished . . . Setterwall writes about the many nuances of grief, but also about love, family life and expectations of life before and after tragedy * Litteratursiden.dk *

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Book SynopsisGabrielle Levy's The Insomniac Society is the international phenomenon for those having sleepless night's everywhere . . . Five people. One thing in common: none of them can sleep.Claire, who sits awake beside a snoring husband and a little boy who is not hers. Jacques, a psychiatrist at the end of his career whose lonely nights are punctuated only by anonymous phone calls. Michèle, a retiree whose dark secret compels her out of bed and to church. Lena, a young goth who cannot brave the dawn, volunteering at a local café. Hervé, a shy accountant who sits in bed, panicking about his job while scrolling through emails into the early hours. As meetings led by sleep specialist Marie-Hélène draw them together, friendships will be formed and confessions made... but will they discover what's keeping them awake? And more importantly: will they be able to get to sleep?Trade ReviewGabrielle Levy does an admirable job characterising her hodgepodge collection of insomniacs and draws from a varied palette of types, demonstrating how anyone, from any strata of society, can lose their sleep * Buzz Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTHE FIRST NOVEL BY NICOLAS MATHIEU, WINNER OF THE 2018 PRIX GONCOURTNicolas Mathieu's gripping first novel is the story of a world that has come to an end. With a girl, a gun and acres of snow.When a factory that employs most of a small town is scheduled to close - to the despair of the workers and disdain of the overlords - things start to fall apart. The disenfranchised factory workers have nothing left to lose. Martel, the trade union rep with innumerable tattoos and Bruce, the body-builder addicted to steroids resort to desperate measures. A bungled kidnapping on the streets of Strasbourg goes horribly wrong and they find themselves falling prey to the machinations of the criminal underworld. "[An] uncompromising portrait of a working class eaten up by the frustration and resentment of having been abandoned, and sinking into alcoholism and racism". -- Paris MatchTrade ReviewBefore Nicolas Mathieu won the Prix Goncourt in 2018 for And Their Children After Them he wrote this remarkable novel about two small-town scallies who resort to crime when the local factory closes down . . . Mathieu, a wonderful writer, echoes the grittiness and compassion of Émile Zola in Germinal * Sunday Times *There are several intersecting stories in this bleakly uncompromising portrait of working-class life in the Vosges . . . this tale of helpless, resentful people with nothing to lose is powerful and compelling. -- Laura Wilson * Guardian *Award-winning novelist Nicolas Mathieu portrays how the destruction of working-class communities has fed cynicism and despair. -- Conrad Landin * Jacobin Magazine *A first novel of rare power * Le Figaro Littéraire *Nicolas Mathieu has written one of the best crime novels of the year * Le Monde *

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Book SynopsisA split-second decision.A terrible price to pay."You have to keep reading until the last page, the last word, the very last full stop. It's unputdownable." -Le Pays Briard"An intense and powerful novel." -Le Point"The characters are no angels... they resemble us." -Le Point"A rare pearl. Each page has us question our idea of humanity." -Le Parisien"A novel that will have you delve into the intimacy of its' characters flawed lives." -Carrefour Savoir"Immerse yourself in the meanders of the human mind, its sense of guilt and everything else that is part of human weakness." -Le Pays Briard"A strong novel." -Tele 7 JoursWhen Pax, a middle-aged second-rate actor, scores an audition for a blockbuster, he is convinced fate has taken pity on him and he will finally get to spend some time in the limelight.He leaves his flat in a hurry, ignoring the alarming sounds coming from the apartment above. He is beside himself when he learns what devastating consequences his decision had: not only was his neighbour Alex assaulted and left for dead, Alex is also his girlfriend Emi's son . . .Before long, Pax is faced with an impossible choice: should he continue to deceive Emi, the one person who always believed in him, or tell the truth and destroy their relationship?Trade ReviewA rare pearl. Each word is chosen with care, each page has us confront our own inconsistencies and question our idea of humanity. * Le Parisien *An intense and powerful novel. The characters in this book are no angels. Nothing shows this better than the fact that they resemble us. * Le Point *Immerse yourself in the meanders of the human mind, its sense of guilt and everything else that contributes to human weakness . . . You have to keep reading until the last page, the last word, the very last full stop. It's unputdownable. * Le Pays Briard *A novel that will have you delve into the intimacy of its characters' flawed lives. * Carrefour Savoirs *An emotionally strong novel * Télé 7 Jours *

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Book Synopsis'A magnificent love story, to be savoured like a delicious meal' Le ParisienFor fans of Antoine Laurain, When All is Said and Julie and Julia comes this emotional and heartwarming story of love between a father and son, told through their shared passion for food.For thirty years, Julien has lived with the question as to why his mother, Helene, suddenly walked out on him and his father - and why his father Henri refused to ever speak of her again.Now, as he sits by his father's bedside preparing to say goodbye, Julien remembers his father's long-lost notebook: a gift from Helene in which he jealously kept the recipes that made him the renowned chef of the Relais Fleuri restaurant.Julien is determined to find this last link to the father he so fiercely loves, and the mother he has never forgotten. But can the secrets to his father's cooking finally help him understand the other secrets Henri has kept all these years?Readers love The Little French Recipe Book'Rich, scrumptious, bittersweet, The Little French Recipe Book is a wonderful novel dipped in a mix of nostalgia, love, and secrets' Meggy'Heartwarming and a beautiful trip down memory lane' Jacky'A poignant and heartwarming book that kept me hooked and crave the food described' Anna Maria'My mouth positively watered with the descriptions of the food . . . If you have already discovered the novels of Antoine Laurain you will love this as well' Linda'What a treat for all lovers of French cooking, a vivid story with the bonus of lovely recipes spiced with a twist of mystery' JoanTrade ReviewLike a French meal - elegant, perfectly-paced and satisfying -- Anne YoungsonJacky Durand's debut novel is a love letter to family, memory and the art of French cooking, as authentic and satisfying as the recipes it describes. I devoured this poignant and evocative feast of a book, which explores the complex, bittersweet ingredients of the relationship between a father and son. -- Fiona ValpyI devoured this bittersweet debut novel set in a small town near Dijon ... an affecting tale with terroir recipes thrown in * Saga *A lovely emotional story. * My Weekly Special *A bittersweet book * Woman *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Grey Souls and Brodeck's Report: a chilling island fable of murder, exploitation and complicity"A parable about modern migration that is also the kind of detective story Mikhail Bulgakov might have written: visionary and darkly humourous" Lucy Hughes-Hallet, New Statesman BOOKS OF THE YEAR"A timely and elegant examination of the migrant situation in the Mediterranean from the point of view of a remote, volcanic island" The New European BOOKS OF THE YEARThe Dog Islands are a small, isolated cluster of islands in the Mediterranean - so called because together, when viewed from above, they form the shape of a dog, twisting and baring its teeth against a brilliant blue sea. One of the only inhabited islands (the one that takes the place of one of the dog's teeth) is dominated by a gently smoking volcano, fringed by black volcanic beaches and under the iron rule of the heads of community who are loath to let any outside influence disrupt the quiet way of life on the island.Then one morning, an old woman comes across three bodies that have washed up with the tide: three young black men, who have apparently drowned in their attempt to cross the sea. The initial reaction of the island community is that this tragedy must be covered up, lest any association with the drownings damages the island's tourism industry . . .But the island's deliberate isolation from the realities of the world cannot last for long, and when a visiting detective arrives on the island and starts asking awkward questions, it becomes clear that the deaths of these three men indicate something far more sinister and deeply rotten lying at the heart of this godforsaken fragment of sea-bound land.Translated from the French by Euan CameronEUAN CAMERON is a literary translator from the French and a former publisher. His previous translations include works by Patrick Modiano, Didier Decoin and Paul Morand, as well as biographies of Marcel Proust and Irène Némirovsky. His debut novel, Madeleine, was published in 2019.With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European UnionTrade ReviewA timely and elegant examination of the migrant situation in the Mediterranean from the point of view of a remote, volcanic island that depends on tourism for its survival and lives in fear of negative publicity as a result. -- Charlie Connelly * New European Books of the Year *

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Book Synopsis'One of the undisputed masterpieces of early nineteenth-century French prose fiction.'From Richard Sieburth's preface to AdolphePublished simultaneously in London and Paris in 1816, Adolphe is the story of a tragic love affair between its narrator and his lover Ellenore, two characters locked into a fatal dance of self-destruction. In what is one of the earliest examples of autofiction, from a period when all creative endeavour was permeated by autobiography. Constant's aim was to create an exemplary fiction of high moral purpose which would also function as an act of intimate self-vindication and revenge on his former lover, the formidable Madame de Stael. The result is a tautly-strung Racinian tragedy in prose.Soon after publication, Constant was defending himself from charges that he had written a novel based on real people, which he strenuously denied. The work was translated into English by Alexander Walker, and overseen by the author, resulting in what Richard Sieburth describes as 'an eccentrically bevelled jewel of Regency prose'.This riverrun edition publishes Walker's translation and Constant's preface in a new edition here for the first time since 1817.

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Book Synopsis"A beguiling read . . . A cold-case whodunnit [and] a Shadow of the Wind-style quest" - John Dugdale, Sunday Times"Bestselling writer Luca D'Andrea has concocted a fearsome witches' brew of myth, memory and mayhem" Sunday Times Crime ClubA haunting thriller drawing on myths, legends and fairy tales, set in a mysterious Italian valley - from Italy's bestselling answer to Stephen King."D'Andrea piles on the action and the atmosphere with the panache of a seasoned writer" Marcel Berlins, The TimesIt begins with a slap in the face.Out walking his St Bernard, Tony Carcano is confronted by a girl on a motorbike who shows him a photograph from his past. Of him posing with the body of a young woman. Smiling."Why were you laughing?"It's not the last Tony sees of Sybille Knapp, an orphan whose mother drowned herself in Kreuzwirt lake in 1999. That was the official verdict. Before long, Tony, a bestselling writer, is turning his imagination to working out what really happened.But Kreuzwirt is a sullen, silent community, loyal to the powerful Perkman family, who will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried. And there are other forces at work in this valley. Stories of an ancient evil. Whispers of a figure who stands between this world and the next.The Wanderer sings and his song is the wind.Translated from the Italian by Katherine GregorTrade ReviewD'Andrea piles on the action and the atmosphere with the panache of a seasoned writer. -- Marcel Berlins * The Times *Can be compared (with no fear of hyperbole) to Stephen King and Jo Nesbø. -- Massimo Vincenz * La Repubblica *D'Andrea's a name to add to your Eurocrime list. -- David HewsonA beguiling read . . . A cold-case whodunnit [and] a Shadow of the Wind-style quest -- John Dugdale * Sunday Times *Bestselling writer Luca D'Andrea has concocted a fearsome witches' brew of myth, memory and mayhem * Sunday Times Crime Club *D'Andrea delivers with quite some verve a haunting whodunnit laden with elements of myth and fairy tale * i *A well paced page-turner -- A N Wilson * Tablet *

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Book Synopsis "Night Hunters, like the previous three Black Forest cases, is hard-hitting and tightly written" MARK SANDERSON, The Times Crime Club"Oliver Bottini is a terrific storyteller" Sunday Express"Taut writing and pacy events" Sunday Times"Always able to surprise the reader" BARRY FORSHAW, author of Crime Fiction: A Reader's GuideThe fourth in the Black Forest Investigations featuring Louise Bonì - by the four-time winner of the German Crime Fiction AwardAt first nothing seems to link fifteen-year-old Eddie, a bit of a loner who finds solace swimming in the dangerous waters of the Rhine, and Nadine, a rich but bored student from Freiburg. Except for the fact that both disappear without trace, within days of each other. When Eddie's body is found, suspicion first falls upon his brutal and uncooperative father. But when Nadine's own father raises the alarm, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Bonì of the Freiburg police instinctively feels that the cases are connected.An abandoned barn near the river soon becomes the focus of the investigation, beginning a trail that will lead Bonì and her team across the Rhine to Colmar, confronting them with the grim secrets of outwardly respectable citizens. Sometimes it takes very little to unleash the monster in man.Translated from the German by Jamie BullochTrade ReviewBottini's novels are infused with his knowledge of the darker corners of European history -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times *Night Hunters, like the previous three Black Forest cases, is hard-hitting and tightly written. -- Mark Sanderson * The Times Crime Club *Bottini is a terrific storyteller and he evokes his setting - the Rhine borderlands of the Black Forest - with skill -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisStressed-out, sleep-deprived and pill-popping Dr Tekla Berg is as unusual a central character as you will find" Irish Independent"Tekla is a terrific character" Literary Review"Tekla Berg is a brilliant character" Susi Holliday"A memorable protagonist" Imran Mahmood"Tekla is a scalpel-sharp character" Jens LapidusA woman is found wandering the corridors of Nobel Hospital in Stockholm, accompanied by a young boy. She appears to be looking for a man who was involved in a car accident earlier that day.Meanwhile, in one of the emergency rooms, Tekla Berg is fighting to save a patient who was seriously injured in the same incident. The resulting chaos goes beyond anything anyone could have predicted, leaving hospital staff, police and everyone else involved equally shocked and perplexed.Hospital Director Monica Carlsson has stepped up her attempts to privatise her fiefdom with the launch of an exclusive patient hotel, a controversial liver transplant unit and the prestigious recruitment of star surgeon Klas Nyström. It soon becomes obvious that Klas has his own agenda and is working to undermine Tekla at every turn.But Tekla is too distracted to meet this challenge head on: she has become obsessed with the mystery surrounding the woman and her young charge - for the boy's identity remains unknown and no trace of his past can be found.Reviews for Hell and High Water"A gripping crime novel . . . fast-moving and packed with convincing detail and memorable characters" Literary Review"As gripping as it could be . . . An authentic and seriously exciting debut" Irish IndependentTranslated from the Swedish by George Goulding and Sarah de Senarclens

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Book SynopsisTHE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD."Western fantasy has JRR Tolkien, but we Asian fantasy authors have Jin Yong's stories in our DNA. The debt we owe him is immeasurable" SHELLEY PARKER-CHAN"If you haven't read Jin Yong's work, you haven't yet fully experienced the fantasy genre" FONDA LEECHINA , 1237 A.D.Genghis Khan is dead, but the Mongolians, led by his son, continue their assault on the Central Plains.A new generation of martial artists has emerged to face this threat, foremost among them Guo Jing and his wife Lotus Huang. And a new danger stalks the land, with all the fury of a woman scorned - Blithe Li, the Red Serpent Celestial. It is an encounter with this pitiless foe that reunites Guo Jing with Penance, the son of his treacherous sworn brother, Yang Kang. He resolves to lift the boy from a life of vagrancy and initiate him into the martial world.Placed under the care of the Quanzhen Sect at their temple in the Zhongnan Mountains, Penance stumbles across the mysterious history behind this most respected martial school. What he uncovers sends him on a journey that will force him to come to terms with his father's past and the secrets of his own heart.Translated from the Chinese by Gigi ChangTrade Review[Jin Yong's] work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of Harry Potter and Star Wars combined . . . With his combination of erudition, sentiment, propulsive plotting, and vivid prose, he is widely regarded as the genre's finest writer . . . Holmwood's translation offers the best opportunity yet for English-language readers to encounter one of the world's most beloved writers -- Nick Frisch * New Yorker. *[Jin Yong's] work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of Harry Potter and Star Wars combined . . . With his combination of erudition, sentiment, propulsive plotting, and vivid prose, he is widely regarded as the genre's finest writer . . . Holmwood's translation offers the best opportunity yet for English-language readers to encounter one of the world's most beloved writers -- Nick Frisch * New Yorker. *The most widely read Chinese writer alive. His books have been adapted into TV series, films and video games, and his dense, immersive world inspires the kind of adoration bestowed on those created by writers like western worldbuilders such as JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling and George RR Martin. -- Marcel Theroux * Guardian. *The most widely read Chinese writer alive. His books have been adapted into TV series, films and video games, and his dense, immersive world inspires the kind of adoration bestowed on those created by writers like western worldbuilders such as JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling and George RR Martin. -- Marcel Theroux * Guardian. *This publishing phenomenon comes to us in a brisk and thrilling new translation . . . The tale is like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along. -- Jamie Buxton * Daily Mail. *This publishing phenomenon comes to us in a brisk and thrilling new translation . . . The tale is like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along. -- Jamie Buxton * Daily Mail. *

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Book SynopsisA highly charged love story, set against the backdrop of German re-unification, by the author of LOVE IN FIVE ACTS and THE FIRE. Now a major film.It is summer 1990, only months after the border dividing Germany has dissolved. Maria, nearly seventeen, moves in with her boyfriend on his family farm. A chance encounter with enigmatic loner Henner, a neighbouring farmer, quickly develops into a passionate relationship. But Maria soon finds that Henner can be as brutal as he is tender - his love reveals itself through both animal violence and unexpected sensitivity. Maria builds a fantasy of their future life together, but her expectations differ dramatically from those of Henner himself, until it seems their story can only end in tragedy. Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything is a bold and impressive debut in which love and violence, conflict and longing, are inextricably entwined.Translated from the German by Jamie BullochTrade Review'A candid tale of raw passion, whose essence and timelessness shines through the spare prose' Süddeutsche Zeitung. * Süddeutsche Zeitung *'A wonderful novel; a magnificent love story' Le Monde. * Le Monde *'Daniela Krien is not afraid. Not of language, either. Which shines in this novel ... A novel that portrays so much turmoil so thoughtfully that the spellbound reader abandons themselves to it' Gabriele von Arnim, Die Zeit. * Die Zeit *'One can almost physically feel the sensuality evoked by Daniela Krien's simple and emotionally precise language. A love story of extraordinary intensity, and a brilliant account of the demise of the D.D.R.' Brigitte. * Brigitte *'This deceptively elegant story reveals great emotional and cultural upheaval' Kirkus Reviews. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisNew work from the acclaimed author of "The Crab Nebula" and "Palafox."

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Book SynopsisOne America’s Favorite Books, PBS’s The Great American Read Nobel Prize–winning author: This classic of 20th-century literature chronicles the spiritual evolution of a man living in India at the time of the Buddha—a tale that has inspired generations of readers Here is a fresh translation of the classic Herman Hesse novel, from Sherab Chödzin Kohn—a gifted translator and longtime student of Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Kohn invites readers along Siddhartha’s spiritual journey—experiencing his highs and lows, loves and disappointments along the way. We first meet Siddhartha as a privileged brahmin’s son. Handsome, well-loved, and growing increasingly dissatisfied with the life expected of him, he then sets out on his journey, not realizing that he is fulfilling the prophesies proclaimed at his birth. Siddhartha blends in with the world, showing the reader the beauty and intricacies of the mind, nature, and his experiences on the path to enlightenment.Sherab Chödzin Kohn’s flowing, poetic translation conveys the philosophical and spiritual nuances of Hesse’s text, paying special attention to the qualities of meditative experience. Also included is an extensive introduction by Paul W. Morris that discusses the impact Siddhartha has had on American culture.

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Book SynopsisA novel set in Tuscany during the magical years when thousands of businesses blossomed, manufacturing objects for everyday life.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Prix Renaudot, this literary novel about a murder straddles the line between the tragic and the absurd - from the author of the plays Art and God of Carnage.

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Book SynopsisFrance and the United States have long shared a special relationship, defined both by occasional puzzlement and endless fascination. François Busnel, one of France's most prominent literary critics, seeks to bridge this gap with America, his journal of literature and politics, launched in the wake of the 2016 election and now available to English readers for the first time. In this collection of pieces from the magazine, Alain Mabanckou sketches the outlines of his Los Angeles, where he finds a sense of belonging far from his home country of the Republic of the Congo. Leïla Slimani considers the ways #MeToo is shaping a new discourse of consent on college campuses. Philippe Besson travels through the American heartland, driving from Chicago to New Orleans. Featuring interviews with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Louise Erdrich and original work in English by Richard Powers and Colum McCann, America celebrates the enduring relationship between France and the United States and offers a testament to the essential power of literature to unite in times of division.Trade ReviewA kaleidoscopic reading list of a divided nation. * Columbia Journalism Review *Lucid and humanist, a political literary magazine in which today's most prestigious writers witness, each in their own ways, a disillusioned country. * L’Expres *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Francois Busnel 1: Los Angeles by Alain Mabanckou 2: From Chicago to New Orleans by Philippe Besson 3: Orange Is the New Black by Richard Powers 4: The Outskirts of the City by Marie Darrieussecq 5: The Yellowstone Chronicles by Joël Dicker 6: Hitchhiking along the Border by Sylvain Prudhomme 7: Four Letters from America by Laura Kasischke 8: Chocolate-Colored Washington by Abdourahman Waberi 9: Trans-America by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich 10: A Hat in Manhattan by Francois Busnel 11: Miss Gulliver in America by Leïla Slimani 12: The Home(less) of the Free and the Brave by Lee Stringer 13: Will Evangelicals Save Trump? by Philippe Coste 14: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Yann Perreau 15: We Must Fight for Our Memory, an interview with Louise Erdrich 16: Among the Amish by Philippe Claudel 17: Las Vegas by Alice Zeniter 18: A Call to Young Writers on the Eve of the Trump Presidency by Colum McCann

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Book SynopsisThe three novellas ofFarewell, Aylis take place over decades of transition in a country that rather resembles modern-day Azerbaijan. In Yemen, a Soviet traveler takes an afternoon stroll and finds himself suspected of defecting to America. In Stone Dreams, an actor explores the limits of one man's ability to live a moral life amid conditions of sociopolitical upheaval, ethnic cleansing, and petty professional intrigue. In A Fantastical Traffic Jam, those who serve the aging leader of a corrupt, oil-rich country scheme to stay alive. Farewell, Aylis, a new essay by the author that reflects on the political firestorm surrounding these novellas and his current situation as a prisoner of conscience in Azerbaijan, was commissioned especially for this Academic Studies Press edition.Trade Review“Reading Farewell, Aylis is like sitting by the fire at night with the older men of the village and listening to their stories, which in truth are the oral history of a people and a region, which in truth could turn out to be prophecies of our own lives. … In [the essay Farewell, Aylis, Aylisli] writes, ‘And I want to serve my motherland not as a patriot but as a writer.’ And that is what he has done with these stories, making him perhaps the true patriot who does what is truly needed for his country and not what pleases and flatters. One, however, needs to read him first and foremost as a writer and be enamored of the allure of his storytelling.” —Poupeh Missaghi, Asymptote -- Poupeh Missaghi * Asymptote *“Working from Russian translations of the original Azeri (two by the author himself), Young has given great attention to Aylisli’s unique style that combines elements of socialist realism, Middle Eastern and Persian tales, and social satire. Each piece is set in a different time and place and is populated by different protagonists, yet a continuity exists across the whole. What unites these four works is their engagement with historic trauma and the way hushed-up violence and wrongdoing are transmitted through generations, destroying not only individual lives but also the character of the village, region, and country that guilty people inhabit. … A writer, Aylisli teaches us, has no allegiances to a country, an ethnicity, a religion, not even to his own birthplace. ‘But he’s always responsible for the moral appearance of his own people, for the spiritual state of his own fellow citizens.’ And this writer has found the spiritual state of his fellow citizens to be in a dire condition. … As Farewell, Aylis concludes, it leaves a reader with a sense that an individual voice trying to resist the culture of violence is powerless against the status quo; nonetheless, Aylisli’s voice feels necessary and urgent.” —Olga Zilberbourg, The Common -- Olga Zilberbourg * The Common *

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Book SynopsisA collection of contemplative, lyrical stories examining the visible and invisible consequences of atomic power on Japanese society Sunrise is a collection of interconnected stories continuing Erika Kobayashi's examination of the effects of nuclear power on generations of women. Connecting changes to everyday life to the development of the atomic bomb, Sunrise shows us how the discovery of radioactive power has shaped our history and continues to shape our future. In the opening, eponymous story "Sunrise," Yoko, born exactly two years and one day after Nagasaki was decimated, mirrors her life to the development of nuclear power in Japan. In "Precious Stones," four daughters take their elderly mother to the restorative waters of a radium spring, exchanging tales of immortality. In "Hello My Baby, Hello My Honey," a woman goes into labor during the final days of WWII. And finally, "The Forest of Wild Birds" shows Erika visiting the site of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, touring grounds that were once covered in green. Translator Brian Bergstrom returns in this collection, bringing to life Kobayashi's unsettling, lasting, and striking prose. The stories in Sunrise force a reckoning with the lasting effects of known and unknown histories and asks how much of modern life is influenced by forces outside of our control.Trade Review"Like a brilliant and rare gem, Erika Kobayashi's Sunrise: Radiant Stories stuns with layered intelligence and powerful prose. Each story offers a type of familial intimacy charged with profound historical clarity. How thankful I am to Brian Bergstrom for this indelible translation from one of Japan's brightest stars. This book feels like it's made of magic; that it's made of light." -Kali Fajardo-Anstine, bestselling author of Woman of Light "Reading Erika Kobayashi's stories is almost like getting to know modern Japan through a poetry-science lab experiment. Kobayashi mixes her fascination with the aftermaths and consequences of WWII and the social issues of contemporary Japan with a kind of child-like curiosity that make her story both complex and accessible. Nearly every story gives the impression of a mysterious chemical reaction that is happening before the reader's eyes. A mesmerizing collection." -Prabda Yoon, author of The Sad Part Was "Kobayashi's uncanny stories probe for the contacts between our most intimate lived experience and the awesome yet subtle cosmic forces that permeate it, from atomic radiation to the ruthless arrow of time. Bergstrom's rich, graceful translation offers us the chance to peer over Kobayashi's shoulder as she works these experiments, holding our breath for the next fraught and wonderful discovery." -Theodore McCombs, author of Uranians "Combining a sense of daring with a sense of wonder, Erika Kobayashi's Sunrise: Radiant Stories presents boldly speculative visions side by side with intense and finely wrought everyday moments. Throughout this striking collection, Kobayashi creates surprising space for her reader to eavesdrop on intergenerational conversations between the past, the present, and imagined futures that seem to glow just over the horizon." -Lee Conell, author of The Party Upstairs "Erika Kobayashi's stories are told with so little artifice that one might think them fairy tales, did they not float like islands adrift on a dark sea of history." -John Whittier Treat, author of First Consonants "I loved Erika Kobayashi's Trinity Trinity Trinity, so I am lining up for her collection of strange and reflective connected stories about nuclear power and its effect on Japanese people and society, especially its women." -Karla J. Strand, Ms. Magazine

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Book SynopsisWriters talk about literature on the Singapore River. Distinct and displaced pasts meet. Individual encounters with a revolutionary ballet carry a generation’s lost youth and unspoken tragedy. Laureate of innumerable literary prizes, Jiang Yun leaves no reader indifferent. Annelise Finegan teaches at the NYU. Her translations have been nominated for the International Booker Prize and won the Best Translated Book Award. Mingyuan Hu is an historian; she translates French, English and Chinese literatures.

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Book SynopsisChristof, Christophe, Christopher and Cristofol are four brothers - sons of the same father and four very different mothers, yet none of them knows of the others' existence. When they learn that their father has been declared missing, they come together for the first time and attempt to reconstruct his life.Trade ReviewAn ingenious creation... alert to the sheer untidiness of life.Inventive, absorbing and beautifully written. * Daily Mail *An outstanding read. * Daily Express *An astonishing literary artefact. Marvellous. * El Mundo *An utterly absorbing tale of family, friendship, love and loss. * Easy Living *Punti is a sprightly writer, delighting in taking us down byways and through backwaters as the novel circles Gabriel's disappearance. * Financial Times *More than once it feels as though you could be in a Barcelona bar, listening to a friend indulge in a series of Rioja-fuelled anecdotes. * The Times *It's the combination of straight-down-the-line storytelling with Jordi's ingenious inflections in the language and structure that make Lost Luggage feel so rebellious. * Dazed&Confused *

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Book Synopsis A chilling literary thriller about a motiveless murder in provincial China 'One of the most important voices to emerge from the People's Republic in years' Daily Express On a normal day in provincial China, a teenager goes about his regular business, but he’s also planning the brutal murder of his only friend. He lures her over, strangles her, stuffs her body into the washing machine and flees town, whereupon a perilous game of cat-and-mouse begins. A shocking investigation into the despair that traps the rural poor as well as a technically brilliant excursion into the claustrophobic realm of classic horror and suspense, A Perfect Crime is a thrilling and stylish novel about a motiveless murder that echoes Kafka’s absurdism, Camus’ nihilism and Dostoyevsky’s depravity. With exceptional tonal control, A Yi steadily reveals the psychological backstory that enables us to make sense of the story’s dramatic violence and provides chillingly apt insights into a country on the cusp of enormous social, political and economic change.Trade Review‘Doused in blood and gushing with ethical conundrums, A Yi’s A Perfect Crime is a disconcerting medley of misanthropy, escapism, and media monstrosities. Woven from tales garnered in the author’s previous career in law enforcement, Yi’s psychological insights are frequently bookended by realistic renditions of urban China’s legal processes. Where Anthony Burgess sought to conjure a world of abstract flair and inexplicable cruelty in A Clockwork Orange, Yi strikes a far deeper chord, delving into the mind of a youth whose lethal motivations are abundantly and undeniably troubling.’ * World Literature Today *‘A Yi's isolated narrator is equal parts calculating monster and forsaken victim: deserted, neglected and ignored, he finds that his only means of feeling alive is to engender death. This austere English PEN Award winner offers an exponentially more chilling alternative to the plethora of dystopic titles; fans of Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Fuminori Nakamura and even Keigo Higashino will surely find resonating, realistic terror here. * Library Journal *‘Yi, a former police officer, is slowly rising to prominence on the literary scene in China, where this novel was published in 2011. A Perfect Crime is a commentary on both the culture and on the amorality and emotional detachment of one individual in it.’ * Booklist *‘Achieves something we haven’t seen in Chinese fiction for a while – a refreshingly non-verbose, verb-driven, first-person narrative of taut tension (reflected brilliantly in Anna Holmwood’s translation)…[the] writing is pared back, short, driven by pace, and very to the point…a rollercoaster read, so grip the seat, hang on, and be prepared only to relax when you’ve got to the end of the ride.’ * Los Angeles Review of Books *‘Tightly crafted…less a traditional catch-him-if-you-can crime caper and more a psychological probe into a pathological mind.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Startling…sheds light on a country undergoing huge social, political and economic change…one of the most important voices to emerge from the People’s Republic in years.’ * Daily Express *‘An unlikely page-turner and provides a chilling insight into the mind of a psychopath.’ * Irish News *‘A Perfect Crime...shows A Yi to be one of the most important voices to emerge from the People's Republic in years.’ * International Express *‘Shimmering sentences and jolts of original thinking...break through the taut, descriptive prose like shafts of sunshine in a strip-lit room.’ * Big Issue *‘Disturbingly convincing.’ * The Complete Review *

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Book SynopsisLola Jost is busy fending off boredom with a jigsaw puzzle when she hears the news. Arnaud Mars - a disgraced police divisionnaire on the run after a seismic defence contracts scandal - has been found dead in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. The gun that killed him belongs to Commandant Sacha Duguin, a former colleague of Lola's. Convinced of Duguin's innocence, Lola throws off her torpor. Together with her occasional partner in crime fighting Ingrid Diesel, she embarks on a quest to clear her old friend's name.Faced by a shadowy adversary determined to keep its past crimes under wraps, Lola and Ingrid must travel as far as Abidjan and Hong Kong to uncover the truth behind their most dangerous case to date.Translated from the French by Nick CaistorTrade ReviewThere is an echo of Chandler's gallant, world-weary Philip Marlowe in grumpy former police commissioner Lola Jost . . . There is also a strong flavour of Simenon in the way she evokes Paris through the inviting fug of its glowing cafés, after-hours clubs and shady denizens with guilty secrets they are reluctant to share. * Glasgow Herald *Dominique Sylvain is not just a careful writer, she also knows exactly how to construct a complex, intricately plotted story -- Christine Ferniot * Télérma *Dominique Sylvain regularly updates us on her unlikely duo through crime novels full of sound and fury . . . Once again, Sylvain explores murky foreign affairs that breed corruption closer to home * M le Magazine du Monde *

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Book SynopsisBavaria, Germany, 1947. At the end of the war, Afra Zauner returns to her parents' cottage on the edge of Mauther Forest. Unmarried, and pregnant. As she struggles to raise her child, her father's shame, her mother's fury and the loud whispers of the neighbours begin to weigh upon her. She doesn't believe in her sin. But everyone else does. And someone brings judgement down upon her. Many years later, Hermann Müller is throwing a drunk out of his tavern. A traveller, who won't stop ranting about a murder left unsolved, about police who never investigated. Out of curiousity, the file is reopened. And in the cold light of hindsight, a chilling realisation creeps upon the community. No-one ever atoned for Afra's death. But her story is waiting to be told. Andrea Maria Schenkel returns to the form of her groundbreaking The Murder Farm, narrating through suspects, victims and investigators to lead the reader to their own awful understanding.Trade Review'A superior slice of German noir. Andrea Maria Schenkel is the supreme exponent of German neo-realism ... Examines the German conscience, as if searching for the psyche behind the Nazi monstrosities ... Allows us to penetrate the intense and horrific emotional reactions of the witnesses - including the murderer ... Schenkel can be considered as a deeply serious writer. Though her books are short, the impact they achieve undoubtedly merit this status' Independent. * Independent *'Packs a lingering punch ... Schenkel - and the wonderful Anthea Bell, in her lucid, unobtrusive translation - is setting out to do something different. The Dark Meadow, in its evocative descriptions of postwar life in a German village, in its lack of sentimentality, pathos or melodrama, is a bleakly real portrait of injustice, poverty and hopelessness. Murder most foul, and shown here in all its pointless, meaningless cruelty' Alison Flood, Observer Thriller of the Month. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisEgdar "Lefty" Mendieta investigates the death of a notorious stripper in this second sweltering "Narco-lit" noir from the Godfather of Mexican crime fictionAn intelligent, atmospheric police procedural series for fans of John Le Carré and Mick HeronWhen the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo is found in a dusty field, Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra, a well-known stripper, had no shortage of ardent, deluded and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by the night he spent in her company.As Mexico's drug war ramps up, Lefty's pursuit of a gallery of jealous and powerful suspects, all with a murderous glint in their eye, leads him to Samantha Valdés, the godfather's daughter, who is battling to retain her father's empire. And as the mystery deepens, the bodycount rises.Trade ReviewOne of the biggest names in Mexican literature . . . A true novelist . . . No one has captured the exciting and passionate nature of the Mexican vernacular like him -- Arturo Pérez-ReverteIf you are fed up with formulaic noir novels and looking for something fresher, Élmer Mendoza . . . could be the answer * Sunday Times *Presents Mexico in a darkly surrealist light: corrupt politicos, a plague of narco-crime and only battered detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta on the side of the angels * Independent *Mendoza conveys a clear sense of life in Culiacan through the violence of the competing cartels and a simmering expectation and acceptance of corruption * Publishers Weekly *Essential reading. * Sunday Express. *A vivid glimpse into an ultraviolent world of macho posturing, unorthodox policing and ruthless criminality. * Guardian. *

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Book SynopsisBerlin, 1967: four members of the British rock band Pearl Harbor die at the same time but in separate locations. Inexplicably, the police conclude natural causes are to blame. Brussels, 2010: A homeless man is hit by a car outside the Gare du Midi, leaving him with locked-in syndrome, able to communicate (sometimes) by blinking. An Irish journalist's interest is piqued. How did the members of Pearl Harbor die, and how is this linked to the homeless man in Brussels?Trade Review'A masterpiece.' * Michel Bussi, author of After the Crash *'The rock-and-roll aesthetic of the plot kerrangs through the swift and exciting prose.' * World Literature Today *'An impeccable tale of posthumous detection encompassing a loving look into the minutiae of rock and the atmosphere and background of some of its golden years. Add to that an exemplary mystery plot and you have a potent combination.' * Crime Time *'Engrossing... This best-selling Belgian thriller, which was short-listed for two literary awards, is a treat for fans of dark mysteries and unreliable narrators.' * Library Journal *'Intricate... Those interested in last century’s European rock scene will be enthralled.' * Publishers Weekly *'A vivid and clever story that takes us back to the musical scene swinging Sixties, but has a deeper plot at its heart. Highly recommended.' * Promoting Crime *'A wonderful thriller... I have no qualms about recommending this book to anyone.' * Historical Novel Society, Editor's Choice *'A dark and disturbing thriller.' * Mystery & Detective Agency *'The crime story...takes on fearsome proportions of international scope...the implications are indeed chilling.' * Crime Review *

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Book SynopsisINCLUDES SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED LINE DRAWINGS Little Tiger is not like other tigers. Not content to spend her days alone, roaming the snow forests of Siberia hunting prey, she prefers instead to ponder the ways of the world. One day, eager to discover her own place within it, she sets out on a remarkable journey to discover the secret of life, and to meet the creatures she has heard most about: humans. A moving tale of bravery and spirit, The Tiger and the Acrobat is a celebration of the power of friendship, and a testament to the courage it takes to be true to ourselves. 'This book is a beaut.' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love YouTrade Review'This book is a beaut.' * Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You *'Enhanced by enchanting pencil illustrations, best-selling Italian writer Tamaro’s beguiling parable is a paean to the power of friendship and a testament to the resiliency of the individual spirit, whatever form the body takes.' * Booklist *'Susanna Tamaro's prose is soft and welcoming while still indulging in the fantastical, which illuminates and enlivens this testament to the beauty and power of nature and innocence.' * World Literature Today *'Slim but powerful, The Tiger and the Acrobat is rich with reflections on purpose and meditations on what it means to be oneself.' * Shelf Awareness *'Joyful and profound.' * Il Piccolo *'Clear, razor-sharp prose.' * Corriere della Sera *'A poetic and luminous modern fairy tale, imbued with love, tenderness, passion for life…an ode to the human heart.' * Famiglia Cristina *'Tamaro leads us by the hand to the centre of the world, passing through hope and the essence of happiness.' * Eco di Bergamo *'A story that rotates around the meaning of freedom.' * Gazzetta del sud *

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Book Synopsis Dead clients are bad for business, something that Tom Winter, head of security at a private Swiss bank, knows only too well. When a helicopter explosion kills a valuable client and a close colleague, Winter teams up with the mysterious Egyptian businesswoman Fatima Hakim to expose the truth behind their deaths. Together they follow the money trail around the world and back into the Swiss mountains, the NSA watching their every move. As they start closing in on the truth, Winter and Fatima turn from being the hunters to the hunted, finding themselves in a deadly, high-stakes race against the clock.Trade Review‘A terrific thriller! Smart and savvy... I had to force myself to stop reading each night.’ * Mark Gimenez, author of The Colour of Law *‘Frankly brilliant. If you're into globe-trotting action, crime and espionage, then get on it – because this is the real deal and up there with the very best of the genre.’ * Robert Parker, author of A Wanted Man *‘Damnation is a brilliant thriller, everything a page turner should be… An extremely good read with a very firm sense of location...certainly up there with the best thrillers I have read.’ * TripFiction *‘Fast, smart and savvy with touches of the Bond laconic coolness. The book is extremely well-researched, especially the behind-the-scenes tensions of the banking world, and this enjoyable thriller, with a good story and plenty of action, marks Beck out as a name to watch in the action thriller genre.’ * Crime Review *‘The action is fast-paced, the high-finance dealings ring true, and Winter is an impressively modern Bond figure.’ * Library Journal *‘Damnation travels along at an enormous pace. With its background of financiers and banks all using fair means and foul to get their hands on Arab oil billions for their equity funds, this book reads like a James Bond film and is just as entertaining.’ * Mystery People *‘Great storyteller.’ * Berner Zeitung *‘Fast, cool and laconic.’ * Sakida Interviewmagazin *‘Captivates readers immediately… Swiss James Bond.’ * Krimikiosk *‘Great arc of suspense… Gripping from the first page to the end.’ * Lebenszeit *‘Fast-paced international thriller.’ * Tourbillon Magazin *‘Breathtaking action.’ * Buchmagazin *‘Breathtaking story… great finale.’ * Buch der Woche *‘Fascinating new hero...everything a good thriller needs: action, suspense and a touch of erotic.’ * Anzeiger von Saanen und Gstaad *

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Book Synopsis A lyrical and moving Polish family saga set against the turbulent backdrop of twentieth-century Europe Lala has lived a dazzling life. Born in Poland just after the First World War and brought up to be a perfect example of her class and generation – tolerant, selfless and brave – Lala is an independent woman who has survived some of the most turbulent events of her times. As she senses the first signs of dementia, she battles to keep her memories alive through her stories, telling her grandson tales of a life filled with love, faithlessness and extraordinary acts of courage. Sweeping from nineteenth-century Kiev to modern-day Poland, Lala is the enthralling celebration of a beautiful life.Trade Review‘Jacek Dehnel paints prewar Poland – “laced with gilt and stucco in the cities, and heavy with the smell of cow pats and fruit lying in the grass in the countryside” – in the vibrant hues of a fairy tale. A multigenerational epic that spans a century and most of Eastern Europe, Lala is an astounding achievement, particularly considering Dehnel wrote it between the ages of 20 and 22...magical.’ * Chicago Tribune *‘Lala is a wonderful mosaic of stories…outrageous and humorous...spellbinding and captivating.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘Dehnel uses his grandmother's life and reminiscences as a springboard for a sweep through Poland's turbulent 20th century, mingled with musings on the nature of storytelling...[there are] some exceptionally beautiful passages...poignantly alive with loss and love.’ * Kirkus *‘Lush… Tender and droll, rueful and rousing, [Lala’s] stories trace one Polish family’s journey from the 1860s to the present day… [Jacek Dehnel] chronicles her decline with delicate but unabashed realism, as well as great humour, and Lloyd-Jones captures these qualities perfectly.’ * The Quarterly Conversation *‘Lyrical passages, some endearingly eccentric characters, a flyby through twentieth-century history, and a convincing voice for Lala.’ * Booklist *‘A declaration of love for literature and a tribute to an extraordinary woman.’ * Berliner Zeitung *‘Eloquently translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Dehnel’s Lala offers an extraordinary insight into historical events... A striking evocation of Poland’s turbulent past.’ * RivetingReviews *‘A masterfully constructed novel…mature and highly entertaining.’ * Polityka *‘Lala is unique – no author displays such maturity of style, knowledge of form and literary erudition at the age of twenty, because nobody is ever as well-read or intellectual at that age. Dehnel – who wrote this book aged twenty to twenty-two – is the exception that proves the rule.’ * Gazeta Wyborcza *‘Dehnel is gifted with superb literary instinct.’ * Czytelnia Onet *

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Book Synopsis 'THE MOST IMPORTANT LIVING RUSSIAN WRITER' New Yorker A groundbreaking and gripping literary detective novel set in Soviet-era Russia, from the award-winning author of Laurus and The Aviator Can we ever really understand the present without first understanding the past? From the winner of the 2019 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Prize, and the author of the multi-award winning Laurus, comes a sweeping novel that takes readers on a fascinating journey through one of the most momentous periods in Russian history. What really happened to General Larionov of the Imperial Russian Army, who somehow avoided execution by the Bolsheviks? He lived out his long life in Yalta leaving behind a vast heritage of undiscovered memoirs. In modern day Russia, a young student is determined to find out the truth. Solovyov and Larionov is a ground-breaking and gripping literary detective novel from one of Russia's greatest contemporary writers. Trade Review‘[A] wry and whimsically humorous historical detective story.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘Absorbing, darkly witty, history-soaked pages for literary and historical fiction fans.’ * Library Journal: Reading Around The World: 12 Top Spring Titles for the Library Market *‘Vodolazkin has produced a romanticized hero's quest that affirms the "indivisibility and harmony" of history and personal fate. In the face of overwhelming death tolls, he insists on making space for mythology.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Simply cannot be ignored... A smart and often humorous account of contemporary Russian life that reminded me several times of his fellow citizen Svetlana Alexievich’s nonfiction.’ * LitHub *‘There is sprightly, funny satire here and, beneath it, a surprising vein of poignancy.’ * Kirkus *‘An ambitious first novel. It is to Vodolazkin’s credit that he pulls it off, creating a substantial, beguiling work that engages the reader on several levels, encompassing a detective story, historical events and even a little romance.’ * The Herald, Scotland *‘More than a beautifully written coming-of-age story...one of the finest novels I have read in years.’ * World Literature Today *‘Third-person narration, circular structure, and archetypal characters lend this beautifully written literary mystery the feel of a modern fable. [We] recommend Vodolazkin’s slowly unfolding story to readers who prefer detailed research, artfully layered descriptions, and character epiphanies to thrills.’ * Booklist *‘A very unique blend of literary genres... I became captivated by this Russian tale with all of its stories within a story. This is a true Russian novel.’ * Marjorie’s World of Books *'Solovyov's and Larionov's careers are interwoven so deftly that the novel can be enjoyed as part academic satire, part historical romp... Solovyov and Larionov contains some hilarious character sketches and set pieces, from academic jousting for precedence to conflicts over property in a communal apartment.' * L.A. Review of Books *‘Award-winning author Vodolazkin seamlessly weaves together the lives of his two heroes... [but] this coming-of-age story offers the reader a much richer experience than mere biography.’ * Historical Novel Society *‘I couldn't put it down.’ * A Bookish Type blog *‘Vodolazkin is one of the most interesting contemporary writers.’ * Russia Beyond, '5 great Russian books for your summer reading list' *‘I found Solovyov and Larionov to be just as good a book as The Aviator in its beautiful writing, its thought-provoking narrative and its wonderfully atmospheric sense of place and time. I can see that I'm going to be pondering on it for quite some time to come...’ * Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings *

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Book Synopsis A thrilling journey through China's dark criminal underworld, from a celebrated voice in Chinese literature When Hongyang is found dead after a night of debauched drinking, it looks as if his reign of terror has finally come to an end. Few in this insular community have much reason to mourn his passing: Hongyang is an infamous mob boss, a man with plenty of enemies. But now it seems that his years of crime have also earned him some very dangerous friends. As his funeral draws near, those who knew him come together to look back on a life characterised by corruption, deceit and a flair for violence. Their recollections will keep Hongyang's legacy alive, with terrifying consequences. From the master of Chinese noir fiction comes this explosive new novel about the power of one man, unravelled by a tangled web of secrets. Trade Review'A Yi describes [power] in prose that flies at the reader like sparks from a knife being sharpened. But there's also exquisite precision… Nicky Harman's translation is superb, not a sentence out of place… It's tempting to view the book as A Yi's unflinching take on a moral vacuum at the heart of contemporary China, but he is also lowering his bucket into a much deeper well of delicious literary misanthropy.' -- New Internationalist

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Book SynopsisTo go around the world...in such a short time and with the means of transport currently available, was not only impossible, it was madness.The latest edition of the classic novel from Jules Verne, featuring Phileas Fogg and his quest to circumnavigate the world in 80 days to win a bet. Following an argument at the Reform Club over the opening of a new railway section in India, Fogg agrees to the outlandish bet. Setting off at 8:45pm on Wednesday, 2nd October, Fogg must return no later than Saturday, 21 December. What follows is one of the most famous journeys in fictional history. Around the World in Eighty Daysgripped audiences on its publication and remains hugely popular, combining exploration, adventure and a thrilling race against time.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

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Book SynopsisSeven stories, seven whispers into the ears of life: A Yi’s unexpected twists of crime burst from the everyday, with glimpses of romance distorted by the weaknesses of human motive. A Yi employs his forensic skills to offer a series of portraits of modern life, both uniquely Chinese, and universal in their themes. His years as a police officer serve him well as he teases the truth from simple observation, now brought into the English language in a masterful translation by Alex Woodend. The stories include Two Lives, Attic, Spring, Bach, Predator. The first in the new Flame Tree Press series, Stories from China. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.Trade Review"His years as a police officer serve him well as he teases the truth from simple observation, now brought into the English language in a masterful translation by Alex Woodend."

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Book SynopsisA gripping international thriller, perfect for fans of Homeland. Trust. Betrayal. Conspiracy. Jacob Seger is a trainee diplomat who dreams of changing the world. But on his first posting, in Beirut, he meets a handsome stranger at a party and is swept up in a passionate, obsessive, affair. His relationship with Yassim eclipses everything – until one day Jacob recognises his own face in the newspaper. He is wanted on terrorism charges. Has Yassim set him up? Is he now a pawn in a murderous plot? Jacob is being pulled into a dangerous and complicated game. He needs to learn the rules, and escape Beirut – and he needs to do it fast. At once a moving love story and a gripping adventure, The Friend is an intelligent, urgent thriller that casts light on the dark threats facing the world today. WORLDWIDE REVIEWS FOR JOAKIM ZANDER: 'Fresh, raw and exciting' Sunday Times (UK). 'A thriller of rare ambition' Daily Mail (UK). 'Gripping and urgent' Irish Independent (UK). 'Timely and relevant' Literary Review (UK). 'Both forceful and subtle... Powerfully orchestrated tension set against a strong dose of social commentary' Independent (UK). 'An absorbing thriller in a complex world of spies, politics, terrorism and assassination... Excellent' The Times (UK). 'A multi-layered thriller full of style, drive and immediacy' Göteborgs-Posten (Sweden). 'Wonderfully written... A superb thriller' Metro (Croatia). 'Intrigue, action and adrenaline mixed to perfection' Librería Reconquista (Spain). 'A terrific page-turner rich with complex conflicts and a big, meaty, chillingly credible conspiracy' Chris Pavone (USA). 'A riveting thriller with a great plot. What more can you ask for?' Lokalavisen (Denmark). 'An explosive, thrilling dance fuelled by authenticity' Il Giornale (Italy). 'A multi-layered, action-packed thriller' Dorstener Zeitung (Germany).Trade ReviewA moving love story and a gripping adventure, The Friend is an intelligent thriller that untangles the complexities of international politics and reveals the dark threats facing the world today * The Bookseller *The continued theme of Russian stirring of disaffection in Europe is certainly very topical, and with non-stop action and memorable characters the book could appeal to a wide audience * Crime Review *

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Book SynopsisAll reigns must end, All storms must pass. The crisis in Peking reaches its endgame as the Communists encircle the city. The future looks uncertain for all sides. Inflation is rampant, food is scarce. The battered Nationalist forces find themselves in a never-ending fight for resources, with corruption claiming what little is left. With Cui Zongshi dead, anything can happen. The old capital's few remaining brave souls do what they can to stem the chaos. Liang Jinglun and Fang Buting at the Central Bank resort to the last vestiges of their power to prop up a crumbling economy, while Fang Meng'ao has been tasked with securing transportation of important cargo to Tianjin. As Meng'ao and his devoted pilots take to the skies once again, they fly over the future leaders of China on the march. Plans must be made as the fighting draws to a close. Where will everyone land? And at what cost?

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Book SynopsisIt's been twenty-five years since the Overflow flooded Southern Europe, drowning Rome, Vienna and Istanbul, and turning Paris into a major port. At the Dead Sea, the earth has opened up to reveal a strange violet salt to which the world has become addicted, and a colony has been established by the mysterious Consortium of Seventy-Five to control the supply. Run by murderers, fugitives and liars, the Colony is a haven to those fleeing Europe - especially the privileged "Purple Stars". But when the governor of the Colony dies suddenly and mysteriously, the six officials turn on each other, sparking a terrifying chain of events which threatens the very existence of the Colony. In Paris, Phileas Book, the greatest crossword compiler of his age and creator of the Epistleword, is recruited by the sinister Consortium. Presented with the epistolary confessions of the six, he is ordered to sift truth from lies to find out who killed the unpopular Governor Bera. But as Phileas starts to unravel the mystery, he begins to realise that these are no ordinary letters and that nothing less than the course of human history is at stake.What Lot's Wife Saw is an astonishing and beautifully written novel about the fear, sin and guilt that lurks in the dark corridors of the human conscience. It is a story on an epic scale about betrayal, sacrifice and unconditional love, and a darkly humorous parable recalling the Biblical tales of God's terrible rage and the fate that befell those who suffered it. But, above all, it is an enthralling vision of a nightmarish world which only the power of humanity can change.

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Book SynopsisAs a young man growing up under communism in South Yemen, Imran finds himself drawn to Hawiya, the daughter of an official in the Marxist party. He departs Aden to study in Paris, returning years later to Hawiya again; he finds that she is now a niqab-wearing Salafist, calling on people to join the conservative Islamist movement. The novel spans the 1960s to the early 21st century, from the independence of southern Yemen and the subsequent establishment of The People''s Democratic Republic of Yemen, to the Unification of Yemen in 1990 and the Arab Spring.

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Book SynopsisZainab, a name which aptly reflects the beauty of this tale''s protagonist is also the title of the first modern Egyptian novel written in native vernacular. Crafted in 1910 by a privileged member of society and a student at the time living in Paris, Mohamed Hassein Heikal later rose through the ranks of Egyptian politics and media. Heikal successfully humanises and contextualises Egypt''s societal issues without too reproachful a voice. As Heikal wrote in his room in Paris he was undoubtedly influenced by his nostalgia and depicts Egyptian scenes as only an Egyptian could.

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Book SynopsisHe whakamaoritanga i te pukapuka o Puripaha na Witi Ihimaera mo etahi whanau hoariri e rua ki Te Tairawhiti. Ko Puripaha te tapanga ka tukuna ki Te Pane Kaewa, a, ki Te Tairawhiti o Aotearoa e pakanga ana etahi kokoro tokorua kia whakawahia hai pane. Ko Tamihana te upoko o te whanau toa o Mahana, he whanau kuti hipi, he whanau hakinakina hoki. Ko Rupeni Poata tona ito. He rite tonu te tutakitaki a nga whanau nei i nga mahi hakinakina, i nga whakataetae a-ahurea me te whakataetae Piriho Koura e kitea ai te mapu kuti hipi toa katoa o Aotearoa. I waenganui pu, ko te taitama, ko Himiona, ko te mokopuna a te kokoro raua tahi ko tona kuia, ko Ramona, e pakanga ana i ona ake kare a-roto, i ona ake whakapono ano hoki i te riri e tutu ana i nga wahi katoa. Ko te toa o te 1995 Montana New Zealand Book Award, kua whakatinanatia hirahiratia ki te kiriata o Mahana, a, e aroha nuitia ana e nga whakareanga kaipanui maha. Ma tenei whakamaoritanga e tutaki ai tetahi minenga hou ki a Puripaha, ki tetahi o nga tino pukapuka o roto i tona momo. ________ A te reo Maori translation of Witi Ihimaera's award-winning novel about two rival Maori families on the East Coast, Bulibasha. Bulibasha is the title given to the King of the Gypsies, and on the East Coast of New Zealand two patriarchs fight to be proclaimed the king. Tamihana is the leader of the great Mahana family of shearers and sportsmen and women. Rupeni Poata is his arch enemy. The two families clash constantly, in sport, in cultural contests and, finally, in the Golden Fleece competition to find the greatest shearing gang in New Zealand. Caught in the middle of this struggle is the teenager Simeon, grandson of the patriarch and of his grandmother Ramona, struggling with his own feelings and loyalties as the battles rage on many levels. Winner of the 1995 Montana New Zealand Book Award, brilliantly realised in the film Mahana and loved by generations of readers, this powerful te reo Maori translation of a New Zealand classic will introduce Bulibasha to a whole new audience.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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