Fiction in translation

Book SynopsisThe sixth book in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s the novels that shaped the future of Scandinavian crime writing.Hugely acclaimed, the Martin Beck series were the original Scandinavian crime novels and have inspired the writings of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo.Written in the 1960s, 10 books completed in 10 years, they are the work of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö a husband and wife team from Sweden. They follow the fortunes of the detective Martin Beck, whose enigmatic, taciturn character has inspired countless other policemen in crime fiction; without his creation Ian Rankin's John Rebus or Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander may never have been conceived. The novels can be read separately, but are best read in chronological order, so the reader can follow the characters' development and get drawn into the series as a whole.When Viktor Palmgren, a powerful industrialist, is casually shot during an after-dinner speech, the repercussions both on the Trade Review Praise for Sjowall & Wahloo: ‘The writing is elegant and surprisingly humorous – if you haven’t come across Beck before, you’re in for a treat’ – Guardian ‘One of the most authentic, gripping and profound collections of police procedurals ever accomplished’ – Michael Connelly ‘This Swedish husband-and-wife collaboration, specialising in the police novel, has gone from strength to strength. Plots are interesting as well as realistic, the various homicide men are admirably characterised, and the amused, sarcastic comments on modern Sweden are a delight’ – Sunday Times ‘Their mysteries don’t just read well; they reread even better. Witness, wife, petty cop or crook – they’re all real characters even if they get just a few sentences. The plots hold, because they’re ingenious but never inhuman’ – New York Times

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES SCIENCE FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTHHer fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art powerful and graceful' Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite'Dazzling' The TimesA stunning collection of short fiction by one of South Korea's most treasured writers, available in English for the first time.In the title story, an engaged couple working in distant corners of the galaxy plan to arrive on Earth simultaneously and walk down the aisle together. But small incidents wreak havoc on their vast journeys, pushing the date of their wedding far into the future. As centuries pass on Earth and the land and climate change, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together.Through two pairs of interlinked stories stories, Kim explores the driving forces of humanity love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence.Trade Review‘Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in The Matrix, Inception, and Dark City, still it leads us to this entirely original structure, which is a ground-breaking, mystic literary and cinematic experience. Indeed, powerful and graceful’Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite ‘These stories will break your heart, then lovingly knit it back together again’Marina J. Lostetter, author of Noumenon ‘She created a world that Hollywood will never be able to imitate’Han Song, Yinhe Award-winning author, on The Day Nien Comes

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Book SynopsisYukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (riTrade ReviewKazu is the biggest and most profound thing Mishima has done so far in an already distinguished career * New Yorker *His most novelistic work, with a degree of earthiness and warmth rare in his fiction * New York Times *Japan's foremost man of letters * Spectator *Direct yet allusive, poetic...an amazing feat * Atlantic *

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Book SynopsisREPUBLISHED ON THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE TIANANMEN MASSACRE, WITH A NEW AFTERWORD FROM THE AUTHOR AND A NEW COVER BY AI WEIWEIBeijing Coma is Ma Jian's masterpiece. Spiked with dark wit, poetic beauty and deep rage, it takes the life, and near-death, of one young student to create a dazzling and excoriating novel about contemporary ChinaMonumental' GuardianA landmark work of fiction' Daily TelegraphA modern literary masterpiece' Sunday ExpressDai Wei lies in his bedroom, a prisoner in his body, after he was shot in the head at the Tiananmen Square protest ten years earlier and left in a coma. As his mother tends to him, and his friends bring news of their lives in an almost unrecognisable China, Dai Wei escapes into his memories, weaving together the events that took him from his harsh childhood in the last years of the Cultural Revolution to his student days at Beijing University.As the minuTrade ReviewThis is an epic yet intimate work that deserves to be recognised and to endure as the great Tiananmen novel ... a magnificent book brim-full of humanity, insight and humour ... beautifully translated by Flora Drew -- James Kynge * Financial Times *Once in a while - perhaps every 10 years, or even every generation - a novel appears that profoundly questions the way we look at the world, and at ourselves. Beijing Coma is a poetic examination not just of a country at a defining moment in its history, but of the universal right to remember and to hope. It is, in every sense, a landmark work of fiction -- Tash Aw * Daily Telegraph *A huge achievement ... a landmark account through fiction of a country whose rise has amazed the world, but which remains cloaked in shadows... finely written and translated -- Jonathan Fenby * The Times *In scene after scene of black satire, lyric tenderness and desolating tragedy…this fearless epic of history and memory establishes the exiled Ma Jian as the Solzhenitsyn of China’s forgetful drive towards world-domination’ -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Monumental...riveting. This vivid, pungent, often blackly funny book is a mighty gesture of remembrance against the encroaching forces of silence -- James Lasdun * Guardian *Powerful and exhilirating... Simultaneously a large-scale portrait of citizens writing in the grip of the party and the state and a strikingly intimate study of the fragility of the body and the persistence of self and memory -- Chandrahas Choudhury * Observer *A modern literary masterpiece ... Ma Jian has created an intense, passionate and painful-to-read parable for today.. The elegant and bravura writing of Ma Jian is utterly convincing * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisAndrey Platonovich Platonov (1899-1951) was the son of a railway-worker. The eldest of eleven children, he began work at the age of thirteen, eventually becoming an engine-driver's assistant. He began publishing poems and articles in 1918, while studying engineering. Throughout much of the twenties Platonov worked as a land reclamation expert, draining swamps, digging wells and also building three small power stations. Between 1927 and 1932 he wrote his most politically controversial works, some of them first published in the Soviet Union only in the late 1980s. Other stories were published but subjected to vicious criticism. Stalin is reputed to have written "scum" in the margin of the story "For Future Use," and to have said to Fadeyev (later to be secretary of the Writers' Union), "Give him a good belting-for future use!" During the thirties Platonov made several public confessions of error but went on writing stories only marginally more acceptable to the authorities. His son Trade ReviewAndrey Platonov is the most exciting Russian writer to be rediscovered since the end of the Soviet Union. Born in 1899, one of a railway worker's 10 children, he was an engineer, a party member and a model proletarian writer before doubts about Communism, and his literary imagination, landed him in trouble with Stalin. His work stopped being published in the early 1930s and only resurfaced 40 years after his death in 1951...The Foundation Pit will stand out as his masterpiece * Independent *Platonov managed to make the miseries of forced industrialization into a story as gripping as anything in Dickens, as moving and as artful -- John Bayley * Times Literary Supplement *Andrey Platonov's absurdist parable The Foundation Pit is a masterly achievement...Much of the genius of The Foundation Pit lies in Platonov's objective style and the lively invariably abusive dialogue, contrasting with oddly moving, isolated asides of brittle beauty. It is a Russian Waiting for Godot crossed with Lewis Carroll and Maxim Gorky - there is even a bear working as an apprentice blacksmith, frantically making horseshoes as if there were no tomorrow. And in this book, there isn't. According to the late Joseph Brodsky, Platonov 'simply had a tendency to see his words to their logical - that is absurd, that is totally paralyzing end. In other words, like no other Russian writer before or after him Platonov was able to reveal a self destructive, eschatological element within the language itself.' The Foundation Pit is extraordinary: strange, almost abrupt, a hallucinatory, nightmarish parable of hysterical laughter and terrifying silences * Irish Times *The Chandlers have brilliantly dealt with the challenges of rendering into readable English the extraordinary quality of Platonov's prose... Overall it is hard to see how we could get a better English version of Platonov's prose-nor one more likely to win him the readers he deserves -- Orlando Figes * New York Review of Books *He has been described as the greatest Russian writer of the 20th century, but some of his most controversial works, written between 1927 and 1932, were not published in the Soviet Union until the 1980s. Platonov's The Foundation Pit is a satirical response to Stalin's programme of crash industrialisation and collectivisation * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPetterson''s debut novel, published in English for the first time.Twelve-year-old Arvid and his family are on holiday, staying with his grandparents on the coast of Denmark. Dimly aware of the tension building between his mother and grandmother, Arvid is on the cusp of becoming a teenager: feeling awkward in his own skin, but adamant that he can take care of himself.As Arvid cycles down to the beach with its view of the lighthouse, he meets Mogens, an older boy who lives nearby, and together they set out to find fresh experiences in this strange new world. Echoland is a breathtaking read, capturing the unique drift of childhood summers, filled with unarticulated anxiety.Trade ReviewA compelling mix of fable with the day-to-day account of a working-class boy… It is hard to think of a novel that so precisely and vividly conveys the pain and disorientation of puberty -- John Burnside * Guardian *Is there a living writer better at conveying the disconcerting relationship between time and memory?... There is pleasure, too, in watching Petterson shift through the gears from pleasure to unease in one of those gloriously sinuous sentences that have become something of a trademark -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times *Petterson is remarkably gifted -- James Wood * New Yorker *It packs a powerful punch… A clear-cut jewel of nameless dread and nagging anxiety: Scandinavian gloom par excellence. -- Andrew Van Loon * Sunday Telegraph *His eerily terse prose luxuriates in the hazy strangeness of the Danish landscape and is particularly brilliant at nailing adolescence as an inchoate, restless state in which life is felt much more fiercely than it is understood. -- Claire Allfree * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisKarl Ove Knausgaard (Author) Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle cycle has been heralded as a masterpiece all over the world. From A Death in the Family to The End, the novels move through childhood into adulthood and, together, form an enthralling portrait of human life. Knausgaard has been awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, the Brage Prize and the Jerusalem Prize. His work, which also includes the Seasons Quartet and the Morning Star sequence (The Morning Star, The Wolves of Eternity, The Third Realm and The School of Night) is published in thirty-six languages.Martin Aitken (Translator) Martin Aitken has translated the works of many Scandinavian writers, among them Karl Ove Knausgaard, Helle Helle, Hanne Ørstavik and Olga Ravn. He lives in Denmark.Trade ReviewFor all its complexity, My Struggle achieves something pretty simple, the thing that enduring fiction has always done: it creates a world that absorbs you utterly… The End is alive. -- Theo Tait * Sunday Times *Knausgaard’s rendering of this crisis – the jitteriness, the relentlessness with which he goes over events again and again, his overwhelming sense of transgression and shame – is riveting… Every changed nappy, every cigarette smoked on the balcony, every cup of coffee poured from that damn vacuum jug is another alibi; the creation of the normal life that distracts from the roiling mess within... That we cannot quite name what we’ve experienced is part of the brilliance. -- Alex Clark * Guardian *The End is woven of a man’s love for his family and his obsession with the solitary writing life, the warp and weft of these contradictory passions sometimes meshing together perfectly… My Struggle is a cultural moment worth getting involved in. The six volumes offer something special: total immersion in the soap opera of another person’s life. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *A uniquely compelling and absorbing reading experience… captivating interplay between banality and beauty, the redundant and the sublime. -- Chris Power * New Statesman *Compulsively addictive… His way of describing “reality as it is” is to expand the range of thoughts and actions, however mundane or shameful, that a human being will publicly admit to. -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA Richard & Judy Book Club PickNew York Times Bestseller Sara has never left Sweden but at the age of 28 she decides it's time. She cashes in her savings, packs a suitcase full of books and sets off for Broken Wheel, Iowa, a town where she knows nobody.Sara quickly realises that Broken Wheel is in desperate need of some adventure, a dose of self-help and perhaps a little romance, too. In short, this is a town in need of a bookshop.With a little help from the locals, Sara sets up Broken Wheel's first bookstore. The shop might be a little quirky but then again, so is Sara. And as Broken Wheel's story begins to take shape, there are some surprises in store for Sara too ''The perfect summer read'' StylistTrade ReviewA charmingly offbeat, genuinely amusing novel... the perfect summer read * Stylist *Katarina Bivald has written an absolutely delightful, charming book that celebrates the healing power of friendship and love often found in small towns. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, and I could not recommend it more highly * Fannie Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe *This adorable book is a peach. It’s built on the same lines as Cold Comfort Farm or Chocolat... Wise, thoughtful, funny, warm, moving; all that stuff and more -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *This is a story about community, about being needed and about belonging... A warm, cosy, compassionate read * Independent *A manifesto for booksellers, booklovers, and friendship. We should all celebrate these little bookstores, where our souls find home... one of these books you want to live in for a while * Nina George, author of The Little Paris Bookshop *I was captivated by this tale of books, friendship and the search for happy endings * Woman & Home *A heartwarming tale about literature's power to transform * People *A celebration of people who read to help them survive and thrive * Sainsbury's Magazine *A heartwarming and utterly charming debut... This gentle, intelligent Midwestern tale will captivate... An ideal book group selection, it reminds us why we are book lovers and why it's nice to read a few happy endings * Library Journal, starred review *Bivald encourages us to look for adventure in both literature and life... Charming * Lady *An international bestseller, this quirky, offbeat novel about books, with its wry humour and wonderful characters, is a delicious read * Choice Magazine *Charmingly original....sweet, quirky * Washington Post *This is a charming novel for book lovers from all walks of life… As you journey through the pages, weaving Little Women, Harry Potter, Jodi Picoult, Jane Austen, Steig Larsson and Proust around the storyline, you’ll find yourself rooting for the beautifully drawn characters, smiling at the wry humour and applauding the ending * Candis Magazine *Charming and relatable -- Mel Mitchell * Nudge *You’ll love it -- Catherine Small * Irish News *

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Book SynopsisPart of the vast Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels, The Earth was regarded by Émile Zola''s as his greatest novel. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with an introduction by Douglas Parmée.When Jean Macquart arrives in the peasant community of Beauce, where farmers have worked the same land for generations, he quickly finds himself involved in the corrupt affairs of the local Fouan family. Aging and Lear-like, Old Man Fouan has decided to divide his land between his three children: his penny-pinching daughter Fanny, his eldest son - a far from holy figure known as ''Jesus Christ'' - and the lecherous Buteau, Macquart''s friend. But in a community where land is everything, sibling rivalry quickly turns to brutal hatred, as Buteau declares himself unsatisfied with his lot. A fascinating portrayal of a struggling but decadent community, The Earth offers a compelling exploration of the destructive nature of human ignorance and greed.Douglas Pa

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Book SynopsisOne of the great French novels of the 19th centuryBased on Flaubert's own youthful passion for an older woman, Sentimental Education was described by its author as the moral history of the men of my generation. It follows the amorous adventures of Frederic Moreau, a law student who, returning home to Normandy from Paris, notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and as their paths cross and re-cross over the years, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau's life. Blending love story, historical authenticity, and satire, Sentimental Education is one of the great French novels of the nineteenth century.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 Clas

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Book SynopsisA new translation of one of the most popular satires on the Russian Revolution and Soviet society Best known for The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov is one of twentieth-century Russia's most prominent novelists. A Dead Man's Memoir is a semi- autobiographical story about a writer who fails to sell his novel, then fails to commit suicide. When the writer's play is taken up for production in a theater, literary success beckons, but he is not prepared to reckon with the grotesquely inflated egos of the actors, directors, and theater managers.Trade Review"The book is gentle in tone if fierce in substance." -The New York Times Book Review "Bulgakov is the first magical realist." -Craig Raine, author of T.S. Eliot

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Book SynopsisGyula Krúdy (1878-1933) is a much-loved and admired Hungarian writer. He spent much of his life in Budapest and wrote many stories about the alcoholic and erotic possibilities of the city in its heyday, possibilities which he himself lived to the full. His most famous books in English are The Adventures of Sindbad and Life is a Dream.Trade ReviewKrudy writes of imaginary people, of imaginary events, in dream-like settings; but the spiritual essence of his persons and of their places is stunningly real * The New Yorker *Marvellously quirky -- CJ Schüler * Independent on Sunday *This [series] is a wonderful idea ... They are absurdist parables, by turns hilarious, unsettling and enigmatic. -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *[The series] sheds remarkable light on the literature, culture and politics of the region...anyone coming fresh to the field will be captivated by the richness, variety, humour and pathos of a classic literature that, through a shared historical experience, transcends national and linguistic boundaries. -- CJ Schüler * Independent on Sunday *I urge you to go and read them. -- Adam Thirlwell * New Statesman *This new series of Central European Classics is important well beyond simply providing 'good reads'. -- Stephen Vizinczey * Daily Telegraph *The Hungarian Proust -- Charles Champlin * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisHerman Broder, a refugee and Holocaust survivor, has three women in his life: Yadwiga, the loyal Polish peasant who hid him in a hayloft from the Nazis; Masha, his beautiful and neurotic true love; and Tamara, his first wife. Unsure of who he really is, what he wants and whether he can ever find peace, Herman navigates a crowded, Yiddish New York with a sense of paranoia and impending doom. Published in 1972, Enemies, A Love Story is an astonishing novel that blends humour and pathos to create a rich, humane portrayal of a man who cannot escape his past.Trade ReviewOne is forever suspended between laughter and tears by this rich and marvellous novel * The New York Times *Isaac Bashevis Singer is a rare pleasure ... a literary genius * San Francisco Chronicle *

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Book SynopsisHere are attempts at human connection, both depraved and sublime, and the grinding struggle to survive against the crushing realities of the Soviet system: in Among Friends, a doting mother commits an atrocious act against her beloved son in an attempt to secure his future; The Time: Night examines the suicide of the great Russian poetess Anna Andreevna with heartbreaking clarity; while in Chocolates with Liqueur the struggle for ownership of an apartment between a nurse and a madman turns murderous. With the satirical eye of Cindy Sherman, the psychological perceptiveness of Dostoevsky, and the bleak absurdities of Beckett, Petrushevskaya blends macabre spectacle with transformative moments of grace and shows just why she is Russia''s preeminent contemporary fiction writer.One of Russia''s best living writers ... her tales inhabit a borderline between this world and the next - The New York Times Ludmilla Petrushevskaya was born in Moscow Trade ReviewOne of Russia's best living writers ... her tales inhabit a borderline between this world and the next * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Man of Feeling is a story of love and memory by Javier Marías, whose highly-anticipated new novel The Infatuations is published in 2013.On a train journey from Paris to Madrid a young opera singer becomes fascinated by those in his compartment: a middle-aged businessman, his alluring wife and their male travelling companion. Soon his life of constant travel, luxury hotels, rehearsal and performance will become entangled with these three people, and the singer will find himself fatefully consumed by Natalia''s beauty. The Man of Feeling is the haunting story of the birth and death of a passion, told in retrospect. Intricately interweaving desire and memory, it explores the nature of love, and asks whether we can ever truly recall something that no longer exists.Trade ReviewMarías is one of the best contemporary writers * J. M. Coetzee *Stylish, cerebral ... Marías is a startling talent * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1902, Isaac Bashevis Singer grew up among fellow Jewish families in Poland. In response to the growing Nazi threat in neighbouring Germany, Singer emigrated to America. Settling in New York, he worked as a journalist for a Yiddish-language newspaper, The Forward. Singer was insistent that even after the Second World War, a wide audience remained for Yiddish texts, and each of his novels were originally written in his native language. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. Since Singer's death on July 24 1991 his name has been used in honour for a street in Surfside, Florida, and for the full academic scholarship for undergraduate studies at the University of Miami.Trade ReviewSinger is a writer of far greater than ordinary power * The New York Times *Singer is a master storyteller * Chicago Tribune Book World *

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1902, Isaac Bashevis Singer grew up among fellow Jewish families in Poland. In response to the growing Nazi threat in neighbouring Germany, Singer emigrated to America. Settling in New York, he worked as a journalist for a Yiddish-language newspaper, The Forward. Singer was insistent that even after the Second World War, a wide audience remained for Yiddish texts, and each of his novels were originally written in his native language. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. Since Singer's death on July 24 1991 his name has been used in honour for a street in Surfside, Florida, and for the full academic scholarship for undergraduate studies at the University of Miami.Trade ReviewSinger is a master storyteller * Chicago Tribune Book World *[A] curious excursion into prehistory * The New York Times *Singer is a writer of far greater than ordinary power * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisEasily one of the most towering figures of Bengali literature of the twentieth century, Buddhadev Bose was as prolific as he was versatile. A poet of renown, Bose was also an accomplished playwright, novelist, essayist and short-story writer.

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Book SynopsisParis Street Tales is the third volume of a trilogy of translated stories set in Paris. The previous two are Paris Tales, in which each story is associated with one of the twenty arrondissements, and Paris Metro Tales, in which the twenty-two stories are related to a trip round the Paris Metro. This new volume contains eighteen newly translated stories related to particular streets in Paris, and one newly written tale of the city.The stories range from the nineteenth century to the present day, and include tales by well-known writers such as Colette, Maupassant, Didier Daeninckx, and Simenon, and less familiar names such as Francis Carco, Aurélie Filipetti, and Arnaud Baignot. They present a vivid picture of Paris streets in a variety of literary styles and tones. Simenon''s Maigret is called upon to solve a mystery on the Boulevard Beaumarchais; a flâneur learns some French history through second-hand objects retrieved from the Seine; a nineteenth-century affair in the Rue de MiromesnTrade Reviewthis lovely collection will give you a real sense of the city's character, and I defy anyone to read it without a great longing to get there and explore. * Shiny New Books *Often moody and always eccentric, the collectiondedicated to the memory of Parisians killed in recent attacks at Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclanuncovers the dark and light corners hidden in a city of interesting characters and exuberant history. * Publishers Weekly *If you can't make it to the capital in person this October, sitting in a café with a glass of French wine and reading this book about Paris's streets and faces is the next best thing. * Living France *A captivating read for all those who want to get a taste of classic French literature and love to lose themselves in the streets of Paris. * French Property News *I enjoy short fiction as much as anything I read today, and this Oxford University Press publication reminds me why that is. * BookChase *Table of Contents1: Didier Daeninckx: Rue des Degrés 2: Jean Follain: Streets 3: Guy de Maupassant: The Rendezvous 4: Octave Mirbeau: Tableau Parisien 5: Arnaud Baignot: Rue de la Tacherie 6: Émile Zola: Old Iron 7: Marcel Aymé: Rue Saint Sulpice 8: Jacques Réda: The Freedom of the Streets 9: Frédéric H. Fajardie: A Rapist's Shout One Night in Montparanasse 10: Julien Green: Lost Street Cries 11: Joris-Karl Huysmans: Rue de la Chine 12: Georges Simenon: The Affair in the Boulevard Beaumarchais 13: Roland Dorgelès: Rooftop over the Champs Elysées 14: Vincent Ravalec: The pigeon who shat on people 15: Aurélie Filipetti: The Street is not enough 16: Francis Carco: Rue Pigalle 17: Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette: The hold-up in the Rue Ordener 18: Gisèle Prassinos: The Tree with three branches 19: David Constantine: Rue de la Vieille Lanterne

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Book SynopsisLisbon has been an extraordinary city for well over a thousand years, rendering it a place of great historical and contemporary interest. The combination of cultural influences in Lisbon--Arabian, African, and European--and the city''s identity as a great seafaring stronghold, has granted it a unique and spirited legacy. Lisbon Tales reflects this legacy in its literary selections. From famous names to new voices, Lisbon Tales describes a city in continuous and vibrant change.Trade ReviewA slice of Lisbon to form a tantalizing tart of tales. * Lonnie Weatherby, Library Journal *Lisbon Tales is another excellent installment in this series of books, and they'd all make the perfect addition to the bookshelves of any armchair travellers you might know! * Karen Langley, Shiny New Books *There are many fine inclusions here, with excellent stories by authors who will be largely unknown in the English-speaking world ... The rendering of the stories in English is fluent, appealing, and ... faithful to the original, with helpful explanatory footnotes added when required ... There is much to enjoy in this collection. * David Frier, Words Without Borders *This panorama, proffered in elegant but natural English, is one of the main strengths of Lisbon Tales, leaving aside the intrinsic merits of the stories and crónicas themselves, and Hopkinson's translations are a welcome addition to the repertoire of Portuguese works available to English-speaking readers. * Patricia Anne Odber de Baubeta, Translation and Literature *Table of ContentsPicture Credits General Introduction, Helen Constantine Introduction, Amanda Hopkinson 1. Alves & Co, Eça de Queiroz 2. A Clerical Afternoon, Fernando Pessoa 3. Lost Refuge, Soeiro Pereira Gomes 4. The Accident, José Rodrigues Miguéis 5. The Whistler, Mario Dionisio 6. The Fiancé, Augustina Bessa-Luis 7. Walking in Lisbon, José Saramago 8. Cais-do-Sodre Station, Orlanda Amarilis 9. Still Life with Head of Bream, Teolinda Gersão 10. Collectors, Mario de Carvalho 11. Metro Zoo, Hélia Correia 12. The Companions, Mauro Pinheiro 13. Kizombar, Kalaf Angelo 14. The Time When, Kalaf Angelo Notes on the Authors Further Reading Publishers Acknowledgements Map of Lisbon

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Book SynopsisEven more popular in their day than Don Quixote, Cervantes''s Exemplary Stories (1613) surprise, challenge and delight. Ranging from the picaresque to the satirical, Cervantes''s Exemplary Stories defy the conventions of heroic chivalric literature through a combination of comic irony, moral ambiguity, realism, and sheer mirth. With acute narrative skill and deft characterisation, drawing on colloquial language and farce, Cervantes creates a tension between the everyday and the literary, the plausible and the improbable. While encouraging us to reach our own moral conclusions, he also persuades us to accept the coincidental and the incredible: two boys indulge their life of crime at a time of public prayer; a young nobleman undergoes a change of identity at the behest of not a princess but a mere gipsy girl, and, most fantastically, talking dogs philosophize in a ward full of syphilitics. By placing the extraordinary within the contexts of the ordinary, the Exemplary Stories chart new Table of ContentsINCLUDES

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Book SynopsisExploring the many moods of the Danish capital.From the narrow twisting streets of the old town centre to the shady docklands, this rich anthology captures the essence of Copenhagen and its many faces. Through seventeen tales by some of the very best of Denmark''s writers past and present, we travel the length and breadth of the Danish capital examining famous sights from unique perspectives. A guide book usefully informs a new visitor to Copenhagen but these stories allow the reader to experience the city and its history from the inside.Trade ReviewThis collection is a splendid celebration of Copenhagen. It is beautifully produced with an abundance of illustrations, many of them archival photographs, and it contains helpful introductions, notes and an indispensible map. * Times Literary Supplement, Paul Binding *This collection is a splendid celebration of Copenhagen. It is beautifully produced with an abundance of illustrations, many of them archival photographs, and it contains helpful introductions, notes and an indispensable map. * Paul Binding, The Times Literary Supplement *Sensitively edited by Helen Constantine and beautifully translated by Lotte Shankland, this eclectic anthology touches on mad kings, deliverance from enemy occupation, and the lot of Jewish-Danish immigrants in the city. * Good Book Guide *Table of ContentsThe Water Drop ; Twice Met ; A Tricky Moment ; To Catch A Dane ; Willasden ; Eggnog ; The Maids ; The Bra ; The Naughty Boy ; Is There Life After Love? ; A Bench in Tivoli ; As the Angels Fly ; The Trousers ; Nightingale ; Amelie's Eyes ; Conversation One Night in Copenhagen ; The Night of Great Shared Happiness

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

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Book Synopsis''One of Japan''s most venerated writers'' David MitchellIn this unnerving fable from one of Japan''s greatest novelists, a recluse known as ''Mole'' retreats to a vast underground bunker, only to find that strange guests, booby traps and a giant toilet may prove even greater obstacles than nuclear disaster.''As is true of Poe and Kafka, Abe creates an unexpected impulsion. One continues reading, on and on'' New Yorker''Abe''s depiction of the deadly game of survival is hilarious but at the same time leaves us with a chilling sense of apprehension about the brave new world that awaits us'' Los Angeles TimesTrade ReviewA large, ambitious work about the lives of outcasts in modern Japan and such troubling themes as ecological destruction, old age, violence and nuclear war * The New York Times Book Review *Abe's depiction of the deadly game of survival is hilarious but at the same time leaves us with a chilling sense of apprehension about the brave new world that awaits us * Los Angeles Times *As is true of Poe and Kafka - two writers whose influence does seem apparent - Abe creates on the page an unexpected impulsion. One continues reading, on and on * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisThis new selection of stories featuring Inspector Maigret - three of which are published in English for the first time - takes the detective from a mysterious death in a Cannes hotel to a love triangle in the Loire countryside and a bitter rivalry within a Parisian family.Written during the Second World War, just a few years after Simenon had published what was intended to be his last novel featuring Inspector Maigret, these tales of human frailty and deceit distil the atmosphere, themes and psychological intensity that make Simenon''s famous detective series so compelling. Translated by Ros Schwartz''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'' Boyd Tonkin, TimesTrade ReviewOne 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. -- John Banville * Financial Times *Simenon's supreme virtue as a novelist, to burrow beneath the surface of his characters' behaviour; to empathise . . . it is this unfailing humanity that makes the Maigret books truly worth reading -- Graema Macrae Burnet * Guardian *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 -- Boyd Tonkin * Times *Compelling...tense...readers will surely race through each story with relish -- Martin Bentham * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis''An extraordinary storyteller'' Bernardine Evaristo''People say that on the first night Francis Sancher spent in Rivière au Sel the wind in its temper screamed down from the mountains...''Francis Sancher always said he would come to an unnatural end. So when this handsome newcomer to the Guadeloupean village of Rivière au Sel is found dead, face down in the mud, no one is particularly surprised. Loved by some - especially women - and reviled by others, Francis was an enigmatic figure. Where did he come from? What caused his strange nocturnal wanderings? What devils haunted him? As the villagers come to pay their respects, they each reveal another piece of the mystery behind his life and death - and their own buried secrets and stories come to light.''The grand queen, the empress, of Caribbean literature'' Fiammetta Rocco, GuardianTrade ReviewThe grand queen, the empress, of Caribbean literature -- Fiammetta Rocco * Guardian *Maryse Condé's prodigious fictional universes are founded on a radical and generative disregard for boundaries based on geography, religion, history, race, and gender -- Angela Y. DavisA story of life in all its flavours . . . a fluid, mobile narrative, passing easily from person to person. Fascinating and beautiful -- John Self * The Observer *A masterly storyteller * New York Times Book Review *A treasure of world literature, writing from the center of the African diaspora with brilliance and a profound understanding of all humanity -- Russell BanksCondé writes elegantly in a style that beautifully survives translation from the French. . . She gives readers a flavor of the French and Creole stew that is the Guadeloupan tongue. In so doing, Conde conveys the many subtle distinctions of color, class, and language that made up this society * Chicago Tribune *

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Book SynopsisAward-winning author Javier Marías weaves a darkly thrilling tale of love, betrayal and lives played out in the unhappy shadow of history As a young man, Juan de Vere takes a job that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Hi employer is Eduardo Muriel: a famous film director, sophisticated and discreet. Muriel''s wife Beatriz is a soft, ripe woman who slips through her husband''s home like an unwanted ghost, finding solace in other beds. And on the periphery of their lives stands Dr Jorge Van Vechten, a old family friend with a shadowy past. Juan enters eagerly into Muriel''s world of glamour and prestige, but as time passes he is troubled by many questions that seem to have no answer. Why does Muriel hate Beatriz? How did Beatriz meet Van Vechten? And what happened in the chaotic years after the war?As Juan learns more about his employers, his own iTrade ReviewPublisher's description. From one of Spain's most acclaimed literary voices comes a rich and complex portrait of mutual deception, toxic love and cruel, lingering guilt. A youth caught in the middle of someone else's bitter marriage; a beautiful woman scorned; a man torn between conscience and will. Step into the melancholic, unforgiving world of Javier Marías. * Penguin *Marías returns with another masterful tapestry of noir-ish twists and digressive cerebration * The Millions *Elegant and beautiful, reminiscent of Proust... Magnificent * Daily Mail *One of Marias's most enjoyable and accessible novels * Financial Times *Marias is relentless in his pursuit of literary and psychological truth * Sunday Times *Ferociously addictive, troubling [and] seductive... It works as high literary fiction, constantly picking apart our assumptions about story and fiction, but also offering good old-fashioned plot' * Independent *A powerful study of history and memory from a literary giant * Sunday Times *Easily as engrossing as anything he's written before... He manages to tread the tightrope between a very literary fiction and an utterly absorbing plot * The Times *Alfred Hitchcock would be a home with Marias - but so too might Harold Pinter...It's a rare trick to pull off, this combination of suspense, analysis and metaphysics that aims both high at the brow and low at the gut * Prospect *Almodóvar-esque * New York Magazine *On the page, he is expansive and unrestrained * New Yorker *A major work from a global talent, Thus Bad Begins knits Hitchcockian suspense into a hypnotic tale crackling with erotic tension and political strife... The personal is political, as Marías' powerful, wide-ranging, yet curiously intimate novel attests * Minneapolis Star-Tribune *Marías is a master of a kind of suspense that is rare in the modern novel * NY Times *Erudite, strange, hypnotic and beautiful...One reads Marías for his ability to make the smallest parts of the world come alive * LA Times *

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Book Synopsis'Ravishing' (The Times): a compelling, brilliant novel from a master of European literature, a bestseller in France.Trade Review'Ravishing' * The Times *'Achingly beautiful' * Guardian *'Bewitchingly mysterious...Makine's reputation rises with every book, and some have claimed that he deserves the Nobel Prize; on the strength of this teasing, emotionally dense novel, it's easy to see why' * Sunday Telegraph *'Luminous, enthralling...The enormity of the Second World War, with more than 20 million Russian dead, is allied with one, inconsolable human tragedy. This is where Makine dazzles. He can make the universal deeply intimate.' * Herald *'Beautiful...Makine gives us a work about love and its doppelganger, infatuation, which is by turns touching and profoundly sad' * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisIf you could go back in time, what would you do differently? For Eliott, there is no question. To all appearances, his life has been a success. At 60, he is an esteemed surgeon with a daughter he adores. The only thing missing is Ilena - a girl who died thirty years ago. But then he is given an extraordinary opportunity to revisit his past: to go back to San Francisco, when the seventies were in full swing, and find the passionate young doctor who has yet to lose the love of his life.Trade Review'Musso once again proves that he is a master of romantic stories, the ideal companion for cold winter's days on the sofa.' * Westdeutsche Zeitung *'Musso has written a sentimental love story with an intriguing twist. Humorously and suspensefully, Musso plays back and forth in time with the manipulation of fate and wish-fulfillment fantasy until the final heart-stopping sentence. Suspend your disbelief and take a trip back to the future, this time with feeling.' * Iain Finlayson, Saga *'Musso is from the Paul Coelho school of writing, with on-the-nose prose and a simple message. Think a sentimental Back to the Future.' * London Paper *'Light, but charming: a fantastic romance' ... 'Musso, keep writing! Whatever comes next, we'll be there.' * Thuringsiche Landeszeintung *'Will you be there' is a delightful, uncliched romance.' * Freundin, Germany *'A daring rollercoaster of a novel - readers of The Time Traveller's Wife will love it' * Sunday Express *Book of the Month: 'It's an irresistible tale of love conquering the boundaries of time and space - think Truly, Madly, Deeply meets The Time Traveler's Wife.' * Glamour *'A gripping read' * Augsburger Allgemeine *'You must read this book - and if you like Marc Levy, you'll love Guillaume Musso. Promise!' * Veranstaltungskalender *'It's no surprise that this novel has had its film rights snapped up - it's as high concept as they come . . . Musso is from the Paul Coelho school of writing, with on-the-nose prose and a simple message. As one reviewer put it, think: "a sentimental Back to the Future"' * London Paper *'A novel that people actually want to read and simply enjoy. Musso has written a sentimental love story with an intriguing twist - to put right a romance gone wrong . . . Humorously and suspensefully, Musso plays back and forth in time with the manipulation of fate and wish-fulfilment fantasy until the final heart-stopping sentence. Suspend your disbelief and take a trip back to the future, this time with feeling.' * Saga *'A daring rollercoaster of a novel - readers of The Time Traveller's Wife will love it' * Sunday Express *'It's an irresistible tale of love conquering the boundaries of time and space - think Truly, Madly, Deeply meets The Time Traveller's Wife.' * Glamour *'This young and rising French author has a way of captivating you . . . gripping . . .If you like Mitch Albom, you'll like Musso, even though he has a lighter and more humorous approach' * Hype Magazine, Singapore *'Stunning novel . . . an intelligent and emotional time-travelling romance, if you enjoyed The Time Traveller's Wife you will treasure WILL YOU BE BE THERE? A moving tale of love, loss and hope, it's not hard to see why this book was a runaway bestseller in France and has been translated into 24 languages with a film in the offing.' * East Anglian Daily Times *'Read this: WILL YOU BE THERE? is for anyone who has thought about what they would do differently if they could change the past. * Famous Magazine, Australia *'An enthralling tale which will keep you turning the pages until the very end . . . you will hear more about [Musso] in the future' * Daily Mercury, Australia *

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Book SynopsisLocked behind the Iron Curtain, a young boy grows up bewitched by his French grandmother''s memories of Paris before the Great War. Yet despite what he also learns of her suffering in the Soviet Union under Stalin and during the Second World War, as an adolescent he finds himself proud to be a Russian. Torn between the two cultures, he eventually makes a choice - which has a wholly unexpected outcome. Capturing the powerful allure of illusion, this unforgettable novel traces a sentimental and intellectual journey that embraces the dramatic history of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewA superb novel about fantasy and reality...It is Makine's achievement to convey the essential, with economy, grace and beauty * Scotsman *Great literature, necessary and profound * Independent *He communicates brilliantly the exquisite agony of nostalgia * Literary Review *Beautifully written...A deceptively profound novel. Makine's wonderful economy of image and phrase convey far more than one could think possible about the Russian soul * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisAWARD-WINNING CRIME FICTION WITH SOUTH AFRICAN SOULWinner of the 2011 Boeke Prize in South Africa and shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger for Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year.Trade ReviewWhat makes Deon Meyer's novel so outstanding is its setting - the new South Africa, where jaded white detectives are still getting use to working with black and coloured (in the country's parlance) colleagues . . . Meyer gives rare insights into the texture of everyday life in a country still troubled 20 years after the release of Nelson Mandela. * The Sunday Times *This terrific, action-packed thriller has superbly drawn characters and an enthralling setting. Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet. * Mail on Sunday *Deon Meyer is the undisputed king of South African crime fiction, and THIRTEEN HOURS demonstrates why. * The Times *South African thrillers arrive with racial baggage, and it's a mark of Meyer's talent to see just how well the issues are balanced with a smashing story. Imposing a strict time limit and a tight location on his plot, he ramps up the suspense to an unbearable degree. Best of all, his sharply drawn characters really feel part of the new South Africa, where loyalties and beliefs must always be questioned. * Financial Times *What makes this novel so outstanding is its setting... and Meyer's superlative talent for suspense... This is a vigorous, exciting novel that combines memorable characters and plot with edge-of-the-seat suspense. * The Sunday Times *Far and away South Africa's best crime writer * The Times *gripping and suspenseful crime novel set in a violent, post-apartheid South Africa * Culture Magazine (The Sunday Times) *A cracking read from one of Africa's finest * Shots ezine *One of the sharpest and most perceptive thriller writers around * Peter Millar, The Times, on DEVIL'S PEAK *Far and away the best crime writer in South Africa * Matthew Lewin, Guardian, on BLOOD SAFARI *One of the most exciting thrillers I've read for a long time. * Lady Antonia Fraser *Blood Safari is my first exposure to the man billed by his publishers as the "king of South African crime thrillers". For once the publicity spinners are not guilty of hyperbole -- Meyer is simply excellent. * Business Day on BLOOD SAFARI *Pulsating and gripping * The Sunday Times on BLOOD SAFARI *I rushed through it like one of Meyer's beloved BMW motorbikes in overdrive. A fantastic read. I know Cape Town well and he did glorious justice to the city's mosaic * Tim Butcher, author of Richard and Judy bestseller BLOOD RIVER, on DEVIL'S PEAK *'A moving, expertly constructed story of a broken man's redemption' * The Sunday Times on DEVIL'S PEAK *Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to nip at the heels of le Carré * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER *A Christmas Choice for best thrillers in 2007 * The Times on DEVIL'S PEAK *A glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems and corruption...I marvelled at the intricacy of the plotting, I smiled at Christine's cheeky ingenuity, I felt Thobela's pain and Benny's desperation, and I was stunned by a denouement of awesome power and accomplishment * Guardian on DEVIL'S PEAK *My favourite South African thriller writer * James Mitchell, Tonight, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK *'Meyer is a gifted writer...believable and disturbing' * Tangled Web on DEVIL'S PEAK *'Deon Meyer, who writes in Afrikaans, portrays a world of terrifying uncertainty, in which those who fought for liberation from apartheid are having to come to terms with the knowledge that freedom is not enough to wipe out cruelty. A thoughtful and exciting novel' * Times Literary Supplement on DEVIL'S PEAK *This guy is really good. Deon Meyer hooked me with this one right from the start. HEART OF THE HUNTER is a thriller with some weight attached and that is a rare find. * Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER *HEART OF THE HUNTER is a brilliant book. Deon Meyer does an excellent job of developing a whole range of characters who are affected by the changes in South Africa in different ways. And Thobela, a giant of a man in search of redemption, is a wonderful hero. * Michael Ridpath, author of THE PREDATOR, on HEART *Meyer weaves an impressively tangled web and taut narrative keeps the reader guessing until the last couple of pages * Heat***, on DEAD AT DAYBREAK *Like post-war Germany, post-apartheid South Africa offers fertile ground for reflective fiction ... Senior editor at Little, Brown, Judy Clain, a fellow South African, says, "Meyer has an extraordinary landscape - a changed world where the ghosts of the past play a huge role." * Publishers Weekly, on HEART OF THE HUNTER *With simmering racial tensions, a bounty of natural resources, and a government whose members worked both sides of the cold-war fence, South Africa should prove fertile ground for many fine spy thrillers to come. Don't be surprised if quite a few of them are written by Meyer. * Booklist (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER *A fascinating portrayal...a black, assegai-wielding former freedom fighter who turns into a vigilante and goes on a killing spree; a high-class tart; and a policeman who drinks to drown the screaming that's waiting inside his head: "One day it will come out and I am scared that I am the one who will hear it." It does come out and he is the one who hears it, winding up the tension to a gripping, shocking climax. Highly recommended. * Jessica Mann, Literary Review, on DEVIL'S PEAK *A sombre but terrifying thriller, and some parts will ignite even those readers with the iciest of hearts...Meyer plays the best of mind games with his readers * Mail & Guardian, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK *Tough in-your-face crime writing that spares nothing in language, visceral scenes of blood and mayhem (for Meyer is adroit at choreographing descriptions of slaughter), and never wavers from the compelling pace of the story. It also has a mean line in humour that comes through in the snappy dialogue. * Sunday Independent, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK *an explosive mixture * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *the staccato story slips back and forth between the various strands at a breathless clip, doling out huggest of plot in just the right amounts to have us salivating to know more * Metro Scotland *[Benny Griessel is] 'a gem of a protagonist... This is my favourite novel of the year so far.' * Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine *

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Book Synopsis The prize-winning 100,000-copy Italian bestseller A 2023 book of the year for the Financial Times, the Irish Times, the New European, Marie Claire and Largehearted Boy''Deliciously enjoyable'' Katherine Heiny''I adored it'' Naoise Dolan''Wild, funny and disturbing'' Roddy Doyle''Thrillingly original'' Monica Ali''It would be simply impossible for a book this good to go unnoticed'' Big Issue _________________________________A delightfully funny Italian novel about sex, love, family - and how a writer transforms her life into artVero has grown up in Rome with her eccentric family: an omnipresent mother who is devoted to her own anxiety, a father ruled by hygienic and architectural obsessions, and a precocious genius brother at the centre of their attention. As she becomes an adult, Vero''s neeTrade ReviewHighly entertaining, thought-provoking and one of 2023's best novels yet * Strong Words *Funny and tender * Financial Times, Best Books of the Year 2023 *Wild, funny and disturbing, all I ask of a book about mothers and their daughters. -- Roddy Doyle * Irish Times, Best Books of 2023 *Excellent ... written in a spare and precise style from the pen of a biting narrator. It would be simply impossible for a book this good to go unnoticed * Big Issue *Remarkable. A darkly funny novel of rhythm, subtlety and nuance ... a writer who deserves as wide an audience as possible * New European *Restless and sly ... intelligently spiky * The Times *I fell head over heels in love with Lost on Me. What a thrillingly original voice! Raimo writes with a tender brutality that is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking * Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage *I adored Lost on Me. With combustive prose and oxidising wit, Veronica Raimo sets fire to the Bildungsroman. A clear-eyed comedic talent who bends the novel form to her will -- Naoise DolanA uproariously funny portrait of an unconventional family from a writer who knows the sliver of ice in the heart as well as she knows love. This deliciously enjoyable novel is a true original and one to savour -- Katherine HeinyWhen the book you start reading is immediately hilarious and deeply disturbing, you know you're onto something special. Lost on Me is that book -- Roddy DoyleIs it possible, today, to completely reinvent auto-fiction? For Veronica Raimo it clearly is. Get ready to talk about this book for a long, long time -- Paolo Giordano, author of The Solitude of Prime NumbersThis book made me want to clear my calendar and read everything of Raimo's I could get my hands on. Incisive, engrossing, and deeply funny -- Julia May Jonas, author of VladimirLike a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, Veronica Raimo mocks the absurdities of her family life as well as tries to reconcile her own ambiguous feelings. A bold, provocative, and original book -- Lily Tuck, author of SistersA desecrating and tender portrait of family that reels us in from the very first lines * Io Donna: Il Corriere della Sera *Many pages in this novel are so intense and unscrupulous that one feels the apprehension of being caught spying in a stranger's mailbox * Esquire Italia *Reading this novel is a blast ... Many of the pages are jellyfish stings: they burn on and on -- Claudia Durastanti, author of Strangers I KnowVeronica Raimo is a stupendous comedian * La Stampa *A story that nails us down with a powerful first-person voice, clear and exhilarating. * Marie Claire Italia *With its stellar voice, Raimo's inquisitive and vulnerable novel proves tough to put down * Publishers Weekly *Lost on Me is the naughty grandson of Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon ... Raimo has tapped the novelistic potential of her affections and has transformed them into comedy. The result deserves all of the praise flaunted on the cover * Il Corriere della Sera *Filled with humour and neuroses ... a witty and complex portrait of a woman becoming herself * Kirkus *Lost on Me was anything but; I was utterly seduced by this wry and fearless novel featuring the unforgettable voice of Vero, a young woman with a sharp sense of humour and a splendid eye for the absurd -- Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Dog of the NorthWhat a fresh, vivid and unpredictable voice, bursting with life, I loved it. Finally something that's not like everything else. -- Karl Geary, author of Montpelier ParadeThis bittersweet work of autofiction charts Verika's journey through her neurotic childhood to womanhood and her attempts - literal and metaphorical - to escape her family and their influence. Smart, funny ... a sharply tender portrait of a young woman's becoming * Marie Claire, Best Books of 2023 *If Sheila Heti was Italian and wrote a modern Franny & Zooey, it would approximate how powerful and magnificent Veronica Raimo's novel Lost on Me is. * Largehearted Boy *Infused with a hilarious dry wit wrung from a wry attitude to life, Lost On Me stands out as a brilliant and inventive modern novel in English thanks to an outstanding translation for which Leah Janeczko deserves much credit * New European, Best Books of 2023 *If you enjoy Deborah Levy or Natalia Ginzburg, then you'll appreciate the writing of Italian author and translator, Veronica Raimo. Deeply original and with kudos from Naoise Dolan and Katherine Heiny, this bildungsroman follows Vero, a 15-year-old girl, writer and compulsive liar as she plots various bids for freedom, all of which are thwarted by her savvy mother. The film rights have been snapped up by Fandango, so look out for news of a future movie * Rushh.com *

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Book Synopsis''Enchanting. Reading Barreau is like having me-time with your best friend'' NINA GEORGE, author of The Little Paris Bookshop''Heart-breaking . . . touching and magical until the very last page'' ELLE ___________Julien Azoulay is famous around the world for his beautiful romance novels. But last year, he stopped believing in love. When his beloved wife Hélène died, leaving him alone to raise his young son, Julien lost his faith in the happier side of life - and with it his ability to write. But Hélène was clever. Before she died, she made Julien promise to write her one letter for each year of her life . . . and now, in this moment, in the most famous cemetery in Paris, Julien stands with his painful first letter in his hand. Here, even though Julien wouldn''t believe it, something wonderful is going to happen . . . Come with us down the narrow streets, past the cosy red bistro o

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Book Synopsis''You''ll cry for these brothers: for the men they became, for the boys they were, for the innocence they lost. Alex Schulman will take you deep into an emotional labyrinth'' Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called OveYears ago, they fled the lake house.Now, the brothers have returned. Three brothers return to the family cottage by the lake where, more than two decades earlier, a catastrophe changed the course of their lives. Now, they are here to scatter their mother''s ashes - young men, estranged but bound together by the history that defines them. Their lives have been spent competing for their father''s favour and their mother''s love, in a household more like a minefield than a home. What really happened that summer day when everything was blown to pieces?The Survivors is a suspenseful, haunting novel about three brothers and their reckoning with the events of one disputed, disastrous summe

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Book Synopsis“Filled with passion, curiosity, empathy, as well as mischief—definitely mischief.”—Azar NafisiTrade Review"Carries the flavor of the old world..." -- The Washington Post

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Book SynopsisThe Second Edition of the Norton Critical Edition of The Brothers Karamazov is based on a significantly revised translation by Susan McReynolds.

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Book SynopsisMichael R. Katz’s acclaimed translation of Turgenev’s greatest novel is again the basis for this Norton Critical Edition.

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Book SynopsisAfter many years away, Andreas returns to his childhood home: a small island off the Norwegian coast where he grew up with his sister Minna. Their foster father Johannes has just died, and he must sort through their decaying old house, the Yellow Villa. As he settles back into rural life, Andreas begins to question the shadowy history of the island itself. Owned by Jan-Heinz Kaufmann, who had been a minister in the wartime government, the island has been a summer colony for deprived evacuee children from occupied Oslo. But decades later, Kaufmann remains an elusive figure, and the ultimate purpose of his wartime refuge and his relationship to Andreas and Minna after their parents' sudden disappearance remains mysterious.

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Book SynopsisA distressed young man murders the woman he loves in a cafe, watched by a large crowd. Fascinated by the crime she has witnessed, Anne Desbaresdes returns several times to the scene, forming a relationship with a man who also saw the murder, and drinking through the afternoon with him as he patiently answers her eager questions. Slowly, they find themselves being taken over by forces which threaten their own stability. Moderato Cantabile is a carefully woven tapestry of emotion, in which the characters' inner lives are reflected by the story's spaces and landscapes.Trade ReviewDuras's sentences lodge themselves slowly in the reader's mind until they detonate with all the force of fused feeling and thought. * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisAs a young man, Leon Nader suffered from insomnia. As a nightwalker, he even turned to violence during his nocturnal excursions and had psychiatric treatment for his condition. Eventually, he was convinced he had been cured - but one day, years later, Leon''s wife disappears from their flat under mysterious circumstances. Could it be that his illness has broken out again? In order to find out how he behaves in his sleep, Leon fits a movement activated camera to his forehead - and when he looks at the video the next morning he makes a discovery that bursts the borders of his imagination. His nocturnal personality goes through a door that is totally unknown to him and descends into the darkness....Trade Review[A] current star is Sebastian Fitzek, whose The Nightwalker is...darkly fatalistic. * Independent *A claustrophobic, nightmarish work, with a powerful undercurrent of dread that recalls a horror story...The prose is stark and bare, adding to the menace. That it's all told so matter of factly makes the final twists even more shocking. * Irish Independent on Sunday *A taut psychological thriller set against the backdrop of modern Berlin. * The Times on SPLINTER *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Inception. * Guardian on SPLINTER *Fitzek's thrillers are breathtaking and full of wild twists. * HARLAN COBEN, International #1 Bestseller *

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Book SynopsisA portrait of a family of proud layabouts who avoid work and sleep all day by the Egyptian writer often referred to as the Voltaire of the NileTrade Review"Despite the seemingly unrelieved gloom and futility in which his figures move, Cossery nevertheless expresses in every work the indomitable faith in the power of people to throw off the yoke." -- Henry Miller

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Book SynopsisNow in a gorgeous new paperback edition with full-color illustrations by Maira Kalman, Microscripts is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.Trade Review"The use of throwaway scraps and pencil also seems part of a deliberate espousal of the small and modest, an attention to the unnoticed, and the microscripts are, as this edition lets us see, objects of beauty, the pencillings precisely filling their allotted space, the different texts neatly fitted together on the same piece of paper like some kind of intricate insect construction whose purpose is absolutely necessary.... Walser has in recent years regained some of the status he enjoyed in the 1920s. Instead of Kafka and Benjamin, we have Sebald and Lydia Davis championing him. But we still don't know where we stand with him. Are we dealing with pure literature,the vagaries of the everyday, jokes, or empty fancies? The writing is radical and elegant enough to encompass all these possibilities and many more. Is it the stuff of life? Perhaps." -- The Times Literary Supplement"Walser vaulted new heights of expression with minuscule means." -- The Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisA lively and utterly singular travelogue of the intricate curiosities that are directly within one’s own reachTrade Review"De Maistre pioneered a mode of travel that was to make his name: room travel. Dressed in pink-and-blue pajamas, satisfied within the confines of his own bedroom, Xavier de Maistre was gently nudging us to try, before taking off for distant hemispheres, to notice what we have already seen." -- Alain De Botton"The late eighteenth century is when modernity (more exactly, the modernities) began. Sterne, Diderot, Rousseau—among the effortlessly brilliant writers of that incandescent era, there still remains Xavier de Maistre to discover or rediscover. His masterpiece, Voyage Around My Room, is one of the most original and mettlesome autobiographical narratives ever written." -- Susan Sontag"Funny and deceptively profound." -- The Guardian

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Book SynopsisFrom the moment he meets Julia, Christiaan Dudok is dangerously close to love. But their first date is interrupted by S.A. Brownshirts storming into the cafe. It is 1937, and Germany is heading for war and fanaticism. Chris, a Dutchman, is both transfixed and appalled by the effect of Hitler''s manic oratory on the people of Lubeck.The independence and freedom of thought that Chris finds so attractive in Julia leads her to emphatically reject the Nazi regime, and before long her courageous stance brings them both to the Gestapo''s attention. Soon Chris is forced to make an impossible choice, the outcome of which he can only regret.Trade ReviewAn affecting study of regret . . . A compelling account of how conflicts tear apart lives -- Lucy Popescu * Tribune *What is most striking in this novel is de Kat's use of the Dutchman's slightly distanced perspective to pinpoint what was most unsettling about this time: through him we register the terrible energy and torpor of a moment when it seems impossible for ordinary Germans to stop the march or step out of line, and yet unconscionable for them not to try -- Madeleine Clements * Times Literary Supplement *''A sequence of memories beautifully linked together by the images drifting through the mind of a man waiting to die' Guardian. * Guardian *'De Kat's ambition of theme is served by astonishing tautness of construction and spareness of language' Independent. * Independent *'Emotionally shattering, it is also distinguished by logical intricacy of art and precision of detail' Paul Binding, T.L.S. Books of the Year. * Paul Binding *'A monumental little book' Roger Cox, Scotsman. * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisA frustrated publisher receives a mysterious angst-ridden manuscript: ''a friend'' must send it in installments; its contents would put the author in danger. As he pieces together the story, he learns that the author is the wife of one of the two Martelli brothers - gangsters who dominate a small town in the Brazilian interior. Surely her dark outpourings are a cry for help? One by one, he dispatches his motley collection of friends to Frondosa - a town totally obsessed with five-a-side football - to investigate and to bring her to safety.Trade Review'An unsual elegance and lightness of touch, as well as a lingering underlying melancholy. It's nicely written too - the translation is as smooth as silk' Andrew Taylor, Spectator. * Spectator *'At barely 200 pages, and with a note-perfect translation from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa, The Spies shares with a cryptic crossword the virtue of succinctness, not a word or scene wasted' Hannah Rosefield, Observer. * Observer *

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Book Synopsis1938. Hitler''s expansionist policies are arousing both anger and admiration, not least in Helsinki''s Wednesday Club. The members of this relaxed gentleman''s club are old friends of lawyer Claes Thune. But this year it is apparent that the political unrest in Europe is having an effect on the cohesion of the group.Thune has recently divorced and is at something of a loss, running his law practice with no great enthusiasm. Luckily he has the assistance of an efficient new secretary, Matilda Wiik. But behind her polished exterior Mrs Wiik is tormented by memories of the Finnish Civil War, when she experienced horrors she has been trying to forget ever since. And one evening, with the Wednesday Club gathered in Thune''s office, she hears a voice she hoped she would never hear again.She is suddenly plunged back into the past. But this time she is no longer a helpless victim . . .Trade ReviewThoughtful and knowledgeable . . . An interesting and instructive book -- Jessica Mann * Literary Review. *An extremely impressive achievement * Svenska Dagbladet *A well-constructed, taut narrative that feels fresh, and as tense as a thriller. He has created a story that reaches out through time and space, but in which every component works towards the tragic, vaguely foreshadowed yet still unexpected climax * Hufvudstadsbladet *The Nordic region's most important interpreter of the grand themes of our political history, and how they have affected people's lives and thoughts. * Sveriges Radio *The Wednesday Club is a tense, gripping thriller ... a book one cannot put down or easily forget -- Mika Provata-Carlone * Bookanista *Extremely focused and tense: Westö has turned his talent for balanced, attractive storytelling to a sharper, snappier form of crime-writing * Norrbottens Kurir *

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