Narrative theme: politics / economics

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Circle comes a taut, suspenseful story of two foreigners' role in a nation's fragile peace. With echoes of J. M. Coetzee and Graham Greene, this darkly funny novel (The Los Angeles Times) questions whether we can ever understand another nation's war, and what role we have in forging anyone's peace.An unnamed country is leaving the darkness of a decade at war, and to commemorate the armistice the government commissions a new road connecting two halves of the state. Two men, foreign contractors from the same company, are sent to finish the highway. While one is flighty and adventurous, wanting to experience the nightlife and people, the other wants only to do the work and go home. But both men must eventually face the absurdities of their positions, and the dire consequences of their presence.

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Book SynopsisChristopher Hope was born in Johannesburg in 1944. He is the author of nine novels and one collection of short stories, including Kruger's Alp, which won the Whitbread Prize for Fiction, Serenity House, which was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize, My Mother's Lovers and Shooting Angels, published by Atlantic Books in 2012 to great acclaim. He is also a poet and playwright and author of the celebrated memoir White Boy Running(1988).

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Book SynopsisA novel of love, deception and desire from the author of Before the FallTrade ReviewA wonderful writer -- Jessie Burton, author of The MiniaturistMade me miss my stop on the tube . . . -- Lissa Evans, author of Crooked HeartMy favourite Great War novel . . . Incredible writing -- Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, on Before the FallA vivid, compelling tale of confused loyalties, compromises and consequences -- Suzannah Dunn, author of The Sixth Wife and The Confession of Katherine HowardThe Faithful is about many things . . . but mostly it is about love. Juliet West knows how to create an evocative sense of time and place, and then fill it with the most interesting characters, and finally, deliver a story that kept me guessing. I loved it -- Claire Fuller, author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming LessonsA rich, multi-layered story of love, loss and conflict . . . At once heartbreaking and full of hope -- Isabel Ashdown, author of Little SisterVibrant prose and characters . . . So well-drawn, and incredibly topical -- Vanessa Lafaye, author of SummertimeA vivid and unforgettable story of love . . . Absorbing, fast-paced, and poignant, the portrait of ordinary people caught up in movements bigger than themselves makes this a must-read for today’s readers -- Ann Weisgarber, author of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree and The PromiseA tightly knotted story of love and divided loyalties that is both rich in period detail and told with warmth, wit and passion. Wonderful -- Jason Hewitt, author of Devastation RoadA compelling and perceptive story of divided loyalties and the complexities of love, friendship and family -- Isabel Costello, author of Paris Mon AmourEnthralling . . . Tugs the reader close to the inner lives of ordinary people, characters whose decisions and dilemmas, loves and losses remain with you long after reading -- Jane Rusbridge, author of Rook and The Devil's MusicA wonderful novel about desire and its consequences, set amongst the sharply divided politics of the 1930s. A page-turner -- William Ryan, author of The Constant SoldierEnthralling . . . Juliet has brought the time and place to life and then peopled it with completely believable characters to play out this wonderful story -- Louise Douglas, author of Your Beautiful Lies and The Secret by the LakeExquisite . . . The story builds beautifully, the plot naturally quickening in pace to a gripping denouement. I was completely drawn into the novel’s world and engaged by its issues of loyalty and loss. Highly recommended -- Martine Bailey, author of An Appetite for Violets and The Penny HeartA rising literary star * Sunday Times *A story of love across borders, idealism and integrity . . . and a mini-series in the making * Sunday Independent, Ireland *Fans of well-crafted period fiction will gobble down this second novel from the author of Before The Fall * Metro *Wonderfully evocative * Red Magazine *Juliet West writes incredibly moving and atmospheric war-era novels, full of strong women, secrets, conflict and desire. This, her second, is superb * Saga Magazine *Gripping * My Weekly *Compelling, nuanced … suffused with historical detail. West weaves a subtle mystery, luring us towards truths so skilfully exposed that the effect is truly shocking * Historia magazine *A tale of family secrets against a backdrop of war and extremism * Good Housekeeping *Teen Hazel finds love under the watch of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts. A year later, the pair cross paths. Tom must never know why she broke his heart, but it’s not just Hazel holding secrets * S Magazine *In her second stunning novel, West uses her lyrical prose, acute powers of observation and impressive sense of time and place to explore issues that are as relevant now as they were eighty years ago. The Faithful achieves what many authors aspire to . . . an outstanding follow-up to a successful debut * Lancashire Evening Post *An epic story of star-crossed lovers * Sussex Life *Intelligent, wise, and full of passion and courage . . . A superb read -- Louise Douglas, author of The Secrets Between Us, on Before the FallEvocative and powerful -- Good Housekeeping on Before the FallAs poignant as it is powerful -- Alison MacLeod, author of Unexploded, on Before the FallA stunning debut -- a breathtaking portrayal of life and love in all its complexity. Heartbreaking -- Suzannah Dunn, author of The Confession of Katherine Howard, on Before the FallPoignant and arresting -- Daily Mail on Before the FallA beautiful love story -- Woman on Before the Fall

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Book SynopsisEscape, Escapism, Escapology: American Novels of the Early Twenty-First Century identifies and explores what has emerged as perhaps the central theme of 21st-century American fiction: the desire to escapefrom the commodified present, from directionless history, from moral deathat a time of inescapable globalization. The driving question is how to find an alternative to the world within the world, at a time when utopian and messianic ideals have lost their power to compel belief. John Limon traces the American answer to that question in the writings of some of the most important authors of the last two decadesChabon, Diaz, Foer, Eggers, Donoghue, Groff, Ward, Saunders, and Whitehead, among othersand finds that it always involves the faux utopian freedom and pseudo-messianic salvation of childhood.When contemporary novelists feature actual historical escape, pervasively from slavery or Nazism, it appears in their novels as escape envy or escape nostalgiTrade ReviewIf you haven’t yet encountered John Limon’s work, you have some exhilarating surprises ahead: it’s witty, keenly idiosyncratic, beautifully adroit at drawing unexpected connections, and spectacularly attuned to the evocative possibilities of both paradox and pathos. Escape, Escapism, Escapology: American Novels of the Early Twenty-First Century is a savvy examination of crucial obsessions in some of our most ambitious and canonical contemporary fictions, helping us through the problem of conceiving not only what we’re escaping from but also what we’re escaping to. The result is an argument that will compel both the ornithologists and the birds: one that our Michael Chabons will find as illuminating as our Stanley Cavells. * Jim Shepard, author of The Book of Aron *Limon's bleakly funny and effortlessly learned study examines novels for which this, the world now before us, is ‘as good as it gets.’ That equivocal and confounding prospect, it turns out, haunts contemporary fiction in previously unimaginable ways. This is literary criticism at its very best. * Michael Szalay, Professor of English, Film, and Media, University of California, Irvine, USA *John Limon’s Escape, Escapism, Escapology will stand as a landmark study of the early twenty-first century Anglophone novel. Its elaboration of escapism offers a brilliantly original and suggestive framework for a widescale reconsideration of the force and interest of contemporary fiction. I can think of very few recent works of criticism that can match its interpretive verve and its contagious curiosity. It is thrilling to read such an intellectually forceful engagement with aesthetic culture of the present moment. * Deak Nabers, Associate Professor of English, Brown University, USA *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Escape, Escapism, Escapology 1. Notes from Neverland 2. I Flit, I Float, I Fleetly Flee, I Fly [on The Sound of Music] Part II: Family Likenesses 3. The Escapist [on Michael Chabon] 4. Mellon [on Junot Diaz] 5. Bath and Bathos [on Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer] 6. The Beauty! The Horror! [on Emma Donoghue] 7. Et in Nobis Arcadia [on Lauren Groff] 8. The Ethics of Immortality [on Colson Whitehead] 9. The Songs of Murdered Souls [On Jesmyn Ward and George Saunders] Part III: Foreign Correspondents 10. Choice and the Chosen [on David Grossman] 11. Categorical Denial [on Arundhati Roy] Part IV: Prequel 12. The Tunnel Out [on William H. Gass] Acknowledgments References Index

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Book SynopsisA Guardian, Financial Times, The Millions, Vulture, and Buzzfeed's Most Anticipated of 2020'An immigrant’s view conveyed with authority and wit . . . Adiga is a startlingly fine observer, and a complicator, in the manner of V.S. Naipaul.’ New York TimesFrom the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger and Selection Day, Aravind Adiga, comes the story of an undocumented immigrant who becomes the only witness to a crime and must face an impossible moral dilemma.Danny – Dhananjaya Rajaratnam – is an undocumented immigrant in Sydney, denied refugee status after he has fled from his native Sri Lanka. Working as a cleaner, living out of a grocery storeroom, for three years he’s been trying to create a new identity for himself. And now, with his beloved vegan girlfriend, Sonja, with his hidden accent and highlights in his hair, he is as close as he has ever come to living a normal Australian life.But then one morning, Danny learns a female client of his has been murdered. When Danny recognizes a jacket left at the murder scene, he believes it belongs to another of his clients — a doctor with whom he knows the woman was having an affair. Suddenly Danny is confronted with a choice: come forward with his knowledge about the crime and risk being deported, or say nothing, and let justice go undone? Over the course of a single day, evaluating the weight of his past, his dreams for the future, and the unpredictable, often absurd reality of living invisibly and undocumented, he must wrestle with his conscience and decide if a person without rights still has responsibilities.Suspenseful, propulsive, and full of Aravind Adiga’s signature wit and magic, Amnesty is both a timeless moral struggle and a universal story with particular urgency today.Trade ReviewThe kind of sharp social anthropology at which Adiga excels . . . Brimming with empathy as well as indignation, this novel . . . extends Adiga’s fictional concern with deprivation and injustice. * Sunday Times *What makes Amnesty an urgent and significant book is the generosity and the humanity of its vision. The abstract issue of immigration, fodder for cheap politics, comes starkly alive in the story of this one man, his past troubles and his present conflict. Amnesty is an ample book, pertinent and necessary. It speaks to our times. -- Juan Gabriel Vásquez * New York Times *A mesmerising, breakneck quest of a novel; a search for the true sense of self, for the answer to a moral dilemma which damns either way. The scope and profundity of Victor Hugo, the humour and wit we’ve come to expect from Adiga, and a novel which suggests the impossibility of keeping a sense of the self in a globalised world which either forces assimilation or exile. -- Andrew McMillan[Adiga] has more to say than most novelists, and about 50 more ways to say it . . . Adiga is a startlingly fine observer, and a complicator, in the manner of V.S. Naipaul . . . This novel has a simmering plot . . . You come to this novel for . . . its author’s authority, wit and feeling on the subject of immigrants’ lives. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *Adiga is one of the great observers of power and its deformities, showing in novels like his Booker Prize winning White Tiger and Last Man in Tower how within societies, the powerful lean on the less powerful, and the weak exploit the weaker all the way down. Telling the tale of Danny’s immigration along the story of one tense day, he has built a forceful, urgent thriller for our times. -- John Freeman * Lit Hub *A forceful, urgent thriller for our times * Lit Hub *Danny's voice, in its sheer everyday ordinariness, will stay with you a long time. * Daily Mail *Scrutinizes the human condition through a haves-vs.-have-not filter with sly wit and narrative ingenuity . . . Adiga's smart, funny, and timely tale with a crime spin of an undocumented immigrant will catalyze readers. * Booklist *Engrossing . . . vivid . . . Adiga’s enthralling depiction of one immigrant’s tough situation humanizes a complex and controversial global dilemma. * Publishers Weekly *A taut, thrillerlike novel . . . A well-crafted tale of entrapment, alert to the risk of exploitation that follows immigrants in a new country. * Kirkus, starred review *

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Book SynopsisAN OF-THE-MOMENT NOVEL FOR READERS OF FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE'Timely, risky and dazzling' Polly Clark, author of Tiger'Sharply funny, perceptive, and surprising at every turn, The Smash-Up is a story that's acid-etched and full of heart, intimate, and relevant' Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of White Houses and Away'Every woman should read this book. Every woman, every feminist, every activist' Jane Harris, author of Orange Prize shortlisted The ObservationsAfter years spent in the city, working with his business partner Randy on Bränd media, Ethan finds himself in the quiet, closed-off town of Starkfield. His wife Zenobia is perpetually distracted by the swirling #MeToo politics, the Kavanaugh hearings, and her duties to the feminist activism group she formed: All Them Witches. Ethan finds himself caught between their regular meetings at his home and the battle to get his livewire daughter Alex to sleep.But the new, stilted rhythm of his life is interrupted when he receives a panicked message. Accusations. Against Randy. A slew of them. And Ethan is abruptly forced to question everything: his past, his future, his marriage, and what he values most.Unrelenting in its satire, The Smash-up jolts you into the twisted psyche of successful brand advertising, where historic exploitation is only ever a panicked phone-call away. With magnetic energy and doses of comic wit, Benjamin creates a world of social media algorithms, extreme polarization, the collapsing of identity into tweet-sized spaces, and the spectre of violence that can be found even in the quietest places.Trade ReviewThe Smash-Up is an incandescent meteor of a novel, blazing through the preoccupations of our time with wit, originality and compassion. Timely, risky and dazzling. -- Polly Clark, author of TIGERSharply funny, perceptive, and surprising at every turn, The Smash-Up is a story that's acid-etched and full of heart, intimate, and relevant as it explores the impact on a family of the collapse of everything in this unsettled, unsettling world. Ali Benjamin is Edith Wharton with fresh eyes. -- Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of White Houses and AwayA great page-turner, this book could only have been written now. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me think. Every woman should read this book. Every woman, every feminist, every activist. And then, together we should all go and Burn It All Down. -- Jane Harris, author of Orange Prize shortlisted THE OBSERVATIONSBenjamin's immediately engaging writing captures the complicated emotions and biting humour of these bruising times and their impact on relationships. * Booklist *Funny, compelling and utterly relatable, this is the novel for you. * Stylist *Benjamin is an absolutely brilliant satirist and deftly juxtaposes the battlegrounds of marriage, parenthood and middle-class aspiration with the fight for truth and justice in the bigger political picture. * Daily Mail *A fun, timely novel that's unexpectedly full of hope. * People's Pick *An exhilarating ride .... hilarious .... there are no heroes here; I got whiplash trying to figure out who I trusted and what I was rooting for, and the sensation was mesmerizing.... Benjamin is like an overly chatty but skilled magician .... a modern and energetic story about a marriage on the skids. * The New York Times *Smart, funny and topical, this is an astute story of a once-happy couple dealing with temptation, familiarity, fury and the very real chance that their relationship will be smashed to smithereens under the pressure. * Daily Mirror *Ambitious, startling, funny, furious, and wise, Ali Benjamin's debut novel offers the shock of recognition as it deftly tackles some of the biggest issues of our time. Taking inspiration from Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton's classic tale about a small-town love triangle, The Smash-Up explores a world Wharton couldn't have imagined in 1911. . . but it's ultimately a story that explores the same themes as her original: duty vs. passion; confinement vs. escape; the staggering tragedy of lost potential. * Grazia (Best Books of 2021) *Smart, funny and topical, this is an astute story of a once-happy couple dealing with temptation, familiarity and fury. * S Mag *

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Book SynopsisThe son of a witch doctor finds himself on the surprising path to Jihad in this novel by an award-winning author and civil rights hero.

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Book SynopsisDon't miss B. A. Shapiro's new novel, Metropolis, available now! “Vibrant and suspenseful . . . Like The Art Forger, this new story takes us into the heart of what it means to be an artist.” —The Washington Post “B. A. Shapiro captivated us in 2012 with her ‘addictive’ novel The Art Forger. Now, she’s back with another thrilling tale from the art world.” —Entertainment Weekly When Alizée Benoit, an American painter working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), vanishes in New York City in 1940, no one knows what happened to her. Not her Jewish family living in German-occupied France. Not her artistic patron and political compatriot, Eleanor Roosevelt. Not her close-knit group of friends, including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Lee Krasner. And, some seventy years later, not her great-niece, Danielle Abrams, who while working at Christie’s auction house uncovers enigmatic paintings hidden behind works by those now-famous Abstract Expressionist artists. Do they hold answers to the questions surrounding her missing aunt?Trade Review“B. A. Shapiro makes the radical, varied, and sometimes enigmatic world of abstract expressionism altogether human and accessible in her smart new historical thriller. …It has more emotional ballast and is more skillfully written than what one customarily finds. The novel evokes the horror and sorrow of the Holocaust in just their tedious administrative tasks of retracing steps, of sifting through wreckage. Shapiro also does a wonderful job of restoring complexity to the historical moment and stripping away the clarity of retrospection.” —The Boston Globe “Shapiro’s plotting is deft, and the anonymous paintings and Alizée’s disappearance add mystery and intrigue to the tale. Like her well-received 2012 novel, “The Art Forger,” this new story takes us into the heart of what it means to be an artist. …vibrant and suspenseful. As tens of thousands of modern-day asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa surge into Europe, and pictures of their mistreatment are broadcast around the world, “The Muralist” is a grim reminder that history continues to repeat itself.” —The Washington Post “B.A. Shapiro captivated us in 2012 with her “addictive” novel The Art Forger. Now, she’s back with another thrilling tale from the art world, set right on the brink of World War II.” —Entertainment Weekly “The Muralist is, like What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman or Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, a historical novel that brings the 20th century to life…” —USA Today “Shapiro follows the enthusiastically received The Art Forger (2012) with an even more polished and resonant tale. [Her] novel of epic moral failings is riveting, gracefully romantic, and sharply revelatory; it is also tragic in its timeliness as the world faces new refugee crises.” —Booklist (starred review)“Shapiro’s writing pulses with energy…. The Muralist brings the time period and setting to life. Readers will appreciate Shapiro’s seamless integration of fact into the story and will feel immersed in a time when the world tipped into chaos. Art, history, and mystery — an intriguing and satisfying blend.” —Washington Independent Review of Books“In The Muralist, novelist B.A. Shapiro deftly layers American art history, the facts of World War II and the fictitious stories of Alizee and Dani. …The Muralist is a compelling mystery. …The Muralist elevates Shapiro to an even higher plane and is sure to be a crowning touch in an already celebrated career.” —BookPage “In this noirish intrigue and fine-art detective story, Shapiro ably intersects the early years of the abstract expressionist movement, the Roosevelts, institutionalized anti-Semitism that denied American visas to Jewish refugees, the relentless run-up to World War II, and the generational losses of the Shoah. Mystery and historical fiction lovers…will find this a riveting read.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Engaging … Shapiro convincingly portrays the work of the artist as an agent of expression and hope in a world of despair.” — The New York Jewish Week“[Shapiro] knows how to craft a page-turner. The Muralist is certainly an engrossing tale. Perhaps it will also send a few readers to the Museum of Modern Art for a fresh look at the craft of Rothko, Pollock, and their contemporaries. That would be a wonderful, and very un-abstract, mingling of art and real life.” —New York Journal of Books “B. A. Shapiro makes the radical, varied, and sometimes enigmatic world of abstract expressionism altogether human and accessible in her smart new historical thriller. …It has more emotional ballast and is more skillfully written than what one customarily finds. The novel evokes the horror and sorrow of the Holocaust in just their tedious administrative tasks of retracing steps, of sifting through wreckage. Shapiro also does a wonderful job of restoring complexity to the historical moment and stripping away the clarity of retrospection.” —The Boston Globe “Shapiro’s plotting is deft, and the anonymous paintings and Alizée’s disappearance add mystery and intrigue to the tale. Like her well-received 2012 novel, “The Art Forger,” this new story takes us into the heart of what it means to be an artist. …vibrant and suspenseful. As tens of thousands of modern-day asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa surge into Europe, and pictures of their mistreatment are broadcast around the world, “The Muralist” is a grim reminder that history continues to repeat itself.” —The Washington Post “B.A. Shapiro captivated us in 2012 with her “addictive” novel The Art Forger. Now, she’s back with another thrilling tale from the art world, set right on the brink of World War II.” —Entertainment Weekly “The Muralist is, like What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman or Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, a historical novel that brings the 20th century to life…” —USA Today “Shapiro follows the enthusiastically received The Art Forger (2012) with an even more polished and resonant tale. [Her] novel of epic moral failings is riveting, gracefully romantic, and sharply revelatory; it is also tragic in its timeliness as the world faces new refugee crises.” —Booklist (starred review)“Shapiro’s writing pulses with energy…. The Muralist brings the time period and setting to life. Readers will appreciate Shapiro’s seamless integration of fact into the story and will feel immersed in a time when the world tipped into chaos. Art, history, and mystery — an intriguing and satisfying blend.” —Washington Independent Review of Books“In The Muralist, novelist B.A. Shapiro deftly layers American art history, the facts of World War II and the fictitious stories of Alizee and Dani. …The Muralist is a compelling mystery. …The Muralist elevates Shapiro to an even higher plane and is sure to be a crowning touch in an already celebrated career.” —BookPage “In this noirish intrigue and fine-art detective story, Shapiro ably intersects the early years of the abstract expressionist movement, the Roosevelts, institutionalized anti-Semitism that denied American visas to Jewish refugees, the relentless run-up to World War II, and the generational losses of the Shoah. Mystery and historical fiction lovers…will find this a riveting read.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Engaging … Shapiro convincingly portrays the work of the artist as an agent of expression and hope in a world of despair.” — The New York Jewish Week“[Shapiro] knows how to craft a page-turner. The Muralist is certainly an engrossing tale. Perhaps it will also send a few readers to the Museum of Modern Art for a fresh look at the craft of Rothko, Pollock, and their contemporaries. That would be a wonderful, and very un-abstract, mingling of art and real life.” —New York Journal of Books

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Book SynopsisOne night, Akram Khan walks out of his house towards an appointed time and place where he is supposed to detonate a bomb that will end his life and that of many innocent bystanders. As he wanders through the town he encounters Grace, whose life has been marred just as his has, forming an unlikely closeness borne of need and necessity.Akram tells Grace about his seemingly inexorable journey towards radicalization: a childhood within the tight-knit Pakistani community, his complex friendships among outcasts, his disastrous years in the army, and his empty arranged marriage to a woman who remains a stranger. Delicately drawn, Akram's War is an honest and shocking kaleidoscopic portrait of contemporary Britain, and of the ways in which the twists and turns of fate can scar and mark a life.

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Book SynopsisJeremy O'Keefe, a middle-aged Professor, returns to his native New York after a decade teaching at Oxford, and quickly settles into a lonely rhythm of unfulfilling lectures and long, silent evenings.His quiet world is suddenly shaken by a series of encounters with a strange young man who presumes an acquaintance, and the arrival of three mysterious packages. And when a haunting figure starts to linger outside his apartment at night, his chilling conviction that he is being watched is seemingly confirmed. As Jeremy's grip on reality shifts and turns, he fears that he will never know whether he can believe his experiences, or whether his mind is in the grip of an irrational obsession.I Am No One explores the world of surveillance and self-censorship in our post-Snowden lives, where privacy no longer exists and our freedoms are inexorably eroded.Trade ReviewA passionate, gripping, brilliantly voiced and scintillatingly intelligent novel about that cancer afflicting modern democratic states - the surveillance of its own people. Were we ever told that democracy would entail this? I Am No One will get under your skin, leave you jittery and unsettled, and have you looking over your shoulder. -- Neel Mukherjee, author of THE LIVES OF OTHERS, shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Costa Novel Awards 2014 and won the Encore Award 2015Flanery is a master of puzzling, alarming and even terrifying storytelling. -- A.S Byatt * Guardian *[Flanery is] gloriously talented * The Guardian - fiction highlights for 2016 *[A] superbly entertaining novel... a brilliant work of suspense... Its relevance today is without question, and its du jour subject matter is persuasively treated. * TLS *A hotly contemporary novel by a critically acclaimed American novelist about creeping paranoia in an age of mass surveillance. * The Independent: 'Best of 2016' *A masterful plot, a terrifying subject, and a gripping read. * Independent on Sunday *Patrick Flanery pulls off a rarity in the age of compartmentalized fiction: a novel of Pynchonesque paranoid ideas, wrapped in psychologically acute Jamesian prose, delivered by a gripping story worthy of Graham Greene. I Am No One is itself profoundly observant about the post-Snowden culture of surveillance, and the insights of this unsettling novel are ignored at our own peril. -- Teddy WayneThis is such a superb, addictive, startling read that it seeps into your psyche. Read I Am No One and look around you with trepidation at our post-Edward Snowden world. * The Herald *Disquieting... compelling -- Lucy Daniel * Daily Telegraph *[Flanery is] the author of [three] thoughtful, meticulously written and slow burning thrillers -- Gerard Woodward * Independent *I Am No One is a tremendous work of fiction. Its long, elegant sentences and intellectual inquisitiveness are reminiscent at times of Philip Roth, at others of European masters like Alberto Moravia... a brilliant novel that works equally as espionage thriller, cautionary warning, socio-political j'accuse and-most rewardingly for me-existential meditation -- Darragh McManus * Independent (Ireland) *One of the pleasures of reading Flanery is the tussle between ways of understanding the shapes of stories and language... he writes realist novels which show their awareness that realism is a self-conscious form like others. * Guardian *Superb... a brilliant novel that works equally as spy thriller, social commentary; and an existential meditation. * Belfast Telegraph *A smart, chilling novel * Metro *

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Book SynopsisAs a former president of Russia loses his marbles, those around him get down to losing their morals.Former Russian president, Vladimir P, is going senile, marooned in a world of memories from his years in power. To get him out of the way, he has been exiled to his luxury dacha, where he is served by a coterie of bickering house staff. Only Sheremetev, the guileless nurse charged with Vladimir's round-the-clock care, is unaware that everyone else is busily using every means at their disposal to skim money from their employer's inexhaustible riches. But when the nurse suddenly needs to find cash for a bribe or see his nephew rot in jail, the dacha's chef lets him in on the secret world of 'commissions' going on all around him. Yet surely Sheremetev wouldn't think to steal from his ailing patient? And surely, in the upstanding modern Russia that Vladimir P created, no one would actually let him...Trade ReviewAmid its screwball rage this very funny book is also an unexpectedly touching one -- AD Miller * Spectator *Sharp, spare, entertaining... Savour the quips and enjoy the show -- Mary Dejevsky * Independent *Starts at 100mph and only gets faster... Copious, creative and full of brio * Big Issue *Refreshing... Essential... Page-turning * New York Times *A scathing satire... The Senility of Vladimir P is a clear attack on the corruption and greed of Putin's Russia and a sharp reminder of how authoritarian rule can infect a generation -- Lucy Popescu * Independent *

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Book SynopsisA killer is sending a message. But who is it for?DI Annie Delamere and her colleague DS Zoe Everett are off duty and enjoying a walk on the Peak District’s vast moorlands when they stumble across a mutilated corpse. The victim is unclothed and his tattoos indicate an affinity with the occult.While Annie is put in charge of the case her long-term partner, MP Sheena Pearson, is confronted by a group of far right extremists. Rather than back down Sheena chooses to stand her ground – and almost pays for it with her life.As more bodies are found, Annie is under pressure to prove her worth. But with one eye on her personal affairs can she catch a murderer and still keep her loved ones safe? And are the killings the work of a deranged mind – or a cover for something even more chilling?Don’t miss this first novel in a compelling new detective series that fans of Stephen Booth and Ann Cleeves will love. Praise for Small Mercies ‘Accomplished storytelling and perfectly meshed plot strands combine in this intriguing new series from Alex Walters’ Margaret Kirk, author of Shadow Man‘Small Mercies gets Alex Walters’ new series off to a cracking start with a blend of police procedural and conspiracy thriller set in the atmospheric landscape of Derbyshire.’ Martin Edwards, CWA Diamond Dagger winner 2020'Evocative, well plotted, with interesting characters and three concurrent mysteries. A definite 5 star read.’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘The storyline weaves all the seemingly unrelated threads together into a nail biting finale. I held my breath more than once, and couldn’t put the book down in case something terrible happened!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Three plots swirl around each other, intersect and dance away again until the very end of this thriller where everything moves quickly to a totally unanticipated, breath-taking conclusion. I’m looking forward to the next in the series!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book SynopsisWinner of the McKitterick Prize 2018."Never cover an assignment without collecting a brown envelope," Boniface had said. "It is a real life saver for all journalists in this country."Ifiok, a young journalist working for the government radio station in Lagos, Nigeria, always aspires to do the right thing, but the odds seem to be stacked against him. Government pressures cause the funding to his radio drama to get cut off, his girlfriend leaves him when she discovers he is having an affair with an intern, and kidnappings and militancy are on the rise in the country. When Ifiok travels to his hometown to do a documentary on some ex-militants' apparent redemption, a tragi-comic series of events will make him realise he is unable to swim against the tide of corruption.Building on the legacy of the great African satirist tradition of Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Ayi Kwei Armah, Radio Sunrise paints a sharp-tongued portrait of (post) post-colonial Nigeria.Trade ReviewIsong is a rare talent indeed. * SJ Bradley *Isong weaves a profoundly personal story of contemporary Nigeria even while dealing with broader societal and cultural issues. * Chika Unigwe, Man Booker International 2017 judge *Anietie Isong is a keen observer of his society, with an exceptional gift of narration. * Marina Lewycka, A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the McKitterick Prize 2018."Never cover an assignment without collecting a brown envelope," Boniface had said. "It is a real life saver for all journalists in this country."Ifiok, a young journalist working for the government radio station in Lagos, Nigeria, always aspires to do the right thing, but the odds seem to be stacked against him. Government pressures cause the funding to his radio drama to get cut off, his girlfriend leaves him when she discovers he is having an affair with an intern, and kidnappings and militancy are on the rise in the country. When Ifiok travels to his hometown to do a documentary on some ex-militants' apparent redemption, a tragi-comic series of events will make him realise he is unable to swim against the tide of corruption.Building on the legacy of the great African satirist tradition of Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Ayi Kwei Armah, Radio Sunrise paints a sharp-tongued portrait of (post) post-colonial Nigeria.Trade ReviewIsong is a rare talent indeed. * SJ Bradley *Isong weaves a profoundly personal story of contemporary Nigeria even while dealing with broader societal and cultural issues. * Chika Unigwe, Man Booker International 2017 judge *Anietie Isong is a keen observer of his society, with an exceptional gift of narration. * Marina Lewycka, A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine *

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Book SynopsisAn expert's take on how a coup in China could launch a transition to democracy. This short book predictscontrary to the prevailing consensusthat China's leader Xi Jinping will very soon be removed from office in a coup d'état mounted by rivals in the top leadership. The leaders of the coup will then end China's one-party dictatorship and launch a transition to democracy and the rule of law. Long-time diplomat and development banker Roger Garside draws on his deep knowledge of Chinese politics and economics first to develop a detailed scenario of how these events may unfold, and thenin the main body of the bookto explain why.Hisgripping, persuasive account of how Chinese leaders plot and plan away from the public eye is unique in published literature. Garside argues that under Xi's overconfident leadership, China is on a collision course with an America that is newly awakened out of complacency. As Xi's rivals look abroad, they are alarmed that he is blind to the reactions that ChinaTrade Review"I just finished reading China Coup and loved it. . . . By posing a provocative ‘what if,’ Mr. Garside expands the terms of our debate on China." * CHINADebate *"A compelling read and a convincing one. At the very least, if Canadians are worried about growing Chinese Communist influence in the free world, they can find in this book a key to unlock a twenty-first-century riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." * Literary Review of Canada *"I decided to treat China Coup as a kind of Orwellian-but-with-a-happy-ending foray into speculative fiction. I knew I would need to take Garside’s claims with a grain of salt, as he would focus as intently on finding cracks in seemingly smooth facades as CCP propagandists, who create ‘semi-fictional’ texts of their own, strive to present those surfaces as flawless." -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom * Mekong Review *"The credentials of the author are burnished by a lifetime of close scrutiny of the People’s Republic, so in a field of many self-proclaimed experts, but fewer genuine authorities, Garside demands attention." * The Tablet *"Garside has had an illustrious career in the financial sector and as a diplomat, including two stints at the British embassy in Beijing. In China Coup he applies his extensive experience to map out a plausible scenario for Xi’s ouster. . . . Garside’s book serves as a timely reminder that there are deep divisions within the CCP, that many of Xi’s policies are vastly unpopular, and that he has powerful enemies among the party’s top leaders. Most importantly, Garside reminds us that the outcome of the 2022 party congress is not a done deal." * The Strategist *"Thought-provoking but not fanciful." * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPreface 1 · The Coup 1 The Coup 2 · Why a Coup? 2 Totalitarian China: Outwardly Strong, Inwardly Weak 3 The Looming Economic Crisis 4 No Trust, No Truth 5 Who Rules: God or the Party? 6 An Environmental Catastrophe 7 Coronavirus: Cover-up and Costs 8 America and the Fate of Xi 9 The Great Unfinished Business 3 · After the Coup, a Revolution 10 Launching the Revolution Afterword: One Life, Two Questions Acknowledgments Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOne of the most complex experiences for Canadians was World War 1 and its attendant social upheavals. Because of the lack of a clear description of the emotional forces of the period, historians have tended to concentrate on the political manifestations of agrarian and working class unrest. There are no well-known sources for social commentary, a lack that makes this novel important as an historical document.Originally published in 1923, The Magpie is an articulate and perceptive work which provides an accurate description of the disillusionment that developed after the war when it became apparent that many of the government's promises of social reform were not going to be fulfilled. Craig Forrester – nicknamed 'The Magpie' because of his terseness in conducting business on the Winnipeg Grain Exchange – is appalled by the greed, hypocrisy, and intolerance of the 'decent' classes and opts for persona morality and social justice. Rejecting urban life, he

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Book SynopsisThe English-language debut of a master stylist: a compassionate but relentless novel about the long, dark harvest of Brazil's totalitarian ruleTrade Review"I Didn’t Talk is a cheeky and patient book, gently confronting pain without sacrificing wit, a book which merges together a fraught past and an uncertain future." -- Commonplace Review"Beatriz Bracher: intense and precise." -- Folha de S.Paulo"Crisp, dizzying." -- Jornal do Brasil"Pensive novel of political terror and its consequences, set in the shadow of post-junta Brazil....A slender but memorable contribution to the literature of crime and (sometimes self-inflicted) punishment." -- Kirkus"Published in Brazil on the 40th anniversary of the Golpe de 64, I Didn’t Talk can be read as one of many novelistic catalogs of 20th-century atrocities. As with the works of W. G. Sebald and Patrick Modiano, this is a slim, dense novel that lingers in the eddies of personal memory and historical reckoning." -- Los Angeles Review of Books"Above all, it's the writing that shines in I Didn't Talk. Bracher, along with translator Morris, handles immensely difficult subjects beautifully, with language that's sometimes spare, sometimes elaborate, but always gorgeous. It's a novel that's intelligent but not showy, and Bracher's restraint makes the story all the more potent. And the story is an important one. I Didn't Talk isn't just about one emotionally bruised man; it's about the lasting effects of violence, and the way cruelty causes its victims to torture themselves." -- NPR"Extraordinary force and beauty—also a reflection on the construction of memory and the power of the tale." -- O Estado de S. Paulo"Brazil’s Bracher arrives in English with this brilliant, enigmatic rumination...Bracher is a force to be reckoned with and has crafted a haunting, powerful novel." -- Publishers Weekly (starred)""Brazil’s “ghosts” refuse to stay buried, and they haunt the narrator of Bracher’s novel."" -- Lisa Mullenneaux - The Critical Flame"Bracher’s novel examines the way in which stories give shape and meaning to the unknowable, and resists the notion that one definitive version of history can or should impose meaning on the past." -- Tristen Harwood - The Monthly"Bracher’s story abounds with narrative and thematic contradictions and encompasses everything from the gulf between our own self-image and how others perceive us to the flaws that can arise when one attempts to apply literary analysis to a life. The resulting narrative is unpredictable and its dissonances resonate powerfully." -- Tobias Carroll - Words Without Borders"While the central question—did Gustavo give away his brother-in-law?—serves as a locus for the book, it is really an extended meditation on a variety of topics: the (un)reliability of memory, the meaning of education, the way members of families see one another, and the crushing impact of the dictatorship years on generations past and present. Translator Adam Morris deftly renders Bracher’s conversational style, chasing Gustavo as he skips from one topic to another, lost in the haze of memory." -- World Literature Today

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Book SynopsisIn a political culture infused with debates about personal liberties, the role of government, and even the definition of freedom itself, Haymaker tells the story of an isolated Michigan town that becomes the flashpoint for some of the principal ideological debates of our day. When a libertarian organization selects the town as its flagship community, hundreds of its members migrate and settle within the town''s borders. The resulting clash with local townspeople is violent and impassioned, even as the line that divides the two sides increasingly blurs.The story follows characters on both of these sides: an eccentric millionaire known as The Man in White, who is still viewed as an outsider even after living in Haymaker for thirty years; a policewoman trained in hostage and suicide negotiations who questions raising children in this new environment; a teenage girl devoted to basketball and her desire to leave home, who has a close but complicated relationship with her unTrade ReviewThoughtful fiction with an unusual political twist on the theme of insiders vs. outsiders. * Kirkus Reviews *A read to pair with classic works of Paine, maybe a bit of Orwell and most certainly with Rand, Schuitema's first novel resonates as a real-life American example of the current and changing state of democracy, and what real Americans across demographics believe that term to mean. Yet, it reads as an engaging short story with a weaving, character-driven plot and not a word out of place. * Chicago Book Review *Haymaker is an entertaining book for people who like a little politics in their fiction. * National Review *Haymaker is as dazzling and overpowering as a Michigan winter and a powerful debut into the world of novel writing. * Rain Taxi *Schuitema has crafted a description of contemporary small-town life that is easily transferred anywhere in the United States.... A flat-out good read. * Foreword Reviews *

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Book SynopsisAfter experiencing life in London, the narrator and her brother discover that they are Canadians, not colonials. Their encounters with Englishmen and Americans demonstrate that there are three distinct countries, each with a character of its own, but sharing common interests. This is an early novel on the eternal theme of identity.

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Book Synopsis'This book has a twofold meaning,' writes the author, '— that of  a political novel, and that of the portrayal of a great love and a  religious drama.' One of the most interesting Canadian novels of the period 1880 to 1920, it depicts conditions in Canada during an era when the country was in a state of transition,' that is, prior to the last election during John A. Macdonald's administration.

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Book SynopsisTranslation of nineteenth-century novel of life in a still-feudal Moravian village. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) is Austria's most important nineteenth-century woman writer, but her works have remained largely unknown to English speakers, even her most important, the compelling Their Pavel, firstpublished serially in 1887. Based on a true incident, Their Pavel investigates the troubled social relations of a Moravian village that is endowed with the right of local governance but steeped in the habits of its feudalrelationship to the local barony. The novel explores the parallel fates of the children of a hanged murderer and thief. Milada, the appealing and alert daughter, is adopted on a whim by the aging baroness, while Pavel, the awkwardand taciturn son, is thrown upon the uncertain mercy of the village, but both suffer the stigma of their father's crime. In her sometimes grimly humorous picture of village life, the author spares neither the Catholic Church northe landed aristocracy nor the villagers themselves. Lynne Tatlock is Hortense and Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Washington Universityin St. Louis.Trade ReviewEbner-Eschenbach's story of the slow and indefatigable rise of the orphaned son of an executed murderer, who is reared by his village only out of a sense of its legal obligation, is consistent with prevailing Victorian and Hapsburg era literary tastes. This highly readable rendition preserves both the spirit and the tenor of the original. Not a book just for students and scholars of literature, readers of all backgrounds and tastes should enjoy it. * CHOICE *Still captivates the reader... * SEMINAR *Tatlock succeeded admirably in paralleling the native idiom to reflect the local setting by flavoring her English text in changing moods. * GERMANIC NOTES & REVIEWS *Table of ContentsIntroduction Translator's Note Their Pavel Notes

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Book SynopsisThe Dreyfus Affair’s Literary Politics offers a new interpretation of writers’ political engagements in the crisis that ended the French nineteenth century, following the wrongful treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Émile Zola and three writers connected to him – Ferdinand Brunetière, Henry Céard and Saint-Georges de Bouhélier – drew on their affinities and antagonisms concerning Zola’s naturalist fiction to shape their political discourse in the Dreyfus Affair. Zola and Bouhélier were Dreyfusard, Brunetière and Céard anti-Dreyfusard, yet in each case they transformed a vision of what literature should be into arguments about French national identity, the proper relationship between literary and political thought, and the tensions between individual rights and raison d’état.Developing a method entitled ‘microhistories of ideas,’ Cooke shows that a longitudinal approach to each writer’s career yields a set of central unit-ideas that reappear in the new, emotive context of the Affair. Through close readings of material such as pamphlets, newspaper columns and aesthetic essays, the significance of often ephemeral writing to the larger questions of intellectual history – and to the outcome of the Dreyfus Affair itself - becomes clear.Trade Review"The significance of this approach is to highlight the importance of esthetic considerations in this—and potentially other—political debates rather than making art the handmaiden of political discourse. I think this is not only original, but could become a model for scholars studying literary politics in other times and places."Robert A. Nye, Oregon State UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Microhistories of Ideas and the Dreyfus AffairConcise Chronology1. The Prehistory of ‘J’Accuse…!’: Zola’s Career as Critic2. Beyond ‘J’Accuse…!’: Zola in the Dreyfus Affair3. Against Zola and Individualism: Ferdinand Brunetière from Literary Critic to anti-Dreyfusard4. Saint-Georges de Bouhélier, Dreyfusard malgré lui5. Henry Céard Reads the Dreyfus AffairConclusionBibliography

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisDisheveled and in a panic, the senator swears that he’s about to be murdered and pleads with Jack to protect his wife Taylor, who happens to be the only woman Jack has ever truly loved.Days later, Phillips is found dead in a hotel room in Micronesia, the apparent victim of an allergy attack.Trade Review“Readers with a taste for action thrillers will best appreciate this one.” -- Publishers WeeklyA staccato-paced series opener that will appeal to readers seeking conspiracy-laced thrillers.” -- Booklist“Once you start reading, you’ll be hooked.” -- Suspense Magazine “This is mandatory reading for any thriller aficionado.” -- Steve Berry, New York Times Bestselling Author“Washington power plays, Supreme Court intrigue, religious relics, and a chase for the ages. Fans of Brad Meltzer and James Rollins will love L.C. Shaw’s THE NETWORK.” -- Anthony Franze, author of The Outsider“There are books that keep you up at night, and there are books that keep you up all night — L.C. Shaw’s THE NETWORK is the latter. Sophisticated, suspenseful, and unpredictable, Shaw’s deft plotting and breakneck pacing set the standard for the modern political thriller. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. Absolutely electrifying.” -- Jennifer Hillier, USA Today bestselling author of Jar of Hearts“Shaw’s blistering pacing, compelling drama, and tight prose mesh together to create an unputdownable read. Journalist Jack Logan rips down the curtain masking one of mankind’s oldest secrets in an all-out battle for the human soul. Tune into THE NETWORK for the gritty news of today—and yesterday. Breathtaking.” -- K.J. Howe, international bestselling author of SKYJACK“THE NETWORK offers a superb blend of a political, speculative, and action thriller. Lynne Constantine manages this delicate balancing act with a skill and aplomb that is both a throwback to Robert Ludlum and testament to Dan Brown. The kind of tale Alfred Hitchcock would have loved to adapt and thriller lovers are certain to devour.” -- Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author"With a decades-old cabal, ancient relic, conspiracy, action, and twists, THE NETWORK delivers on the goods. The result: an addicting read that keep you up long past bedtime." -- Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author“The Network” is thriller-writing at its best: a sinister conspiracy with international power, a pulse-pounding chase to save the world, an unlikely romance with heart-wrenching complications, and one mysterious hero to untangle it all. Jack Reacher and Jack Ryan, watch out! Jack Logan is hot on your trail.” -- Allison Leotta, author of The Last Good Girl“Political intrigue, religious artifacts, great characters, and plot twists galore. You will not be able to put THE NETWORK down.” -- DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series“Wow! Talented storyteller L.C. Shaw has perfected the vacation-airplane-beach read! Unfailingly entertaining, riveting, and breathtakingly timely—you will absolutely devour this thrilling and cautionary tale. Attention, Hollywood: this one has blockbuster written all over it.” -- Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally bestselling author of The Murder List“THE NETWORK is a thriller with all the right ingredients: power-drunk capitalists, corrupt politicians, existential moral questions, and global conspiracies spawning life-or-death consequences. Add into the mix well-crafted characters and the result is a recipe for success. With Shaw’s breakneck pacing, intricate twists, and constant cliffhangers, thriller fans will blaze though this book in one sitting.” -- Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author

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Book Synopsis“A twisty, nonstop conspiracy thriller that only has one gear: high! The Network delivers.” —Andrew Gross, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author “This is mandatory reading for any thriller aficionado.” —Steve Berry, New York Times Bestselling AuthorA pulse-pounding, page-turning thriller involving corruption, secrets, and lies at the very deepest levels of government and media.A shadowy group is manipulating society—and they’ve only just begun.Late one night, investigative journalist Jack Logan receives a surprise visit from U.S. Senator Malcolm Phillips at his New York apartment. Disheveled and in a panic, the senator swears that he’s about to be murdered and pleads with Jack to protect his wife Taylor, who happens to be the only woman Jack has ever truly loved.Days later, Phillips is found dead in a hotel room in

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE JANET HEIGINGER KAFKA PRIZE FOR FICTION“The novel showcases the humanity, tragedy, and complexity of life in the West Bank. . . . The characters’ interwoven lives will stay with you long after the book''s denouement.”  —Entertainment Weekly“Sacks is an extraordinarily gifted writer whose intelligence, compassion and skill on both the sentence and tension level rise to meet her ambition. She keeps us constantly on edge. . . . City of a Thousand Gates makes a convincing case for a literature of multiplicity, polyphonic and clamorous, abuzz with challenges and contradictions, with no clear answers but a promise to stay alert to the world, in all its peril and vitality.”  —Washington PostBrave and bold, this gorgeously written novel introduces a large cast of characters from various backgrounds in a setting where violence is routine and where survival is defined by boundaries, walls, and checkpoints that force people to live and love within and across them.Hamid, a college student, has entered Israeli territory illegally for work. Rushing past soldiers, he bumps into Vera, a German journalist headed to Jerusalem to cover the story of Salem, a Palestinian boy beaten into a coma by a group of revenge-seeking Israeli teenagers. On her way to the hospital, Vera runs in front of a car that barely avoids hitting her. The driver is Ido, a new father traveling with his American wife and their baby. Ido is distracted by thoughts of a young Jewish girl murdered by a terrorist who infiltrated her settlement. Ori, a nineteen-year-old soldier from a nearby settlement, is guarding the checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem through which Samar—Hamid’s professor—must pass. These multiple strands open this magnificent and haunting novel of present-day Israel and Palestine, following each of these diverse characters as they try to protect what they love. Their interwoven stories reveal complicated, painful truths about life in this conflicted land steeped in hope, love, hatred, terror, and blood on both sides.City of a Thousand Gates brilliantly evokes the universal drives that motivate these individuals to think and act as they do—desires for security, for freedom, for dignity, for the future of one’s children, for land that each of us, no matter who or where we are, recognize and share. 

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Killens has read his Shakespeare. With the surprises in its plot and its quadrilles of mistaken identities, ‘The Minister Primarily’ is right up there with ‘The Tempest’ and ‘The Comedy of Errors.’ The choreography of his set pieces has an effulgent warmth that is as passionately expressed as it is disarming, creeping up on the reader with such skill you hardly realize you’re being stalked by a master." — The New York Times Book Review "Killens casts a broad net, skewering everything from the heady early days of African independence to the pan-Africanism of the period among Black Americans, and, most sharply, race relations in the United States. This is a brilliantly scathing, outrageous satire as important today as when it was written." — Library Journal (starred review) “The Minister Primarily is not only a brilliantly imagined work of fiction, it is also a side-splittingly funny tale. In this newly discovered last novel, Killens’ puts on his literary fabulist hat and hands us a rich, unforgettable tale packed with ribald, humorous scenes, and wacky characters. Read this book, you will never forget it!” — Quincy Troupe, author of andMiles and Me “John O. Killens inspired many writers, myself included. Killens is a genius at his craft. He taught it, he perfected it. And Killens' mastery of satire, (please read The Cotillion as well) is on full display in his last novel. His dialogue is as clever and sly as ever.” — Tina McElroy Ansa, The Hand I Fan With and Taking After Mudear “John Oliver Killens’ The Minister Primarily highlights his exceptional skills in the use of dialogue, irony and satire. The novel is ultimately a parody of American, African and European presidents and political leaders and an exposé of the hypocrisy and exploitation generated by colonialism in Africa. His use of humor and adaptation of the trope of the trickster for his protagonist are reminiscent of Ishmael Reed, Charles W. Chestnutt, and Ralph Ellison.” — Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Founder & Executive Director, Center for Black Literature, Medgar Evers College, CUNY “It is good to see another work by Baba John Killens, a master of voice illuminating everything that stumbles within range of his biting irony and expansive literary heart. The Minister Primarily reminds us why John Killens occupies such a unique place in literature. Read The Minister Primarily and you too will understand the joy of ‘found work’ by Baba John Killens, the Great Griot Master of Brooklyn at the top of his satiric game.” — Arthur Flowers, author of The Hoodoo Book of Flowers: The Great Black Book of Generations “The absurd situation gives Killens a perfect vantage from which to satirize international race relations.” — The New Yorker “Vividly and skillfully written, this vibrant, long-missing novel, published 34 years after the death of this Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, civil rights activist, and key figure in the Black Arts Movement, is certain to be a timeless classic of satirical fiction.” — Booklist (starred review) "An audacious final testament of an underappreciated craftsman." — Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisA PopSugar Best Book of the Year!Readers of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz and watchers of The Queen’s Gambit won’t want to miss this amazing debut set during World War II. A young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner, plays chess in exchange for her life, and in doing so fights to bring the man who destroyed her family to justice.Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he ha

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