Satirical fiction and parodies

Book Synopsis''A writer of virtuostic talents who can seemingly do anything'' New York Times''Wallace is a superb comedian of culture . . . his exuberance and intellectual impishness are a delight'' James Wood, Guardian''He induces the kind of laughter which, when read in bed with a sleeping partner, wakes said sleeping partner up . . . He''s damn good'' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian''One of the best books about addiction and recovery to appear in recent memory'' Sunday TimesSomewhere in the not-so-distant future the residents of Ennet House, a Boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby Enfield Tennis Academy are ensnared in the search for the master copy of Infinite Jest, a movie said to be so dangerously entertaining its viewers become entranced and expire in a state of catatonic bliss . . .Trade ReviewA writer of virtuostic talents who can seemingly do anything * NEW YORK TIMES *Wallace is a superb comedian of culture . . . his exuberance and intellectual impishness are a delight * James Woods, GUARDIAN *He induces the kind of laughter which, when read in bed with a sleeping partner, wakes said sleeping partner up . . . He's damn good * Nicholas Lezard, GUARDIAN *One of the best books about addiction and recovery to appear in recent memory. * SUNDAY TIMES *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others''When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers'' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr Jones, and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Orwell''s chilling ''fairy story'' is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''The literary equivalent of a security blanket'' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind ''This is one of Pratchett''s best books. Hilarious and highly recommended'' The TimesThis is where the dragons went. They lie... not dead, not asleep, but... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn''t like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there''s a key...GUARDS! GUARDS! is the 8th Discworld novel - and after this, dragons will never be the same again!Readers adore Guards! Guards!''You will enjoy it if you already enjoy fantasy; you will very likely enjoy it even if you don''t generally enjoy fantasy, because the humour, characterisation, and dialogue are ridiculously good'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Orwell''s chilling ''fairy story'' is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA laugh-out-loud and incredibly Discworld take on A Midsummer Night''s Dream, featuring everyone''s favourite witches, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax ''The Discworld novels have always been among the most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies'' IndependentThe fairies are back - but this time they don''t just want your teeth.It''s Midsummer Night - no time for dreaming. Because sometimes, when there''s more than one reality at play, too much dreaming can make the walls between them come tumbling down. And there''s usually a damned good reason for there being walls between them in the first place - to keep things out. Things who want to make mischief and play havoc with the natural order.Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven are up against real elves. And even in a world of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers and the odd orang-utan, this is going to cause real trouble. With loTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GUARDIANHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style - DAILY TELEGRAPHHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction - MAIL ON SUNDAYPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own - SUNDAY TIMESTo say that Terry Pratchett is popular is a bit like saying the Arctic Circle is a bit nippy - SUNDAY EXPRESS

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Of course it’s a bloody lie. It’s an advertising campaign.’ James Marlowe has a gift for selling people things they don’t need. As he strives to meet the demands of rival colleagues, amoral clients and his young family, James has to raise his game. A cocktail of cocaine and alcohol fuels his ambition, but when body and mind can’t take any more, he plunges into a surreal world darker than the one he’s fallen from. ‘Grippingly dark and ultimately moving.’ Alison Moore ‘A little Mad Men and a lot American Psycho.’ The SkinnyTrade Review ‘The Zoo intrigued me from the very first page. Jamie Mollart’s debut novel is a grippingly dark and ultimately moving story about exploitation, destruction and the possibility of redemption.’‘This was a book I read quickly and avidly.’ * New Books Magazine *‘The Zoo is dark and relentless in its bleak portrayal of modern day consumerism and the effects we all ignore.’ * We Love This Book *‘The journey may be somewhat exhausting, but it feels worthwhile, and we don’t lose hope that there will be a happy ending to this human and psychological thriller.’ * Book Oxygen *‘One of those rare books that you have to read a second time the moment you reach the end – no small feat for a debut novel. This could well be the next Bret Easton Ellis.’ * Staff recommendation, Waterstones Leicester *‘A little Mad Men and a lot American Psycho.’ * The Skinny *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'All animals are equal - but some are more equal than others'When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless Ãlite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. 'It is the history of a revolution that went wrong - and of the excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the perversion of the original doctrine,' wrote Orwell for the first edition of Animal Farm in 1945. Orwell wrote the novel at the end of 1943, but it almost remained unpublished; its savage attack on Stalin, at that time Britain's ally, led to the book being refused by publisher after publisher. Orwell's simple, tragic fTrade ReviewRemains our great satire of the darker face of modern history -- Malcolm BradburyAnimal Farm has seen off all the opposition. It's as valid as today as it was fifty years ago -- Ralph Steadman

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe ultimate Christmas read. Terry Pratchett''s Hogswatch masterpiece that will leave you laughing out loud and help you understand what makes us uniquely human.''He is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style'' Daily TelegraphIT''S THE NIGHT BEFORE HOGSWATCH AND IT''S TOO QUIET.Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won''t be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).As they say: You''d better watch out...Readers reread Hogfather time and time again:''Hilariously entertaining . . . a high recommendation to new and old Pratchett fans. This one will definitely remain my beloved annual holiday read'' GoTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight. - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times

Read more less

Book Synopsis''The prince of philosophical novels'' John UpdikeIn Candide, Voltaire threw down an audacious challenge to the philosophical views of the Enlightenment to create one of the most glorious satires of the eighteenth century. His eponymous hero is an innocent young man whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that ''all is for the best''. But when his love for the Baron''s rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own fortune. As he and his various companions roam over the world, an outrageous series of disasters - earthquakes, syphilis, the Inquisition - sorely test the young hero''s optimism, holding a mirror up to all fanatics, zealots and moral reformers of humankind. Translated and Edited by Theo Cuffe with an Introduction by Michael WoodTrade ReviewWinner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & BooksWinner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design AwardPraise for Penguin Drop Caps:"[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering."—Fast Company“Vibrant, minimalist new typographic covers…. Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections.”—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings"The Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive, even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they’re beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische’s fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen’s A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte’s B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf."—Rex Bonomelli, The New York Times"Drool-inducing."—Flavorwire"Classic reads in stunning covers—your book club will be dying."—Redbook

Read more less

Book Synopsis''An intriguing satire on institutionalized religion corrupted by power . . .'' Independent''Deftly weaves themes of forgiveness, belief and spiritual regeneration'' The TimesIn the beginning was the Word.And the Word was: Hey, you!For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please . . .Readers adore Small Gods:''One of Pratchetts best works, retelling what has happened, happens, and will happen as soon as faith goes mad, uncontrolled, and vicious, tries to expand its sphere of influence and doesnt care about the foundations and rules, contradicting its own commandments'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''It makes you contemplate so many things. Beyond religion too. There were so many passages when I was musing It''s like this thought has sTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe funniest, most insighftul, clever and totally bonkers parody of all things Shakespeare, filled to the brim with Pratchett''s signature style.''Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own'' The Times''The Discworld novels have always been among the most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies'' Independent''An enduring, endearing presence in comic literature'' GuardianWitches are not by nature gregarious, and they certainly don''t have leaders.Granny Weatherwax was the most highly regarded of the leaders they didn''t have.But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe...Readers love Wyrd Sisters:''Witty, well written, amusing anecdotes, Shakespeare/real life parody, DEATH, witches it has to be Terry Pratchett''<

Read more less

Book SynopsisVimes is back, in all his curmudgeonly glory, in this classic, perceptive and laugh-out-loud Discworld mystery that will keep you turning the pages.''In my opinion, this is the book where Pratchett *really* hits his stride in terms of the city watch books . . . Is this book worth your time? Yes. A thousand times yes'' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the WindTHERE''S A WEREWOLF WITH PRE-LUNAR TENSION IN ANKH-MORPORK. AND A DWARF WITH ATTITUDE AND A GOLEM WHO''S BEGUN TO THINK FOR ITSELF.But for Commander Vimes, Head of Ankh-Morpork City Watch, that''s only the start...There''s treason in the air. A crime has happened.He''s not only got to find out whodunit, but howdunit too. He''s not even sure what they dun. But soon as he knows what the questions are, he''s going to want some answers.Readers love Feet of Clay:''One of the best Pratchett bo

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any. www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift, he is a satirist of enormous talent' * The Times *'One of the perennial joys of modern fiction' * Mail on Sunday *'One of the pleasures of the book is the way in which literary classics float effortlessly through them in a way that would be pounced on as inter-textual in another author but is never allowed to become strident or alienating in Pratchett's work' * Guardian *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Sharp and wicked, insightful and funny, and then suddenly so touching'' DAVID NICHOLLS''It is a Great Novel . . . It has depth, wit, nuance and life. Heartbreaking and funny'' NIGELLA LAWSON''This is the novel of the summer . . . There is no one that this book isn''t for. I can''t believe it''s a first novel. Pure brilliance'' INDIA KNIGHT, THE SUNDAY TIMES''Could be one of the books of my entire lifetime. I''ve never felt so seen'' GRACE DENT, GUARDIAN''This book is a work of utter perfection'' ELIZABETH GILBERTTHE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, JUNE 2019Finally free from his nightmare marriage, Toby Fleishman is ready for a life of online dating and weekend-only parental duties. But as he optimistically looks to a future that is wildly different from the one he imagined, his life turns upside-down as hTrade ReviewThis is the novel of the summer . . . It is incredibly wise. There is no one that this book isn't for. I can't believe it's a first novel. Pure brilliance -- India Knight * The Sunday Times *This book . . . is the most astonishingly brilliant Trojan horse of a novel. Begins as a hilarious, fast-paced tale of a middle-aged Manhattan man navigating fast sex culture of dating apps, ends as a gut-punch feminist text * Dolly Alderton, author of Everything I Know About Love *Sharp and wicked, insightful and funny, and then suddenly so touching * David Nicholls, author of One Day *Wonderful. Utterly blistering about how women have to live - a powerful feminist book wrapped with perfect stealth in a wildly entertaining, moving story * Marian Keyes, author of The Break *Here is a portrait of modern love and marriage that is blisteringly funny, wincingly painful, and - ultimately - both heartbreaking and humane. Fleishman Is in Trouble reminds me of the great novels of the 1960s and 1970s - just the sort of thing that Philip Roth or John Updike might have produced in their prime (except, of course, that the author understands women). Taffy Brodesser-Akner can write the pants off any novelist out there. She's a star, and this book is a work of utter perfection * Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love *Fleishman Is in Trouble is so much smarter than a Great American Novel wannabe written by another clever man . . . What Brodesser-Akner has achieved here, by Trojan-horsing herself into Toby's point of view, is to quietly reveal the souls of the women in the story. But more than that, to show that all stories - about marriage, love, loss, hope and disappointment - really are universal. Libby believes that "all humans are essentially the same, but only some of us, the men, were truly allowed to be that without apology". This is an honest, powerful, human story with no apologies. And it will do the "American Novel" a power of good. -- Katy Guest * Guardian *I have just finished Fleishman Is in Trouble... and feel bereft. I read it too fast, because I couldn't stop, but can't bear that it's ended. It is a Great Novel (yes: cap G; Cap N). It has depth, wit, nuance and life. Heartbreaking and funny * Nigella Lawson *From its opening pages, Fleishman is in Trouble is shrewdly observed, brimming with wisdom and utterly of this moment. Not until its explosive final pages are you fully aware of its cunning ferocity. Taffy Brodesser-Akner's debut is that rare and delicious treat: a page turner with heft -- Maria Semple * Where'd You Go, Bernadette *Delving deep into the gender inequalities of sex, marriage, divorce and online dating in modern-day New York, it is a book teeming with insights and humour, a genuine tour de force -- Sarah Gilmartin * The Irish Times *So urgently modern and relevant . . . I kept turning down pages * Hadley Freeman *Chock full with humour and originality . . . It's a grown-up comedy that actually has far deeper things to say about love -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *Excellent first novel by the New York Times super-interviewer -- Josh Glancy * The Sunday Times Magazine *Smart and sassy but also dark and scabrous, fans of Maria Semple will love Fleishman Is in Trouble too. -- Red Online * Sarra Manning *It's biting and bracing, and - like the best beach reads - offers unflinching insight into the unexplored depths of the human condition. -- Kristin Iversen * Nylon *Her debut novel takes her uncanny knack for articulating the human condition with incisive tenderness to new heights; Fleishman is in Trouble is a wisdom-packed story about modern relationships * Porter *Firing on all circuits, from psychological insight to cultural acuity to narrative strategy to very smart humor. Quite a debut! * Kirkus (Starred Review) *Fans of Taffy Brodesser-Akner's whipsmart profiles will not be disappointed by her debut novel. Extending the same heady cocktail of forensic observation, sardonic wit and cynicism mixed with zeitgeist, Brodesser Akner writes a novel for our times: what makes a marriage? A parent? A man? And when does it all end? * Pandora Sykes *A marvel, full of shrewd observations, barbed wit, and deep insight. Taffy Brodesser-Akner reveals the twisted hearts of her characters - and the twisted soul of contemporary America - with an eye that is at once pitiless and full of compassion for our human foibles. This is a remarkable debut novel from one of the most distinctive writers around -- Tom Perrotta * Little Children *You're going to want to read this one: Fleishman in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner . . . It's about everything - love, friendship, life, death. Or, to borrow what we will now call the Tayari Jones standard, a literary novel with a great plot -- Laura Lippman * Sunburn *This glorious debut has the humor of Maria Semple, the heart of Meg Wolitzer, the lustiness of Philip Roth, and a voice that is pure. It's wild and wonderful and goes in so many directions, each with profundity - my favorite thing that novels can do. How does one's favorite journalist become one's new favorite novelist? With this book -- Emma Straub * The Vacationers *Blisteringly funny, feverishly smart, heart-breaking and true. Fleishman Is In Trouble is an essential read for anyone who's wondered how to navigate loving (and hating) the people we choose -- Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney * The Nest *A funny critique of the intoxicating life of the recently separated... Everyone is disastrous and everyone is human, and the writing is so sharp that one finishes the novel somehow feeling warm towards them all -- Emma Brockes * Guardian *A shrewd meditation on marriage and middle age... A twisty, sophisticated narrative filled with humour and pathos -- Olivia Petter * Independent *Deftly done -- Olivia Ovenden * Esquire UK *You don't get advance praise from Elizabeth Gilbert . . . for nothing. This New York Times writer's satirical novel about marriage and relationships in 2019 is dazzlingly clever -- Clara Strunck * Evening Standard Magazine *Funny, acutely observed and certain to be on every sun lounger this summer -- Sarah Hughes * iNews *[A] funny, searing debut . . . Shrewd and satirical, but balanced with sympathy, it's an impressive first novel from the New York Times Magazine writer -- Francesca Carington * Tatler *Believe the hype. Fleishman Is in Trouble is even better than we were promised . . . A feminist jeremiad nested inside a brilliant comic novel - a book that makes you laugh so hard you don't notice till later that your eyebrows have been singed off -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *Witty and well-observed . . . Brodesser-Akner has written a potent, upsetting and satisfying novel -- Tom Rachman * The New York Times *Enthralling . . . [Brodesser-Akner] writes with the heft and masterful wordplay of a [Tom] Wolfe, but with empathy for and curiosity about all the players in the tale. It's a cutting sociological dissection of the way we live now, but it cares about its characters as people . . . Fleishman Is in Trouble will occasionally make you angry at the things the people in it do, but mostly it will make you hungry for whatever Brodesser-Akner is going to write next -- Alan Sepinwall * Rolling Stone *[Brodesser-Akner's] prose is seamless, her asides clever, her observations always on point. Without flattening her subjects, she locates the stakes of their quotidian dramas and the hidden tensions of their seemingly controlled lives, transforming something unremarkable into something textured, absorbing, and darkly funny. When she writes a book about modern heterosexual marriage, you don't roll your eyes; you clear your schedule -- Claire Fallon * Huffington Post *Taffy Brodesser-Akner dissects a marriage - and in doing so, interrogates the entire institution. She creates a page-turner as insightful as it is impossible to put down -- Elena Nicolaou * Refinery29 *In her debut novel, Brodesser-Akner does the seemingly impossible, imbuing the classic tale of middle-aged male ennui with a sense of empathy for women -- Keely Weiss * Harpers Bazaar *Brodesser-Akner is a master of zeitgeisty pith -- Hillary Kelly * Vogue *Fleishman Is in Trouble offers a fresh take on modern relationships and mid-life reckonings in a story that complicates the roles of gender, social status, and ambition, with a delightfully comical exploration of emoji culture to boot -- Allison McNearney * The Daily Beast *Toby Fleishman isn't the only one in trouble. Infusing candor, humor and social commentary, this book holds up a mirror to all of us, demanding that we take a hard look at how we live and how we love * Mail Online *Debuts like this don't come along very often -- Phoebe Luckhurst * Evening Standard *A funny, dazzlingly written, delicious subversion of the marriage novel . . . It's wry, deeply felt and moving - it's definitely the book you should read this summer -- Siobhan Murphy * The Times *Just finished reading Fleishman is in Trouble and it is brilliant. Insights into middle age and marriage that will make you sit up straight in your chair, if you happen to be middle aged, and married. * Tracey Thorn, author of Another Planet *This dazzling switchblade of a first novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner is smart and sexy and pitiless and humane. I think human beings must be cellophane to her. Thoroughly recommended * Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Loved You *Wonderfully, perceptively written . . . What I really loved was the savage social satire. Class division and wealthy one-upmanship, holiday homes, spin classes, mega-apartments, posh schools; it's all here. -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Fleishman is in Trouble is a clever novel that upends the sexist clichés of the Great American Novel as written by Philip Roth and John Updike -- Richard Godwin * The Times *Every summer produces a status read, though it is a bonus when it's one that's also a must-read. This year's hot tome is Fleishman Is In Trouble, a novel by American journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner that is both a comedy of Manhattan manners and a very modern battle of the sexes, exploring a clash of female rage and male inadequacy -- Phoebe Luckhurst * Evening Standard *Stylish, smart, surprising. I loved it * Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful *A great book. Really funny and really right about the deepest human stuff. All hail Taffy Brodesser-Akner -- David BaddielThere may be readers who opened Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner hoping to be shocked by all the heavily reported sex and profanity. Indeed, the opening chapter suggests that the book is just about a newly separated middle-aged man, who, after years of monogamy, is bemused and confounded by the brutally sexualised business of online dating. It's a captivating start but the book is much more profound than that. Brodesser-Akner, in her debut novel, captures the essence of modern, middle-class New York mores brilliantly -- Alan Johnson * New Statesman *Could be one of the books of my entire lifetime. I've never felt so seen . . . A coruscating, dizzying, razor-sharp attack on modern marriage, fatherhood, Tinder sex, social hierarchical woes and midlife unravelling. -- Grace Dent * Guardian *I do think this book changed my life! . . . It's hilarious, fascinating, painfully observant. I have recommended it to every single person I know -- Scarlett CurtisThis first novel by one of America's sharpest journalists is the story of hapless Jewish doctor Toby Fleishman, raising his two children alone and discovering the joys of casual sex after being abandoned by his wife. Although at first we see the world through Toby's eyes, contradictory voices gradually begin to emerge in this cunningly constructed and acidly funny debut. * Sunday Express *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any. www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review'His world, increasingly subtle and thoughtful, has become as allegorical and satirical as a painting by Bosch ... Pratchett's joy in his creations, in jokes, puns, the idea of letters and language itself makes GOING POSTAL one of the best expressions of his unstoppable flow of comic invention.' * The Times *'Like many of Pratchett's best comic novels, it is a book about redemption ... There's a moral toughness here, which is one of the reasons why Pratchett is never merely frivolous.' * Time Out *'With all the puns, strange names and quick-fire jokes about captive letters demanding to be delivered, it's easy to miss how cross about injustice Terry Pratchett can be. This darkness and concrete morality sets his work apart from imitators of his English Absurd school of comic fantasy.' * Guardian *'Terry Pratchett is one of the great makers of what Auden called 'secondary worlds'. His inventiveness - with people with plots, with things - is seemingly inexhaustible ... Pratchett can make you giggle helplessly and then grin grimly at the sharpness of his wit. Twelve-year old boys love him, but he himself is grown up. He knows that terrible things exist and happen, and he invents a benign otherworld in which we can face them, and laugh.' * A.S. Byatt, DAILY MAIL *'Pratchett ... is the missing link between Douglas Adams and J.K. Rowling. To non-initiates his work is gobbledygook, but dig deeper and you find the wit and imaginationthat have gained him a fanatical readership - among them is A.S. Byatt.' * FT MAGAZINE *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended' * The Times *'Pratchett is at the peak of his powers; it's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him...A masterful ear for dialogue, a keen eye for the ridiculous and a real feel for language' * Time Out *'The best humorous English author since P.G. Wodehouse' * Sunday Telegraph *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy' Sunday TimesThe Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is .Trade ReviewPratchett is a comic genius * Daily Express *Pratchett's humour takes logic past the point of absurdity and round again, but it is his unexpected insights into human morality that make the Discworld series stand out * Times Educational Supplement *Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy... Pratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own * The Sunday Times *He is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style * Sunday Telegraph *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe witches of the Discworld are back! An hysterical exploration of the magical world of the opera, brimming with Sir Terry Pratchett''s stylish wit''Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own'' The Times THE SHOW MUST GO ON, AS MURDER, MUSIC AND MAYHEM RUN RIOT IN THE NIGHT...The Opera House, Ankh-Morpork... A huge, rambling building, where innocent young sopranos are lured to their destiny by a strangely familiar evil mastermind in a hideously deformed evening dress...At least, he hopes so. But Granny Weatherwax, Discworld''s most famous witch, is in the audience. And she doesn''t hold with that sort of thing.So there''s going to be trouble (but nevertheless a good evening''s entertainment with murders you can really hum...)Readers love Maskerade:''This book had me sniggering and even laughing out loud every 20 pages or so, it truly was an Trade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GUARDIANHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style - DAILY TELEGRAPHHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction - MAIL ON SUNDAYPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own - SUNDAY TIMESTo say that Terry Pratchett is popular is a bit like saying the Arctic Circle is a bit nippy - SUNDAY EXPRESS

Read more less

Book SynopsisA laugh-out-loud, perceptive and thought-provoking fantasy romp dismantling the ridiculousness of gender inequality''Granny Weatherwax is one of my favourite characters of Pratchett''s'' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind''Persistently amusing, good-hearted and shrewd'' Sunday TimesIt is known as the Discworld. It is a flat planet, supported on the backs of four elephants, who in turn stand on the back of the great turtle A''Tuin as it swims majestically through space. And it is quite possibly the funniest place in all of creation.The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the new-born baby''s sex...Terry Pratchett turns hi

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A great shout of life and individuality ... an act of defiance that gladdens the soul'' Guardian Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. But Lolly has a greater, far darker calling than family: witchcraft. ''The book I''ll be pressing into people''s hands forever . . . It tells the story of a woman who rejects the life that society has fixed for her in favour of freedom ... tips suddenly into extraordinary, lucid wildness'' Helen Macdonald''Witty, eerie, tender ... her prose, in its simple, abrupt evocations, has something preternatural about it'' John UpdikeTrade ReviewA great shout of life and individuality. -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *The book I'll be pressing into people's hands forever is Lolly Willowes [. . .] Starting as a straightforward, albeit beautifully written family saga, it tips suddenly into extraordinary, lucid wildness -- Helen Macdonald * The New York Times Book Review *Sylvia Townsend Warner moves with sombre confidence into the realm of the supernatural, and her prose, in its simple, abrupt evocations, has something preternatural about it -- John UpdikeMy comfort read -- Tracey Thorn

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Persistently amusing, good-hearted and shrewd’ The Sunday Times The Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is .Trade ReviewIf you are unfamiliar with Pratchett's unique blend of philosophical badinage, you are on the threshold of a mind-expanding opportunity * Financial Times *Persistently amusing, good-hearted and shrewd * The Sunday Times *Pratchett keeps getting better and better...It's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him * Time Out *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''He is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style'' Daily Telegraph DEATH IS MISSING - PRESUMED... ER... GONE.Which leads to the kind of chaos you always get when an important public service is withdrawn.Meanwhile, on a little farm far, far away, a tall, dark stranger is turning out to be really good with a scythe. There''s a harvest to be gathered in...Readers can''t put down Reaper Man:''The second DEATH is as hilarious as the first one, this time positioning the friendly reaper in a perfect setting for having philosophical and deep thoughts about human nature and life in general'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''This book is full of really profound messages about life and death and making your life count, if only by giving others some of your time . . . due to the impeccable combination of profound messages, silly adventures and laugh-out-loTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight. - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisA hilarious take on the movie industry and all its foibles. Moving Pictures is filled to the brim with Sir Terry Pratchett''s signature wit and cutting humour''An enduring, endearing presence in comic literature'' GuardianThe alchemists of the Discworld have discovered the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill?It''s up to Victor Tugelbend (''Can''t sing. Can''t dance. Can handle a sword a little'') and Theda Withel (''I come from a little town you''ve probably never heard of'') to find out...MOVING PICTURES, THE TENTH DISCWORLD NOVEL IS A GLORIOUSLY FUNNY SAGA SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A WORLD GONE MAD!Readers love Moving Pictures:''One of his funniest . . . Pratchett has fun making fun of greed and the allure of misguided hero worship'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''I burst out laughing several times while re

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of insightful and uproariously funny non-fiction by the bestselling author of INFINITE JEST - one of the most acclaimed and adventurous writers of our time. A SUPPOSEDLY FUN THING... brings together Wallace''s musings on a wide range of topics, from his early days as a nationally ranked tennis player to his trip on a commercial cruiseliner. In each of these essays, Wallace''s observations are as keen as they are funny. Filled with hilarious details and invigorating analyses, these essays brilliantly expose the fault line in American culture - and once again reveal David Foster Wallace''s extraordinary talent and gargantuan intellect.Trade ReviewIt's the kind of book you can't even put down while brushing your teeth. He's damn good. I take my hat off to him. * GUARDIAN *Enviably good. * SUNDAY TIMES *Like sea air, David Foster Wallace is so bracing. * GLASGOW HERALD *Brilliant. * MAXIM *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of the BBC''s ''100 Novels That Shaped Our World''''Brilliant ... very probably the funniest book ever written'' Sunday TimesWhen sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest Sussex. At the aptly-named Cold Comfort Farm, she meets the doomed Starkadders: cousin Judith, heaving with remorse for unspoken wickedness; Amos, preaching fire and damnation; their sons, lustful Seth and despairing Reuben; child of nature Elfine; and crazed old Aunt Ada Doom, who has kept to her bedroom for the last twenty years. But Flora loves nothing better than to organise other people. Armed with common sense and a strong will, she resolves to take each of the family in hand. A hilarious and ruthless parody of rural melodramas and purple prose, Cold Comfort Farm is one of the best-loved comic novels of all time.''Screamingly funny and wildly subversive'' Marian Keyes, GuardianThe Penguin Classics edition of Stella Gibbons''s Cold Comfort Farm is introduced by Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves.If you enjoyed Cold Comfort Farm you might like George and Weedon Grossmith''s Diary of a Nobody, also available in Penguin Classics.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA hilarious Discworld City Watch novel, delving into the dangers of unbridled patriotism and its disastrous consequences''Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own'' The TimesDISCWORLD GOES TO WAR, WITH ARMIES OF SARDINES, WARRIORS, FISHERMEN, SQUID AND AT LEAST ONE VERY CAMP FOLLOWER.As two armies march, Commander Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch faces unpleasant foes who are out to get him... and that''s just the people on his side. The enemy might be even worse.JINGO, the 21st in Terry Pratchett''s phenomenally successful Discworld series, makes the World Cup look like a friendly five-a-side.Readers love Jingo:''In Jingo Terry Pratchett is actually waging a bitter and deeply sad one-man war against nationalism, racism, religious fundamentalism, territorialism . . . and he does it the way he knows best: by making you laugh out loud and think!'' G

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautiful hardback edition of the classic Discworld novelThey say that diplomacy is a gentle art. A few days ago Sam Vimes was a copper – an important copper, true – chief of police – but still, at his core, a policeman. But today he is an ambassador - to the mysterious, fat-rich country of Uberwald.Trade ReviewPrecisely balanced...excellent set pieces...a cracking comic thriller—The Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any. www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade ReviewMay well be considered his masterpiece... Humour such as his is an endangered species * The Times *Pratchett is a comic genius * Daily Express *One of the best and funniest English authors alive * Independent *He would be amusing in any form and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction * Mail on Sunday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisGranny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are going on a trip to avert certain disaster. Terry Pratchett''s Discworld returns with another laugh-out-loud adventure dissecting everyone''s favourite fairy tales.It seemed an easy job... After all, how difficult could it be to make sure that a servant girl doesn''t marry a prince?But for the witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, travelling to the distant city of Genua, things are never that simple...Servant girls have to marry the prince. That''s what life is all about. You can''t fight a Happy Ending.At least - up until now...Readers love Witches Abroad:''This book not only delivers silly fun and fast-paced action (including not one but TWO witches'' duels), but also contemplations on some very deep matters'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''[Pratchett] balances humour and poignancy so masterfullyTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GUARDIANHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style - DAILY TELEGRAPHHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction - MAIL ON SUNDAYPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own - SUNDAY TIMESTo say that Terry Pratchett is popular is a bit like saying the Arctic Circle is a bit nippy - SUNDAY EXPRESS

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE DISCWORLD CHRISTMAS NOVEL - with a new introduction by Tony Robinson'Twas the night before Hogswatch and all through the house...something was missing.The stockings are hanging ready, the sherry and pies are waiting by the fireplace - but where is the jolly fat man with his sack?Trade Review'Has the energy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland...It has also an intelligent wit and a truly original grim and comic grasp of the nature of things' * The Sunday Times *'Our best comic novelist' * New Scientist *I'm addicted to Terry Pratchett' * A.S. Byatt *

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Funny, delightfully inventive, and refuses to lie down in its genre’ ObserverThe Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is .Trade Review'Funny, delightfully inventive, and refuses to lie down in its genre' * Observer *'Imagine a collision between Jonathan Swift at his most scatalogically-minded and J.R.R Tolkein on speed... This total mess of- I suppose- a novel, is the joyous outcome' * Daily Telegraph *'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy... Pratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own' * The Sunday Times *'Pratchett is as funny as Wodehouse and as witty as Waugh' * Independent *'Like Dickens, much of Pratchett's appeal lies in his humanism, both in a sentimental regard for his characters' good fortune, and in that his writing is generous-spirited and inclusive' * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisRincewind is back in another hilarious Discworld adventure, featuring Sir Terry Pratchett''s classic wit and satirical edge''One of our greatest fantasists, and beyond a doubt the funniest'' George R.R. MartinThere was an eighth son of an eighth son. He was, quite naturally, a wizard. And there it should have ended.However (for reasons we''d better not go into), he had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son... a wizard squared... a source of magic... a Sourcerer.Sourcery sees the return of Rincewind and the Luggage as the Discworld faces its greatest - and funniest - challenge yet.Readers love Sourcery:''I was so pleased to be back with Rincewind, and of course, The Luggage . . . I enjoyed every moment'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Takes on sword and sorcery fantasies, taking satirical swipes at pretty much all the big ones- Lord of the Trade Review'A sequence of unalloyed delight' - GUARDIAN'He is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style' - DAILY TELEGRAPH'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' - MAIL ON SUNDAY'Pratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own' - SUNDAY TIMES

Read more less

Book SynopsisA classic Discworld novel featuring Sir Terry Pratchett''s signature style and wit. A fascinating and hilarious exploration of organised religion''An enduring, endearing presence in comic literature'' Guardian''Look after the dead'', said the priests, ''and the dead will look after you''.Wise words in all probability, but a tall order when you have just become the pharaoh of a small and penniless country whose largesse - and indeed treasury - is unlikely to stretch to the building of a monumental pyramid to honour your dead father. And particularly when your only visible means of support is a recently acquired qualification from the Guild of Assassins where running a kingdom and basic financial acumen were not prerequisites for course entry...Readers love Pyramids:''Clever, funny and amusing. Very familiar and yet fresh. Maybe it''s because I like mummies and ancient Egypt, I enjoyed it so Trade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times

Read more less

Book Synopsis'NOBLE DRAGONS DON'T HAVE FRIENDS. THE NEAREST THEY CAN GET TO THE IDEA IS AN ENEMY WHO IS STILL ALIVE.'The city of Ankh-Morpork is in turmoil, its citizens revolting. Again.A shadowy secret brotherhood has summoned a dragon to spread terror throughout the city, intent on overthrowing the Patrician and ruling in his place. Too bad the dragon has ideas of its own ...It's up to Captain Sam Vimes and the ramshackle Night Watch to stop it. Only problem is, the Watch are more used to dealing with mobs than dragons.And if they can't bring down this fire-breathing tyrant and reinstate their own, slightly less dangerous one, Ankh-Morpork might be lost. For ever...'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended' The TimeGuards! Guards! is the first book in the City Watch series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order. Trade Review'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended' * The Times *'Pratchett is at the peak of his powers; it's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him... A masterful ear for dialogue, a keen eye for the ridiculous and a real feel for language' * Time Out *'The best humorous English author since P.G. Wodehouse' * Sunday Telegraph *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'You ride along on his tide of outlandish invention, realising that you are in the presence of a true original' The TimesThe Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is .Trade Review'Not since Evelyn Waugh's novel Officers and Gentlemen has conflict faced such thoroughly cutting questioning...A great piece of writing, akin to Jonathan Swift' * Daily Express *Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent ... incredibly funny ... compulsively readable * The Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'His relish is infectious' Times'The funniest book I've read in ages. Savage but compelling' Ian Rankin'Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian' The Observer'Sharp, funny, and beautifully written... a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in' Joanna Cannon_______________What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds - and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept.The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words), his wife Beverley, a celebrated novelist (although not as celebrated as she would like), and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen.Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant. Along the way they will learn how volatile, how outraged, how unforgiving the world can be when you step from the proscribed path.Powered by John Boyne's characteristic humour and razor-sharp observation, The Echo Chamber is a satiric helter skelter, a dizzying downward spiral of action and consequence, poised somewhere between farce, absurdity and oblivion. To err is maybe to be human but to really foul things up you only need a phone.The new novel by John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now.Trade ReviewAn uproariously funny novel... John Boyne skilfully skewers the cruelties of social media and the absurdities of wokeness ... a brave and timely foray into the contemporary culture wars. * Financial Times *A fearless romp with big laughs along the way * Graham Norton *A comedy of manners and lack of manners ... good fun and cheeky as hell * Ryan Tubridy *His relish is infectious * The Times *Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian * The Observer *

Read more less

Book SynopsisNikolai Gogol''s ''epic poem in prose'', Dead Souls is a damning indictment of a corrupt society, translated from the Russian with an introduction and notes by Robert A. Maguire in Penguin Classics.Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in the provincial town of ''N'', visiting a succession of landowners and making each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these ''dead souls'' as collateral to re-invent himself as a aristocrat. In this ebullient picaresque masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov. Dead Souls (1842), Russia''s first major novel, is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy.In his introduction, Robert A. Maguire discusses Gogol''s liTrade ReviewGogol was a strange creature, but then genius is always strange. (Vladimir Nabokov)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen seven-year-old Jedza witnesses a tragic incident involving a train and the death of his close boyhood friend in his hometown Miner’s Drift, he is convinced that his life is haunted. Now in his mid-20s, Jedza is a down-and-out electrician, moving to Harare in the hopes that he will escape the darkness and superstitions of the small town. But living in the shadowy restless atmosphere of the Avenues with its mysterious pools of water rising under musasa trees, he is tormented by the disappearance of his sister and their early encounters with ancestral spirits, the shapeshifting power of the njuzu and a vengeful ngozi. To move forward, he must stop running away and confront the trauma of his past. An eclectic, experimental novel, Avenues By Train is a brash and confident debut by an exciting new voice

Read more less

Book SynopsisA BBC Two Between the Covers Pick'A tragicomic masterpiece' Daily TelegraphAll that stands between one man and murder by the mafia is a penguin.Viktor is an aspiring writer in Ukraine with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company.Although Viktor would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see his work published, yet the subjects of his obituaries continue to cling to life.But when Viktor opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. Viktor and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.'A striking portrait of post-Soviet isolation... In this bleak moral landscape Kurkov manages to find ample refuge for his dark humour' New York TimesTrade ReviewA tragicomic masterpiece * Daily Telegraph *The deadpan tone works perfectly and it will be a hard-hearted reader who is not touched by Viktor's relationship with his unusual pet * The Times *A black comedy of rare dinstinction and the penguin is an invention of genius * Spectator *A chilling black comedy * Guardian *A striking portrait of post-Soviet isolation... In this bleak moral landscape Kurkov manages to find ample refuge for his dark humour * New York Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any. www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent ... incredibly funny ... compulsively readable' * The Times *'Pratchett is at the peak of his power; it's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him' * Time Out *'The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious genius for strong parody ... who deals with death with startling originality. Who writes amazing sentences' * New York Times *'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' * Mail on Sunday *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy . . .'' Sunday TimesThe Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .What sort of person sits down and writes a maniacal laugh? And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head. Opera can do that to a man . . .It can also bring Death. And plenty of it. In unpleasant variations. This isn''t real life - it''s worse. This is the Opera House, Ankh-Morpork . . . a huge, rambling building where innocent young sopranos are being targeted by a strangely familiar evil mastermind in a mask and evening dress and with a penchant for lurking in shadows and occasional murder. But Granny Weatherwax, Discworld''s most formidable witch, is in the audienceTrade Review'Pratchett is as funny as Wodehouse and as witty as Waugh' * Independent *'The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious genius for strong parody ... who deals with death with startling originality. Who writes amazing sentences' * New York Times *'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent ... incredibly funny ... compulsively readable' * The Times *'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy...Pratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own' * Sunday Times *'Entertaining and gloriously funny' * Chicago Tribune *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWelcome to the Best of the Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fictionWhen Winston Niles Rumfoord flies his spaceship into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum he is converted into pure energy and only materializes when his waveforms intercept Earth or some other planet. As a result, he only gets home to Newport, Rhode Island, once every fifty-nine days and then only for an hour.But at least, as a consolation, he now knows everything that has ever happened and everything that ever will be. He knows, for instance, that his wife is going to Mars to mate with Malachi Constant, the richest man in the world. He also knows that on Titan - one of Saturn''s moons - is an alien from the planet Tralfamadore, who has been waiting 200,000 years for a spare part for his grounded spacecraft . . . A finalist for the 1960 Hugo Award, The Sirens of Titan was Vonnegut''s second novel. It received wide acclaim, and played with Trade ReviewThe Sirens of Titan is a tour-de-force of sci-fi literature * Empire *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''ONE OF OUR VERY BEST WRITERS'' Sunday Times''A tour de force''The Times''Intoxicating''Daily Telegraph''Devilishly delightful''New York Times Book Review''Beautifully and compellingly written''Sunday Express''Audacious''Times Literary SupplementTHE BESTSELLING CLASSIC TALE OF A WOMAN SCORNED, FROM A MUCH-LOVED BRITISH AUTHORRuth Patchett never thought of herself as particularly devilish.Rather the opposite in fact - simply a tall, not terribly attractive woman living a quiet life as a wife and mother in a respectable suburb. But when she discovers that her husband is having a passionate affair with the lovely romantic novelist Mary Fisher, she is so seized by envy that she becomes truly diabolic. Within weeks she has burnt down the family home, collected the insurance, made love to the local drunk Trade ReviewA tour de force: a macabre, fast-moving moral fable * The Times *More audacious and striking in design than anything that has gone before . . . carried out with such dash and glitter * Times Literary Supplement *Rousing . . . stimulating . . . the fun grows steadily blacker and wilder * Guardian *A savage, sadistic even, but beautifully and compellingly written satire * Sunday Express *Intoxicating * Daily Telegraph *A novel of blazingly hot revenge, one that amply illustrates the saying about heaven having no rage like love turned to hate, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned * New York Magazine *Devilishly delightful . . . It affords a scintillating, mindboggling, vicarious thrill for any reader who has ever fantasised dishing out retribution for one wrong or another * New York Times Book Review *What makes this a powerfully funny and oddly powerful book is the energy of the language and of the intellect that conceived it, an energy that vibrates off the pages and that makes She Devil as exceptional a book in the remembering as in the reading . . . . a small, mad masterpiece * Washington Post *Fantastic . . . a carefully worked-out fable, satiric and finally bitter . . . it's very funny * Chicago Tribune *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review'Pratchett has found his owm way of turning lead into gold, and by that I don't just mean that he's written 25 bestsellers in 17 years, but that every one he has written is a treasure'—Helen Falconer, Guardian'Fluent, intricately plotted and sometimes very funny'—James Delingpole, Daily Telegraph'He would be amusing in any form, and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction'—Mail on Sunday'Pratchett fans are in for a treat with his 25th Discworld novel'—Maggie Pringle, Daily Express'THE TRUTH is an unmitigated delight and very, very funny...The pace is compelling but he never lets his tale descend into simple farce'—Peter Ingham, The Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisWilliam must cope with the traditional perils of a journalist's life - people who want him dead, a recovering vampire with a suicidal fascination for flash photography, and, the man who keeps begging him to publish pictures of his humorously shaped potatoes. William just wants to get at THE TRUTH. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to get him.Trade Review'Pratchett has found his owm way of turning lead into gold, and by that I don't just mean that he's written 25 bestsellers in 17 years, but that every one he has written is a treasure'—Helen Falconer, Guardian'Fluent, intricately plotted and sometimes very funny'—James Delingpole, Daily Telegraph'He would be amusing in any form, and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction'—Mail on Sunday'Pratchett fans are in for a treat with his 25th Discworld novel'—Maggie Pringle, Daily Express'THE TRUTH is an unmitigated delight and very, very funny...The pace is compelling but he never lets his tale descend into simple farce'—Peter Ingham, The Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe stunning new novel from the author of the National Book Award–finalist A Children’s BibleTrade Review"Tender but never sentimental, wearing its intelligence in a low-slung style, Dinosaurs is a garden of earthly delights." -- Laura Mechling - Vogue"Deceptively simple and quietly lovely, Dinosaurs is a compassionate character study of a loner who discovers community. " -- Adrienne Westenfeld - Esquire"Effortlessly readable... there is something new and unusual about Dinosaurs." -- Sam Sacks - The Wall Street Journal"Quietly powerful" -- Adam Begley - The Spectator"This gentle, redemptive novel follows a damaged, trusting man as he heals through human connection and requited love… it leaves a warm afterglow and an optimism that lingers." -- Sally Morris - Daily Mail"Dinosaurs’ solidifies a new phase of Millet’s career. . . . The spaciousness of the style makes the sense of loss richer and the questions posed — what constitutes moral action, how best can we help one another — at once simpler and more profound." -- Christine Smallwood - The New York Times"Millet has perfected charged, science-based prose that takes a surgeon’s loupe to how people interact with nature." -- The San Francisco Chronicle"Dinosaurs is sharp and implacably funny; it evades the sanctimony you’d expect." -- Katy Waldman - The New Yorker

Read more less