Narrative theme: love / relationships

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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Book Synopsis“As lush and inviting as the gardens created by its heroine, this novel…will wrap you in captivating, high-stakes drama.”—People Magazine (Best Books Summer 2023) “A great portion of [Hedge’s] magic lies in how it turns a radical corner, gaining speed and burning urgency—then slowly becoming something else: deeper, denser, wiser. Readers will (and should) trust it to take us where we need to go—even if not where we expected.”―The Washington Post Featured in Oprah Daily’s Spring 2023 Reading List and Kirkus Reviews An emotionally charged, richly observed novel about a woman balancing the demands of motherhood and marriage with her own needs. Maud is a talented garden historian and devoted mom to daughters Ella and Louise. Motivated to reignite her career and escape her troubled marriage, she accepts a summer job restoring the garden of a lush, 19th-century estate in the Hudson Valley. Reveling in her work and temporary independence, Maud relishes her days in the sun. While waiting for her daughters to join her at the end of their school year, she strikes up a friendship with a coworker, archeologist Gabriel Crews. As the two share nightly dinners, their relationship grows more intimate, and Maud starts to imagine a future outside of her stifling marriage. Once Ella and Louise arrive, however, she is torn by her desire for Gabriel, her obligations to her daughters, and her growing concern for Ella’s dark moods. Is Ella acting out because she senses that Maud and Gabriel have fallen in love? What happens next is a seismic shock that profoundly changes Maud's life, as well as the lives of everyone she cares about. Deeply moving and impossible to put down, Hedge is an unforgettable portrait of a woman’s longing to be a good mother while still answering the call of her soul and mind.Trade Review“With language as lush as the setting, Delury pulls readers into a thicket of lust, responsibility, and betrayal that they won’t want to escape.” —Oprah Daily “As lush and inviting as the gardens created by its heroine, this novel…will wrap you in captivating, high-stakes drama.” —People Magazine (Best Books Summer 2023) “A great portion of [Hedge’s] magic lies in how it turns a radical corner, gaining speed and burning urgency—then slowly becoming something else: deeper, denser, wiser. Readers will (and should) trust it to take us where we need to go—even if not where we expected.” ―The Washington Post “The book is brimming with high-stakes tension…and readers will find themselves unable to put the book down until they find out what happens next." ―BookTrib "[A] sharply drawn portrait of anguish, loneliness, fear, and desire, it delivers an engaging new journey from ignorance to knowledge via a garden. A persuasive, quietly satisfying portrait of a woman's midlife crisis and the essential choices she makes." —The Kirkus Review “In this profound novel about love, loss, and choices, a summer's exciting work and exhilarating affair will reverberate through the lives of a deeply likeable protagonist and her family for years.” —Shelf Awareness "Filtered through the fierce love of a mother for her child, the book compassionately represents the messes people create and scramble to fix...Readers who enjoy themes of women’s lives and relationships will be fully invested in [Maud's] journey." —Library Journal “A beautiful exploration of the inherent tension between motherhood and desire. Transfixing and utterly rewarding.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular "Reading Hedge is like spending time with your best friend: the daring, smart, compassionate one whose wisdom opens your eyes even as her secrets stun you. Part love story, part thriller, this novel kept me entranced until the very last page.” —Jean Kwok, New York Times and international bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee “The magnificent Delury explores the complexities of marriage, parenthood, and art in Hedge. Maud is an every woman, relatable and strong, who loves her work and her daughters but finds herself at a crossroads when a secret is revealed that will upend their lives. As Maud restores gardens to their historic beauty, she must do the same for the family she loves. Passion and persistence bring a garden to full bloom, and so it goes for Maud, an unforgettable character in a story of arresting beauty and truth.” ―Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone “Jane Delury has done the impossible: written a seemingly quiet novel about a woman trapped in a bad marriage that builds and builds and builds until suddenly you realize you’re reading a page turner. I could not stop turning the pages. Hedge is a wonderful book.” —Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl “Hedge immediately pulls the reader in with its engaging storytelling and its exploration of themes like marital and maternal love and betrayal. Every turn the story takes feels both surprising and earned. I loved this novel and will recommend it widely.” —Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Long Bright River “It’s impossible to turn away from Jane Delury’s newest novel, Hedge. I fell deeply and intensely into this story of love, loss, marriage and parenthood. These are characters, this is a book, you will never forget.” —Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane “Hedge insightfully explores the complexities of marriage and motherhood, and the danger of family secrets that fester. Delury builds up her characters while breaking down their reserves, and the result is an honest, beautiful, and riveting read.” —Karen Winn, author of Our Little World “Hedge begins as a contemporary love story, but grows into a complex and suspenseful narrative about family. All the big themes—love, life, loss—bind together in this page-turner, with writing that is clear and riveting throughout. A gem of a book from start to finish.” —Catie Marron, author of Becoming a Gardener: What Reading and Digging Taught Me About Living “How do we protect those we love when there might be a terrible cost to ourselves? Which version of a story do we really believe about ourselves and others—and why? Delury’s immersive novel is about family and lovers, passion and responsibility, and it’s filled with such gorgeous writing, compassion and stunning surprises, that I couldn’t bear to tear myself from the page.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You

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Book SynopsisAmy Poeppel brings her signature “big-hearted, charming” (The Washington Post) style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in between.In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep. Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met. Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.​ Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok. When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot.Trade Review"Absolutely hilarious . . . THE SWEET SPOT is a celebration of the ways we find community when we need it most." * Real Simple *"The versatile and gifted Amy Poeppel has written a love letter to family, friendship and Greenwich Village. When baby Horatio arrives unexpectedly, Lauren, Melinda and Olivia who have little in common, unite to care for him, redefining the notion of community and the meaning of family. The twists and turns will delight readers. A smart, crisp, funny page turner. Book clubs will rejoice!" -- Adriana Trigiani, author of THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE"With sly humor and sharp understanding, Amy Poeppel hits The Sweet Spot in this funny, twisty, goodhearted novel about families lost, found, and made." * Virginia Kantra, New York Times bestselling author of MEG & JO and BETH & AMY *"Unabashedly warm-hearted and fun, THE SWEET SPOT serves up a fresh story about the chaos of family, flavored with classic components of the most entertaining dramedies: a charming New York setting, endearing core characters, and a hilarious supporting cast that often steals the show. Irresistible!" -- Mary Laura Philpott, author of BOMB SHELTER: LOVE, TIME, and OTHER EXPLOSIVES"THE SWEET SPOT is an absolute delight. With its quirky characters, humor, and lovely writing, it is my favorite book of late. Amy Poeppel has the freshest, funniest voice around." -- Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of SISTER STARDUST"What a big-hearted charmer this delightful book is! What a refuge the brilliant and talented Aston family and their circle of eccentric friends have created! THE SWEET SPOT is exactly the kind of novel I love the best and am always on the lookout for. Pure joy!" -- Julia Claiborne Johnson, author of BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME“THE SWEET SPOT is warm, witty, and big-hearted. I loved spending time in a Waverly Place brownstone with Lauren, a ceramic artist, and the women and men in her orbit as they each wrestled with work, family, and the price of love.” -- Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of THE LIFEGUARDS"THE SWEET SPOT sparkles with Amy Poeppel's signature wit and warmth. This genuinely uproarious novel celebrates families - born and made - in all their messy glory. It's so much fun, you'll wish you could pull up a chair at the kitchen table and stay forever. (Though you might need to remove a feral gerbil from that chair first.)" -- Laura Hankin, author of A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN"If Leo Tolstoy and David Sedaris ever had a chance to get together to write a novel, they might have come up with THE SWEET SPOT. It is at once intricate and laugh-out-loud funny, with characters who are drawn with such attention to detail that they feel like old friends. Filled with hope and redemption, I think it’s safe to say that THE SWEET SPOT is a masterpiece." -- Annabel Monaghan, author of NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT"Amy Poeppel has written a generous, funny, big-hearted book, and she’s pulled off a miracle while doing it: she’s brought us characters that feel absolutely real, with their flaws, their pesky human foibles, and their undying need for each other. THE SWEET SPOT is a story of love and family, filled with complications, twists and turns, brilliant art, delightful children, fantastic old people, and Greenwich Village. I couldn’t put this book down, even for sleep. Even for tea! And now I want to read it all over again." -- Maddie Dawson, Washington Post bestselling author of MATCHMAKING FOR BEGINNERS

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