Narrative theme: death, grief, loss

Book SynopsisA short, intense and profoundly moving debut novel about race, identity, sex and death from one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35Thandi is a black woman, but often mistaken for Hispanic or Asian.She is American, but doesn't feel as American as some of her friends.She is South African, but doesn't belong in South Africa either.Her mother is dying.Trade Review‘The debut novel of the year … visceral, cerebral, provocative, elegiac. One can’t help but think of Clemmons as in the running to be the next-generation Claudia Rankine’ Vogue ‘Luminescent’ Independent ‘A lovely little headrush of a novel … if you enjoyed Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing then try this’ Sunday Times Style ‘Bracingly clear-eyed … the tension between her steady prose and turbulent emotions is beautifully sustained’ Daily Mail ‘Highly original. Zinzi Clemmons deftly explores grief, sex and identity’ Elle ‘Concise and powerful. This original and challenging debut is a must-read for fans of literary fiction and memoir’ Bookriot ‘Penetratingly good and written in vivid still life, What We Lose reads like a guided tour through a melancholic Van Gogh exhibit – wonderfully chromatic, transfixing and bursting with emotion. Zinzi Clemmons’s debut novel signals the emergence of a voice that refuses to be ignored’ Paul Beatty ‘What We Lose navigates the many registers of grief, love and injustice . . . acutely moving’ Margo Jefferson, author of Negroland 'I loved this beautiful, honest and entrancing meditation on love, loss and the relationships that enrich and complicate our lives’ Bernardine Evaristo

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Book SynopsisA gripping standalone thriller from the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae series.Beware of the darkWelcome to the Misfit Mob where Police Scotland dumps the officers it can't get rid of, but wants to. Officers like DC Callum MacGregor, lumbered with all the boring go-nowhere cases. So when an ancient mummy is found at the Oldcastle tip, it's his job to track down its owner.But then Callum uncovers links between his mummified corpse and three missing young men, and life starts to get a lot more interesting.No one expects the Misfit Mob to solve anything, but right now they're all that stands between a killer's victims and a slow lingering death. Can they prove everyone wrong before someone else dies?Trade Review‘Wickedly twisty plotting and dazzling displays of black humour’ Library Journal Praise for Stuart MacBride: ‘Dark and gripping. A riveting page-turner’ Independent on Sunday ‘MacBride is a damned fine writer’ Peter James ‘A satisfyingly compelling thriller’ Sunday Mirror ‘Skilful storytelling … strong characterisation … intriguing and engrossing’ Guardian ‘MacBride’s thrillers just keep getting better’ Express ‘Exciting … a guaranteed bestseller’ Literary Review ‘Unmissable … superb storytelling’ Sun ‘Crime fiction of the highest order’ Mark Billingham ‘A terrific writer … Logan McRae is a delight’ The Times

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Book Synopsis''So impossibly funny, clever, demented, charming and altogether wonderful that I was a convert within three pages. Buy it for everyone you know, regardless of what you think they like. Brilliant stuff'' Lucy Mangan, Stylist Books of the Year''An eye-opener... The more I think about this, the higher I esteem it'' - Nicholas Lezard, Guardian Books of the Year*Winner of the British Book Design and Production Award for Graphic Novels**Winner of the Neumann Prize in the History of Mathematics**Nominated for the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist*In The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage Sydney Padua transforms one of the most compelling scientific collaborations into a hilarious set of adventures Meet two of Victorian London''s greatest geniuses... Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron: mathematician, gambler, and proto-programmer, whose writings contained the first evTrade ReviewSo impossibly funny, clever, demented, charming and altogether wonderful that I was a convert within three pages. Buy it for everyone you know, regardless of what you think they like. Brilliant stuff -- Lucy Mangan, Book of the Year * Stylist *An utter joy... Padua has done her research: she has teased out the connections between Babbage, Lovelace and what would seem to be the whole of Victorian culture and society - and done so in a way that appears almost effortless on the page, her light, easy graphic style an excellent vehicle not only for deep and complex thought, but for excellent, and sometimes excellently corny, jokes. This is a book to reread, not just read -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *My new favourite book. It has everything. Byron, maths, imaginary computers, emotion -- Matt Haig, author of Reasons to Stay AliveThe book does more than simply celebrate the genius of the first computer programmer, it encourages us to turn our imagination to technology - just as Lovelace did. And that's an inspiration to us all -- Nicola Davis * Observer Tech Monthly *The wittiest, best-researched and most original tribute yet paid to the achievements of Ada Lovelace... An astonishing debut... a book that ought to be ordered in triplicate by every school in the land... Ingenious as a textbook, marvellous fun as inventive biography -- Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *Rich with in-jokes, warmth and charm... It's difficult not to be ignited by Sydney Padua's enthusiasm. There is so much to discover that I'll treasure my copy for years to come -- Hannah Fry * BBC Focus *A stylish, funny graphic novel featuring Ada Lovelace, estranged daughter of Lord Byron, and co-programmer, had it ever been built, of the "mathematical engine". Playful, earnest, and beautifully drawn, the book cuts a swathe through early computing theory, explores Ada's relationship with Charles Babbage, and brings to the fore one of the unsung heroines of science -- Sarah Hall * Independent *There is no way around this, Sydney Padua's Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage is bloody brilliant... and educational too -- Robin InceI love it... everyone is getting a copy -- Martha Lane-FoxWonderful and genuinely informative... Padua's gorgeous art and very funny text are combined with factual footnotes to create an utterly unique and enormously enjoyable book - -- Anna Carey * Irish Times *Sydney Padua's smart and sassy steampunk science graphic novel is a delightful mixture of research and invention, dressed up in Padua's bouncy cartooning. If nothing else, it is one of the best introductions to its real-life heroine, proto-computer programmer Ada Lovelace, you could wish for. If only all science lessons could be this much fun * Herald Scotland *Immensely delightful and illuminating... Padua delivers a thoroughly unsynthesizable range of enchantment and elucidation -- Maria Popova * Brain Pickings *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS''Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary'' Cecilia Ahern__________One last chance. What would you say? When the residents of a small town on Lake Michigan start receiving phone calls from the afterlife, it becomes the subject of widespread attention. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax?Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, returns to Coldwater from a stint in prison to discover his hometown gripped by ''miracle fever.'' Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven.As the calls increase Sully begins to dig into the phenomenon. Determined to discover who or what is behind the mystery, he gradually begins to piece together the pieces of his broken heart. __________WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN''GrippTrade ReviewMitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary -- Cecilia AhernPowerful . . . Albom has touched the lives of a lot of people he never even knew * Time *Compelling and uplifting * Independent *A writer with soul * Los Angeles Times *Albom breaks hearts with his stories * Mirror *Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary * Cecelia Ahern *You will be shaken, stirred and, finally, a little teary. Gorgeous * Star *It's set to be a word-of-mouth hit. Buy it, read it, then pass it on * Woman *This page-turner challenges beliefs about relationships, loss and life after death * The Sun *This story unfurls with grace and drama . . . most enjoyable * Sunday Mirror *His most moving and surprising novel yet * Take A Break Fiction Feast *This will have you reaching for the tissues * No.1 Magazine *Beautiful and smart. Perhaps the most stirring and transcendent heaven story since Field of Dreams * Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook *A beautifully rendered tale of faith and redemption that makes us think, feel and hope - and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do * Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain *

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Book SynopsisFrom the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, 2012 comes this elegantly crafted novel that explores the strange power that lost children exert on the memories of those they leave behindWhen Faye Travers is sent to appraise a family estate in a small New Hampshire town and comes across a forgotten set of valuable Native American artefacts, she is not surprised by the discovery. However, she is shocked when she finds a rare drum particularly because without even touching the instrument she hears its deep resonant sound.Following the discovery, we trace the drum''s passage both backwards and forwards in time. We hear the voice of Bernard Shaawano, an Ojibwe, who tells of how his grandfather created the drum after years of mourning his younger daughter''s death and how it changes the paths of those who cross it. Through Faye, we experience her anguished relationship with a local sculptor who also mourns the loss of a daughter, and witness the life Faye has made alone with her moTrade Review‘The author knows how to spin a good yarn … Full of poetic writing and a passionate indignation on behalf of the dispossessed, this novel shows the author at her best.’ The Times ‘Erdrich handles the shift in pace beautifully. The world she portrays is harsh, with death from smallpox or starvation giving way to the oppressions of poverty and alcoholism. But such is the unsentimental poetry of Erdrich’s vision that it becomes a place to almost envy, too.’ Observer 'Resonant, poetic and exact … these visions will remain imprinted on the reader's mind.' Los Angeles Times 'Intricate and beautifully written.' Boston Globe 'Spare, perceptive, unsentimental.' New York Times

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Book SynopsisA gorgeous, collectible hardcover edition of Will Eisner’s pioneering graphic novel to celebrate the author’s 100th birthday.

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Book SynopsisContains stories about the lengths to which some women go to find a man, to keep a man, or just to keep up appearances. This book presents an introduction to the private lives of some interesting ordinary women. It also demonstrates how much women the ...Trade ReviewThis is a book to provoke and entertain -- Peter Millar * The Times *Satrapi's drawings are sparing and highly stylised; she is able to render nuances of expression with simple, bold strokes... The stories are wittily told and show a side of life in Iran that is unknown to outsiders -- Lydia Adetunji * Financial Times *A daring and brilliantly calculated illumination of a secret space... Though Embroideries is not a continuation of the Persepolis story, it sits at the heart of the same world - a brutally policed society where an extraordinarily rich and inventive culture still prevails, if only behind closed doors, where women are wildly subversive, funny, free-thinking and sexy -- Maureen Freely * Guardian *This is Sex and the City, Middle-Eastern style - outrageous, explicit and funny -- Kelly Knox * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisFrom the three-time Igantz award-winning artist and author of Big Questions comes a fascinating graphic novel retelling of the Greek myth of Prometheus"An extraordinary reinvention of some of our oldest stories. Nilsenbrings these old gods to an electrifying new life, and gives us a new sense of humanity as well."?Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel ?Mind-bendingly good. It?s up there with Maus,Fun Home, Persepolis,Jimmy Corrigan.? ?Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeSet in a version of modern Central Asia, Tongues is a retelling of the Greek myth of Prometheus. It follows the captive god?s friendship with the eagle who carries out his daily sentence of torture and chronicles his pursuit of revenge on the god that has imprisoned him.Prometheus?s story is entwined with that of an East African orphan on an errand of murder, and a young man with a teddy bear strapped to his back, wandering aimlessly into catastrophe (a character readers may recognize from Nilsen?s Dogs and Water). The story is set against the backdrop of tensions between rival groups in an oil-rich wilderness.Tongues is both an adventure story and a meditation on human nature in our present fraught, historical moment.

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Book SynopsisAlison Bechdel is the author of three internationally acclaimed graphic memoirs, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama and The Secret to Superhuman Strength. Fun Home was a New York Times bestseller, won an Eisner Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was named a Best Book of the 21st Century by the Guardian, was adapted to a broadway musical which won five Tony Awards and is currently being adapted for cinema. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life - queer and otherwise - considered 'one of the preeminent oeuvres in the comics genre'. Alison Bechdel is guest editor of Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and The New York Times Book Review. In 2014 she was named as one of the recipients of the MacArthur 'Genius' Award.http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/

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Book SynopsisEva was once a legendary fashion designer until, mysteriously, she retired. Now widowed, she lives with her family in Salix House, the home she's owned and loved for forty years. When the family announces it's time to sell, Eva is deeply reluctant. The house contains memories and secrets that are part of her, although she never shares them. Megan is a fashion journalist working in London who interviewed Eva for a magazine. Torn apart by the brutal end of a love affair, Megan is drawn back to Salix House and Eva. Decades apart in age, the two women share a bond. Both are hiding something, but perhaps together they can confront their fears, their past pain and their uncertain futures - and discover the truth of Salix House's secrets.Trade Review'An unforgettable story highlighting how one deed committed when too young to realise the connotations can taint a life. A beautifully unfolding gem from someone who knows how to use the power of words' Bookbag. * Bookbag *'Geras makes a superb comeback with this tale of female friendship set in the fashion world ... An intriguing tale' The Lady. * Lady *'A well-crafted novel this manages to combine elements of a spooky Victorian ghost story ... for an effective and eminently readable result ... a very engaging and enjoyable story' We Love this Book. * We Love this Book *

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Book SynopsisErin’s daddy sees the colour in everything. Even on the greyest days, they put on their wellies and go splashing in puddles because, Daddy says, ‘We can’t see rainbows without rain!’ But what happens when the greyest day of all comes, and Daddy isn’t there any more? Can Erin learn to find colour in the world again? This deeply sensitive picture book about the loss of a parent is the ideal starting point for conversations about love, loss and learning to live again.Trade ReviewOne of the best best books for this age-range I have read on the topic of loss and grief. I won’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is needing to discuss this matter with their young one * NetGalley Reviewer *The perfect book to read to any child coping with loss ... [It] shows there is a path through the sadness of losing a loved one and how all the colours of the rainbow can once again shine in our hearts, minds and memories * INIS Magazine (Children's Books Ireland) *Ideal for those who may be suffering the loss of a loved one but equally valuable to all children. A perfect way to help build empathy * NetGalley Reviewer *A poignant story, beautifully told with care, love and a delicate touch * NetGalley Reviewer *A beautiful, heartbreaking book about losing a loved one, and how we can find the colour in the world after loss * Pen & inc. *A really beautiful, sensitive book about the pain of losing a parent and learning to live again * The Bookseller *

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Book Synopsis''The perfect book for a cold winter's night...an immersive gothic tale, dark and mysterious. Truly haunting!'' ANITA FRANK ''An atmospheric, eerie read' PRIMAA chilling and atmospheric taleyou are drawn into a haunting mystery that will keep you guessing' Yours Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . . When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her. She is mistaken . . . Edward''s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers - claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited. At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, an eerie almost haunting feeling takes over her. What exactly happened to Edward''s first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed? And shoulTrade ReviewIf Halloween whets your appetite for Victorian Gothic, the author of The Whistling delivers once again. * Saga *A chilling gothic thriller * Woman's Own *An atmospheric, eerie read, perfect for autumn * PRIMA *A chilling and atmospheric tale…you are drawn into a haunting mystery that will keep you guessing * Yours *The Black Feathers has everything you could want in a Gothic novel, underpinned by a thrilling sense of menace. Reminiscent of Jane Eyre and The Silent Companions, the wild setting of the windswept Northern moors was a perfect backdrop for the rising tensions within Guardbridge, a grand old house in the finest tradition of English Gothic, keeping all sorts of secrets. Spooky, twisty, with a surprisingly emotional pay off, The Black Feathers is a wonderful way to spend a dark autumn evening -- KATE COLLINSChilling, haunting and incredibly moving -- BARBARA COPPERTHWAITEThe perfect book for a cold winter’s night...an immersive gothic tale, dark and mysterious, in which it seems one must fear the living as much as the dead. Truly haunting! -- ANITA FRANKLooking for an atmospheric read to while away the autumn nights? Set in a big house on the Yorkshire Moors, this Gothic ghost story delivers intrigue and suspense in spades * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Atcmospheric, ghostly and gripping. A gothic tale of magic and wickedness * Yorkshire Life *The Black Feathers is such a glorious autumnal read. With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, it is both a spine-tingling ghost story and a powerful meditation on grief. A beautifully written tale that gripped me from the very first page. -- IRIS COSTELLO

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Book SynopsisC. S. Lewis was their mentor and friend. When tragedy struck, he became their guide and a comforter of piercing insight and compassion. His letters are carefully preserved and reproduced in this moving account of the extraordinary love between Sheldon Vanauken and Jean Davis. This beautiful tale bears witness not only to the relationship between Van and Davy, but to the understanding which grew between two men who both had to suffer the severe pain of loss.Trade ReviewOne of the most remarkable books I've ever read. It belongs in the genre of St Augustine's Confessions. * Dom Julian OSB *Very, very good ... I don't think I could ever forget it. * The Rev. Walter Hooper *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best NovelSelected by The Sunday Times as one of the top page-turners of summer 2017FROM THE CREATOR OF THE AWARD WINNING FARGO AND LEGION TV SERIES''Hawley''s sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality'' Daily MailTHE RICH ARE DIFFERENT. BUT FATE IS BLIND.A private jet plunges into the sea.The only survivors are down-on his luck artist Scott Burroughs and JJ Bateman, the four year old son of a super-rich TV executive.For saving the boy, Scott is suddenly a hero.And then, as the official investigation is rapidly overtaken by a media frenzy, it seems he may also be a villain. Why was he on the plane in the first place, and why did it crash?Trade ReviewHigh-class entertainment. -- John Williams * Mail on Sunday *As a pacey whodunit...this is the perfect summer read. * The Times *This is one of the year's best suspense novels, a mesmerizing, surprise-jammed mystery that works purely on its own, character-driven terms...Mr. Hawley has made it very, very easy to race through his book in a state of breathless suspense. * New York Times *I started and finished Before the Fall in one day. That begins to tell you what kind of smart, compellingly dramatic read it is. So read it. -- James PattersonThere are some books...that stay with you long after you've read them. The characters are so real and because of this their fates matter. Before The Fall by Noah Hawley is one of these books. * Irish Independent *Before the Fall is an astonishing, character-driven tour-de-force. The story is a multi-layered, immersive examination of truth, relationships, and our unquenchable thirst for the media's immediate explanation of unfathomable tragedy. -- Karin SlaughterAn addictive thriller whose thematic richness is reminiscent of Franzen. * The Sunday Times *A searingly told, multi-layered portrait of celebrity in the modern world with a tantalising mystery at its heart...Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality, which never loses its grip. * Daily Mail *Hawley combines a thriller's tight structure and addictive narrative with characterisation and thematic richness reminiscent of Jonathan Franzen * The Sunday Times, Pick of the Paperbacks *[A] Literary thriller of genius. -- India Knight

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Book SynopsisTelling the story of the week following a fateful train journey, One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner is a stunning novel about love and loss, about family and - above all - friendship. A stark reminder that, sometimes, one moment is all it takes . . .The Brighton to London line. The 07:44 train. Carriages packed with commuters. Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can't be resuscitated; the train is stopped, an ambulance called. For at least three passengers on the 07:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again. Lou witnesses the man's final moments. Lou and Anna share a cab when they realize the train is going nowhere fast. Anna is Karen's best friend. And Karen? Karen's husband is the man who dies . . .

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Book SynopsisTo avoid disappointment please note this novel was previously titled THE GALLOWS BIRD. Scandinavian crime sensation and No. 1 international bestseller, Camilla Lackberg's fourth psychological thriller - for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo NesboA local woman is killed in a tragic car crash. It's a strange accident the victim's blood contains high alcohol levels, but she rarely drank a drop. The case marks the end of a quiet winter for Detective Patrik Hedstrom.Meanwhile, a reality TV show begins shooting in the town, and as cameras shadow the stars' every move, tempers start to flare. When a drunken party ends with an unpopular contestant's murder, all eyes turn to the cast and crew could there be a murderer among them?The ratings spike as the country tunes in to a real life murder mystery. Under the unforgiving media spotlight, Patrik tackles his toughest investigation yetTrade ReviewPraise for Camilla Lackberg: ‘The hottest female writer in Sweden’ Independent ‘Heart-stopping and heart-warming … a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing’ Val McDermid ‘Pacy … with flashing insight into the dark places of the psyche’ Sunday Times ‘Lackberg is an expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror’ Guardian ‘Both chilling and thrilling’ Sun

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Book Review choice as one of the10 Best Illustrated Children''s Books of 2008.Skim is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth stuck in a private girls'' school in Toronto. When a classmate''s boyfriend kills himself because he was rumoured to be gay, the school goes into mourning overdrive, each clique trying to find something to hold on to and something to believe in. It''s a weird time to fall in love, but that''s high school, and that''s what happens to Skim when she starts to meet in secret with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. But when Ms. Archer abruptly leaves, Skim struggles to cope with her confusion and isolation, armed with her trusty journal and a desire to shed old friendships while cautiously approaching new ones.Depression, love, sexual identity, crushes, manipulative peers --teen life in all its dramatic complexities is explored in this touching, pitch-perfect, literary graphic masterpiece. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki collaborate brilliantly in this poignant glimpse into the heartache of being sixteen.Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3Describe how a particular story''s or drama''s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.Trade Review...the expressionistic fluidity of the black and white illustrations serves the purpose of pages of prose, so that the laconic conversation of these girls and Skim's almost equally economical and intermittent diary entries ring true. * Canadian Literature *Being able to tap into that visceral experience, warts and all, is what makes Skim such an amazing read...A powerful and poignant story that is as perfect a synergy of words and art as you're likely to find in comics, Skim is a true gem. * Metro *...avoids all the cliches of a coming-of-age story...Original in every which way. -- Valerie D'Orazio * Friends of Lulu *...intelligent choice...a sensitive and caring portrayal of youth...universal...a complete success...[Jillian's] storytelling is solid...[and] her art is very atmospheric... * Gay Comics List *...traverse[s] the turbulent landscape of high school with tenderness and a keen eye for the yearning of adolescent girls...From the particularities of slang to the bigger concepts like fear and isolation, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki capture the subtle details that comprise this understated part of life...a world [in] which anyone who has ever been a teenager would be able to relate to at some level...Jillian Tamaki's use of line and shadow is effective in rendering the psychology of characters and the moody spaces they find themselves in...Formally, Skim is interesting for its varied approach to panel-use. Some pages flaunt over 10 similarly sized and shaped panels while others reveal only one (often silent) borderless image. The overall effect reveals impressive artwork and many powerful scenes...Skim is a unique piece, one not to be missed. Highly Recommended. [Skim uses] high school as a fertile setting for pungent commentary on racial, cultural, and sexual issues...The narrative, mainly in diary form, feels accurate and realistic, drenched in a sense of confusion and nihilism, and the art, influenced by Craig Thompson's Blankets (2003), reflects the spare, gloomy emotional landscape in which Skim exists. This story will appeal to many female comics fans... * CM Magazine *...[Skim is a] stunningly emotional graphic novel...an artful jumble that is as true-to-life as it is diffuse...unfussy and immediate...The delicately lined art alternately expands and contradicts the prose to achieve layers of meaning, tone and irony...With honesty and compassion, this innovative narrative communicates a life just beginning, open and full of possibility. * Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW *...[Skim] manages to avoid the usual cliches...The b/w cirt is fluid and curvy and looks like it came straight out of a sketchbook. The little details are wonderful...Highly recommended for high school graphic novel colelctions, especially those catering to girls. * Kliatt *...rendered delicately...Mariko's writing is assured...Skim's self-searching entries are wrenched off or lit up by the next image...Skim comes into its own, building a teenage girl mood that's struggling observant and shyly heartfelt by turns. * Vue Weekly *[Skim] is a convincing chronicle of a teenage outsider who has enough sense to want to stay outside...All in all, Skim offers a startlingly clear and painful view into adolescence for those of us who possess it only as a distant memory. It's a story that deepens with successive rereadings. But what will teenagers think? Maybe that they've found a bracingly honest story by a writer who seems to remember exactly what it was like to be 16 and in love for the first time. * New York Times *Skim comes out on top...connects in every way...This graphic novel is a winner...a unique creation...Scenes are often hilarious and black-humoured as well as serious...Mariko Tamaki's prose captures an authentic adolescent voice that's dramatic, self-obsessed, funny, earnest, and sometimes glib...Skim is an unforgettable character in the tradition of Holden Caulfield-a clear social commentator on adult and adolescent behaviour whose ironic observations on social hypocrisy ring sharp and true...Illustrator Jillian Tamaki's fine draughtsmanship gives Skim a classic elegance that's missing in many other graphic novels...a powerful sense of mystical eeriness that deepens and enhances the story. Skim is a funny, poignant, memorable drama of navigating adolescence. * Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW *The Tamaki cousins in their first graphic novel take a huge fistful of typical high school story trappings and distill a beautiful and funny time capsule of real feeling...striking black-and-white artwork flows in clear but soft, shaded line work...The visual storytelling is firm and often quite lovely...Skim is a refreshing reminder of the inevitability of change and the importance of looking beneath the surface. * VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) *This beautifully rendered graphic novel portrays the confusion of adolescence and how it can lead to depression and experimentation. * Book Links *...an auspicious graphic novel debut by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki...It's Jillian's artwork that sets it apart from the coming-of-age pack. Jillian has a swooping, gorgeous pen line-expressive, vibrant and precise all at once...evocative and wondrous...It complements Mariko's fine ear for dialogue and the incidentals and events of adolescent life. Skim is an unusually strong graphic novel-rich in visuals and observations, and rewarding of repeated readings. * Publishers Weekly *[Skim uses] high school as a fertile setting for pungent commentary on racial, cultural, and sexual issues...The narrative, mainly in diary form, feels accurate and realistic, drenched in a sense of confusion and nihilism, and the art, influenced by Craig Thompson's Blankets (2003), reflects the spare, gloomy emotional landscape in which Skim exists. This story will appeal to many female comics fans... * Booklist *[Skim] is bringing kudos to Canadian children's book publisher Groundwood Books for its poignant and funny portrayal of a teenage girl...[Jillian Tamaki's] monochromatic ink drawings with their fluid lines add powerful cinematic storytelling to [Mariko Tamaki's] minimalist text...Jillian's ability to catch the gestures and body language of the private school girls in their plaid skirts and knee socks equals Mariko's well-attuned ear for dialogue. The combination of words and images makes Skim a fully rounded and memorable character struggling with a welter of confused feelings...we feel for her...[Jillian Tamaki] has won several awards. It seems a sure bet that Skim will garner her a few more. * Calgary Herald *A gorgeous, poetic pen line and sharp dialogue bring this angsty story of a disaffected teenage girl to life. * Publishers Weekly *Jillian Tamaki's illustrations perfectly match the rough edges and continuous movement of Skim's teenage characters and reveal humour in the agonizing minutiae of high school life...Mariko Tamaki's text blends teen-speak with eloquence and wry one-liners...blending colloquialisms and sharp observations into something profound... * Toronto Star *No medium can capture the sense of being plunged into another person's mind like comics can, and Skim is the perfect example, its words and pictures and storytelling so unified in conjuring Kim's world that it comes as a surprise to see it has two creators rather than one...The careful layering of perception, desire, and reality is handled so deftly that the effect is almost subliminal...The Tamakis have done the hardest and most rewarding thing an artist can do: they have captured the texture of real life and made it into something beautiful. * Irish Times *The Tamaki cousins in their first graphic novel take a huge fistful of high school story trappings and distill a beautiful and funny time capsule of real feeling... Skim is a refreshing reminder of the inevitability of change and the importance of looking beneath the surface. * VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) *The tricky part with graphic novels is getting the story to be as good as the drawings, and [the Tamakis] have figured out a winning combination for sure. The story is riveting and will bring you right back to 11th grade angst within the first few pages. Jillian Tamaki has an especially expressive, loose style that lends itself beautifully to this slightly morose tale. * Bust *This stunning coming-of-age novel will draw in not only GN buffs, who will appreciate the creative design and dramatic use of both illustration and narration, but also realistic-fiction fans who may not normally gravitate to the format but will find this a sympathetic standout. * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books *Writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Jillian Tamaki stunningly entwine their acute dialogues and visual riches in brush, soft pencil and grey tones, illuminating this adolescent romance in all its conflicted depths. [Skim is the] most sophisticated and sensitive North American graphic novel debut of the year. * Paul Gravett *A quietly moving graphic novel...sharply witty and incisive...Long, languid lines portray Skim's turmoil and angst with pitch-perfect resonance...Recommend this to fans of Daniel Clowes's Ghost World, who have been waiting for another graphic novel of teen angst and suburban ennui. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThe legendary Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill present a blazing narrative that rampages through the twentieth century, portraying four women and the long shadows cast over their lives by totalitarian rule.

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Book Synopsis*ORIGINAL SERIES NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX*At 16, I pretended to fall in love with AlyssaMeet James and Alyssa, two typical-seeming teenagers facing the fears of coming adulthood. As their story unfolds, the chapters alternating between each character's perspective, this somewhat familiar teenage experience takes a more nihilistic turn. With James becoming rapidly more sociopathic, and Alyssa willfully ignoring his violent fantasies, they are forced to take a road trip that owes as much to Badlands as The Catcher in the Rye -- and threatens both their futures forever.One of the most talked about graphic novels of recent years, The End of The Fucking World marks Charles Forsman's UK debut.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"If you love Black Panther, or you like the new Star Wars films with John Boyega, there are other folks writing novelizations and graphic novels you might like… there’s a graphic novel of Kindred, that is just as emotionally compelling as the original. It was done by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, who’s a premier Afrofuturist graphic artist.” Dr. Ayana A.H. Jamieson, Time online “The thing I’m excited to read next is the graphic novel “Kindred,” which is based on Octavia Butler’s novel. That’s my new travel companion.” Joy Bryant, New York Times

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Book SynopsisLook anyone who invents something really great has a moment where they think it''s going to destroy the world.For the first time in her life, Fin is off the network. A few months ago, she was the inventor of a programme so powerful, so unusual that she was untouchable.Until she wasn''t.Meanwhile, people have started disappearing from the streets of the city and the technology she created might be implicated. Square Eyes is a graphic novel about a future where the boundaries between memory, dreams and the digital world start to blur. It's a kaleidoscopic mystery story which asks: in a city built on digital illusion, who really holds the power? What is weakness? And when is it most dangerous?Trade ReviewThe book I keep going back to for its peerless haunting art… is Anna Mill’s and Luke Jones’s Square Eyes… it’s utterly confident and audacious in its space, aesthetics, innovation and design, and I could page through it from now until next Christmas with the same sense of wonder. A thing of beauty, indeed. -- Tim Martin * Spectator *This exquisite book… may scare you half to death… [but] what truly sets this book apart is its extraordinary illustrations… on every beautiful, teeming, phantasmagorical page… it fairly takes the breath away. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *[An] instantly gripping work with an important point to make. -- James Smart * Guardian, **Books of the Year** *A spiky tale set in a dystopian near-future… [Square Eyes] certainly is a wild ride. -- Siobhan Murphy * The Times *A remarkable, prophetic graphic novel debut. Through 286 deliriously colourful pages, [Anna Mill and Luke Jones] plunge us into an all-too-plausible future, where the real and the digital are blurring and dangerous powers want to control them both. * Bookseller *Whatever you put on your head to stop your mind from exploding, make sure it’s fitted properly before immersion in Square Eyes. Just the volume and quality of work alone defies belief, and that’s before you get onto the disconcerting psychedelia of the graphics and the story. * Strong Words *A big, bleak yet gorgeous dystopia... Square Eyes comes at you in a disorienting rush… This immersive, inventive graphic novel offers its own brand of escapism. -- James Smart * Guardian *The digital dystopia presented by Square Eyes is scarily busy and psychedelic, contrasted by the grey near-ruins of the modern age. The world building in this book is extraordinary. Take your time to absorb the crowd details and bits of characterisation layered into Anna Mill's art. * Shortlist *

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Book Synopsis'Anappara creates an endearing and highly engaging narrator to navigate us through the dark underbelly of modern India' Observer 'I love this book...I just fell into it' Tayari Jones We children are not just stories. We live. Come and see. Nine-year-old Jai watches too many reality cop shows, thinks he's smarter than his friend Pari (even though she always gets top marks) and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Faiz is the one with a job). When a boy at school goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from episodes of Police Patrol to find him. With Pari and Faiz by his side, Jai ventures into some of the most dangerous parts of the sprawling Indian city; the bazaar at night, and even the railway station at the end of the Purple Line. But kids continue to vanish, and the trio must confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force and soul-snatching djinns in order to uncover the truth 'A heartrending tale' The Times 'Djinn Patrol is storytelling at its best' Anne EnrightTrade ReviewIt’s not hard to see why Djinn Patrol is one of the most eagerly awaited debut novels this spring. It feels like a reckoning with modern India and its many complex problems… Anappara cleverly filters a uniquely Indian horror story through a chirpy, Famous Five-esque narrative and the voice of a witty, young, have-a-go hero -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * The Times *Djinn Patrol is storytelling at its best. The prose is not just sympathetic, vivid, and beautifully detailed, but also completely assured and deft. We care about these characters from the first page and our concern for them is richly repaid -- Anne Enright, Man Booker Prize-winning author of The GatheringIn Jai, Anappara has created a boy vivid in his humanity, one whose voice somersaults on the page. Rich with easy joy, Anappara’s writing announces the arrival of a literary supernova... (Warning: If you begin reading the book in the morning, don’t expect to get anything done for the rest of the day.) -- Lorraine Adams * New York Times Book Review *Anappara's characters brim with swagger and spirit and she creates a world of wit, warmth and heart -- Nina Stibbe * i *A captivating literary style... A dazzling, wonderful book -- Elif Shafak * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Bestseller'A beautiful book' Giovanna Fletcher'Will stay with you long after you have put it down' Jools Oliver'Bold, compelling... will blow you away' Marina Fogle'Heartbreaking... such an important read' Sarah Turner (The Unmumsy Mum)***********************************************What do you do when the unthinkable happens?Elle Wright had an admittedly easy pregnancy, and in May 2016 she and her husband welcomed their son, Teddy, into the world. Just a few hours later, they woke to find him cold and unresponsive, and the happiest day of Elle's life had turned into every parent's worst nightmare. Three days after delivering him into the world, she sat with Teddy as he took his last breaths, and tucked him in for the final time.Ask Me His Name is a moving account of Elle's pregnancy, Teddy's life, and what happens when a mother leaves hospital with empty arms. In the UK, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss, but conversations about the heartbreakingly frequent experience are few and far between. In this honest and hopeful exploration of mothering, Elle shows us how she navigated a parenthood no one had prepared her for.* A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Tommy's charity. Reg. (1060508) *

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Book SynopsisJeffrey Lockhart has been summoned to The Convergence: a remote and secret compound where death is exquisitely, cryogenically controlled.He is there to say goodbye to his stepmother, Artis, who has chosen to surrender her dying body; preserving it until a future time when biomedical advances and new technologies can return her to a life of transcendent promise. And his healthy father, Ross, might join her.Hypnotic and seductive, Don DeLillo's Zero K is a visionary novel about the legacies we leave, the nobility of death, and the ultimate worth of 'the mingled astonishments of our time, here, on earth.'Trade ReviewBoth beautiful and profound, certainly DeLillo's best since Underworld, it forces us to confront the spectre of our own mortality, to ask deep questions of our motives in wishing to prolong our span on Earth. We finish the novel with a sudden recognition of the kindness of death, the balm of a bounded life * Observer *DeLillo is one of urban life's most perceptive chroniclers * Independent *DeLillo's 16th novel takes a sanguine and, as usual, perceptive look at life as it is now, beset by wars, terrorism and the catastrophic results of climate change, and balances them against the beauty and joy that can be involved in being human * Daily Mail *Humanly moving . . . sentence by sentence brilliance of phrasing and cadence * Literary Review *A kind of greatest-hits compilation of earlier motifs and gestures * London Review of Books *Haunting. . . Simultaneously terrifying yet beautifully told with a real tenderness for the everyday details of life in New York. . . certainly not to be missed * GQ *Very moving . . . his optimism is a welcome gift in this intense and deeply considered book * Prospect *A visionary novel of ideas that remembers even visionary novels are read by living, breathing humans * Independent *As he approaches 80, Don DeLillo is still producing work that channels America's tensions. . . supple and sad and oddly compassionate too; his most fully realised work in more than a decade * Guardian *DeLillo's spare eloquence and the cosmic depression underlying it makes this emptiest of novels a rich reading experience * The Times *Time has done nothing to diminish this writer's casually epigraphic style, his daring narrative choreography nor his sensitivity to the swelling fears of our age . . . truly provocative' * The Washington Post *[DeLillo's] most persuasive [novel] since his astonishing 1997 masterpiece, Underworld . . . Zero K reminds us of Mr. DeLillo's almost Day-Glo powers as a writer and his understanding of the strange, contorted shapes that eternal human concerns (with mortality and time) can take in the new millennium' -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Brilliant in its imaginative scope * The Atlantic *Among DeLillo's finest work . . . DeLillo sneaks a heartbreaking story of a son attempting to reconnect with his father into his thought-provoking novel * Publishers Weekly *Sentence by sentence, DeLillo magically slips the knot of criticism and gives his readers what Nabokov maintained was all that mattered in life and art: individual genius. Sentence by sentence, DeLillo seduces . . . DeLillo has written a handful of the past half-century's finest novels. Now, as he approaches 80, he gives us one more, written distinctly for the 21st -- Joshua Ferris * New York Times *A return to full realization for DeLillo. . .Deserves to win old and new readers alike. A marvellous blend of DeLillo's enormous gifts; his bleak humour and edged insight, the alertness and vitality of his prose, the vast, poetic extrapolations are all evident. So is the visceral quickness and wit in the sentences -- Sam LipsyteAs ever, DeLillo explores the depths of an edgy, timely topic, completely resisting cliché, and emerges with something both fresh and universal * The Huffington Post *The reigning poet of unease, DeLillo has always understood the greatest disquiet — our mortality — and how our sense of it coats the surfaces of day-to-day life with a film, something DeLillo peels back at last in this bravura new novel about cryogenic life extension, family, and the losses we can’t overcome * Boston Globe *An eerie descent into a secret collective that seeks to elude death through cryonic freezing. It blends DeLillo's typical mix of introspection and creeping dread with something else — a menacing sense of the absurd, borrowed from Kafka. Combine this with a wry sense of humor and you've got a dive into the murky boundary between life and death that's as amusing as it is alarming * NPR *

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Book Synopsis''What a writer he was; he could flip over a sentence so gently, and showthe underbelly in a heartbeat. His work is always quietly compassionate'' Elizabeth StroutIn this final collection of ten exquisite, perceptive and profound stories, William Trevor probes into the depths of the human spirit. Here we encounter a tutor and his pupil, whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they meet again years later; a young girl who discovers the mother she believed dead is alive and well; and a piano-teacher who accepts her pupil''s theft in exchange for his beautiful music. These gorgeous stories - the last that Trevor wrote before his death - affirm his place as one of the world''s greatest storytellers.''Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling'' Hilary Mantel''He is one of the great short-story writers, at his best the equal of Chekhov'' John Banville''The greatest living writer of short stories in the English language'' New YorkerTrade ReviewNone but those with a complete mastery of fiction can walk this line. William Trevor was not "an Irish Chekhov" or even "the Irish Chekhov". He was and will remain the Irish William Trevor * Guardian *10 stories bring a literary career that lasted more than half a century to a consummate conclusion * Sunday Times *William Trevor's prose runs as clear as water yet tastes like gin * Economist *Extraordinary stories from ordinary lives * The Times *One of the great contemporary chroniclers of the human condition, in all its pathos, comedy and strangeness. As a writer he looked at the world with an always surprised but never scandalised eye, and his writer's heart was with those awkward and obscurely damaged souls who cannot quite manage the business of everyday life - all of us, that is * New Statesman *There are those rare, exceptional writers who are fortunate enough (like their readers) to burn bright and steady over many decades, expressing the same creative clarity at the end of their careers as they did at the beginning. William Trevor was one of those writers * LA Times *We honor him as the supreme master of his honest art * Cynthia Ozick *In the first few paragraphs of a story he could set an entire scene without seeming to, working on details, small moments, odd thoughts. As in the work of Alice Munro, there often seemed to be very little happening in his fiction, but then he was capable of offering the reader a sense of an immense dramaHis stories are formally beautiful and, at the same time, interested in the smallness of human lives. He was, as a writer, watchful, unsentimental, alert to frailty and malice. A master craftsmanTrevor is a master of both language and storytellingWe honor him as the supreme master of his honest art * Cynthia Ozick *Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling -- Hilary MantelHe is one of the great short-story writers, at his best the equal of Chekhov -- John BanvilleIn the first few paragraphs of a story he could set an entire scene without seeming to, working on details, small moments, odd thoughts. As in the work of Alice Munro, there often seemed to be very little happening in his fiction, but then he was capable of offering the reader a sense of an immense drama -- Colm TóibínThe strength of all his writing was an unshowy perfection of style, through which he expressed his unerring instinct for fairness. His total lack of self-importance allowed him to express what was important in the world around him. He was one of the greatest writers about justice and suffering, disguised as an ordinary person -- Bernard O’DonoghueA beautiful writer... I would not have become a writer at all had I not discovered his work. -- Yiyun LiThe man - the work - was brilliant, elegant, surprising, reliable, precise, stark, often sad, sometimes funny, shocking and even frightening -- Roddy DoyleHis stories are formally beautiful and, at the same time, interested in the smallness of human lives. He was, as a writer, watchful, unsentimental, alert to frailty and malice. A master craftsman -- Anne EnrightThere is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world * Wall Street Journal *Writers often get asked which authors they return to again and again, their comfort books if you will, the ones that make them remember why fiction matters. William Trevor, I have answered on countless occasions. His stories. Any of them -- John BoyneHe is, I think, sui generis, and in his 12 collections (and 13 novels, and two novellas: an exhibition of near-Updikean energy), he has created a version of the short story that almost ignores the form's hundred or so years of intricate evolution. These stories stay in the mind long after they're finished because they're so solid, so deliberately shaped and directed so surely toward their solemn, harsh conclusions -- William Boyd, reviewing Cheating at Canasta in the 'New York Times'A posthumous collection of stories by the Irish writer reflects his formidable craft * Observer *There are those rare, exceptional writers who are fortunate enough (like their readers) to burn bright and steady over many decades, expressing the same creative clarity at the end of their careers as they did at the beginning. William Trevor was one of those writers * LA Times *What you might call Trevor's parting shots are as robustly vivid and potent, as wistful and emotionally rigorous, as his more youthful oeuvre * Herald *William Trevor, master of the short story, was at the top of his game in his final decade * Telegraph *William Trevor's short fiction was the stuff of legend * Event Magazine *Trevor's prose style is effortless, elegant and economical, but manages to contain the most hugely difficult feelings: jealousy, guilt and yearning regret * Daily Mail *An Irish writer, an international writer, a great writer. Put bluntly, he is revered by writers -- Jhumpa LahiriExtraordinary stories from ordinary lives * The Times *One of the great contemporary chroniclers of the human condition, in all its pathos, comedy and strangeness. As a writer he looked at the world with an always surprised but never scandalised eye, and his writer's heart was with those awkward and obscurely damaged souls who cannot quite manage the business of everyday life - all of us, that is -- John Banville * New Statesman *10 stories bring a literary career that lasted more than half a century to a consummate conclusion -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *William Trevor's prose runs as clear as water yet tastes like gin * Economist *None but those with a complete mastery of fiction can walk this line. William Trevor was not "an Irish Chekhov" or even "the Irish Chekhov". He was and will remain the Irish William Trevor -- Julian Barnes * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisSUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER A once-in-a-generation series, Ali Smith''s Seasonal Quartet is a tour-de-force about love, time, art, politics, and how we live now. ''Her best yet, a dazzling hymn to hope, uniting the past and present with a chorus of voices'' Observer What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times? Spring. The great connective. With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare''s most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door. The time we''re living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.Discover all four instalments: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. Ali Smith''s new novel, Companion piece, is available now.*****''An astonishing accomplishment and a book for all seasons'' Independent''Smith is a masterful storyteller . . . Savour it'' Evening Standard''Infectious in its energy and warmth'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewLuminous, generous, hope-filled... The third book in Ali Smith's seasonal quartet is her best yet, a dazzling hymn to hope, uniting the past and present with a chorus of voices... [Ali Smith] is lighting us a path out of the nightmarish now * Observer *Is there a writer so critically acclaimed and universally beloved? ...Autumn, Winter and Spring are stories of the unlikely connections human beings can make and the cost exacted when those connections are broken. They are state of the nation novels which understand that the nation is you, is me, is all of us: the nation is our choices, our fears, our losses... [Ali Smith] is the national novelist we need in 2019 * New Statesman *An astonishing accomplishment and a book for all seasons * Independent *Smith is a masterful storyteller... Spring is political but Smith is more concerned with the human fallout of current affairs then the machinations of elites... Through her account of unlikely friendships, Smith brings human values to the fore. Savour it, because there is just one instalment left * Evening Standard *Spring weaves a story around the most pressing issues of our time... [A] bubbling, babbling brook of a book...Smith tells stories in a voice you can't help but listen to * The Times *A powerful vision of lost souls in a divided Britain... As Smith's Seasonal Quartet moves towards completion her own role in British fiction looks ever more vital. The final page proclaims spring 'the great connective'. It's not a bad description of Smith herself * Guardian *Beguiling... The eagerly awaited third instalment * Financial Times *Infectious in its energy and warmth * Daily Telegraph *Just when things were starting to look really bad, along comes the third instalment in Ali Smith's seasonal quartet to lift us out of the gloom... An extraordinary embodiment of the ways in which storytelling connects us... The work of Katherine Mansfield and Rilke, Greek myths and the propulsive lyricism of spring itself, thread together in narratives of loss and rejuvenation * Daily Mail *The third of her exceptional Seasonal quartet, which riffs back and forth with Autumn and Winter to expound on the importance of hope to move us beyond the darkest of times * I paper *The most compelling and coherent of the three books... Smith, as always is interested in how a story gets told, and who gets to tell it * Sunday Times *Ali Smith is one of our greatest living novelists, the Virginia Woolf of our times. * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisPresented as a collection of confessional letters written by the eponymous protagonist, The Sorrows of Young Werther charts the emotional journey of a young man who, during a stay in a picturesque German village, falls in love with Lotte, a local woman engaged to another man. As he realizes that his passion is doomed to failure and constant pain, Werther contemplates taking the most drastic measures. Partly autobiographical, and the prototype for many later Romantic works in its depiction of the sensitive, tortured hero, Goethe's seminal classic is a timeless masterpiece of world literature.Trade ReviewI categorically say: read The Sorrows of Young Werther! -- Franz Kafka

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Book SynopsisGory, brutal, devastating, utterly addictive and yet so finely written. This deserves to be huge and I think it will be. His best yet' Louise BeechThey were the perfect family. It was the perfect crime.The new gripping DCI Matilda Darke crime thriller about the dark secrets that lie within a perfect family. For fans of Patricia Gibney and Angela Marsons.It's the most disturbing crime scene DCI Matilda Darke has ever seenThe morning after a wedding reception at a beautiful suburban home in Sheffield, the bride's entire family are stabbed to death in a frenzied attack more violent than anything DCI Matilda Darke could have imagined.Forensics point to a burglar on the run across the country. But cracks are starting to appear in Matilda's team, someone is playing games with the evidence and the killer might be closer to home than they thoughtPraise for The Murder House:Matilda Darke is Sheffield's answer to Northumberland's Vera and Wood's stories are up there with the best. Fast-paced,Trade ReviewPraise for The Murder House: ‘Wood has created a fantastic lead character for his gritty South Yorkshire police procedurals. Matilda Darke is Sheffield’s answer to Northumberland’s Vera and Wood’s stories are up there with the best. Fast-paced, crisp writing and a thoroughly enjoyable read’ David Young Praise for Michael Wood: ‘A tense, nail-biting story with a truly twisted ending’ Katerina Diamond ‘Watch out for those twists – you won't see them coming!’ Stephen Booth ‘A gritty and atmospheric thriller with more twists and turns than a hangman's knot. I loved it’ Matt Hilton ‘Solid storytelling and great unravelling of plot. Michael Wood ups the pace as the noose tightens’ Rachel Sargeant ‘Taut, twisting and sharp as a blade, The Hangman’s Hold wrong-footed me at every, devious turn’ Chris Whitaker 'Wood hit the ground running with For Reasons Unknown, first in the DCI Matilda Darke series. In the fourth instalment, The Hangman's Hold, he picks up the pace again with a twisting plot that races to a nail-biting finish’ Chris Simms ‘Bites into you like the rough twine of a hangman’s noose and refuses to let go. Tautly plotted, brilliantly realised, this is further proof that Michael Wood is only going to get better and better. The Hangman’s Hold is going to be big…’ Neil Broadfoot ‘You can count on Michael Wood to deliver a deliciously twisted and intriguing plot, leading to a surprise ending by a likeable and very real protagonist, Matilda Darke’ Yrsa Sigurdardottir ‘She is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths ‘A pitch-black concept, tightly delivered and played at exhilarating pace’ Paul Finch ‘Crackling dialogue, dark wit and an exciting ending. Recommended if you liked Happy Valley’ Mark Edwards ‘DCI Matilda Darke is going places’ James Oswald ‘A compelling, addictive read, it’s hard to put down. I really enjoyed getting to know DCI Matilda Darke. She's strong character with real depth’ Robert Bryndza

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Book SynopsisHenry Hoke is the author of the memoir Sticker, The Book of Endless Sleepovers, the story collection Genevieves, and the novel The Groundhog Forever. His work has appeared in Electric Literature, Triangle House, The Offing, and the Catapult anthology Tiny Crimes. He holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, where he taught for five years, and presently teaches at the University of Virginia Young Writers Workshop.Trade ReviewOpen Throat is a blinding spotlight beam of a book that I was completely unable and unwilling to put down. I am not convinced Henry Hoke isn’t a mountain lion. -- Catherine Lacey, author of PewAn instant classic . . . The writing is so sinuous, so wry and muscular, yet with a padding, pawing playfulness, that you’re ready to go anywhere Hoke wants to take you . . . It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking and nail-bitingly propulsive, with an exquisite Hitchcockian climax. -- Rahul Raina * The Guardian *The lion king of Los Angeles . . . Hoke’s choice of narrator results in some fang-sharp incisiveness andflashes of brilliant humour * The Observer *A beguiling and memorable work * The Irish Times *Witty, emotional and gripping, Open Throat is a short but savage thrill ride * The Independent *[A] slim jewel of a novel . . . Though many readers will label Open Throat unconventional, this act of ravishing and outlandish imagination should be the norm, not the exception. At its best, fiction can make the familiar strange in order to bring readers and our world into scintillating focus. Open Throat is what fiction should be. * The New York Times Book Review *A propulsive, one-sitting read, if also a somber one . . . Without spoiling the story, it’s perhaps enough to say that the climax of Open Throat is a very L.A. one, with spotlights and drama. But it’s also a universal one. * Los Angeles Times *My definition of an unputdownable book is one that is funny, full of longing, and a bit fantastical. If a novel is all three, I'm sold. Open Throat by Henry Hoke is, for me, a Rosetta Stone of unputdownability: an allegorical tale of a queer mountain lion fighting for survival (and love) in the hills of Los Angeles. -- Melissa Broder * The Guardian *Your off-beat beach read? Open Throat is Bret Easton Ellis meets mountain lion in the Hollywood Hills . . . it already has people talking * The Sunday Times Style *I defy you to hear the premise of this sophomore novel from the always-interesting Henry Hoke and not immediately smash that preorder button . . . a playful, poignant, tragicomic delight * Lit Hub *A mountain cougar’s glimpses of LA (‘ellay’). Loved this tale of loneliness, longing and gore in the Hills. -- James Cahill, author of Tiepolo BlueI didn't know I would feel such attachment to a mountain lion when I started reading, but in Henry Hoke's talented hands, they become an instantly memorable and endearing protagonist. * Buzzfeed *This is one of the most unique books of the summer . . . a miniature masterpiece * iNews *Open Throat is a strange and beguiling prose/poem/novella about a curious, queer and raveous mountain lion stalking the Hollywood hills . . . Uniquely and bizarrely seductive * Attitude *This lyrical story of loneliness and kinship in Los Angeles is, by turns, delightful and melancholy—and inventive throughout. * Vanity Fair *Henry Hoke’s narrator is the most credible animal witness to human behavior since Robert Bresson’s Balthazar. Original, fun and completely awakening, Open Throat is a devastating portrait of LA today. -- Chris Kraus, author of I Love DickIt's not often you come across a book with such an incredibly unique premise that you can't help but read it, if only for pure curiosity. And it's even less common for these books to be wholly and entirely gratifying, entertaining, and enjoyable beyond expectation. Reader, Open Throat by Henry Hoke is all of these things. * NB Magazine *Open Throat strikes the perfect balance of humor and trauma, creating an encapsulating read that interrogates the complexities of gender identity and a world marked by climate change. -- Michael Welch, Chicago Review of BooksOpen Throat feels like a comic book and a really good one; it feels the inside of animals, specifically one animal, a mountain lion, and with them we desire blood and I can’t tell you how it ends but I love knowing a mountain lion so much. The beauty and tragedy of all of nature is in this character. Open Throat is a fierce writing act. Henry Hoke makes it true. -- Eileen Myles, author of For NowDaring and moving . . . Give this sinewy prose poem a chance and you'll fall under the spell of a forlorn voice trapped in the hellscape of modern America -- Ron Charles * The Washington Post *Strange, unique, and mesmerizing. -- Gabino Iglesias, Boston GlobeIn this fantastical, deeply moving, and original adventure--also an unforgettable reckoning with contemporary Los Angeles--Henry Hoke introduces an animal whose life is more than just survival: they are full of longing, regret, memory, sadness, and astute observation. -- Brontez Purnell, author of 100 BoyfriendsOpen Throat is an instant cult classic and a bloody masterpiece. Rhythmically brilliant, heart-wounding, and scathingly funny, I’m in love with a mountain lion and in awe of this book. -- Melissa Broder, author of The PiscesThe premise alone makes Henry Hoke's startling achievement worth the purchase . . . Philosophical and heartfelt, Open Throat is the ultimate immersion into the mind of an unlikely protagonist. -- Lauren Puckett-Pope * ELLE *If like many people you are sick of human protagonists that are often nihilistic, self-destructive, fundamentally lonely people, then perhaps you would prefer Open Throat, which is narrated by a similarly lonely mountain lion who lives in the Hollywood Hills. -- i-D, 'fiction to be excited for in 2023' My favorite book of this century so far! I keep putting off writing this blurb because every time I pick up Open Throat I re-read it and fall back in love with this gay-ass big cat and then I have to spend the whole rest of the day thinking about mountain lions and humans and sex and bodies and death and climate change and bad dads and NY v LA and what is even possible in this world. Henry Hoke is a magician. -- Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal GirlWholly original, inventive, and surprising on every level. It affirms the capaciousness of the novel as a form. I wish more books took the kinds of chances Open Throat does. -- Diane Cook, author of the Booker Prize finalist novel The New WildernessBrave; moving; excitingly bold. -- Charlotte Mendelson, author of The ExhibitionistOpen Throat is a fable for our times that cements Henry Hoke as an essential voice in experimental and deliciously queer fiction. * Electric Literature *A tight, funny book with an alarmingly unique tone * The Brooklyn Rail *Distinctive. Endearing. Poetic. Funny. In Open Throat, Henry Hoke has given voice to something both familiar and strange, that speaks to the conscious and unconscious mind at the same time, deftly revealing the world. -- Octavia Bright, author of This Ragged GraceCompulsively readable -- Megan Milks, 4ColumnsRead something crazy this summer. * The Philadelphia Inquirer *I defy you to hear the premise of this sophomore novel from the always-interesting Henry Hoke and not immediately smash that preorder button . . . a playful, poignant, tragicomic delight. * Lit Hub *Inspired by a real lion who famously lived in Hollywood, this hilarious and touching tale is blazingly original and really rather brilliant. * The Bookseller, Editor's Choice *Unique and bizarrely seductive * Attitude *. . . replete with wisdom and an unnervingly astute understanding * NB *Playful [and] provocative . . . By turns funny and melancholy, this is a thrilling portrait of alienation. * Publisher's Weekly *Compassionate, fierce, and bittersweet, this is an unforgettable love letter to the wild. * Kirkus *Highly imaginative . . . a fascinating take on the human world and his place in it. Open Throat is a treat for both animal lovers and anyone who appreciates innovative fiction. * Booklist *

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Book Synopsis'Affecting and engaging' COLM TÓIBÍN'A wistful, witty meditation on a gay man's twilight years and the twilight of America' GuardianOut in the drought-struck backwaters of rural Florida, The Kingdom of Sand's nameless narrator lives a life of semi-solitude, enjoying the odd, fleeting sexual encounter and the friendship of a few.His world is ageing, and the memories of another time flash, then fade - visions of parties filled with handsome young men, the parents whom he chose to spend his life besides, the generation he once knew, struck down by AIDS. But, when forced to watch the slow demise of a close neighbour, he is drawn back to the here and now, and his own borrowed time in this kingdom of sand.'Bracingly honest and wise' The Times, Books of the Year'Both melancholy and hilarious' New York TimesTrade Review[Holleran's] new novel is all the more affecting and engaging because the images of isolation and old age here are haunted . . . in 1978 Holleran wrote the quintessential novel about gay abandon, the sheer, careless pleasure of it: Dancer From the Dance. Now, at almost 80 years of age, he has produced a novel remarkable for its integrity, for its readiness to embrace difficult truths and for its complex way of paying homage to the passing of time -- Colm Tóibín * New York Times *Bracingly honest and wise... A beautiful way to describe how we fade away. * The Times, *Books of the Year* *Holleran's fifth novel - both melancholy and hilarious - finds the protagonist living out his days in his late mother's Florida home, navigating loneliness, a changing world and a life post-cruising. The book's image of isolation and old age is all the more haunting because in 1978 Holleran wrote the quintessential novel about the sheer, careless pleasure of gay abandon, Dancer From the Dance. * New York Times *[With] grim wit and flashes of sanctity from above... Holleran's writing is as calmly compelling as the repetitive tasks that occupy a monastic day. * Observer *Holleran renders an elegiac and very funny contemplation of not just ageing but an age... A wistful, witty meditation on a gay man's twilight years and the twilight of America. -- Jeremy Atherton Lin * Guardian *[Holleran's] new novel is all the more affecting and engaging because the images of isolation and old age here are haunted . . . in 1978 Holleran wrote the quintessential novel about gay abandon, the sheer, careless pleasure of it: Dancer From the Dance. Now, at almost 80 years of age, he has produced a novel remarkable for its integrity, for its readiness to embrace difficult truths and for its complex way of paying homage to the passing of time -- Colm Tóibín * New York Times *Bracingly honest and wise... A beautiful way to describe how we fade away. * The Times, *Books of the Year* *Holleran's fifth novel - both melancholy and hilarious - finds the protagonist living out his days in his late mother's Florida home, navigating loneliness, a changing world and a life post-cruising. The book's image of isolation and old age is all the more haunting because in 1978 Holleran wrote the quintessential novel about the sheer, careless pleasure of gay abandon, Dancer From the Dance. * New York Times *[With] grim wit and flashes of sanctity from above... Holleran's writing is as calmly compelling as the repetitive tasks that occupy a monastic day. * Observer *Holleran renders an elegiac and very funny contemplation of not just ageing but an age... A wistful, witty meditation on a gay man's twilight years and the twilight of America. -- Jeremy Atherton Lin * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA vibrant tableau of small-town life as seen through the eyes of a woman returning home from Paris.Juliette boards a train from Paris and comes back to her hometown hoping for a low-key visit with family and old friends. What she finds is anything but. Her sister, a caregiver and mother of two, is carrying on an elaborate affair with a man from a costume shop. Her parents, separated, are now estranged. Father is sure he's developing Alzheimer's, though it's more likely that he's simply getting old. Mother, on the other hand, revels in the second act of her life as a free woman, an artist with a show at their local gallery to prove it. Slowly, Juliette finds herself entangled with the unlikely Georges, a dyspeptic alcoholic who is stuck in his life. These divergent paths inevitably cross against a gloriously painted backdrop of eccentric small-town living.Camille Jourdy's beautiful watercolor pages provide an unfeigned mileu for the subtle dramedy at hand in

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Book Synopsis* AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST FOR 2024 * ‘A spellbinding achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Poignant and often painfully comic’ OBSERVER ‘I gasped, laughed, and wept my way through it’ KHALED HOSSEINI ‘Hugely impressive’ NEW EUROPEAN ‘Novels like this might help light the way’ GUARDIAN Tbilisi’s littered with memories that await me like landmines. The dearly departed voices I silenced long ago have come back without my permission. The situation calls for someone with a plan. I didn’t even bring toothpaste. Saba’s father is missing, and the trail leads back to Tbilisi, Georgia. It’s been two decades since Irakli fled his war-torn homeland with two young sons, now grown men. Two decades since he saw their mother, who stayed so they could escape. At long last, Tbilisi has lured him home. But when Irakli’s phone calls stop, a mystery begins... Arriving in the city as escaped zoo animals prowl the streets, Saba picks up the trail of clues: strange graffiti, bewildering messages transmitted through the radio, pages from his father’s unpublished manuscript scattered like breadcrumbs. As the voices of those left behind pull at the edges of his world, Saba will discover that all roads lead back to the past, and to secrets swallowed up by the great forests of Georgia. In a winding pursuit through the magic and mystery of returning to a lost homeland, Hard by a Great Forest is a rare, searching tale of home, memory and sacrifice – of one family’s mission to rescue one another, and put the past to rest.Trade ReviewA compelling novel about war, family separation and ambivalent homecoming, its tale of sacrifice, guilt and betrayal is propelled by dark mysteries and offset by glorious shafts of humour ...Novels such as this might help light the way * Guardian *A family story in an unfamiliar setting, the journey affords us glimpses of Georgian history, swearing, wine, eyebrows and mordant humour ... An intriguing treasure hunt, self-consciously picaresque and peppered with references to magic, myths and miraclesA captivating star-burst of a novel ... An all-consuming, deeply affecting story of family, memory, courage, perseverance, and brutality, leavened with a little magic and a touch of madness ... I urge you to read it * Country & Townhouse *The stakes could barely be higher in Leo Vardiashvili’s propulsive page-turner Hard by a Great Forest ... Taking its title from a line in a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Vardiashvili’s sprawling narrative, part comic, part tragic, abounds in mysteries, monsters, magic and terrors. It’s a spellbinding achievement * Financial Times *War trumps most things, Leo Vardiashvili observes early on in his poignant and often painfully comic novel about the effect of violence and conflict on those who must live through them * Observer, 10 Best New Novelists for 2024 *It is a testament to Vardiashvili’s writing that he converts the grief and yearning of the forcibly displaced into such a pacy and frequently funny novel ... Vardiashvili’s hugely impressive debut might be about a place that many of us will not know well but its themes are representative of the wider story of our era ... In this wise, moving and instructive book Vardiashvili, with extraordinary maturity and lightness of touch, cuts through the deafening white noise of sloganeering arguments to present the intimate lives of traumatised people doing their best * New European *Vardiashvili has captured the winking, world-weary humor and magic-realist touches that mark a lot of literature from Europe’s war-torn corners ... Like the voices on the radio, people can keep speaking out their dreams of rescue. And the book persuades you that sometimes, a form of it might arrive * Los Angeles Times *This powerful debut draws on the legacy of the war in Georgia in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union ... A fairytale tone allows Vardiashvili to creep up on his theme of survivor’s guilt * Mail on Sunday *Hard by a Great Forest has the offbeat lucidity of a waking dream ... a novel that indeed resembles a walk through a dark forest, Vardiashvili’s imaginative powers render his timely subject matter at once strange, disorientating and – occasionally – even magical * Daily Mail *A stupendous debut, by turns nerve-shredding, heart-rending and hilarious * Saga *Vardiashvili pushes the story on at pace as Saba searches for clues in the colourful enclaves of Georgia ... This debut is a heartfelt, lively story * i (Press Association) *This debut novel captures both the long scars of collective trauma and the indomitable spirit of those determined to remember and survive * Oprah Daily, Most Anticipated Books of 2024 *A sensitive exploration of grief, memory, loss and the immigrant experience woven seamlessly into a propulsive narrative * Perspective magazine *Rich with irony and animated with astonishing humanity, this tale of a young Georgian refugee’s odyssey into his birthplace to rescue family left my heart bruised and battered and aching for more -- Khaled HosseiniA wildly charming debut – propulsive, funny, and profound -- Elif BatumanAstonishingly crafted with history, candour, beauty, grief and just a little magic. A book like no other, from an imagination like no other. Vardiashvili has written a triumph -- Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winning author of LESS IS LOSTThis novel blows open the heart of the past. It's a mystery, it's a picaresque, it's a comedy, and it's an authentic song of belonging and unbelonging ... By turns political and philosophical, it introduces a fine new voice in contemporary fiction -- Colum McCannPropulsive, profoundly moving and rich with humour and heartbreak, Hard by a Great Forest mesmerised me from the very first page. Inspired by Vardiashvili's own family story, this novel will capture your heart -- Jean KwokA sweeping, ambitious, and almost unbelievably assured debut. Exploring the long shadow of trauma cast by any war, Vardiashvili’s novel pummels the reader with an emotional force that few can match * Booklist (starred review) *Hard By A Great Forest movingly evokes the complicated feelings of trying to recapture and redefine what home looks and feels like * Bookreporter *Lushly haunted debut * Shelf Awareness *

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Book SynopsisA moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog - now in a stunning new edition as part of Virago''s 50th anniversary Five Gold Reads seriesWINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD''A true delight: I genuinely fear I won''t read a better novel this year'' FINANCIAL TIMES''Loved this. A funny, moving examination of love, grief, and the uniqueness of dogs'' GRAHAM NORTON''Delicious'' SUNDAY TIMES 100 BEST SUMMER READSWhen a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.Isolated from the rest of the woTrade ReviewA true delight: I genuinely fear I won't read a better novel this year * Financial Times *A beautiful book . . . crammed with a world of insight into death, grief, art, and love * Wall Street Journal *Very very clever. Mature. Entertaining. Eminently readable and re-readable. In short, absolutely delightful. * Irish Times *Delicious ... An intensely pleasurable read because it is so accessible, capacious and clever * Sunday Times *A pitch-perfect novel ... Wry and moving, The Friend is a love story, a mania story and a recovery story * Vanity Fair *Loved this. A funny, moving examination of love, grief, and the uniqueness of dogs * Graham Norton *A sneaky gut punch of a novel . . . a consummate example of the human-animal tale * Harper's Magazine *The book is an intimate, beautiful thing, deceptively slight at around 200 pages, but humming with insight . . . [an] artfully discursive meditation on friendship, love, death, solitude, canine companionship and the life of an aging writer in New York .. peppered with wry observations * The Economist *I loved it . . . It's one of my favourite books and it moved me * Whoopi Goldberg, The View *A poignant reflection on loss and companionship * Marie Claire *Often as funny as it is thoughtful, The Friend is an elegant meditation on grief, friendship, healing, and the bonds between humans and dogs * Buzzfeed *An elegant and darkly humorous meditation on grief and companionship, it's a great read - whether or not you're obsessed with canines * Shondaland.com *Charming ... the comedy here writes itself... The snap of her sentences sometimes puts me in mind of Rachel Cusk * New York Times *The contemplation of writing and the loss of integrity in our literary life form the heart of the novel . . . Nunez's prose itself comforts us. Her confident and direct style uplifts - the music in her sentences, her deep and varied intelligence. She addresses important ideas unpretentiously and offers wisdom for any aspiring writer who, as the narrator fears, may never know this dear, intelligent friend - or this world that is dying. But is it dying? Perhaps. But with The Friend, Nunez provides evidence that, for now, it survives * New York Times Book Review *In crystalline prose, Nunez creates an impressively controlled portrait of the 'exhaustion of mourning' * New Yorker *Astonishingly fresh and tinged with sadness . . . a highly entertaining, uplifting book exploring the magical bond between humans and canines. A must-read for dog-lovers. * The Lady *She has a wry compassion, and an eye for the kind of detail only grown-ups can catch. The books feel lived-in rather than hard-earned, the voice is smart and kind -- Anne Enright * The Times *

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Book Synopsis''Too often we treat popular music as wallpaper surrounding us as we live our lives. Jude Rogers shows the emotional and cerebral heft such music can have. It''s a personal journey which becomes universal. Fascinating'' Ian Rankin''Moving and absorbing, The Sound of Being Human mixes memoir, analysis, anecdote and personal chronicle into a mosaic that evokes what music means to the individual and the human tribe. A candid, beautiful read'' Stuart MaconieThe Sound of Being Human explores, in detail, why music plays such a deep-rooted role in so many lives, from before we are born to our last days. At its heart is Jude''s own story: how songs helped her wrestle with the grief of losing her father at age five; concoct her own sense of self as a lonely adolescent; sky-rocket her relationships, both real and imagined, in the flushes of early womanhood, propel her own journey into working life, adulthood and parenthood, and look to the future.Shaped around twelve songs, ranging from ABBA''s ''Super Trouper'' to Neneh Cherry''s ''Buffalo Stance'', Kraftwerk''s ''Radioactivity'' to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas'' ''Heat Wave'', the book combines memoir and historical, scientific and cultural enquiry to show how music can shape different versions of ourselves; how we rely upon music for comfort, for epiphanies, and for sexual and physical connection; how we grow with songs, and songs grow inside us, helping us come to terms with grief, getting older and powerful memories. It is about music''s power to help us tell our own stories, whatever they are, and make them sing.Trade ReviewToo often we treat popular music as wallpaper surrounding us as we live our lives. Jude Rogers shows the emotional and cerebral heft such music can have. It's a personal journey which becomes universal. Fascinating -- Ian RankinA stunning hybrid of memoir and music, soundtracking the indelible nature of sound. Rogers' moving, lyrical sentences sing and stop you in your tracks -- Sinéad GleesonI absolutely loved this book. It's a fabulously moving memoir, gorgeous and unique, and beautifully written - tender, funny, nostalgic and insightful, elegantly revealing so much about the power of music. It's given me a completely new take on the songs I have loved in my life and why I love them. What a joy. * Ruth Jones *Moving and absorbing, The Sound Of Being Human mixes memoir, analysis, anecdote and personal chronicle into a mosaic that evokes what music means to the individual and the human tribe. A candid, beautiful read -- Stuart MaconieI've not read a warmer, deeper or truer evocation of the intense and unique connection between person and song. In untangling her own life, Jude Rogers helped me understand mine. This book is truly beautiful -- David WhitehouseA beautifully written memoir of love, loss and the ways in which music can move us in unseen ways. Jude is a rare talent -- Sirin KaleJude Rogers is one of our very finest music writers, and The Sound of Being Human shows us exactly why: tender, whip-smart, passionate and meticulous. All music fans will relish this book -- Laura BartonThere are books that have made me cry and books that have taught me about the psychological effects of music, but Jude's is the only one that has done both. It's a wonderful thing - real food for the heart and head. A book that lots of people will treasure -- Mat OsmanJude Rogers is one of my favourite writers and one of my favourite people. Having been interviewed by her many times I'm always bowled over by her constant passion for music, new and old, and the way she can take you to a time and a place in a few words. This is a beautiful memoir about how music can shape your life, sometimes change your life, and I defy anyone not to have a little cry along the way -- Sarah CracknellBoth heavy and light, dark and sweet - I very much like this book -- Kristin HershEvocative, intelligent and touching. So brilliant on that rush you get from the music that shapes, describes, soundtracks & changes your life. I love Jude's writing and her power to conjure the emotions you felt when you first heard a certain song -- Mhairi McFarlanePersonal but universal, The Sound Of Being Human is a moving, funny and very smart exploration of what music does to you and how it does it -- Alexis PetridisTracing the relationship between music, memory and emotions - Jude Rogers has created a finespun weave of heartfelt memoir, keen insights into the inner workings of pop music, merging into mind-expanding chunks of science. An absorbing and poignant book -- Philip ClarkA beautifully written book offering fresh insight into the way the mind processes music as well as giving a glimpse into Jude's own life as a writer, mother and broadcaster -- Ralph Moore, Mixmag magazine/Worldwide FMJude Rogers takes on one of the most intriguing questions of all: how some songs come to mean so much to us, curling themselves around our memories of that blissful summer or bleak winter. As I read this warm and honest book, I realised its true subject is not pop music, not really. It is rather an exploration of love - how it is formed and maintained, and what it leaves behind -- Aditya Chakrabortty, Senior Commentator, the GuardianA brilliantly unjaded exploration of the power of songs to intoxicate, enthuse and reassure * Guardian *Fascinating read, which, far from reducing music, enriches it * Mojo *A moving meander through Rogers' musical memories * Big Issue *Her writing brims with the lively, engaged intelligence of someone who lives in her material * Record Collector *

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Book SynopsisA powerful new novel about grief and mourning from the acclaimed and prize-winning author of The Old DriftA BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEAR and NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARI don't want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt.Cassandra is twelve; her little brother Wayne is seven. One day, when they're alone together, there's an accident and Wayne is lost forever. Though his body is never recovered, their mother can't stop searching.As Cassandra grows older, she sees her brother everywhere: in cafes, aeroplane aisles, subway cars. But it can't be, of course. Or can it? And then one day, there's another accident, and she meets a man both mysterious and familiar, a man who shares her brother's name and who is also searching for someone...'In Namwali Serpell's hands, grief is a kind of possession. The Furrows is a piercing, sharply written novel about the conjuring power of loss' - RAVEN LEILANI, author of LusterTrade ReviewSerpell is a terrific destabiliser, even at the level of the sentence... There are no tidy moral lessons at the end of her dissonant and time-contorting fable - no bones to bury, no truth to pin, no mysteries solved - only the inescapable rhythms of loss -- Beejay Silcox * The Guardian *A masterfully intelligent and many-sided book * The Telegraph *The Furrows...confirms Serpell's place as one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today * Financial Times *In Namwali Serpell's hands, grief is a kind of possession. The Furrows is a piercing, sharply written novel about the conjuring power of loss -- Raven Leilani, author of LusterMasterful: a blend of self-knowing, sincere and spry... Serpell's sentences are unhurried, yet detailed, smart and brisk * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis From the artist behind the critically acclaimed, award-winning, New York Times #1 bestselling graphic novel Logicomix comes a graphic novel about the life and legacy of Aristotle, the polymath who became one of the founding figures of modern thought Little is known about the early life of Aristotle, the polymath who would go on to serve as a cultural cornerstone of modern thought and scholarship. Alecos Papadatos, the artist behind the critically acclaimed, award-winning, New York Times #1 bestselling graphic novel Logicomix, and Tassos Apostolidis, an author and teacher, team up to bring his story to life, following the trail of clues to paint a picture of the great man and his philosophy. The son of a renowned Macedonian physician, Aristotle pursues his studies in Athens and becomes one of Plato’s favorite disciples. A great scholar, he even serves as Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, and Cassander’s personal tu

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021One family. One promise. One chance to tell a new story.'A moving, brilliantly told family epic' Elizabeth DayTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLEROn a farm outside Pretoria, the Swarts are gathering for Ma's funeral. The younger generation, Anton and Amor, detest everything the family stand for - not least their treatment of the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life. Salome was to be given her own house, her own land...yet somehow, that vow is carefully ignored.As each decade passes, and the family assemble again, one question hovers over them. Can you ever escape the repercussions of a broken promise?'A tour de force... A spectacular demonstration of how the novel can make us see and think afresh' Booker Judges, 2021'Astonishing' Colm Tóibín'Utterly compelling' Patrick GaleTrade ReviewA superb novel; a nuanced, sad, hilarious portrait of a family and a country -- PAULA HAWKINSThis story was so powerful, the writing so strong and supple... What an achievement -- CLARE CHAMBERSA moving, brilliantly told family epic . . . darkly comic . . . phenomenally good -- ELIZABETH DAYLayered, clever...with a gripping story -- CLAIRE FULLER * Daily Mail, Books of the Year *A brilliant book told over four decades and four funerals . . . These are characters dancing on the edge of ruin . . . Intoxicating -- ANNA HOPEAstonishing . . . about fate and loss, about three siblings and land, a promise made a broken -- COLM TOIBINA remarkable tale of four generations of one South African family and of the country itself... No wonder it won the Booker * Observer, Books of the Year *Vivid and suggestive, moving and often very funny * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *Outstanding . . . Gripping . . . There is also plenty of unexpected comedy * BBC News *Brilliant... Rarely have I had such a strong sense, while reading a novel, that I myself was there, in the room with the characters * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis‘Tender. . .confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail ‘An unsettling drama. . .shored up with multi-faceted characterisation.’ Financial Times She knows everything. She’ll stop at nothing.Trade Review‘At its heart — and at its best — this book is an exploration of grief and the very different responses it produces. It is also about the dangers of the distance it can create between two people. . .McGrath's tender examination of grief and vulnerability is confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail ‘McGrath’s unspooling of her unsettling drama is non-pareil, shored up with multi-faceted characterisation (particularly of the traumatised central couple).’Financial Times ‘Dark and sinister with a shocking final twist.’Bella ‘McGrath provides a sensitive study of trauma and loss as well as expertly ratcheting up the tension, and the result is a compelling read.’Guardian

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Book Synopsis‘Lauren Bravo is one of my very favourite writers’ Dolly Alderton Gwen is coasting through life. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the countryside and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around the council’s wheelie-bin timetable.  And she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?   When she’s made redundant from a job she hardly cares about, she takes herself out for a fancy dinner. There she has the best sticky toffee pudding of her life and realises she has no one to tell. She vows to begin living her life fully, reconnect with her friends and family, and finally book that dentist’s appointment.    Gwen decides to start where all things get a second chance: her local charity shop. There, with the help of the weird and wonderful people and donated items bursting with untold storiesTrade ReviewPreloved is one for your keeper shelves. * Red *An absolute gem of a novel, like finding vintage Dior in your local chazza. It's hard to believe that this tender-hearted, wryly observed and exquisitely written story is a debut and its heroine Gwen, as lost as the unwanted donations she prices up, will resonate with so many readers. Preloved is one for your keeper shelves. -- Sarra ManningI think I’ve been waiting for a novel like Preloved for my whole reading life. This is a luscious, shimmering book of depth and delicacy. It’s sad, hilarious, sad, tender, brutal, brilliantly observed – there is a sense of magic on every page. -- Daisy Buchanan, author of InsatiablePreloved is full of sharp observations on life, loss, regret and self-preservation... spilling over with wit and hope. Cleverly interwoven with stories of the myriad reasons items find their way into charity shops, the joy, friendship and ultimate enlightenment Gwen discovers offers a quirky and poignant reminder that one person's trash is always somebody else's treasure. -- Julietta Henderson, author of The Funny Thing about Norman ForemanPreloved has taken up residence in my heart and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. It's completely enchanting, completely captivating, completely brilliant, I adored everything about it. It has so much heart and warmth, while Gwen is so well-written and relatable. I was already a fan of Lauren Bravo's writing, and now I'm officially obsessed. -- Lucy VineLaugh-out-loud funny but also poignant and tender, Preloved is an absorbingly special debut novel. I devoured in equal measure the delicious descriptions of food and the moving vignettes of preloved treasures peppered throughout the book, while the nineties and noughties nostalgia had me gasping with pleasure. -- Laura Price, author of Single Bald FemaleFull of relatable anecdotes, lively, funny and modern, Preloved is a moving tale of emancipation and friendship. I loved it! -- Margaux Vialleron, author of The Yellow KitchenBeautifully considered and wonderfully crafted with characters who feel true to life. Full of witty observations and dazzling retorts and withering reactions… it won’t disappoint. -- Justin Myers/The GuylinerPreloved is a beautiful, funny novel full of pitch perfect insight and detail. In a world of fast fashion, fast friendships and fast opinion, this is a refreshing and relatable alternative, celebrating and challenging our ideas about objects and ownership. For anyone (like me) who has ever stood behind the counter of a charity shop, it will spark particular joy. Political, delightful and very very funny. -- Nell Frizzell

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Book Synopsis'I didn't want this book to end... Beautiful' DAISY JOHNSON'A natural storyteller' PATRICK GALE'A gorgeous folkloric novel of water and love' ZOE GILBERT London, 1985. Joe, father to eleven-year-old Matty, has disappeared, and nobody will explain where he's gone, or why.In the long, hot summer that follows, Matty's hunt for Joe leads to the ponds at Hampstead Heath. Beneath the water, there is a new kind of freedom. Above the water, a welcoming community of men offer refuge from an increasingly rocky home life.Fourteen years later, a new revelation sees Matty set off alone in a campervan, driving westwards through Ireland, swimming its wild loughs and following the scant clues left behind about Joe. The trip takes a dangerous turn, and Matty is forced to rely on the kindness of strangers. But safety comes at a price, and with desire and fear running high, the journey turns into an explosive, heart-rending reckoning with the past.*A 'BOOKS OF 2021' PICK IN i NEWSPAPER*'Artfully paced, with queer undercurrents, this novel is tender and totally enveloping' AttitudeTrade ReviewA gorgeous folkloric novel of water and love... You should read this and you should also read Kerry's Swansong. It's a rare thing to see folklore woven into beautiful, tender human reality with such delicacy and skills -- Zoe Gilbert, author of Folk and Mischief ActsKerry Andrew is that rare thing, a natural storyteller with one of those quietly confident voices that takes you by the cuff and leads you down unexpected passages. In the finest tradition of quest tales, Skin's protagonist sets out in search of one thing and ends by discovering quite another and both they and the reader grow a little as a result -- Patrick GaleAndrew's wonderful second novel is the deeply involving story of a difficult childhood, a search for a long-missing parent, how we view our bodies and the secrets we keep even from those who know us best. -- 75 Books for 2021 * i Newspaper *A sweeping coming-of-age narrative whose on-point themes of gender and sexuality are embedded in evocative descriptions of London during the 1980s, and of boomtime Ireland a decade later * Mail Online *This evocative and sensitive tale is grounded by the authentic complexity of its characters... Inspired. -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisInspired by his experiences as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War, Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls tells the story of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer in the International Brigades fighting to defend the Spanish Republic against Franco. After being ordered to work with guerrilla fighters to destroy a bridge, Jordan finds himself falling in love with a young Spanish woman and clashing with the guerrilla leader over the risks of their mission.One of the great novels of the twentieth century, For Whom the Bell Tolls was first published in 1940. It powerfully explores the brutality of war, the loss of innocence and the value of human life.This stunning edition features an afterword by Ned Halley.Designed to appeal to the book lover, 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 Synopsis'This is one of those special books . . . Even if it were only a book about eels, it would be wonderful.' - Sunday Times'I never thought I would see myself in an eel, until I read Svensson’s beautiful book, in which he anthropomorphizes eels and shows how mysterious they are, and how little we know about them. It’s a beautiful book that makes you realize that the eel is our cousin — we are the eel, and the eel is us.' - Michaela Coel’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'Trade ReviewThe best mysteries are those science hasn’t yet cracked, and top of the list comes the sex life of eels. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *Extraordinary . . . Such is his skill that the echoes and parallels he finds never seem stretched. It’s as if the eel’s mysteriousness is snaking out, beyond its extraordinary life cycle and uncanny ability to confound scientists, and into the writing. * Observer *This beguiling book . . . completely won me over to these astonishing, mysterious creatures . . . Beautifully written, The Gospel of the Eels left me in awe of the animal. * Sunday Times ‘Nature Books of the Year’ *A gorgeously evocative blend of science, nature writing and family memoir * Guardian *What a joy! Patrick Svensson’s sinuous weaving of natural history, philosophy, psychology and autobiography is as compelling and rewarding as a silver eel’s return to the Sargasso Sea. I loved every moment. * Isabella Tree, author of Wilding *I’m still not sure I like eels, but I loved this book. * Sunday Times *In this lovely, thoughtful blend of natural science and memoir, Patrik Svensson elevates the European eel . . . to an almost mythical status . . . We must hope this marvellous book is not the eel's eulogy. * Mail on Sunday *Just as the eel glides between freshwater and salt, Svensson’s book swims in the seas of both natural history and memoir. Svensson’s father took the young Patrik eel fishing often, and their beautifully rendered nocturnal outings have the feel of occult ritual. * New York Times *Svensson’s book, like its subject, is a strange beast: a creature of metamorphosis, a shape-shifter that moves among realms. It is a book of natural history, and a memoir about a son and his father. It is also an exploration of literature and religion and custom, and what it means to live in a world full of questions we can’t always answer. * New Yorker *There’s an underlying theme here that made me think science is about discovery, not always about perfect answers. * Forbes, ‘Best Summer Reads For Those Stuck Inside Working Remotely’ *Drawing from literature, science and his own studies, Svensson inspires readers to see eels in a whole new way. * Los Angeles Times, ‘21 new and classic books to keep you in touch with the natural world’ *

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Book Synopsis**Pre-order Graham Norton''s new novel Frankie now**''Such nuance and warmth! It''s GORGEOUS'' MARIAN KEYES''Beautifully written'' LIZ NUGENT''What a storyteller!'' ELIZABETH DAYGraham Norton''s powerful and timely novel of emigration and return demonstrates his keen understanding of the power of stigma and secrecy - with devastating results...It is 1987 and a small Irish community is preparing for a wedding. The day before the ceremony a group of young friends, including bride and groom, drive out to the beach. There is an accident. Three survive, but three are killed. The lives of the families are shattered and the rifts between them are felt throughout the small town. Connor is one of the survivors. But staying among the angry and the mourning is almost as hard as living with the shame of having been the driver. He leaves the only place he knows for another l

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Book Synopsis**LITTLE ROT - THE NEW NOVEL FROM AKWAEKE EMEZI - IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW**SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD''Astonishing.'' Stylist''Electrifying.'' O: The Oprah Magazine''Brilliant and heartbreaking.'' Marie Claire''Propulsive and resonant.'' EsquireThey burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died.One afternoon, a mother opens her front door to find the length of her son's body stretched out on the veranda, swaddled in akwete material, his head on her welcome mat. The Death of Vivek Oji transports us to the day of Vivek's birth, the day his grandmother Ahunna died. It is the story of an over protective mother and a distant father, and the heart-wrenching tale of one family's struggle to understand their child, just as Vivek learns to recognize himself.Teeming with unforgettable characters whose lives have been shaped by Vivek's gentle and enigmatic spirit, it shares with us a Nigerian childhood that challenges expectations. This novel, and its celebration of the innocence and optimism of youth, will touch all those who embrace it.What readers are saying:''The book is so beautifully written and I''ve never read anything like it ever before.''''This is a gorgeously written story of identity, sexuality, love, grief, friendship, and the need to live the life you want, even in a country where doing so might be deadly . . . This was emotional, beautiful, and so poignant, and their storytelling took my breath away.''''This book is both so joyful and so devastating.''''The way Emezi made me care so deeply about these characters was just incredible, so that when the whole truth of Vivek''s death was revealed I felt so personally affected by it. This book is about so many things all at once . . . The writing is so simple yet beautifully emotive. And I cried.''''FIVE HUGE STARS . . . The Death of Vivek Oji is a poignant and tantalizing novel that wraps you up in its web of characters and feeds on you with carnivorous force, all while softening your heart and mind to a world outside of the normal social constraints we have been conditioned to.''(Goodreads reader reviews)Trade Review'Emezi's surreal prose shines...extraordinary.' - Ayobami Adebayo, on FRESHWATER, Guardian'This book lured me in from the first sentence. It shook me to the core. This book forges its own glorious path. Read it now. Give it to everyone you know. Read it again.' - Daisy Johnson, on FRESHWATER

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Book SynopsisAn exquisitely poignant tale of life, friendship and facing death Everyone should read this book'Ruth Hogan, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost ThingsUSA TODAY BESTSELLER*Shortlisted for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award*Eudora''s beautifully-told story shows us how we can live and support others at all stages of life, value what matters most and suck the juice out of every day'Kathryn Mannix, Sunday Times bestselling author of With the End in MindWow definitely my book of the year in my all time top ten!' Reader reviewThis is undoubtedly one of the best books that I have read this year' Reader reviewEudora Honeysett is done with all of it. Having seen first-hand what a prolonged illness can create, the eighty-five-year-old has no intention of leaving things to chance. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland she takes her life into her own hands.But then ten-year-old Rose arrives in a riot of colour on her doorstep. Now, as precocious Rose takeTrade Review‘An exquisitely poignant tale of life, friendship and facing death. In the latter, the author dares to explore a subject that many shy away from, but she does so with touching sensitivity, gentle humour and absolute honesty. Eudora’s courage, dignity and wry sense of fun are beautifully drawn as she takes the reader on the heart-breaking yet ultimately uplifting journey of her life and death. Everyone should read this book’ Ruth Hogan, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things ‘Made me laugh out loud’ Sue ‘An incredibly uplifting book…made me read into the night’ Kerry ‘An absolute perfect read…I cannot speak highly enough of this book’ Maria ‘It celebrates life… a surprise in a book’ Angela ‘A beautifully written book and highly recommended’ Laura ‘The author writes with such inspiring words…Love this story’ Eileen ‘Emotional, moving, delightful’ Abby ‘A fantastic story of love and friendship which I recommend’ Christine

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Book SynopsisAn Orwellian masterpiece for the modern age, an Animal Farm for the 21st century!When animals grow tired of being caged and abused, it’s only a matter of time before they have nothing to lose but their cages… When an uprising puts a pound in control of the animals, they make quick comrades, united against everything that walks on two legs. But with this newfound power comes a sudden challenge: how best to lay the groundwork for this new democracy as they write their first constitution. The conditions are ripe for a dictator, primed for instating a new system of brutality and death. When two groups of animals work together will their efforts be enough to prevent further animal authoritarianism? Discover a timely graphic storytelling event from celebrated New York Times bestselling, Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King (The Human Target, Love Everlasting) and New York Times bestselling, Eisner Award-nominated artist Peter Gross (American Jesus, The Books of Magic), collaborating for the first time ever to bring this enduring Orwellian allegory to life for the 21st Century. Collects Animal Pound #1-5.

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Book Synopsis'Absolutely breathtaking' Christy Lefteri, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo.We all have something to tell those we have lost . . .On a windy hill in Japan, in a garden overlooking the sea stands a disused phone box. For years, people have travelled to visit the phone box, to pick up the receiver and speak into the wind: to pass their messages to loved ones no longer with us.When Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami, she is plunged into despair and wonders how she will ever carry on. One day she hears of the phone box, and decides to make her own pilgrimage there, to speak once more to the people she loved the most. But when you have lost everything, the right words can be the hardest thing to find . . .Then she meets Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of their loss. What happens next will warm your heart, even when it feels as though it is breaking . . . The Phone Box at the Edge of the World is an unforgettable story of the depths of grief, the lightness of love and the human longing to keep the people who are no longer with us close to our hearts.Everyone is talking about The Phone Box at the Edge of the World'A moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again' Sunday Times'Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour' Choice, Book of the Month'A poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self' Daily Mail'A story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . A striking haiku of the human heart' The Times'Beautiful. A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End'Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars'Mesmerising . . . beautiful . . . a joy to read' Joanna Glen, Costa shortlisted author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope'Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast expansive meditation on grieving and loss' Heat'A perfect poignant read' Woman & HomeTrade ReviewIncredibly moving, but also heartwarming and positive * SixtyPlusSurfers.co.uk *

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Book Synopsis** Shortlisted for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award **One of Barack Obama's best books of 2018, the New York Times bestselling novel about contemporary America from a bold new Native American voice'A thunderclap' Marlon James'Astonishing' Margaret Atwood, via Twitter'Pure soaring beauty' Colm TóibínJacquie Red Feather is newly sober and hoping to reconnect with her estranged family. That's why she is there. Dene is there because he has been collecting stories to honour his uncle's death, while Edwin is looking for his true father and Opal came to watch her boy Orvil dance.All of them are connected by bonds they may not yet understand. All of them are here for the celebration that is the Big Oakland Powwow. But Tony Loneman is also there. And Tony has come to the Powow with darker intentions.'An exhilarating, polyphonic debut novel... Dazzling' Daily Telegraph'Lyrical and playful, shaking and shimmering with energy... Orange creates beauty out of tragedy' Guardian'Bold and engrossing... Orange has got under his characters' skins, allowing them to speak for themselves' Financial TimesA New York Times Top 10 Best Book 2018An Oprah Magazine Top 15 Best Book 2018Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2019Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019Winner of the Writer's Center First Novel Award 2018Trade ReviewHow do you rewrite the story of a people? This question shapes Tommy Orange’s sorrowful, beautiful debut novel . . . There There itself is a kind of dance. Even in its tragic details, it is lyrical and playful, shaking and shimmering with energy. The novel dips into the tiniest personal details and sweeps across history. Orange creates beauty out of tragedy. -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan * Guardian *[A] bold and engrossing debut… [Orange] has got under his characters’ skins, allowing them to speak for themselves… This is a powerful novel of pain and possibility -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times *A magnificent achievement… Orange has created a remarkable work, and I have little doubt that he will be ranked in the pantheon of 21st century American novelists -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *It is optimism that lingers after finishing the book. Fragile and flawed though this hope might be, it remains moving and powerful, just like the rest of Orange’s impressive achievement -- Alexander Larman * Observer *Compelling and affecting… It’s a searing, haunting read – all the way to its violent, intense climax -- Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *

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