Magical realism

Book Synopsis'A cracking historical novel – with a twinge of the surreal – about passion and obsession' The TimesSHORLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock finds one of his captains waiting eagerly on his doorstep. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, where he meets Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on... and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course.What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the legendary destructive power a mermaid is said to possess?Trade ReviewA cracking historical novel – with a twinge of the surreal – about passion and obsession, dreams and reality... The story is by turns intriguing, touching, funny, sad and heartwarming. It will make you laugh and it may make you cry. Mostly, though, the cast of endlessly engaging characters will keep you turning the pages until you get to the wholly satisfying ending... The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock is superb. * The Times *From the first page of this dazzling debut novel, you are pitched into a sumptuously detailed adventure set in the bustle and swagger of 18th century London… The result is a wonderfully written and richly descriptive novel, its brilliantly drawn characters driven by heady and dangerous desires.***** * Sunday Express *Roll up, roll up, a true wonder is on display: a mermaid magicked out of words. The author of this debut set in Georgian London gulled me, by the zest of her writing and sustained authorial slight of hand, into forgetting for a second that they do not exist... Imogen Hermes Gowar delights in the feminine fakery of mermaids, but as a writer she is the real deal. -- Hermione Eyre, author of Viper Wine * Guardian *A sumptuous historical novel... It was an absolute pleasure to lose myself in this beautifully written Georgian adventureHotly anticipated... a bold, sumptuous doorstopper... Gowar has created a dazzlingly original novel, full of heady pleasures and shot through with the kind of irreverent humour you might expect to find in Georgian London. She’s succeeded in creating a fully-realised world that you want to get lost in. But what’s most refreshing is that she gives all the best lines to women. * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA beautifully packaged hardback edition of Haruki Murakami's brilliantly surreal, detective-story classic, now with a new introduction by the author.The man was leading an aimless life, time passing, one big blank. His girlfriend has perfectly formed ears, ears with the power to bewitch, marvels of creation. The man receives a letter from a friend, enclosing a seemingly innocent photograph of sheep, and a request: place the photograph somewhere it will be seen.Then, one September afternoon, the phone rings, and the adventure begins. Welcome to the wild sheep chase.'Murakami's style and imagination are closer to that of Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and John Irving' New York TimesTrade ReviewWonderfully easy to read and just as wonderfully difficult to make sense of...like the narrator, who slowly accepts the presence in his life of mystery, we slowly recognize the possibility of a new kind of world. Like him, we lean forward and topple headlong into magic * Washington Post *It begins as a detective novel, dips into a screwball comedy, and at its close becomes a tale of possession...A highly accomplished piece of craftsmanship * New Yorker *Mr. Murakami's style and imagination are closer to that of Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and John Irving * New York Times *A Wild Sheep Chase has the conventional hull of a thriller - a quest, a mystery, an extraordinary woman, and plenty of elegant duress - but its fantastic superstructure transforms it into something quite different...a science fiction fantasy, a romance, a metaphysical tease, or a dramatisation of philosophical ideas * Independent *If you consider yourself an intelligent, sensitive common reader but wish to accommodate something a little removed from your experience, and probably your imagination, I dare you to turn your eyes towards Murakami and head off on a wild sheep chase. * Glasgow Herald *

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Book Synopsis'As vivid as it is splendid' New York Times'Beautifully written and completely absorbing' Sarah Moss, GuardianA BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL and SHORTLISTED FOR THE KITSCHIES GOLD TENTACLE AWARDA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in the NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, OPRAH MAGAZINE and BBC CULTUREAt seven years old, Nainoa falls into the sea and a shark takes him in its jaws - only to return him, unharmed, to his parents. For the next thirty years Noa and his siblings struggle with life in the shadow of this miracle.Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliantly original and inventive novel, the sweeping story of a family living in poverty among the remnants of Hawai'i's mythic past and the wreckage of the American dream.Trade ReviewThe novel you never knew you were waiting for. Old myths clash with new realities, love is in a ride or die with grief, faith rubs hard against magic, and comic flips with tragic so much they meld into something new. All told with daredevil lyricism to burn. A ferocious debut -- MARLON JAMESSharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliant novel and one of the most engaging and memorable books I've read this year. Sentences sparkle, the narrative voices remain distinctive and complete, and the deep notes of magic sound under the realism of poverty and loss. I didn't want it to end -- SARAH MOSSAs vivid as it is splendid . . . This may be his debut, but he proves himself an old hand at dissecting the ways in which places - our connections to them, our disconnections from them - break us and remake us . . . With prose that can be breathy and sweaty in one paragraph before gliding softly and tenderly into the next, this passionate writer cries out for us to see Hawaii in its totality: as a place of proud ancestors and gods and spirits, but also of crumbling families and hopelessness and poverty. Of mystery and beauty at every corner -- IMBOLO MBUE * * New York Times * *Sharks in the Time of Saviours bursts with life. It is bright and beautifully noisy. It's so good it hurts and hurts to where it heals. It is revelatory and unputdownable. Washburn is an extraordinarily brilliant new talent. This family saga is shark tooth sharp. Its pages shoot off crackles and sparks, and you come out of it changed. It is sublime -- TOMMY ORANGE, author of THERE, THEREAdjusted my understanding of the world . . . Beautifully written and completely absorbing -- Sarah Moss * * Guardian * *[Hawai'i's] ancient history and lush natural beauty pulses through the book. Washburn is an assured and agile stylist, creating a unique and urgent voice for each member of the family . . . An electrifying, heart-wrenching exploration of how life, hope and goodness persist in the aftermath of loss * * Daily Mail * *Radiant . . . Immediately grips you in its jaws, plunges you into Hawaiian waters, and finally releases you, breathless and changed . . . There's something bewitching, too, in Washburn's prose - the furious, lively spell of it * * O, The Oprah Magazine * *Epic in scope, it throbs with magic realism and urban misery . . . [Written with] style and swagger . . . Told with such loquacious vigour that the reader is swept along, utterly rapt. It marks Washburn out as a writer with talent to burn * * i * *A beautifully written debut novel * * Vogue * *Mixes hardscrabble Hawaiian reality with flights of wonder and the supernatural in a way that is wholly original * * Vanity Fair * *

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Book SynopsisSet during Carnival in Haiti 1938, a young and beautiful woman named Hadriana drinks a mysterious potion on her wedding day and collapses at the altar. She is buried and later resurrected by an evil sorcerer and, as a zombie, enters the collective memory of her town of Jacmel. Hadriana's conversion serves as the inciting incident into an exploration of the strange and esoteric on the island, where Voodoo and Catholicism keep a symbiotic relationship, young women turn into zombies, young men turn into lascivious butterflies and nothing is quite what it seems. Hadriana in All my Dreams is a frolic through mystery and eroticism that reveals vital truths about the nature of humanity.

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Book SynopsisShirley Jackson Award finalist World Fantasy Award finalist Dark, irreverent, and truly innovative, the speculative stories in Homesick meditate on the theme of home and our estrangement from it, and what happens when the familiar suddenly shifts into the uncanny. In stories that foreground queer relationships and transgender or nonbinary characters, Cipri delivers the origin story for a superhero team comprised of murdered girls; a housecleaner discovering an impossible ocean in her least-favorite clients’ house; a man haunted by keys that appear suddenly in his throat; and a team of scientists and activists discovering the remains of a long-extinct species of intelligent weasels. In the spirit of Laura van den Berg, Emily Geminder, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, and other winners of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize, Nino Cipri’s debut collection announces the arrival of a brilliant and wonderfully unpredictable writer with a gift for turning the short story on its ear.Trade Review"Nino Cipri’s Homesick makes the idea of home into a prism and beams a core of queerness through it, refracting into nine surreal and moving stories about families lost, found and transformed. The stories vary from formal experiments to deeply felt character meditations, from a three-page piece of flash fiction to a well-developed novella, and from heartbreak to horror to humor. Over all they excel in a kind of subtle startling, like meeting unexpected ripples in a mirror. ... Absolutely wonderful in every respect." —New York Times Book Review "These stories are so deliciously queer and dark and playful; Cipri is a treasure." —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties "The fantastical landscapes of Cipri’s nine tales heighten the moments of crisis that force characters to confront the here and now as well as life’s gritty unknowns." —Booklist "These stories are delicious speculative confections, as masterful as Kelly Link’s but even more approachable. ... For Cipri, home is elusive, problematized, and an ache for home encompasses a desire for acceptance, safety, and even innocence." —Vol 1 Brooklyn "The queer stories in Homesick are as mystifying as they are provocative, and will appeal to fans of literary fiction and speculative genre fiction alike ... Since it's a collection of stories, Homesick offers many stopping points. Like unraveling the mysteries of prehistoric intelligent weasels, however, stopping proves to be quite impossible." —Shelf Awareness "Emerging writer and self-described weirdo mixes monsters, zombies, Super Little Dead Girls and poltergeists with screenplay, lists and good old-fashioned storytelling. The result: an excellent and entertaining collection. ... Also, shout-out to Cipri’s snappy dialogue and devotion to offbeat rhetorical questions — 'Do you think zombies can go through revolving doors?'" —Broken Pencil Magazine "A riveting first collection that announces a major new talent unafraid to embrace the beauty of the mysterious. Uncanny, gorgeous, unyielding, original, and unforgettable." —Ann and Jeff VanderMeer "I remember reading Nino Cipri's first pro story and saying, 'This is someone whose career I want to follow.' The fact that that first story is included in this collection is testament to the mature, electric voice Cipri has cultivated from the beginning. Every story here is a gem that deserves to be read and read again." —Sarah Pinsker, author of Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea "It's hard for my to wrap my mind around how, exactly, a book can be so simultaneously scary and sweet, terrifying and tender. In both individual stories, and throughout the whole collection, Nino Cipri traverses a dizzying range of emotional and imaginative territory. These are high-concept stories—featuring time travel, hauntings, and some very scary little girls—but they always remain rooted in the reality of human feeling. Cipri is one of our most imaginative and insightful new writers, and this is a genuinely brilliant book." —Kristen Roupenian, author of "Cat Person" and You Know You Want This "Nino Cipri's Homesick is the best story collection I've read in ages. Every one of these short stories is a tiny reality bomb, delightfully demolishing my expectations while opening up passageways to places I'd never been before. Equal parts queer and surreal, these tales will captivate your heart while keeping you guessing and wondering. A must for fans of Kelly Link and Justin Chin." —Charlie Jane Anders, author of The City in the Middle of the Night

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Book Synopsis''This is definitely up there as one of the best books that I have read. It''s got a special place in my heart. Just amazing!'' 5* reader review''Gorgeous! Exuberant writing, convincing, adorable characters, romance and a little whimsy'' TRACY REESLove will always find a way . . .Discover the intriguing secrets of Hawthorn Place in this heartfelt dual-time novel, filled with warmth and charm, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Cecelia Ahern.''An intriguing dual timeline tale that weaves together interesting characters and history, with an added touch of magic'' BELLA OSBORNE''An exquisitely detailed and enchanting love story'' HEIDI SWAIN''An epic love story, mixed with gorgeous settings, a great deal of mystery and intrigue, lots of laughs, a few tears and fabulouscharacters, made this an absolute delight to read'' KIM NASH''An absolutely wonderful dual time story that captivated me . . . and kept me spellbound'' CHRISTINA COURTENAY''A beautifully intriguing love story, that . . . stays with you long after the last page'' ROSIE HENDRY''Unforgettable and unique, the twists and turns of this enchanting book are woven together with threads of love and magic. I loved it!'' CLARE MARCHANT........................................................................Two houses, hundreds of miles apart . . . yet connected always.When life throws Molly Butterfield a curveball, she decides to spend some time with her recently widowed granddad, Wally, at Hawthorn Place, his quirky Victorian house on the Dorset coast. But cosseted Molly struggles to look after herself, never mind her grieving granddad, until the accidental discovery of an identical Arts and Crafts house on the Norfolk coast offers her an unexpected purpose, as well as revealing a bewildering mystery. Discovering that both Hawthorn Place and Acacia House were designed by architect Percy Gladwell, Molly uncovers the secret of a love which linked them, so powerful it defied reason. What follows is a summer which will change Molly for ever . . .........................................................................''One of those wonderful, magical stories that appear rarely and stay in your heart forever'' CELIA ANDERSON''A marvellous dual-time novel filled with mystery, fabulous detail and an enduring love story'' MADDIE PLEASE''A wonderful, page-turning story full of intrigue and romance'' VICTORIA CONNELLY''I found the book enchanting'' SUZANNE SNOW''An enchanting storyline and engaging characters make this book a delight to read'' LYNNE SHELBY''A beautifully written timeslip . . . Highly recommended. Five stars'' ERIN GREEN''The perfect mix of mystery, magic, and romance'' KATE G. SMITHReaders are captivated by The Secrets of Hawthorn Place:''A sweeping five stars from me for this novel that defies time but trusts in love''''A sheer delight to read and can highly recommend''''Utterly brilliant. The storyline is riveting, you never quite know what could be about to happen as it''s constantly twisting and turning . . . such a beautiful book''

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Book SynopsisThe International BestsellerWithin the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic.Magic and love. Love and magic. They destroy everything in the end 'Anna's Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences.Now Anna counts down the days to the ceremony that will bind her magic forever.Until she meets Effie and Attis.They open her eyes to a London she never knew existed. A shop that sells memories. A secret library where the librarian feeds off words. A club where revellers lose themselves in a haze of spells.But as she is swept deeper into this world, Anna begins to wonder if her Aunt was right all along.Is her magic a gift or a curse?Trade Review‘An enthralling and original fantasy, woven inside a magical web of lies’Jay Kristoff, Sunday Times bestselling author of NEVERNIGHT and EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE ‘The magic both gleams and threatens. There are riddles and puzzles to be solved and there’s a library – trust me, it’s a good one. You’ll want to give this a try.’Sunday Times bestselling author Robin Hobb ‘In this beautiful coming-of-age book, Thomas tackles big issues, family secrets and heartbreak in a brilliantly imagined, yet authentic world.’Woman’s Weekly ‘There’s magic in every nook and cranny – as well as shops selling memories – in this fantastical novel that stalks the streets of London’s underbelly’METRO ‘A bewitching tale of magic, family secrets and twisted affections, of finding your true self in a world of treacherous mystery. Prepare to be charmed!’David Wragg, author of THE BLACK HAWKS ‘THREADNEEDLE had me spellbound – a luminous, captivating fantasy that left me longing to return to Thomas’s vividly imagined magical world. With teen witches, hidden libraries, secrets and lies, it’s a dream of a book, and I loved it.’Katie Lowe, author of THE FURIES ‘The first in a new fantasy trilogy, Anna's aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic and now, aged 16, she is counting down the days to a ceremony that will bind her magic forever. That is, until her eyes are opened to a London she never knew existed one with a shop that sells memories, a secret underground library and nightclubs full of magic.’Woman Magazine ‘An enthralling and inventive story you’ll enjoy getting lost in’Woman & Home

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Book SynopsisBoy, Snow, Bird is a haunting and beautiful retelling of the Snow White myth, from author of the award-winning White is for Witching.Trade ReviewA spellbinding, wholly original look at families and the secrets they keep . . . An absolutely amazing and absorbing read * Marie Claire *Gloriously unsettling . . . it's clearly the book she's been waiting for . . . the greatest joy of reading Oyeyemi will always be style: jagged and capricious at moments, lush and rippled at others, always singular, like the voice-over of a fever dream. * New York Times *Boy, Snow, Bird is a haunting, tender portrait of three women from one of our generation's most talented literary writers * Stylist *Boy, Snow, Bird is among my favorite new releases for this year already. A retelling of the Snow White fairy-tale that focuses on race, it's a sensitive, intelligent treatment of a subject most fiction still sidesteps. Fans of Adichie's Americanah who also like a little fantasy in their coffee will be enchanted, I think. * Flavorwire *You don't want to leave Boy, Snow, Bird . . . a joy; the kind of fiction where you can wallow in the language and thrill at her inventiveness. * Emerald Street *One of my favourite books this year is Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. It is a modern version of the Snow White fairy tale and challenges the origins of meaning. -- Jenni Fagan * The Herald *Vibrant, funny and poignant * Big Issue *Striking, shimmering fiction . . . Boy, Snow, Bird is an intoxicatingly immersive riff on the myth of the evil stepmother * Metro *Oyeyemi writes beautiful prose, can adopt a sassy American idiom with assurance and produces sentences that no one else would think of . . . Boy's is a unique narrative voice * The Times *An extraordinary modern fairy tale, with huge international buzz * Red magazine *A powerful intertwining of fairytale and reality . . . Boy, Snow and Bird are brilliant creation, and through these three appealing and mysterious characters Oyeyemi examines female identity in all its delightful and terrifying complexity . . . Oyeyemi is a master of language; her writing is beautiful and precise, and her ability to hide deep meaning in unassuming words is breathtaking. This is a bewitching book, in every way. * The List *Oyeyemi is the cleverest in the land * Washington Post *'Riveting, brilliant and emotionally rich . . . Dense with fully realized characters, startling images, original observations and revelatory truths, this masterpiece engages the reader's heart and mind as it captures both the complexities of racial and gender identity in the 20th century and the more intimate complexities of love in all its guises. * Kirkus *Helen Oyeyemi consolidates her position as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2013 with the publication of her fifth novel, a story about the perception and power of appearances and race, and their potential destructiveness . . . An enchanting and captivating book. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe stories collected in What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours are linked by more than the exquisitely winding prose of their creator: Helen Oyeyemi's ensemble cast of characters slip from the pages of their own stories only to surface in another.The reader is invited into a world of lost libraries and locked gardens, of marshlands where the drowned dead live and a city where all the clocks have stopped; students hone their skills at puppet school, the Homely Wench Society commits a guerrilla book-swap, and lovers exchange books and roses on St Jordi's Day. It is a collection of towering imagination, marked by baroque beauty and a deep sensuousness.Trade ReviewOyeyemi's imagination is impressive and vast . . . Her ability to conceive her stories on such a grand scale is what makes her work so magnetic, sucking the reader into any number of netherworlds. Perhaps it's this ability to consume and be consumed that keeps Oyeyemi constantly, and prolifically, at work. * Guardian *Transcendent . . . the pleasurable awareness of a story being told courses through the collection like electricity . . . Oyeyemi expertly melds the everyday, the fantastic and the eternal . . . with each story I had the delightful and rare experience of being utterly surprised . . . Oyeyemi has created a universe that dazzles and wounds * New York Times *Alluring . . . the style and peculiar authority of this exceptional young writer will carry you carefully through thelabyrinth and into a new and exciting literary landscape . . . If you are seduced by magical realism - particularly the novels of Allende and Marquez - you will savour Oyeyemi's inventive tales. * Daily Mail *Wild, luscious and startling . . . Oyeyemi glides seamlessly across time, space and genre . . . Oyeyemi's observations are as sharp as they are humorous. But she is equally at home in a more lyrical mode, her writing warm and sensuous . . . these gorgeously baroque stories are full of humour, tenderness, wisdom and strange delights -- Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *Enchanting . . . the breadth of Oyeyemi's imagination is impressive, teetering, as ever, on the edge of magical realism. Her use of fairytales, folklore and ghost stories is distinctly reminiscent of the work ofAngela Carter . . . inviting, luscious prose. -- Lucy Scholes * Guardian *Curious, erotic, by turns dark and humorous; like the many secrets these stories reveal, Helen Oyeyemi's imagination is ripe to be unlocked, revelled in and treasured. * Literary Review *Ethereal beauty and unexpected humour * Independent on Sunday *Boasts ambitious stories written masterfully by an adventurous author, and is another example of Oyeyemi's skill at finding inspiration in the smallest and most ephemeral details. * New York Times Live *What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours illustrates the necessity and power of private, written confessions. * New Yorker *This is a truly exceptional work of fiction, by a writer we should be delirious to have as a contemporary. -- Stuart Evers * Independent *Oyeyemi's fireworks illuminate a world in which other people are always more mysterious and strange than we might think * Spectator *[Oyeyemi] has come up with something unique, keeping pace with a modern mixed-up world * Daily Telegraph *Oyeyemi takes the classic folk tale on a sometimes dark, often erotic, always fantastic, journey. The book itself is a thing of beauty, too. * Pool *Oyeyemi captures the off-kilter fairy-tale magic of her 2014 masterwork, Boy, Snow, Bird . . . [she] writes with mastery, sometimes keeping her prose sparse and declarative only to unleash a bounty of description and humor a sentence later. * Entertainment Weekly *Beautifully broken tales with wonderfully flawed characters . . . a fascinating glimpse into a world built on our fears, hopes and desires . . . articulating such disorder proves Oyeyemi as the painstakingly masterful writer that she is. * Stylist *The best teller of fairy tales we've got . . . [Oyeyemi's] first collection of short stories is obviously a bit of a treat . . . allowing for more invention, more sexiness and more beautiful sentences that lead you round the corner to something surprising . . . brilliant * Emerald Street *Witty and tender . . . simple and beautiful . . . hers is a rare talent -- Kate Clanchy * Guardian *These short stories are pure, sensuous enjoyment, packed with colour and passion * Times *A collection of short stories, which will suck the reader into Oyeyeymi's wild and surreal imagination. * Red Magazine *Occasionally gothic, sometimes fantastical, always captivating. * Radio Times *Oyeyemi has created a universe that dazzles and wounds. * Scotland on Sunday *It is Oyeyemi's boundless inventiveness which drives these stories . . . stylistically bold, fantastical, disorientating and ruthlessly defying convention. Oyeyemi, one of the Granta Best of Young British Novelists 2013, now effortlessly outpaces most of her peers. In this short fiction we can discern hints of Angela Carter and hear notes of Aimee Bender but on the whole what rings out is Oyeyemi's singular, magical voice. * National *Her arguments, about identity, about sexuality, are more fluid than [Angela] Carter's . . . Reading What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is like settling into a rollercoaster: you must abandon yourself * New Statesman *What is Not Yours is Not Yours is like a charmed set of Russian dolls: spellbound, we are gripped by the seamlessly joined stories unfolding from-and into-one another, as we wait for Oyeyemi to reach for her next bit of magic. * Londonist *Dizzying, baffling, and beguiling . . . unruly in the best way, drawing on pre-modern modes of story-telling (fairy tales, Boccaccio, The Arabian Nights) to show they've lost none of their power in the present * Vulture *Imaginative, playful and entirely unique, this collection of short stories is magical realism at its finest * Time Out (US) *The stories in this collection are poetic and puzzling . . . get ready to tumble through the doors of this beautifully challenging and satisfying collection * NPR *

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Book SynopsisEnter the world of The Wild Mother—modern fairytale, bold biblical midrash, filled with the psychological depth and imaginative originality for which the author of The Maeve Chronicles is known. Elizabeth Cunningham''s classic feminist novel is as fresh and timeless today as when it was first released in 1993 to critical acclaim.Adam Underwood and Eva Brooke appear to be made for each other. Both are single parents. Both are academics, he a dazzling, enigmatic professor of Alchemy, she a humble but dedicated professor of Fairytales. Adam''s children, Ionia and Fred, share a latchkey after school with Eva''s precocious son, Jason. So why don''t Adam and Eva marry and live happily ever after?Eva can''t help wondering. Pathologically polite, she cannot bring herself to ask personal questions. She struggles not to find it strange that Adam has never so much as mentioned his children''s absent mother. Nor has Adam''s own mother-cum-housekeeper, the feisty, outspoken Ursula, ever uttered her name. Yet Eva glimpses the missing woman in ten-year-old Ionia''s haunted and haunting purple eyes and in Ionia''s drawings of a woman dancing on the crest of a hill, wild black hair spread out against the sky....Then one night, she returns: Lilith, the wild mother. The precarious status quo that Eva, Adam, and their families have achieved is shattered and their world is turned inside out or, more precisely, outside in.As wild breaks into their lives, Adam, obsessed with control, attempts to seal them all in a deadly trap. Now a crucial challenge confronts each one of them. Will these very human beings embrace their own wildness, risking all they value and understand? Or will they deny the freedom essential to Lilith''s nature--and their own.

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Book SynopsisA writer is offered a devil’s bargain: will he give up reading books in exchange for total world domination?Trade Review"Aira's works are like slim cabinets of wonder, full of unlikely juxtapositions. His unpredictability is masterful." -- Rivka Galchen - Harpers"Aira’s cubist eye sees from every angle." -- Patti Smith - New York Times Book Review"César Aira is writing a gigantic, headlong, acrobatic fresco of modern life entirely made up of novelettes, novellas, novelitas. In other words, he is a great literary trickster, and also one of the most charming." -- Adam Thirlwell"A writer’s future hangs in the balance when he is tempted by an “unexpected Mephistopheles” in Aira’s playful, self-reflexive latest...the story’s driving question of choosing a meaningful course for one’s life is timeless." -- Publishers Weekly"Aira’s short books are the literary equivalent of a Périgord black truffle — small, rich delicacies worth savoring and contemplating." -- Polygon"Aira, the Argentine master of a certain strain of unabashedly self-reflexive novella that frequently marries the ingratiating confidence of fabulism with postmodern panache, has offered his audience a wicked little piece of literary wish-fulfillment gone happily awry." -- Roberto Ontiveros - Texas Observer"The Famous Magician by Cesar Aira, translated by Chris Andrews, is my favourite of the new books. Aira is the ludicrously prolific Argentinian author of over a hundred short books that invariably come apart while somehow keeping their shape. Rules are established before being merrily violated, ho-hum personal accounts become far-fetched zombie stories, serious literary rumination gives way to comic book pastiche. The method appears to have been working: the results have been books that don’t read like the ones you encounter in life but the kind you might pick up in dreams." -- J.W. McCormack - The New Left Review

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Book SynopsisThree years on, the fate of Torra Alta and Belbidida hangs in the balance once more.Caspar has become entranced by the evil of the Druid''s Egg, and so is sent, with Brid, to find orphan wolflings which the dying Morrigwen declares are vital. Hal is sent to the neighbouring country of Ceolothis, as part of an escort for the Princess Cymbeline who is to marry Belbidia''s king.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR JANE WELCH “A blockbuster fantasy”SFX “As intriguing as anything Tolkien dreamed up.”Starburst “Wonderful author, in the Robert Jordan mould”The Bookseller

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR JANE WELCH “A blockbuster fantasy”SFX “As intriguing as anything Tolkien dreamed up.”Starburst “Wonderful author, in the Robert Jordan mould”The Bookseller

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Book SynopsisLast volume of the Book of Ond. After the events of The Bard of Castaguard, the young lords of Torra Alta must fight the evil in themselves as well as those who through deadly steel, treachery or magic seek to destroy them and the entire kingdom. The trinity of priestesses must be reformed.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR JANE WELCH “A blockbuster fantasy”SFX “As intriguing as anything Tolkien dreamed up.”Starburst “Wonderful author, in the Robert Jordan mould”The Bookseller

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Book SynopsisWhy does her cousin Helena get to go to school and roam the streets of New York freely while she’s confined to the family’s decrepit brownstone?As the Melancons’ thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family.Trade Review"Caul Baby is a deeply inventive meditation on survival and inheritance. Morgan writes about the intricacies of Black motherhood in a way that is tender and at times, magic." — Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster “A debut novel that blends family drama with magic.” — Time Magazine “This magical novel brings together the weight of tradition and the power of family.” — NBC News “Caul Baby gave me chills almost every time I turned the page. . . . The book traces a legacy of Black, female pain through the somewhat softening lens of magical realism. It’s an unsparing take on the ramifications of trauma on Black American women, and Jerkins manages it as a spellbinding story, the farthest possible thing from a lecture.” — Glamour “A fascinating, of-the-moment story about the intersection of motherhood, power, and community.” — Real Simple “The astounding talent behind nonfiction must-reads This Will Be My Undoing and Wandering in Strange Lands turns to fiction with Caul Baby. . . . An exhilarating tale of family, belonging, and bodies, this promises to be one of the most exciting releases of the year.” — Elle “Jerkins, a bestselling nonfiction writer, applies her scrupulous prose and storytelling prowess to the realm of fiction in her beguiling debut novel.” — Oprah Daily “This engrossing story is rich with mystery, page-turning tension and the powerful ways family can hold us even in toxic circumstances.” — Good Housekeeping Morgan Jerkins' fantastic, expansive novel of mothers and daughters and Harlem, Caul Baby, is a meditation on the limits of inheritance and legacy. It's also a love letter to a rapidly changing neighborhood. — Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie and We Love You, Charlie Freeman “Excellent. . . . an audacious debut novel, telling a powerful family tale that does not shy away from the dark reaches of capitalism, greed, gentrification, tradition, and ownership. It is a moving piece of fiction that showcases the very best of what the author has learned from her previous work in nonfiction and expounds on that foundation in a way that only someone as skilled and multifaceted as Jerkins could pull off.” — Shondaland “Jerkins’s incisive social commentary shines through in her fiction debut Caul Baby. . . . Laced with generational pain and sprinkled with magic, Caul Baby is a sweeping family drama with no shortage of action. During a pandemic that has laid bare a nation’s inequities, Jerkins’s work feels more relevant than ever. . . a blazingly original debut.” — Chicago Review of Books “A multilayered reflection of contemporary dilemmas with a touch of magic realism. . . . Readers are taken through a spectrum of emotions with a satisfying payoff. On the heels of her excellent memoir Wandering in Strange Lands, Jerkins solidifies herself as one of our guiding literary lights.” — Booklist (starred review) “Ambitious and unique. . . . Caul Baby is like nothing I’ve read before. It has historical references but is overwhelmingly a book of our time. It delivers a story that weaves the nuance of Black womanhood with intergenerational struggles and triumphs and the heartache of contemporary racial injustice.” — New York Journal of Books “An expansive, folklorish tale of two families—both headed by Black matriarchs—that intertwine for over 20 years. . . . Caul Baby hones in on the power of a healing legend in a community systematically ignored and harmed by the medical establishment. . . . Jerkins’ debut novel asks what it means to be a mother and emphasizes that a community’s care for its own can be the most radical form of love.” — Bust “A decades-long exploration of the gentrification of Harlem, the ethics of non-traditional family-making, the enduring power of tradition and more.” — PureWow "A captivating story on the bonds between mothers and daughters and a powerful meditation on secrets, gentrification, family legacy, and more. A must-read.?" — Hey Alma "Rich. . . . Jerkins effectively blends folk legend with contemporary details. . . It's vividly conceived, and the strong plot will carry readers to the end." — Publishers Weekly Wandering in Strange Lands: "Wandering in Strange Lands intertwines segments of past and present travel, as a reminder that the past is present in the U.S." — O, the Oprah Magazine This Will Be My Undoing: “Without turning linguistic or lyrical cartwheels, Jerkins lucidly articulates social dynamics that have dictated the realities of American black women for centuries…. Indeed, [This Will Be My Undoing] is a book I wish everyone in this country would read.” — New York Times Book Review This Will Be My Undoing: “In Morgan Jerkins’s remarkable debut essay collection, This Will Be My Undoing, she is a deft cartographer of black girlhood and womanhood. From one essay to the next, Jerkins weaves the personal with the public and political in compelling, challenging ways. Her prodigious intellect and curiosity are on full display throughout this outstanding collection. The last line of the book reads, ‘You should’ve known I was coming,’ and indeed, in this, too, Jerkins is prescient. With this collection, she shows us that she is unforgettably here, a writer to be reckoned with.” — Roxane Gay

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award-winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried….Sissy, born 1961: Sissy’s relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy’s ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy’s life.Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an “Indian school” far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school’s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls.  Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the “Indian Wars,” Cora isn’t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be “civilized.” When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost…A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page.Trade Review“Power’s deep knowledge of Indigenous history comes through in keen depictions of the Indian schools, and she illuminates the characters’ struggles with generation trauma, which arise as they try to sustain their connections to the past. This story of survival shines brightly.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A Council of Dolls reached out, grabbed me and did not let go. Power’s ability to make language sing, cry, scream, and laugh illuminates this heartstopper of a book that shines a light into the dark corners of America’s history. I wanted the generational journey I was taking with these unforgettable characters—and their dolls—to never end. Read it—and be healed.” — Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of The Evening Hero “A Council of Dolls absorbs through the skin, enters the bone, and disperses through the psyche—it perfectly captures the internal roots of the Native experience. Through the lives of three Dakota women, we grapple with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll on Indigenous peoples enduring an often brutal system and, moreover, how strength, healing, and love reverberate down each passing generation to dispense hope and resiliency. I cannot more highly recommend Power’s newest masterpiece.” — Oscar Hokeah, PEN/Hemingway award-winning author of Calling for a Blanket Dance "Moving...hypnotic." — Minneapolis Star Tribune "Mona Susan Power’s new novel is an honor song to the love and strength of Native families and our stories, to our brilliant selves. I couldn’t have known how much I needed the wisdom and offerings of these pages." — Kelli Jo Ford, author of Crooked Hallelujah “This tender and magical novel will stay with me for a long time. Mona Susan Power writes with dazzling empathy. The result is a heart-rending and many-layered narrative, a captivating story which is also a thrilling testimonial to the power of stories.” — Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field A resplendent novel about the spirited lives of three inspiring women who endure significant change and hardship. Each story so deeply compelling I wanted to read quickly but was magnetized by the transformative power of each voice. A mighty, dazzling whirlwind of storytelling. These stories lift from the page. Prepare to stay up all night. A Council of Dolls is mesmerizing. Take a deep breath! Mona Susan Power can peer into darkness and transform it." — Debra Magpie Earling — Debra Magpie Earling “A work of exquisite beauty and courageous truth-telling, and an unforgettable homage to ancestral suffering and strength.” — Sheila O’Connor, author of Evidence of V “A talent like Susan Power comes along once in a lifetime, and lucky for us she's arrived. Here is a debut so stunning, so extraordinary in its depth and passion, you will swear there's a miracle on every page.” — Alice Hoffman, on The Grass Dancer “The Grass Dancer is astonishing, and not simply because it's Susan Power's first book. It is pure and potent magic, with storytelling that encircles you like wisps of tribal ghosts." — Amy Tan “This is a wild river of a book. Susan Power writes with a headlong energy and a force that are nothing less than thrilling. The Grass Dancer is painfully authentic, and Anna Thunder one of the most compelling female characters in contemporary fiction.” — Louise Erdrich “Captivating…a healing vision that goes to the core of our humanity.” — New York Times Book Review on The Grass Dancer “Stunning…Power steeps us in the traditions and culture of contemporary Indian life.” — San Francisco Chronicle on The Grass Dancer “Every new book by Susan Power is cause for celebration. This vibrant work is no exception. Her vision is intact: vivid, telling, honest, and transcendent. Power is a treasure and a true artist.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, on Sacred Wilderness

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Book SynopsisDjinns, humans, and a churail form an unlikely friendship in Pakistan, navigating societal norms and pursuing their dreams amidst political turmoil. The novel explores themes of belonging, displacement, and the impact of politics on personal identity and relationships.

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Book SynopsisFrom the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Daughters of the Lake comes an enthralling spellbinder of love, death, and a woman on the edge. After a devastating loss, Brynn Wilder escapes to Wharton, a tourist town on Lake Superior, to reset. Checking into a quaint boardinghouse for the summer, she hopes to put her life into perspective. In her fellow lodgers, she finds a friendly company of strangers: the frail Alice, cared for by a married couple with a heartbreaking story of their own; LuAnn, the eccentric and lovable owner of the inn; and Dominic, an unsettlingly handsome man inked from head to toe in mesmerizing tattoos. But in this inviting refuge, where a century of souls has passed, a mystery begins to swirl. Alice knows things about Brynn, about all of them, that she shouldn’t. Bad dreams and night whispers lure Brynn to a shuttered room at the end of the hall, a room still heavy with a recent death. And now she’s become irresistibly drawn to Dominic—even in the shadow of rumors that wherever he goes, suspicious death follows. In this chilling season of love, transformation, and fear, something is calling for Brynn. To settle her past, she may have no choice but to answer.Trade Review“The action builds to a satisfying and uplifting ending…Webb consistently entertains.” —Publishers Weekly “Endearing and greatly readable…[a] tale that is both warm and poignant.”—Kirkus Reviews “Webb’s chilling tale of a woman running from a tragic loss will put a spell on you.” —E! Online “Prepare to lose yourself in Wendy Webb’s lusciously written The Haunting of Brynn Wilder.” —POPSUGAR “Enchanting.” —The Nerd Daily “Wendy Webb weaves a searing gothic tale with elements of horror, mystery, and romance…It is incredibly absorbing and atmospheric.” —Bookreporter “Wendy Webb is a rising voice in thrillers, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.” —CrimeReads “Suspenseful and engrossing, The Haunting of Brynn Wilder is a ghost story, a love story, and a chilling fireside tale in one. Readers will be drawn in from the first page, and they won’t want to stop until they read the eerie conclusion, probably in the wee hours of the night.” —Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel “Evocative and beautifully haunting, Wendy Webb’s latest transports you to a location you’ll soon want to call home, in a story you won’t want to put down. It’s no exaggeration to call this the standout gothic novel of the year.” —Darcy Coates, USA Today bestselling author of The Haunting of Ashburn House “A haunting tale of grief and loss that is beautifully layered with new beginnings and woven into a gothic ghost story both bone-chilling and heartwarming.” —Melissa Payne, author of The Secrets of Lost Stones

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Book SynopsisDr Siri Paiboun and his wife are leaving Laos for Moscow to watch the 1980 Olympic Games in this next book in a popular crime series

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Book SynopsisFrom the groundbreaking author of Beauty Salon, The Large Glass, Jacob the Mutant, Mario Bellatin delivers a rousing, allegorical novel following the widowed keeper of a mysterious garden. When art student Izu’s teacher asks her to visit the famous collection of Mr. Murakami, she publishes a firm rebuttal to his curation. Instead of responding with fury, the rich man pursues her hand in marriage. When we meet her in the opening pages, Mrs. Murakami is watching the demolition of her now-dead husband’s most prized part of the estate: his garden. The novel that follows takes place in a strange, not-quite-real Japan of the author’s imagination. But who, in fact, holds the role of author? As Mr. Murakami’s garden is demolished, so too is the narrative’s authenticity, leaving the reader to wonder: did this book’s creator exist at all? Mario Bellatin has revolutionized the state of Latin American literature with his experimental, shocking novels. With this brand-new, highly anticipated edition of Mrs. Murakami's Garden from lauded translator Heather Cleary, readers have access to a playful modern classic that transcends reality.Trade ReviewFeatured in The New York Times' Globetrotting "Bellatin is a playful novelist who isn't trying to hold the mirror to reality, provide allegory or philosophy or life lessons, and reading this provocative novella makes one consider all sorts of assumptions about why read?' and 'why write?' (Mrs. Murakami's Garden is) fiction that explores not only what it means, but why it matters." ––Kirkus Reviews "One of the beauties of this book is that nothing is what it seems... A superb work." ––The Modern Novel "People often say, with a lot of truth to it, that all good fiction writing comes from some wound, out of some distance that needs to be breached between a writer and normalcy. In Mario’s sense, the wound is literal and comes with all kinds of psychological nuance and pain, and seems related to sexuality and desire, the desire for a whole body. One of my favorite aspects of him is this sense that he is writing for all the freaks — either literally freaks or privately and metaphorically, that he really touches us.” —Francisco Goldman “Mario Bellatin, who has the fortune or misfortune of being considered Mexican by the Mexicans and Peruvian by the Peruvians [is one of the] writers without whom there’s no understanding of this entelechy that we call new Latin American literature.” —Roberto Bolaño “If literature aims to make us less alone, we need writers like Bellatin who reflect not just a different perspective on life, but can envision something separate and apart, a periscope rising above the self.” —Matt Bucher, Electric Literature “As the line between truth and fiction, life and art, grows increasingly blurred, it comes as no surprise to find Mario Bellatin standing at this divide, dancing in the gray zone.” —Jeffrey Zuckerman, Los Angeles Review of Books "Mario Bellatin requires us to consume its contents in discrete portions, savoring each sip with a thirst that is at once as foreign as it is familiar." —Alex Espinoza, Los Angeles Review of Books

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Book SynopsisTaking refuge on a remote island, a grieving woman develops unlikely connections with the community and the wild in this haunting novel of hope and perseverance from debut author Jessica Bryant Klagmann. After the mysterious disappearance of her fiancé, Alma Hughes moves to a remote island in the North Atlantic, where she hopes to weather her grief and nurture her ailing dog. But the strange town of Violette has mysteries as well. Townsfolk say that the radio tower overlooking their town broadcasts messages through their home appliances, their dreams, even the sea itself. When lightning strikes the tower, illuminating the sky in a brilliant flash, Alma finds herself caught in the unexplainable aftermath of one of Violette’s deadliest storms. As the sea consumes the island, threatening its very existence, the deaths and lost memories of the recently departed also devastate the community. Alma, with a unique link to the lost, may be the only one who can help them move on. But to do so, she must confront a tragic loss of her own. On this doomed island haunted by echoes of the departed, Alma searches for meaning in her future—and dares to discover the power of hope among the living.Trade Review“At once haunting and visionary, Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s This Impossible Brightness asks us to consider ghosts in their many forms—literal ghosts, the ghosts of grief that follow all of us, and the ghost of a present-but-disappearing earth amid climate devastation. In the face of sweeping loss, this novel resists despair by weaving an expansive web of interconnectedness and also of hope. Klagmann’s debut is both wildly imaginative and gorgeously moving.” —Anne Valente, author of Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down “In the eyes of This Impossible Brightness, humans bear a particular mark of distinction, one that’s spiritual or psychological rather than physical. We are the species that tries to change direction in midair; we attempt, impossibly, to take our fall and transform it into an ascent. Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s writing seems motivated by this same desire. Everywhere in her novel’s pages, you sense some force yearning to turn the future into the past—to forestall the autumn of the world, spin it around, and allow it to burst into spring. Through her focus on this effort, she produces a feeling that’s sustained and powerful, a clear-eyed grief leavened by a mad hope.” —Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Ghost Variations “Part ghost story, part adventure yarn, part death meditation, Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s This Impossible Brightness is a tour de force of storytelling. Spinning us through multiple time frames and character perspectives, Klagmann captures the beauty and largeness of nature and our tenuous place in the world. A wonderful debut novel from a remarkable new voice.” —David Nikki Crouse, author of Copy Cats and The Man Back There

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Book SynopsisThe epic new novel from the internationally acclaimed and best-selling author of 1Q84.In Killing Commendatore, a thirty-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a strange painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home, and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors.A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art – as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby – Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.Trade ReviewIt’s safe to say that there’s no one like Murakami * Literary Review *Murakami’s reality has many sides; some plain, some fancy. Translators Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen capture every colour on this mind-altering palette. No other author mixes domestic, fantastic and esoteric elements into such weirdly bewitching shades. Murakami’s “Land of Metaphor” remains a country where wonders never cease -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *Wild, thrilling. . . Murakami is a master storyteller and he knows how to keep us hooked * Sunday Times *Exhilarating. . . . Only in the calm madness of his magical realism can Murakami truly capture one of his obsessions, the usually ineffable yearning that drives a person to make art * Washington Post *Expansive and intricate . . . touches on many of the themes familiar in Mr. Murakami’s novels: the mystery of romantic love, the weight of history, the transcendence of art, the search for elusive things just outside our grasp * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA Guardian Children's Book of the Year An environmental fairytale made for our times, written to be read by adults and children, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Famished Road. In the forest near Mangoshi's village in Africa there grows a very special flower. Mangoshi knows that only this flower can save her mother's life. It can save her village too. All she has to do is find it. Ben Okri and Diana Ejaita have created a magical world of beauty and colour, an enchanting array of extraordinary trees, each with its own personality and voice. The chief among them, the great baobab, invites us into his branches to travel the world and see for ourselves the perils of not listening to nature. All around us, forests are vanishing, and no one is listening. 'It was a sheer joy to be able to read this. It is mysterious and magical and true. Children and those who read it to them will love it and long remember it. The illustrations are woven wonderfully around the words; the trees are with you, telling it, writing it. Once read we will know never to take trees or leaves for granted again. A powerful symphony of a story that will resonate for every reader. We hear the wind in the trees on every page. We only have to listen' MICHAEL MORPURGOTrade ReviewA love letter to nature and trees... Evocatively illustrated' * The Big Issue North *All the authority of an established folk tale * Observer *A beautifully lyrical kids' fable by the Booker Prize winner about the importance of the natural world with vibrant artwork form Diana Ejaita * The Sun *This meditative environmental fairytale conveys a sense of humanity's deep reliance on the natural world * Guardian *A vivid tale ... Okri can distil language to its essence, which makes him an ideal children's writer. Written in clear prose form, his sentences have a careful simplicity, but not at the expense of eloquent writing ... Okri speaks directly and with passion, but without loosening his grip on hope ... Every Leaf a Hallelujah is made more enchanting by Diana Ejaita's illustrations ... She decorates the narrative with bold, colourful prints, evocative of Matisse's cut-outs and the bright textile traditions of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis'I guess we've always preferred hiding away than sharing our problems. Us versus the world.' When Sam is woken in the middle of the night by the sound of his mother crying, he is reluctant to get up and discover the reason for her distress. When he finally discovers what has happened, even his worst fears cannot compare to the truth, and he realises that both their lives have now changed irrevocably.Sam and Jude struggle to cope with their shock and grief and are powerless to stop their family home descending from a place of refuge into one of dread and danger. As their world begins to resemble a horror movie, events from the past surface once more bringing with them painful memories of betrayal and public shaming.Can Sam and Jude recover from the trauma of what has happened or have their lives been devastated forever? Do they share their secret with the outside world, or do they retreat into a life of seclusion and fear? And is either one of them brave enough to make the ultimate sacrifice, for the sake of their family and potentially the rest of the world…?Trade Review‘One of the brightest prospects among a thriving breed of fresh Scottish writing talent.’ –EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS on Swim Until You Can't See Land ‘Catriona Child has a pitch perfect ear for contemporary dialogue and a professional’s eye for the detail of a city that tourists rarely notice’ – NORTHWORDS NOW on Trackman

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Book Synopsis'Immensely captivating and original’ The Guardian'A poetically written domestic drama with a wonderful magical-realist twist' Daily MailHow do you make sense of the loss of those you love the most? Delia Rabbit is already struggling to juggle three wayward children, a damaged relationship with her mother and an ill-advised affair with one of her students. Then her sixteen-year-old son Charlie vanishes in the middle of a blistering Brisbane heatwave. The family reels from the loss, as twenty-year-old Olive descends into hedonism and eleven-year-old Benjamin clings ever tighter to his superhero obsession. However, Charlie’s disappearance is stranger than it seems. And while his family search desperately for him, he may be closer than they think . . . A multigenerational tale of motherhood, grief and the tribulations of adolescence, The Rabbits weaves a thread of magic into a classic family drama novel.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2020 Penguin Australia Literary Prize‘A unique and captivating tangle of magic and mystery… [a] deliciously unsettling debut’ The Guardian 'I love an unsympathetic heroine and, here, two brilliant ones come along at once: art teacher Delia Rabbit and her surly daughter Olive. [... The Rabbits is] a poetically written domestic drama with a wonderful magical-realist twist', Wendy Holden, Daily Mail‘Overett brings a fresh eye to the suburban novel’ Booksandpublishing.com.au ‘A book that compels you to keep reading… deft and agile’ Readings.com.au

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Book SynopsisShipwrecks, dive bars, possession, and science—this is where contemporary horrors and ancient terrors meet.In Fresh Dirt from the Grave , a hillside is “an emerald saddle teeming with evil and beauty.” It is this collision of harshness and tenderness that animates Giovanna Rivero’s short stories, where no degree of darkness (buried bodies, lost children, wild paroxysms of violence) can take away from the gentleness she shows all violated creatures. A mad aunt haunts her family, two Bolivian children are left on the outskirts of a Metis reservation outside Winnipeg, a widow teaches origami in a women’s prison and murders, housefires, and poisonings abound, but so does the persistent bravery of people trying to forge ahead in the face of the world. They are offered cruelty, often, indifference at best, and yet they keep going. Rivero has reworked the boundaries of the gothic to engage with pre-Columbian ritual, folk tales, sci-fi and eroticism, and found in the wound their humanity and the possibility of hope.Trade Review"Rivero confidently and credibly gives voice to characters in harrowing situations." —Publishers Weekly"These are visceral tales of betrayal both personal and societal, some of which cross over into the realm of the uncanny.”" —Words Without Borders"An intriguing and discomforting set of stories, each with its own particular bite, and more than a twist or two along the way." —Tony's Reading List************Praise for Giovanna Rivero

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Book SynopsisNáufragos, origami, posesión y ciencia: estos cuentos encarnan el punto de encuentro entre los horrores contemporáneos y los terrores antiguos.Seis relatos de una belleza oscura que laten con temáticas perturbadoras: la legitimidad de la venganza, el incesto como medio de supervivencia, brujería indígena versus tradición japonesa, el cuerpo como la víctima fatal que habitamos. Los cuentos de Rivero perforan al lector como una herida, ofreciendo también posibilidades de amor, justicia y esperanza. Narrados con un lirismo frágil y feroz, los cuentos de Tierra fresca de su tumba punzan los abismos del alma humana, y a la vez reforman los límites del gótico para incorporar ritos precolombinos, leyendas, ciencia ficción y erotismo.Shipwrecks, dive bars, possession, and science—this is where contemporary horrors and ancient terrors meet.In Fresh Dirt from the Grave , a hillside is “an emerald saddle teeming with evil and beauty.” It is this collision of harshness and tenderness that animates Giovanna Rivero’s short stories, where no degree of darkness (buried bodies, lost children, wild paroxysms of violence) can take away from the gentleness she shows all violated creatures. A mad aunt haunts her family, two Bolivian children are left on the outskirts of a Metis reservation outside Winnipeg, a widow teaches origami in a women’s prison and murders, housefires, and poisonings abound, but so does the persistent bravery of people trying to forge ahead in the face of the world. They are offered cruelty, often, indifference at best, and yet they keep going. Rivero has reworked the boundaries of the gothic to engage with pre-Columbian ritual, folk tales, sci-fi and eroticism, and found in the wound their humanity and the possibility of hope.Trade Review"Rivero confidently and credibly gives voice to characters in harrowing situations." —Publishers Weekly"These are visceral tales of betrayal both personal and societal, some of which cross over into the realm of the uncanny.”" —Words Without Borders************Praise for Giovanna RiveroAlong with Mariana Enríquez, one of the most creative and intense voices in the so-called New Latin American Gothic Realism.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis is a story about a snow-covered island you won''t find on any map.It''s the story of a girl, Minou. A year ago, her mother walked out into the rain and never came back.It''s about a magician and a priest and a dog called No Name. It''s about a father''s endless hunt for the truth.It''s about a dead boy who listens, and Minou''s search for her mother''s voice. It''s a story of how even the most isolated places have their own secrets.It''s a story you will never forget.Trade ReviewThe best stories change you. The Vanishing Act is that kind of tale * Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus *A strange poetic and ghostly story... There are echoes of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe but otherwise there is a rare freshness to her storytelling. She relies on using sophisticated but sparse language to create a magical world and story about the grown-up themes of love, loss and - intriguingly - philosophy that can be read and enjoyed by both grown-ups and young adults. And not a vampire in sight * Daily Mail *Works just as well as a one-dimensional story as it does a thought provoking fable as the beautifully written, haunting set pieces testify -- Ani Johnson * Bookbag *It is abundant in terms of atmosphere and the beautiful innocence of childhood * PA Review – South Wales Argus *A perfectly poised, fable-like tale of loss, written with delightful whimsy, deep empathy and a beguiling sense of innocence * Graeme Base *

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Book SynopsisThe first Graywolf Press African Fiction Prize winner, a story of a girl's fantastical sea voyage to rescue her father The House of Rust is an enchanting novel about a Hadrami girl in Mombasa. When her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha takes to the sea on a magical boat made of a skeleton to rescue him. She is guided by a talking scholar's cat (and soon crows, goats, and other animals all have their say, too). On this journey Aisha meets three terrifying sea monsters. After she survives a final confrontation with Baba wa Papa, the father of all sharks, she rescues her own father, and hopes that life will return to normal. But at home, things only grow stranger. Khadija Abdalla Bajaber's debut is a magical realist coming-of-age tale told through the lens of the Swahili and diasporic Hadrami culture in Mombasa, Kenya. Richly descriptive and written with an imaginative hand and sharp eye for unusual detail, The House of Rust is a memorable novel by a thrilling new voice.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2023 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE New Yorker • Best Books of 2022 An award-winning international sensation—with a second-act dystopian twist—Time Shelter is a tour de force set in a world clamoring for the past before it forgets.Trade Review"In this antic fantasy of European politics, narrated by a fictionalized version of the author, an enigmatic friend of his designs 'a clinic of the past,' which soothes Alzheimer’s patients with environments from a time they can still remember.... 'History is still news,' Gospodinov writes, cunningly drawing attention to the violence that the past wreaks on the present." -- New Yorker, "Best Books of 2022""The morality of artificially returning people to the past, and the broader question of whether this truly brings solace — whether indulgence in nostalgia is curative or pernicious — is the central question of Georgi Gospodinov’s newly translated novel… Adroit execution of such wordplay is a testament to the talent of the novel’s translator, Angela Rodel. [Gospodinov] is sympathetic to the poignancy of things from before — obsolete objects, old brands of coffee, the skipping of antique records — but rebuffs the scapegoats of globalism, immigration and modernization that supposedly killed them off; we are all complicit in the destruction of history, and going backward can only mean intolerance and the exaltation of traditionalist kitsch. It’s impossible, when reading all this, not to think of the reactionary sentiments behind Brexit and MAGA and even Putin’s Greater Russia irredentism, but Gospodinov is too delicate to resort to crude political satire.… Touching and intelligent." -- Adrian Nathan West - New York Times Book Review"Mr. Gospodinov, one of Bulgaria’s most popular contemporary writers, is a nostalgia artist. In the manner of Orhan Pamuk and Andreï Makine, his books are preoccupied with memory, its ambiguous pleasures and its wistful, melancholy attraction....This difficult but rewarding novel concludes with an image of Europe brought to the brink of renewed conflict—an abstraction that recent events have imbued with the terrible force of reality." -- Sam Sacks - Wall Street Journal"A chronicle of time itself: this is the ambitious task undertaken by Georgi Gospodinov, Bulgaria’s greatest living writer and annalist of an entire nation’s endless complaints and missed chances, in his Strega Prize–winning novel Time Shelter.... Finished in Berlin just as COVID was on the verge of sweeping through Europe, the novel is at times unnervingly prescient as it issues warnings against the perils of infection — physical, political, even metaphysical.... A poet at heart, Gospodinov can also write a novel in a single sentence: ‘The past is my home country….’ He uses the absurdities of the very specific universe of Bulgarian pain, of Bulgarian provincial poverty, to unveil deep wounds…. Angela Rodel, the most prolific and accomplished translator of Bulgarian literature into English, carries over Gospodinov’s grand, flowing Bulgarian sentences… into vivid English…. Rodel is part of a grouping of extraordinary women translators working to preserve linguistic diversity.... who are today producing and exporting some of the most compelling and interesting contemporary literature from Bulgaria." -- Isadora Angel - Astra"[An] antic fantasy of European politics.... 'History is still news,' Gospodinov writes, cunningly drawing attention to the violence that the past wreaks on the present." -- The New Yorker"Gospodinov’s digressive, philosophical novel is less a work of realist literature than an allegory about the perils of looking backward and attempting to make Switzerland (or Sweden or Germany...) great again . . . translator Rodel keeps the narrator’s wry voice consistent . . . And in its brisker latter chapters, the story achieves a pleasurably Borges-ian strangeness while sending a warning signal about how memory can be glitch-y and dangerous . . . An ambitious, quirky, time-folding yarn." -- Kirkus Reviews"A radical new therapy tests the power of nostalgia in the electric and fantastical latest from Gospodinov (The Physics of Sorrow).The clever prose sells the zany premise and imbues it with poignant longing: 'Everything happens years after it has happened.... Most likely 1939 did not exist in 1939, there were just mornings when you woke up with a headache, uncertain and afraid.' Thought-provoking and laced with potent satire, this deserves a spot next to Kafka." -- Publishers Weekly"The elegant translation and the short, lyrical chapters in this dystopian tale offer a poignant ode to the dual tragedies of personal and universal memory loss." -- Lucy Lockley - Booklist

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