Narrative theme: love / relationships

Book SynopsisBeautiful Emma Rouault yearns for the life of wealth, passion and romance she has encountered in popular sentimental fiction, and when her doctor, the well-meaning but awkward and unremarkable Charles Bovary, begins to pay her attention, she imagines that she may be granted her wish. However, after their marriage, Emma soon becomes frustrated with the boredom of provincial life and finds herself seeking escape and contemplating adultery. As Emma’s efforts to make a reality of her fantasies become more dangerous, both she and those around her must face the shattering consequences of her actions. Causing widespread scandal when it was published in 1857, Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece and one of the landmark works of nineteenth-century realist fiction.Trade ReviewMr Moncrieff has succeeded in rendering Madame Bovary in a flowing, modern style while not losing the flavour of Flaubert's French. * The Use of English *It has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone. -- Henry James

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Book SynopsisBasil and Josephine charts the coming of age of two privileged youths from quiet Midwestern towns, Basil Duke Lee and Josephine Perry - based on Fitzgerald himself and a combination of his first love Ginevra King and his wife Zelda. As one struggles to gain the acceptance of his peers and becomes consumed by ambition, the other finds herself obsessed by teenage crushes and has to confront the pitfalls of popularity. Written for the Saturday Evening Post while the author was working on Tender Is the Night, these stories form a realistic and entertaining portrait of two young adults in the 1910s, fascinating both for the autobiographical insights they provide and the timeless satire that Fitzgerald's fiction has become synonymous with.Trade ReviewHe was better than he knew, for in fact and in the literary sense he invented a generation. * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy’s most personal novel, Anna Karenina scrutinizes fundamental ethical and theological questions through the tragic story of its eponymous heroine. Anna is desperately pursuing a good, “moral” life, standing for honesty and sincerity. Passion drives her to adultery, and this flies in the face of the corrupt Russian bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the aristocrat Konstantin Levin is struggling to reconcile reason with passion, espousing a Christian anarchism that Tolstoy himself believed in. Acclaimed by critics and readers alike, Anna Karenina presents a poignant blend of realism and lyricism that makes it one of the most perfect, enduring novels of all time.Trade ReviewThe truth is we are not to take Anna Karenina as a work of art: we are to take it as a piece of life. -- Matthew ArnoldAnna Karenina is a perfect work of art. This novel contains a humane message that has not yet been heeded in Europe and that is much needed by the people of the western world. -- Fyodor DostoevskyWhat I confidently named the greatest social novel of world literature is in fact a novel against society. -- Thomas MannTolstoy’s greatness lies in not turning the story into sentimental tragedy… His world is huge and vast, filled with complex family lives and great social events. His characters are well-rounded presences. They have complete passions: a desire for love, but also an inner moral depth. -- Malcolm BradburyIt’s so fantastic that it can be read over and over again… I don’t know any other writer who is so adept at peopling their pages. -- Maggie O’FarrellTolstoy is the greatest Russian writer of prose fiction. -- Vladimir NabokovThe new translation into accurate and readable English by Kyril Zinovieff and Jenny Hughes surpasses even the most recent version by Richard Pevear and Melissa Volokhonsky...[it] makes the word order sound as natural in English as was the original in Tolstoy's Russian. * The Times Literary Supplement *Kyril Zinovieff has produced a fine, intelligent, sensitive translation that brings the Russian text alive in a way that immediately enriches a reader's awareness of its intentions and nuances. * East West Review *

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Book SynopsisThe pride of high-ranking Mr Darcy and the prejudice of middle-class Elizabeth Bennet conduct an absorbing dance through the rigid social hierarchies of early-nineteenth-century England, with the passion of the two unlikely lovers growing as their union seems ever more improbable. One of the most cherished love stories in English literature, Jane Austen's 1813 masterpiece has a lasting effect on everyone who reads it.Trade ReviewThis is the flowering of the English novel. It is witty and wise; there is not a single flaw in this book, or a single moment that you do not relish. -- Colm Toibin I read all of Jane Austen's novels very early on and learnt to love her economy of style and precision. She still seems to me the finest writer in the English language. Pride and Prejudice always bears another reading, and I think in many ways it is a perfect rendition of the novel form. -- Philippa Gregory Jane Austen is one of my favourite writers... very acute, very perceptive, and writing in close and honest detail about the tiny preoccupations of women's lives - preoccupations which speak of much larger social and human issues. -- Helen Fielding

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Book SynopsisA novel of high romance and great intensity, Jane Eyre has enjoyed popular success and critical acclaim ever since its first publication in 1847. Jane's journey from a troubled childhood to independence - and her turbulent love affair with the enigmatic Mr Rochester - electrified Victorian readers with its narrative power. With characters that are as unforgettable as the story they enact, and a striking use of language that amazed the readers of the day, Jane Eyre ranks among the most influential English novels ever written.Trade ReviewOne of the most perfectly structured novels of all time. -- Sarah Waters My all-time favourite classic is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. -- Jacqueline Wilson Jane Eyre is the first fictional heroine to give women permission, as it were, to have an intense inner life. -- Joanna Trollope At the end we are steeped through and through with the genius, the vehemence, the indignation of Charlotte Bronte... It is the red and fitful glow of the heart's fire which illuminates her page. -- Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisInspired by Fitzgerald’s own courtship of his future wife Zelda, ‘The Last of the Belles’ centres on the Southern beauty Ailie Calhoun from Tarleton, Georgia, who finds herself the object of attention of all the officers at a nearby army base, including the narrator, Andy. A wistful and melancholy exploration of unfulfilled dreams and lost youth, the story is considered one of Fitzgerald’s finest pieces of short fiction. This volume also includes other acclaimed stories – such as ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, ‘The Swimmers’ and ‘The Bridal Party’ – written by Fitzgerald between 1927 and 1931, during the prolonged period in which he was struggling to compose Tender Is the Night.Trade ReviewHe was better than he knew, for in fact and in the literary sense he invented a generation. * The New York Times *Table of ContentsContains: Jacob's Ladder, A Short Trip Home, The Bowl, The Last of the Belles, Majesty, At Your Age, The Swimmers, Two Wrongs, The Bridal Party, One Trip Abroad, The Hotel Child

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Book SynopsisIn the summer of 1348, the plague ravages Florence, and ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside, where they entertain themselves with tales of love, death and corruption, featuring a host of colourful characters, from lascivious clergymen and mad kings to devious lovers and false miracle-makers. Named after the Greek for ten days, Boccaccio’s book of stories draws on ancient mythology, contemporary events and everyday life, leaving an indelible mark on the works of future writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. J.G. Nichols’s new translation stays as faithful to the original as possible while being written in a clear and eminently modern English, capturing the timeless humour of one of the great classics of world literature.Trade ReviewThe first great masterpiece of European storytelling. -- Hermann Hesse

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Book SynopsisEmma is considered by many readers to be Jane Austen's crowning achievement, a timeless comedy of manners that lays bare the limits on women's autonomy in Regency England. The disparity between Emma Woodhouse's self-confidence and self-knowledge, and her determination to arrange marriages for her friends while avoiding one for herself, leads to a painful series of misunderstandings for everyone who suffers from her well-meaning altruism - and with Mr Knightley being the only person of her acquaintance who has the good sense to challenge her, Emma must eventually recognize her match in every sense. Long praised for its rich detail and perfect craftsmanship, Emma is one of those classic masterpieces that readers go back to again and again for its inexhaustible fund of humanity.Trade ReviewIt is the cleverest of books. I especially love the dialogue - every speech reveals the characters' obsessions and preoccupations, yet it remains perfectly natural. -- Susanna Clarke I read all of Jane Austen's novels very early on and learnt to love her economy of style and precision. She still seems to me the finest writer in the English language. -- Philippa Gregory A favourite from my school days, and it would always hold its place my heart. Austen's characters are always devastatingly good, and Emma is, for me, her best creation. -- Monica Ali

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Book SynopsisWhen the world-weary dandy Eugene Onegin moves from St Petersburg to take up residence in the country estate he has inherited, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with his neighbour, the poet Vladimir Lensky. Coldly rejecting the amorous advances of Tatyana and cynically courting her sister Olga – Lensky’s fiancée – Onegin finds himself dragged into a tragedy of his own making. Eugene Onegin – presented here in a sparkling translation by Roger Clarke, along with extensive notes and commentary – was the founding text of modern Russian literature, marking a clean break from the high-flown classical style of its predecessors and introducing the quintessentially Russian hero and heroine, which would remain the archetypes for novelists throughout the nineteenth century.Trade ReviewPushkin’s novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, is the book that has most influenced my life. -- Vikram Seth

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Book SynopsisMark Twain's gloriously funny Diary of Adam and Eve, which John Updike described as a paradigm of the relations between sexes, is presented here with a number of other Twain pieces on our two oldest ancestors, showing the writer's interest in this most famous episode of the Bible. By giving a voice to Adam and Eve, and by hitting all the notes on the literary scale - from the intimate to the comical, from the journalistic to the idyllic - Twain displays the brilliance and wit for which he is rightly considered one of the greatest satirists of all time.Trade ReviewThe father of American literature. -- William Faulkner

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Book SynopsisThe Good Soldier tells the stories of two outwardly happy couples who meet at a health spa in Germany just before the start of the First World War, and whose loveless, adultery-ridden relationships are strained and gradually disintegrate, with tragic consequences. Drawing inspiration from his personal life, Ford Madox Ford innovatively used non-chronological flashbacks as well as an unreliable narrator to reveal the scandalous affairs, lies and betrayals behind the facade of respectability, and craft a masterly work of fiction and a subtle investigation of the notions of truth and deception.Trade ReviewFord was the only Englishman who stood alongside the great 'moderns'. -- Peter Ackroyd

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Book SynopsisBathsheba Everdene is a headstrong young woman who attracts the attentions of a succession of ill-matched suitors: a quiet sheep farmer, a handsome soldier and an older, wealthy landowner. As the men vie for her affections, she struggles to retain her independence of spirit in the face of their declarations. Introducing readers to the fictional county of Wessex, Thomas Hardy’s fourth work of fiction was one of his greatest triumphs, both commercially and critically. Its tale of passion, jealousy and unrequited love is now regarded as one of the finest novels of the nineteenth century, and one of the greatest love stories of all time.Trade ReviewFar from the Madding Crowd is the first of Thomas Hardy’s great novels, and the first to sound the tragic note for which his fiction is best remembered. -- Margaret Drabble

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Book SynopsisThese inventive and entertaining pieces display the early sparkles of wit and imagination of Jane Austen’s mature fiction. Written when she was only in her teens, they are by turns amusing, acerbic and occasionally downright silly. ‘Love and Friendship’ and ‘Lesley Castle’ provide parodies of the gentry and the fashionable idea of sensibility of the time. ‘A History of England’ supplies us with a lively chronicle of English monarchic history. Also included in this collection are ‘The Three Sisters’, ‘Catharine’, the series of vignettes known as ‘A Collection of Letters’ and ‘Lady Susan’, an epistolary story which was recently adapted for the cinema. Taken together, these pieces display all the wry humour, shrewd observation and satirical insight of Emma or Pride and Prejudice.Trade Review“Jane Austen is one of my favourite writers... very acute, very perceptive, and writing in close and honest detail about the tiny preoccupations of women’s lives – preoccupations which speak of much larger social and human issues. -- Helen Fielding

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Book SynopsisWhen Mrs Ramsay tells her guests at her summer house on the Isle of Skye that they will be able to visit the nearby lighthouse the following day, little does she know that this trip will only be completed ten years later by her husband, and that a gulf of war, grief and loss will have opened in the meantime. As each character tries to readjust their memories and emotions with the shifts of time and reality, this long-delayed excursion will also prove to be a journey of self-discovery and fulfilment for them. Rich in symbolism, daring in style, elegiac in tone and encapsulating Virginia Woolf's ideas on life, art and human relationships, To the Lighthouse is a landmark of twentieth-century literature and one of the high points of early Modernism.

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Book SynopsisNellie March and Jill Banford manage an ailing Berkshire farm at the time of the First World War, a task which is made all the more complicated by the frequent rampages of a local fox through their chicken coop. When a young soldier turns up and begins to interfere with the farm and the lives of the two women, they must find ways to react to this new fox in their midst. A compelling study of the question of power, gender and sexuality, as well as a realistic portrayal of wartime rural England, The Fox showcases Lawrence’s inimitable gift for psychological observation and dramatic description.

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Book SynopsisIt is a variable early summer's day, and there is an unusual bustle in the grounds of Pointz Hall, a country house in a remote village in the very heart of England. The local community is all astir, intent on putting the finishing touches to preparations for the annual pageant, which is to be performed there that evening. Among the medley of attendees are Mr Oliver, the owner of the house, the flirtatious Mrs Manresa and her friend William Dodge, who is rumoured to be homosexual, the troubled married couple Giles and Isa, as well as the eccentric spinster Miss La Trobe, the author of the pageant - an ambitious journey through England's past and literature. Highly symbolic, and dealing with many of the themes that were most dear to Virginia Woolf, such as the condition of the individual in the current of history, sexual ambiguity and the tension between life and art, Between the Acts was the author's final novel, offering a tantalising glimpse of the direction her fiction might have taken.

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Book SynopsisTrapped in a loveless marriage and weighed down by poverty, Ethan Frome’s days are enlivened by the presence of Mattie, his ailing wife Zeena’s youthful and charming cousin, who provides help to the household. When Zeena realizes that her husband’s feelings for Mattie go beyond simple affection, and that they seem to be reciprocated, the scene is set for a confrontation that will lead to heartbreak, misery and tragedy. A marked contrast to the mordantly satirical novels of manners set among New York high society for which she is best known, this story set in rural Massachusetts is considered by many to be Edith Wharton’s highest achievement, and is unsurpassed as a study of forbidden love and thwarted desire.

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Book Synopsis ‘Chilling… You won't be able to stop turning the pages!’ Shari Lapena, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘One of the best books I have read this year!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You trusted him with your secret…and then he vanished. When Wren Greenwood meets a good-looking stranger from a dating app, she expects a casual fling – but they connect immediately. Adam Harper is her perfect match. She falls for him. She confides in him. And then he disappears… his profiles deleted, his phone disconnected, his Manhattan apartment emptied. First, Wren blames herself. Then she hears about the other girls – girls who fell in love with Adam, and are now missing. Wren needs answers, but as she follows the breadcrumb trail Adam left behind, it leads back to her own dark past. Suddenly, she’s no longer sure if she’s predator or prey. She only knows one thing: whatever it takes, she’ll be the last girl he ever ghosts… This unforgettable thriller will keep you hooked until the very final twist. Perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce’s Blood Orange and A.J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window. Readers LOVE Last Girl Ghosted! ‘WOW, what a read!… I couldn't put it down. ’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I flew through this – you just can’t put it down. Lots of delicious twists.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘It grabbed me from the get go… A must read… Highly recommend!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book kept me riveted to my seat… I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense novel.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘[Lisa Unger] has knocked this one out of the park! Psychological suspense… at its finest.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Brilliant and compelling… I read straight through the night, couldn't put the novel down till I turned the last page…’ Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Box ‘Lisa Unger is our most inventive suspense author… Clear your calendar and lock the doors. You will not be able to stop reading.’ J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark LiesTrade ReviewPraise for Last Girl Ghosted:‘Chilling… You won't be able to stop turning the pages!’ Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door ‘Brilliant and compelling, full of fascinating characters that take us to the darkest places imaginable… I read straight through the night, couldn't put the novel down till I turned the last page, and am haunted by it still.’ Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Box ‘Lisa Unger is our most inventive suspense author, and she's created another fascinating, timely, and insanely good story with LAST GIRL GHOSTED… Clear your calendar and lock the doors. You will not be able to stop reading." J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark Lies Praise for Lisa Unger:‘Lisa Unger’s deliciously intense and addictive thriller got under my skin. I picked it up, was drawn into this dark, tangled tale, and couldn’t pull away until it was done. Gripping suspense at its best.’ Karin Slaughter ‘Lisa Unger is one of my favorite writers. And in this tilt-a-whirl of a psychological thriller, she’s at the top of her game.’ Lisa Gardner ‘Riveting psychological suspense of the first order. If you haven’t yet experienced Lisa Unger, what are you waiting for?’ Harlan Coben ‘Suspenseful, sensitive, sexy, subtle. The best nail-biter I have read for ages. Highly recommended.’ Lee Child ‘Deeply plotted and complex… This is one book that will have you racing to the last page, only to have you wishing the ride wasn’t over.’ Michael Connelly ‘A darkly thrilling tale of survival and obsession. Lisa Unger never disappoints.’ Riley Sager ‘A masterclass in storytelling. The pacing, the characters, and the story are all pitch-perfect. This is an unforgettable novel.’ Samantha Downing ‘Unger takes you deep into the minds of psychopaths… what wild, creepy places they are to visit. Unger is at the top of her game here.’ Linwood Barclay

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Book SynopsisThough it is more than seventy years since it was first written, Caisleáin Óir, Séamus Ó Grianna's best-known novel, still has the power both to touch the heart with its story of the blighting of young love and to delight the ear with the excellence of its idiomatic Irish. The story of Séimí Phádraig Dubh and his sweetheart Babaí Mháirtín growing up at the turn of the century in the rocky peninsula of Rannafast in the Rosses of Donegal is one of bitter sadness, as they are deprived by fate and economic necessity of the magic glimpsed as children:'A Shéimí, goidé an cineál tithe iad sin,' arsa sise, ag amharc ar na néalta, 'atá os cionn luí na gréine?''Tá,' arsa Séimí, 'sin caisleáin óir a bhfuil na daoine beaga ina gcónaí iontu . . . '

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Book SynopsisCarpenter Adam Bede is in love with the beautiful Hetty Sorrel, but unknown to him, he has a rival, in the local squire's son Arthur Donnithorne. Hetty is soon attracted by Arthur's seductive charm and they begin to meet in secret. The relationship is to have tragic consequences that reach far beyond the couple themselves, touching not just Adam Bede, but many others, not least, pious Methodist Preacher Dinah Morris. A tale of seduction, betrayal, love and deception, the plot of Adam Bede has the quality of an English folk song. Within the setting of Hayslope, a small, rural community, Eliot brilliantly creates a sense of earthy reality, making the landscape itself as vital a presence in the novel as that of her characters themselves.

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Book SynopsisThere are many anthologies of love poems but friendship has proved a more elusive theme. Yet it is no less important. Like the Everyman Love Poems and Erotic Poems, to which it is a companion, the present selection draws on the literature of many periods and languages to illuminate aspects of friendship, ranging from social acquaintance through personal devotion to estrangement and antipathy. The tone ranges from comic to elegiac and there is certainly something here for everyone. The volume is divided thmatically into sections: What are Friends?; The Pleasure of Friendship; Good Neibours; Social Life; Dumb Chums; Portraits; Poets Together; Strangers; Absent Friends and Looking BackTable of ContentsWhat are friends?;the pleasures of friendship; good neighbours; social life; dumb chums; portraits; poets together; strangers; absent friends; looking back.

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Book Synopsis"An intense and satisfying story." - Sara Sheridan. Bohemian Paris in the 1880s. Exotic, strange and exciting – especially to young English sculptress Jessie Lipscomb, who joins her friend Camille to become a protégée of the great Auguste Rodin. Jessie and Camille enjoy a passionate friendship and explore the demi-monde of the vibrant city, meeting artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec and the boldly unconventional Rosa Bonheur. But when Rodin and Camille embark on a scandalous affair, Jessie is cast as their unwilling go-between and their friendship unravels. Years later she tracks her down to an insane asylum where Camille tells her an explosive secret – can their friendship survive the betrayal?Trade Review"Flows from the page like a piece of art."A touching tale of friendship, love and betrayal set against a colourful backdrop of the Paris art world.Compelling and seductive… a rather lovely taleJessie's adventures as a woman artist in 1880s Paris completely captivated me. A wonderful story." -- Carmen Reid"An intense and satisfying story - an insight into the constraints on passionate and talented women in the Parisian art world at the turn of the century. It will haunt you." -- Sara SheridanA beautifully written evocation of the Parisian art scene of the late 1800s... it is a mesmerising canvas of love, friendship and betrayal. -- Laura MarneyAn assured debut novel that keeps the reader fascinated from start to finish. - Bethany’s Book Reviews blog.

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

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Book SynopsisThought-provoking, comforting and wise, the simple truths of The Prophet remain compelling and rewarding to this day.Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.Utterly unique and beloved around the world, The Prophet is a collection of twenty-six poetic essays by the Lebanese artist, philosopher and writer Khalil Gibran. Telling the story of the prophet Al-Mustafa and his conversations with various acquaintances as he returns home after a long absence, the book touches on subjects of universal concern, including love, friendship, passion, pain, religion and freedom.Trade ReviewI have loved many books over the years, but the one I would never be parted from and read again and again is The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran . . . Each time I open the book I find myself feeling that if the whole world was to read it, it would be a far better place -- Lesley Pearse * Independent *

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Book SynopsisSet in rural Jamaica, Swimming With Fishes evokes the pain of a love affair between a London-born businessman and a native Jamaican and how that affair grows beyond either of their expectations...Sickle cell anaemia sufferer Kat wants a baby more than life itself. When the town herbalist foretells of a man from across the ocean who will father her child, Kat's hopes intensify into a dream that must come true.Her encounter with Londoner Ben years later edges the prediction toward reality. Their friendship develops into an all-consuming love to which they both surrender. Unknown to Ben, however, Kat is a sickle cell sufferer; and unknown to Kat, Ben is already married.

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Book SynopsisIn The Emma Press Anthology of Love, that familiar four-letter word takes on a world of meanings. Love is written across the sky for the whole world to see, and whispered to a partner at the bus stop in the rain. Love is transcendent and love is everyday, found equally in steamy texts and shopping lists, and the only reliable thing about it is that it's never where you expected to find it. Building on the success of 2015's Mildly Erotic Verse, this book explores the diversity of modern romance. Often awkward, never perfect, romantic encounters and relationships are rooted in our own contemporary world of Tinder, Twitter and TV dinners. But they are also part of an enduring tradition: the cornerstone of our common humanity. In this book, thirty fresh, diverse and original voices speak to what love means right here, right now, bridging the gap between Hollywood imagery and modern lived experience.Trade ReviewThe Emma Press Anthology of Love is a linguistic treasure trove of love in all its forms – platonic, sexual, intimate, absurd and existential. Each of the 65 poets write of love in a manner which is simultaneously unique and mutual. Such is the strength of this anthology, whose root concept of love makes for a heart-felt read, it is as though the poems are written just for you. As a small publishing press, they can, and have, taken on smaller names in poetry and elevated them, allowing the poems to stand on their own two feet. -- Urussa Malik

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Book Synopsis“Moving, poetic and quietly provocative.” – The Independent. A novel sure to appeal to fans of Outlander. When Alys revisits the beautiful Scottish island of Garve after an absence of 25 years, she is captivated by the embroidered casket on display in her hotel. She discovers that it belongs to Donal, her childhood playmate, and soon they resume their old friendship. Interwoven with the story of their growing love is the darker 18th-century tale of Henrietta Dalrymple, kidnapped by the formidable Manus McNeill and held on Garve against her will. Despite the 300 years separating them, the women are strongly connected: their parallel lives are linked by the cabinet and its contents, by the tug of motherhood and by the magic of the Hebridean island itself. But Garve has its secrets, past and present. Donal must learn to trust Alys enough to confide in her and, like Henrietta before her, Alys must earn the right to belong.Trade Review“Elegant, restrained prose...compelling.” * Sunday Times pick of historical fiction *“Historical fiction at its most luxurious.” * Authors Electric *“A powerful story of love and obligation.” * John Burnside *“Moving, poetic and quietly provocative.” * The Independent *“Heart-warming, realistic and page-turning.” * Lorraine Kelly *“Beautiful – lyrical and sensual.” * Hilary Ely *“Blisteringly eloquent.” * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisA stunning Australian love story for readers of Brokeback Mountain. It’s the 1950s in conservative Australia, and Christopher, a young gay man, moves to ‘the City’ to escape the repressive atmosphere of his tiny hometown. Once there, however, he finds that it is just as censorial and punitive in its own way. Then Christopher meets Morgan, and the two fall in love — a love that breathes truth back into Christopher’s stifled life. But the society around them remains rigid and unchanging, and what begins as a refuge for both men inevitably buckles under the intensity of navigating a world that wants them to refuse what they are. Will their devotion be enough to keep them together? Marlo takes us into the landscape of a relationship defined as much by what is said and shared as by what has to remain unsaid.Trade Review‘Affecting … While the novel portrays an era of criminalised desire, it doesn’t cede its emotional terrain to misery and shame, giving honest-to-goodness lust and love its due, too, without soft-soaping historical ills.’ -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *‘Carmichael’s second novel is a noble exercise in mapping lived but seemingly lost Australian queer histories. With its unfettered prose, Marlo is a quiet and earnest story of gay male desire and longing.’ -- Nathan Smith * Books+Publishing *‘Falling in love can be terrifying and all the harder when the laws of the land are against you. Marlo is a deeply affecting novel; tender and brutal by turn.’ -- Sophie Cunningham, author of Melbourne‘What’s most striking about Marlo is its quiet dignity, the lightness of touch with which Carmichael tells this story, which is about recognition and discovery as much as it is about love. Christopher’s unfolding realisation — that in order to come of age he must also cast himself out — is never cause for him to abandon his optimism and his willingness to hope for and work for a life and a love, however unsanctioned, of his own making. Carmichael’s reclaiming of a sidelined history is defiantly hopeful too, resisting tragedy and seeking out forgotten joys instead.’ -- Fiona Wright, author of Small Acts of Disappearance‘This novel, written with controlled retrospective fury and pain, is interleaved with archival black and white photographs of Melbourne, of known beats at the time and of particular parties. The photographs — grim, poignant, essentially dull — resonate. As does the novel. This was us? Indeed, it was.’ -- Helen Elliott * The Monthly *‘Queer lives were dangerous, so hidden and coded. They are hard to retrieve. Jay Carmichael himself notes that his project is “a task of inference” … [Marlo's] style is spare, with use of actual photographs to create a mood both bleak and secretly joyous. It depicts past Melbourne as alien as a distant planet.’ -- Lucy Sussex * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘My only complaint is that Marlo left me wanting more.’ -- Sarah L'Estrange * ABC News *‘Carmichael traces a hopeful story of two men trying to carve out some small corner of domestic peace that allows for joy. Even in its brevity, Marlo offers a glorious peek into historical gaps that were far from uninhabited.’ -- Stephen A. Russell * The Saturday Paper *‘[A] powerful, moving novella … Marlo reminds readers that the battle for equality is a continuum with a history.’ * ANZ LitLovers *‘Marlo affords a great opportunity to learn about past gay lives.’ -- Kieran Pender * “Marlo affords a great opportunity to learn about past gay lives.” Ivan Crozier, The Newtown Review of Books *‘Through rich language, Carmichael portrays sparkling drag clubs and dark back alleys in a way that feels at once enchanting and perilous … The relationship between Christopher and Morgan illuminates conversations about gender and race: as an Aboriginal and a gay man, Morgan lives an even more dangerous life, and this intersectionality is engaging … Marlo is a character-driven novel about the harsh realities of being queer in Australia and what it meant to fight for love during a time when the world fought back.’ -- Allison Janicki * Foreword Reviews *‘Carmichael’s poetic second novel Marlo [is] a perfectly crafted story of love between two men set in conservative post-war Melbourne … [it] “makes history immediate, every page pulsing with heart and sensuality”.’ -- Judges' comments from the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists AwardPraise for Ironbark: ‘Jay Carmichael’s Ironbark does the extraordinary. It achieves what we readers want from the best of fiction: to tell a story anew, and to capture a world in all its wonder, ugliness, tenderness, and cruelty. This is a novel of coming of age and of grief that astonishes us by its wisdom and by its compassion. It's a work of great and simple beauty, so good it made me jealous. And grateful.’ -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The SlapPraise for Ironbark: ‘Jay Carmichael approaches the world as a poet, from an angle that is all his own. He reveals a hidden, pulsing reality beneath the surface of the everyday.’ -- Miles Allinson, author of Fever of Animals and In MoonlandPraise for Ironbark: ‘In sparse and quiet prose, Jay Carmichael’s debut is an enveloping novel about grief, survival, and the futility of finding peace in a place you don’t belong.’ -- Shaun Prescott, author of The Town

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Book Synopsis"A mystery and an elegy for the death of old-fashioned journalism, it's a book that will warm your heart" The Observer "Splendid . . . Funny, poignant, perceptive and plenty of sharp elbows along the way" Val McDermid Thorn Marsh was raised in a house of whispers, of meaningful glances and half- finished sentences. Now she's a journalist with a passion for truth, more devoted to her work at the London Journal than she ever was to her ex-husband. When the newspaper is bought by media giant The Goring Group, who value sales figures over fact-checking, Thorn openly questions their methods, and promptly finds herself moved from the news desk to the midweek supplement, reporting heart-warming stories for their new segment, The Bright Side, a job to which she is spectacularly unsuited. On a final warning and with no heart-warming news in sight, a desperate Thorn fabricates a good-news story of her own. The story, centred on an angelic apparition on Hampstead Heath, goes viral. Caught between her principles and her ambitions, Thorn goes in search of the truth behind her creation, only to find the answers locked away in the unconscious mind of a stranger.Marika Cobbold returns with her eighth novel, On Hampstead Heath. Sharp, poignant, and infused with dark humour, On Hampstead Heath is an homage to storytelling and to truth; to the tales we tell ourselves, and the stories that save us.Trade ReviewOn Hampstead Heath is a deliciously romantic comedy of misunderstandings and misbehaviour - I loved it -- Clare Chambers * author of SMALL PLEASURES *With On Hampstead Heath, Marika Cobbold has rebooted the Hampstead Novel for the 21st century. A delightful novel -- Amanda CraigA heart-warming and at times hilarious tale about truth and honesty in this treacherous age of social media -- Josie LloydA brilliant and brave take on fake news and its fallout -- Elizabeth BuchanClever and funny with a splinter of melancholy running through it. It's a superb read -- Frances Quinn * author of THE SMALLEST MAN *Few writers balance darkness and light as well as Cobbold -- Sarah Hughes * i paper *On Hampstead Heath was so refreshing and unexpectedly needed, like feeling the sun on your face in winter. Funny, astute, and aching in all the right ways, I was utterly charmed. -- Tor Udall * author of A THOUSAND PAPER BIRDS *Marika Cobbold's look on life is unique -- Katie FfordeOn Hampstead Heath is exactly what is needed at this time. A romantic story tempered with a sharp wit and written with knowledge and love of place in which it's set -- Adèle GerasAn absolute little gem of a book, On Hampstead Heath is entertaining, thought-provoking and extremely witty -- Michelle Ryles * The Book Magnet *A fabulous read. It's wise and perceptive, honest and witty * Short Book and Scribes *Brilliant and funny and darkly surprising -- Emma Stonex

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Book Synopsis'Absolutely compelling. Every page fizzes with energy and observation' Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way 'A powerful and compelling novel from a very gifted writer' Joseph O'Connor, author of My Father's House 'Consummately done. The prose is clean, crisp, perfectly-filleted; the pace and tension perfectly controlled, to the very last page' Lucy Caldwell, author of Intimacies ________________ The scorching, engrossing novel about the fallout from a scandal-struck high-end restaurant When Hannah learns that famed chef Daniel Costello is facing accusations of sexual assault, she's thrown back to the summer she spent waitressing at his high-end Dublin restaurant - the plush splendour of the dining rooms, the wild parties after service, the sizzling tension of the kitchens. But Hannah also remembers how the attention from Daniel soon morphed from kindness into something darker. Now the restaurant is shuttered and Daniel is faced with the reality of a courtroom. His wife Julie is hiding from paparazzi lenses behind the bedroom curtains. Surrounded by the wreckage of the past, Daniel, Julie and Hannah are all forced to reconsider what happened at the restaurant. Their three different voices reveal a story of power and complicity, of the lies that we tell and the courage that it takes to face the truth. ________________ READERS LOVE SERVICE 'A proper novel, each thread felt true... It's been an excellent read' ***** 'Acerbic, incisive' ***** 'This book is superb' ***** 'The characterisation is perceptive and incisive' **** MORE PRAISE FOR SERVICE 'Ferocious, minutely accurate, damning' Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country 'A hugely gripping literary page-turner. Sharp, visceral and shocking' Claire Powell, author of At the Table 'A brilliantly observed, immersive novel which tells the "me too" story from every angle' Amber Medland, author of Wild Pets 'Service is gripping, fearless and raw' Una Mannion, author of A Crooked Tree 'I raced through Service. Sarah Gilmartin is a smart, stylish and darkly funny writer' Aingeala Flannery, author of The Amusements 'I gorged every page... compelling and brilliant' Victoria KennefickTrade Review'Absolutely compelling. Every page fizzes with energy and observation. Gilmartin combines effortless, elegant writing with a momentum that propels you onwards, barely pausing until you've reached the end. A masterful novel' - Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way'A powerful and compelling novel from a very gifted writer' - Joseph O'Connor, author of My Father's House and The Star of the Sea'A hugely gripping literary page-turner. Sharp, visceral and shocking' - Claire Powell, author of At the Table'Sarah Gilmartin's second novel is consummately done. The prose is clean, crisp, perfectly-filleted; the pace and tension perfectly controlled, to the very last page. Superb.' - Lucy Caldwell'A brilliantly observed immersive novel which tells the 'me too' story from every angle' - Amber Medland, author of Wild Pets'The exhausting and exhilarating life of a high-end restaurant is beautifully recreated in this masterful novel . . . deeply satisfying . . . A writer correctly confident in her recipe' -Emma Healey (author of Elizabeth is Missing) Irish Independent'Fantastic... a layered and thoughtful story about misbehaviour and who bears the impact of it' - Fiction of 2023, The Journal

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Book SynopsisChildhood polio has left Reggie Rainbow with a limp, but his strong arms and nimble fingers are perfect behind the scenes of down-at-heel variety theatres-where he helps illusionist Mr Brookes 'disappear' his glamorous assistants. When Mr Brookes accepts a booking at the Brighton Grand, Reggie finds himself in a strange new town. The seaside air works its own magic and the disappearance boy begins to wonder how much longer he can go on keeping secrets for a living...Trade Review"Vivid characters, a fascinating subject and an expertly evoked setting. Excellent'"- Daily Mail; "Bartlett delights in taking that which was once hidden and making it clear for all to see." - Independent; "This book and its enchanting characters had me under their spell. I was bewitched." - Sheila Hancock; "Mysterious, tender and utterly compelling." - S.J. Watson "One of England's finest writers" - Edmund White

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Book SynopsisA sparkling satire on international aid and celebrity, Looking for Bono charts one man's accidental quest to bring water to his community.Baba is a semi-literate man living a simple life centred on the local auto repair shop in Palemo, how he will find his next meal and an obsession with his disinterested, Nollywood star-wannabe wife Munira and her voluptuous body. Baba is acutely aware of the water corruption that has left him, on occasion, without so much as a drop to even brush his teeth. One day on the news, a story about international humanitarian Bono flashes onscreen. Bono is in Africa to do good and like a thunderbolt, Baba decides that Bono is the answer to all of his problems. Once Bono hears about the local water issues he will want to step in and convince the president of Nigeria to end the corruption. Once the water is flowing, Baba can clean up and Munira will set her sights a little closer to home. Before he knows it, Baba is a celebrity being feted by the Lagos media and Munira has turned into his virtuous wife. Will the ensuing media storm engulf Baba as he is launched into a world of high stakes foreign aid dealings and competing interests? Or will he return to his simple life with water for his community and the renewed affections of his Munira?Trade ReviewLooking for Bono may seem like a novel full of hijinks: there's a scene involving a domestic helper which is straight out of a Carry On film... However it goes much deeper. Other than the theme of media manipulation, the book also focuses on abuse, corruption and social class. * Robert Pisani, The Bobsphere Blog *

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Book Synopsis"Smart, fierce, and poignant: perhaps the most exciting novel yet by this very talented writer." Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West and The Reluctant FundamentalistA Young Pakistani photographer and his American born Pakistani-German lover travel from California to Pakistan in an attempt to exorcize their pasts, in order to build their shared future. Up in the glaciers of Northern Pakistan, a tragedy at a mountain lake entwines the fates of the two lovers with the people they encounter there: Miryam, a nomad, travelling with her family into the mountains to escape persecution, and Irfan, haunted by ghosts and hoping that the mountains may offer him a reprieve from his troubles. An expansive look at the intersection of cultures and what happens at those intersections, Thinner Than Skin is a powerful and moving read.

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Book SynopsisApproval follows would-be parents David and Cici through a series of forays into the past as they go through the motions of applying to adopt a child. Their story builds a picture of hope, vulnerability and fear as David is put under intense and intrusive scrutiny during their battle against faceless bureaucracy. From family background and early experiences to adult relationships, he is forced to revisit uncomfortable – sometimes painful – episodes, in the hope of meeting the authority’s requirements. Confronting a lonely, difficult and uncertain path to family life, Approval is a brave novel told from a perspective rarely explored in fiction: a man’s response to a couple’s infertility. Approval follows would-be parents David and Cici through a series of forays into the past as they go through the motions of applying to adopt a child.Trade Review“John Rutter's Approval is many things at once. A powerful meditation on judgement. A transfixing fable of a Kafka-esque application process. A complex tragedy about fatherhood. But it's also a simple, affecting and beautifully wrought story of one couple's journey towards what they most desire – a child – and the cost of reaching out for one. A hugely promising debut.” -- Rodge Glass"An authentic voice … the issues it raises are very real and have contemporary resonance." -- Lancashire Evening Post

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Book SynopsisA piercing meditation on love and music, and the silence and inscrutability which underpins the performance of each. Luc has lived a long time as a soloist. She has not seen Billy for many years. A visit to a major show of his sculptures sends her arrowing back to a younger version of herself: to a time when she had to make room to love him when she'd felt no room within herself. To a time when she was forced to make a choice between being one thing or another. To a time when he was a sculptor, but she was not yet a cellist. In exquisite and crystalline prose, The Cellist explores how you might make room for beauty and mastery for yourself, and still leave space for someone else. It asks what love and companionship costs: what happens when you are forced to cast yourself in the distorting light of another person's needs?

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Book SynopsisWomen's Prize for Fiction 2023 FinalistThe coming of age story of an award-winning translator, Homesick is about learning to love language in its many forms, healing through words and the promises and perils of empathy and sisterhood.Sisters Amy and Zoe grow up in Oklahoma where they are homeschooled for an unexpected reason: Zoe suffers from debilitating and mysterious seizures, spending her childhood in hospitals as she undergoes surgeries. Meanwhile, Amy flourishes intellectually, showing an innate ability to glean a world beyond the troubles in her home life, exploring that world through languages first. Amy's first love appears in the form of her Russian tutor Sasha, but when she enters university at the age of 15 her life changes drastically and with tragic results."Croft moves quickly between powerful scenes that made me think about my own sisters. I love how the language displays a child's consciousness. A haunting accomplishment." Kali Fajardo-AnstineTrade Review"Stunning and surprising." —New York Times"A Boundary-Expanding Story Of Devotion And Growing Up" —NPR.org"Poignant, creative, and unique" —Kirkus"A tribute to the deep bond of sisterhood: how, over years navigating life, it stretches apart and snaps back." —The Scotsman"HOMESICK is an incantatory and masterful work of art."" —Marisa Silver , author of MARY COIN and LITTLE NOTHING"A poignant and moving meditation on family, friendship and place."" —Thomas Chatterton Williams , author of LOSING MY COOL"A marvel: audacious and lyrical."" —Vu Tran , author of DRAGONFISH"Change is life, and Homesick is an exercise in conscious, delicate, joyful change." —LA Review of Books"[Croft] has created a memoir that is at once different from any other yet far more intimate." —Books and Bao"Astonishing in its emotional reach, its evocation of a child's discovery and a young adult's suffering and all the wonder of words." —Shelf Awareness"[A] marvel of a book that magically expresses the untranslatable." —Foreword Reviews

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Book SynopsisHow do you keep a friendship intact, when Alzheimer's has stolen the common ground of language, memory, and experience, that unites you?In brief, sharply drawn moments, Sylvia Molloy’s Dislocations records the gradual loss of a beloved friend, M.L., a disappearance in ways expected (forgotten names, forgotten moments) and painfully surprising (the reversion to a formal, proper Spanish from their previous shared vernacular). There are occasions of wonder, too—M.L. can no longer find the words to say she is dizzy, but can translate that message from Spanish to English, when it's passed along by a friend. This loss holds Molloy’s sense of herself too—the person she is in relation to M.L. fades as her friend’s memory does. But the writer remains: 'I’m not writing to patch up holes and make people (or myself) think that there’s nothing to see here, but rather to bear witness to unintelligibilities and breaches and silences. That is my continuity, that of the scribe.'Trade Review"Argentine novelist and critic Molloy examines the nature and significance of memory in her gleaming English-language fiction debut. . . . A graceful study of memory, identity, and relationships, this is one to cherish." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"A masterclass in writing, with a brevity and clarity which is both rare and welcome, and firmly situates Molloy as an outstanding talent." —The Skinny

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Book Synopsis¿Cómo mantener una amistad intacta cuando el Alzheimer se va llevando consigo las bases del lenguaje, la memoria y las experiencias compartidas?La narradora visita casi diariamente a ML., con quien compartió una estrecha amistad y ahora padece mal de Alzheimer. A partir de esos encuentros y los fragmentos de memoria de ML. va construyendo un relato poderosamente conmovedor sobre la desarticulación de una mente que progresivamente va borrando todo de una manera peculiar.Un intento, a través de la escritura, de “hacer durar una relación que continúa pese a la ruina, que subsiste aunque apenas queden palabras”. “¿Cómo dice yo el que no recuerda…?”, se pregunta la narradora frente a esa mujer que le muestra la casa como si la visitara por primera vez o que es incapaz de decir que ha sufrido un mareo, pero puede traducir al inglés perfectamente un mensaje donde se dice que ella ha sufrido un mareo.Pasajes de un pasado y un presente compartidos que se transforman en ficción frente a un olvido que no puede contradecirlos. Un libro que opone al derrumbe una prosa precisa y vital y la sensibilidad única de una de las mejores escritoras latinoamericanas.In brief, sharply drawn moments, Sylvia Molloy’s Dislocations records the gradual loss of a beloved friend, M.L., a disappearance in ways expected (forgotten names, forgotten moments) and painfully surprising (the reversion to a formal, proper Spanish from their previous shared vernacular). There are occasions of wonder, too—M.L. can no longer find the words to say she is dizzy, but can translate that message from Spanish to English, when it's passed along by a friend.This loss holds Molloy’s sense of herself too—the person she is in relation to M.L. fades as her friend’s memory does. But the writer remains: 'I’m not writing to patch up holes and make people (or myself) think that there’s nothing to see here, but rather to bear witness to unintelligibilities and breaches and silences. That is my continuity, that of the scribe.'How do you keep a friendship intact, when Alzheimer's has stolen the common ground of language, memory, and experience, that unites you?In brief, sharply drawn moments, Sylvia Molloy’s Dislocations records the gradual loss of a beloved friend, M.L., a disappearance in ways expected (forgotten names, forgotten moments) and painfully surprising (the reversion to a formal, proper Spanish from their previous shared vernacular). There are occasions of wonder, too—M.L. can no longer find the words to say she is dizzy, but can translate that message from Spanish to English, when it's passed along by a friend. This loss holds Molloy’s sense of herself too—the person she is in relation to M.L. fades as her friend’s memory does. But the writer remains: 'I’m not writing to patch up holes and make people (or myself) think that there’s nothing to see here, but rather to bear witness to unintelligibilities and breaches and silences. That is my continuity, that of the scribe.'Trade Review"Gleaming . . . A graceful study of memory, identity, and relationships, this is one to cherish." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"A masterclass in writing, with a brevity and clarity which is both rare and welcome, and firmly situates Molloy as an outstanding talent." —The Skinny

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Book SynopsisBrutal and overwhelming, Confession wrestles with the legacy of Argentina’s past and the passions of one young girl.When Mirta López looks out the dining room window, she sees a slim, self-possessed older boy on his way back from school. It’s 1941 in provincial Argentina, and the sight has awakened in her the first uncertain, unnerving vibrations of desire. Naturally, she confesses. But she cannot stop herself.Over thirty years later, in 1977, that same young man is a general, leading the ruling military junta of a country, and a cell of young revolutionaries plot an audacious attack on him, and the regime.Writing from the present into the past, Martín Kohan maps the contours of Argentina’s 20th century, but finds his centre in one woman – devout, headstrong, lit up with ideas of right and wrong – not the grand historical figures of her lifetime’s omnipresent, brutalizing history. And yet, there is great beauty in Confession , its decades and landscapes, and the legacy of love and guilt, pieties religious and civic, that play out in one family and against the background of dictatorship’s traumas.Trade Review"An expertly structured, morally complicated, and surprisingly timely blend of fact and fiction." —Kirkus"Beguiling." —Publishers Weekly"A wonderful book."" —Fiona Mozley , author of ELMET and HOT STEW"The prose of Argentinian writer Martín Kohan, above all in the most recent books, conveys a clinical precision and cool distance. From one novel to another, however, the effects are different."" —Edmundo Paz Soldán , author of TURING'S DELIRIUM and NORTE"Confession delves into Kohan’s poetics in an agile and determined manner, preserving his affectionate distance from the intimate affairs of his characters, as well as his freedom vis-à-vis militant writing" —Latin American Literature Today"A must-read." —Morning Star"A stupendous novel." —El País"One of Argentina’s greatest living writers." —La gaceta literaria"A fantastic writer whose texts question established ideas." —Letras Libres"Kohan works with tradition and with the Borgesian idea of the traitor and the hero. He chooses three situations and explores them minutely." —La Nación"Kohan’s novel understands and helps to understand; it delimits, records, pursues and reaches the most slippery crevices of history." —Letralia"The end result is a fluid, disturbing novel, one that neither resorts to low blows nor commonplaces when it comes to the military regime and the disappeared, but puts its finger on that concept that still causes unease when spoken aloud: civilian complicity." —La primera piedra"Hypnotic prose. A writer who owns a literary universe and a style all his own; a writer of unquestionable solidity." —El periódico"Martín Kohan is becoming an obligatory name in Argentinian literature." —Pagina/12"With a gift for totally natural dialogue, Kohan writes with an elegant lightness, paying great attention to rhythm. His specialty is the measured, exact word. Impeccable" —El Mundo************Praise for Martín Kohan"The worthy successor of Borges, Sábato and Bioy Casares." —Le Devoir"An expertly structured, morally complicated, and surprisingly timely blend of fact and fiction." —Kirkus"Beguiling." —Publishers Weekly"Hypnotic prose. A writer who owns a literary universe and a style all his own; a writer of unquestionable solidity." —El periódico"A must-read." —Morning Star"A stupendous novel." —El País"One of Argentina’s greatest living writers." —La gaceta literaria"A fantastic writer whose texts question established ideas." —Letras Libres"Kohan works with tradition and with the Borgesian idea of the traitor and the hero. He chooses three situations and explores them minutely." —La Nación"Kohan’s novel understands and helps to understand; it delimits, records, pursues and reaches the most slippery crevices of history." —Letralia"The end result is a fluid, disturbing novel, one that neither resorts to low blows nor commonplaces when it comes to the military regime and the disappeared, but puts its finger on that concept that still causes unease when spoken aloud: civilian complicity." —La primera piedra"Martín Kohan is becoming an obligatory name in Argentinian literature." —Pagina/12************

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Book SynopsisBrutal y sobrecogedora, una novela con la dictadura argentina como telón de fondo.Tres historias que forman parte de una misma historia. En 1941, en una ciudad de provincias argentina, una niña confiesa a un sacerdote los primeros y difusos impulsos sexuales que nota en su cuerpo, relacionados con la atracción que siente por un joven apellidado Videla que pasa cada día bajo su ventana. En 1977 un grupo de jóvenes revolucionarios prepara un atentado en un aeródromo para liquidar a un Videla que ya no es joven y es conocido por todos. Y, por último, una anciana –la niña de la primera historia– juega una partida de cartas con su nieto, que ha ido a visitarla a la residencia donde pasa sus días, y entre jugada y jugada le cuenta lo que le sucedió a su hijo, el padre del chico, en lo que resulta una nueva confesión. Tres historias y tres tiempos que se entretejen para forjar una única historia. Tres historias que hablan de dolor, culpa y confesiones.Una novela sobrecogedora y deslumbrante, construida con una brillantísima arquitectura que le permite al autor penetrar hasta la médula de las historias –de la historia– que nos relata.Brutal and overwhelming, Confession wrestles with the legacy of Argentina’s past and the passions of one young girl.There are mysteries in the world of man, just as there are in the Kingdom of God, and that they too, albeit quite differently, are unfathomable.When Mirta López looks out the dining room window, she sees a slim, self-possessed older boy on his way back from school. It’s 1941 in provincial Argentina, and the sight of the Videla’s eldest son has awakened in her the first uncertain, unnerving vibrations of desire. Naturally, she confesses. But she cannot stop herself. Thirty years later, Videla is a general, leading the ruling military junta, and a cell of young revolutionaries plot an ingenious attack on him, and the regime. Writing from the present into the past, Martín Kohan maps the contours of Argentina’s 20th Century, but finds his center in one woman—devout, headstrong, lit up with ideas of right and wrong—not the grand historical figures of her lifetime’s omnipresent, brutalizing history. “There is an art to keeping lives constant, not allowing them to be altered by facts that are merely external.” And there is great beauty in Confession , its decades and landscapes, and the legacy of love and guilt playing out in one family and against the background of dictatorship’s traumas.Trade Review"An expertly structured, morally complicated, and surprisingly timely blend of fact and fiction." —Kirkus"Beguiling." —Publishers Weekly"Hypnotic prose. A writer who owns a literary universe and a style all his own; a writer of unquestionable solidity." —El periódico"A must-read." —Morning Star"A stupendous novel." —El País"One of Argentina’s greatest living writers." —La gaceta literaria"A fantastic writer whose texts question established ideas." —Letras Libres"Kohan works with tradition and with the Borgesian idea of the traitor and the hero. He chooses three situations and explores them minutely." —La Nación"Kohan’s novel understands and helps to understand; it delimits, records, pursues and reaches the most slippery crevices of history." —Letralia"The end result is a fluid, disturbing novel, one that neither resorts to low blows nor commonplaces when it comes to the military regime and the disappeared, but puts its finger on that concept that still causes unease when spoken aloud: civilian complicity." —La primera piedra"Martín Kohan is becoming an obligatory name in Argentinian literature." —Pagina/12************Praise for Martín Kohan"The worthy successor of Borges, Sábato and Bioy Casares." —Le Devoir"An expertly structured, morally complicated, and surprisingly timely blend of fact and fiction." —Kirkus"Beguiling." —Publishers Weekly"The prose of Argentinian writer Martín Kohan, above all in the most recent books, conveys a clinical precision and cool distance. From one novel to another, however, the effects are different. – Edmundo Paz Soldán"" —Edmundo Paz Soldán , author of TURING'S DELIRIUM and NORTE"Hypnotic prose. A writer who owns a literary universe and a style all his own; a writer of unquestionable solidity." —El periódico"Confession delves into Kohan’s poetics in an agile and determined manner, preserving his affectionate distance from the intimate affairs of his characters, as well as his freedom vis-à-vis militant writing" —Latin American Literature Today"A must-read." —Morning Star"A stupendous novel." —El País"One of Argentina’s greatest living writers." —La gaceta literaria"A fantastic writer whose texts question established ideas." —Letras Libres"Kohan works with tradition and with the Borgesian idea of the traitor and the hero. He chooses three situations and explores them minutely." —La Nación"Kohan’s novel understands and helps to understand; it delimits, records, pursues and reaches the most slippery crevices of history." —Letralia"The end result is a fluid, disturbing novel, one that neither resorts to low blows nor commonplaces when it comes to the military regime and the disappeared, but puts its finger on that concept that still causes unease when spoken aloud: civilian complicity." —La primera piedra"Martín Kohan is becoming an obligatory name in Argentinian literature." —Pagina/12"With a gift for totally natural dialogue, Kohan writes with an elegant lightness, paying great attention to rhythm. His specialty is the measured, exact word. Impeccable" —El Mundo************

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Book SynopsisA mesmerising novel set in Japan, by the author of Rainbirds and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, about a young man trying to escape his past. When Shoji Arai crosses one of his company’s most powerful clients, he must leave Akakawa immediately or risk his life. But his girlfriend Yoko is nowhere to be found. Haunted by dreams of drowning and the words of a fortune teller who warned him away from three women with water in their names, he travels to Tokyo, where he tries in vain to track Yoko down. But Shoji soon realises that not everything Yoko told him about herself was true. Who is the real woman he once lived with and loved, and where could she be hiding? Watersong is a spellbinding novel of loves lost and recovered, of secrets never spoken, and of how our pasts shape our futures.Trade Review ‘Goenawan’s chilling latest delivers one startling revelation after another … Goenawan sustains a fast pace all the way to a shocking and satisfying conclusion. This author continues to impress.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Watersong transports the reader to worlds both familiar and unknown. Clarissa Goenawan’s crisp narration and vivid characters made this novel feel like a lingering dream. This is an intriguing and soul-stirring story about how we reconcile with our pasts.’ -- Balli Kaur Jaswal, author of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters‘Haunting, dreamy, and deeply atmospheric, Watersong is a jewel box of a novel, spilling forth with stories within stories, each a perfect, gleaming tribute to lost love, past secrets, and the enduring quest for human connection amidst it all.’ -- Kirstin Chen, author of Soy Sauce for Beginners‘An atmospheric mystery, elegantly told.’ -- Winnie M. Li, author of Dark Chapter‘There is a lot of style … this author will indeed have a long career.’ -- Joe Horgan * Irish Examiner *‘A compelling novel … Watersong is a captivating and nuanced exploration of love.’ -- Akina Hansen * Good Reading Magazine *‘[T]ruly magnificent. It touches the soul while exploring the cognitive aspects that have lingered behind certain elements of society … Truly a work of art … Watersong will be one that must be considered as a top contender for memorability, and characterisation of the highest degree.’ -- Chris Reed * NZ Booklovers *Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida: ‘[A] complex, interpersonal mystery … [A] tremendous examination of sadness … [A] book with heart about the mysteries of the heart.’ -- Benjamin Welton * New York Journal of Books *Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida ‘An offbeat, tender exploration of the secrets we keep from others … Goenawan is clearly a talented and creative storyteller … She excels at suspense, keeping the reader guessing with left-field plot developments and forays into magic realism that somehow seem in keeping with realities on the ground.’ * The Irish Times *Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida: ‘Vivid and intriguing — an elegantly cryptic, poetically plotted Murakami-esque whydunit.’ -- Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

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Book Synopsis"We are told there was a time when men were men and women were women You know men dressed in bowler hats or whatever hats of their choice And fine suits And the ladies too, along with their fine modest dresses No hair out of place ..." From genteel ladies and gentlemen sipping tea, to defiant expressions of independence, this is a complete and entertaining examination of one woman's search for the perfect relationship The fifth brilliant prose poetry collection from Beverley GordonTrade Review'I wanted to savour every word and pace my way through, but I couldn't put it down' -- READER REVIEW; 'Finds a way to the deepest corner of the heart' -- READER REVIEW; 'Could not put it down the poems are beautifully written ... really touched me. 5 stars this is a poetry book I will keep for life' -- Emma Fitzgerald, book reviewer

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Book SynopsisA bittersweet love story exploring why good people sometimes do bad things… Millie Malone, a spirited, thirty-something journalist returns home to Northern Ireland after a life-changing decision leaves her London life in ruins. A family reunion soon unravels, opening old wounds and igniting new grievances regarding the murder of her father by the IRA decades earlier. Retreating to the family cottage in Donegal, Millie soon meets Finn McFall, a fisherman originally from west Belfast, who loves to paint and recite Irish poetry. In the new modern Ireland, Millie believes religion is no longer a barrier for love. But she soon finds home is a place still struggling with a fragile peace and simmering sectarianism. As events unfold, Millie is forced to decide between love and loyalty, eventually having to ask herself the ultimate question: can love really conquer all?

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Book SynopsisThe thistle plant has a beautiful bloom, but it is protected by sharp barbs and prickly leaves. How many blooms would be plucked if not for those organic fortifications? Thistle, a name she adopts for herself, is an emotionally damaged young woman who experiences abuse, abandonment and loneliness in her childhood. As she attempts to move beyond her traumatic past, Thistle develops complex relationships with two other women, Hilary and Fliss. Set against the social landscape of the 1970s and 80s, this sensitive and considered psychological drama explores themes of friendship, self-discovery and the female experience. As in real life, there is humour and pathos. The novel invites the reader to consider the circumstances which lead its characters to make the decisions that they do and to empathise with their personal conflicts.

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Book SynopsisWidowed after a long marriage, Dorelia MacCraith swaps the family home for a house with a tower, and there, raised above the run of daily life, sets out to rewrite the stories of old women poorly treated by literature. Throughout this winding story, Dorelia and the elderly artist Elizabeth Bunting are sustained by a friendship that reaches back to their years at art school, and bonded by the secrets of a six-month period when they painted together in France. The loneliness of not belonging, of being cut adrift by grief, betrayal, or old age, binds these twelve connected stories into a dazzling composite novel. Within its complex crossings and connections, young and old inhabit separate yet overlapping firmaments; grown children, though loved and loving, cannot imagine their parents’ young lives. For most, the past is not past, but exerts a magnetic pull, while future happiness hinges on retreat, or escape.Trade Review"A perfect mosaic of women's lives and rooms lit by sinuous, perceptive writing." --Susan Wyndham, former Sydney Morning Herald Literary Editor "Stories of tenderness and compassion, with a keen eye for the telling detail. Rich in sentiment but always free of sentimentality, refusing easy judgements and neat endings, what ultimately endures is the power of female friendship and the desire to create beauty through the making of art, and in the spaces of everyday life." --Susan Midalia, author, Everyday Madness

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Book SynopsisAll the Tiny Beauties follows five characters in California as their lives intertwine.All the Tiny Beauties begins with a kitchen fire that sends the reclusive Webster Jackson to the home of his new neighbor, Colleen, who discovers him on her doorstep wearing a lacy peignoir, his house in flames. Unwilling to take responsibility for the lonely eccentric, Colleen reaches out to Webb’s estranged daughter, Debra. She also helps him find a live-in companion, a young adult reeling from the loss of her childhood friend. Moving among perspectives and generations, we see the longings and vulnerabilities that drive and impede these characters as their stories intertwine—Webb’s first love clashing with his last; Colleen embarking on a secret affair with Debra; the older Webb and his young housemate, Hannah, forming a bond over tragedy, guilt, and his passion for baking. Confronting the many ways they’ve failed others as well as themselves, Webb, Colleen, Hannah, and Debra slowly find ways forward and ways out. While exploring the fragile nature of our connections to one another, All the Tiny Beauties asks larger questions about the constraints society imposes that warp and wound, leading us to deny those things that make us wholly ourselves.Trade Review“All the Tiny Beauties is a careful, beautiful literary novel that ponders the contents of happiness and the purpose with which people lead their lives. By questioning what it means to conform to gender and social roles, it makes a deep investment in the multiplicity of identities.” * Foreword Reviews *“The best books are the ones that fill holes—in our lives, in our hearts, in our bookshelves—we didn't even know we had until the books showed up to fill them. Jenn Scott's All the Tiny Beauties is one of those books. It is a time-traveling, mind-bending wonder, a novel about Oakland now and then, about the fluidity of gender, of family, of place. It reminds me of Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad in its wicked sense of humor; its intelligence; its patience; its careful, fond study of how love can drift into hate and then, if we're lucky, back into love again. A wonderful first novel by one of our most talented up-and-coming writers.” * Brock Clarke, author of 'Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe?' *"All the Tiny Beauties is a wonder, an arrow-to-the-heart kind of a novel. At once compact and expansive, this book is part family reckoning, part love story, part grappling with notions of gender that both complete and confine us. Like Jenny Offill in Department of Speculation, Scott is a master at balancing the melancholic longing of her characters with moments of bristling hilarity and joy. All the Tiny Beauties is a wise and urgent novel that rewards you on every page." * Sarah Domet, author of 'The Guineveres' *

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