Narrative theme: coming of age

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEARIt’s time to dance, to love, to be free…‘Mesmerising’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO, author of Girl, Woman, Other‘Fabulous’ MAGGIE O'FARRELL, author of Hamnet‘Beautiful’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON, author of Open WaterYamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.***A SUNDAY TIMES BEST NOVEL AND GUARDIAN BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2023***‘A wonderfully literary, musical and original novel about a culture and era that rarely makes the pages of fiction’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT‘Scorching… We follow Yamaye through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage’ GUARDIAN‘Ambitious, atmospheric… A novel of passion and anger’ SUNDAY TIMES‘A rich and rhythmic story about love and music’ ITrade ReviewRemarkable... In terms of sheer lyrical force it stands head and shoulders above most debuts * Daily Telegraph *I was blown away by Fire Rush - an exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer... Her mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory writing leaves us swaying to the bass of the visceral rhythms she so powerfully describes. By the end of the novel, I felt charged and changed and already longed to reread it -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERFew have channelled so well the skittering beats and transcendent air of dub music as Crooks does in her semi-autobiographical debut... Startlingly vivid reading * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A heady swirl of a novel that pulls the reader in from the first page... A fabulous, absorbing read -- Maggie O'Farrell, author of THE MARRIAGE PORTRAITA window into the dub scene at the time, with rhythmic, lyrical writing and a story about raving, love and the impact of police violence... Both a page turner and a literary novel... Truly remarkable * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisThe BRAND NEW novel from Number 1 bestseller Louise Douglas.As wild fires creep a devastating path towards the idyllic town of Morranez, a vulnerable girl goes missing. But was she taken - or was she escaping...The summer is the hottest yet in the Brittany coastal town of Morranez, but when a new case lands on the desk of the Toussaints detective agency, there can be no time to relax. As wild fires bear down on the town, the alert goes out for a missing girl.Nineteen-year-old Briony Moorcroft has seemingly been taken from her sleepy Welsh village and brought to France. Her parents are baffled and scared – Briony needs her life-saving medicine or this case will become even more sinister, and with the police dragging their heels, the Moorcrofts are relying on Mila Shephard and Carter Jackson’s sleuthing skills.Meanwhile there are mysteries troubling Mila’s life too. Two years after the accident that swept her sister Sophie and brother-in-law Charlie away and left their daughter Ani in Mila’s care, new evidence resurfaces that makes Mila doubt everything.Can Carter and Mila find Briony before it’s too late? And is the truth about Sophie and Charlie finally about to be revealed…Number One bestselling author Louise Douglas is back with a brooding, twisty tale of secrets and lies, love and loyalty.Praise for Louise Douglas:'I loved The Lost Notebook so much! From the opening lines, I was drawn in to a gripping story, beautifully written and so cleverly orchestrated. I rooted for the main character, I held my breath at the denouement and as for the climax of the book - just wow. Highly recommended.' Judy Leigh'Louise Douglas achieves the impossible and gets better with every book.' Milly Johnson'A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down. The vivid descriptions, the evocative plot and the intrigue that Louise created, which had me constantly asking questions, made it a highly enjoyable, absolute treasure of a read.' Kim Nash on The Scarlet Dress'Another stunning read from the exceptionally talented Louise Douglas! I love the way in which Louise creates such an atmospheric mystery, building the intrigue and suspense brick by brick. Her writing is always beautiful and multi-layered, her characters warm and relatable and the intriguing nature of the mystery makes this unputdownable.’ Nicola Cornick on The Scarlet Dress'A tender, heart-breaking, page-turning read' Rachel Hore on The House by the Sea'The perfect combination of page-turning thriller and deeply emotional family story. Superb’ Nicola Cornick on The House by the Sea

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Book SynopsisNever before available in hardback, this is a lavish edition of one of the greatest love stories of our time. The perfect gift for anyone captivated by Elio and Oliver.A sudden and powerful romance blossoms between Elio, an adolescent boy, and Oliver, his parents' guest, over the course of one summer. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the hot restless weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.Trade ReviewA beautiful and wise book... A miracle. -- Colm TóibínA love letter, an invocation, and something of an epitaph. An exceptionally beautiful book. * New York Times Book Review *Brave, acute, elated, naked, brutal, tender, humane and beautiful. -- Nicole KraussExtraordinary... Evocative, poetic and deeply beautiful. * Tatler *

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Book SynopsisA beloved fantasy classic and the beginning of one of the most breathtaking adventure stories of all timeOne man, Richard Cypher, holds the key to the fate of three nations and of humanity. But until he learns the Wizard''s First Rule his chances of succeeding in his task are slim. And his biggest problem is admitting that magic exists at all ...A novel of incomparable scope and brimming with atmospheric detail: in a world where heart hounds stalk the boundaries for unwary human prey, blood-sucking flies hunt on behalf of their underworld masters, and where artists can draw more than your likeness, there is no place to hide, nowhere safe.Here magic makes love twice as sweet, betrayal and loss twice as bitter.Wizard''s First Rule is a beloved fantasy classic:''Terry Goodkind created a world I''d give anything to live in. He combines adventure with romance, magic, evil queens and dragons, sorcerers and wild tribes, past and present, death and life. His magic system is extremely well-written, his world-building solid and fascinating, his characters realistic'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''The sheer depth of Wizard''s First Rule is simply amazing. His characters are unique and original . . . Every chapter you read will cling you tighter to his series'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''A weird mix of Robert Jordan and Stephen Donaldson with a little Erikson style philosophising thrown into the blend . . . an entertaining and enjoyable read'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Goodkind''s books always centre around difficult moral or social concepts that are put to the test by believable characters . . . definitely worth reading to the end'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''It was my gateway to fantasy books . . . I would fully recommend this book to every fantasy reader and readers wanting to get into the realm of fantasy. Brilliant book, will always be on my bookshelf!'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''This story has everything you could ask for in a novel: adventure, betrayal, magic, romance, true love, friendship, empathy, wickedness, honor, terror, hope, and so much more'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Book SynopsisA tense, evocative, portrait of love and deceit set during one long hot summer in France, The Greengage Summer is a hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age story by from Rumer Godden, the author of Black Narcissus, now a major BBC drama series.When their mother is suddenly taken ill on holiday, five siblings are left to fend for themselves at the elegant, faded hotel, Les Oeillets. Under the increasingly jealous gaze of the glamorous patronne, Mademoiselle Zizi, the children gravitate towards her mysterious and charming lover, Eliot, for comfort. And, amongst the gnarled trees of the old orchards, thirteen-year-old Cecil watches from the sidelines as her achingly beautiful sister, Joss, is drawn into the heart of a toxic affair.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE BERNARD SHAW PRIZE 2023Elegant, mature and richly atmospheric, a bittersweet love story glimpsed through the veil of memory''The love child of Normal People and Brideshead Revisited... Sublime and elegiac'' Francesca Reece''[A] heady mix of hope and nostalgia, of desire and regret, of new love and lost love'' Sunday TimesThora, August and Hugo come from different worlds. One is an art school dreamer, one a wealthy scion of the old-world elite, and one an ordinary boy from out of town. But over the course of two sky-blue summers in Stockholm, they are drawn together magnetically.Years later, Hugo is long estranged from Thora and August when their daughter knocks on his door. She has questions about her parents which she believes Hugo can answer - and the memories of those luminous days of youth come flooding back.Modern yet timeless, poignant and euphoric, The Trio is a novel about the path not taken, the people we might have become, and the relationships which shape and haunt us long after they come to a close.''Remarkably assured... Sharp, vividly imagined and affecting, [it] intrigues and captivates'' Irish Times''An international success before even being published, The Trio is a novel that stands well above the hype... Elegiac, bittersweet, [with] the golden shimmer of nostalgia'' Gefle DagbladTrade ReviewA smart, elegant and moving novel, all the more impressive for it being Johanna Hedman's debut... The stylish emotional distance of Normal People * The Times *Sharp, vividly imagined and affecting in a way that both intrigues and captivates * Irish Times *Fans of Sally Rooney will adore this excellent novel, which has garnered rave reviews * The Bookseller *The Trio is like the love child of Normal People and Brideshead Revisited. A sublime and elegiac meditation on love, intimacy, freedom and jealousy, it elegantly explores the gulf between our interior lives and the personas we perform - and between ourselves and other people. Hedman's writing (and Josefsson's stunning translation) is staggeringly beautiful. Vivid, effortless, and perceptive to a molecular degree -- Francesca Reece, author of 'Voyeur'Delicate and beguiling... The Trio spans from Berlin to London to Paris as the [characters] continually renegotiate who they each are to each other, questions of ownership and privilege floating in the background of summers which feel both fleeting and endless * Esquire *An international success before even being published, The Trio is a novel that stands well above the hype... Elegiac, bittersweet, [with] the golden shimmer of nostalgia, it is a story about big emotions * Gefle Dagblad *Mature and confident, delicate and eloquent, a study in intimacy . . . Timeless and universal * Kult Magasin *Full of verve, nostalgia, longing and the claustrophobic euphoria of being in the world with the people you love, this gorgeous novel whisks you along with it; you have no choice but to gratefully follow -- Lara Williams, author of 'Supper Club'Vigorous and vivid, wistful and engaging. Johanna Hedman should definitely expect to win prizes * Upsala Nya Tidning *An acute, eloquent and bittersweet debut... There may be an August Prize nomination! * Femina *An unusual debut, confident and intriguing, [by] a mature and gifted writer. The implicit nostalgia works its magic [in this] story of the time when life first gains colour and shape * Expressen *The ending leaves a stinging sensation [asking] questions of what really becomes important in hindsight, what we remember and how we remember it, and, not least why we become who we are as a consequence of our choices * SR Kulturnytt *Stylishly and elegantly composed * Göteborgs-Posten *How on earth is it possible that Johanna Hedman is a debutant? It feels as if I've seen the future of Swedish writing -- Alex Schulman, author of 'The Survivors'An absolutely fantastic debut novel -- Fredrik Backman, author of 'A Man Called Ove'

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Book SynopsisA special illustrated edition of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the bestselling magical novel from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Breathtaking black-and-white illustrations throughout by fine artist and illustrator, Elise Hurst. ''Both a pitch-perfect fantasy and a moving examination of childhood memories and their effects on our adult selves ... superb'' The Times''Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up, heart and soul'' Joanne HarrisThis is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane:A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse.An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made.A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile.And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed.They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edge of things. The recollections of a man who thought hTrade ReviewGaiman's achievement is to make the fantasy world seem true * The Times *A book that reads like a half-remembered fairy tale from childhood... and slots perfectly into the canon of British magical fiction * New Statesman *The writer who comes closest to the being the Dahl of his generation... The Ocean at the End of the Lane has, like all good myths, a power that defies explanation * Sunday Express *Within a few pages you know you're reading a future classic * Stylist *

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Book Synopsis''I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.My name is Kvothe.You may have heard of me''So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeepter - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.Trade ReviewThe best epic fantasy I read last year...He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy -- George R R MartinPatrick Rothfuss' debut is set in an unnamed but fully realised fantasy world, and his characters are detailed and convincing. * WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY *Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous -- Terry BrooksThis is a magnificent book -- Anne McCaffreyThe Name of the Wind has everything: magic and mysteries and ancient evil, but it's also humorous and terrifying and completely believable -- Tad WilliamsAs absorbing on a second reading as it is on the first, this is the type of assured, rich first novel most writers can only dream of producing * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *It is a rare and great pleasure to find a fantasist writing ... with true music in the words -- Ursula K Le GuinThe characters are real and the magic is true -- robin Hobb, New York Times-bestselling author of Assassin’s ApprenticeMasterful ... There is a beauty to Pat's writing that defies description -- Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of Mistborn[Makes] you think he's inventing the genre, instead of reinventing it -- Lev Grossman, New York Times-bestselling author of The MagiciansHail Patrick Rothfuss! A new giant is striding the land -- Robert J. Sawyer, award-winning author of WakeI was reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and J. R. R. Tolkein, but never felt that Rothfuss was imitating anyone * THE TIMES *This fast-moving, vivid, and unpretentious debut roots its coming-of-age fantasy in convincing mythology * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *This breathtakingly epic story is heartrending in its intimacy and masterful in its narrative essence * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY starred review *Reminiscent in scope of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series ... this masterpiece of storytelling will appeal to lovers of fantasy on a grand scale * LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred) *Shelve The Name of the Wind beside The Lord of the Rings...and look forward to the day when it's mentioned in the same breath, perhaps as first among equals * The A.V. Club *"Patrick Rothfuss' debut is set in an unnamed but fully realised fantasy world, and his characters are detailed and convincing." * WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY *

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Book SynopsisAmong Dostoevsky’s later novels, The Adolescent occupies a very special place: published three years after The Devils and five years before his final masterpiece, The Karamazov Brothers, the novel charts the story of nineteen-year-old Arkady – the illegitimate son of the landowner Versilov and the maid Sofia Andreyevna – as he struggles to find his place in society and “become a Rothschild” against the background of 1870s Russia, a nation still tethered to its old systems and values but shaken up by the new ideological currents of socialism and nihilism. Both a Bildungsroman and a novel of ideas, dealing with themes such as the relationship between fathers and sons and the role of money in modern society, The Adolescent – here presented in a brand-new translation by Dora O’Brien – shows Dostoevsky at his finest as a social commentator and observer of the workings of a young man’s mind.Trade ReviewThe Adolescent really is an unjustly neglected book. As a study of the coming of age of a confused young man, it couldn’t be bettered for capturing his mindset; and as the saga of a truly dysfunctional Russian family it can’t be faulted. * Shiny New Books *

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Book SynopsisA DAILY MAIL 'Must Read' title Bookriot's 50 spring must-read crime novels 'One part mystery, one million parts amazing.' Cosmopolitan 'A coming-of-age drama as much as a crime story…haunting, atmospheric and genuinely mysterious.' Guardian ‘An entrancing, melancholy debut... Mesmerising.’ Daily Mail We lost all three girls that summer. Let them slip away like the words of some half-remembered song and when one came back, she wasn't the one we were trying to recall to begin with. Tikka Molloy was eleven and one-sixth years old during the summer of 1992. That summer, the hottest on record, the Van Apfel sisters – Hannah, the beautiful Cordelia and Ruth – mysteriously disappeared. Did they run away? Or were they taken? The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. Now, years later, Tikka has returned home and is beginning to piece together what really happened. The summer that shaped her. The girls she couldn’t forget.Trade Review'A coming-of-age drama as much as a crime story, this isn’t a book for those who like things wrapped up neatly, but readers who enjoy something haunting, atmospheric and genuinely mysterious have a treat in store.' * Guardian *'One part mystery, one million parts amazing, this debut from Felicity McLean will be a summer fave.' * Cosmopolitan *'Felicity McLean's accomplished debut...[is] a stunning piece of literary ventriloquism.' * Irish Times *‘An entrancing, melancholy debut... The landscape is superbly captured, but it is the relationship between Tikka and the sisters that lingers... Mesmerising.’ * Daily Mail *'Compelling...it doesn't disappoint...It's rare, and even unnerving, to read something like this and find it absent of fetishization of a young woman's life, and thus full of tenderness and compassion, and a real sense of what gets lost in these situations.' * Nylon magazine *'A taut, beautifully written thriller with a scorching expansive setting. The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is a fantastic debut and a story that lingers.' * Lisa Ballantyne, author of The Guilty One *‘With echoes of Picnic at Hanging Rock, this is an atmospheric first novel.’ * Daily Mail, Must Read *'A smart, classy thriller that blazes with the heat of Australia and slowly reveals its many layers.' * Fiona Mozley, author of Elmet *'I deeply admire the languid, lived-in prose of Felicity McLean’s lovely novel The Van Apfel Girls are Gone. This is a story as much about forgiving ourselves our own childhoods, as it is about acknowledging and embracing the people we’ve become because of those adolescent (and sometimes life altering) choices.' * Hannah Pittard, author of Visible Empire *'This debut, part coming-of-age story and part crime thriller, is both forceful and unnerving.' * Publishers Weekly *'One would expect [Felicity McLean], who has a background in journalism and biography, to be particularly good at detailing the who, what, where, and when of a mysterious disappearance. She is.' * Washington Independent Review of Books *'Delicious attention to detail... [The Van Apfel Girls] is visceral and tangible.' * Trip Fiction *'Impressive... A well written story which convincingly evokes the place and time in which it is set.' * Crime Review *'Sharp, mysteriously moving and highly entertaining.' * Robert Drewe, author of Shark Net *'How do you escape your childhood, emotionally, actually? This compelling mystery by Felicity McLean has a rare depth of psychological and emotional truth. It will engage your heart.' * Delia Ephron, author of The Lion is In *'A hot, tense thriller set in the midst of a scorching Australian summer, The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is provocative, gripping, and sure to get under your skin.' * The Bookbag *'McLean expertly maintains an air of suspense as the tragedy unfolds. Tikka is an unforgettable, if not entirely reliable, narrator full of black humour, brutal honesty and naive curiosity. This novel is one that will haunt readers long after they have turned the last page.' * Bookseller + Publisher Five Star Review *'Engrossing and goosebumpy from start to finish, this novel about three young sisters who vanish all together one night has the chilling feel of true events that are stranger than fiction, and the stuff of nightmares. But the magic of McLean's art is not just her gift for evoking, in almost hallucinogenic detail, her haunted narrator's childhood – a time and place linked to Australia's notorious true-life story of a baby dragged off in the night by a wild animal – but to do so in the most charming and irresistible of narrative voices. The result is a novel that is as delightful as it is terrifying, and just scary good.' * Tim Johnston, bestselling author of Descent and The Current *'A smart debut. Beautifully atmospheric with its great sense of time and place.' * Melina Marchetta, author of On the Jellicoe Road *'I loved it.' * Bryan Brown, actor *'A wry, sad coming-of-age story and a well-crafted first novel.' * Kirkus *

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Book SynopsisEnemies to lovers, found family and heart-breaking romance comes All This Twisted Glory, the highly anticipated third novel in the Persian inspired mythology This Woven Kingdom series As the long-lost heir to the Jinn throne, Alizeh has finally found her peopleand she might've found her crown. Cyrus, the mercurial ruler of Tulan, has offered her his kingdom in a twisted exchange: one that would begin with their marriage and end with his murder.Cyrus's dark reputation precedes him; all the world knows of his blood-soaked past. Killing him should be easyand accepting his offer might be the only way to fulfill her destiny and save her people. But the more Alizeh learns of him, the more she questions whether the terrible stories about him are true.Ensnared by secrets, Cyrus has ached for Alizeh since she first appeared in his dreams many months ago. Now that he knows those visions were planted by the devil, he can hardly bear to look at hermuch less endure her company. But despite their bTrade Review Praise for This Woven Kingdom series ‘Mafi continues her stunning, spellbinding epic narrative of secrets, confusion, and burning desire in a volume that’s more about characterization than action but is still a fast, gripping read.’ – Kirkus on All This Twisted Glory “In a tale as exquisitely crafted as one of Alizeh’s own garments, Mafi weaves a spell of destiny and danger, forbidden love and courtly intrigue, magic and revolution.”—Cassandra Clare, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Last Hours "This story is so magical and transportive that I fully expected the book would know the moment I'd finished — within hours, no less — and promptly unravel into a pile of jewels and silks in my hands. Mafi's diamond-bright lyrical voice weaves a tale that is gilded in magic, laced with subterfuge, adorned with the brocade of a tortuous romance, and richly embroidered with Persian mythology. I cannot wait for more."—Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves “This Woven Kingdom is an exquisite fantasy. Rich with clever prose, delicious twists, and breathtaking world building. Prepare to be destroyed—this one will wrench at your heart and make it pound, and in the end it will leave you entirely speechless.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 NYT bestselling author of the Caraval series ‘Richly textured, descriptive prose coupled with agonizing romance combine in this fantastical epic. Gut-wrenchingly beautiful.’ – Kirkus Reviews “In a heart-wrenching novel, Mafi complements rich worldbuilding with lushly descriptive, sensorial prose that inspires the novel’s mythological backdrop, against which plays out an emotional plot, and a tortured romance, layered with court intrigue.” – Publishers Weekly “Tahereh Mafi continues her reign as a master of YA fantasy” – PopSugar "[An] illustrious tale of magic, court intrigue, and romance. Captivating readers from the very first chapter" – Booklist

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Book SynopsisA beautiful and unique retelling of Medea. I loved it!' Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie IrwinAbsorbing and thoughtfulfull of page-turning drama and vibrantly drawn characters. Bold and illuminating' Claire Heywood, author of Daughters of SpartaA propulsive retelling inspired by the Greek myth of Medea Calcutta, 1757.Bengal is on the brink of war. The East India Company, led by the fearsome Sir Peter Chilcott, are advancing and nobody is safe. Meena, the Nawab's neglected and abused daughter, finds herself falling under the spell of James Chilcott, nephew of Sir Peter, who claims he wants to betray the company . . . for a price.Caught between friend and foe, Meena and James escape Calcutta, their hands stained in blood and pockets filled with gold. In Ceylon, they're cleansed of their sins by Meena's beloved aunt Kiran, before the young lovers set sail for the Dutch controlled Cape of Good Hope, with the promise of a new life.Yet past resentments and present betrayals begin to piTrade Review'Savage Beasts is a powerful, exquisitely crafted story with astutely drawn parallels to myth. It is as sharply clever as it is utterly gripping'Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen ‘Rani Selvarajah is a sublime storyteller. Savage Beasts is a searing excoriation of colonialism and a chilling interrogation of the compromises required by foreign women to survive brutal so-called civilised societies’Jennifer Hayashi Danns, author of Beneath the Burning Wave ‘Selvarajah skilfully explores the evils of colonialism and the particular demonisation and dehumanisation of foreign women as her fierce and tragic heroine hurtles towards the inevitable, and yet cleverly twisted, ending’Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas ‘Man oh man, I cannot wait to throw this book at everyone I know’ Pyae Moe Thet War, author of You’ve Changed, a Malala Bookclub Pick Readers love Savage Beasts: ‘Wow. So Medea is one of my all time favorite characters in Greek mythology. And I have been dying for someone to write a book worthy of her.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book is nothing short of spectacular.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This was a great concept for a Medea retelling.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I really loved this story. The world building and the characters were excellent.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book SynopsisTruman Capote was born in New Orleans in 1925. He left school at fifteen and subsequently worked for the New Yorker - which provided his first - and last - regular job. He wrote Other Voices, Other Rooms while working on a Louisiana farm in the late 1940s. Truman Capote died in 1984

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Book Synopsis''Unlike any other person I had come across, Welch seemed to be speaking particularly to me'' Alan Bennett''Vivid ... surprising ... an exquisite balance of pain and beauty'' GuardianOrvil Pym does not fit in. A waifish, eccentric, sensitive fifteen-year-old, he hates school and longs to be alone. Spending his Summer holidays in a genteel Surrey hotel with his mysterious father and two brothers who don''t understand him, he explores ancient churches, spies on a man rowing in the river and collects antiques, escaping into his own singular aesthetic world. First published in 1945, this is an unforgettable portrayal of a young man''s sensuous coming-of-age.''A heightened, sensual journey ... it is Orvil''s vibrant energy that allows this book to bubble ... beautifully odd ... spectacular'' IndependentTrade ReviewBritain's Marcel Proust * The Times *Underpinning it is an exquisite balance of pain and beauty - an aspect of the sublime - as Welch brings to vivid life the existence lost to him for ever ... he is surprising us still -- John Self * Guardian *The writer who most directly influenced my work ... he makes the reader aware of the magic that is right under his eyes -- William BurroughsA heightened, sensual journey ... it is Orvil's vibrant energy that allows this book to bubble ... beautifully odd ... spectacular -- The IndependentUnlike any other person I had come across, Welch seemed to be speaking particularly to me -- Alan BennettMaybe there is no better novel in the world than Denton Welch's In Youth Is Pleasure. Just holding it in my hands, so precious, so beyond gay, so deliciously subversive, is enough to make illiteracy a worse social crime than hunger -- John Waters

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Book SynopsisA hugely entertaining novel of sex, lies and Americans in Paris, dripping with the sarcasm those Americans are not supposed to have. Published as part of a beautifully designed series to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Virago Modern Classics.Trade ReviewReaders turn to it again and again for its jokes, which are very funny and remain so after a dozen readings -- Rachel Cooke * Guardian *A champagne cocktail . . . Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste . . . One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence * Observer *As delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read * Sunday Times *I had to tell someone how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream, and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)For a highly likeable and amusing narrator, who throws herself into Parisian life. A cult classic to reconnect me with France and feed my love of sharp observational humour . . . a hedonistic whirlwind in Paris and the South of France, pulled along by its whip-smart American heroine, Sally Jay Gore (out of the way, Emily In Paris). This is someone I am desperate to drink Pernod with. Where life has felt so constrained, this was such a liberating read -- Emma Reed * Daily Telegraph *Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true * Evening Standard ***'A champagne cocktail ... Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste ... One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height... * OBSERVER *** 'As delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read’ *SUNDAY TIMES ** 'Both funny and true * EVENING STANDARD *

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Book SynopsisBY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ROMANTIC COMEDY, AMERICAN WIFE and PREP''This addictive novel is the SLIDING DOORS of American politics. Gripping'' Stylist''Startlingly good. One of my favourite writers'' KATE ATKINSON----------------------''Awfully opinionated for a girl'' is what they call Hillary as she grows up in her Chicago suburb.Smart, diligent, and a bit plain, that''s the general consensus. Then Hillary goes to college, and her star rises. At Yale Law School, she continues to be a leader - and catches the eye of driven, handsome and charismatic Bill. But when he asks her to marry him, Hillary gives him a firm No.How might things have turned out for them, for America, for the world itself, if Hillary Rodham had really turned down Bill Clinton?With her sharp but always compassionate eye, Sittenfeld explores the loneliness, moral ambivalence and iron determTrade ReviewThis addictive novel is the SLIDING DOORS of American politics. Gripping * STYLIST *A lot of fun. A wonderful, sad dream of what might have happened * GUARDIAN *An explosive new book * GRAZIA *Sittenfeld's RODHAM offers the catharsis of uncomplicated regret * THE NEW YORKER *While telling a compelling story, RODHAM provides an insightful analysis of the function of sexim in our political discourse. Sittenfeld is at her wittiest when recreating the men who dominate American politics * WASHINGTON POST *A nauseating, moving, morally suggestive, technically brilliant book that made me think more than any in recent memory about the aims and limits of fiction * NPR *Hugely enjoyable * WALL STREET JOURNAL *This isn't just fiction as fantasy, this is fiction as therapy. A serious work of literary fiction designed to rally the spirits of liberal readers * SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE *‘An ingenious yet plausible glimpse of an alternative reality, and so involving that it occasionally comes as a shock to realise that there is a different reality, and we are living in it’ * THE SPECTATOR *‘By tilting history on its side, Sittenfeld makes Hillary seem a fresh character and remarkably sympathetic’ * EVENING STANDARD *‘RODHAM explores the mysterious territory between the inner and outer lives of a person who has long been a source of fascination, adulation and loathing’ * FINANCIAL TIMES *‘Getting inside a living person’s head sounds like a colossally bad idea, but Sittenfeld makes it convincing here, just as she did with a character based on First Lady Laura Bush in her 2008 novel, AMERICAN WIFE’ * BBC CULTURE *Deviously clever . . . Sittenfeld’s Hillary is both a player in the Game of Thrones and a romance novel heroine. She’s a brilliant badass who has found her voice and knows how to use it. She’s whoever she wants to be * THE OPRAH MAGAZINE *As Hillary finds her groove, so the momentum and entertainment builds, as does your admiration for how ingeniously and plausibly Sittenfeld has re-written the script * DAILY MAIL *A counterfactual novel ... throbs with energy * TLS *A fascinating glimpse into an alternative future * DAILY MIRROR *Pacy... plenty of sex and gossip - and a cameo from a certain yellow-haired, orange-faced president-to-be... ripe for TV adaptation * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *A brilliantly smart re-imagining * WOMAN AND HOME *Sittenfeld's writing is so fine, her characters so vivid, her empathy so profound that she manages to absorb the reader on a level that transcends partisanship. In 2020, that was a remarkable achievement and an enormous gift to her readers * THE NEW YORKER *It ends up being a love letter to a type: the female intellectual, who is given none of the licence of her less talented male peers. At the end, i found myself saying Oh My God * OBSERVER *A triumphant feminist reinvention. Sittenfeld is the bard of presidential female adjacents * VOGUE *RODHAM is wide- ranging political anthropology, concerned not so much with what makes Hillary tick as it is with the culture around her and how she might have shaped events, and been shaped by them, if the pieces of reality's jigsaw were rearranged just so. It's stippled with clever mischief * NEW YORK TIMES *A smartly structured character study and a stay- up- all- night plot . . . A captivating and durable story containing rooms within rooms. RODHAM turns into a high- speed bildungsroman about a woman of formidable intellect and self- insight. * THE LOS ANGELES TIMES *It's the genius of Sittenfeld's prose that we come to understand this ambivalence,as well as the deep conflicts in this complicated character. In the longing and loneliness, the anger as well as ambition, this Hillary makes RODHAM a compelling portrait of a future that might have been. * THE BOSTON GLOBE *Tantalizing . . . part thought experiment, part wish- fulfillment fantasy . . . delectably discussable, a book tailor- made for book clubs. * USA TODAY *Wildly compelling . . . What RODHAM is interested in is examining what feminine ambition looks like when it is untethered from a man. . . . Sittenfeld is free to invent, and the reality she builds is deliciously dishy. * VOX *Thought-provoking and compelling * SUNDAY EXPRESS *A moving feat of feminist and novelistic imagination * THE TABLET *

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Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings her Chronicles of Ixia series to its exhilarating conclusion. Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond—and a family—that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia. Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall—and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal. With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician…and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.Trade Review ‘…a compelling new fantasy series.’ Rhianna Pratchett, SFX Magazine on Poison Study ‘the story… is peopled by convincing and well realised characters. Verdict: 9/10.’ Total SciFi on Fire Study

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Book SynopsisJack Kerouac''s classic novel about friendship, the search for meaning, and the allure of natureA witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac''s The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery through the lens of Zen Buddhist thought. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ann Douglas.Following the explosive energy of On the Road, the book that put the Beat Genration on the literary map - and Jack Kerouac on the bestseller list - comes The Dharma Bums, in which Kerouac charts the spiritual quest of a group of friends in search of Dharma, or Truth. Ray Smith and his friend Japhy, along with Morley the yodeller, head off into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude and experience the Zen way of life. But in wildly Bohemian San Francisco, with its poetry jam sessions, marathon drinking bouts and experiments in ''yabyum'', they find the ascetic route distinctly hard to follow.

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Book SynopsisThe start of a gripping WWII series by bestselling author Fenella J. MillerAs war rages, Barbara Sinclair is desperate to escape her unhappy home life. And with the threat of German bombs ever present, Barbara reluctantly agrees to marry John, her childhood friend, who is leaving to join the RAF.But an encounter with Alex Everton, a dashing Spitfire pilot, complicates matters for Barbara. With emotions running high, she begins to question whether she has made a terrible mistake.With the constant threat of death all around her, Barbara must try to find a way to deal with the complexities of her difficult home life and her emotional relationships, too.Has Barbara made the right choice and will she find her own place in a time of great upheaval?Praise for Fenella J. Miller:'Engaging characters and setting which whisks you back to the home front of wartime Britain. A great start to what promises to be a fabulous series.' Jean FullertonPlease note: This book was previously published as Barbara's War

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Book SynopsisOne of Dickens's finest novels, Great Expectations chronicles the fortunes of its young protagonist Pip as he is unexpectedly endowed by a mysterious benefactor with the life of a gentleman, enabling him to escape to London from the prospect of a humble blacksmith's career in rural Kent. In the bustling, unforgiving capital he must learn for himself the pitfalls of love and wealth, and how to sort his friends from his enemies. Through the lives of its unforgettable and iconic characters - such as Magwitch, Miss Havisham and Estella - Great Expectations charts the course of an England undergoing rapid social and economic change, and tells a tale that is among the foremost classics of the English language.Trade ReviewAll his characters are my personal friends - I am constantly comparing them with living persons, and living persons with them. -- Leo Tolstoy Dickens's figures belong to poetry, like figures of Dante or Shakespeare, in that a single phrase, either by them or about them, may be enough to set them wholly before us. -- T.S. Eliot

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Book SynopsisEstranged brothers are reunited over plans to develop the tower block where they grew up, but the desolate estate becomes a stage for reliving the events of one life-changing summer, forty years earlier … the exquisitely written, moving new novel from West Camel.‘Unfolds like a spell’ Carol Lovekin, author of Ghostbird‘A deceptively complex and layered story; beautiful, traumatic and ultimately uplifting’ Louise Beech, author of This Is How We Are Human'A mesmerising portrait of toxic family relationships: one that perfectly captures a turbulent era in a changing Britain. I was gripped' Caroline Wyatt_____________________________Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that shattered their lives, and changed everything forever…Grim, evocative and exquisitely rendered, Fall is a story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave – a triumph of a novel that will affect you long after the final page has been turned.Illustrations by David F. Ross–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––**Shortlisted for the POLARI Prize**‘Fall’s characters will haunt me, its story will stay with me and I will return again and again’ Katie Allen‘Beautifully written, perfectly executed, a drama that captures your heart and mind’ Anne Coates'Architecture and morality: the only subjects worth writing about, and West Camel does so exquisitely through the eyes of people profoundly affected by both' David F. Ross‘A book about families, racism and the differences that bind us or push us apart …all bound up in West Camel's elegant prose’ Michael J. Malone‘Suspense and twists keep you turning the pages, while the unfolding of complex characters and relationships draws you in’ Valeria Vescina‘Both charming and conflicting … the author’s enticing storytelling has totally, utterly hooked me’ Sarah Sansom‘A page-turner and a literary delight, a book you devour’ Liz Loves Books‘Immersive, beautiful, and haunting … I adored it’ Live & Deadly‘A novel of mystic style and sensibility. West Camel tackles timeless themes of truth, power, family and justice … an extraordinary read’ Richard Fernandez‘A book to be embraced, a book to be kept in your heart … West Camel writes beautifully’ The Reading ClosetPraise for West Camel’s debut novel Attend‘From its opening gambit to its final line, Attend demands and rewards attention’ Foreword Reviews’With its blend of dark, gritty themes and gorgeous imagery, this is a book to make you believe there’s still magic in the world’ Heat ‘I’ve fallen in love with this absolutely glorious, spell-binding tale’ LoveReading‘It’s a genuinely pleasurable experience to encounter something couched in such alert and transparent language as West Camel’s Attend … In three hundred finely judged pages, West Camel leaves the reader eager for more from his pen’ Barry Forshaw, CrimeTime For fans of Sarah Moss, Bernadine Evaristo, Colm Toibin and Selina Godde

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Book SynopsisBRITISH VOGUE ''STAR OF THE FUTURE''INDEPENDENT BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE''A gripping, sinister fable'' Margaret Atwood''An extraordinary debut - otherworldly, luminous, precise'' Guardian''Bold, inventive, haunting . . . With shades of Margaret Atwood and Eimear McBride, you''ll be bowled over by it'' StylistA hypnotic coming-of-age story for fans of The Power, The Vegetarian, I Who Have Never Known Men and The GirlsGrace, Lia and Sky live in an abandoned hotel, on a sun-bleached island, beside a poisoned sea. Their parents raised them there to keep them safe, to make them good. The world beyond the water is contaminated and men are the contamination. But one day three strangers wash ashore - men who stare at the sisters hungrily, helplessly. Men who bring trouble.*****''A feminist fable set by the sea, a female Lord of the Flies. It felt like a book I''d been waiting to read for a long time'' Emma Jane Unsworth''Visceral, hypnotic, with one of my favourite endings I''ve read in a long while'' The Pool''An unsettling dark fantasy... [It] lingers long after the final page'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewCompulsive, eerily gorgeous, [it] will have you gripped until the end... A film adaptation feels inevitable... As far as debuts go, this is superb * Irish News *A feminist dystopian fairy tale, a sexual coming-of-age story and a survival-of-the-fittest tale. Evocative, suspenseful and bleak - in short, everything this age seems to be demanding * NPR *[An] eerie, uncanny literary debut... Beautifully written, pared down and hypnotic * Sunday Times Culture *Bewitching... [An] ambiguous utopia * Guardian *In raw, visceral prose, Mackintosh probes at ideas of the threat of male violence, the ways women are told to protect ourselves, love and sisterhood and survival. A hypnotic, stormy book, with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while * The Pool *Stunning... A haunting story of abuse, death, and desire... Chilling and topical, a breathtaking debut * Dazed *Eerily beautiful, this strange, unsettling novel creeps up and grabs hold of you -- Paula Hawkins, author of 'The Girl on the Train'Darkly gratifying, dreamy, primal, and arresting [as] a fairy tale... The overgrown grounds, with their perimeter of rusty barbed wire and shark-infested waters, resemble Sleeping Beauty's castle * New Yorker *Searing, richly drawn, eerily compelling... As foreboding in what it holds back as in what it reveals * Stylist *Elemental... [A] utopia portrayed in spectral, organic prose... Mackintosh is a wonderful stylist; the full scope of her imagination, as well as the cohesion of her vision, is evident on every page... A seriously impressive feat * Irish Times *[A] wildly confident debut... Take the strange social ceremonies of The Lobster and the pheromone-rich claustrophobia of The Beguiled and you come close to the world Sophie Mackintosh conjures * AnOther Magazine *The Water Cure is eerily still and pure - with saline bite... Mackintosh asks if it is the traumas of our pasts that ultimately pose the greatest threat to our futures * New Statesman *Powerfully unsettling, immensely assured, calmly devastating. It conjures a world both alien and familiar, exploring the physical and psychological cruelties enacted on women, by men, in the name of their protection, and the noble and ignoble uses to which anger can be put in a perverse world. This is a gem of a novel, and I was bowled over by it -- Katherine Angel, author of 'Unmastered'Electric [and] beautifully strange... Her novel is an exercise in minimalism * Times Literary Supplement *A hypnotic read... This extraordinary debut is a feminist, quasi-dystopian read - great for fans of Hot Milk, The Girls and The Vegetarian * Elle *A work of cool, claustrophobic beauty. Sophie Mackintosh writes devastatingly well about the complexities that women face in loving men, and in loving each other -- Eli Goldstone, author of 'Strange Heart Beating'Uneasy, mythic, lawless... The atmospheric landscapes cloak trauma and violence in wisps of uncertainty, where bad feelings coalesce as both presciently felt and strangely unknowable * Frieze *Otherworldly, brutal and poetic: a feminist fable set by the sea, a utopia gone awry, a female Lord of the Flies. It transported me, savaged me, filled me with hope and fear. It felt like a book I'd been waiting to read for a long time -- Emma Jane Unsworth, author of 'Animals'[A] lyrical debut, original and very atmospheric * Good Housekeeping *Eerie, electric, beautiful. It rushes you through to the end on a tide of tension and closely held panic. I loved this book -- Daisy Johnson, author of 'Fen'Creepy and delightful, a portrayal of post-apocalyptic puberty, intermingling desire and despair. It has a pinch of Shirley Jackson, a dash of chlorine, and an essence all of its own -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of 'Harmless Like You'Powerful, mythic, seductively sinister... Her alternative world is as carefully imagined as one of Margaret Atwood's... [Sophie Mackintosh] is a writer to be reckoned with * Book Oxygen *Eerie and unsettling, the novel exerts a hypnotic grip as the tension builds * Daily Mail *A superb debut * i *The Water Cure deserves a Sofia Coppola-style big-screen treatment, although its cultish overtones and sinister denouement are as reminiscent of The Wicker Man as The Virgin Suicides * The Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisJane Austen was born in 1775 in rural Hampshire, the daughter of an affluent village rector who encouraged her in her artistic pursuits. In novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma she developed her subtle analysis of contemporary life through depictions of the middle classes in small towns. Her sharp wit and incisive portraits of ordinary people have given her novels enduring popularity. She died in 1817.Trade ReviewAn unputdownable read that challenges perceptions, and subtly marks a line in feminist history and thought -- Victoria Lambert * The Telegraph *Jane Austen’s self-enclosed world enveloped me, soothing in its contours and assumptions . . . irresistible -- Susan Chira * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe million-copy bestselling author and BookTok sensation Monica Murphy is back with a swoon-worthy Lancaster Prep spin-off romance . . .-Young heiress Scarlett Lancaster is turning eighteen and her dad has promised to hire a famous musician for her party . . .Delight turns to disappointment when it's revealed that her dad hired Tate Ramsey, former lead singer of a band that hasn't been popular for years.Tate, after years of alcohol- and drug-fueled partying, is sober and ready for a comeback and blows the audience away with his performancethough Scarlett herself still isn't impressed.But when they talk after he leaves the stage, their encounter ends in a kiss that surprises them bothand immediately goes viral.The kiss propels them into the spotlight. Riding the wave of stardom, the two agree to start a fake relationship.But before long they discover their feelings might not be fake after all . . .

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Book SynopsisA haunting and tragicomic tale of the end of childhood, Annie John is told with Jamaica Kincaid’s trademark candour and complexity, and is a true coming-of-age classic.An adored only child growing up in Antigua, Annie has until recently lived a peaceful and content life. She is inseparable from her beautiful mother, a powerful and influential presence, who sits at the very centre of the little girl’s existence. Loved and cherished, Annie grows and thrives within her mother’s shadow.When she turns twelve, however, Annie’s life changes, in ways that are often mysterious to her. She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she makes rebellious friends and frequently challenges authority; and most frighteningly, her mother, seeing Annie as a ‘young lady’, ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration and takes on the new and unfamiliar guise of adversary.Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.Trade ReviewSo touching and familiar it could be happening to any of us . . . and that's exactly the book's strength, its wisdom, its truth * The New York Times Book Review *What a writer – elegant, uncompromising, simultaneously direct and layered and complex. -- Ali SmithSo neon-bright that the traditional story of a young girl's passage into adolescence takes on a shimmering strangeness -- Elaine Kendall * Los Angeles Times *An unaffectedly sumptuous, irresistible writer. . . thrilling -- Susan SontagI’ve read everything by Jamaica Kincaid, and I’ve still never read anyone like her. If you are new to Kincaid, I envy you. -- Jackie Kay

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Book Synopsis*BY THE WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE*'Laxness at his best: a reminder of the mad hilarity of the Icelandic sensibility. An endearing and unforgettable voice' Nicholas ShakespeareAbandoned as a baby, Alfgrimur is content to spend his days as a fisherman living in the turf cottage outside Reykjavik with the elderly couple he calls grandmother and grandfather. There he shares the mid-loft with a motley bunch of eccentrics and philosophers who find refuge in the simple respect for their fellow men that is the ethos at the Brekkukot. But the narrow horizons of Alfgrimur's idyllic childhood are challenged when he starts school and meets Iceland's most famous singer, the mysterious Garoar Holm. Garoar encourages him to aim for the 'one true note', but how can he attain it without leaving behind the world that he loves?'It is a novel (a world) that transmits something of the wonder of life' Murray BailTrade ReviewLaxness is a poet who writes to the edge of the pages, a visionary who allows us a plot: he takes a Tolstoyan overview, he weaves in an Evelyn Waugh-like humour: it is not possible to be unimpressed * Daily Telegraph *This weird and wonderful novel, about the price you pay for 'the one true note', is Laxness at his best: a reminder of the mad hilarity of the Icelandic sensibility. An endearing and unforgettable voice * Nicholas Shakespeare *It is a novel (a world) that transmits something of the wonder of life, its strangeness, its goodness, ocassions for stubbornness, and the stoicism of people - people everywhere * Murray Bail *Laxness's view of a child's bounded universe has humour and a light touch * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIT''S TIME TO SWAP HAUTE COUTURE FOR HTML.On paper, Zoe Zeng has made it in New York''s fashion world . . . but life in the city isn''t quite what Zoe imagined.Her editor at Chic magazine wants to censor her opinions to please the big brands; she shares her ''quaint'' (read: small) apartment with three roommates who never let her store kimchi in the fridge; and how is she supposed to afford all the designer clothes on her meagre salary?When Zoe is offered a job at FitPick - a startup based in Silicon Valley - the salary and office perks are great, but moving across the country and leaving her best friends behind? Not so much.Taking a leap of faith, Zoe trades high fashion for high tech. But she soon realizes that in an industry claiming to change the world for the better, not everyone''s intentions are pure. And with an eight-figure investment on the line, Zoe must find a way to revamp the app''s image despi

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Book SynopsisAgainst the unforgiving landscape of a hospital, I fell in love with a mischievous, sun-eyed boy who became my only joy in that desolate place. That’s what made it all the more soul-crushing when he committed suicide in front of me. Since then, I've sworn never to love anyone again. With three exceptions: My friends, Sony, Neo, and Coeur, a little gang of rebellious, dying kids. Sony leads the charge with the air of freedom and only one lung to breathe it. Neo, a bad-tempered and wheel-chaired writer, keeps track of our great deeds from stealing to terrorizing our nurse. Coeur is the beautiful boy, the muscle, the gentle giant with a failing heart. Before death inevitably knocks down our doors, my thieves and I have one last heist planned. A great escape that will take us far from abusive parents, crippling loss, and the realities of our diseases. So what happens when someone else walks through the door? What happens when a girl joins our party and ren

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Book SynopsisOne of the best-loved adventure stories ever written, Treas ure Island's timeless tale of pirates, lost treasure maps, mutiny and derring-do has appealed to generations of readers ever since Robert Louis Stevenson penned it in 1881 with the claim: If this don't fetch the kids, why, they have gone rotten since my day. But more than just a children's classic, the novel is considered to be one of the greatest feats of storytelling in the English language, with characters such as the unforgettable Long John Silver becoming part of the cultural consciousness. Treasure Island is a coming-of-age story that will captivate both adults and children for as long as stories are told.Trade ReviewThis novel sets the bar for everything a child could want from a pirate story. * Shiny New Books *

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Book SynopsisFollowing A Change in Climate', this brilliant novel from the double Man Booker prize-winning author of Wolf Hall' is a coming-of-age tale set in Seventies London.It is London, 1970. Carmel McBain, in her first term at university, has cut free of her childhood roots in the north. Among the gossiping, flirtatious girls of Tonbridge Hall, she begins her experiments in life and love. But the year turns. The mini-skirt falls out of style and an era of concealment begins. Carmel's world darkens, and tragedy waits in the wings.Trade Review‘The most powerful of her novels, a near-faultless masterpiece of pathos, observation and feeling … She writes like an angel.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Hilary Mantel is a wonderfully unsurprised dissector of human motivation, and in An Experiment in Love she has written a bleak tale seamed with crackling wit.’ Helen Dunmore, Observer ‘Funny, tragic and wondefully perceptive, this is a book to be treasured, for the sheer quality of its writing and for its honesty.’ Independent ‘Mantel writes prose of imperturbable aplomp, crisp with irony and highlighted with deftly places, elegantly surprising images … she has a penchant for caustic, spiky heroines and a sardonic ear for dialogue.’ Sunday Times ‘My favourite novel of the year: An Experiment in Love is written with subtle perceptiveness, sharp wit and canny wisdom’ Margaret Forster, Independent ‘Cool unsentimental, and unassumingly authoritative.’ Anita Brookner, Spectator ‘The time is 1970, and it is wonderfully well evoked … The skill with which Mantel manages her time-shifts, the precision of her writing, the acuteness of her observations, the seriousness of her themes, and the way in which she weaves them into a coherant whole, make this an unusually satisfying novel.’ Allan Massie, Scotsman ‘An Experiment in Love has much to say about its turbulant era, and is replete with the atmosphere of the cusp, with the prospect of irreversible change … It is also a profoundly sad novel, to which Mantel’s liberal sense of comedy and dazzling acuity for metaphor add an almost excruciating flavour.’ Rachel Cusk, The Times

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Book SynopsisA bold new story for fans of We Were Liars, intertwining past and present, love and loss, from the bestselling author of The One Memory of Flora Banks.''A sun-splashed Cornish thriller with a dark heart, ideal for YA fans of E Lockhart'' Guardian ONE HOT SUMMER, FIRST LOVE AND SO MANY BURIED SECRETS . . .Senara has never been in love before. She''s not done anything exciting before. Always the sidekick . . . Until the summer that changes everything.Cliff House is closed off for most of the year until its rich Londoner owners come down to Cornwall for the summer. This year, despite herself, Senara finds herself pulled into this world of wealth and ease, sunbathing and beautiful people. She even finds herself falling in love for the first time.But Cliff House and its owners are hiding things. They''ve been hiding things for too long and now, despite all their efforts, their secrets are coming out . . . Secrets that involve Senara''s friends and her family in a way she could never have imagined.''An intoxicating mix of mystery, suspense and first love'' The Daily Mirror''A perfect holiday page-turner'' The Sunday Express''This is another young adult novel that will have younger readers transfixed'' The Metro''A slow-burn summer novel packed with intrigue'' Culturefly - 22 Books to add to your Summer Reading ListRead more captivating fiction from Emily Barr:The One Memory of Flora BanksThe Truth and Lies of Ella BlackThe Girl Who Came Out of the WoodsThings to do Before The End of the WorldGhostedTrade ReviewA slow-burn summer novel packed with intrigue. * Culturefly - 22 Books to add to your Summer Reading List *Will have readers transfixed * Metro *Original plot and charming protagonist . . . Her [Emily's] page-turning talents are put to good use as the reader accompanies a brave teenager on a journey to discover who she really is. * Irish Times on The One Memory of Flora Banks *Mesmerizing, electric, and achingly lovely . . . One of the best YA novels I've read in a very long time * Jennifer Niven on The One Memory of Flora Banks *If you like dark fiction you'll devour it * Heat - on The Truth and Lies of Ella Black *A sun-splashed Cornish thriller with a dark heart, ideal for YA fans of E Lockhart. * Guardian - Summer reading: 50 brilliant books to discover *An intoxicating mix of mystery, suspense and first love. * The Daily Mirror *A perfect holiday page-turner. * The Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisA witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac''s The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery through the lens of Zen Buddhist thought. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ann Douglas.Following the explosive energy of On the Road, the book that put the Beat Genration on the literary map - and Jack Kerouac on the bestseller list - comes The Dharma Bums, in which Kerouac charts the spiritual quest of a group of friends in search of Dharma, or Truth. Ray Smith and his friend Japhy, along with Morley the yodeller, head off into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude and experience the Zen way of life. But in wildly Bohemian San Francisco, with its poetry jam sessions, marathon drinking bouts and experiments in ''yabyum'', they find the ascetic route distinctly hard to follow.Jack Kerouac (1922-69) was an American novelist, poet, artist and part of the Beat Generation. His first published novel, The Town

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Book SynopsisJack Kerouac''s Great American Novel, now in a delightful new Clothbound Classics editionOn the Road swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, its American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than Scott Fitzgerald, and it goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion.Trade ReviewThe most beautifully executed, the clearest and the most important utterance yet made by thegeneration Kerouac himself named years ago as "beat" * The New York Times *Pop writing at its best. It changed the way I saw the world, making me yearn for fresh experience -- Hanif Kureishi * Independent on Sunday *On the Road sold a trillion Levis and a million espresso machines, and also sent countless kids on the road -- William Burroughs

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Book SynopsisIn this coming-of-age story, Timothy Wangusa tells the tale of a young boy struggling to reconcile between his Christian beliefs and his village''s ancient traditions. Upon this Mountain captures a time of profound religious change and colonialism in rural Uganda.Mwambu, a schoolboy living in eastern Uganda, is certain that if heaven is anywhere, it must be at the highest peak of their village''s mountain so he is shocked to discover that his father has never tried to reach it. While on a quest to climb to the top, Mwambu finds himself on a journey of self-realisation, confronted with the contradictions of his childhood. As the values of Christianity collide with the traditions of his ancestors, the path to adulthood becomes increasingly treacherous...

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Book SynopsisREAD THE DELICIOUSLY DARK COMING-OF-AGE STORY NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET''A beautifully tragic coming of age story. I can''t get over this book'' 5***** Reader Review''Absolutely one-of-a-kind storytelling'' 5***** Reader Review_______When teenage cannibal Maren is rejected by her family, she is forced into a life alone and on the run.Until she meets Lee.Tall, brooding and mysterious, he sees Maren for who she is: someone like him.Maren''s small world breaks wide open. And as they embark on a journey of longing and survival, Lee teaches her how to live.Their bond makes them untouchable. Their blistering love is palpable.But will it save them from a world in which they don''t belong? . . .Trade Review[DeAngelis] successfully blends metaphor with the macabre...genuinely entertaining...Delicious fun * Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) *A commentary on young women's sexuality, reliance on self, and being about who you are rather than where you came from...This novel is unique, edgy, and not to be missed! * RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars, "Top Pick" *Maren's loneliness makes her a vulnerable and completely believable protagonist...DeAngelis doesn't shy away from Maren's dark nature but manages to keep her sweet...giving us a portrait of a young girl who wants to fit in * Library Journal *A dark and mesmerizing vision of adolescent desire--this book will devour you -- Robin Wasserman, author of The Waking Dark and The Cold Awakening series

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Book Synopsis· Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize 2020 ·· One of Barack Obama's "Favourite Books of the Year" ·· A New York Times Critics' Top Books of 2019 ·'A superb book' Max Porter, author of Lanny____________________________________Stories of a young man finding his place among family and community in Houston, from a powerful, emerging American voice.In an apartment block, the son of a black mother and a Latino father is coming of age. He's working at his family's restaurant, trying to dodge his brother's fists and resenting his older sister's absence. He's also discovering he likes boys...All around him his friends and neighbours experience the tumult of living in the margins. Their stories - of living, thriving and dying across the city's myriad neighbourhoods - are stitched throughout the boy's life to reveal a young woman caught out in an affair, the fortunes of a rag-tag baseball team and a group of young hustlers, a local drug dealer who takes a Guatemalan teen under his wing, and the fate of a camera-shy mythical beast. With brilliant and soulful insight into what makes a community, a family and a life, Lot is about love in all its unsparing and unsteady forms.Trade ReviewAudacious... Profound * New York Times *Enthralling... Subtle but bruising * Guardian *Gut-wrenching and powerful * Cosmopolitan *An astonishing debut... Extraordinary * Alan Hollinghurst, New York Review of Books *A superb book * Max Porter, author of 'Lanny' *A treat and an inspiration to witness * Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous *Stunning... one of the strongest literary debuts in several years. * NPR *Washington cracks open a vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are aware * New York Times *Washington's prose sings with vibrancy * The Rumpus *Phenomenal * Justin Torres, author of 'We the Animals' *Lot spills over with life - funny, tender, and profane * Entertainment Weekly *Generous, powerful, deeply engrossing * R.O. Kwon, author of 'The Incendiaries' *A brilliant display of raw talent * Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of 'Here Comes the Sun' *Unflinching... a prodigious talent. * Mat Johnson, author of 'Loving Day' and 'Pym' *Raw, soulful and moving * Jami Attenberg, author of 'The Middlesteins' *A thrilling new voice in American fiction and one to watch * Amelia Gray, author of 'Isadora' *Raw, empathic and wise... achingly intimate and brilliantly panoramic * Stefan Merrill Block, author of 'The Story of Forgetting' *Will stay with you for a very long time... powerful * Jamel Brinkley, author of 'A Lucky Man' *Depicts its author's hometown of Houston with empathy, tragedy, and exceptional specificity * Entertainment Weekly *Washington's debut reads like a love letter to Houston * New York Times *Empathetic and honest, tender and brutal at once, Lot quips with humour and explores grief and each stop in between. Lot feels like a living, breathing book... As debuts go, these characters and prose leap from the page. * Heather McDaid, The Skinny *Extraordinary * Southern Living *Lot belongs foremost to its characters, who ask to be remembered, even long after their pages have turned. * Paris Review *[F]unny, sad, wise & very alive in the best way * Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Sisterland (Twitter) *Stellar... a remarkable collection from a writer to watch. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *Brutal, raw and blisteringly brilliant... Outstanding. * Attitude *Compassionate, observant, tough; often funny, always authentic * The Big Issue *Visceral and raw... beautifully delicate prose... A terrific read! * Irish Times *Ambitious but never forced... Washington makes the place sing with his sharp, rap-style lyricism. * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisIris Grey's childhood was idyllic... until her father remarried. Far too spirited to be forced into a life of servitude, sheruns away to London, where she crosses paths with handsome, cleverand cold Nicholas Wynter. Will their spark burnbright or will it be extinguished in the flames of their ambition?

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Book SynopsisThe House of Always is the fourth book in Jenn Lyons’s epic fantasy series A Chorus of Dragons, which starts with The Ruin of Kings.What if you were imprisoned for all eternity?In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed.The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin’s enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies.Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they had all sworn to destroy?Praise for A Chorus of Dragons:‘I loved it’ – Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians‘A larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings’ – New York TimesTrade ReviewWhat an extraordinary book. The Ruin of Kings is everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply deeply satisfying. I loved it -- Lev Grossman on The Ruin of KingsA fantastic page-turner with a heady blend of great characters, fast-moving action and a fabulously inventive magic system . . . I loved it -- John Gwynne on The Ruin of KingsIt’s impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all, the sheer, effervescent joy Lyons takes in the scope of her project. Sometimes you just want a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings -- New York Times on The Ruin of KingsLyons proves she is worthy of comparison to other masters of epic fantasy, such as Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen R. Donaldson and Melanie Rawn -- Booklist starred review of The Name of All ThingsSimply put: this is top-notch adventure fantasy written for a twenty-first-century audience – highly recommended -- Kirkus starred review of The Name of All ThingsLyons is creating a complex and wonderful series that will immerse and delight -- Library Journal on The Name of All Things

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Book SynopsisDISCOVER THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES FROM THE GLOBAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SHADOWHUNTER CHRONICLES!Two outcasts find themselves at the centre of world-altering change in Sword Catcher, the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the internationally bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.'Everything I look for in fantasy' - George R. R. Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Game of Thrones-----One was raised to rule. One was trained to die. Welcome to the Chronicles of Castellane.In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, a young orphan named Kel is stolen from his old life to enter a new one of luxury and peril. He’s to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double, shielding the Prince from all dangers. As his ‘Sword Catcher,’ he and Conor become close as brothers – yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor.Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But events pull her and Kel together and into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld.Together, they’ll discover an extraordinary conspiracy. But can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war and the world into chaos?Lose yourself in a vibrant world of power, intrigue and magic in this spellbinding epic from an internationally bestselling sensation.Trade ReviewSword Catcher gave me everything I look for in medieval fantasy: mystery and magic (not too much, not too little), expert worldbuilding, swordplay and politics, a colorful cast of interesting characters, and a story that kept me reading from the first page to the last, with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. It's a big thick book, but it left me wanting more. When's the next one coming out? -- No.1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. MartinA gorgeously built world of decadence, betrayal, and grand adventure. From the decadent and drunken parties of the nobles, to the dens of crime lords in the Warren and Maze, to the Sault, where the devotees of a lost goddess are penned, the city of Castellane makes the perfect backdrop for a delightful cast of characters to befriend, betray, and romance one another. This is Cassandra Clare at her cleverest, twistiest and most heart-stopping—a triumph of a book -- Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of NightClare plunges us into a thrilling world built with precision and brimming with enchantment. Her spellbinding cast of outlaws, healers, royals, and rogues will have you questioning your allegiances with every delicious turn of the plot. This is fantasy at its finest -- Leigh Bardugo, No.1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell BentA sumptuous feast of a book, vivid and delicious and heady. Cassandra Clare’s trademark skills are on full display here: epic worlds, wrenching romances, heart-slamming plot twists, Dickensian characters. I can’t wait to visit Castellane again -- Kelly Link, bestselling author of White Cat, Black DogSweeping yet intimate, rich with romance and intrigue, Sword Catcher is Cassandra Clare at her magical best. In pages packed with sumptuous descriptions, Clare gives us a kingdom’s worth of characters—including Kel the ‘sword catcher,’ trained to protect his prince at all costs, and Lin, a young physician of an outcast people—forced to navigate a web of tangled loyalties between the loved ones they cherish and the powers they serve. This book will break your heart and leave you wanting more! -- Helene Wecker, New York Times bestselling author of The Golem and the JinniA charming return to the big fat fantasy novels of happy memory, with a modern character-driven narrative. Vivid and clever -- Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequenceIt's heady stuff, a novel with all the drama and yearning of Clare's Shadowhunter stories but set in a whole new world, and with the YA stabilisers taken off . . . readers risk becoming instantly addicted * SFX *Cassandra Clare is a legend in fantasy . . . be warned you will be obsessed . . . a propulsive, layered, phenomenally imagined start to what promises to be an epic journey -- Glamour Magazine

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Book Synopsis''Sometimes I feel that I am destined always to be offstage whenever the main action occurs. That God has made me the victim of some cosmic practical joke, by assigning me little more than a walk-on part in my own life . . .''Coming of age in 1970s'' Birmingham, teenager Benjamin Trotter is about to discover the agonies and ecstasies of growing up. Whether it is first love or last rites, IRA bombs or industrial strife, prog versus punk rock, expectations of bad poetry or an unexpected life-changing experience involving lost swimming trunks, The Rotters'' Club is a heartfelt and hilarious portrait of a particular time and place featuring characters recognisable the world over . . .''Very funny, a compulsive and gripping read'' The Times ''Hugely entertaining'' The Observer ''A book to cherish, a book to reread, a book to buy for all your friends'' Independent on SundayWritten with his signature wit, Jonathan Coe''s unmissable new novel, The Proof of My Innocence is available now!Trade ReviewOne of those sweeping, ambitious yet hugely readable, moving and richly comic novels that you find all too rarely in English fiction ... a masterpiece * Daily Telegraph *Very funny ... a compulsive and gripping read. Coe has achieved that rare feat: a novel stuffed with characters you really care for * The Times *A book to cherish, a book to reread, a book to buy for all your friends * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling book behind the Oscar-winning film SLUMDOG MILLLIONAIRE directed by Danny Boyle''An absorbing and richly entertaining read'' TimesFormer tiffinboy Ram Mohammad Thomas has just got twelve questions correct on a TV quiz-show to win a cool one billion rupees. But he is brutally slung in prison on suspicion of cheating. Because how can a kid from the slums know who Shakespeare was, unless he is cheating?In the order of the questions on the show, Ram tells us which incredible adventures in his life on the streets gave him the answers. From orphanages to brothels, gangsters to beggar-masters, and into the homes of Bollywood''s rich and famous, Ram''s story is brimming with the chaotic comedy, heart-stopping tragedy and joyousness of modern India.''Popular fiction at its best and brightest'' Guardian''Colourful'' Sunday Telegraph''Poignant, funny, rich'' MEG ROSOFF, besTrade ReviewThis brilliant story, as colossal, vibrant and chaotic as India itself... is not to be missed * Observer *Poignant, funny, rich... with an utterly orignal and brilliant structure at its heart -- Meg Rosoff, author of HOW I LIVE NOWMingling broad humour with incisive social comment, Q&A is absorbing and richly entertaining reading * The Times *This lively picaresque novel has an original and telling premise... a colourful portrait of Indian society is painted with remarkable lightness and wit * Sunday Telegraph *A hugely successful mixture of satire and intrigue * Independent on Sunday *Swarup is an accomplished storyteller * Daily Mail *An engaging and surprisingly informative read * Telegraph *This novel is part homage to the larger-than-life Bollywood film industry, and the characters and story are so engaging that you really have to read on to find out how it all comes together in the end * Derby Evening Telegraph *One of the most delightful reads i've enjoyed in years * Shashi Tharoor *Q&A is popular fiction at its best and brightest. The prose is efficient and the characters are briskly drawn in strong, sharp colours. Swarup clearly understands his job. As an exercise in genre, the novel is a triumph and that was before the movie-makers got to work -- Robert McCrum * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION''Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace'' Time''A marvel of beauty and imagination'' Ann PatchettA tiger escapes from the local zoo, padding through the ruined streets and onwards, to a ridge above the Balkan village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in a terrified thrall - but for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic.Natalia is the granddaughter of that boy. Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages in the war-torn Balkans when she receives word of her beloved grandfather''s death, far from their home, in circumstances shrouded in mystery.Compelled to unravel the truth, Natalia stumbles upon a clue that will lead her to a tattered copy of The Jungle Book, and then to the most extraordinary story her grandfather never told her - the legend of the tiger''s wife.One of the mostBRILLIANT <Trade ReviewObreht's novel is that rarity: a debut that arrives fully formed, super smart but wearing its learning lightly. Above all The Tiger's Wife bristles with confidence -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times *The brilliant black comedy and matryoshka-style narrative are among the novel's great joys...Obreht has prodigious talent for storytelling and imagery * Guardian *Beautifully executed, haunting and lyrical, The Tiger's Wife is an ambitious novel that succeeds on all counts. It's a book you will want to read again and again * Indpendent *Obreht's landscape hovers half in and half out of fable - where villagers who daily risk being hoisted by landmines also fear malign spirits, tigers' brides and men who transform into bears... It's a part of the world that Obreht has made her imagination's own: raucous and strange and gorgeous and rather haunting. This is a pretty formidable first novel. Here be tigers -- Sam Leith * Financial Times *She is a natural born storyteller and this is a startlingly suggestive novel about the dying out of myths and superstitions and rituals that bind people to place: the retreat of the spirits * Daily Telegraph *This is a distinguished work by almost any standard, and a genuinely exciting debut... Obreht has a vibrant, rangy, full-bodied prose style, which moves expertly between realistic and mythic modes of storytelling, conjuring brilliant images on every page... a delightful work, as enchanting as it is surprising, and Obreht is a compelling new voice * Sunday Times *The Tiger's Wife has been touted as one of 2011's outstanding debuts and it deserves its reputation...Weaving together fantastical tales and folklore with realism about coming to terms with loss and grief, it is also a book about the secrets people keep. This layering of stories creates a book rich in textures. Combining a mystery narrative, a family narrative and a book about the worlds of the imagination, Téa Obreht's novel is one that allows the reader to get lost in them * Metro *The Tiger's Wife, is assured, eloquent and not easily forgotten...war is just a backdrop, religions barely identified. It is the tiger, the deathless man, and the inquisitive doctor who lead the story through its layers of modern-day reality, magical realism, and folklore...her pacing in the book is delicious - Obreht has the storyteller's gift for suspense, and holds back details until the reader can wait no more...she has lived up to the early hype * Independent on Sunday *Natalia, a young doctor, is on her way to deliver aid to a remote orphanage when she discovers her beloved grandfather is dead. As she tries to reconstruct her grandfather's last journey, she recalls his stories, which combine folklore and mystery with his exquisite humanity. Set in a Balkan country adjusting to life after the war, the book resonates with the aftershocks of conflict, old enmities, fatalism and superstition. Haunting, thoughtful and beautifully atmospheric * Psychologies *Varied, poignant and beguilingly fantastical...The Tiger's Wife is an exciting, fast-paced and mystical novel that'll have you rushing to the end * Time Out *Spellbinding... Téa Obreht's debut has the fantastical allure of a folk fable * Marie Claire *This astounding debut novel about the former Yugoslavia in wartime is so rich with themes of love, legends and mortality that every novel that comes after it this year is in peril of falling short in comparison with its uncanny beauty...Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace * Time *Téa Obreht's stunning debut novel, The Tiger's Wife, is a hugely ambitious, audaciously written work that provides an indelible picture of life in an unnamed Balkan country still reeling from the fallout of civil war... Ms. Obreht, who was born in the former Yugoslavia and is, astonishingly, only 25, writes with remarkable authority and eloquence... Ms. Obreht has not only made a precocious debut, but she has also written a richly textured and searing novel * New York Times *Téa Obreht is an extraordinarily talented writer...brings to mind the novels of Mikhail Bulgakov...[a] truly marvellous and memorable first novel * New York Review of Books *Téa Obreht's The Tiger's Wife comes freighted with more critical anticipation than any debut novel in recent memory...That sort of unearned, pre-emptive prestige spurs both impossible expectations and skeptical readings - a burden that would doom most first novels. Yet The Tiger's Wife, in its solemn beauty and unerring execution, fully justifies the accolades that Ms. Obreht's short fiction inspired. She has a talent for subtle plotting that eludes most writers twice her age, and her descriptive powers suggest a kind of channeled genius. No novel this year has seemed more likely to disappoint; no novel has been more satisfying * Wall Street Journal *Tea Obreht's swirling first novel, The Tiger's Wife, draws us beneath the clotted tragedies in the Balkans to deliver the kind of truth that histories can't touch. Born in Belgrade in 1985 - no, that's not a typo - she captures the thirst for consecration that a century of war has left in that bloody part of the world. It's a novel of enormous ambitions that manages in its modest length to contain the conflicts between Christians and Muslims, Turks and Ottomans, science and superstition... Well-deserved praise has been accumulating ever since Obreht published a chapter in the New Yorker almost two years ago, and now that we have the whole, its graceful commingling of contemporary realism and village legend seems even more absorbing * Washington Post *Astonishingly assured...full of vivid, dreamlike sequence...Obreht's mesmerizing writing is key to the novel, which succeeds through a kind of harmonic resonance...Obreht's striking ability to explain the world through stories is matched by her patience with the parts of life - and death - that endlessly confound us * Boston Globe *Deftly walks the line between the realistic and the fantastical . . . In Obreht's expert hands, the novel's mythology, while rooted in a foreign world, comes to seem somehow familiar, like the dark fairy tales of our own youth, the kind that spooked us into reading them again and again . . . [Reveals] oddly comforting truths about death, belief in the impossible, and the art of letting go * O: The Oprah Magazine *A wonderful, really remarkable novel...fascinating, unusual, original -- Erica Wagner * on WOMAN'S HOUR, RADIO 4 *A magical, distinctive tale. -- Emma Lee-Potter * DAILY EXPRESS *As enchanting as it is surprising ... Obreht's prose style is full-bodied and vibrant, and she conjures brilliant images on every page. -- Edmund Gordon * SUNDAY TIMES *War and its legacy ricochets through Obreht's kaleidoscopic dance of myth, folk memory and interrelated stories ... dizzying and ambitious * LONDON METRO *a stunning tale with the mythic quality of a fairy story * TIMES *Mysterious and funny * SUNDAY HERALD *A distinctive, magical tale * DAILY EXPRESS *

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Book SynopsisAS READ ON BBC RADIO 4A SPECTATOR BEST OF THE YEAR - AS CHOSEN BY REVIEWERSThe year is 1742. Goody Brown, saved from drowning and adopted when just a babe, has grown up happily in the smuggling town of Winchelsea. But when she turns sixteen, her father is murdered by men he thought were friends. In a town where lawlessness prevails, Goody and her brother Francis must enter the cut-throat world of her father's killers in order to find justice. Facing high seas and desperate villains, she discovers what life can be like without constraints or expectations, developing a taste for danger that makes her blood run fast. Goody was never born to be a gentlewoman. But what will she become instead?Trade ReviewImagine Daphne du Maurier crossed with Quentin Tarantino, and you will have some idea of just what a thrilling, bloody and heady ride this novel is -- TOM HOLLANDI was riveted. Winchelsea is a great read - terrific narrative drive, credible characters, and such an elegant creation of the backdrop in terms of both time and place -- PENELOPE LIVELYBoisterous . . . evocative . . . What holds the novel together as much as its driving plot are its incantatory atmosphere and spellbinding language * * Guardian * *Preston is a gifted prose cartographer, conjuring up the Sussex coastline in a crisp, clear fashion . . . He has written a bawdy, thunderous romp that echoes with cannon fire, sea shanties and the occasional plaintive cry of a nightjar * * Financial Times * *Glorious * * Spectator * *Winchelsea is a remarkable act of literary time travel: dark and gripping and soaked in blood and salt water -- EVIE WYLD[A] spellbinding read, both gory and gorgeous * * Daily Mail * *Truly epic . . . The richness and enthusiasm of the prose speaks of a novelist who loves the process of spinning an unpredictable, fabulist yarn * * i * *A rip-roaring yarn about smugglers and seafarers in Romney Marsh and its coastal hinterland in the 18th century. The energy, word play and attention to contemporary detail could not be bettered -- The Books of the Year 2022 * * Spectator * *There's a wild piratical darkness to Winchelsea which is charged by the evocative and strange wilderness of its setting on the Romney Marshes. At its heart is a gripping tale: a life-and-death struggle, set in the eighteenth century yet vibrantly heightened by a sureness of visceral detail and a vivid depth of characterisation. This is historical drama on a deft and uproarious scale, and it makes for a breathlessly exciting and engaging read -- PHILIP HOARE

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Book SynopsisXuela Claudette Richardson is recalling the last seventy years of her life, and so she must begin with her birth, and the accompanying death of her mother.Xuela’s vivid, visceral recollections of the lonely, unsettled life that follows the trauma of her arrival include that of her distant father, who sends her away to another household at the earliest opportunity; of her passion for the stevedore Roland, who fulfils her sexually but not intellectually; and of her husband, who provides her with status and a wealthy lifestyle but whom she is incapable of loving.Poetic and disturbing, The Autobiography of My Mother is one of Kincaid’s most powerful statements of Afro-Caribbean women’s struggle for identity and independence, against a hostile backdrop of sexism and colonialism.Part of the Picador Collection, a new series showcasing the best of modern literature. Trade ReviewFierce, incantory. . . lyrical. . . powerful and disturbing -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Kincaid, always an elegant stylist, makes this story of a simple woman extraordinary...filling her prose with rich, poetic detail. . . An unforgettable account of singular survival * San Francisco Chronicle Book Review *A book that comes both to haunt and to dazzle us . . . [Kincaid] writes like an angel: with enviable lucidity and precision and a lyric touch that frequently aspires to the condition of poetry * Boston Sunday Globe *What a writer – elegant, uncompromising, simultaneously direct and layered and complex. * Ali Smith *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE FRANÇOISE SAGAN PRIZE WINNER OF THE BOOKSTAGRAM PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE GONCOURT PRIZE FOR DEBUT NOVEL 'With this book, Abigail Assor announces herself as one of the most distinctive voices in North African literature. This is a vibrant, sensual, subversive novel with an unforgettable heroine' LEÏLA SLIMANI _______________ Sarah is poor, but at least she's French, which allows her to attend Casablanca's elite high school for expats and wealthy locals. It's there that she first lays eyes on Driss. He's older, quiet and not particularly good looking-apart from his eyes, which are the deep green of thyme simmering in a tagine. Most importantly, he's rumoured to be the richest guy in the city. She decides she wants those eyes. And she wants a life like his. But to get to Driss she will have to cross the gaping divide that separates them and climb to the top of the city's society, from street corner merguez and chips to a mansion overlooking the ocean. Provocative, immersive, sensual, As Rich as the King is a twisted love story and a bittersweet ode to Casablanca.Trade Review'With this book, Abigail Assor announces herself as one of the most distinctive voices in North African literature. This is a vibrant, sensual, subversive novel with an unforgettable heroine' - Leila Slimani'The sounds, the smells, the gritty details of every scene are laid bare in a light as harsh and bright as the sun... A captivating novel' - Le Figaro'Casablanca stretches out before our astonished eyes, humming with rage and life... A captivating debut' - Lire'Abigail Assor's writing is precise, sensual, subversive and wildly lyrical. Astonishing' - Le Parisien'Stunning in its truth, cruelty and style' - Paris Match

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Book SynopsisArthur Maxley is a tense and listless young man. One day he receives a letter from his long-estranged father. Arthur's fear and aversion to the man is powerful, yet his compulsion to see his father is irresistible. After their meeting, Arthur is propelled into a night of drinking and spontaneous intimacy with a beautiful young woman. But as the memories of childhood trauma surface and disorientate, Arthur's night out rises towards the pitch of disaster.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEARIt’s time to dance, to love, to be free…‘Mesmerising’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO, author of Girl, Woman, Other‘Fabulous’ MAGGIE O'FARRELL, author of Hamnet‘Beautiful’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON, author of Open WaterYamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.***A SUNDAY TIMES BEST NOVEL AND GUARDIAN BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2023***‘A wonderfully literary, musical and original novel about a culture and era that rarely makes the pages of fiction’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT‘Scorching… We follow Yamaye through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage’ GUARDIAN‘Ambitious, atmospheric… A novel of passion and anger’ SUNDAY TIMES‘A rich and rhythmic story about love and music’ ITrade ReviewRemarkable... In terms of sheer lyrical force it stands head and shoulders above most debuts * Daily Telegraph *I was blown away by Fire Rush - an exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer... Her mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory writing leaves us swaying to the bass of the visceral rhythms she so powerfully describes. By the end of the novel, I felt charged and changed and already longed to reread it -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERFew have channelled so well the skittering beats and transcendent air of dub music as Crooks does in her semi-autobiographical debut... Startlingly vivid reading * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A heady swirl of a novel that pulls the reader in from the first page... A fabulous, absorbing read -- Maggie O'Farrell, author of THE MARRIAGE PORTRAITA window into the dub scene at the time, with rhythmic, lyrical writing and a story about raving, love and the impact of police violence... Both a page turner and a literary novel... Truly remarkable * Vogue *A hypnotic journey into the dub reggae scene * Guardian, *Books of the Year* *This beautiful, sprawling narrative is wrought with an incredible precision and a musicality which carries every sentence. Crooks' novel haunts but make space for hope as well -- Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of OPEN WATERA colourful, immersive debut... Throughout, a passion and anger resound as we gain a glimpse into a rarely observed British subculture * Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023* *A brilliant, exuberant novel. Full of beauty, musicality and feminist power -- Irenosen Okojie, author of NUDIBRANCHA scorching, lyrical debut, soaked in dub reggae * Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2023* *

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