Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction

Book SynopsisFalling Man begins on September 11, in the smoke and ash of the burning towers. In the days and the years following, we trace the aftermath of this global tremor in the private lives of a few reticulated individuals. Theirs are lives choreographed by loss, by grief and by the enormous force of history. From these intimate portraits, Don DeLillo shifts to an extrapolated vision: he charts the way the events have reconfigured our emotional landscape, our memory and our perception of the world.Falling Man is an unforgettable novel, at once cathartic and beautiful and heartbreaking.Trade ReviewAmerica's greatest living writer. * Observer *Searing, profoundly unsettling. An unforgettable novel. * Sunday Times *These are pages of magnificent force and control, DeLillo's genius at full pelt. Reading them, you have to remind yourself to keep breathing. * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PORTICO PRIZE ''A distinctive new voice for fans of ''Fleabag'' or Sally Rooney'' Independent''Raw, intimate and authentic'' The Sunday Times''Gorgeous . . . Andrews''s writing is transportingly voluptuous, conjuring tastes and smells and sounds like her literary godmother, Edna O''Brien.'' New York TimesWhen Lucy wins a place at university, she thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars, cool girls and neon lights illuminating the Thames at night. At least this is what Lucy expects, having grown up seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland, amid legendary family stories of Irish immigrants and boarding houses, now defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market. Yet Lucy''s transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from EastTrade ReviewRaw, intimate and authentic . . . Andrews obviously has talent. * The Sunday Times *Luminous * Observer New Review *A stunning new voice in British literary fiction. * Independent *Lyrically poetic * Evening Standard *Andrews writes about life as we experience it in memory, melding trauma, joy and sensory half-recollections. Saltwater is a moving debut which portrays an ordinary young life in an original and refreshing way. * TLS *This book is sublime. It dares to be different, to look in a different way. Andrews is not filling anyone's shoes, she is destroying the shoes and building them from scratch. * Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under *Visceral, high-definition sections - which also record Lucy's growing awareness of, and estrangement from, her working-class background - are highlights . . . a sharply observed and poignant first outing. * Daily Mail *The writing is disarmingly honest . . . I found parts of this novel intensely moving. I wish I had read it when I was 19. * Guardian *Startling immediacy * Stylist Loves *Saltwater moved me to tears on several occasions; here is proof of the poetic idiosyncrasies of every family, of every person's narrative being worthy of literature, of the fact that a good novel shouldn't bring voices in from the margins, but travel outwards towards them, and let them tell their own story, in their own voice, in their own, unique way. * Andrew McMillan *Saltwater revels in the possibilities of its form, using fragments to shift tone and texture, reminding us of those pivotal moments that can upend a life . . . This book holds disparate elements in a finely wrought balance that is difficult to achieve at any stage of a writing life let alone in a debut. * Kayo Chingonyi, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize *A book of breathtaking beauty. Saltwater is a visionary novel with prose that gets deep under your skin. The short, sharp chapters thrum with life. Lucy is a memorable character, her journey one that is moving and totally compelling, telling a series of deep truths about the state of our divided nation. Andrews is a major new voice in contemporary British fiction. * Alex Preston *Powerful * Observer New Review *Captures that overwhelming sense of the possible and how daunting and disorientating it can be when the change you craved doesn't expand your horizons but instead hollows you out. **** * Sunday Express *Lyrical . . . a carefully pieced-together exploration of the way we connect with a landscape, of how a place might help us to return to ourselves . . . a sensitive and intelligent exploration of the ravages of austerity . . . a book about belonging. * Irish Independent *A distinctive new voice for fans of 'Fleabag' or Sally Rooney . . . Jessica Andrews's debut novel shimmers with promise: it's one of those books where, from the first pages, you're grabbed by a distinctive new voice. * Independent *Mesmerising. Jessica is a brilliant, original writer. She's a name to watch. * Irish Examiner *Fluid, crisp and bracing. Quietly experimental in form - short numbered snippets that recall the writing of Maggie Nelson and Jenny Offill - the book explores familial bonds, class identity, the longing for home and the simultaneous desire to escape it. * Irish Times *Works perfectly...the astute observations of working class life pour off every page. * The Crack *Tender and beautiful. * Bookseller *

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Book SynopsisAs heard on BBC Radio 4 Book at BedtimeA Times, Guardian, and Good Housekeeping Book of the Year for 2022Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction'It takes the most ferocious intelligence, skill, and a deep reservoir of sadness to write a novel as funny as this. I adored it' - Meg Mason, bestselling author of Sorrow & BlissMeet the Hanrahan family.Ray, the father. Acclaimed artist and notorious narcissist, who is obsessed with his own reputation.Lucia, his long-suffering wife. A lauded sculptor yet terrified of what recognition could bring. And she has a secret of her own which could tear the family apart.Leah, the eldest daughter, devoted to her father and convinced of his genius.Patrick, Lucia’s sensitive son, who has finally decided to strike out by himself.Jess, the youngest daughter, insecure and facing a daunting decision.As they gather for a momentous weekend – the first exhibition of Ray’s artwork in many decades – each member of the family must finally make a choice. And when they do, once tensions have boiled over and the guests have departed, what will be left of the Hanrahans?Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022, The Exhibitionist is the extraordinary fifth novel from Charlotte Mendelson, a dazzling exploration of art, sacrifice, toxic family politics, queer desire and personal freedom.'A devastating treat of a novel: funny, furious, dark and delicious' - Sarah Waters, bestselling author of FingersmithTrade ReviewIn The Exhibitionist Mendelson brings a forensic eye to family dynamics, laying bare the agonies of rage, frustration and longing that lie just beneath the surface of domestic life. The result is a devastating treat of a novel: funny, furious, dark and delicious -- Sarah Waters, bestselling author of FingersmithIt takes the most ferocious intelligence, skill and a deep reservoir of sadness to write a novel as funny as this. I adored it -- Meg Mason, bestselling author of Sorrow and BlissMendelson is a master at family drama, and plots don’t get much more dramatic than this . . . Exhilarating * The Times *A delicious, heartbreaking family snapshot about thwarted ambition, misplaced loyalty and good and bad love. Secrets abound. Fabulously written and utterly compelling -- Marian Keyes, bestselling author of Grown UpsSoul-scouringly good -- Nigella LawsonSex, desire, deep-seated marital resentment, monstrous artists, determined wives: it’s a delicious, piquant comedy of manners, and Mendelson’s serrated prose will have you wincing at every word * Daily Mail *Like Katherine Heiny and Maria Semple, Mendelson is skilled at rendering the grotesque fascinating . . . It is also funny; so funny . . . Reading The Exhibitionist is like eating a rich, delicious and wildly elaborate cream cake. You know you’ll regret devouring the whole thing at once, but it’s very hard to stop * The i *One of the funniest writers in Britain . . . [The Exhibitionist] is so devoid of second-hand sentences that it’s quite possible [Mendelson] spent all nine years since its predecessor polishing her jokes and turning phrases round until they shine . . . A precision of observation that made me laugh frequently and smile when I wasn’t laughing * The Guardian *Electric . . . The Exhibitionist is both a roiling family drama and a chilling portrait of enmeshment, coercive control and enabled addiction * The Sunday Telegraph *Unutterably brilliant -- Lucy WorsleyA deliciously evocative novel laced with sex and art -- Financial TimesA devastating, blackly comic portrait of middle-class dysfunction . . . A fine and haunting book -- Sarah Moss * The Guardian *A magnificent book, witty and furious and not a word out of place. I am obsessed -- Elizabeth Macneal, bestselling author of The Doll Factory and Circus of WondersExceptional * Woman & Home *A compulsive distillation of artistic ego, midlife passion and family dysfunction . . . Hilarious, sexy and thoughtful * Mail on Sunday *A truly wonderful novel, and a funny and wise one, too; the individual components sparkle, the whole movement beguiles -- Sunjeev Sahota, author of 2021 Man Booker-longlisted The China RoomI don’t think I’ve ever read anything that is simultaneously so elegant and so propulsive – every single sentence Charlotte Mendelson writes is arrestingly powerful. I think this book is beautiful, but it’s also funny, furious, sexy, blissfully hot and cold and wild in its rage -- Daisy Buchanan, author of Insatiable The unhappy Hanrahans fall apart, their story playing out with devastating, exuberant glee . . . Honest and frenetically paced, this is a painfully funny look at art, ambition and damaging family dynamics -- Sunday Express (S magazine)Mendelson’s great success is to make the endless sacrifices, self-conscious denials and forbidden emotions of the Hanrahans heartbreakingly relatable . . . The Exhibitionist is an undeniable success * Literary Review *Sharp and sad, witty and hopeful, as with all Mendelson’s work, The Exhibitionist is both forensically aware of all the flaws of humanity but also able to be forgiving and compassionate -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Everyone Is Still AliveA welcome return for the chronicler of family secrets, with a tale of art, ego and marriage * The Guardian *A treat . . . Excoriating observation of the art world, crazy toxic family intrigues, wit, wisdom and brilliant writing -- Muriel GrayA superb dark family comedy. We crowned it our novel of 2022 * The Times *

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Book SynopsisNow a major film starring Academy Award nominees Jim Broadbent (Iris) and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2011 Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life.Now Tony is retired. He's had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. He's certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer's letter is about to prove.Trade ReviewA masterpiece... I would urge you to read - and re-read - The Sense of an Ending * Daily Telegraph *Mesmerising... the concluding scenes grip like a thriller - a whodunit of memory and morality * Independent *A very fine book, skilfully plotted, boldly conceived... Barnes has achieved...something of universal importance -- Justin Cartwright * Observer *A precise, poignant portrait of the costs and benefits of time passing, of friendship, of love. A small masterpiece -- Erica Wagner * The Times *A wonderful story that is all too human and all so real * Irish Times *An extremely moving, a precise book about the imprecision of memory and how it constructs people, stories and histories. -- Alasitair Bruce * Guardian *From the moment that we hear from the woodworm which snuck aboard Noah’s ark to the final pages of the novel, Barnes interrogates moral dilemmas and motivations. These tales could easily be read is isolation, but are much better when consumed as a whole. * WeAreTheCity *A masterpiece... I would urge you to read - and re-read - The Sense of an Ending * Daily Telegraph *Mesmerising... the concluding scenes grip like a thriller - a whodunit of memory and morality * Independent *A very fine book, skilfully plotted, boldly conceived... Barnes has achieved...something of universal importance -- Justin Cartwright * Observer *

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Book Synopsis'A gripping tale of homecoming and loss... ruthlessly honest and startlingly beautiful... profound and unforgettable' Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King 'Daring, intellectually rich, and unsettlingly hilarious. We have a powerful new voice in Maya Binyam, one who knows how to make a story sing' Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun 'A subtle and peculiar novel about subtle and peculiar things - home, exile, injustice, family, return and life itself... a remarkable book' Keith Ridgway, author of A Shock 'A strikingly masterful debut... a clean, sharp, piercing - and deeply political novel' Namwali Serpell, author of The Furrows __________ A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years living in exile in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn't recognize the country, or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone at the airport knows him - a man who calls him brother. As they travel to this man's house, the purpose of his visit comes into focus: he is here to find his real brother, who is dying. Hangman is his tragicomic journey through homecoming and loss. It is a hilarious and twisted odyssey, peopled by phantoms and tricksters, aid workers and taxi drivers, the relatives and riddles that lead this man along a circuitous path towards the truth. This is the strangley honest story of one man's search for refuge - in this world and the one that lies beyond it. An existential journey, a tragic farce, a slapstick tragedy: Hangman is the shockingly original debut novel about exile, diaspora and the search for Black refuge, from a thrilling new literary voiceTrade Review'Hangman is a subtle and peculiar novel about subtle and peculiar things - home, exile, injustice, family, return, and life itself. Binyam has written a remarkable book - one that builds, beautifully, a world that feels true, while dismantling the world that feels real' - Keith Ridgway, author of A Shock'A strikingly masterful debut. With a slow, sure hand, Hangman beckons you into a zone that at first seems as clear, as blank, and as eerily sunny as the pane of a window. Then it traps you there, until you notice the blots, bubbles, and fissures in the glass-and then the frame itself, then the shatter. A clean, sharp, piercing-and deeply political-novel' - Namwali Serpell, author of The Furrows'Daring, intellectually rich, and unsettlingly hilarious, Hangman is the rare book agile enough to balance the surreality and painfully rigid actuality of life. We have a powerful new voice in Maya Binyam, one who knows how to make a story sing.' - Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun'Hangman is a gripping story of homecoming and loss, of recuperation and letting go, all of it told in a voice that is at turns ruthlessly honest and startlingly beautiful. Maya Binyam is an immensely gifted writer and every page of this deeply moving novel offers us compelling and hard-earned truths. But what remains by the end is something that resembles a loving gesture from a long-lost relative: necessary and seismic, profound and unforgettable' - Maaza Mengiste, author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted The Shadow King'Maya Binyam exquisitely captures unseen forces: the edges of consciousness, abstract political forces, and how they act on one another. Hangman is immersive and astonishing' - Tavi Gevinson'Maya Binyam's controlled blend of surreal whimsy and unsettling existential dread makes this a remarkably assured and distinctive debut' -TLS

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Book SynopsisThe masterful second novel in Pat Barker''s classic ''Regeneration'' trilogy - from the Booker Prize-winning and Women''s Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the GirlsWINNER OF THE 1993 GUARDIAN FICTION PRIZE''Spellbinding and startlingly original'' Sunday Telegraph''Gripping, moving, profoundly intelligent'' Independent on Sunday''A new vision of what the First World War did to human beings, male and female, soldiers and civilians'' A. S. Byatt, Daily TelegraphLondon, 1918. Billy Prior is working for Intelligence in the Ministry of Munitions. But his private encounters with women and men - pacifists, objectors, homosexuals - conflict with his duties as a soldier, and it is not long before his sense of himself fragments and breaks down. Forced to consult the man who helped him before - army psychiatrist William Rivers - Prior must confront his inability to be the dutiful soldier his superTrade ReviewGripping, moving, beautifully constrcted and profoundly intelligent Independent on Sunday

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Book SynopsisDon DeLillo is the acclaimed author of bestselling novels and plays. His work includes White Noise, Libra, Cosmopolis and Underworld. He has won the National Book Award, the Jerusalem Prize and the Irish Times International Fiction Prize.Trade ReviewAmerica's greatest living writer. * Observer *A brilliant excursion into the decadence of contemporary culture. * Sunday Times *A prose-poem about New York . . . DeLillo has always been good at telling us where we're heading . . . we ignore him at our peril. -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe House of Sleep - Jonathan Coe''s comic tale of love and obsessionSarah is a narcoleptic who has dreams so vivid she mistakes them for real events; Robert has his life changed for ever by the misunderstandings arising from her condition; Terry, the insomniac, spends his wakeful nights fuelling his obsession with movies; and the increasingly unstable Dr Gregory Dudden sees sleep as a life-shortening disease which must be eradicated. . .A group of students sharing a house. They fall in and out of love, they drift apart. Yet a decade later they are drawn back together by a series of coincidences involving their obsession with sleep - and each other. . . Winner of the 1998 Prix Médicis Étranger, The House of Sleep is an intensely moving and frequently hilarious novel about love, obsession and sleep.''Moving, clever, pleasurable, smart...one of the best books of the year'' Malcolm Bradbury, The Times''There are bits that mak

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Book SynopsisSweet Temptation is an incredibly funny and sharply observant novel, from bestselling author Lucy Diamond.Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy new boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous Mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change . . .Maddie joins the local weight-watching group expecting more humiliation but instead finds two unlikely allies –bitter divorcee Lauren who, despite running a dating agency, has signed off romance for ever and shy Jess, the beautician, who's desperate to fit into a size ten wedding dress for her Big Day.

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Book SynopsisFrom Sarah Moss, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Summerwater and Ghost Wall, comes a story about the circumstances and the consequences of isolation.‘A tense page-turner . . . I gulped The Fell down in one sitting’ - Emma Donoghue‘Her work is as close to perfect as a novelist’s can be’ - The TimesAt dusk on a November evening in 2020 a woman slips out of her garden gate and turns up the hill. Kate is in the middle of two weeks of Covid isolation, but she just can’t take it any more – the closeness of the air in her small house, the confinement. And anyway, the moor will be deserted at this time. Nobody need ever know.But Kate’s neighbour Alice sees her leaving and Matt, Kate’s son, soon realizes she’s missing. And Kate, who planned only a quick solitary walk – a breath of open air – falls and badly injures herself. What began as a furtive walk has turned into a mountain-rescue operation . . .Unbearably suspenseful, witty and wise, The Fell asks probing questions about the place the world has become since the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, and the place it was before. This novel is a story about compassion and kindness and what we must do to survive.‘Gripping, thoughtful and revelatory’ - Paula Hawkins‘This slim, intense masterpiece is one of my best books of the year’ - Rachel Joyce‘One of our very best contemporary novelists’ - IndependentTrade ReviewA slim, tense page turner that captures the precious warmth of human connection. I gulped The Fell down in one sitting -- Emma DonoghueMoss writes so compassionately about human frailty while her own work is as close to perfect as a novelist’s can be * The Times *Gripping, thoughtful and revelatory -- Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the TrainA funny, savage novel * Guardian *Absorbing . . . ingeniously done . . . a humane, thoughtful reflection on the lockdown experience * Scotsman *There is wit, there is compassion . . . This slim, intense masterpiece is one of my best books of the year -- Rachel JoyceA one-sitting read . . . ambitious and immersive * Red *Moss is strong on pastoral lyricism, and her characteristic humour is as piercing here as in her previous novels * The Times *A masterfully tense, deeply empathetic novel . . . [a] tender, insightful exploration of the times we are living through -- Megan Hunter, author of The End We Start FromAlways with steely precision, Moss has mined both the circumstances and the consequences of isolation . . . one of the very best British novelists writing today about contemporary life * Daily Telegraph *She conjures the fretful confinement of the pandemic with colossal skill . . . deft and evocative . . . shrewd and moving * i *The pandemic is spawning some fine writing, and this helter-skelter novel by Moss is one of the best yet -- Mail on SundayMoss perfectly simulates the stifling psychological confinement and ennui of locked-down life . . . a neat, atmospheric novel * Literary Review *[The Fell] leaves the reader on tenterhooks as the story builds to its conclusion . . . Moss makes a strong case for social connection being as important as our physical health for survival * Daily Mirror *Moss steps into other people’s shoes with impressive ease. Her prose is clear, low-key and compelling . . . Feelingly, but without sentimentality, Moss explores what happens when you find yourself teetering on the precipice * Herald *A novel of our time . . . there may be a time when what is described here is, indeed, in the past, and a novel like The Fell will help us to remember * Church Times *It seems ever more important that fiction acknowledge the truths the pandemic has revealed to us: how connected we all are, and how much we fear one another * Guardian *[The Fell] confirms that Sarah Moss is a writer of remarkable power, control and deftness. She's funny, observant and very much of the moment * Oldie *

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Book SynopsisBy the Costa Award-winning author of Pure, a profound and tender tale of guilt, a search for atonement and the hard, uncertain work of loving.'The writing is near perfect. But the novel's excellence goes far beyond this . . . You read [it] . . . with your pulse racing, all your senses awake' Guardian'A beautiful, lambent, timely novel' Sarah HallAn ex-soldier and recovering alcoholic living quietly in Somerset, Stephen Rose has just begun to form a bond with the daughter he barely knows when he receives a summons - to an inquiry into an incident during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It is the return of what Stephen hoped he had outdistanced. Above all, to testify would jeopardise the fragile relationship with his daughter. And if he loses her, he loses everything. Instead, he decides to write her an account of his life; a confession, a defence, a love letter. Also a means of buying time. But time is running out, and the day comes when he must face again what happened in that faraway summer of 1982.Trade ReviewThe theme is handled in a way that is bolder and more exquisitely menacing than anything he's done before . . . It's all real, and all fictional, gorgeously so. You read what might have been a perfectly commonplace story of failure and redemption with your pulse racing, all your senses awake . . . restrained, beautifully written -- Elizabeth Lowry * Guardian *I spent the first half of The Slowworm's Song in a sort of ecstasy, marvelling at Miller's masterful characterisation; his confident evocation of army life and sensitive depiction of the Troubles; the nuanced exploration of alcoholism; the clean, well-made prose style studded with moments of descriptive beauty . . . Stephen is an unforgettable character, and Miller has pulled off the miraculous feat of sketching a full human life in a few hundred pages -- Claire Lowdon * Sunday Times *A beautiful, lambent, timely novel that admits our worst capacities while insisting on accountability and our ability to improve. Andrew Miller is among those brave male writers steering a progressive course. Yet he remains, as ever, unique, visionary, a master at unmasking humanity * Sarah Hall *Gorgeously written . . . it approaches the Troubles from a unique angle . . . Since his debut, Ingenious Pain, Miller has shown a knack for historical immersion, and he continues to excel in it here -- Ethan Croft * Literary Review *The focused interiority of Stephen's narration, together with the slowburning fuse of a plot, make for a quiet intensity that stretches the nerves . . . this empathic and artful novel is about both the mysteries we are to ourselves, and the power of speech -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *A painful yet beautiful novel . . . Miller is a wonderful storyteller, as comfortable writing about the Napoleonic wars as the Troubles . . . In this novel, Stephen's reckoning may be extreme but his message is universal -- Susie Mesure * Spectator *The multiple award-winning author of Pure returns with a tender, compelling and exquisitely written novel of extraordinary power . . . Exploring a brutal chapter in the unhappy and sometimes shameful history of Northern Ireland, this wonderful novel is also a story of atonement and redemption -- Edward Argyle * Daily Express *Miller tackles big themes and weaves a profound and poignant tale about shame, trauma and the possibility of redemption -- Lucy Popescu, Summer Reading * Tablet *Andrew Miller's gentle, beautifully crafted sentences belie the often brutal truths behind the narrative. The image of the slowworm, silent and sinister, finding its way into the precious earth, is set against a song of light and life that won't be silenced -- Victoria Barry * Scotsman *Andrew Miller is one of our finest writers. Few can match his sensitivity of touch, eye for telling detail and acute feel for setting . . . The passages describing Rose's military duty are impeccably researched and viscerally real -- Peter Carty * i *The sections detailing Stephen's army life, and particularly those covering his tour of duty in Belfast, are excellent: immersive in their detail and atmosphere . . . [Miller] has sufficient decorum, talent and sensitivity to do justice to his delicate subject matter -- Rob Doyle * Observer *His evocation of squaddie life rings absolutely true . . . It's deeply moving to see how this self-torturing individual gradually learns that he's surrounded by helpers, often in the unlikeliest of guises, while tiny flowers of grace spring up in stony places -- Suzi Feay * Tablet *There is no easy resolution, and that is why The Slowworm's Song . . . is so affecting. It is about truth, objective or otherwise, and about the attempts of flawed human beings to live with it -- Nicholas Clee * Times Literary Supplement *A poignant and profound tale of a man seeking atonement -- Joanne Finney * Good Housekeeping *A stunning work of fiction, a beautifully written tale of conflict and family fracture . . . The Slowworm's Song is a sublime reminder of how a great novel can have such a deep impact -- Martin Chilton * Independent *Moving and compassionate * Reader's Digest *It's difficult not to be moved by Stephen's heartfelt words as he comes face to face with what happened in that 1982 summer * Belfast Telegraph *It reads truer than memoir . . . A state-of-the-nation novel, in elegiac prose * New York Times Book Review *Expertly paced . . . as taut as a thriller . . . Miller, with his acute eye for detail and his practiced sense of timing, describes these Belfast streets and this soldier's experience so plainly and yet so evocatively that both become new again * Wall Street Journal *A stunning work of fiction, a beautifully written tale of conflict and family fracture . . . The Slowworm's Song is a sublime reminder of how a great novel can have such a deep impact. -- Martin Chilton * Independent *[A] painful yet beautiful novel . . . Miller is a wonderful storyteller, as comfortable writing about the Napoleonic wars as the Troubles . . . Stephen's reckoning may be extreme but his message is universal. -- Susie Mesure * Spectator *Few novelists are as virtuosic and as varied as Andrew Miller . . . Meticulous research, reinforcing the narrative, never swamping it, is another Miller trademark, so it's no surprise that his evocation of squaddie life rings absolutely true . . . It's deeply moving to see how this self-torturing individual gradually learns that he's surrounded by helpers, often in the unlikeliest of guises, while tiny flowers of grace spring up in stony places. -- Suzi Feay * Tablet *Andrew Miller is one of our finest writers. Few can match his sensitivity of touch, eye for telling detail and acute feel for setting . . . The passages describing Rose's military duty are impeccably researched and viscerally real. -- Peter Carty * i *Miller - a much-awarded writer stepping out of his comfort zone of omnisciently narrated historical fiction - has sufficient decorum, talent and sensitivity to do justice to his delicate subject matter. -- Rob Doyle * Observer *A tender, compelling and exquisitely written novel of extraordinary power . . . Written with searing honesty, [Stephen's story] is a confession but, above all, it is a letter of love. -- Edward Argyle * Daily Express *

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Book Synopsis''A meticulously observed modern classic'' Independent During one glorious summer between the wars, the realities of life and the sexual ritual dance of the adult world creep into the life of young Margaret Marsh. Her father, preaching the doctrine of the unsavoury Primal Saints; her mother, bitterly nostalgic for what might have been; Charles and Binkie, anchored in the past and a game of words; dying Mrs Frayling and Lydia the maid, given to the vulgar enjoyment of life; all contribute to Margaret''s shattering moment of truth. And when the storm breaks, it is not only God who is on the rocks as the summer hurtles towards drama, tragedy, and a touch of farce.''Tantalising, funny, sharp'' Daily Telegraph''So charming a novel that you don''t want to give away a single one of the many twists of its plot'' New York Times''Jane Gardam has a spectacular gift'' Times Literary SupplementTrade ReviewA meticulously observed modern classic * Independent *Tantalising, funny, sharp * Daily Telegraph *Exact, piquant and comical * Observer *Marvellous... A wonder * Vogue *Jane Gardam has a spectacular gift for detail of the local and period kind, and for details which make characters so subtly unpredictable that they ring true * Times Literary Supplement *So charming a novel that you don't want to give away a single one of the many twists of its plot... We are in the hands of a master storyteller * New York Times *Gardam orchestrates the subtle evolution of character and plot with Olympian omniscience and wry humor * Boston Globe *Gardam is a unique and wonderful writer, mixing no-nonsense presentations of heartbreak, despair, and uncertainty, with equally dry but hilarious bouts of humor, desire, love, friendship, and even happiness, fleeting as that might be * Huffington Post *This treasure should send readers back for all of [Gardam's] books * Library Journal (starred review) *Gardam doesn't waste a word, and the story reads as fresh and relevant now as when it was originally published * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFor the centennial of its original publication, a beautiful Deluxe Edition of one of Joyce’s greatest works—featuring a foreword by Karl Ove Knausgaard, author the New York Times bestselling six-volume autobiographical novel My Struggle, which has been likened to a 21st-century Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man   The first, shortest, and most approachable of James Joyce’s novels, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays the Dublin upbringing of Stephen Dedalus, from his youthful days at Clongowes Wood College to his radical questioning of all convention. In doing so, it provides an oblique self-portrait of the young Joyce himself. At its center lie questions of origin and source, authority and authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture, and race. Exuberantly inventive in style, the novel subtly and beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition instrumental inTrade ReviewOne believes in Stephen Dedalus as one believes in few characters in fiction. -- H. G. Wells[Mr. Joyce is] concerned at all costs to reveal the flickerings of that innermost flame which flashes its myriad message through the brain, he disregards with complete courage whatever seems to him adventitious, though it be probability or coherence or any other of the handrails to which we cling for support when we set our imaginations free. -- Virginia Woolf[A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man will] remain a permanent part of English literature. -- Ezra Pound

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Book SynopsisThe intense, caustically funny first novel from the bestselling author of Bad Behaviour''Dark, menacing and original'' Joanna Briscoe, GuardianDorothy Never - fat - lives alone in New York, eats and works the night shift as a proofreader. Justine Shade - thin - is a freelance journalist who sleeps with unsuitable men. Both are isolated. Both are damaged by their pasts. When Justine interviews Dorothy about her involvement with an infamous and charismatic philosophical guru, the two women are drawn together with an intense magnetism that throws their lives off balance. Mary Gaitskill''s first novel is an intense, darkly funny and caustic portrayal of loneliness and the search for intimacy.''What makes her scary, and what makes her exciting, is her ability to evoke the hidden life, the life unseen, the life we don''t even know we are living'' Parul Sehgal, The New York Times

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Book SynopsisONE OF THE TIMES'' FAVOURITE NOVELS OF 2023The first epic novel in THE GLORIOUS YEARS series from the two times winner of the prestigious Prix-Goncourt''You have the ingredients Balzac would have cooked with. And it is exactly those great 19th century novels that Lemaitre will remind you of'' Sunday TimesThe Pelletiers are a prominent French family living in Beirut, dominated by Louis, who has built a hugely successful business manufacturing artisanal soaps. Louis has three sons, but none seems to have the aptitude for commerce he desires.There''s Jean, the eldest, a feckless man who is both lazy and weak. When his ambitious wife suggests a move to France, he jumps at the chance for escape - for Jean has a secret that no-one must ever uncover. Etienne is the youngest son, who travels to Saigon looking for love, and there uncovers financial corruption and violence linked to the very highest officials - evidenTrade ReviewThe Wide World is one of his best . . . Compellingly plotted, stuffed with great characters, thought-provokingly situated in history * The Times *Pierre Lemaitre skilfully captivates and stuns the reader * Le Figaro Litteraire *Storytelling with never a dull moment * Le Figaro *Lemaitre casts his net wide, skilfully contrasting the vibrancy, exoticism and dangerous excitement of Saigon and Beirut in the years after the second world war with the drab, careworn city that Paris has become * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA major film from the makers of Normal People and Room, starring Florence Pugh and streaming on Netflix.An eleven-year-old girl stops eating, but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse, sent to investigate whether she is a fraud, meets a journalist hungry for a story . . .Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder – inspired by numerous cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth – is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes. Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul.Trade ReviewEmma Donoghue's writing is superb alchemy, changing innocence into horror and horror into tenderness -- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's WifeDonoghue mines material that on the face of it appears intractably bleak and surfaces with a powerful, compulsively readable work of fiction * Irish Times *Vivid, tender . . . Her contemporary thriller Room made the author an international bestseller, but this gripping tale offers a welcome reminder that her historical fiction is equally fine. * Kirkus, Starred Review *Fans of Emma Donoghue's first novel Room will not be disappointed with The Wonder . . . a tale of claustrophobic suspense and the intense relationship between a woman and a child . . . Donoghue's masterful way with words and imagery has the reader sharing Lib's scepticism and disdain for Anna and her family's naïve religious fervour. And it's Donoghue's skill in building The Wonder up into an increasingly tense thriller - is Anna a fake or a saint and will she live or die? - until a heart-thumping, palm-sweating dramatic denouement. * Red Magazine *

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Book SynopsisFrom Trisha Sakhlecha, Can You See Me Now? is a gripping psychological suspense thriller about a young Indian woman, now a government minister, whose past secrets are about to reverberate into the present and shatter her life. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Erin Kelly.'Deceptively clever' – Sunday Times'Stunningly original . . . The ending will astound you'– Lesley Kara, author of The RumourFifteen years ago, three sixteen-year-old girls meet at Wescott, an exclusive private school in India. Two, Sabah and Noor, are the most popular girls in their year. One, Alia, is a new arrival from England, who feels her happiness depends on their acceptance.Before she knows it, Sabah and Noor’s intoxicating world of privilege and intimacy opens up to Alia and, for the first time, after years of neglect from her parents, she feels she is exactly where, and with whom, she belongs.But with intimacy comes jealousy, and with privilege, resentment, and Alia finds that it only takes one night for her bright new world to shatter around her.Now Alia, a cabinet minister in the Indian government, is about to find her secrets have no intention of staying buried . . .Trade ReviewA spellbinding and stunningly original portrait of friendship, secrets and family, set against the turbulent background of Indian politics. The ending will astound you -- Lesley Kara, author of The DareCan You See Me Now? is so well written and compulsive, a sophisticated page turner. I was enthralled by the dual timelines, the political setting and the way the dynamics from the women’s past played out in the present. It’s very well done. -- Harriet Tyce, Author of Blood OrangeSakhlecha is excellent at creating atmospheres, whether its dark, gossipy, rivalry...or the raw power play of Indian politics . . . that permeates this moving tale * Daily Mail *Loved Trisha Sakhlecha's latest psychological thriller. It has everything; a friendship with secrets, a devastating crime, jealousy, politics and reputation. A multi-layered story. Whizzed through it! -- Emma Curtis, author of One Little MistakeStylishly executed thriller...Sheer class * WI Magazine *An evocative exploration of female friendships and politics, intimacyand intrigue. -- Rachel Edwards, Author of DarlingIntricately plotted and righteously angry, Can You See Me Now? is a thought-provoking tale of female friendship struggling to survive in a patriarchal society. Nothing is quite what it seems in this tautly written psych suspense... -- Nicola Rayner, author of The Girl Before YouReally enjoyed this new thriller...I was gripped by the twisty plot and loved learning more about Delhi culture. -- Neema Shah, author of Kololo Hilla deft exploration of power, misogyny, responsibility . . . It’s also a seriously gripping read. I loved every plot twist, found myself completely drawn in by the blend of idealism, glamour and ruthlessness in the world in which it takes place . . . -- Naomi Ishiguro, Author of Escape RoutesI loved it! Full of tension and intrigue that will keep you turning the pages right to the very end. The setting draws you into a world of teenage girls, women and secrets, lies and power. My heart didn’t stop racing. -- Lauren North, Author of The Perfect BetrayalCan You See Me Now is a highly literary novel, but one with all the page-turning compulsion of an unputdownable thriller. It is a book about India that can stand proudly beside Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. But it is...also about friendship, ambition, betrayal and growing up. A great read and one of my books of the year. Trisha Sakhlecha is a novelist to watch. * Edward Wilson, Author of The Envoy *A deliciously dark and original debut about love, loss and lies, with an ending that is impossible to predict -- Alice Feeney on Your Truth or Mine?Well written, with plenty of twists and an excellent sense of place -- Guardian on Your Truth or Mine?Original and evocative, I was completely hooked by the longing, love and envy simmering sometimes unseen, yet ever-present. With an ending I couldn’t predict, this debut is one to savour -- Karen Hamilton on Your Truth or Mine?Your Truth or Mine? is a book that you’ll want to read again as soon as you’ve finished it, to look for clues, wondering how you’d missed them the first time around. I thought I had it all figured out, so was ‘Wait . . . What?’ when the reveal came. The sucker punch came from nowhere and lifted me off my feet – the sign of a great book -- Sandie Jones, author of The Other Woman

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Book SynopsisItalo Calvino (Author) Italo Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923 and grew up in Italy. He was an essayist and journalist and a member of the editorial staff of Einaudi in Turin. One of the most respected writers of the twentieth century, his best-known works of fiction include Invisible Cities, If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, Marcovaldo and Mr Palomar. In 1973 he won the prestigious Premio Feltrinelli. He died in 1985. A collection of Calvino's posthumous personal writings, The Hermit in Paris, was published in 2003.William Weaver (Translator) William Weaver has translated Umberto Eco, Italo Svevo, Primo Levi, Italo Calvino and Roberto Calasso, among others. He is a professor at Bard College.Trade ReviewHere, Calvino, probably Italy's leading novelist before he died, focuses a probing eye on one man's attempt to name the parts of his universe, almost as though Mr Palomar were trying to define and explain his own existence. Where the Palomar telescope points out into space, Mr Palomar points in: walking the beach, visiting the zoo, strolling in his garden. Each brief chapter reads like an exploded haiku, with Mr Palomar reading an universe into the proverbial grain of sand * Time Out *Beautifully nimble, solitary feats of imaginationCalvino represents a high point of literary evolution; his skill is immense but retains a simian agility. As ever, his gaze is crystal clear and his writing has the easy beauty of clarity. * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisMarcovaldo is an enchanting collection of twenty stories that are both melancholy and funny, farce and fantasy. Calvino charts the struggles of an Italian peasant to reconcile country habits with urban life, combining comical disasters with a surrealistic view of city life through the eyes of an outsider. As always with Calvino, nothing is quite as it seems.''Delightful and rewarding as always'' Observer''The most magically ingenious of the contemporary Italian novelists'' The TimesTrade ReviewCalvino is surely among the handful of living writers that can be called, without hesitation, great. Each book by Calvino is a completely original conception. Marcovaldo is one of the best works of fiction published * Spectator *The greatest Italian writer of the twentieth century * Guardian *It is the refinement, the oddness and the humour of the thoughts he gets which make Calvino a rare pleasure to read; he is a match for Borges as he stealthily patrols the limits of the unthinkable * New Review *He will continue to glitter, this strange, lonely prospector in the universe of words, well into the next millennium and after, a master in the empire of the imagination * Independent *What is so much admired by the readers of Mr. Calvino's later Invisible Cities was already at work in Marcovaldo and with a more cogent narrative drive... Marcovaldo conveys the sensuous, tangible qualities of life * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2011Snowdrops. That's what the Russians call them - the bodies that float up into the light in the thaw. Drunks, most of them, and homeless people who just give up and lie down into the whiteness, and murder victims hidden in the drifts by their killers.Nick has a confession. When he worked as a high-flying British lawyer in Moscow, he was seduced by Masha, an enigmatic woman who led him through her city: the electric nightclubs and intimate dachas, the human kindnesses and state-wide corruption. Yet as Nick fell for Masha, he found that he fell away from himself; he knew that she was dangerous, but life in Russia was addictive, and it was too easy to bury secrets - and corpses - in the winter snows...Trade Review"Snowdrops assaults all your senses with its power and poetry, and leaves you stunned and addicted" Independent, "A superlative portrait... Snowdrops displays a worldly confidence reminiscent of Robert Harris at his best" Financial Times, "Reads like Graham Greene on steroids... Miller's complex, gripping debut novel is undoubtedly the real thing" Daily Mail, "Miller brilliantly showcases Moscow as his novel's strutting, charismatic star... disturbing and dazzling" Sunday Telegraph, "Tight, compelling... A totally gripping first novel" The Times, "A tremendously assured, cool, complex, slow-burn of a novel and a bleak and superbly atmospheric portrait of modern Russia" William Boyd, "Superbly atmospheric...Elegantly written, and spot on its detail" Observer, "A chilling first novel about the slide from relative innocence into amorality. I love the honesty of the writing, and the way the furious cold of a bitter Moscow winter gradually emerges as a character in its own right" Julie Myerson, "Intoxicating... It will whirl you off your feet and set your moral compass spinning... A.D. Miller's sophisticated and many-layered debut novel skewers the relationship between victim and abuser, self-delusion and corruption, love and moral freefall" Spectator

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Book SynopsisSometimes, only a dog's love can heal a family. A Dog’s Promise is the heart-warming and uplifting story about a dog who helps a family that are on the verge of breaking apart. From W. Bruce Cameron the international number one bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose, this novel is perfect of fans of Garth Stein's Art of Racing in the Rain. Bailey knows one thing for sure: all dogs who offer unconditional love, just like him, are destined for heaven.But before Bailey can rest in peace, there’s one family in particular that needs his help. A family that is on the verge of breaking apart. Bailey knows that helping this family means he won’t remember his previous lives, and the other families that he’s met and loved, but sometimes making the sacrifice to help those in need is its own reward. Deeply emotional and beautifully told, A Dog’s Promise will speak to dog lovers all over the world who know that their pets are sent to them for a reason and that their love can heal all wounds.Trade ReviewMarley and Me combined with Tuesdays With Morrie -- Kirkus Reviews on A Dog's Purpose

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Book SynopsisPortrays two women with distinct backgrounds in two novels--Reading Turgenev and My house in Umbria--that describe how the imagination and the written word can comfort people in desperate hoursTrade ReviewAs rich and moving as anything I have read in years. When I reached the end of both of these marvellous novels, I wanted to start right again at the beginning * Guardian *These novels will endure. And in every beautiful sentence there is not a word out of place -- Anita Brookner * Spectator *Inquisitive and loving. Trevor's is among the most subtle and sophisticated fiction being written today * New York Review of Books *A writer at the peak of his powers; it reminds you what good reading is all about * Chicago Sun Times *Reading Turgenev is one of the most beautiful and memorable things he has written. It stays in your memory -like Turgenev * Independent on Sunday *He writes like an angel, but is determined to wring your heart. Trevor at his most evocative and haunting * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisV. S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932. He came to England on a scholarship in 1950. He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. He pursued no other profession.His novels include A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival. In 1971 he was awarded the Booker Prize for In a Free State. His works of nonfiction, equally acclaimed, include Among the Believers, Beyond Belief, The Masque of Africa, and a trio of books about India: An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization and India: A Million Mutinies Now.In 1990, V. S. Naipaul received a knighthood for services to literature; in 1993, he was the first recipient of the David Cohen British Literature Prize. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He lived with his wife Nadira and cat Augustus in Wiltshire, and died in 20Trade ReviewAmbitious and successful . . . Extremely perceptive. * The Times *The sweep of Naipaul’s imagination, the fictional frame that expresses it, are in my view without equal today. -- Elizabeth Hardwick * New York Times Book Review *A Tolstoyan spirit . . . The so-called Third World has produced no more brilliant literary artist. -- John Updike * New Yorker *

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Book Synopsis From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror & the Light a savagely funny tale that revisits the characters from the much-loved Every Day is Mother’s Day. Muriel Axon is about to re-enter the lives of Colin Sidney, hapless husband, father and schoolmaster, and Isabel Field, failed social worker and practising neurotic. It is ten years since her last tangle with them, but for Muriel this is not time enough. There are still scores to be settled, truths to be faced and rather a lot of vengeance to be wreaked.Trade Review‘Savage and funny black humour at its best’ Time Out ’The macabre and wonderfully funny plot has as many twists and turns as a well-made thriller’ Standard ‘Filled with fiendish glee……Lie back and laugh yourself silly: this is the best send-up for a long, long time.’ New Statesman ‘Hilary Mantel's wit is wonderful and startlingly nasty’ Sunday Times ‘The farce is edged with constant acuteness about our current social mess and the pleas for charity to begin at home never miss the bull’ Observer

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Book SynopsisExpecting to be inducted into the army, Joseph has given up his job and carefully prepared for his departure to the battlefront. When a series of mix-ups delays his induction, he finds himself facing a year of idleness. Dangling Man is his journal, a wonderful account of his restless wanderings through Chicago''s streets, his musings on the past, his psychological reaction to his inactivity while war rages around him, and his uneasy insights into the nature of freedom and choice.

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Book SynopsisKenneth Trachtenberg has left his native Paris for the Midwest. He has come to be near his beloved uncle, the world-renowned botanist Benn Crader, self-described ''plant visionary.'' While his studies take him around the world, Benn, a restless spirit, has not been able to satisfy his longings after his first marriage and lives from affair to affair and from ''bliss to breakdown.'' Imagining that a settled existence will end his anguish, Benn ties the knot again, opening the door to a flood of new torments.

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Book SynopsisEndlessly digressive, boundlessly imaginative and unmatched in its absurd and timeless witLaurence Sterne's great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it, with a rich metafictional narrative that might classify it as the first 'postmodern' novel. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate 'hero' Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations. The text and notes of this volume are based on the acclaimed Florida Edition, with a critical introduction by Melvyn New and Christopher Ricks's introductory essay from the first Penguin Classics edition. For more than sev

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Book SynopsisWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ALI SMITHKatherine Mansfield''s clear, sparkling and perceptive short stories revolutionized the genre, and this collection represents the whole range of her writing. Moving, resonant, full of light and colour, they range from short sharp studies to longer, richer tales, encompassing her three major volumes Bliss, The Garden Party and In a German Pension, and fifteen tantalizing fragments of unfinished stories published after her tragic death, including ''Honesty'', an intriguing tale of two bachelors, and ''The Doves'' Nest'', an exquisite story of a widowed mother and her daughter in the Riviera who receive a mysterious gentleman caller. Graceful, delicate and quietly devastating, they observe apparently trivial incidents to create sensitive, often painful revelations of her characters'' inner lives.

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Book SynopsisClarice Lispector''s masterly second novel, now available in English for the first time''She found the best clay that one could desire: white, supple, sticky, cold ... She would get a clear and tender material from which she could shape a world''Like the clay from which she sculpts figurines as a girl, Virginia is constantly shifting and changing. From her dreamlike childhood on Quiet Farm with her adored brother Daniel, through an adulthood where the past continues to pull her back and shape her, she moves through life, grasping for the truth of existence. Illuminating Virginia''s progress through intense flashes of image, sensation and perception, The Chandelier, Lispector''s landmark second novel, is a disorienting and exhilarating portrait of one woman''s inner life. ''Utterly original and brilliant, haunting and disturbing'' Colm TóibínTranslated by Benjamin Moser and Magdalena EdwardsTrade ReviewProlific and peerless ... a Brazilian national treasure ... Clarice sought a knowledge beyond knowledge, a wisdom that left wisdom behind ... through her texts emerges the struggle of life: how to live each day, what the painful process of loving is, why one should pick up a pen and respond to indignity in the first place -- Carlos Valladares * Gagosian Quarterly *

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Book Synopsis''L-d! said my mother, what is all this story about? - A COCK and a BULL, said Yorick - And one of the best of its kind, I ever heard''One of the greatest novels ever written, now in a wonderful new clothbound edition Laurence Sterne''s great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it, with a rich metafictional narrative that might classify it as the first ''postmodern'' novel. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate ''hero'' Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations.The text and notes of this volume are based on the acclaimed Florida E

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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-SmithThis candid portrayal of a woman who refuses to accept her allotted role as wife and mother caused an outcry when it was published in 1899.It is the story of Edna Pontellier, who spends the summer on the Gulf of Mexico with her businessman husband and her two sons. When an illicit romance awakens unfamiliar ideas and longings in Edna, she discovers a new identity for herself, but cannot hope for understanding in the stifling attitudes of Louisiana society.

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Book Synopsis'A chilling read’ Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of My Sister, The Serial Killer'Gripping . . . wonderfully written' Guardian'Beautifully written and frighteningly honest' Sunday ExpressA mother moves to Geneva with her husband and their two young children. In their newly rented apartment, she is surrounded by everything she could possibly need to create a perfect family home. Her husband’s job means he is almost never present, and her entire world is caring for her children – making sure they are happy and fed and comfortable.But things aren’t perfect. Rather, they are unravelling, because the loneliness, the lack of sleep and the demands of two little ones are getting to this mother. She has never been so isolated, and once the children are in bed, the apartment itself begins to feel like a threat . . .Kyra Wilder’s Little Bandaged Days is a beautifully written, painfully claustrophobic story about a woman’s descent into madness. Unpredictable, frighteningly compelling and brutally honest, it grapples with the harsh conditions of motherhood and this mother’s own identity, and as the novel continues, we begin to wonder just what exactly she might be driven to do.Trade ReviewGripping, composed, observant, wonderfully written and extravagantly cruel * Guardian *Wilder artfully cranks up the tension, so you don't quite know when you begin to hold your breath. A chilling read -- Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of My Sister, The Serial KillerBreathtaking . . . a compelling tale of a woman’s slide into madness, all while living what seems to be the perfect life. Part metaphor for modern life, part lament for the lost wildness of life, this novel demonstrates both writing chops and deeper themes. Wilder is a writer to watch -- Rene Denfeld, author of The Child FinderI found it horribly seductive and almost read it through my fingers with a level of recognition and dread. Any mother of young children will recognise the fringes of the feelings evoked by such clear pellucid prose and startling imagery. It's a fantastically visceral and vivid account of the onset of madness set against the backdrop of a polite, middle-class setting: the mundane refracted through the hallucinatory -- Lesley Glaister, author of Little EgyptBeautifully written and frighteningly honest, this feverish debut delivers a brave appraisal of a woman's spiral into madness * Sunday Express *

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Book Synopsis'Sharp' - The Guardian'Excellent' - Glamour'Darkly funny' - Harper's BAZAAR'Chaotic' - The SkinnyAmelia is no stranger to sex and death.Her job as a cosmetic mortician at her family's funeral parlour might be unusual but she's good at it. When it comes to meeting people who are still breathing she uses dating apps. Combining with someone else's body at night Amelia can become something else, at least for a while.But when a sudden loss severs her ties with someone she loves, Amelia sets off on a seventy-two-hour mission to outrun her grief - skipping out on the funeral, running away to stay with her father in Tasmania and experimenting on the local BDSM scene. There, she learns even more about sex, death, grief and the different ways pain works its way through the body. It'll take a pair of fathers, a bruising encounter wiht a stranger and recognition of her own body's limits to bring Amelia back to herself.Wise and heartbreakingly funny, Ella Baxter’s New Animal is a stunning debut.'Self-destructive anti-heroines are in vogue, but what Amelia's story makes clear is how under-represented female sexuality still is.' – The Telegraph, The Four best Debut Novels to Read'There's a compelling quality to Amelia's honesty that recalls Raven Leilani's Luster or the sex-addicted eponymous narrator of Leïla Slimani's Adele.' - The Irish TimesTrade ReviewBaxter’s writing is so forthright, her protagonist so raw and unmediated in her feelings, thoughts and flailing at the “arrowhead of sorrow” that New Animal makes for compelling reading . . . an intense, viscerally affecting book, with the quotient of tenderness to violence in an equal scale. * Sydney Morning Herald *Baxter is fascinated with the female body, which “trots everywhere with you like an indebted lover”, and how it assimilates extreme emotions . . . Self-destructive anti-heroines are in vogue, but what Amelia’s story makes clear is how under-represented female sexuality still is. -- 'The four best debut novels to read in 2022' * Telegraph *There's a compelling quality to [Amelia's] honesty that recalls Raven Leilani's Luster or the sex-addicted eponymous narrator of Leila Slimani's Adele. As with these books, Baxter focuses on the ways in which pain works its way through the body. * Irish Times *There’s not one expected detail here . . . Excellent. * Glamour *This story is unique and compelling. New Animal is funny, sad, and illuminating about the nature of mourning. Turns out, there's a lot to be learned about grief from the kink community. Who knew? * Buzzfeed *Amelia is in her late 20s and working at her stepfather’s mortuary. But when her mother suddenly dies, rupturing her fragile family, Amelia flees to Tasmania, joins a BDSM community and embarks on a journey toward self-acceptance. * The New York Times *New Animal is a wonderfully tender book. Ella Baxter doesn't shy away from any of the messiness of humanity, choosing instead to lean in, hard, and unpack all the ways that grief breaks us down and ultimately reshapes us. It's feral and raw, laugh out loud funny in parts, and absolutely the kind of family mess I love best. Baxter is a delightful writer and New Animal is a hell of a read. * Kristen Arnett, New York Times-bestselling author of With Teeth and Mostly Dead Things *One of 2022's most exciting debuts, New Animal is a blistering, darkly funny account of its narrator's eventful attempt to outrun her grief, in a 72-hour exploration of sex, death and pain. * Harper's BAZAAR *I inhaled Ella Baxter's New Animal, which is the sort of animal that is all spine, all teeth. The deftness of her prose, which is so damn funny, along with such a poignant and true and entertaining story, make this a book that positively glitters. Ella Baxter's New Animal is an animal that is so animal it's human. * Lindsay Hunter, author of Eat Only When You're Hungry *[Main character Amelia] has outrageous sex to swallow her ineffable sadness, and though she's from Australia rather than Ireland, she could have stepped from the pages of a Sally Rooney novel... Baxter is a sharp observer, and seems to have the Didion knack of getting close to a subject without surrendering her scepticism. * The Guardian *I loved this macabre, mordant, and very moving book. New Animal surprised and comforted me with its deft investigations of grief, power, and self, and with its beautiful prose. This is an economical novel that packs a major emotional punch. * Lydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State *This is writing that is sharp and fearlessly chaotic, grappling with the depths humans go to for mere illusion of control. Luridly funny and always surprising, New Animal takes on the promise of catharsis--and upends it entirely. * The Skinny *

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Book SynopsisWhat is the difference between friendship and love? Gustav grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's life is a lonely one until he meets Anton. An intense lifelong friendship develops but Anton fails to understand how deeply and irrevocably his life and Gustav's are entwined until it is almost too late...'A perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers...' Kate Kellaway, Observer'Heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain.' John Boyne, The Irish TimesTrade ReviewThis is a perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers... Remarkable and moving novel. -- Kate Kellaway * Observer *The Gustav Sonata is a magnificent novel, heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain. -- John Boyne * The Irish Times *Beautifully tender and brilliantly written novel... A tale of the most powerful part of any friendship: love. ***** * Stylist *In The Gustav Sonata, Tremain once again proves herself to be a writer of exceptional talent ... Previous novels like The Road Home have already showcased her staggering sensitivity and capacity for empathy but they're here again, magnificently undiminished. Tremain is a writer who understands every emotion ... and it's ultimately this understanding that has produced another exquisite book -- Matt Cain * i *Tremain has the painterly genius of an Old Master, and she uses it to stunning effect... Glorious. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *

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Book SynopsisAs Mabel Waring takes off her cloak and steps into the drawing room of Clarissa Dalloway, she immediately realizes that something is not right: her pale-yellow silk dress, which she has had specially made for the occasion, is clearly old-fashioned, dowdy and out of place. Everyone seems to be looking at her in dismay or mocking her appearance. Crushed at once by her insecurity, Mabel is pervaded by a sense of selfloathing, and feels utter revulsion for the social world she has tried so hard to impress. Written in 1924 and perhaps intended for inclusion in Mrs Dalloway, a book Woolf was working on at the time, The New Dress is here accompanied by most of the short stories she published in her lifetime, as well as six posthumously published pieces that share the milieu and some of the characters of her celebrated novel. Together, they reveal their author as one of the finest practitioners in the field of short fiction.

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Book SynopsisThe Imposters is the first novel in stories that Tom Rachman has written since his international bestseller The Imperfectionists.'An astonishing achievement - brutally funny, humane, dizzying - will win Rachman the readership he deserves' Patrick Gale'Easily the best thing I have read in ages' Rebecca Wait'Clever and full of tricks from start to finish' SpectatorIt's set during a crisis in democracy, a society in lockdown linked digitally but convulsed by a social media frenzy, and is told by a little-known, little-read Dutch novelist named Dora Frenhofer who has decided that her life as an old woman in this post-truth pandemic world has become too much.But like a twenty-first century Scheherazade Dora spins stories to fend off the evil day, conjuring connections from her past to give meaning to the present. She imagines the fate of her missing brother, lost on the hippie trail in India in the sixties; the loneliness of her estranged daughter Beck, whose career writing stand-up shows for Netflix dramatizes the culture wars; Danny, an almost equally unfashionable writer she meets at a festival; the tortured history of the van driver who takes her unwanted books away; the nonchalant courier who nearly ran her over in the rain; her former lover, the sophisticated food critic; her last remaining friend. And finally, Dora's own last chapter.The Imposters is Rachman at his inimitable best, a writer whose formal ingenuity and flamboyant technique is matched by his humanity and generosity.Trade ReviewTom Rachman surpasses the already astonishing achievements of The Italian Teacher. His satire is often brutally funny, but always rooted in a humane acceptance that our flaws are what make us us. This is a dizzying switchback tale of our vanities and vain ambitions but also a deft illustration of the consolations (and condolatory revenges) of fiction. Dora Frenhofer, the relentless, failing novelist who powers the book along, is a spiky, courageous creation who will win Rachman the readership he deserves. Very sad the ride is over! -- Patrick GaleI absolutely loved The Imposters. It's terrifying, and yet made me laugh so hard. Tom Rachman is a wonderfully knowing writer, at home in half a dozen societies other than his own; and yet, The Imposters is a severe (at times hilarious) indictment of shallow cosmopolitanism, of the cruelty and disregard that can underlie the veneer of fluency in a global world, of failing to truly see the myriad peoples we find ourselves thrown amongst. -- Aatish TaseerIf like me you were a big fan of Tom Rachman's rollicking The Imperfectionists, you'll want to leap on his new novel, The Imposters. It's clever and funny and ingeniously constructed, also heartfelt: Rachman is a wizard at displaying jaundiced affection for his characters. And the dialogue zings along with an enviably Stoppardian zest. I couldn't have enjoyed myself more. -- Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer's EnglishThe Imposters is Tom Rachman's fifth book in just over a decade. It is also his best - full of twists and surprises . . . Whether it's 1970s India, modern-day LA or Syria, Rachman has a good ear for place and time, and changes gear effortlessly. Each chapter is a short story in its own right, but when key characters turn up again elsewhere, the connection invariably is with Dora, until you start to wonder whether they might be the creations of this novelist, whose memory is perhaps not as bad as we thought . . . The Imposters is clever and full of tricks from start to finish. It is also very moving. * Spectator *Like a twisting kaleidoscope . . . sharp, witty and inventive * Daily Mail *A novel full of wit and observation . . . Rachman's vivid evocation of life and his literary compassion compel the reader to read on and admire. * Tablet *Rachman is observant and funny in his take on how parents and partners damage their loved ones. Yet, Dora - the failed mother, halfhearted romantic partner and unfulfilled author - remains an oddly likeable presence: "She specified herself to be Dutch, therefore allowed to be blunt." Ultimately, this is a beguiling book about the wear and tear of disappointments and the transformative value of storytelling. Failure and loss, Rachman notes, can also be material. As can a pandemic. * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisIt's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared without trace. Then a letter from her father arrives - 'I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl.' Has her father's dementia worsened, or has he really seen Corinne? Returning home, Nicolette must finally face what happened on that terrible night all those years ago. Then, another young woman goes missing, almost to the day of the anniversary of when Corinne vanished. And like ten years ago, the whole town is a suspect. Told backwards - Day 15 to Day 1 - Nicolette works to unravel the truth, revealing shocking secrets about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne. Like nothing you've ever read before, All the Missing Girls is a brilliantly plotted debut thriller that will leave you breathless.Trade ReviewAre you paying attention? You'll need to be; this thriller will test your brain with its reverse chronological structure, and it's a page-turner to boot. * Elle Magazine *In All the Missing Girls Megan Miranda leads readers back through the past of a small town, enfolding them in a slow, tense nightmare of suspicion, menace, and tangled motives. A twisty, compulsive read - I loved it. * Ruth Ware, author of In a Dark, Dark Wood *Extremely interesting...a novel that will probably be called Hitchcockian * New York Times, editor's pick *All the Missing Girls is a smart, suspenseful, and emotionally complex thriller. Told in reverse, this story will make you want to lock the doors, turn off the phone, and read until the last satisfying page. * Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Ex' *As original as it is addictive, this story puts a knot in your gut from the opening pages. Vividly rendered, psychologically complex, All The Missing Girls is, above all, totally gripping. * Tim Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of 'Descent' *All the Missing Girls is set to become one of the best books of 2016 * Los Angeles Review of Books *Megan Miranda's utterly gripping and original All the Missing Girls keeps you off balance in the most perfect way. I was held hostage by the book from the first page to the stunning conclusion. This literally backward tale is a winner. * Lisa Lutz, author of 'The Passenger and How to Start a Fire' *A very unusual reading experience. Definitely worth a look. -- InStyle.co.uk * If You Liked Girl on a Train You’ll Love These… *The kind of book it seems like everyone has been hungry for since Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Paula Hawkins's Girl on a Train. * Cosmopolitan.com *[An] impressive tale of suspense. * The Sun *A thoroughly nail-biting narrative puzzle * Closer magazine *I loved this book... the structure is amazing. A must read! * Kate Williams *

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Book Synopsis *Selected for Simon Mayo’s BBC Radio 2 Book Club* 'Quirky and charming' Guardian For readers of The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly and The Guest Cat comes this passionate, bittersweet love story that will move readers old and young Secretly steaming open envelopes and reading the letters inside, Bilodo has found an escape from his lonely and routine life as a postman. When one day he comes across a mysterious letter containing a single haiku, he finds himself avidly caught up in the relationship between a long-distance couple who write to each other using only beautiful poetry. He feasts on their words, vicariously living a life for which he longs. But it will only be a matter of time before his world comes crashing down around him.Trade Review‘Its republication could – and should – establish it as a lost and found gem.’ * The Independent, UK *'Enchanting, philosophically astute and deeply poignant.' * John Burnside *'Quirky and charming with a well-executed denouement, this novella brings to mind nothing less than a giddily-lovesick Kafka.' * Guardian *‘A captivating philosophical tale.’ * Le Devoir, Canada *‘A love story between two people who’ve never met, thanks to the magic of a deepening correspondence. In times of internet and social networking, Thériault succeeds in offering fine and spirited promotion for letters.’ * Le Figaro, France *'...an intense and very deep meaningful ending…I would recommend this book.' * 'A Bibliophile’s Book Blog' review *

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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 ReviewA story about sex and marriage that is as explicit as any novel on the theme since Lady Chatterley's Lover * Time *At once sensational and serious... a middle-aged man's last bout of sexual passion * New York Times *That this is a work of rare art can never be in doubt * New Statesman *A story about sex and marriage that is as explicit as any novel on the theme since Lady Chatterley's Lover * The Times *Tanizaki tells the delicate and, in the end, frightening story with great skill...this is not a book you will soon forget * Boston Herald *

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Book SynopsisYouth''s narrator, a student in 1950s South Africa, has long been plotting an escape from his native country. Studying mathematics, reading poetry, saving money, he tries to ensure that when he arrives in the real world he will be prepared to experience life to its full intensity, and transform it into art. Arriving at last in London, however, he finds neither poetry nor romance. Instead he succumbs to the monotony of life as a computer programmer, from which random, loveless affairs offer no relief. Devoid of inspiration, he stops writing and begins a dark pilgrimage in which he is continually tested and continually found wanting. Set against the background of the 1960s, Youth is a remarkable portrait of a consciousness turning in on itself. J. M. Coetzee explores a young man''s struggle to find his way in the world with tenderness and a fierce clarity.Trade ReviewBrilliant...a remarkable feat * Sunday Times *Only a writer as great as J. M. Coetzee is capable of infusing meditation on the spoilt hope of youth with such clarity, fluency and poise... The quality of the writing and its unflinching truthfulness make it exhilarating * Daily Mail *This taut novel possesses the edgy grace that has consistently marked Coetzee's work * Irish Times *Tightly woven, each line detonating with meaning * Glasgow Herald *A memorable picture of the harshness London can offer to incomers... Youth is a wonderful book: a Bildungsroman, or portrait of the artist as a young man, to rank with any in the canon * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA Hay Festival and The Poole VOTE 100 BOOKS for Women SelectionShortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize, Zoë Heller''s Notes on a Scandal is a darkly compelling novel that explores the taboo subject of pupil/teacher relationships, obsession and betrayal. From the first day that the beguiling Sheba Hart joins the staff of St George''s history teacher Barbara Covett is convinced she has found a kindred spirit. Barbara''s loyalty to her new friend is passionate and unstinting and when Sheba is discovered having an illicit affair with one of her pupils, Barbara quickly elects herself as Sheba''s chief defender. But all is not as it first seems in this dark story and, as Sheba will soon discover, a friend can be just as treacherous as any lover.''Brilliant, nasty, gripping'' Zadie Smith''Compelling, dark, sexy'' Observer''Superbly gripping. One of the most compelling books I''ve read in ages'' Daily Telegraph<Trade ReviewFascinating, brilliant, horribly addictive * Guardian *Outstanding, brilliantly understated and blackly funny * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant, nasty, gripping -- Zadie Smith * Observer *Deliciously sinister * Daily Mail *Compelling, dark, sexy * Observer *Deliciously perverse, laugh-out-loud-funny * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisMr Artur Sammler, intellectual and occasional lecturer at Columbia University in 1960s New York City, is a registrar of madness, a refined and civilized being caught among people crazy with the promises of the future. His Cyclopean gaze reflects on the degradations of city life while looking deep into the sufferings of the human soul.

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Book SynopsisAn undisputed modernist classic, "Ulysses'" ceaseless verbal inventiveness and astonishing wide-ranging allusions confirms its standing as an imperishable monument to the human condition. This title states that "Ulysses" is 'an endlessly open book of utopian epiphanies.Trade ReviewEverybody knows now that Ulysses is the greatest novel of the twentieth century -- Anthony Burgess

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