Fiction in translation

Book SynopsisA chance encounter in New York brings two strangers together: Liat is an idealistic translation student, Hilmi a talented young painter. Together they explore the city, share fantasies, jokes and homemade meals, and fall in love. There is only one problem: Liat is from Israel, Hilmi from Palestine. Keeping their deepening relationship secret, the two lovers build an intimate universe for two in this city far from home. But outside reality can only be kept at bay for so long. After a tempestuous visit from Hilmi's brother, cracks begin to form in the relationship, and their points of difference - Liat's military service, Hilmi's hopes for Palestine's future - threaten to overwhelm their shared present. When they return separately to their divided countries, Liat and Hilmi must decide whether to keep going, or let go. A prizewinning bestseller, but banned in Israeli schools for its frank and tender depiction of a taboo relationship, this is the deeply affecting story of two people trying to bridge one of the most deeply riven borders in the world.Trade ReviewA touching, raw and gorgeous love story with an ending which snatched the air from my lungs. * Stylist *A fine, subtle and disturbing study of the ways in which public events encroach upon the private lives of those who attempt to live and love in peace with each other, and, impossibly, with a riven and irreconcilable world. -- John BanvilleEnthralls and delights ... Rabinyan beautifully loops the story from season to season, depicting Liat and Hilmi's lives and love vividly and memorably. * Publishers Weekly *I stand with Dorit Rabinyan. Love, not hate, will save us. Hatred sows hatred, but love can break down barriers. -- Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureEven the (asymmetrical) tragedy of the two peoples does not overwhelm this precise and elegant love story, drawn with the finest of lines ... Astonishing -- Amos OzRabinyan is a generous writer who puts her characters first... Rabinyan's writing reflects the honesty and modesty of a true artisan. She is meticulous, to be sure, but at the same time she doesn't appear to be straining, and this is what sets someone like her apart from those who merely practice the craft of writing. -- Dorit Shilo * Ha’aretz *

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Book SynopsisA literary sensation from its first publication, The Master and Margarita is considered a masterpiece of twentieth-century Russian literature. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O’Connor, and features an introduction by Orlando Figes.In Mikhail Bulgakov's imaginative extravaganza, Satan, disguised as a magician, descends upon Moscow in the 1930s with his riotous band, which includes a talking cat and an expert assassin. This visit has several aims, one of which concerns the fate of the Master, an author who has written a novel about Pontius Pilate and is now in a mental hospital. By turns satiric, fantastic and ironically philosophical, The Master and Margarita constantly surprises and entertains as the action switches back and forth between twentieth-century Moscow and first-century Jerusalem.Trade ReviewFunny and frightening * London Review of Books *Incandescent . . . One of those novels that, even in translation, make you feel that not one word could have been written differently . . . It has too many achievements to list, but the way it keeps faith in love and art even in moments of unspeakable humiliation and cruelty must be the greatest * New York Times *It had everything: Satan and a wise-cracking cat, Jesus as a wise simpleton, doomed love, hints of sex, blasphemy -- Jonathan Grimwood * Independent *I read it as a book about how to go on living when your spirit is broken -- Viv Groskop * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWhen Pauline Quenu is taken to the seaside to live with her relatives, her love of life contrasts with the pessimism which infects the family. This is the twelfth novel in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series, remarkable for it's depictions of intense emotions and physical and mental suffering.Trade ReviewThis excellent edition offers a finely judged and authoritative translation of one of Zola's more peculiar novels. * Richard Niland, Translation and Literature *

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Book SynopsisIt's world history. But not as we know it.c.1000AD: Erik the Red's daughter heads south from Greenland1492: Columbus does not discover America1531: the Incas invade EuropeFreydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even when captured, his faith in his mission is unshaken. Thirty years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in a Europe ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power - Machiavelli's The Prince. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and, when the Aztecs arrive on the scene, for a great war that will change history forever.'Binet's best book yet: the work of a major writer just hitting his stride. A delightful counterfactual novel' ***** - Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewGlorious, funny and profound * Daily Telegraph *A wild romp of a book that turns history on its head * Guardian *A bold and thrilling experiment in counter-factual history from a masterful storyteller * Financial Times *Characteristically ambitious, brilliant...Combining all the pleasure of a period romp with vital questions about our shared origin stories...a triumph * i *A propulsive 'counter-factual' romp...both dizzying and fun -- Claire Allfree * Metro, *Summer Reads of 2021* *

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Book Synopsis1945: a lost German bomber crashes on the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland.Inexplicably, in the midst of World War Two, there are both German and American officers on board.Trade ReviewRather than using excessive language and unnecessary description, Indriðason chooses a minimal style, which drip-feeds the details and keeps the reader guessing... Operation Napoleon is an intriguing novel, bleak and harsh in its description of cold, military narratives -- Sophie Gordon * Aesthetica *There are hints of some of Indridason's trademark motifs-emotionally distant parents, brotherhood, the harsh Icelandic wilderness-but it's clear that he is using Operation Napoleon to address what seems to be a deeply controversial factor in Icelandic life: the US military presence at Keflavik * Euro Crime *An international literary phenomenon - and it's easy to see why. His novels are gripping, authentic, haunting and lyrical -- Harlan Coben

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Book Synopsis''Only the earth is immortal...the earth we love enough to commit murder for her.''Zola''s novel of peasant life, the fifteenth in the Rougon-Macquart series, is generally regarded as one of his finest achievements, comparable to Germinal and L''Assommoir. Set in a village in the Beauce, in northern France, it depicts the harshness of the peasants'' world and their visceral attachment to the land. Jean Macquart, a veteran of the battle of Solferino and now an itinerant farm labourer, is drawn into the affairs of the Fouan family when he starts courting young Françoise. He becomes involved in a bitter dispute over the property of Papa Fouan when the old man divides his land between his three children. Resentment turns to greed and violence in a Darwinian battle for supremacy.Zola''s unflinching depiction of the savagery of peasant life shocked his readers, and led to attacks on Naturalism''s literary agenda. This new translation captures the novel''s blend of brutality and lyricism in its evocation of the inexorable cycle of the natural world.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewZola's novel is rich in insights like this. Its an outstanding example of Zola's storytelling in the service of a bigger picture, revealing the complexity of small village life without romanticising it or populating it with unrealistic quirky characters. Highly recommended! * Reading Zola Blog *

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Book Synopsis''A groundbreaking, earthquaking vision, a story and a manifesto, and a literary performance so energetic it almost demands to be read aloud'' Guardian ''To love, to sacrifice oneself, and to submit! Was this what all women were destined for?''When her carefree, aspirational childhood in a seaside town is brought brutally to an end, the nameless narrator of Sibilla Aleramo''s blazing autobiographical novel discovers the shocking reality of life for a woman in Italy at the dawn of the twentieth century. As she begins to recognize the similarities between her own predicament and the plight of her mother and the women around her, she becomes convinced that she must escape her fate. Unashamed and remarkably ahead of its time, A Woman is a landmark in European feminist writing.''Aleramo was ahead of her time'' Times Literary SupplementTrade ReviewA groundbreaking, earthquaking vision, a story and a manifesto, and a literary performance so energetic it almost demands to be read aloud . . . Readers who like to underline striking passages will need to keep their pencils sharp -- John Self * Guardian *What makes A Woman stand out is the rawness of its story ... and the fact that Aleramo was ahead of her time -- Caroline Moorehead * TLS *Searing . . . astonishingly sharp . . . such a modern book it's hard to believe it was written more than 100 years ago -- Laura Waddell * Scotsman *She blurred the boundaries of autobiography and the novel, singular self and narrative other -- Selby Wynn SchwartzThe first Italian feminist novel ... her voice brings us back to the present, with the dose of courage needed to freely choose one's destiny * La Repubblica *Powerful -- Luigi Pirandello

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Book Synopsis“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The GuardianA sensational tale of deceit and back-stabbing in an isolated community in which only Inspector Maigret can intervene“She came forward, the outlines of her figure blurred in the half-light....‘I gather you wish to talk to me, Inspector...but first of all please sit down...’ Her accent was more pronounced than Carl’s. Her voice sang, dropping on the last syllable of the longer words.”Maigret has been interrogating Carl Andersen for seventeen hours without a confession. He’s either innocent or a very good liar. So why was the body of a diamond merchant found at his isolated mansion? Why is his sister always shut away in her room? And why does everyone at Three Widows CrossrTrade ReviewCompelling, remorseless, brilliant. -- John GrayOne of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories. * Guardian *A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisSERGEI LUKYANENKO is the author of over 25 books. The Night Watch' series has sold over two million hardbacks. The Night Watch and The Day Watch were both made into internationally successful films. Sergei Lukyanenko lives in Moscow.Trade ReviewPraise for The Night WatchJK Rowling, Russian style.... [a] cracking read, owing more to Rowling or Philip Pullman than it does to the horror genre... Surprisingly readable and addictive...it relies on suspense and psychological drama and a good dose of humour - rather than blood and guts. * Daily Telegraph *Magical... Modern, new and distinctly creepy... the magic is rooted in the realities of modern Russia. Inventive, sardonic, and imbued with a surprising the sense that, for this author and his audience, much of this stuff is new-minted. * Independent *So good that the film feels like a trailer for it * Time Out *[a] dazzling fantasy * Telegraph *

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

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Book SynopsisIn the middle of Kigali is a swimming pool at the Hôtel des Mille-Collines. It is a magnet for a privileged group of residents, a place where middle-class Rwandans drink with melancholy expatriates and prostitutes. But beyond the walls of the hotel exists a chaotic society in which millions live in poverty, surrounded by violence and disease. In this troubled world, Valcourt, a Canadian journalist, falls for Gentille, a beautiful Hutu waitress.A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali is a poignant love story, a stirring hymn to humanity and a modern classic of spellbinding power, confronting the nightmare that ravaged Rwanda in the 1990s.Trade ReviewExceptional . . . you must read it * * Sunday Times * *A Heart of Darkness for today -- YANN MARTELIntense and gut-wrenching, poetic and disquieting * * Observer * *Illuminating and horrifying, compassionate and scathing * * Times Literary Supplement * *Astounding . . . It's no surprise that this book has won so many prizes * * Daily Mail * *Courtemanche's time in Rwanda, where he worked as a journalist, may have produced the first great novel of the catastrophe that befell that country * * Guardian * *Haunting, graceful . . . with a journalist's unblinking eye and an appreciation of bitter irony * * New York Times * *An intense affair, urgent and nerve-wrackingly ominous, with a surprisingly boisterous humour * * Financial Times * *Courtemanche's work has an enormous quality . . . Read this book * * Spectator * *Very powerful . . . I urge you to read it * * Literary Review * *

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times top crime read of the year. A journalist on the track of an old case attempts suicide. An ordinary couple return from a house swap in the states to find their home in disarray and their guests seemingly missing. Four strangers struggle to find shelter on a windswept spike of rock in the middle of a raging sea. They have one thing in common: they all lied.And someone is determined to punish them...WHY DID YOU LIE is a terrifying tale of long-delayed retribution from Iceland''s Queen of Suspense.Trade ReviewA tour de force... Sigurdardottir handles the different plot strands brilliantly, bringing them together in an unforgettable climax. * The Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month *Iceland's outstanding crime novelist is spoiling us in her latest offering, with three juicy storylines for the price of one... I doubt many readers will guess what in the blue blazes can possibly connect these three mysteries before all is revealed, but I'm sure all will revel in the customary Sigurdardottir mixture of creepy atmospherics and sardonic humour. She is a treasure. * Daily Express *Other crime writers might as well give up now. In her new novel, Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottirhas found the single most terrifying place on earth to be stuck in the middle of a murder mystery...taut and compelling * Crime Scene Magazine *Spine-chilling... keeps us on the edge of our seats * Independent *A masterpiece of plotting and suspense * I Paper *Three separate stories are gradually and skilfully merged together and bring this readable, enjoyable thriller to a melodramatic finish * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2018 Sapir Prize. You need to bribe someone into giving you weed? Don't worry, just step into this court room and call the defendant a murderer. You're a rich, lonely man and you want the joy of company? Don't worry, just buy up people's birthdays, and you'll have friends calling every day. You need to get girls into bed? Don't worry, your writer friend will write you a very persuasive story. You're standing on the edge of a very high building, with all of your wretched sorrows? Don't worry, fly already! In these 22 short stories, wild capers reveal painful emotional truths, and the bizarre is just another name for the familiar. Wickedly funny and thrillingly smart, Fly Already is a collage of absurdity, despair and love, written by veteran commentator on the circus farce that is life.Trade ReviewI am in awe of Keret's ability to simultaneously make me laugh while crying, explore the joy and horror of every day life with precision, brevity and great psychological depth. His recognition of and engagement with the absurd is profound and he never loses his humanity, his heart long the way -- AM HomesBrilliantly edgy, unsettling, Kafkaesque and often very funny -- Joyce Carol OatesA reminder that writing can be accessible, creative, intelligent, transgressive, challenging, funny - and popular - all at the same -- Graeme SimsionReading Fly Already is like settling down for a ride in a luxurious car with a world-class driver who has an extremely crazy worldview that doesn't interfere with his amazing driving. Is there any better way to see the world? -- Elif Batuman

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Book SynopsisOld Kiln follows the daily life of a tight-knit village over one year of the Cultural Revolution as it is increasingly punctuated by violence. When the two families that dominate the village turn into warring revolutionary factions, for Inkcap, being an outcast might just save him - but for everyone else, can the broken pieces be put together again?

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Book SynopsisA SEARING HOT SUMMER READ FOR FANS OF SALTBURN AND THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY.'Addictive, evocative and effortlessly stylish' Culturefly 'Very much for fans of The Secret History . . . glamorous' Pandora Sykes 'A cool smart choice for the beach this summer' Daily MailWhen Hanna moves to Spain for an internship at the prestigious Prado gallery, she finds herself spending her days buried in the museum's stifling archives, and her nights alone in a tiny rented flat.Then one day she sees them; Tom, Samuel, and Leah. Glamorous and elegant, they are also foreigners in the city. But unlike her they are fabulously wealthy, their lives an endless whirl of creativity and hedonism. And when Hanna discovers an uncatalogued 17th century etching in the archive, she makes a decision which changes everything . . . Taking us from the sultry streets of Madrid to the gleaming world of Mediterranean luxury villas and exclusive art world parties, The Group is a timeless story of hidden identity and obsession. (Translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles).

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Book SynopsisTHE ACCLAIMED FULLY REVISED EDITION OF THE SCOTT MONCRIEFF AND KILMARTIN TRANSLATIONIn the two novels - The Captive and The Fugitive - contained in this volume, Proust''s narrator is living in his mother''s apartment in Paris with his lover, Albertine. However, this is far from an idyllic state of affairs. His obsessive love for her means that their relationship is shadowed by jealousy and headed for tragedy.Trade ReviewOh if I could write like that! -- Virginia WoolfOne of the cornerstones of the Western literary canon * The Times *Proust sinks deepest in readers because the book is so exhaustively analytical, so ceaselessly truthful... The experience of reading [the book] becomes, in itself, an unforgettable thing * Independent *The way he replicates the workings of the mind changed the art of novel-writing forever...his style is extraordinary, enveloping, captivating * Guardian *There are many who swear the experience has permanently enriched their lives * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisA collection of some of Tolstoy''s most powerful powerful storiesThe violent spiritual crisis in Tolstoy''s life that inspired his last period of creativity produced the stories in this compelling and startling collection. They portray the multifaceted nature of desire, from idealistic romance to sexual jealousy, from desperate lust to relentless longing. The K reutzer Sonata caused a public sensation with its indictment of so-called Christian marriage, a theme echoed in Family Happiness. In The Devil, a young man finds it impossible to resist a beautiful peasant woman with whom he had an affair before his marriage. And Father Sergius shows a man going to increasingly desperate ends in order to avoid the temptations of the flesh.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and

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Book SynopsisSince the original prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest,most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation.Each volume is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast, University of Cambridge.

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Book SynopsisSince the original, prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest, most enjoyable reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation.Each book is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast.

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Book SynopsisSince the original, prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest, most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation. Each book is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast, University of Cambridge.

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Book SynopsisAlbinus - rich, married middle-aged and respectable - is an art critic and aspiring filmmaker who lusts after the coquettish young cinema usherette Margot. Gradually he seduces her and convinces himself he is irresistible to her, but Margot has other plans. She wants to be a film star, and when Albinus introduces her to the American movie producer Axel Rex, she sees her chance - and plotting, duplicity and tragedy ensue.

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Book Synopsis''Nabokov can move you to laughter in the way that masters can - to laughter that is near to tears'' GuardianLev Ganin is a young officer sharing a boarding house in Berlin with a host of Russian émigrés. Alone in his room, he dreams of his first love, Mary. Awash with memories of youth and idyllic scenes of pre-Revolution Russia, Ganin becomes convinced that Mary is in fact the wife of a fellow-boarder, due to arrive at this very house soon. He longs for her arrival, when he can whisk her away and leave everything behind ...

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewOne of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories * Guardian *A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent *The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales * Observer *

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Book Synopsis''His artistry is supreme'' John BanvilleThey suddenly found themselves in an impersonal world, where everyday words no longer seemed to mean anything, where the most mundane details were translated into unintelligible formulae. The judges'' black gowns, the ermine, the prosecutor''s red robe further added to the impression of a ceremony set in stone where the individual counted for nothing Maigret receives an anonymous phone call concerning the brutal murder of a woman and young child. The tip off concerns the woman''s nephew, a mild-mannered man by the name of Gaston Meurant. Maigret remains unconvinced of the man''s guilt and at his trial exposes some shocking truths about Meurant''s private life that may prove his innocence.''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories'' GuardianTrade ReviewPraise for Georges Simenon:“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —The Independent (London) “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London) “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.”lle —Peter Ackroyd “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ― Times (London)"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ― Margaret Atwood"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ― Financial Times"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn."-- Stig Abell ― The Sunday Times (London)

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Book SynopsisA Brazilian Lord of the Flies, about a group of boys who live by their wits and daring in the slums of BahiaA Penguin ClassicsThey call themselves “Captains of the Sands,” a gang of orphans and runaways who live by their wits and daring in the torrid slums and sleazy back alleys of Bahia. Led by fifteen-year-old “Bullet,” the band—including a crafty liar named “Legless,” the intellectual “Professor,” and the sexually precocious “Cat”—pulls off heists and escapades against the right and privileged of Brazil. But when a public outcry demands the capture of the “little criminals,” the fate of these children becomes a poignant, intensely moving drama of love and freedom in a shackled land.Captains of the Sands captures the rich culture, vivid emotions, and wild landscape of Bahia with penetrating authenticity and brilliantly displays the genius of Brazil’s Trade Review“Amado was writing to save his country’s soul. . . . The scenes where the captains of the sands manage to fool the rich of the city and get away with it would have made Henry Fielding or Charles Dickens proud.” —Colm Tóibín, from the Introduction“Indispensable . . . if you want to feel the intensity of life on the streets of Salvador.” —Itamar Vieira Junior, The New York Times "Amado is Brazil's most illustrious and venerable novelist."—The New York Times “Brazil’s leading man of letters . . . Amado is adored around the world!” —Newsweek

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Book SynopsisJustine's attachment to virtue attracts nothing but misfortune, and she is subjected to an unending catalogue of sexual abuse. Sade's best-known novel, it overturns all religious, moral, and political norms, and still has the power to shock. This new translation of the 1791version is the first for over 40 years, and the first critical edition.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewOne of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories * Guardian *A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent *The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales * Observer *

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Book Synopsis''The father of contemporary European detective fiction'' Ann Cleeves''Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie where he felt clumsy and awkward ... Built like a labourer, Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted, he felt the need to sleep with most of the women.''When a wealthy wine merchant is shot in a Paris street, Maigret must investigate a long list of the ruthless businessman''s enemies before he can get to the sad truth of the affair.''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century'' GuardianTrade ReviewOne of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories * Guardian *A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent *The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales * Observer *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor * Times *Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts. * Margaret Atwood *One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere. * Financial Times *Simenon's supreme virtue as a novelist, to burrow beneath the surface of his characters' behaviour; to empathise . . . it is this unfailing humanity that makes the Maigret books truly worth reading * Guardian *Terrific...the 75 Inspector Maigret books are almost uniformly wonderful. They are not crime or even detective fiction as ordinarily understood...they are about human foibles, moral failings and compromises, set in an evocatively atmospheric Paris * Sunday Times *A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent *The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales * Observer *

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Book SynopsisA deliciously funny and moving comedy-of-manners about a Chinese father and son''s experiences at the height of London''s Jazz Age''He was in London - why be bothered looking at it? Wasn''t it bad enough just being there?''Newly arrived from China, Mr Ma and his son Ma Wei run an antiques shop nestled by St Paul''s Cathedral, where they try to make a living amid the smog and bustle of 1920s London. As they struggle with money, misunderstandings and the ways of the English - from the overbearing patronage of missionary Reverend Ely to their well-meaning landlady Mrs Weddeburn and her carefree daughter - can understanding, even love, blossom? Both a moving story of the Chinese immigrant experience and a bitingly funny satire on the English, Mr Ma and Son delicately portrays the dreams and disappointments of those seeking a new life in a distant land.Translated by William Dolby, with an introduction by Julia Lovell

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Book SynopsisThe second novel in the Inspector Bordelli series set in 1960s Florence - the detective must race to unmask a particularly brutal killer.Trade Review'A real find for anyone who likes their crime novels atmospheric, discursive, humorous and thought-provoking.' * Guardian *'[Italian] writers are justifiably growing in popularity here: Marco Vichi deserves to be among them . . . [Bordelli] is stubborn, womanless, cynical and impatient, but strangely appealing.' * Marcel Berlins, The Times *With a love of food and drink, a fine sense of justice and a desire to help the underdog Bordelli is a likeable hero. This second book in the series is a delight * www.shotsmag.co.uk *Filled with interesting character sketches and the dirt of Italian street life DEATH AND THE OLIVE GROVE is a haunting and troubling crime story. * Barry Forshaw, www.crimetime.co.uk *'Vichi's stellar first in a new mystery series introduces endearingly melancholic Inspector Bordelli . . . [and] delivers a plausible solution worthy of a golden age crime novel. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this flawed hero.' * Publishers Weekly, starred review on DEATH IN AUGUST *'When I first reviewed DEATH IN AUGUST by Marco Vichi back in June 2011 I knew before I'd finished reading the book that Hodder had a hit on their hands . . . [they] have once again delivered an outstanding package combining an envious narrative, a colourful and multi-faceted detective and a cornucopia of Italian food to die for . . . Magical and moreish' * www.milorambles.com on DEATH AND THE OLIVE GROVE *[The Inspector Bordelli books] feature a fascinating cop and disillusioned anti-hero who rails against both injustice and the corrupt system but faces classic murder cases with a familiar Christie-like ring * Maxim Jakubowski *'Over the course of his police procedurals, Vichi shows us ever more secret and dark sides to an otherwise sunny and open city. But his happiest creation, in my opinion, remains the character of Inspector Bordelli, a disillusioned anti-hero who is difficult to forget.' * Andrea Camilleri *

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Book SynopsisA BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICKOne relentlessly hot summer, six children explore the scorched wheat fields that enclose their tiny Italian village. When the gang find a dilapidated farmhouse, nine-year-old Michele Amitrano makes a discovery so momentous that he dare not tell a soul. It is a secret that will force Michele to question everything and everyone around him, and will bring his innocent world toppling down. An unputdownable thriller, I'm Not Scared has become a contemporary classic in Italian literature, read and celebrated the world over.Trade ReviewAn exquisite parable * * Daily Telegraph * *A deft masterpiece with never a false note * * Guardian * *Ammaniti's prose is faultless from the first * * Independent on Sunday * *The new Italian word for talent is Ammaniti * * The Times * *Beneath this simplicity, Ammaniti weaves in the fairytale metaphors we know so well, giving the novel a haunting profundity * * Sunday Herald * *

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Book SynopsisAn international sensation, Small Country is a beautiful but harrowing tale of coming-of-age in the face of civil war.'A luminous debut novel…Faye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war' GuardianBurundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends sneaking cigarettes and stealing mangoes, swimming in the lake and riding bikes in the streets they have turned into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war.‘Unforgettable… Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking’ Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the DreamersTrade Reviewan excellent novel, a model of restraint and quiet literary sophistication * Sunday Times *[A] luminous debut novel… This is a book that demanded to be written... With a light touch, Faye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war -- Nadifa Mohamed * Guardian *An evocative portrait of what it means to lose one’s freedom and innocence. Gaël Faye’s literary powers lie in his unbridled honesty and his effortless prose. He is a writer of great promise and grace -- Chigozie Obioma, author of The FishermenUnforgettable… Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking; no country that can give the world a writer like him should ever be called small -- Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamersas beautiful as it is painful... It's easy to see why it set the French literary scene alight. This is one you won't be abandoning in the hotel library when you leave. -- Sam Baker * The Pool *

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Book SynopsisThis deeply personal work, follows the changing fortunes of the Mau-Tempo family – poor, landless peasants not unlike the author’s own grandparents. Saramago charts the lives of the family in Alentjo, southern Portugal, as national and international events rumble on in the background – the coming of the republic in Portugal, the First and Second World Wars, and an attempt on the dictator Salazar's life. Yet, nothing seriously impinges on the farm labourers' lives until the first stirrings of communism.

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Book SynopsisKarl Ove Knausgaard explores the day to day realities of fatherhood in the ultimate literary gift for dads. How to be a good father? Children’s birthday parties, unsuccessful family holidays, humiliating antenatal music classes: the trials of parenthood are all found in Knausgaard’s compelling and honest account of family life. Contrasting moments of enormous love and tenderness towards his children with the boring struggles of domesticity, this is one father’s personal experience, and somehow, every father’s too.Selected from the book A Man in Love by Karl Ove KnausgaardVINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis series:Desire by Haruki MurakamiBabies by Anne EnrightEating by Nigella LawsonLanguage by Xiaolu GuoTrade ReviewA stunningly eloquent set of reflections on masculinity, domesticity and the artist's itch to escape * Independent *Imagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *

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Book Synopsis'What a great novel, its language and storytelling so light but also raw and lyrical. A tremendous writer. Read this book' ADRIAAN VAN DIS. Alan Noland discovers his father's memoirs and learns the truth about the violent man he despised. In this unsparing family history, Alan distils his father's life in the Dutch East Indies into one furious utterance. He reads about his work as an interpreter during the war with Japan, his life as an assassin, and his decision to murder Indonesians in the service of the Dutch without any conscience. How he fled to the Netherlands to escape being executed as a traitor and met Alan's mother soon after. As he reads his father's story Alan begins to understand how war transformed his father into the monster he knew. Birney exposes a crucial chapter in Dutch and European history that was deliberately concealed behind the ideological facade of postwar optimism. Readers of this superb novel will find that it reverberates long afterwards in their memory. Trade Review'A masterly novel about the violence of colonialism, the war of decolonisation, the repatriation of the collaborators and the consequences all of this has had on the families of those involved' De Groener Amsterdammer.'Birney mercilessly exposes a crucial part of Dutch history. This masterful novel will echo in the minds of its readers' De Volkskrant.'What a great novel, its language and storytelling so light but also raw and lyrical. A tremendous writer. Read this book' Adriaan van Dis, author of My Father's War and Betrayal.'A work of unbridled, incensed storytelling: an assault on the lazy assumptions of parochial, colonial history and a personal quest for redemption' South China Morning Post.

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Book SynopsisFrom the award-winning author of Weasels in the Attic, a modern fable about the world of work Beyond the town, there is the factory. Beyond the factory, there is nothing. Within the sprawling industrial complex, three new employees are each assigned a department. There, each must focuses on a specific task: one shreds paper, one proofreads documents, and another studies the moss growing all over the expansive grounds. As they grow accustomed to the routine and co-workers, their lives become governed by their work--days take on a strange logic and momentum, and little by little, the margins of reality seem to be dissolving: Where does the factory end and the rest of the world begin? What's going on with the strange animals here? And after a while--it could be weeks or years--the three workers struggle to answer the most basic question: What am I doing here? With hints of Kafka and Beckett and unexpected moments of creeping humour, The Factory is a vivid, and sometimes surreal, portrait of the absurdity and meaninglessness of the modern workplace.Trade ReviewStrangely chilling * New York Times *A stirring portrait of modern work-life culture * TIME Magazine *[A] stellar, mind-bending debut * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisWhen Hubert Larnaudie invites the fellow residents of his Parisian apartment building to drink a bottle of 1954 Beaujolais, he has no idea of its special properties. The next morning, Hubert finds himself waking up in 1950s Paris, as do antique restorer Magalie, mixologist Julien, and Bob, an American on his first trip to Europe. After their initial shock, the city of Edith Piaf and An American in Paris begins to work its charm on all four. But ultimately, they need to get back to the present. And time is of the essence...

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Book SynopsisIn his compelling prequel to The Successor, Kadare draws us into a land deprived of choice, a country under a reign of terror. The spellbinding Agamemnon's Daughter was written in Albania in the 1980s and smuggled into France a few pages at a time. It reveals a world where fear is an instrument of power, but the individual survives despite the odds.From the winner of the first Man Booker International Prize comes a searing story of love denied, then shattered under the chilling wheels of the state. Through the impeccably crafted, incisive tale of a thwarted lover's odyssey through a single day, we are given a true sense of how hard it can be to remain human in a world ruled by fear and suspicion.Trade ReviewKadare brilliantly recreates the atmosphere of shadowy fear, rumours and recrimination in Albania . . . a mesmerically readable parable about the abuse of state power * * Observer * *Suffused with the power of thought and feeling . . . Above all, Kadare creates a haunting sense of the absurd * * Sunday Times * *Dream and reality melt together, as in Kafka, making it difficult to identify where the nightmares really begin * * Times * *

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Book SynopsisDistrict Attorney Varga is shot dead while picking a sprig of jasmine. Then Judge Sanza is killed. Then Judge Azar. Is this string of murders an individual vendetta or a more sinister plot? The charming Inspector Rogas is determined to find out. The pursuit of truth and justice are Rogas's vocation, but his work is frustrated by a system which defies his understanding. He needs a key, a way in, a map, and he is sure that his chief suspect Cres can provide it... The book, written in 1971, uncannily prefigures the Red Brigade's subsequent killing of magistrates and the Catholic-Communist pact of the late 1970s in Italy. Developed under Sciascia's hand in the spirit of a parody, Equal Danger has come to be regarded as a wide-ranging political thriller, one of the masterpieces of the genre.

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Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy’s most personal novel, Anna Karenina scrutinizes fundamental ethical and theological questions through the tragic story of its eponymous heroine. Anna is desperately pursuing a good, “moral” life, standing for honesty and sincerity. Passion drives her to adultery, and this flies in the face of the corrupt Russian bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the aristocrat Konstantin Levin is struggling to reconcile reason with passion, espousing a Christian anarchism that Tolstoy himself believed in. Acclaimed by critics and readers alike, Anna Karenina presents a poignant blend of realism and lyricism that makes it one of the most perfect, enduring novels of all time.Trade ReviewThe truth is we are not to take Anna Karenina as a work of art: we are to take it as a piece of life. -- Matthew ArnoldAnna Karenina is a perfect work of art. This novel contains a humane message that has not yet been heeded in Europe and that is much needed by the people of the western world. -- Fyodor DostoevskyWhat I confidently named the greatest social novel of world literature is in fact a novel against society. -- Thomas MannTolstoy’s greatness lies in not turning the story into sentimental tragedy… His world is huge and vast, filled with complex family lives and great social events. His characters are well-rounded presences. They have complete passions: a desire for love, but also an inner moral depth. -- Malcolm BradburyIt’s so fantastic that it can be read over and over again… I don’t know any other writer who is so adept at peopling their pages. -- Maggie O’FarrellTolstoy is the greatest Russian writer of prose fiction. -- Vladimir NabokovThe new translation into accurate and readable English by Kyril Zinovieff and Jenny Hughes surpasses even the most recent version by Richard Pevear and Melissa Volokhonsky...[it] makes the word order sound as natural in English as was the original in Tolstoy's Russian. * The Times Literary Supplement *Kyril Zinovieff has produced a fine, intelligent, sensitive translation that brings the Russian text alive in a way that immediately enriches a reader's awareness of its intentions and nuances. * East West Review *

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Book SynopsisOn his travels through the wild mountainous terrain of the Caucasus, the narrator of A Hero of Our Time chances upon the veteran soldier and storyteller Maxim Maximych, who relates to him the dubious exploits of his former comrade Pechorin. Engaging in various acts of duelling, contraband, abduction and seduction, Pechorin, an archetypal Byronic anti-hero, combines cynicism and arrogance with melancholy and sensitivity. Causing an uproar in Russia when it was first published in 1840, Lermontov’s brilliant, seminal study of contemporary society and the nihilistic aspect of Romanticism – accompanied here by the unfinished novel Princess Ligovskaya – remains compelling to this day.

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Book SynopsisObsessed by her encounters with the mysterious green women, and haunted by the Garonne River, a nameless narrator seeks them out in La Roele, Paris, Marseille, and Ouagadougou. Each encounter reveals different aspects of the women; real or imagined, dead or alive, seductive or suicidal, driving the narrator deeper into her obsession, in this unsettling exploration of identity, memory and paranoia. Self Portrait in Green is the multi-prize winning, Marie NDiaye's brilliant subversion of the memoir. Written in diary entries, with lyrical prose and dreamlike imagery, we start with and return to the river, which mirrors the narrative by posing more questions than it answers.

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