Narrative theme: identity / belonging

Book SynopsisPrince. Mercenary. Exile.The lost throne of Norway must be won in foreign lands.1030 ADSome men are gifted a crown. Others have to fight to claim it.Exiled from Norway, Harald Sigurdsson, brother to murdered King Olaf, must battle mercilessly for survival in the lands of the Kievan Rus.His brother’s legacy gifts him a warband of hardened warriors and entry to the court of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. By his wits, sword and skill in battle, Harald must learn not just to survive but to triumph.He fights for glory, for fame, and to regain his family’s battle-stolen throne. But his greatest challenge may not come from battlefield foes but from those who stand by his side.The first instalment in a remarkable story of an exiled boy’s incredible journey to become Harald Hardrada; The Hard Ruler and The Last Viking.Perfect for fans of Matthew Harffy, Peter Gibbons, Bernard Cornwell and Christian CameronPraise for JC Duncan'Harald Hardrada as you've never seen him before! A fantastic story written by a fantastic author' - Donovan Cook'Immersive and impeccably researched, JC Duncan brings Harald Hardrada's epic journey to life with gripping authenticity.' - Richard Cullen'A fresh, vibrant take on perhaps that most Viking of all Vikings, Harald Hardrada. Bloody, epic and full of detail, Duncan paints a vivid picture of Harald’s early life, as he battles his way into legend.' - Matthew Harffy'The gripping tale of the last great viking, Harold Hardrada, told in compelling style.' - Tim Hodkinson'An engrossing, epic tale of Harald Hardrada's early years, brimming with historical detail and brave daring do. This is the story of a man who will become a legend, told lovingly through the eyes of one of his loyal followers and sure to delight readers.' - MJ Porter

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Book SynopsisA dark, deliciously grown-up take on Judy Blume - the story of a young girl''s challenging coming-of-age that is funnier than it ought to be.Jasira, a teenaged Arab-American girl, is sent away by her mother to live with her father, after the mother''s boyfriend begins paying her too much attention. But Jasira''s father is unable to show her the affection she craves, or to handle her feelings about her rapidly changing body. America is about to go to war in Kuwait, and Jasira becomes ever more isolated at school, and begins to look for love in all the wrong places. Mr Vuoso, a neighbour and army reservist who catches her looking at his copy of Playboy while she is babysitting his son, is quick to take advantage of her vulnerability. Things look very bad for Jasira until a pregnant neighbour, Melina, offers her a lifeline, and in the novel''s hilarious, and heartbreaking climax, manages to bring father and daughter, finally, a little closer to one another.Trade Review'An arch, coyly sexy book that's as nervy as its title... Erian gives this gutsy book its full share of unthinkable questions' * New York Times *'Sexy, sad and subtly written... a ferociously funny, tartly individual voice' * Scotland on Sunday *'At once innocent and knowing, childlike and sinister' * Independent *'As funny, disturbing and gripping a coming-of-age story as I can imagine' * Alan Bissett *

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Book SynopsisInspired by real life stories of the Windrush Generation and her mother’s own experiences as a nurse coming to Britain from the Caribbean, Sarah Lee’s debut novel An Ocean Apart is a must for fans of Call the Midwife.'A love letter to the women who left behind everything to help heal our country and establish the NHS. I could not have loved this more and thought about it long after I turned the last page.' - Kate Thompson, author of The Little Wartime LibraryIt’s 1954 and, in Barbados, Ruby Haynes spots an advertisement for young women to train as nurses for the new National Health Service in Great Britain. Her sister, Connie, takes some persuading, but soon the sisters are on their way to a new country – and a whole new world of experiences.As they start their training in Hertfordshire, they discover England isn’t quite the promised land; for every door that’s opened to them, the sisters find many slammed in their faces. And though the girls find friendships with their fellow nurses, Connie struggles with being so far from home, and keeping secret the daughter she has left behind in search of a better life for the both of them . . .'A glorious triumph of a book full of characters that feel like real friends, so atmospheric, compelling and nostalgic, I adored it.' - Alex Brown, author of A Postcard from ItalyTrade ReviewA beautiful story of friendship, new beginnings and love. A love letter to the women who left behind everything to help heal our country and establish the NHS. At its heart, it's a story of courage! I could not have loved this more and thought about it long after I turned the last page. -- Kate Thompson, author of The Little Wartime LibraryA glorious triumph of a book full of characters that feel like real friends, so atmospheric, compelling and nostalgic, I adored it. -- Alex Brown, author of A Postcard from ItalyWith romance, realism and just a touch of humour, An Ocean Apart is billed as a must for fans of Call the Midwife. * My Weekly *An uplifting yet thought-provoking story of friendship, loyalty and care for others and a wonderful tribute to a group of people who brought so much to the UK. * WI Life *This topical book is beautifully written and has a gentle pace to it, which keeps the reader enthralled and eager to keep turning the page and is a wonderful debut novel. * Our Man On the Ground *An evocative tale of post-War London * History Revealed *an easy, enjoyable read that celebrates women working hard to succeed together. * Historical Novel Society *An Ocean Apart is a warm hug of a book - the charming story of the joys and struggles of a trio of young women in a foreign land. -- Kirstie Pelling, author of The Happiness Project

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Book SynopsisIrreverent, witty and wise, But the Girl is a coming-of-age story about not wanting to leave your family behind'Impressive... Yu remakes the art of writing itself'GUARDIAN'A wonderful new novel for a metamodern world'BRANDON TAYLOR, author of The Late AmericansGirl was born on the very day her parents and grandmother immigrated from Malaysia to Australia. The story goes that her mother held on tight to her pelvic muscles in an effort to gift her the privilege of an Australian passport. But it's hard to be the embodiment of all your family's hopes and dreams, especially in a country that's hostile to your very existence.When Girl receives a scholarship to travel to the UK, she is finally free for the first time. In London and then Scotland she is meant to be working on a PhD on Sylvia Plath and writing a postcolonial novel. But Girl can't stop thinking about her upbringing and the stories of the people who raised her. How can she reconcile their expectations with her reality? Did Sylvia Plath have this problem? What even is a 'postcolonial novel'? And what if the story of becoming yourself is not about carving out a new identity, but learning to understand the people who made you who you are?Trade ReviewImpressive… Yu is the writer Girl wishes to be – remaking, in her own image, the young female protagonist, the Künstlerroman, the postcolonial novel, and the art of writing itself * Guardian *But the Girl is a vivid novel of consciousness with a delightful sense of play. Jessica Zhan Mei Yu writes with striking originality that combines the irreverent and the philosophical about the ambiguities and ambivalences of contemporary life. A wonderful new novel for a metamodern world -- Brandon Taylor, author of The Late AmericansA unique and meaningful novel: refreshingly unsentimental, written with a directness that is both self-effacing and wry. The voice sometimes recalls Lucia Berlin, JD Salinger or Lorrie Moore but it's entirely her own -- Sharlene Teo, author of PontiAmbitious… Embarks on an intellectual journey into the contradiction of seeing and unseeing yourself as a person of colour in a much-loved canonical book * Daily Mail *Sharp, flecked with glints of bone-dry humour... It's compellingly poignant. But the Girl is a debut that heralds a skilled and singular new talent * List *A delicate investigation into intergenerational immigrant subjectivities... Written in a flowing, internal narration that occasionally moves into moments of not-quite-real, observations of the minutiae of everyday microaggressions build up to depict the internal landscapes that minorities must uncomfortably navigate * Skinny *

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Book Synopsis"A chilling and hard-hitting first novel" - The Herald. At the age of thirty, Campbell Johnstone is a failure. He’s stuck behind the bar of a shabby pub, watching from the sidelines while everyone else makes a success of their lives. The most visible is Eve Sadler, a childhood friend and rising Hollywood star. When Campbell tries to rekindle their relationship, he longs for the glitter of her success to rub off on him – but a single shocking night changes everything, in ways he could never have predicted. When the dust settles, Cam’s life is transformed. The recognition he’d given up on is within reach – but at what cost? The Last Treasure Hunt explores our obsession with fame and celebrity with great intelligence and sly wit – it’s a modern media morality tale with bite.Trade Review“A chilling and hard-hitting first novel.” – The Herald;“The Last Treasure Hunt quickly asserts itself as something unique…a masterclass on what happens when empathy is absent. [Jane Alexander’s] debut novel marks the arrival of an important new voice.” – Gutter Magazine;“The book’s strength comes in conveying how our stories morph and change in the retelling; how kernels of truth can become the hook for stories created whole-cloth. Alexander has an ear for Scottish dialogue and pleasingly descriptive prose. There’s an underlying humanity being honed here as she leads Cam on his journey towards the final hunt.” -- Nicola Balkind * The List *“A fascinating character, as complex and exasperating as a real person. As he mires himself ever further into controversy, it’s as gripping as a real treasure hunt. He’ll stay with you long after the last clue is solved.” -- Mandy Haggith

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Aurealis Award for Best Horror NovelFinalist for the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy NovelFinalist for the Australian Shadow Awards for Best NovelWith the lyrical cadence of The Last Unicorn and intense imagery of A Wizard of Earthsea, The Stone Road is a timeless story of hope, belonging, and growing into your power. Award-winning Australian author Trent Jamieson presents a haunting rural fantasy where the dead speak beneath your feet and twisted monsters hunger for their lost humanity.On the day Jean was born, the dead howled. A thin scratch of black smoke began to rise behind the hills west of town: Furnace had been lit, and soon its siren call began to draw the people of Casement Rise to it, never to return. Casement Rise is a dusty town at the end of days, a harsh world of grit and arcane dangers. While Jean’s stern, overprotective Nan has always kept Casement Rise safe from monsters, she may have waited too long to teach Jean how to face them on her own. On Jean’s twelfth birthday, a mysterious graceful man appears, an ethereal and terrifying being tied to her family’s secrets.Now, Nan must rush Jean’s education in monsters, magic, and the breaking of the world in ages past. If Jean is to combat the graceful man and finally understand the ancient evil that powers Furnace, she will have to embrace her legacy, endure her Nan’s lessons, and learn all she can—before Furnace burns down her world and everyone in it.Trade Review“A coming-of-age story with a dreamlike quality. . . . Those who appreciate fantasy that leans toward fable will gladly follow along on Jean’s journey.” —Booklist“The Stone Road is lovely, hypnotic. I want to drink this book.” —H. A. Clarke, author of The Scapegracers“Trent Jamieson’s The Stone Road is a heart wrapped in thorns. Its world, even as it unpicks itself at the seams, is shot through with bright mysteries. And the novel, like its heroine, holds dear a loving, quarrelling community, even as it understands that towns—like time and people—slip away like dust. The Stone Road is a cycle of mysteries, an invocation of kindness amidst decay, a promise to the living, and blessing for the dead.” —Kathleen Jennings, author of Flyaway“The Stone Road . . . pulls you in and makes you linger over every page. I don’t know which to praise first—the worldbuilding, which had a depth that made it feel neverending; the prose, which made me want to underline whole passages; or the characters. . . . Perfect for fans of classics like The Last Unicorn (which is to say, anyone who likes good books). I know it’s something I’ll be recommending for years to come.” —Katherine Nazzaro, Manager of Porter Square Books: Boston Edition“Trent Jamieson is . . . a significant talent, writing beautifully crafted tales that often have a baroque sensibility and resonate on an emotional level.” —Terra Incognita

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Book SynopsisThe Sellout meets Interior Chinatown in this satirical debut about a German Indian student whose world is upended when she discovers that her beloved professor who passed for Indian is, in fact, white. Nivedita (a.k.a. Identitti), a well-known blogger and doctoral student is, in awe of her supervisor superstar postcolonial and race studies professor Saraswati. But her life and sense of self are turned upside down when it emerges that Saraswati is actually white. Nivedita's praise of Saraswati during a radio interview just hours before the news breaks and before she learns the truth calls into question her own reputation as a young activist. Following the uproar, Nivedita is forced to reflect on the key moments in her life, when she doubted her identity and her place in the world. As debates on the scandal rage on social media, blogs, and among her closest friends, Nivedita's assumptions are called into question as she reconsiders the lessons she learned from her adored professor. In her thought-provoking, genre-bending debut, Mithu Sanyal enlisted the contributions and commentary of real life public intellectuals as if Saraswati were a real person. A darkly comedic tour de force, Identitti showcases the outsized power of social media in the current debates about identity politics and the power of claiming your own voice.Trade Review"A mercilessly funny search for identity that spares nothing and nobody. Anyone who has ever asked themselves who they actually are (and why), will not only be smarter after reading it -- they're also guaranteed to be in a better mood." -Alina Bronsky, author of The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine "A combination of campus novel, intellectual chamber play, blogosphere romp and satire in identity politics. You'll laugh out loud at least three times on each page. Mithu Sanyal has an incredible talent for showing both the effects of freedom of thought pushed to the extreme and the limits of discourse." -Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung "Sanyal actually manages to pack the whole identity-politics debate into one story -- and in such a way that you have to laugh on almost every page." -ZDF "Sanyal portrays her characters in the labyrinth of identity politics with elegance, delicious humor and deep knowledge of the issues. A book for our times." -Der Tagesspiegel

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Book SynopsisNicole Fortin is on the cusp of realizing a long-held dream when her life takes a sudden turn. Instead of participating in the Olympic Games, she finds herself struggling to master the challenging physical demands of her job in an aerospace plant and win the confidence of her male colleagues.As her involvement in union activity deepens, she is drawn into the centre of a bitter labour battle that pits her workmates against their employer.In the midst of this escalating confrontation, incidents from Nicole’s past threaten to destroy her credibility with her coworkers and her relationship with her daughter. Workplace and family ties become tangled and stretched to the breaking point.Trade Review“There’s a lot of trailblazing happening here, and a keen labour story told. … Upton’s style is simple and matter-of-fact, with short chapters lending themselves well to the pace of action and creating a sense of urgency and tension, particularly as the negotiations heat up in the story.” Alison Manley, The Miramichi Reader“Jim Upton’s page turning novel Maker is a fast paced look inside the anatomy of a bitter strike in Montreal’s aerospace industry. The author brilliantly captures the tensions and fears that run through the minds of every striking worker and the enormous pressure loaded onto the shoulders of every bargaining committee member. An excellent read!” Sid Ryan, Former President of the Ontario Federation of Labour“There are precious few Canadian novels about workers and work, and fewer still about industrial work in particular. Fictional accounts of strikes, viewed from the inside, are yet harder to find. In Maker, Jim Upton has crafted a fast-paced portrait of a woman who rises to lead her union through a hard-fought battle against a multinational determined to increase its profits on the backs of Quebec workers.” Elise Moser, author of What Milly Did: the Remarkable Pioneer of Plastics Recycling“Maker is the inside story of life in the skilled trades from the point of view of a real person. It’s not the story of the company as told in the business section. It’s about the struggle for fairness by flesh and blood unionized people who work on the shop floor.” Anne Lagacé Dowson

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