Fiction in translation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisA great masterpiece never before available in English, Kornél Esti is the wild final book by a Hungarian genius.Trade Review"Each of these stories displays a mastery of texture, nuance, and pacing that is absolutely first rate." -- Christopher Byrd - The Daily Beast"Kosztolányi was a ringleader in the 20th-century flowering of Hungarian literature, a poet who reformed the language, and a fiction writer of world class." -- The Guardian"One of the most important and glittering writers of a Hungarian golden age, Kosztolányi is multicolored and ineffable, like a rainbow. At the end of his life, the virtuoso Kornél Esti appears." -- Peter Esterházy"If anyone ever truly wanted to write the history of the Hungarian people, the author would certainly take that Dantean first sentence of Kosztolányi’s Kornél Esti as the work’s epigraph: in a word, the most wondrous first sentence ever written in the Hungarian language." -- László Krasznahorkai"A tender comedy tinged with the absurdity of life, the thrill of sociability, and the imminence of death, which I guess is exactly the kind of book I like." -- Chad Harbach

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Book Synopsis** NOW SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER**Gripping TatlerThe first in a thrilling new crime series set in Germany - the Black Forest Investigations Louise Boni, maverick chief inspector with the Black Forest crime squad, is struggling with her demons. Divorced at forty-two, she is haunted by the shadows of the past. Dreading yet another a dreary winter weekend alone, she receives a call from the departmental chief which signals the strangest assignment of her career - to trail a Japanese monk wandering through the snowy wasteland to the east of Freiburg, dressed only in sandals and a cowl. She sets off reluctantly, and by the time she catches up with him, she discovers that he is injured, and fearfully fleeing some unknown evil. When her own team comes under fire, the investigation takes on a terrifying dimension, uncovering a hideous ring of child traffickers. The repercussions of their crimes will change the coTrade ReviewAn exceptional crime novel. -- Kolja Mensing * TAZ *It's been a long time since any crime author started out so strongly, so visually. -- Tobias Gohlis * Die Zeit *Oliver Bottini, one of the few German authors who play in crime-writing's premier league, really knows how to tell a good story. * Frankfurter Rundschau *Tension without brutality, local colour without small-minded sentimentality, good intelligent reading with depth. -- Christine Hage * Handelsblatt *A piercing examination of our reality . . . Bottini uses the full potential of the genre to look deep into humanity's abyss and sees there the concealed traumas of German society -- Tomasz Kurianowicz * Die Zeit *Gripping. * Tatler. *The first of his award-winning Black Forest novels to appear in English. It has an arresting opening image: a Buddhist monk with a head injury strides across the snowy landscape of the border country between Germany and France . . . a surprising and genuinely shocking case. -- Joan Smith * The Sunday Times *A nicely done shock thriller * Weekend Sport *An atmospheric, original story that will keep you hooked tothe final heart-rending revelations * Crime Review *Bottini has established himself as a strong new voice in crime with this inventive mystery . . . The fictional landscape is beguiling and the story utterly gripping * Book Noir *With its cinematic writing style, its brilliant sense of location and its strong visual depiction of an inhospitable landscape, Zen provides an intelligent and engrossing crossover novel between a police procedural and the study of an individual's personal collapse -- Ewa Sherman * Riveting Reviews *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisA dark-skinned young boy is found dead, frozen to the ground in a pool of his own blood. The boy's Thai half-brother is missing; is he implicated, or simply afraid for his own life? While fears increase that the murder could have been racially motivated, the police receive reports that a suspected paedophile has been spotted in the area.Trade ReviewWhat is it with those Scandinavians? For many years they have been producing crime novels of the most chilling and engrossing nature. However, one man stands out for his sense of highly believable drama, suspense and an almost effortlessly simple, yet captivating delivery. He is Arnaldur Indridason... one of the brightest sparks on the international crime writing circuit **** * Mirror *An utterly absorbing detective story. In Erlendur - morose, grouchy, but hugely likeable all the same - Indridason has created a character in the Morse/Rebus mould who could stand comparison with either * Scotsman *Trenchantly written...stripped-down, sinewy prose * Independent *Indridason is as interested in exploring the personalities and the relationships between them as he is in unravelling the mystery...a rounded, suprerior example of the genre * Sunday Telegraph *Its humanity and insight make it truly memorable * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisMia Holl lives in a state governed by The Method, where good health is the highest duty of the citizen. Everyone must submit medical data and sleep records to the authorities on a monthly basis, and regular exercise is mandatory.Mia is young and beautiful, a successful scientist who is outwardly obedient but with an intellect that marks her as subversive. Convinced that her brother has been wrongfully convicted of a terrible crime, Mia comes up against the full force of a regime determined to control every aspect of its citizens'' lives.Trade ReviewThis is a brilliant, disturbing and wildly imaginative picture of the nanny state run mad; how far should the State be allowed to poke its nose into a citizen's business? -- Kate Saunders * Times *Zeh seems to have won every European literary prize going...Three years since its first publication in German (it is translated here with tremendous gusto by Sally-Ann Spencer), Zeh’s novel is even more relevant to our over-structure, over-quantified times. -- Simon Ings * Guardian *An impressively plausible account of a conformist society disguised as a utopia -- Lucy Popescu * Independent *In Sally-Ann Spencer's superb translation from German, Juli Zeh's novel gives form to a dystopia that remains hauntingly recognizable -- Charlotte Ryland * Times Literary Supplement *Thoughtful and intelligent...her main character Mia is an intellectual heroine as much as a physical rebel. -- Lesley McDowell * Sunday Herald *

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Book SynopsisThe novel tells the story of a middle-class UNESCO engineer called Walter Faber, who believes in rational, calculated world. Strange events undermine his security - an emergency landing in a Mexican desert against all odds, his friend Joachim hangs himself in the Mexican jungle, and he falls in love with a woman who dies of a concussion, he has an incestuous affair. Finally Faber becomes ill with stomach cancer, but it is too late for him to change his life.

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Book SynopsisAll Souls is a compelling black comedy of Oxford life by Javier Marías, whose highly-anticipated new novel The Infatuations is published in 2013. This Penguin Modern Classics edition features a new Introduction by John Banville, author of The Sea.The pretty young tutor Clare Bayes attracts many eyes at an Oxford college dinner, not least those of a visiting Spanish lecturer (desperate to escape his conversation with an obese economist about an eighteenth-century cider tax). As they begin an affair, meeting in hotel bedrooms away from the eyes of Clare''s husband, the Spaniard finds himself increasingly drawn into the strange world of Oxford, ''one of the cities in the world where the least work gets done'', in a story of lust, loneliness, vanity and memory. Filled with brilliant set pieces and pin-sharp observation, All Souls is a masterpiece of black humour.Trade ReviewA dazzling example of the Oxford novel, with all the ingenuity and the humour and the nostalgia we could hope for * The Times Literary Supplement *Probably the wittiest novel set in British academia since David Lodge's Changing Places * Daily Mail *An intelligent and well written book with exceptionally funny set pieces * The Indepdent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisPhilosophy in the Bedroom accounts the lascivious education of a privileged young lady at the dawn of womanhood.

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Book SynopsisHis Excellency Eugène Rougon is the sixth in Zola's famous Rougon-Macquart series of novels. Here, the novel presents a detailed picture of court and political circles during the Second Empire, satirizing the corruption and cronyism at its heart.Trade ReviewIt is easy to savor certain installments in isolation [...] But to read through the Rougon-Macquart in Oxford's fine new translations - fourteen of the twenty volumes retranslated since 2000, seven in the last four years - is to see the mosaic that only Zola's full scheme makes possible. * Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books *Im going to celebrate the 21st century with a re-read of His Excellency Eugène Rougon. * Swiftly Tilting Planet *

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Book SynopsisIn this volume Paul Vincent presents a compelling collection of prose fiction, memoirs and anecdotes centring on Amsterdam from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century. His selection offers a rare insight into the history and culture of the city. The subjects range from Rembrandt to the persecution of the Jews in World War 2, from barricades in a working-class district during the Depression to a writer''s unhealthy obsession with a massage parlour. These eighteen newly-translated tales give the reader, and the traveller, a tantalizing glimpse of the Amsterdam that lies beyond the tourist guidebooks.Table of ContentsGerard Brandt: Vondel in Hiding Arnold Houbraken: Rembrandt Catches a Pupil Red-Handed J. Colerus: Spinoza is Banned from the Jewish Community J.C. Nomen: Peter the Great as a Ship's Carpenter W. Otto: An Opponent inveighs against the Tram Herman Heijermans: Amstel Jacob Israël de Haan: The Black Cat Anonymous: Barricades in the Jordaan Frans Pointl: Amsterdam 1945-1946 Simon Carmiggelt: Itchy Feet Remco Campert: Single to Amsterdam Abel J. Herzberg: Letter to my Grandson Anton Valens: Goldfish Pieter Olde Rikkert: Who's Afraid of Allah Akbar? Sanneke van Hassel: He Directs the Traffic Thomas Heerma van Voss: Massage Parlour Margriet de Moor: A Stroke of Luck Robert Anker: Pain in the Spleen

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsHis Wife ; A Lady with a Dog ; The Duel ; A Hard Case ; Gooseberries ; Concerning Love ; Peasants ; Angel ; The Russian Master ; Terror ; The Order of St. Anne

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Book SynopsisThe three short fictions in this unique collection, Sarrasine, The Unknown Masterpiece, and The Girl with the Golden Eyes, deal with the relationship between artistic ideals and sexual desires. They show Balzac's mastery of the seductions of storytelling, and are among the 19th century's richest explorations of life and art.Table of ContentsSARRASINE; THE UNKNOWN MASTERPIECE; THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN EYES

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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 GuardianInspector Maigret must untangle the web of lies left behind by a murdered man whose family didn’t know him as well as they thought When a man is found stabbed to death in an alley off Boulevard Saint-Martin, his identity card shows a workplace that had gone out of business three years earlier. As far as his wife knew, he still worked there, and she insists that the shoes and a tie he was wearing when he was killed “couldn’t be his.” It soon becomes evident that although he had a source of income, he spent most of his time sitting on a bench in the neighborhood, often with the same unknown man. But can Maigret find this mysterious companion?In Maigret and the Man on the BencTrade 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 Synopsis''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville''This was natural. It is the same everywhere. Rarely, however, had Maigret had such a strong sense of a clique. In a small town like this, of course there are the worthies, who are few and who inevitably meet each other several times a day, even if it is only in the street.Then there are the others, like those who stood huddled on the sidelines looking disgruntled.''Maigret''s impromptu visit to an old college friend draws him into a murky investigation in a small provincial town ruled by snobbery, fear and intimidation. ''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 SynopsisAcute psychological insight and a distinctive, spare, atmospheric style Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka' Independent on SundayFaced with a house of tight-lipped witnesses to a murder, Simenon's legendary Inspector Maigret must change his methods to uncover the truth The family and the house had turned in on themselves, acquiring a hostile face in the process' The once-wealthy Lachaume family closes ranks when one of their own is shot dead, claiming to have heard and seen nothing of the murder. This leaves Maigret along with a troublesome new magistrate who has waded into the case to pick his way through their shameful secrets. 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' GuardianGem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend' Boyd Tonkin, The TimesTrade 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 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 SynopsisTrade ReviewA disconcertingly funny book . . . both original and edgily entertaining * The New York Times Book Review *Vivid and spooky * Kirkus Reviews *Original and edgily entertaining. It confirms Abe as the best Japanese novelist (along with Shusaku Endo) since the deaths of Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata. * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE''One of Europe''s great writers'' Karl Ove KnausgaardOne evening Marianne, a suburban housewife living in an identikit bungalow, is struck by the realization that her husband will leave her. Whether at that moment, or in years to come, she will be deserted. So she sends him away, knowing she must fend for herself and her young son. As she adjusts to her disorienting new life alone, what she thought was fear slowly starts to feel like freedom.''Knifelike clarity of evocation ... Handke is a kind of nature poet, a romantic whose exacerbated nerves cling like pained ivy to the landscape'' John UpdikeTranslated by Ralph ManheimTrade ReviewHandke became the enfant terrible of the European avant-garde, denouncing all social, psychological and historical categories of experience as species of linguistic fraud. But [he] has aged well and now...is regarded as one of the most important writers in German -- Richard Locke * The New York Times *

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Book Synopsis''A funny, sad novella about how we got here from there, and how, in our youth, our eyes saw things differently'' The TimesA private meeting, chance encounters and a mysterious tour of Lisbon haunt this moving homage to Tabucchi''s adopted cityIn the city of Lisbon, Requiem''s narrator has an appointment to meet someone on a quay by the Tagus at twelve. Misunderstanding twelve to mean noon as opposed to midnight, he is left to wait. As the day unfolds he has many unexpected encounters - with a young drug addict, a disorientated taxi driver, a cemetery keeper, the mysterious Isabel and the ghost of the late great poet Fernando Pessoa - each meeting travelling between the real and illusionary. Part travelogue, part autobiography, part fiction, Requiem becomes an homage to a country and its people, and a farewell to the past as the narrator lays claim to a literary forebear who, like himself, is an evasive and many-sided personality.Trade ReviewTabucchi is a master of illusion and allusion, and this is a literary puzzle that teases, amuses and provokes * Sunday Telegraph *A funny, sad novella about how we got here from there, and how, in our youth, "our eyes saw things differently" . . . a light summer read with enough weight to stop it blowing away -- John Self * The Times *Reading this is like having a buzzed after-dinner conversation with a mind too brilliant to get into nuts and bolts. And yet the streamlike writing, spliced by endless commas, contains a charm that shines through the monochrome * Kirkus Reviews *Beautifully translated ... perhaps his most accessible work to date * The Nation *In the narrator's conversations and in his memories of the past, there is created a personal requiem for the old Lisbon, Tabucchi's Lisbon, not the traditional, solemn celebration of the mass for the dead, with its organ music and cathedrals, but the street music of mouth-organs and barrel-organs -- Jack Byrne * Review of Contemporary Fiction *Elegant, cosmopolitan, inventive and disquieting; his writing is, paradoxically, sensuous and economical * Boston Review *This imagined world is created with elegance and complexity -- Robert Gray * Publishers Marketplace *Tabucchi's books are economical surreal-comic novellas. There's a cosmopolitan eeriness here -- Amit Chaudhuri * Times Literary Supplement *Winner of the 1991 Italian PEN Prize, this playful bagatelle translated from the original Portuguese, is partly homage to Portuguese culture, partly a mellow autobiographical fantasy * Publishers Weekly *A wonderful, enchanting tribute to the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa ... aptly subtitled, this book brilliantly creates a story that, like a delicious cocktail, most readers will finish in one gulp and will return to savor * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewNot 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. -- Boyd Tonkin * The Times *One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories. * Guardian *One of Simenon's masterpieces ... Simenon's subject is how people who are pushed to the edge push themselves over it; the force of the sleuthing is that of psychoanalysis, not police interrogation. -- Adam Gopnik * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the new Penguin Crime and Espionage seriesA stolen weapon. A troubled young man. A race against time...Inspector Maigret receives a call from his wife to say he has a visitor at their apartment. But when he gets home, the young man has already gone, along with Maigret''s prized Smith and Wesson .45. The trail to find the culprit - and the woman who may become his victim - takes Maigret across Paris and all the way to the Savoy Hotel in London. But getting to the truth may be even more complicated than he had first imagined.Trade 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. -- GuardianA supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness. * Independent *

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