Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction

Book Synopsis''Fascinating, brilliant, horribly addictive'' Guardian From the day that Sheba Hart joins the staff at St George''s, history teacher Barbara Covett is convinced that she has found a kindred spirit. When Sheba is discovered having an illicit affair with one of her pupils, Barbara appoints herself Sheba''s chief defender. Yet all is not as it first appears in this dark story and as Sheba will eventually discover, a friend can be as treacherous as any lover. ''Superbly gripping'' Daily Telegraph Trade ReviewFascinating, brilliant, horribly addictive * Guardian *Superbly gripping. One of the most compelling books I've read in ages * Daily Telegraph *Deliciously sinister * Daily Mail *Excellent. An undercurrent of subtle malice, cleverly controlled by Heller * Evening Standard *Brilliant, nasty, gripping -- Zadie Smith * Observer *Reads like a nose through someone else's bathroom cabinet: full of guilty insights and delicious snobbery * Independent *A subtle study in obsession and loneliness ... my take-it-to-the-beach recommendation -- Monica Ali * Guardian Summer Reading *

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Book SynopsisFor fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and The Elegance of the Hedgehog, The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is the French phenomenon by Christine Féret-Fleury, ready to charm book-lovers everywhere . . .When Juliette takes the métro to her loathed office job each morning, her only escape is in books – she avidly reads on her journey and imagines what her fellow commuters’ choices might say about them.Then she meets Soliman – the mysterious owner of the most enchanting bookshop Juliette has ever seen – and things will never be the same again. For Soliman believes in the power of books to change the course of a life, and he’s about to change Juliette’s forever . . .

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Book SynopsisThree men go out fishing, returning to a favourite spot on the river despite their memories of a terrible accident there years earlier. As a long, sultry day passes, they drink and cook and talk and dance, and try to overcome the ghosts of their past. But they are outsiders, and this intimate, peculiar moment also puts them at odds with the inhabitants of this watery universe, both human and otherwise. The forest presses close, and violence seems inevitable, but can another tragedy be avoided?Rippling across time like the river that runs through it, Selva Almada’s latest novel is the finest expression yet of her compelling style and singular vision of rural Argentina.This masterful novel reveals once again Selva Almada's unique voice and extraordinary sensitivity, allowing its characters to shine and express in action what the depths of their souls harbour.One of the Best Books of 2020 in Clarín and La NaciónShortlisted for the Mario Vargas Llosa Novel PrizeTrade Review"A virtuoso literary work. […] Flashbacks and side scenes deepen the story which curls and twines like a thrusting tropical vine through the past, roping in sisters, wives, old lovers, boyhood adventures, and jealousies."" —Annie Proulx , author of THE SHIPPING NEWS"Told with the hallucinatory atmosphere of a dream, this astonishing, stark novel doesn’t turn away from the hypnotic and disturbing effects of violence. Not a River plunges us straight into the depths of its silences, bracingly so—the longer the quiet goes, the more terrible the rupture."" —Manuel Muñoz , author of WHAT YOU SEE IN THE DARK"Selva Almada constructs a lyric of roughness, of few words, a lyric in which the strong, calloused hands of her characters hardly need to be described to make themselves felt. They touch you. "" —Gabriela Cabezón Cámara , author of THE ADVENTURES OF CHINA IRON"Whether we are on an island or not, water is displacement, and reading this novel gently carries us through characters and places. " —Agencia Paco Urondo"Selva Almada’s voice has made its own mark on contemporary Argentinean literature, to such an extent that situating her as a writer by referring to the Southern Gothic of authors such as Faulkner, O’Connor or McCullers are superfluous. With Not a River, she establishes her own way of looking at things in order to create literature. " —Pagina/12"Almada is not a folkloric writer, but even so, she knows how to capture the idiosyncrasy of a region. Her characters reveal, in their parsimony, a dense inner life, plagued by existential concerns. Perhaps silence and the voices of nature take the place of possible answers. " —La Nación"This is a narrative of great depth in which the settings (the river, fishing, the island) emerge from a very powerful poetic narration that keeps quiet more than it says aloud, that omits more than it recounts, a dreamlike voice marked by an infinite and familiar wound anchored in a dialectic between dreams and an indestructible future. " —El periódico"In some passages of the novel, Almada seems to whisper what she is recounting rather than saying it out loud: her asymptomatic, almost invisible writing, punctuates the breathing of the sentences to create brief, beautiful images. " —El Tiempo"It is worth asking ourselves whether, as has often been said, Selva Almada’s literature has reinvented the rural imaginary of a region of our country, or whether her task is rather to point out the contrasts and contradictions of the dominant culture, in order to indirectly confront it. " —Revista Otra Parte************Praise for Selva Almada"I always read Selva Almada with devotion but NOT A RIVER is something else. I had to stand up and read it out loud in my living room. It is that good." —Samanta Schweblin."A major Latin American literary force." —Shelf Awareness"Almada is forceful in her depictions of sex, violence, and rage. I feel her prose in my body: a punch in the gut, the sharpness of glass." —Chicago Review of Books"There is a tremendous carnality to Almada’s writing, vividly captured in McDermott’s translation" —LA Review of Books"Almada combines reportage, fiction, and autobiography to explore femicide in Argentina in her acute, unflinching latest." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"An unassuming yet intensely felt narrative. (4 stars)" —The Arts Desk"Not an easy book, but it feels like an important one – a work of investigative writing about how easily women’s lives are obscured." —The Scotsman"Part journalism, part history, part autobiography, part relentless nightmare." —Shelf Awareness, starred review"This is a powerful read...[Almada's] effective use of fiction ensures a deep empathy in her readers which strict reportage sometimes fails to evoke." —The Big Issue"Almada’s prose is sparse, but the details count. Her ear for dialogue and especially gossip is pitch perfect. Her eye for detail is hawkish." —LA Review of Books"A tense, precise chronicle that treats seriously a still serious subject." —El Cultural"You’ll walk away from this book with a vivid memory of where you were, how you were feeling, and what the weather was like on the day that you read Dead Girls." —Books and Bao"This is not a book that will make you feel at peace with the world, but that is precisely where its strength and persuasion lie." —Translating Women"The literary quality of the text shines." —Sound and Vision"The prose strikes a perfect tone – clinical and punchy when necessary, angry and lyrical, brutal yet humanistic." —TN2"Challenge[s] the true crime obsession in an indirect way. " —Pendora Magazine"A powerful read, shedding a stark light on the horrors of gender violence." —The Big Issue"What makes the book compelling is how the author explores issues of domestic violence, state complicity, machismo and family negligence, along with class and social inequalities, in a non-sentimental prose which is all the more effective as result." —Morning Star"Genre-defying, with beautifully crafted and reflective prose." —The F Word"The devastating conclusion of the narrator is that the women who survive are unlikely to have made it unscathed but they are lucky ones – lucky to be alive." —NB Magazine"It is a profound novel and call to action still relevant as activists continue to take to the streets throughout Latin America to decry, ‘ni una más’ (not one more)." —The Skinny"It’s crisp, bracing, and beautiful." —White Review"Part coming-of-age, part detective work, partly a web of rumors, Almada’s story fuses a variety of genres to create a work that splits the seams of personal narrative, journalism, and fiction." —NACLA"Exquisite prose that vibrates with a deep, melodious rage." —The Monthly Booking"Recounted with a lyrical simplicity that is almost brutal." —The Oxonian Review"Painstakingly investigated ... imbued with personal connection" —The Oxonian Review"Fate has in Dead Girls the perfume of a Greek tragedy: immutable, irreversible, lethal." —El País"Far from the detective story, this is an intimate tale, a certain negative of the autobiography of a young woman looking at other young women and how all of them are perceived by a society where misogyny and violence against them is still an everyday affair." —Pagina/12"Selva Almada reinvents the imaginative rural world of a country. She is an author gifted with a very uncommon power and sensitivity." —Rolling Stone (Argentina)"Gripping, shocking and sad." —The Book Satchel"Dead Girls is a brutal, necessary story in which Almada describes the crimes, states the facts and lays bare the horror of these femicides." —Tony's Reading List**********Edinburgh International Book Festival First book Award (Winner)Book Cover of the Year (Saltire Awards) (Winner)"Like Flannery O’Connor and Juan Rulfo, Almada fills her taut, eerie novel with an understanding of rural life, loneliness, temptation and faith." —BBC Culture"Billed as a ‘promising voice’ in Latin American literature, this tale delivers readily on that promise." —Booklist"The drama of this refreshingly unpredictable debut . . . smolders like a lit fuse waiting to touch off its well-orchestrated events. . . . A stimulating, heady story." —Publishers Weekly"The story packs a punch in its portraits of a man who exalts heaven and another who protests." —Kirkus"A dynamic introduction to a major Latin American literary force." —Shelf Awareness, starred review"[The Wind That Lays Waste] delivers exactly that compressed pressurised electricity of a gathering thunderstorm: it sparks and sputters with live-wire tension." —TANK Magazine"The Wind That Lays Waste is elegant and stark, a kind of emblem or vision fetched from the far edges of things, arrested and stripped to its essence, as beautiful as it is unnerving. "" —Paul Harding , author of TINKERS"The Wind That Lays Waste is a mesmerizing novel, at once strange and compelling."" —Bonnie Jo Campbell , author of MOTHERS, TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS"The quality and resolve of her prose produce a power of suggestion that is unique to Selva Almada." —El País"The best novel written in Argentina in the last few years? Don’t know, and don’t care, but you must read Selva Almada." —El País"Almada’s prose has a touch of the Faulkner of As I Lay Dying but passed through the filters of the dirty light of the cotton fields and the clean clothes worn by country people to Sunday mass."" —Germán Machado"A distinctive debut: atmospheric, tension-packed, and written in vivid, poetic language." —Books from Scotland"Perhaps most powerful in the book is Almada’s focus on detail―she skillfully renders the story of a day in brief chapters that reveal the thoughts and fleeting encounters of characters, who are largely living inside themselves." —Ploughshares"Almada’s nuanced approach leaves room to explore her characters’ pasts in some detail, but, crucially, these individuals . . . are not defined by their mistakes." —ZYZZYVA"What seems fantastical soon turns hyper-realistic, in a style that is reminiscent of Juan Rulfo or Sara Gallardo." —La Nación**********"A successful riff on a classic Shakespearean tale." —Publishers Weekly"Such is Almada’s command of shape and pace, and the clean-edged vigour of the style McDermott voices with such skill, that we take Brickmakers on its own uncompromising terms – as pulp, tragedy and epic all at once." —The Arts Desk"Almada is forceful in her depictions of sex, violence, and rage. I feel her prose in my body: a punch in the gut, the sharpness of glass. McDermott’s translation captures the bite of Almada’s sentences, which render both tenderness and violence with devastating clarity." —Chicago Review of Books"Almada's breathtaking multigenerational tragedy is a haunting, unforgettable examination of the lasting consequences of careless inhumanity." —Shelf Awareness, starred review"Best books of 2021" —The Financial Times"There is a tremendous carnality to Almada’s writing, vividly captured in McDermott’s translation" —LA Review of Books"A rich, confident and urgent read." —Lunate"Brickmakers is one of the best books I've read this year ... It’s a brilliant, sizzling, unmissable treat" —Translating Women**********

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Like his Austrian contemporary Sigmund Freud, the doctor and writer Arthur Schnitzlerwas a bold pioneer in exploring the dark tangled roots of human consciousness. His novella Dream Story tells the tale of a young married man who, after a discussion with his wife about their fantasises, experiences an eery reverie through Vienna''s underbelly.Trade ReviewThe amoral voice of fin-de-siècle Vienna—New Yorker

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Book SynopsisSunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection'You've either got it or you haven't. Hadley's got it' FINANCIAL TIMESHeloise's father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her forties, she meets someone connected to that long-ago tragedy. Janey's bohemian mother plans to marry a man close to Janey's own age - everything changes when an accident interrupts the wedding party. A daughter caring for her elderly mother during the pandemic becomes obsessed with the woman next door; in the wake of his best friend's death, a man must reassess his affair with the friend's wife. Teenager Cecilia wakes one morning on vacation with her parents in Florence and sees them for the first time through disenchanted eyes.These stories illuminate the enduring conflicts between responsibility and freedom, power and desire, convention and subversion, reality, and dreams.***A GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023******ONE OF THE BBC’S '25 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023'***Trade ReviewConsistently pulls you in from the first sentence... The capacity to make readers care from the off about what happens to these imaginary people next is an unquantifiable, indefinable talent that cannot be taught. You've got it or you haven't. Hadley's got it * Financial Times *One of our finest novelists and a short story supremo... It is hard to imagine stories more skilfully paced and polished than these * Observer *After the Funeral is a brilliant collection. From the virtuosity of Hadley's technique to the clarity of her moral vision and the warmth of her humour, what she has achieved in After the Funeral is nothing short of masterful. Her stories are surprising, profound, and each feels as full as a world -- Brandon Taylor, author of The Late AmericansBeautifully done... The strongest stories resonate, offering glimpses of the hidden selves we all conceal * Sunday Times *She has such great psychological insights into human beings, which is rare... One of the best fiction writers writing today -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of AmericanahShort stories tend to be literary Marmite, but the dozen tales in Hadley's classy new collection are a testament to the startling power of both their author and the form itself` * Mail on Sunday *After the Funeral draws us into situations that bear out Tolstoy’s famous line, “every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. Each story explores a way of coping with a peculiar challenge… Hadley elicits the answer with an acumen that puts her among the great detectives of human nature * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *Tessa Hadley is my favourite author -- Kate Atkinson, author of Shrines of GaietyHadley has elevated middle-class domesticity, and the emotional ripples beneath it, into the realms of high art... Her depictions of buried disappointment and quiet yearning are timeless... A reminder of just how sublime an experience reading a Tessa Hadley book is * i *Few writers give me such consistent pleasure -- Zadie Smith, author of White Teeth

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Book SynopsisDiscover this powerful novel about a family falling apart, from the Booker Longlisted author of A TOWN CALLED SOLACE''Tender and surprising... A vivid and evocative tale'' New York TimesTwenty-one-year-old Megan Cartwright has never been outside the small town she was born in but one winter''s day in 1966 she leaves everything behind and sets out for London. Ahead of her is a glittering new life, just waiting for her to claim it.But left behind, her family begins to unravel. Disturbing letters from home begin to arrive and torn between her independence and family ties, Megan must make an impossible choice.''Every bit as good as I expected. A heart-aching and beautifully written story of a family falling apart'' Woman and HomeTrade ReviewTender and surprising… A vivid and evocative tale * New York Times *Subtle but gripping... Beautifully written, with the locations brilliantly evoked -- Francesca Cookney * Sunday Mirror *Road Ends is beautifully written, evocative and tender. It will haunt you long after you’ve finished it and leave you impatient for more -- Richenda Miers * Country Life *Austere, humane and accomplished, Road Ends depicts a wilderness of the heart through which some roads pass -- Richard Greene * Literary Review *Lawson grasps the anguished allure of family life played out against the vast, wintry backdrop of the Canadian landscape. Deftly she keeps our interest by dividing up the chapters between the characters to give shifting points of view on some universal themes -- Rosanna Greenstreet * Richmond Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Vivid . . . engagingly lucid and disarmingly funny' GUARDIAN'Beautifully done . . . witty and poignant' THE TIMES'Brilliant' OBSERVERWelcome to Mike Engleby's world. Deep in the hallowed halls of an esteemed English university, Mike is one of the only working-class boys, amongst the privileged masses. He's also different, starkly so, but able to observe it all. But observation soon tips into obsession when his fixation, fellow student Jennifer, goes missing. What has Mike Engleby overlooked?A cult classic and an exemplar of the campus novel, Engleby is a beguiling portrait of an outsider, told in an unforgettable voice.'Remarkable . . . intensely exhilarating' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A tour-de-force . . . a great novel' DAILY MAIL'Compelling, disturbing and significant' SCOTSMAN Trade Review[A] book that made me realise there are fewer boundaries in fiction than I'd believed * Writing Magazine *

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Book SynopsisYou shall read this with unadulterated pleasure' Scotland on SundayA beautiful, funny, heartfelt analysis of what it means to be human' Simon Pegg Set in a 2054 where humans have locked themselves out of the internet and Elon Musk has incinerated the moon, Set My Heart To Five is the hilarious yet profoundly moving story of one android's emotional awakening.Unhappy with his programmed job of dentistry and inspired by a love of classic movies, Jared sets out on a bold mission: to use the power of his burgeoning feelings to forever change the world for him and all his kind. Unfortunately, Jared intends to do this by writing his own movie, and things do not proceed according to planUnlike anything you have ever read before, Set My Heart To Five is a book for anybody who has feelings, loves movies, and likes to laugh and cry and sometimes do both at the same time. It comes uniquely guaranteed to make its readers weep a minimum of 29mls of tears.**Book must be read in controlled laboratory Trade Review‘[A] laugh-out-loud funny debut novel … absurdist, outrageous, irreverent and satirical… by the end of Jared’s adventures, readers will find themselves left with … an appreciation for the mutuality of all sentient life, and for the universal desire to be acknowledged and appreciated, whether one is birthed from factory or hospital … In Stephenson, Vonnegut may have his first true protégé.’ Washington Post ‘I doubt I’ll encounter a more endearing, more joy-provoking character this year’ The Bookseller, Book of the Month ‘A truly hilarious, clever, and strangely affecting meditation on the absurdity of Homo sapiens….I cried 67ml of tears’ Saga Magazine ‘Funny, original and thought-provoking’ Daily Mail ‘It is the closest thing I’ve read in a long time to Terry Pratchett … You will read this with unadulterated pleasure’ Scotland On Sunday ‘This beguiling debut exposes our frailties with subversive humour’ Mail on Sunday ‘Genuinely funny … pacey and emotive’ Sunday Times ‘Only the truly heartless would deny the art at work here’ The Herald ‘This entertaining and surprisingly poignant story is a charmer’ Publisher’s Weekly

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA matchless fable of fear, courage and cowardice * Independent *Magnificent * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the 2 million+ copy, worldwide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, - soon to be a major movie starring Jim Broadbent - an exquisite, funny and heartrending parallel story.When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait? A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past. As the volunteer points out, 'Even though you've done your travelling, you're starting a new journey too.' Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was the beginning.Told in simple, emotionally-honest prose, with a mischievous bite, this is a novel about the journey we all must take to learn who we are; it is about loving and letting go. And most of all it is about finding joy in unexpected places and at times we least expect.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------'A beautiful story which will grip you, make you laugh and cry, uplift your spirit and leave you feeling profoundly grateful' DAILY MAIL'Will leave you wide-eyed and wanting to read it all again . . . wondrous' THE TIMES........................................................................................................................................................................................................RACHEL JOYCE'S NEW NOVEL MAUREEN FRY AND THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH - THE FINAL PART OF THE HAROLD FRY TRILOGY - IS PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2022Trade Review5 stars * The Telegraph *Touching ... a quiet, gentle, moving novel. Joyce's writing has a simplicity that sings and she captures hope best of all. * The Observer *If you loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you'll be thrilled with this sequel. * The Sun *Invest in a box of Kleenex before you start this tear-jerker - [one of] this month's big reads. * Women & Home *A beautiful story which will grip you, make you laugh and cry, uplift your spirit and leave you feeling profoundly grateful and changed by the reading experience ... This is a wonderful book about loss, redemption and joy – and I give it my own prize. -- Bel Mooney * The Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Best of Friends comes a heart-stopping psychological thriller about the shades of truth and the power of lies in the wake of one mother’s unspeakable loss. Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one. Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes. Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?Trade Review“As usual, Berry tightens the screws smartly in the opening pages and never lets up, and as usual, her ending is more intent on deepening the nightmare than providing a plausible explanation for it. Warning: the title applies as much to the audience as to the characters.” —Kirkus Reviews “As the suspense mounts, the action drives to a harrowing conclusion. Berry delivers the goods.” —Publishers Weekly “A well-done mystery with a plausible yet surprising ending.” —Library Journal UNDER HER CARE “The action never wavers, and the surprises are unending. Berry is writing at the top of her game.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[It’s] a humdinger…Perfect for suspense fans.” —Kirkus Reviews “Lucinda delivers every time. Unputdownable.” —Tarryn Fisher, New York Times bestselling author “Lucinda Berry’s latest, Under Her Care, is her best thriller yet! A dark, riveting read that will keep you up late, racing to the chilling end.” —Kaira Rouda, USA Today bestselling author of The Next Wife and Somebody’s Home “Lucinda Berry’s Under Her Care is stunning, diabolical, and gripping, with one of the best and most gasp-worthy twists I have read in a very long time. Fast paced, fabulous, and enthralling, the pages practically turn themselves. Absolutely captivating.” —Lisa Regan, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author “Creepy and chilling, Under Her Care is a tense page-turner that leaves you questioning everything you ever knew about motherhood and the family bond.” —Tara Laskowski, award-winning author of The Mother Next Door THE SECRETS OF US “Those looking for an emotional roller-coaster ride will be rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly “Combine Lucinda Berry’s deep understanding of the complexities of the human mind with her immense talent for storytelling and you have The Secrets of Us, an intense psychological thriller that kept my heart racing until the shocking, jaw-dropping conclusion. Bravo!” —T. R. Ragan, New York Times bestselling author “The Secrets of Us is an unputdownable page-turner with two compelling female protagonists that will keep readers on their toes. Fantastic!” —Cate Holahan, USA Today bestselling author of One Little Secret “Lucinda Berry’s The Secrets of Us is a tense psychological thriller that explores the dark corners of the mind and turns a mind can take when it harbors secret guilt. The interplay between sisters Krystal and Nichole and their hidden past is gradually revealed, and in the end, the plot twists keep coming. Right and wrong can be ambivalent, and this story explores all shades of gray, from their dysfunctional family to an old childhood friend to a husband who may or may not be too good to be true. Berry’s background as a clinical psychologist shines in this novel with a character so disturbed they spend time in seclusion lockdown at a psychiatric ward. Don’t miss this one!” —Debbie Herbert, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author “The Secrets of Us is an utterly gripping, raw, and heartbreaking story of two sisters. Berry’s flawlessly placed clues and psychological expertise grab you from the first word, not letting go until the last. Compelling, intricate, and shocking, this inventive thriller cleverly weaves from past to present with stunning precision. I was absolutely enthralled.” —Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 national bestselling author of Woman on the Edge “The past and present collide with explosive consequences in this addictive, twisty thriller from an author at the top of her game. The Secrets of Us grips from the first page and doesn’t let go until the final shocking twist.” —Lisa Gray, bestselling author of Dark Highway THE BEST OF FRIENDS “A mother’s worst nightmare on the page. For those who dare.” —Kirkus Reviews “The Best of Friends gripped me from the stunning opening to the emotional, explosive ending. In this moving novel, Berry creates a beautifully crafted study of secrets and grief among a tight-knit group of friends and of how far a mother will go to discover the truth and protect her children.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and This Is How I Lied “In The Best of Friends, Berry starts with a heart-stopping bang—the dreaded middle-of-the-night phone call—and then delivers a dark and gritty tale that unfolds twist by devastating twist. Intense, terrifying, and at times utterly heartbreaking. Absolutely unputdownable.” —Kimberly Belle, international bestselling author of Dear Wife and Stranger in the Lake THE PERFECT CHILD “I am a compulsive reader of literary novels…but there was one book that kept me reading, the sort of novel I can’t put down…The Perfect Child, by Lucinda Berry. It speaks to the fear of every parent: What if your child was a psychopath? This novel takes it a step further. A couple, desperate for a child, has the chance to adopt a beautiful little girl who, they are told, has been abused. They’re told it might take a while for her to learn to behave and trust people. She can be sweet and loving, and in public she is adorable. But in private—well, I won’t give away what happens. But needless to say, it’s chilling.” —Gina Kolata, New York Times “A mesmerizing, unbearably tense thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder and sleeping with one eye open. This creepy, serpentine tale explores the darkest corners of parenthood and the profoundly unsettling lengths one will go to, to keep a family together—no matter the consequences. Electrifying and atmospheric, this dark gem of a novel is one I couldn’t put down.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author “A deep, dark, and dangerously addictive read. All-absorbing to the very end!” —Minka Kent, Washington Post bestselling author

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Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Dmitry Andreich Olenin, in the hope of escaping the hollowness of his privilege, joins the army and heads to the Caucasus. There among the foothills he will meet the Cossacks: a people he considers to be at one with the land. In their company he will hunt, he will drink, he will fall in love and, slowly, he will begin to understand that between people, between cultures, there is often a space that cannot be traversed...''It is the richness of Tolstoy''s genius that strikes us most in this story'' Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisMARIE CLAIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2023''Funny, clever and unexpectedly profound - I couldn''t put it down'' Helena Attlee''It is remarkable how much information she can convey about Kitty's life . . . solely using wall labels'' IndependentPrized, collected, critiqued. One Woman Show revolves around the life of Kitty Whitaker as she is defined by her potential for display and moved from collection to collection through multiple marriages. Christine Coulson, who has written hundreds of exhibition wall labels for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, precisely distils each stage of Kitty''s sprawling life into that distinct format, every brief snapshot in time a wry reflection on womanhood, ownership, value and power.Described with wit, poignancy and humour over the course of the twentieth century, Kitty emerges as an eccentric heroine who disrupts her privileged, porcelain life with both major force and minor transgressions. As human foibles propel each delicately crafted text, Coulson playfully asks: who really gets to tell our stories?''Heartbreaking and funny . . . truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way'' Leanne Shapton''Wry, humorous, poignant'' SpectatorTrade ReviewFunny, clever and unexpectedly profound - I couldn't put it down -- Helena Attlee * author of The Land Where Lemons Grow *Arch and wholly original, this is a pocket rocket of a novel. The economy with which Coulson manages to capture a life with equal amounts of both vigour and heartbreak is a stunning achievement. An irrepressible and timeless reflection on art, self and female objectification. -- Wiz WhartonA wonderfully clever concept, and a book that lends itself to being read in a single sitting, during which you’ll feel the corners of your lips curl upwards again and again . . . Coulson’s wry, often humorous, occasionally poignant commentary are moments of transgression and longing that show there’s more to our neoclassical heroine than her fine finish -- Chloe Ashby * The Spectator *Brilliant. Christine Coulson's tragicomedy of manners is an immense delight. Condensed into its witty format is the story of a life, a life like some I have known and others about which I have read. Coulson captures her character's gentle decline with the precision of Edith Wharton and evokes the eras she traverses with such clarity, even wisdom, describing a woman's changing (or unchanging) role in the world with an acuity that left this reader astonished time and again. -- Andrew Solomon * author of Far From the Tree *Short, clever . . . it is remarkable how much information she can convey about Kitty’s life . . . solely using wall labels -- Ann Levin * Independent *Heartbreaking and funny . . . Coulson's language is perfection . . . I love the pages of voices, like voices in the galleries, and so many moments made me laugh. Truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way -- Leanne Shapton * author of Swimming Studies *A delight! This novel's formal audacity is an impressive feat of imagination. One Woman Show is a moving story of privilege, womanhood, and the sweep of the twentieth century told through a single American life. I loved this book -- Rumaan Alam * author of Leave the World Behind *Wildly original…[A] tiny but powerful novel… It’s sometimes snarky, sometimes sad, with enough poignant moments to make me wish it could go on and on. … You can sit down and read it in less time than it takes to drive to the art museum, but you’ll be thinking about it for far longer. If you appreciate truly original structure and storytelling, put this modern masterwork on your reading list. * NPR *Strange, biting, tender, and heartbreaking in turns. AND all at once . . . I read it in one fell swoop. It is brilliant -- Maira Kalman * author of Women Holding Things *A funny and clever take on the interchangeability of women and works of arts as possessions -- Philip Hook * author of Breakfast at Sotheby's *Beautiful, beautiful book . . . the cover is absolutely gorgeous, it would make a delicious Christmas gift * Art Juice Podcast *Coulson tells us Kitty Whitaker’s story stylishly and succinctly through label-length entries * Harper's Bazaar *Compulsive and spry -- Hephzibah Anderson * the Observer *Coulson’s formally inventive, witty novel uses gallery captions to capture Kitty’s journey through the 20th century. At once terse and expansive, this is a literary experiment that intrigues -- Francesca Peacock * the Mail on Sunday *A highly original and imaginative work that captivates and intrigues . . . so brief that it can be read straight through in an hour, but that is not to say it is slight . . . Coulson’s unusual command of language rewards multiple readings * The Irish Times *the writing is clever, witty and deftly – and at times poignantly–executed, and that more than earns One Woman Show its coveted red dot (aka sales sticker) from us’ * Marie Claire Best Books of 2023 *Unconventional… non-narrative paragraphs somehow add up to create mounting tension, with wry social commentary, feminist barbs and psychological insight bursting through the lacquered surface * The Lady *

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Book SynopsisSheila O''Flanagan''s bestseller IF YOU WERE ME will make readers wonder: what would I do if my first love came back into my life? A must-read if you enjoy the novels of Veronica Henry and Catherine Alliott.You''re engaged to a great man. You''re on a countdown to your wedding day. You stopped thinking about your first love a long time ago.But what if one unexpected, forbidden kiss were to throw your life upside down?Carlotta O''Keefe suddenly finds herself wondering if the girl she was would recognise the woman she has become.She thought she was living a charmed life. But what if she''s got it all wrong?What if her past is meant to be her future?What readers are saying about If You Were Me:''One of [Sheila O''Flanagan''s] best books - just a sweet story about the one that got away. Empowering and refreshing'' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars''Great characters, fast-Trade ReviewEntertains, surprises and provokes - Irish Independent (on ALL FOR YOU)O'Flanagan's lightness of touch and gentle characterisations have produced another fine read; an ideal addition to that summer holiday - Sunday Express (on HOW WILL I KNOW?)

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is not your ordinary campus novel or another Groundhog Day. In magical, irreverent, and often humorous prose that calls up both Murakami and Moshfegh, The Tatami Galaxy repeatedly reimagines the existential crises of a college misfit in a kaleidoscopic display of imagination, character, and genre. There is no question why this mash-up of multiverse adventure and philosophy has already become a new classic." — Sequoia Nagamatsu, national bestselling author of How High We Go in the Dark "The team of Tomihiko Morimi and Emily Balistrieri is unbeatable: this novel vibrates with a voice that is sharp and funny, wacky and winning. It's a perfect slice of contemporary Japanese pop: a tangle of fates, simultaneously cosmic and comic. I loved my voyage through The Tatami Galaxy." — Robin Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough "Rich, unusual, and surprisingly profound, The Tatami Galaxy is a gorgeous application of the fantastic to celebrate the precious parts of life that we often forget." — Ada Palmer, award-winning author of Too Like the Lightning Tomihiko Morimi’s novel of burned out gods and misanthropic students jumping between alternate dimensions as they face their regrets proves to be just as touching and hilarious as the anime series it spawned. A surprisingly timely mash-up of Catcher in the Rye and Russian Doll, The Tatami Galaxy will resonate with anyone that’s found themselves too often stuck in looping isolation. — Tim Maughan, Locus Award-nominated author of Infinite Detail “Morimi’s delightful campus novel follows the quixotic adventures of an unnamed student dreaming of the perfect college experience…Light and sweet in its confection, this satisfies like a spongy piece of castella.” — Publishers Weekly "Beautiful and satisfying...Pick it up when you have the chance" — Tor.com "Translator Balistrieri meticulously deciphers the protagonist’s ' "rotten" university student voice' for English readers...anime aficionados will greatly appreciate the prose original that inspired the award-winning celluloid series of the same title." — Booklist “Who can deny the pleasures of a good time-loop narrative?... there’s a memorable payoff to several ongoing threads when the novel reaches its climax; you also may never look at moths the same way again.” — Words Without Borders "[The Tatami Galaxy] is a frolicking novel packed with slacker hijinks and escapades. At its core lies pithy wisdom about choice and destiny... Morimi’s sci-fi fusion of fun and the unfathomable offers a light touch that makes a lasting impression." — The Japan Times "[A] treat better left unspoiled." — The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. 'The hour should be evening and the season winter, for in winter the champagne brightness of the air and the sociability of the streets are grateful'. In such conditions, Virginia Woolf takes to London's streets in search of a pencil. The account of her journey - the people, the places, the pleasure - soon becomes one of the great paeans to city life. This collection also includes other wonderful essays, such as 'How Should One Read a Book?' and 'The Sun and the Fish'. 'One of the great writers of the twentieth century' Guardian

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Book Synopsis* PRE-ORDER LISA'S LATEST NOVEL - NONE OF THIS IS TRUE - NOW! *You're not the only one watching. . . The gripping psychological suspense from the number one bestselling author of Then She Was Gone and The Family Upstairs.'I inhaled it in one sitting' Sarah Pinborough 'I was totally gripped by this excellent psychological thriller' Marian Keyes'Page one intrigued me. Page three hooked me. By page five, I was consumed' A.J. Finn_______________You're back home after four years working abroad, new husband in tow.You're keen to find a place of your own. But for now you're crashing in your big brother's spare room.That's when you meet the man next door.He's the head teacher at the local school. Twice your age. Extraordinarily attractive. You find yourself watching him.All the time.But you never dreamed that your innocent crush might become a deadly obsession.Or that someone is watching you._______________Reader's can't get enough of Watching You . . .***** 'Intelligent, suspenseful, and shocking-my first experience reading the incredible Lisa Jewell blew my mind!!!'***** 'Entrancing, irresistible and compelling!'***** 'A creepy compulsive character driven thriller that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!'***** 'I really really enjoyed this book. Amazing.'***** 'Omg, Lisa Jewell has totally blown me away again.'Trade ReviewThen She Was Gone was my favourite thriller last year and this is even better. Brilliantly plotted and impossible to put down, it kept me guessing until the very end.A finely drawn domestic thriller * Sunday Times *Page one intrigued me. Page three hooked me. By page five, I was consumed. This compulsive, propulsive novel is both a seize-you-by-the-throat thriller and a genuinely moving family drama. Stellar. -- A J FinnI’ve always been jealous of her. I’ve always envied her ability to write a sentence. She’s written a couple of psychological thrillers and her plotting is really great but her characterisation is great as well. -- Marian Keyes

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Book SynopsisDescribed by Clarice Lispector as ''the best one'', this intoxicating portrayal of a man searching for his destiny is her mystical, enigmatic masterpiece''All I''ve got is hunger. And that instable way of grasping an apple in the dark-without letting it fall''Martim, believing that he has committed a murder, flees the city and escapes into the night. Wandering through the vastness of nature he arrives, in a state of fear and wonder, at a remote ranch run by two women. There Martim finds work and, as he labours in the blistering heat of the Brazilian summer, becomes transfigured; remade into something else entirely.Translated by Benjamin Moser ''The most important Brazilian woman writer of the twentieth century... The richness of The Apple in the Dark defies the explanatory power of any single interpretation'' TLSTrade ReviewLispector is the premier Latin American woman prose writer of this century * The New York Times Book Review *Clarice Lispector left behind an astounding body of work that has no real corollary inside literature or outside it -- Rachel Kushner * Bookforum *Brilliant and unclassifiable: glamorous, cultured, moody, Lispector is an emblematic twentieth-century artist who belongs in the same pantheon as Kafka and Joyce -- Edmund WhiteOne of the true originals of Latin American literature -- Terrence Rafferty * The New York Times Book Review *A genius on the level of Nabokov -- Jeff VanderMeer * Slate *Sphinx, sorceress, sacred monster. The revival of the hypnotic Clarice Lispector has been one of the true literary events of the twenty-first century -- Parul Seghal * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewRobot's technical proficiency and ontological ambitions could be compared to those of Lem at his best, and its author, like Lem, considered himself less an sf writer than a prose-writing philosopher of metaphysical inclinations. With its powerful vision of a society of slaves controlled and abused by a mysterious Mechanism and a stimulating theory of Superbeings, Robot was almost immediately recognized as an instant classic which catapulted Snerg to the rank of Poland's best sf authors * Science Fiction Encyclopedia *

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Book SynopsisThe General in his Labyrinth is the compelling tale of Simón Bolívar, a hero who has been forgotten and whose power is fading, retracing his steps down the Magdalena River by the Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. ''It was the fourth time he had travelled along the Magdalena, and he could not escape the impression that he was retracing the steps of his life''At the age of forty-six General Simón Bolívar, who drove the Spanish from his lands and became the Liberator of South America, takes himself into exile. He makes a final journey down the Magdalene River, revisiting the cities along its shores, reliving the triumphs, passions and betrayals of his youth. Consumed by the memories of what he has done and what he failed to do, Bolívar hopes to see a way out of the labyrinth in which he has lived all his life. . .. ''An exquisite writer, wise, compassionate Trade ReviewA fascinating tour de force and a moving tribute to an extraordinary man * Margaret Atwood *

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

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Book SynopsisJunichiro Tanizaki was one of Japan's greatest twentienth century novelists. Born in 1886 in Tokyo, his first published work - a one-act play - appeared in 1910 in a literary magazine he helped to found. Tanizaki lived in the cosmopolitan Tokyo area until the earthquake of 1923, when he moved to the Kyoto-Osaka region and became absorbed in Japan's past.All his most important works were written after 1923, among them Some Prefer Nettles (1929), The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi (1935), several modern versions of The Tale of Genji (1941, 1954 and 1965), The Makioka Sisters, The Key (1956) and Diary of a Mad Old Man (1961). He was awarded an Imperial Award for Cultural Merit in 1949 and in 1965 he was elected an honorary member of the American Academy and the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the first Japanese writer to receive this honour. Tanizaki died later that same year.Trade ReviewWonderful -- Hanif Kureshi * Independent *His work is unclassifiable: by turns outre and dignified, passionate in its embrace of all things Western and eloquent in its memorializing of the traditional Japanese aesthetic, lightly comic, lyrically evocative and savagely cruel. In a land reputedly inhospitable to the individualist, it demands attention and has earned Tanizaki an undisputed place in the pantheon of 20th-century Japanese literature. * New York Times *An artistic masterpiece * Irish Times *A writer of wicked subtlety and grace * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of All the Little Children comes a novel of marriage, betrayal, and murder set in tropical, multicultural Singapore. Amanda Bonham moved halfway around the world to be with the man she loves. Although expat life in Singapore can be difficult, Edward Bonham is a dream husband and a doting father to his teenage daughter, Josie. But when their maid dies in an apparent suicide—and Amanda discovers the woman was pregnant and hiding a stash of drugs prescribed to Edward—she can’t help but wonder if her perfect husband has a fatal flaw. And if he can’t resist temptation under their own roof, what does he get up to when he travels? Camille Kemble also has questions for Edward. Recently returned to Singapore, Camille is determined to resolve a family mystery. Amid a jumble of faded childhood memories, she keeps seeing Edward’s handsome face. And she wants to know why. For one woman, the search for answers threatens everything she has. For another, it’s the key to all she lost. Both will follow his trail of secrets into the darkness to find the truth.

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Book SynopsisA stunning anthology of poetry to create calm and peacefulness. The poems are arranged around themes of meditation, friendship, gratitude, prayers and blessings, stillness and consolation. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features a preface by Ana Sampson. There are poems by Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, W. B. Yeats, Katherine Mansfield, George Herbert, William Wordsworth, Anne Brontë, Khalil Gibran, Rumi, Walt Whitman and many more. There are also uplifting prayers and blessings from around the world. Each inspiring verse flows effortlessly into the next in this anthology of classic poetry, Poems for Stillness.

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Book SynopsisA beautiful hardback edition of the iconic forgotten classic, the story of one man's ordinary, extraordinary life. William Stoner enters the University of Missouri at nineteen to study agriculture. A seminar on English literature changes his life, and he never returns to work on his father's farm. Stoner becomes a teacher. He marries the wrong woman. His life is quiet, and after his death, his colleagues remember him rarely.Yet with truthfulness, compassion and intense power, this novel uncovers a story of universal value - of the conflicts, defeats and victories of the human race that pass unrecorded by history - and in doing so reclaims the significance of an individual life.'A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life' Ian McEwan'A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise and elegant novel' Nick Hornby'A terrific novel of echoing sadness' Julian BarnesVINTAGE QUARTERBOUND CLASSICS: Bound to be beautiful

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Book SynopsisA bittersweet novel of family and self-discovery from the bestselling, award-winning author of French BraidWilla Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life: her mother's disappearance when she was just a child, being proposed to at an airport at the age of twenty-one, the accident that would leave her a widow in her forties. Each time, Willa ended up on a path laid out for her by others.So when she receives a phone call from a stranger informing her that her son's ex-girlfriend has been shot, she drops everything and flies across the country. The spur-of-the moment decision to look after this woman and her nine-year-old daughter leads Willa into uncharted territory and the eventual realisation that it's never too late to choose your own path.**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 8 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**'Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing' Rachel Joyce'She knows all the secrets of the human heart' Monica Ali 'A masterly author' Sebastian Faulks'I love Anne Tyler. I've read every single book she's written' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewIf Anne Tyler isn't the best writer in the world, who is? * BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour *One of our greatest living fiction writers and if I was in charge, she'd have a Nobel by now * Observer *Brims with the qualities that have brought her legions of fans and high critical acclaim. Characters pulse with lifelikeness. The tone flickers between humorous relish and sardonic shrewdness. Dialogue crackles with authenticity. Beneath it all is an insistence that it's never too soon to recognise how quickly life can speed by and never too late to make vitalising changes * Sunday Times *How does she do it? Her style is deceptively simple. Even though she performs narrative cartwheels that would lead other novelists to be praised as experimental... she does it with such ease that it seems closer to life than to art. it is almost as though we are there to witness time passing, and people changing * Mail on Sunday *A writer sharp-eyed as a butcher-bird, skewering complacency... an immensely funny writer... a quiet writer, in that much of her skill goes toward the excision of anything that reminds the reader they are reading * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis''So clear is Ditlevsen''s eye that it is impossible to tear yourself away'' John Self, GuardianAn unforgettable collection of stories from the author of The Copenhagen Trilogy''The most important thing is probably always precisely the thing you can''t have. That''s where all the happiness is''In these brief, acid-sharp stories of love, marriage and family from one of Denmark''s most celebrated writers, the ordinary events of everyday life - a wife anxious not to wake her husband, a little boy losing his father''s beloved knife, a woman''s obsessive longing for a yellow silk umbrella - become dark and disconcerting. Here Tove Ditlevsen explores yearning, fear and the elusiveness of that strange thing called happiness.''The purity and dazzling insight of Ditlevsen''s writing speaks for itself'' Daily Telegraph''Authentic, unforced and utterly lucid'' Sunday Times''Ditlevsen''s wonderful and devastatingly bleak short stories simmer with melancholy and despair'' Daily MailTranslated by Michael Favala GoldmanTrade ReviewSplendid short stories... the purity and dazzling insight of Ditlevsen's writing speaks for itself -- Lucy Scholes * The Telegraph *An intense reading experience... so clear is Ditlevsen's eye that it's impossible to tear yourself away from the fates of her characters, however grim -- John Self * Guardian *These short stories show off her astonishingly precise prose -- New Statesman * Ellen Peirson-Hagger *A bracingly bleak selection of stories by the celebrated Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen... These are perfectly judged pieces: authentic, unforced and utterly lucid -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *Ditlevsen's wonderful and devastatingly bleak short stories simmer with melancholy and despair ... Her prose is clear and spare, pared back to the essential task of describing the struggle for an unwon freedom from domestic despair and unsatisfactory marriages * Daily Mail *The depths of desire and despair are Ditlevsen's subjects and illuminating them is her talent * Monocle *Ditlevsen's writing is crystal clear and vividly, painfully raw * The Paris Review *A terrifying talent * The New York Times *Her writing is incredible, so focused and clear. Not a word that doesn't need to be there -- Tracey Thorn

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewScott Moncrieff's [volumes] belong to that special category of translations which are themselves literary masterpieces ... his book is one of those translations, such as the Authorized Version of the Bible itself, which can never be displaced—A. N. WilsonFor the reader wishing to tackle Proust your guide must be C K Scott Moncrieff ... There are some who believe his headily perfumed translation of À la recherche du temps perdu conjures Belle Époque France more vividly even than the original—TelegraphI was more interested and fascinated by your rendering than by Proust's creation—Joseph Conrad to Scott Moncrieff

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Book SynopsisThe 'hypnotic...addictive' (New York Times) debut novel narrated by a young woman meditating on the malleable, breakable bonds keeping her family from falling apart.There's a superstition in our family about falling...Marta's great-great-grandfather Jirí was said to have given a gentle push to the back of a stonemason for having wronged him. The stonemason fell to his death and the family fled Prague for the American Midwest, where they set up a new life.So begins the story of Marta and her brother Nick, deeply interwoven twins haunted by the mysterious curse that has plagued their family for centuries - one that has doomed them to suffer various types of falls. When Nick tumbles out of a window and ends up seriously injured, Marta must embark on a heartbreaking quest to discover whether or not his fall was intentional, and to stop her family from falling apart...'Wonderful...with an idiosyncratic humour that reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh' Daily Telegraph'Original and engaging' Guardian 'Lights up the imagination' Dina NayeriTrade ReviewDefenestrate is an original and engaging novel from a fresh new voice, one deeply committed to understanding the beguiling experience of twinship, and to writing twins from the inside. -- Jude Cook * Guardian *Original...with an idiosyncratic humour that reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh... there are some wonderful digressions about...comic genius that shouldn't really work, but do. -- Alasdair Lees * Daily Telegraph, *Books to Look Out For 2022* *Branum is a weaver of light, a writer of extraordinary sensitivity and insight. Her obsessions are contagious, and her prose is electric. -- Karen RussellRenée Branum writes with exceptional wisdom and tenderness about inheritance, obsession, and the power of storytelling... Defenestrate builds to a symphonic, exhilarating end. -- Sanaë Lemoine, author of THE MARGOT AFFAIRBranum's prose lights up the imagination, every line a discovery and a pleasure. Beyond simple elegance or precision, she weaves sense and simile so stunningly, you have to throw your hands up and say damn! -- Dina Nayeri, author of THE UNGRATEFUL REFUGEE and REFUGE

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Book Synopsis'I loved this book for its depth and perception, for its beauty and eerie rhythms, but most of all for its wonderfully dream-like spell. It's breathtaking' Brandon TaylorA student moves to the city to research Gothic nudes, renting an apartment from a painter, Agnes, who lives in another town with her husband. One day, Agnes arrives in the city and settles into the upstairs studio.Agnes tells stories of her youth, her family, her marriage, and ideas for her art. As the months pass, it becomes clear that Agnes might not have a place to return to. Her stories are frenetic; her art scattered and unfinished, white paint on a white canvas.White on White is a sharp exploration of what it means to be truly vulnerable and laid bare.'Deeply humane, quietly devastating, mesmerisingly beautiful' Olivia Sudjic'Marvellous' Lauren Groff'Gentle, mysterious and profound' Marina Abramovic'Enthralling' Observer'An exceptionally elegant, intelligent, and original writer' Sigrid NunezTrade ReviewA deeply humane, quietly devastating, mesmerisingly beautiful masterpiece. -- Olivia SudjicWhite on White is an ambitious palette. * New York Times *[An] oddly enthralling tale about a postgrad student bearing witness to an artist's marital breakdown -- Anthony Cummins * Observer *Marvelous, as elegant as an opaque sheet of ice that belies the swift and turbulent waters beneath. -- Lauren GroffA haunting, irresistible novel. I loved this book for its depth and perception, for its beauty and eerie rhythms, but most of all for its wonderfully dream-like spell. It's breathtaking. -- Brandon Taylor

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Book SynopsisIn this chilling tale from the bestselling author of Wall of Silence, a spark of malice ignites into an inferno of violence. Can one woman uncover the truth before it all goes up in flames? Eager for distraction in the aftermath of her messy divorce, Ellie Mileham dives into moderating the petty squabbles on her local Facebook group. When a prankster starts trolling uptight members, it’s a welcome diversion at first. But then the war of words moves onto the streets of Forest Grove, with threatening letters escalating into violent destruction. It’s suddenly clear there’s something much more dangerous at play. With lives at risk, Ellie delves into the history of Forest Grove and realises the so-called rural paradise has a dark and sinister heart. As she pieces together the puzzle of her own troubled childhood on the edge of the forest, Ellie learns this is not the first time the villagers have been targeted by an anonymous vigilante with an axe to grind… Could the two cases be connected? Ellie is determined to find out. But with everybody watching and nobody quite what they seem, can she uncover the truth before online threats become nightmarish reality?

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Book SynopsisA subtle and insightful story about boredom, passion, curiosity and memory from the Nobel Prize-winner José SaramagoSenhor José is a lonely civil servant who spends his days labouring in the labyrinthine stacks of Lisbon's central registry. Among the file-cards for the living and the dead, one – of an apparently ordinary woman – will transform his life. Breaking away from his strict routine, José resolves to track the woman down, obsessively following a thread of clues in a bid to rescue her from an oblivion deeper than the grave. 'When a very good book finds us at just the right moment in life, it can become stitched into our own identity. All the Names – a novel about identity and connection – has become stitched into mine' Samantha Harvey, IndependentTrade ReviewA novel that has soul, which Saramago offers to his readers with all his witty, intelligent, tender and magical generosity -- Samantha Harvey * Independent *Offers an unearthly, muted beauty; a freedom from the obvious, the ideological and trivial; an atmosphere of profound serenity, and a benevolent humor * Literary Review *Both delightful and unsettling which is perhaps the mark of true literature -- Anthony Daniels * Sunday Telegraph *A tantalizing novel...shifting and teasing, full of metaphorical labyrinths and false trails * Herald *It is the marriage of the living and the dying...that so strongly characterizes the writing of Jose Saramago * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWhen Clementine and Edouard's last child leaves home, the cracks in their marriage become impossible to ignore. Her work as a perfumer is no longer providing solace and her sense of self is withering. Then, her former lover resurfaces, decades after the end of their bisexual affair, and her world tilts irreversibly. Set in Paris and Provence, this is an intimate portrait of a woman navigating conflicting desires and a troubled past whilst dreaming of a fulfilling future.Trade Review'It is very, very good - an intense and unflinching expose of desire and its legacy'. Elizabeth Buchan. 'A skilled storyteller. Inventive, vivid and distinctive'. Mary Loudon. 'Vividly passionate, this is assured, addictive precision storytelling. Costello's prose is reminiscent of masters like Leila Slimane - but her voice is entirely unique. Thrillingly stylish.' Daisy Buchanan. 'Costello poses unwavering questions about choice and honesty, about submerging pain to orchestrate survival. Showing how sacrifice can impair an entire existence and that profound passion will return always.' Catherine McNamara.

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Book SynopsisTHE MUST-READ SUMMER 2020 RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK'If you wished Normal People had tackled female friendship, try Expectation' GRAZIA'Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist' GUARDIAN'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES______________________What happened to the women we were supposed to become?Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry - and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life? The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year, EXPECTATION is a novel about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel. ___________________'Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT' MARIAN KEYES'Beautiful, sharp, moving. I urge you to read it'' ELIZABETH DAY'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES'I loved it ... 10 out of 10' BRYONY GORDON'Will resonate with approximately 99% of women' RED MAGAZINE summer pick'One of the most intensely readable novels this year' METRO'One of our most gifted contemporary writers' WATERSTONES'SO GOOD. A 'What they did next' story of characters from a Sally Rooney novel' SARAH FRANKLIN'The story of 3 college friends, if you're a fan of Sally Rooney, you'll love EXPECTATION' IRISH EXAMINER'A must-read' FABULOUS MAGAZINE'A generation-defining book on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope.' ERIN KELLY'Few novels leave me so genuinely breathless with their brilliance' HANNAH BECKERMAN'Sublime' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Book of the Year'A marvellously tangy London novel' DAILY MAIL'A grown-up, honest take on female camaraderie. Packed with talking points' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Hugely absorbing, massively enjoyable' LISSA EVANS'Totally unputdownable, immersive, sharp, FAB' HARRIET EVANS'Beautifully observed study of female friendship and a moving account of the collision between aspiration and reality' DAILY MAIL MUST-READ'Fantastically well-realised portrait of female friendship's joys and pains from an exciting new voice in British fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPHTrade ReviewProfoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist * Guardian *A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition * Pandora Sykes *One of the most intensely readable novels I've encountered this year * METRO *I loved it . . . 10 out of 10! * BRYONY GORDON *Will resonate with approximately 99 % of all women * RED magazine summer pick *Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT * MARIAN KEYES *Brilliant portrayal of long-term female friendships . . . I was gripped. * Prima *A Sally Rooney-esque evocative examination of female friendship * BEST SUMMER READS, i-newspaper *The real joy of this novel – while exploring just what second wave feminism has done for this generation of women (“you’ve had everything… we changed the world for you. For our daughters. And what have you done with it?”) – is in it’s writing; the dialogue and the honesty behind these characters who are doing their best, who are trying to live up to the fictional counterparts that they themselves have created… It’s the perfect summer reading * STYLIST MAGAZINE *Absolutely encapsulates what it means to be a young woman today, and beyond * Grazia Magazine *Hope’s writing is sublime and her characters so well fleshed out they will feel like friends at the end * Good Housekeeping Book of the Year *BEST BOOKS FOR JULY: Expectation has defied all my expectations and completely redefined the friendship novel. Each of the characters resonated with me and I’m in awe of the way Anna Hope captures what it means to be a woman, right here, right now, with all the precision of a surgeon’s knife. * Red Magazine Book of the Year *EDITOR'S CHOICE: I enjoyed this contemporary novel about the gulf between the expectation of how life will turn out and the reality... [it] taps into the current conversation about finding fulfilment and living a meaningful life. -- Alice O'Keeffe * The Bookseller *Jaw-droppingly good * SARRA MANNING *Anna Hope has a way of getting inside difficult and painful moments, turning them inside out. I felt I knew these women as my own friends. Taut, electric, complex, funny. * RACHEL JOYCE bestselling author of THE UNEXPECTED PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY *Few novels leave me genuinely breathless with their brilliance. EXPECTATION is one of them. This book is beautiful. I am in AWE * HANNAH BECKERMAN *Succulent, tender and honest, EXPECTATION is about the relationships between women: love, loss, triumph and betrayal. It was one of those books that knowingly flirted, then seduced me and then utterly ravished me * TOR UDALL *A generation-defining book, honest and relatable on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope * ERIN KELLY, bestselling author of HE SAID/SHE SAID *I loved it. Raw, honest, unputdownable. * TAMMY COHEN *I tore through EXPECTATION at the weekend. Exceptional gorgeously written and reads like a love letter to London. I highly recommend it * STACEY HALLS, bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS *I absolutely loved this. What really appealed to me was the depiction of the parents, about legacy and about what the mother's generation leaves for the one that comes after * ANNE YOUNGSON *An intimate and touching portrayal of female friendship that shows it's okay to just be * NINA POTTELL *So fresh, human, kind and relatable * JENNY COLGAN *Such a dark, relatable, elegant take on how time alters female friendships: how we become THESE people and our friends become THOSE people. Anyway, I loved it. You probably will, too * LIZA KLAUSSMANN, author of Tigers in Red Weather *A must-read. Will make you want to hug the women in you life * FABULOUS MAGAZINE Book of the Year *A deftly crafted hymn to the comfort and frustration of female friendship from one of our most gifted contemporary writers * WATERSTONES *Sensual and evocative, deeply attuned to both the inner lives of the protagonists * CULTUREFLY *The prose is beautiful, the characters achingly real, their flawed decisions enraging and yet somehow still relatable. This wonderful book will resonate with every woman who reads it * LOUISE O'NEILL *A quietly political story that suggests historic battles have left women with new impossible burdens of expectation. A marvellously tangy London novel * DAILY MAIL *Hope beautifully examines how female friendship, its issues entirely relatable, ebbs and flows over time in this wise and engaging read * SUNDAY EXPRESS *

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Book SynopsisThe phenomenal New York Times Number One bestseller about the unbreakable bond between a dog and their human. Now a major film starring Dennis Quaid.This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.But this life as a family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders – will he ever find his purpose?Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

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Book SynopsisWritten in Berlin in 1934, Invitation to a Beheading contains all the surprise, excitement and magical intensity of a work created in two brief weeks of sustained inspiration. It takes us into the fantastic prison-world of Cincinnatus, a man condemned to death and spending his last days in prison not quite knowing when the end will come. Nabokov described the book as ''a violin in a void. The worldling will deem it a trick. Old men will hurriedly turn from it to regional romances and the lives of public figures ... The evil-minded will perceive in little Emmie a sister of little Lolita ... But I know a few readers who will jump up, ruffling their hair''.

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-SmithCelebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Thirteen ingeniously crafted stories make up Vladimir Nabokov''s baker''s dozen. In some of these stories shadowy people pass through, cooped up by life, with nowhere to escape. In others, elusive glimpses of fleeting happiness, which flutter away before they can be snatched, waylay their victims. Like the shimmer of the sea, the gleam of a glass caught by the sun, these stories sparkle brilliantly only to dissolve

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Book SynopsisThe sensational debut novel about love, friendship and finding happiness in the most unexpected places.  'It's as fun as it is thoughtful: a tender and generous novel about finding your people, getting vulnerable, and celebrating every joy - big or small.' Buzzfeed 'Elvin James Mensah's Small Joys is breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild. Mensah's prose makes the intangible deft and tremendous — from the balm of friendship, to the beauty of queerness, and the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest; Small Joys is a beam of light.' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial 'A beautiful, moving story of love, male intimacy, chosen family and finding self worth.' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk ‘I adored Sma

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Book SynopsisLies from the heart lead to a dangerously intimate case for Sheriff Bree Taggert in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of revenge and fatal deceptions.When a digital marketer is found murdered in his backyard—hands bound and face smothered by plastic wrap—Sheriff Bree Taggert and criminal investigator Matt Flynn respond to the call. Their investigation focuses on the man’s dating-app profile and the word liar carved into his forehead.One day later, the killer strikes again.Both victims are players in the internet dating scene. In their wake, they leave a trail of hurt—and angry—women. But Bree and Matt aren’t convinced the motive is as simple as it appears. Everyone they interview seems to be lying or hiding something.As the list of suspects grows, the killer’s rage escalates, and he leaves a personal and deadly warning for Bree. They must act fast. Because someone Bree loves is targeted as the next to die.

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Book SynopsisPublishing in English for the very first time, Japan's beloved coming-of-age classic on what really matters in life The streets of Tokyo swarm below fifteen year-old Copper as he gazes out into the city of his childhood. Struck by the thought of the infinite people whose lives play out alongside his own, he begins to wonder, how do you live? Considering life's biggest questions for the first time, Copper turns to his dear uncle for heart-warming wisdom. As the old man guides the boy on a journey of philosophical discovery, a timeless tale unfolds, offering a poignant reflection on what it means to be human.The favourite childhood book of anime master Hayao Miyazaki, How Do You Live? is the basis a highly anticipated film from Studio Ghibli. Trade ReviewAn important, worthwhile and surprisingly of-the-moment novel ... as timely now as it was in 1937 * Asian Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1922, Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April is a charming and light-hearted novel about unlikely female friendships and the power of a blissful escape.Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.Four mismatched women respond to an advert in The Times offering a beautiful medieval castle to rent on the Italian Riviera. Bashful Mrs Wilkins, cheerless Mrs Arbuthnot, widowed Mrs Fisher and socialite Lady Caroline Dester are each enchanted by the promise of ‘wisteria and sunshine’, and they arrive on the tranquil Mediterranean shores full of hope for a heavenly escape. Tensions mount between the group at first, but, as the idyllic spring days tick by, each is slowly transformed by the warm sunshine and unexpected company.Trade ReviewElizabeth von Armin's most charming novel in every sense: it casts a spell . . . a sun-washed fairytale * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis**Shortlisted for The Goldsmiths Prize 2021****Shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021****An Observer 10 Best Debut Novelists of 2021**'An extremely perceptive depiction of power and agency.' Guardian'Startlingly original.' VOGUE'Extraordinary.' New Yorkerlittle scratch tells the story of a day in the life of an unnamed woman, living in a lower-case world of demarcated fridge shelves and office politics; clock-watching and WhatsApp notifications. In a voice that is fiercely wry, touchingly delicate and increasingly neurotic, the protagonist relays what it takes to get through the quotidian detail of that single trajectory - from morning to night - while processing recent sexual violence.little scratch is about the coexistence of monotony with our waking, intelligent lives. It is a powerful evocation of how the external and internal aspectsTrade Review'Startlingly original.' - Vogue'Extraordinary.' - New Yorker'Wry, funny and heartbreaking.' - Sophie Mackintosh'little scratch is a story that is urgent. It is a story that needs to be told.' - Meena Kandasamy'Reads like the cinders settling in the air after an explosion... daring and completely readable.' - Colin Barrett'little scratch is a little miracle... impossible to read it and not wish there were more books like it.' - Alan Trotter'Confident and vital...little scratch is an absolute gift.' - Naoise Dolan

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Book SynopsisGuardian's Best Fiction of 2022'One of the most original and exciting writers working in English today' - Jhumpa LahiriOnce home to the country's most illustrious families, Waitsfield, Massachusetts, is now an unforgiving place awash with secrets. Forged in this frigid landscape, Ruthie learns how the town's prim facade conceals a deeper, darker history and how silence often masks a legacy of harm - from the violence that runs down the family line to the horrors endured by her high school friends.In Very Cold People Sarah Manguso reveals the suffocating constraints of growing up in a very old, and very cold, small town. Here lies a vital confrontation with an all-American whiteness where the ice of emotional restraint meets the embers of smouldering rage . . .'Chilling . . . deeply impressive' - Guardian'A masterclass in unease' - The ObserverLonglisted for the Wingate Prize 2023Trade ReviewA masterclass in unease * Observer *Manguso puts her own indelible stamp on the literary terrain of John Cheever and Susan Minot, daring to brush against the third rail of class. * Oprah Daily *Magnificent . . . I hope all my fellow reader friends can find their way to this title either through their local library or independent bookseller. It is indeed special. -- Sarah Jessica Parker via InstagramAn uncomfortable, deeply impressive account of how silence, snobbery and repression in a New England town allow the poison of abuse to trickle down the decades. -- 'Best Fiction of 2022', The GuardianSarah Manguso is one of the most original and exciting writers working in English today. Every word feels necessary, and she’s redefining genre as she goes -- Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Interpreter of MaladiesWith its adult narrator trying to recover the intuitions of her younger self, Very Cold People reminded me of My Brilliant Friend, the first novel in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet. -- Katy Waldon * New Yorker *Manguso is consistent in her approach and the cumulative effect is satisfying -- Damon Galgut * TLS *Very Cold People knocked me to my knees. So precise, so austere, so elegant, this story is devastatingly familiar to those of us who know the loneliness of growing up in a place of extreme emotional restraint. Manguso is one of my favourite writers, and this book is a revelation -- Lauren Groff, author of FloridaMidwesterners, New Englanders and anyone from small town America will recognize the contours in this quietly beautiful novel about what it feels like to grow up an outsider. It's a starkly lyrical exploration of the darkness that lies underneath a lily white community with an emotional resonance that sneaks up on you and won't let go. * Good Housekeeping *I loved every sentence, thought, and gesture in this perfect novel. Sarah Manguso has painted a deeply moving portrait of the stark unreality of childhood -- Catherine Lacey, author of PewI loved it and am still trying to accommodate its cold quality - like swallowing an ice-cube by accident. Manguso’ steady gaze and clarity of expression is reminiscent of Louise Gluck. I hope it will do as brilliantly as it deserves. -- Laura Beatty, author of PollardThe book is strong enough as a compendium of the insults of a deprived childhood: a thousand cuts exquisitely observed and survived. The effect is cumulative, and this novel bordering on a novella punches above its weight -- Alexandra Jacobs * New York Times *A haunted masterpiece, written with the precision of a miniaturist and the vulnerability of true heartache. I wept more than once; I recognized myself more than once. Very Cold People proves yet again that Manguso is one of the greats -- Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of LessVery Cold People is an important stitch in a tapestry being urgently reworked by women writers. Manguso's is a bold stitch, a beautiful and a vital one. -- Joanna Walsh, author of Break.upA poignant and unnerving masterwork about growing up in a dominator society, told with the concision, carefulness, and sense of mystery that we’ve come to expect from Sarah Manguso -- Tao Lin, author of Leave SocietyManguso’s attention to the chilliness and reservation of certain New Englanders crackles like a room-temperature beverage poured over ice . . . Manguso portrays the fears surrounding girlhood with a blistering clarity. -- Michele Filgate * Washington Post *Chilling . . . Set in the 1980s in a small, frigid New England town, this coming-of-age story offers a stark take on what it is to feel poor, poorly nurtured, and inadequately loved in a class-conscious, lily-white town whose antique houses were built and occupied by generations of Cabots and Emersons . . . absorbs our attention and stirs empathy and reflection. * NPR *Very Cold People wields a kind of detached, anthropological power, portraying the world through the accumulation of telling details. * Wall Street Journal *Unafraid to engage with tricky topics like race and class in America, Very Cold People may not warm your heart, necessarily. But it will pick you up after it knocks you down, and leave you stronger for it. * Chicago Review of Books *Manguso is a lovely writer about unlovely things . . . here she depicts her protagonist’s quiet agony with a poet’s eye . . . A taut, blisteringly smart novel, both measured and rageful. * Kirkus, (starred review) *Manguso is an exquisitely astute writer, and there is something admirable about her refusal to bow to predictable plot tropes that might rescue Ruthie more definitively — or condemn her. * Boston Globe *Her rendering of violence, abuse and secrecy within families and communities is clear-eyed and almost uncomfortably lyrical — the beauty of her writing makes the tragedies she describes feel all the more wrenching. * Los Angeles Times *Manguso excels at capturing the perspective of a child desperate for the love of people who don’t know how to give it. * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisThe nightmare begins before you sleep . . .By the Master of Horror, James Herbert's Moon follows Jonathan, who fled from the terrors of his past, finding refuge in the quietness of the island. And for a time he lived in peace. Until the 'sightings' began, visions of horror seeping into his mind like poisonous tendrils, violent acts that were hideously macabre, the thoughts becoming intense. He witnessed the grotesque acts of another thing, a thing that glorified in murder and mutilation, a monster that soon became aware of the observer within its own mind. And relished contact. A creature that would eventually come to the island to seek him out . . .Trade ReviewGuaranteed to give you nightmares. * Daily Mail *Building to a horrific climax, it's James Herbert's best book yet. But do not read it alone.... especially on a moonlight night. * Daily Mirror *

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Book Synopsis'On the morning of April 16, Dr Rieux emerged from his consulting-room and came across a dead rat in the middle of the landing.' It starts with the rats. Vomiting blood, they die in their hundreds, then in their thousands. When the rats are all gone, the citizens begin to fall sick. Like the rats, they too die in ever greater numbers.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewScott Moncrieff's [volumes] belong to that special category of translations which are themselves literary masterpieces ... his book is one of those translations, such as the Authorized Version of the Bible itself, which can never be displaced—A. N. WilsonFor the reader wishing to tackle Proust your guide must be C K Scott Moncrieff ... There are some who believe his headily perfumed translation of À la recherche du temps perdu conjures Belle Époque France more vividly even than the original—TelegraphI was more interested and fascinated by your rendering than by Proust's creation—Joseph Conrad to Scott Moncrieff

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