Fiction in translation

Book SynopsisMohalla Aramganj is abuzz with wild conjectures about the impending arrival of L.K. Advani's Ram Rath. Folk who could barely rouse themselves for the anti-Mandal agitation are now astirwhat does their love of Ram call them to do? Conversations change, relationships are strained, new animosities crop up. How does all this ferment affect the swashbuckling Mohammadiya Hindu' Ashiq Miyan, renowned Rambhakt and proprietor of the Two-in-One Tailoring shop? In this astutely crafted novel, Rakesh Kayasth deploys a Greek chorus of people's fears, arguments and judgements to portray the social conundrum of India's heartland. A microcosm of India, Aramganj's cast of small-town characters embodies caste pride, religious superstition and patriarchy, all of which have a hand in the grisly climax of this story.

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Book SynopsisOne of the first twenty-first century Russian novels to probe the legacy of the Soviet prison camp system by one of Russia's finest young writers. A young man travels to the vast wastelands of the Far North to uncover the truth about a shadowy neighbour who saved his life, and whom he knows only as Grandfather II. What he finds, among the forgotten mines and decrepit barracks of former gulags, is a world relegated to oblivion, where it is easier to ignore both the victims and the executioners than to come to terms with a terrible past. This disturbing tale evokes the great and ruined beauty of a land where man and machine worked in tandem with nature to destroy millions of lives during the Soviet century. Emerging from today's Russia, where the ills of the past are being forcefully erased from public memory, this masterful novel represents an epic literary attempt to rescue history from the brink of oblivion.Trade ReviewA Dantean descent... In a steely translation by Antonina W. Bouis, Oblivion is as cold and stark as a glacial crevasse, but as beautiful as one, too, with a clear poetic sensibility built to stand against the forces of erasure' * Wall Street Journal *Astonishing... Ingeniously structured around the progressive uncovering of memories of a difficult personal and national past [...] with a visceral, at times almost unbearable, force' * Times Literary Supplement *Opening in stately fashion and unfolding ever faster with fierce, intensive elegance, this first novel discloses the weight of Soviet history and its consequences... Highly recommended for anyone serious about literature or history' * Library Journal (starred review) *Sergei Lebedev opens up new territory in literature. Lebedev's prose lives from the precise images and the author's colossal gift of observation * Der Spiegel *

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Book SynopsisEugene Onegin is the master work of the poet whom Russians regard as the fountainhead of their literature. Set in 1820s Russia, Pushkin's novel in verse follows the fates of three men and three women. It was Pushkin's own favourite work, and this new translation conveys the literal sense and the poetic music of the original.

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Book SynopsisText in Arabic. Tense and tightly woven, Thiqah is a dramatic novel set in Paris during World War II about a woman whose lover is accused of working for the Resistance. The novel follows nine hours of phone conversations between a woman and a mysterious stranger who seems to know everything about her and the reasons she fled her homeland. As the dialogue progresses, the man tells her many disturbing things about her and her lover (who may be in great danger), the political situations in which they are enmeshed, and his fantasies about her. Powerful and menacing, Thiqah draws the reader into a post-modern mystery where nothing -- including the text itself  -- is what it seems.Trade ReviewA political novel as well as an acute study in character and obsession, complete with interspersed commentary apparently addressed to the reader and the novelist equally, this brief, tightly constructed work addresses multiple themes. Dorfman uses the tension of an unstable political situation to force the reader into questioning his characters' stated truths, as well as their motivations. Exhilarating for its finely tuned unfolding but somber in its conclusions, Konfidenz demands a fundamental re-examination of the nature of trust Publishers Weekly Dorfman in previous work has explored the space across which political power and private morality glare at each other, and Konfidenz follows suit. From the first page, this slim novel invokes the menace of the former in order to underscore and explore the vulnerability of the latter -- Sven Birkerts The New York Times

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Book SynopsisWho shot Kamar al-Dawla Alwan? Was it a crime of passion? What was the role of the beautiful peasant girl Rim? Is the mysterious Sheikh Asfur as crazy as he seems? Diary of a Country Prosecutor is an Egyptian comedy of errors. Partly autobiographical, it takes the form of a journal of a young public prosecutor posted to a village in rural Egypt. Imbued with the ideals of a European education, he encounters a world of poverty and backwardness where an imported legal system is both alien and incomprehensible.Trade Review'Touching and yet savagely funny.' The Bookseller 'A satirical tale of country life under a repressive and far-away Cairo legal system.' Literary Review 'A book to be read and enjoyed .. a classic of translation.' World Literature Today

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Book SynopsisTHE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO LIVES ON.Lisbeth Salander is an unstoppable force:Sentenced to two months in Flodberga women''s prison for saving a young boy''s life by any means necessary, Salander refuses to say anything in her own defence. She has more important things on her mind.Mikael Blomkvist makes the long trip to visit every week - and receives a lead to follow for his pains. For him, it looks to be an important expose for Millennium. For her, it could unlock the facts of her childhood.Even from a corrupt prison system run largely by the inmates, Salander will stand up for what she believes in, whatever the cost. And she will seek the truth that is somehow connected with her childhood memory, of a woman with a blazing birthmark on her neck - that looked as if it had been burned by a dragon''s fire . . . The tension, power and unstoppable force of The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye are inspired by Stieg Larsson'Trade ReviewSome fictional characters prove too popular to die . . . Such is the case with Lisbeth Salander . . . Lagercrantz is doing a wonderful job. It would be hard to imagine a sequel more faithful to its work of origin than this one, which emulates the spirit and the style of the original trilogy. -- Tom Nolan * Wall Street Journal *Expertly told, the plot crackles with life -- Geoffrey Wansell * Daily Mail *Lagercrantz's latest Salander novel, is even bolder - if somewhat more fantastical . . . 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 . . . The Girl Who Takes an Eye for An Eye intensifies the mythic elements of Larsson's vision. -- Maureen Corrigan * Washington Post *Lagercrantz doesn't falter in the mayhem department . . . Larsson fans certainly won't be disappointed. * Kirkus Reviews *Lagercrantz's excellent second contribution to Stieg Larsson's Millennium series . . . twisting plot lines tie together in this complicated, fascinating mystery. As a bonus, readers learn the meaning of the dragon tattoo on Lisbeth's back. * Publishers Weekly *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 *

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Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy''s last completed novel, Resurrection is an intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger and forgiveness, translated from the Russian with an introduction and notes by Anthony Briggs in Penguin Classics.Serving on the jury at a murder trial, Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is devastated when he sees the prisoner - Katyusha, a young maid he seduced and abandoned years before. As Dmitri faces the consequences of his actions, he decides to give up his life of wealth and luxury to devote himself to rescuing Katyusha, even if it means following her into exile in Siberia. But can a man truly find redemption by saving another person? Tolstoy''s most controversial novel, Resurrection (1899) is a scathing indictment of injustice, corruption and hypocrisy at all levels of society. Creating a vast panorama of Russian life, from peasants to aristocrats, bureaucrats to convicts, it reveals Tolstoy''s magnificent storytelling powers.Anthony Briggs'' superb new t

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Book SynopsisThe ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy's artistic prowess displayed over five decades - experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, 'The Two Hussars' contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy's belief that art must serve a moral purpose, 'What Men Live By' portrays an angel sent to earth to learn three existential rules of life, and 'Two Old Men' shows a peasant abandoning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to help his neighbours. And in the highly moving 'Master and Man', Tolstoy depicts a mercenary merchant travelling with his unprotesting servant through a blizzard to close a business deal - little realizing he may soon have to settle accounts with his maker.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 Cl

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Book SynopsisRejected by his tribe and hunted by the kin of the man he killed, Ukhayyad and his thoroughbred camel flee across the desolate Tuareg deserts of the Libyan Sahara. Between bloody wars against the Italians in the north and famine raging in the south, Ukhayyad rides for the remote rock caves of Jebel Hasawna. There, he says farewell to the mount who has been his companion through thirst, disease, lust, and loneliness. Alone in the desert, haunted by the prophetic cave paintings of ancient hunting scenes and the cries of jinn in the night, Ukhayyad awaits the arrival of his pursuers and their insatiable hunger for blood and gold. Gold Dust is a classic story of the brotherhood between man and beast, the thread of companionship that is all the difference between life and death in the desert. It is a story of the fight to endure in a world of limitless and waterless wastes, and a parable of the struggle to survive in the most dangerous landscape of all: human society.Trade ReviewAl-Koni's descriptive powers and the urgency of his narrative make Gold Dust [italic] a gripping, moving tale that sweeps the reader on towards its tragic conclusion. -- BanipalImagine Cormac McCarthy's savage lyricism in a Paul Bowles desert landscape and you begin to enter the bleakly beautiful world of this mesmerising, fable-like novel. -- The IndependentIts lyrical prose exudes the unique breath of desert life and a mystical taste of the afterlife. -- Arab NewsA magnificent novelist. -- Marilyn Booth, University of Oxford, UKOne of the Arab world’s most innovative novelists. -- Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania

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Book SynopsisWild Thorns offers a glimpse of social and personal relations under Israeli occupation. Featuring unsentimental portrayals of everyday life, its uncompromising honesty and rich emotional core plead elegantly for the cause of survival in the face of oppression.Trade Review'An impressive narrative of life in the West Bank in which simple profundities are asserted powerfully and poetically.' Morning Star‘Written with astonishing candor and erudition, Sahar Khalifeh’s novel Wild Thorns is a poignant commentary on the psychological impacts of living under occupation ... an exhaustive and embracing meditation on Palestinian society, trauma, and resilience.’ * The Markaz Review *Sahar Khalifeh’s ‘Wild Thorns’ shines a light on the West Bank * Arab News *

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Book SynopsisIn 1999, in the small provincial town of Beauval, France, twelve-year-old Antoine Courtin accidentally kills a young neighbor boy in the woods near his home. Panicked, he conceals the body and to his relief--and ongoing shame--he is never suspected of any connection to the child''s disappearance. But the boy''s death continues to haunt him, shaping his life in unseen ways. More than a decade later, Antoine is living in Paris, now a young doctor with a fiancée and a promising future. On a rare trip home to the town he hates and fears, Antoine thoughtlessly sleeps with a beautiful young woman from his past. She shows up pregnant at his doorstep in Paris a few months later, insisting that they marry.Meanwhile, the newly discovered body of Antoine''s childhood victim means that the case has been reopened, and all of his old fears rush back. With the gravitational pull of his hometown strengthening its grip, Antoine may finally be forced to confront his past. Is Trade ReviewNo one is writing quirkier thrillers than Lemaitre, who gets inside the head of his unhinged protagonist with wicked delight while capturing the madness of the modern world ... A feverish, wickedly entertaining work * Kirkus Review *Pierre Lemaitre continues his upward movement with Three Days and a Life ... typically astringent and accomplished fare -- Barry Forshaw * Guardian *Thought-provoking and unsettling, Three Days And A Life is another work of genius from a master storyteller at the top of his game -- Jon Coates * Express *Lemaitre is surely France's most elegant and imaginative crime writer -- Marcel Berlins * The Times *Lemaitre may be the best current French writer of crime fiction * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisFor decades the painting was believed to be lost. But, just as mysteriously as it disappeared, it reappears, an anonymous donation to a gallery in Sydney. The art world is stunned but so are the three men who loved the woman in the painting, the woman on the stairs. One by one they track her down to an isolated cottage in Australia. Here they must try to untangle the lies and betrayals of their shared past - but time is running out. The Woman on the Stairs is an intricately-crafted, poignant and beguiling novel about creativity and love, about the effects of time passing and the regrets that haunt us all.Trade ReviewFans of Bernhard Schlink will recognise in his latest novel the themes of an unconventional love affair played out in the shadow of recent German history * DAILY MAIL *an ingenious set-up * THE TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThe Story of the Stone, also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqin's magnificent saga, The Dreamer Awakes, was carefully edited and completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty, focussing on Bao-yu, now married to Bao-chai, after the tragic death of his beloved Dai-yu. Against such worldly elements as death, financial ruin, marriage, decadence and corruption, his karmic journey unfolds. Like a sleepwalker through life, Bao-yu is finally awakened by a vision, which reveals to him that life itself is merely a dream, 'as moonlight mirrored in the water'.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 historTrade 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 5Note on SpellingPrefaceChapter 99:Unscrupulous minions make use of their master's virtue to conceal a multitude of sins; and Jia Zheng is alarmed to read his nephew's name in the 'Peking Gazette'Chapter 100:Caltrop disturbs an elaborate seduction and inspires bitter resentment; Bao-yu learns of a distressing betrothal and laments an imminent departureChapter 101:In Prospect Garden a moonlit apparition repeats an ancient warning; and a Scattered Flowers Convent the fortune-sticks provide a strange omenChapter 102:Illness descends upon the Jia family in Ning-guo House; and charms and holy water are used to exorcize Prospect GardenChapter 103:Jin-gui dies by her own hand, caught in a web of her own weaving; Yu-cun encounters an old friend in vain, blind to the higher truths of ZenChapter 104:Drunken Dime at large again - a small fish whips up a mighty storm; our Besotted Hero in agony once more - a chance thrust quickens a numbed heartChapter 105:The Embroidered Jackets raid Ning-guo House; and Censor Li impeaches the Prefect of Ping-anChapter 106:Wang Xi-feng feels remorse for the consequences of her past misdeeds; and Grandmother Jia prays for the family's deliverence from further calamityChapter 107:Impelled by family devotion, Grandmother Jia distributes her personal posessions; favoured with an Imperial dispensation, Jia Zheng recieves his bother's hereditary rankChapter 108:A birthday party held for Sister Allspice necessitiates a false display of jollity; and ghostly weeping heard at the Naiad's House provokes a frech outburst of griefChapter 109:Fivey shares a vigil, and receives affection meant for another; Ying-chun pays her debt to fate, and returns to the Realm of Primordial TruthChapter 110:Lady Jia ends her days, and returns to the land of shades; Wang Xi-feng exhausts her strength, and forfeits the family's esteemChapter 111:A devoted maid renders a final service, and accompanies her mistress to the Great Void; a villainous slave takes his revenge, and betrays his masters into the hands of theivesChapter 112:Admantina discharges a karmic debt and recieves a blow from the Hand of Providence; Aunt Zhao concludes a deadly feud and sets out on the road to the Nether WorldChapter 113:Xi-feng repents of her former misdeeds, and entrusts her child to a village dame; Nightengale softens a long-standing animosity, and warns to ter besotted masterChapter 114:Wang Xi-feng ends her life's illusion and returns to Jinling; Zhen Ying-jia recieves the Emperor's favour and is summoned to the PalaceChapter 115:A private obsessoin revived confirms Xi-chun in an ancient vow; a physical likeness verified deprives Bao-yu of an imagines friendChapter 116:Human destinies are revealed in a fairy realm, and the Stone is restored to its rightful owner; mortal remains are transported to their terrestrial home, and duty is discharged by a filial sonChapter 117:Two fair damsels conspire to save the jade, and forestall a flight from earthy bondage; an infamous rogue takes charge of the mansion, and assembles a gang of croniesChapter 118:Provoked by a ranking antipathy, Uncle and Cousin plot the ruin of an innocent maid; alarmed by riddling utterances, Wife and Concubine remonstrate with their idiot masterChapter 119:Bao-yu becomes a Provincial Graduate and severs worldly ties: the House of Jia receives Imperial favour and renews ancestral gloryChapter 120:Zhen Shi-yin expounds the Nature of Passion and Illusion; and Jia Yu-cun concludes the Dream of Golden DaysCharacters in Volume 5Genealogical Tables

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Book Synopsis''It has taken me a long time, my dearest Aza, to fathom the cause of that contempt in which women are held in this country ...''Zilia, an Inca Virgin of the Sun, is captured by the Spanish conquistadores and brutally separated from her lover, Aza. She is rescued and taken to France by Déterville, a nobleman, who is soon captivated by her. One of the most popular novels of the eighteenth century, the Letters of a Peruvian Woman recounts Zilia''s feelings on her separation from both her lover and her culture, and her experience of a new and alien society. Françoise de Graffigny''s bold and innovative novel clearly appealed to the contemporary taste for the exotic and the timeless appetite for love stories. But by fusing sentimental fiction and social commentary, she also created a new kind of heroine, defined by her intellect as much as her feelings. The novel''s controversial ending calls into question traditional assumptions about the role of women both in fiction and society, and abTrade ReviewElegantly translated. * Maya Slater, Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisWhen fifteen-year-old Anna begins receiving messages from another time, her parents take her to the doctor. But he can find nothing wrong; in fact he believes there may be some truth to what she is seeing. Anna is haunted by visions of the desolate world of 2082. She sees her great-granddaughter, Nova, roaming through wasteland with a band of survivors, after animals and plants have died out. The more Anna sees, the more she realises she must act to prevent the future in her visions becoming real. But can she act quickly enough?'Compelling' Sunday TimesTrade Reviewthe global warming wake-up call is compelling * SUNDAY TIMES *

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Book SynopsisTá an tUasal Ó Sé agus a mhadra dílis, Seoirse, ag dul amach ar cuairt ghairid chuig na siopaí. Tá dearmad déanta ag an Uasal Ó Sé ar a chuid eochracha, ach beidh Bean Uí Shé ann, mar a bhíonn sí i gcónaí, chun iad a ligean isteach. Ach ar an mbealach ar ais, tugann Seoirse faoi deara go bhfuil rud éigin amú – chas siad faoi dheis nuair ba chóir dóibh casadh faoi chlé, rud atá á dtabhairt níos faide ó bhaile. Chun rudaí a dhéanamh níos measa, tá an chuma air go mbeidh báisteach ann. Buaileann na seanchairde an bóthar ar thuras trasna Bhaile Átha Cliath agus trína gcuid cuimhní, atá, de réir cosúlachta, ag imeacht ceann ar cheann… Mr Bolton and his faithful dog, George, are just popping down to the shops. He forgot his keys, but Mrs Bolton will be there to let them in like always. But on the way back, George notices something wrong - they turned right when they should have turned left, bringing them farther from home. To make things worse, it's beginning to look like rain. The old friends set off on a journey across Dublin and through their memories, which seem to be disappearing one by one...

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Book SynopsisVividly capturing the heat, sounds and smells of southern Italy, Conversations in Sicily astounds with its modernity, lyricism and originality. Driven by a sense of total disconnection, the narrator embarks on a journey from northern Italy to Sicily, the home he has not seen in some fifteen years. Through the conversations of the islanders and a reunion with his mother, he gradually begins to feel reconnected. But to what kind of world? Written during Mussolini's time in power, Conversations in Sicily is one of the great novels of anti-fascism.Trade ReviewSuperbly written ... Vittorini's unique prose laps against one in repetitious wavelets, alive to the rhythm and significance of language in a way more common to poetry than to prose.Praised in the past by writers like Ernest Hemingway and Italo Calvino, this new translation by Alane Mason restores a paint-fresh vividness to a classic novel, too-little known in the English speaking world. -- Wayne BurrowsVittorini is one of the very best . . . I care very much about his ability to bring rain with him when he comes, if the earth is dry and that is what you need. -- Ernest HemingwayIt is very hard to give any adequate sense of [its] power, rendered in lucid, supple lines of almost Homeric simplicity whose cadences are faithfully captured in this excellent new translation * * Guardian * *An extraordinary book ... For anyone interested in memory and place, the loss of the past and the attempt to recover it in words, this book will be rewarding ... giving the reader an experience that is vividly new, yet strangely familiar -- Kirsty Gunn

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Book SynopsisChina is ageing. Its shrinking households, overworked and overstretched, struggle to carry the burden of care for their elderly. Retired Beijing judge Uncle Xiao is one among millions of old-timers who face a hopeless choice: accept a lonely decline, or chase dubious ‘miracle cures’.Then into his life steps Miss Zhong, a young rural nurse with her own share of problems. The two have little in common, but as time delivers tragedies they learn that family can take many forms. Will this unlikely pair weather life’s storms together, and will Xiao find warmth in his sunset years?

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Book SynopsisA powerful, unsettling portrait of ordinary family life in Cuba, Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s debut novel The Fallen is a masterful portrayal of a society in free fall. Diego, the son, is disillusioned and bitter about the limited freedoms his country offers him. Mariana, the mother, is unwell and forced to relinquish her control over the home to her daughter, Maria, who has left school and is working as a chambermaid in one of the state-owned tourist hotels. The father, Armando, is a committed revolutionary who is sickened by the corruption he perceives all around him. In meticulously charting the disintegration of a family, The Fallen offers a poignant reflection on contemporary Cuba and the clash of the ardent idealism of the old guard with the jaded pragmatism of the young.Trade Review‘A beautiful and painful novel that demonstrates the power of fiction to pursue the unutterable.’ — Alejandro Zambra, author of Multiple Choice‘The Fallen is the story of a family; not a romanticized saga, but a tale of unconditional love and friendship. Through careful and subtle prose, the strain and suffering in every voice emerges loud and clear. Carlos Manuel Álvarez has painted a powerful, burning image of illness, isolation and harrowing rancour.’ — Laila Obeidat, the London Magazine‘Álvarez does a neat job in this very short but nutritious novel of establishing the personalities of his characters firmly enough that it comes as a real shock when he upends our expectations of how they might behave.’ — Jake Kerridge, the Telegraph‘A war foretold that never takes place. A death foretold that never takes place. And in the middle of this is the inevitable collapse of a family and a country. The Fallen is a subtle, intelligent and profoundly moving novel which sketches, in elegant and thoughtful prose, a rarely seen Cuban landscape.’ — Alia Trabucco Zerán, author of The Remainder‘In chapters which alternate between the perspectives of the four family members, Álvarez slowly and cleverly builds up a picture of a family unit on the brink of collapse.’ — Roger Cox, The Scotsman‘The best in Latin American literature is here: with the precocious skill of someone who is a paragon of narrative resources and sensitivity, Carlos Manuel Álvarez vividly portrays the only identity that really matters: not national, but human. The Fallen is a museum of solitude and of the cracks separating our inner world from the one we live in and from those with whom we coexist.’ — Emiliano Monge, author of Among the Lost

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Book SynopsisEven as a young man, Hamid Farsi is acclaimed as a master of the art of calligraphy. But as time goes by, he sees that weaknesses in the Arabic language and its script limit its uses in the modern world. In a secret society, he works out schemes for radical reform, never guessing what risks he is running. His beautiful wife, Noura, is ignorant of the great plans on her husband's mind. She knows only his cold, avaricious side and so it is no wonder she feels flattered by the attentions of his amusing, lively young apprentice. And so begins a passionate love story of a Muslim woman and a Christian man.Trade Review'Warmly observed, richly detailed, and often bold and exciting, Schami's fine portrait of life in Damascus, Syria, in the middle of the 20th century is filled with a compelling set of characters. Noura is a Muslim girl who looks like Audrey Hepburn. Rami Arabi, her father, a noted sheikh, is frustrated that those who attend his mosque 'treat God like a waiter in a restaurant.' Salman is a Christian boy, hated by his drunkard father and devoted to his dog, and to Noura. Nasri Abbani is a wealthy man from an important family, but also a hopeless playboy, his business kept afloat only because of his clever clerk, Tawfiq. When Nasri sets foot in the studio of Hamid Farsi, the leading calligrapher in all of Syria, tragic and wondrous events are set in motion that will affect all in the most emphatic ways. Schami, born in Damascus, is one of Germany's most respected writers, bridging Arab and Western culture with his exquisite storytelling. A novel to be savored.' Publishers Weekly 20101025 The background to this bold and political novel is cosmopolitan: Jews, Armenians, Arabs and Iranians live cheek by jowl in Schami's Damascus. Finely rendered into English by Anthea Bell, The Calligrapher's Secret is a celebration of diversity. Rightly so; after all, as Serani, Farsi's old master points out: 'the Quran was revealed in Mecca and Medina, recorded in Baghdad, recited in Egypt, but written most beautifully of all in Istanbul. -- Andre Naffis-Sahely Times Literary Supplement 20111207 'Suspensful, spectacular, and searing are not adjectives one would use to describe The Calligrapher's Secret. Intriguing, intelligent, and multifaceted are far more accurate to convey what readers can expect from this well written story about love, art, family and Syrian culture.' New York Journal of Books 20111101

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Book SynopsisIn this powerful, debut collection of stories, Rania Mamoun expertly blends the real and imagined to create a rich, complex and moving portrait of contemporary Sudan. From painful encounters with loved ones to unexpected new friendships, Mamoun illuminates the breadth of human experience and explores, with humour and compassion, the alienation, isolation and estrangement that is urban life.Trade Review'It is a phenomenal, exacting collection. It's intense and intimate, and always bordering, with absolute control, on the subversive and erotic. It's also very funny - Rania Mamoun is an extraordinary talent.'- Preti Taneja, author of We That Are Young; ‘A stunning collection, remarkable for its sweet clarity of voice and startling depictions of the marginalised and the destitute. With mastery, Rania Mamoun reaches straight into the heartbeat of her subject matter, laying bare humanity in all its tenderness and tenacity.’ – Leila Aboulela, author of Elsewhere Home; 'Set in Khartoum, this debut collection in English by Rania Mamoun is one of my favourite books of recent years. Her narrative skill creates space for us to observe the characters, and her non-judgmental depiction of Life and lives is filled with humanity.' - Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul

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Book SynopsisChina is ageing. Its shrinking households, overworked and overstretched, struggle to carry the burden of care for their elderly. Retired Beijing judge Uncle Xiao is one among millions of old-timers who face a hopeless choice: accept a lonely decline, or chase dubious 'miracle cures'. Then into his life steps Miss Zhong, a young rural nurse with her own share of problems. The two have little in common, but as time delivers tragedies they learn that family can take many forms. Will this unlikely pair weather life's storms together, and will Xiao find warmth in his sunset years?

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Book SynopsisPark Wan-suh’s Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is an extraordinary account of growing up during the Japanese occupation of Korea and the Korean War, a time of great oppression, deprivation, and social and political instability. With acerbic wit and brilliant insight, Park describes the characters and events that came to shape her young life.Trade ReviewLyrical in its descriptions of village life, this gripping book is written with a confessional chattiness that contrasts with the hardships it describes. * Financial Times *Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is essential reading. -- Joanna K. Elfving-Hwang * List: Books from Korea *Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is clearly a volume that should be added to the growing staple of works taughts in Korean literature, culture, and history courses. * Journal of Asian Studies *Though it feels rather like a memoir, the novel is an entertaining and sometimes heart-wrenching read as Park's brilliant use of language, as well as genuine depiction of its characters shine from the beginning to the end. * Korea Herald *Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is a pleasure not only to read but to behold. Let us hope that although the author is no longer with us physically, her spiritual presence will be maintained through other excellent translations of her works. -- Bruce Fulton * Korean Quarterly *A deeply moving, warm personal tale. * Korea.net *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Days in the Wild2. Seoul, So Far Away3. Beyond the Gates4. Friendless Child5. The Triangle-Yard House6. Grandmother and Grandfather7. Mother and Brother8. Spring in My Hometown9. The Hurled Nameplate10. Groping in the Dark11. The Eve Before the Storm12. Epiphany

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Book SynopsisThe fourth novel in the internationally bestselling Malin Fors series, a Swedish crime-writing phenomenon, perfect for fans of the television series The Killing and The Bridge.Trade ReviewPraise for Mons Kallentoft's MALIN FORS series * . . . *Kallentoft's books have been called beautiful, exquisite and original. I can see why. * Literary Review *He has a completely unique style, an exquisite narrative that you drink in with pleasure . . . I'm convinced: a crime novel doesn't get much more beautiful than this * Kristian Stadsbladet *Don't bother with Stieg Larsson, Kallentoft is better * Magnus Utvik, Sweden's leading critic *One of the best-realised female heroines I've read by a male writer * Guardian *The highest suspense * Camilla Lackberg, international bestselling author of The Stonecutter *The strengths of this complex and excellent novel include realistic dialogue, thorough characterisation and concern for social issues * New Zealand Listener *It is Kallentoft's characterisation and distinctive, often poetic style which make his crime-writing more memorable than most . . . It is compelling reading. The atmosphere of oppressive heat creates the sense of a hell on earth, where evil thrives. It is a powerful and disturbing vision. * Canberra Times *'Meditative. Dark. Really, really cold . . . This is a worthy successor to Larsson's Millennium trilogy . . . This first installment in Kallentoft's crime series is a splendid representative of the Swedish crime novel, in all its elegance and eeriness.' * Booklist Starred Review *

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Book SynopsisPerfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Andrea Camilleri - the second Auntie Poldi adventure in which Poldi tastes a murder weapon, finds a body in a vineyard, and once again makes herself unpopular in the pursuit of justice . . .Trade ReviewCross Alexander McCall Smith with Janet Evanovich, add a sensuously imagined Sicilian setting and an exuberant narrator, and you get the feel of Mario Giordano's Auntie Poldi detective books * The Times *Cross Alexander McCall Smith with Janet Evanovich, add a sensuously imagined Sicilian setting and an exuberant narrator, and you get the feel of Mario Giordano's Auntie Poldi detective books * The Times *Thirst and murder are Auntie Poldi's pet hates, so when the two are combined there's no stopping the Sicilian Miss Marple from ferreting out the truth . . . a delicious read * Choice *Thirst and murder are Auntie Poldi's pet hates, so when the two are combined there's no stopping the Sicilian Miss Marple from ferreting out the truth . . . a delicious read * Choice *

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Book SynopsisA classic detective story that explores the last years of Hemingway's life, evoking both Cuba and this giant of American letters with enormous skill and wit. When the bones of a man murdered forty years earlier surface on the Havana estate of Ernest Hemingway, writer and ex-cop Mario Conde is called in to investigate. As he unearths the truth of the night of 3 October 1958, he is forced to come to terms with a very different side to his former literary hero.Padura Fuentes switches between Conde's world and that of Hemingway's Cuba four decades earlier; in the heat and rum haze, the two seem slowly to merge. In an extraordinary journey into the past and into the personality of one of the twentieth century´s most enigmatic and powerful writers, a masterful and totally convincing portrait emerges, as well as a riveting mystery that will keep you in suspense until the very final pages.Trade Reviewintelligent, moving and delightful...It makes you think and feel. What more can you ask for?...a lovely little novel. * * The Scotsman * *Fact and fiction are seamlessly merged... * * Buzz * *. . . the gently melancholic tone, beautifully rendered here by John King, subverts any literal reading. * * The Guardian * *a well-paced and beautifully characterised detective story. * * The Observer * *a superb piece of crime literature...a thrilling and engaging mystery. * * City Life * *beautifully recreates a complicated and interesting man. * * Event Magazine * *

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Book SynopsisWalking the streets of our cities are the Others. These men and women have access to the Twilight, a shadowy parallel world of magical power that exists alongside our own. Each has sworn allegiance to one side: the Light, or the Darkness.At Moscow airport, Higher Light Magician Anton Gorodetsky overhears a child screaming about a plane that is about to crash. He discovers that the child is a prophet: an Other with the gift of foretelling the future. When the catastrophe is averted, Gorodetsky senses a disruption in the natural order, one that is confirmed by the arrival of a dark and terrifying predator. Gorodetsky travels to London, to Taiwan and across Russia in search of clues, unearthing as he goes a series of increasingly cataclysmic prophecies. He soon realises that what is at stake is the existence of the Twilight itself and that only he will be able to save it.Trade ReviewThis is slick, clever, assured urban fantasy, told with style, and shot through with wry humour. * Crime Review *If you’ve been following Russkie Lukyanenko’s excellent parallel universe series you’ll have rushed out and bought this book already… the Watch books are deeper and meatier than most of their kind. * 4 star review, Weekend Sport *

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Book SynopsisIndependent-minded Sibylla Spencer feels trapped in nineteenth-century London, where her strong will and progressive views have rendered her unmarriageable. Still single at twenty-three, she is treated like a child and feels stifled in her controlling father’s house. When Benjamin Hopkins, an ambitious employee of her father’s trading company, shows an interest in her, she realizes marriage is her only chance to escape. As Benjamin’s rising career whisks them both away to exotic Morocco, Sibylla is at last a citizen of the world, reveling in her newfound freedom by striking her first business deals, befriending locals…and falling in love for the first time with a charismatic and handsome Frenchman. But Benjamin’s lust for money and influence draws him into dark dealings, pulling him ever further from Sibylla and their two young sons. When he’s arrested on horrible charges, the fate of Sibylla’s family rests on her shoulders, as she must decide whether she’ll leave him to his fate or help him fight for his life.

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Book SynopsisDanilo Kiš (Author) Danilo Kiš was born in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1935. After an unsettled childhood during the Second World War, in which several of his family members were killed, Kiš studied literature at the University of Belgrade where he lived for most of his adult life. He wrote novels, short stories and poetry and went on to receive the prestigious NIN Award for his novel Pešcanik. He died in Paris in 1989.Trade ReviewI urge you to read this reissued collection from a writer who reinvented and invigorated the short story...[The title story] is one of the most moving I have ever read, a testament to both the power and the weakness of literature and human memory... He is one of those writers you feel is on your side. In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough, or urge it on you more strongly -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *Kis is woefully undervalued. He belongs at the centre of European literature, not on its fringes. . .It is past time for Kis's rediscovery. * New Statesman *Compulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *Kiš is one of the great European writers of the post-war period * Guardian *Fantasy chases reality and reality chases fantasy. Pirandello and Borges are not far away. But these names are intended as approximate references. Kiš is a new, original writer -- Leonardo Sciascia * Times Literary Supplement *In The Encyclopedia of the Dead, Danilo Kiš offers a vision that expands the domain of life at the expense of that of death. These stories present that vision with a journalist's precision, with a taxidermist's tactile knowledge of era and realm, with the tenacity of a true son of the century -- Joseph BrodskyIntense and exotic, his mysteries hint at unspeakable secrets that remain forever beyond the story-teller's grasp -- Boyd TonkinThis translation, by Michael Henry Heim, is superb * Independent *The Encyclopedia of the Dead is a book of wonders, product of a vivid imagination that is yet a model of narrative restraint * RTE *

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Book SynopsisMichon's exquisite short narratives transport us to the heart of the Middle Ages as witnesses to the double-edged power of beliefTrade Review“Michon demonstrates the independence of voice that marks a true writer. . . . His supple prose, dappled with chiaroscuro effects, is used in straightforward chronicles. But his writing can at any time lift or lower into semi-hallucinatory effects that recall Arthur Rimbaud’s assaults on conventional perception.”—Roger Shattuck, New York Review of Books“Excellent news on the Michon translation front: an exceptional translator has, at last, appeared. . . . There is the velocity, the precision, the music, the compression, the singularity, the power. . . . [Michon’s] vision . . . appears with all its French force in Ann Jefferson’s exceptional transplantation.”—Wyatt Mason, New York Review of BooksLonglisted for the 2015 Best Translated Book Award, fiction category, organized by Three Percent, a resource for international literature based at the University of RochesterSelected as a finalist of the French-American Foundation Translation Prize“[Michon] has become a member of that family known as the authors I admire, I trust, I want to read.”—Richard Howard“An astonishingly rich, mythic new direction in modern French narrative.”—Guy Davenport

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Book SynopsisTranslating Kerala is an interdisciplinary study that is situated at the interstices of translation studies and cultural studies. It looks at translation as a social and cultural act that transcribes, articulates and interprets structures of power unfolding within asymmetrical fields of cultural politics. The book tries to go beyond traditional approaches that consider translation as a literary and linguistic endeavour, attempting to look at it as a process that transcribes and articulates the region of Kerala, while teasing out the paradoxes, ambiguities and politics that mediate such translational acts. The chapters in this book delve into seminal issues, ranging from the politics that constitutes various linguistic variables of Malayalam to the interpretative paradigms that bring out experiences of the gendered and subaltern subject in Kerala. In the process, it focuses on texts as varied as the Malayalam translation of Les Misérables, the autobiographies of C. K. Janu and Nalini Jameela, and Ramu Kariat''s cinematic adaptation of Chemmeen. From detailed discussions on canonical literary texts to non-canonical/popular cultural texts.

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Book SynopsisA landmark anthology that will introduce many extraordinary, unknown Russian writers to an English-language readership for the first time       Fleeing Russia amid the chaos of the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War, many writers went on to settle in Paris, Berlin and elsewhere and forged new lives in exile. Much of their subsequent work, published in Russian language magazines and books, is entirely unknown in the West and has only been recently discovered in Russia itself. As well as including stories by the most famous émigré writers, Vladimir Nabokov and Ivan Bunin, this collection introduces many lesser known voices: Yuri Felzen, known as the Russian Proust, Nadezhda Teffi, the hugely popular and funny story writer, and Georgy Ivanov, whose work of poetic prose The Atom Explodes is a brilliant, haunting response to the upheaval and trauma of emigration. Exploring themes of displacement, nostalgia, loss and new beginninTrade ReviewA brilliant, poignant anthology -- Alexis Levitin * Los Angeles Review of Books *A rich anthology ... Editor and lead translator Bryan Karetnyk has done a marvellous job ... The translations maintain a high standard of literary quality and precision. Admirably equipped with biographical and explanatory notes, this anthology presents to the Anglophone reader, for the first time, a unified representation of the authors and disparate, yet interlinked cultural contexts of first-wave Russian emigration -- Judges, Read Russia Prize 2018Compelling ... Karetnyk's anthology transports the reader into the motley lives and imaginations of Russian émigrés in Paris, Berlin and beyond. Highly recommended reading for anyone fascinated by prerevolutionary Russian culture as preserved among the ranks of the two million-odd Whites that formed the first wave of emigration from Bolshevik Russia. -- Anna Gunin * The Riveter *Ably translated ... Bryan Karetnyk has produced that most welcome artefact in this age of the floating text: an 'enhanced' paperback whose fictive stories are fully equipped with their histories. Writers' biographies, historical chronology, a list of Russian émigré venues, and well-researched footnotes serve to anchor each narrative in its own peripatetic time and space -- Caryl Emerson * Times Literary Supplement *A powerful reminder of the trauma of civil war and hardships of displacement ... The stories evoke a lost world with attendant nostalgia, sorrow, fear and anger ... Rarely has the term 'unjustly neglected' rung more true * Country Life *Brilliantly translated by Bryan Karetnyk ... A truly wonderful selection * Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour *

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisAWARD-WINNING CRIME FICTION WITH SOUTH AFRICAN SOULTrade ReviewPraise for Deon Meyer * . . . *Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence. * Independent *The narrative is well-plotted, and the novel brings to life the rich and volatile diversity of contemporary South Africa. There's nothing flashy here, just a good story, very well told. Would there were more like it. * Spectator *Benny is the central character in South African writer Deon Meyer's series of novels, set in Capetown, that grow richer and more sophisticated with each new book. This progression makes COBRA the most dazzling of the bunch. * Toronto Star *Deon Meyer is a top notch plotter and has created one of the best ensemble (and multi-racial) casts of any modern police procedural series. * Shots magazine *Tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation. * Times Literary Supplement *Deon Meyer's gritty crime novels [are] part police procedural, part political thriller . . . What makes Meyer such a national treasure - and as good as anyone in the world - is that even if you have no knowledge or interest in South Africa's history or present, his books are compelling page-turners. Politics and race are just part of the intricately crafted superstructure bolted onto the rock-solid chassis of a top-quality crime thriller, driven by a writer with deceptive skill. * Books Live (South Africa) *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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