Satirical fiction and parodies

Book SynopsisReader, she married him. But not before a LOT of discussion of his behaviour in the group chat.With courage, determination and logged into her social media accounts - plain Jane Eyre is ready to take on the world. But then she meets and begins to fall for Edward Rochester, AKA the definition of a red flag, with screenshots to prove it.When authors Claire McGowan and Sarah Day imagined how 'Pride and Prejudice on Social Media' might look, retelling the story through mocked-up social media posts, their post instantly went viral. Now, they return with a Bronte classic told through highs and lows of social media . . .Perfect for fans of Charlotte Brontë . . .***READERS LOVE JANE EYRE ON SOCIAL MEDIA***'This is a fun text with a witty comedic spin and definitely one to put on your TBR pile' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'If you read nothing else this year, read this! It's honestly the best read of the year. Not only is it a clever idea for a retelling, it's charming, witty and downright hilarious!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'It all did make me laugh. Lots!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Really well done and difficult to put down. I see the authors have done the same thing with Pride and Prejudice and I am definitely adding that to my TBR' ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'What a funny and quirky book!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This clever retelling combines charm, wit, and humour to create an engaging and hilarious narrative' ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A lot of fun and a good way to make modern a classic' ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book Synopsis'Perfect if you loved THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB' - reader review'An entertaining romp and a fascinating insight into the weird and wonderful ways of the British aristocracy' S.J. Bennett, author of The Windsor KnotIt's the 1930s and a mysterious illness is spreading over Scotland. But the noble and ancient family of Inverkillen, residents of Loch Down Abbey, are much more concerned with dwindling toilet roll supplies and who will look after the children now that Nanny has regretfully (and most inconveniently) departed this life.Then Lord Inverkillen, Earl and head of the family, is found dead in mysterious circumstances. The inspector declares it an accident but Mrs MacBain, the head housekeeper, isn't so convinced. As no one is allowed in or out because of the illness, the residents of the house - both upstairs and downstairs - are the only suspects. With the Earl's own family too busy doing what can only be described as nothing, she decides to do some digging - in between chores, of course - and in doing so uncovers a whole host of long-hidden secrets, lies and betrayals that will alter the dynamics of the household for ever.Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, Agatha Christie and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, LOCH DOWN ABBEY is a playful, humorous mystery that will keep you glued to the page!READERS LOVE LOCH DOWN ABBEY!'Beautifully written . . . this is a joyous read that will stay with me for a long time' - 5 STARS'The ending took me completely by surprise but in the best way' - 5 STARS'If you want to escape for a while, this is definitely a good book for that' - 5 STARSTthis very funny and unputdownable novel is a sure winner from start to finish! To be enjoyed without moderation.' - 5 STARS'It's amazing what secrets are hidden . . . Excellent :)' - 5 STARS

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Book Synopsis'I can wholeheartedly confirm that Susie Donkin is funnier than Shakespeare' MEL GIEDROYC'Impeccably researched, contagiously enjoyable, highly recommended.' BRIAN COXImogen thinks she knows what Shakespeare's most famous plays are all about. Everyone does, right? Star-crossed lovers. Naughty Greeks getting up to mischief in the woods. Scottish kings losing their minds. Young men with daddy issues. Dads who just need some positive affirmation from their daughters*. (*Okay, that's maybe putting it a bit mildly) But when Imogen brings 14 amateur actors together to perform one of the Bard's great works in a bid to save their local community centre, it becomes apparent that she - or anyone who reads this book for that matter - will never see Shakespeare's greatest works in the same light again . . ."BAFTA-winning Horrible Histories writer Susie Donkin makes Shakespeare's greatest works even greater." Stan Lafski, Imogen's uncle "A very funny book. Would definitely not have been as funny if it was about Christopher Marlowe." Larry Fairfoul, troupe memberTrade ReviewI can wholeheartedly confirm that Susie Donkin is funnier than Shakespeare -- MEL GIEDROYCImpeccably researched, contagiously enjoyable, highly recommended. -- BRIAN COX

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Book Synopsis'Ah! This is the dream!' says Julian one morning. 'With good old British common sense and community spirit like this, there's no reason that we couldn't exist on the island like this for the rest of our days!'What could possibly go wrong . . .?Anne has gathered Julian, Dick, George and, of course, Timmy, together for a last nostalgic jaunt in the countryside together before grown-up responsibilities take the four cousins off in different directions. It's only natural that they find their way onto Kirrin Island for a look around, as this might be the last time they're here together as a group. They are planning just to spend the night there and come home the next day, perhaps with a little exploring in the dungeon for old time's sake. But that night they hear the country has gone into lockdown. They are not allowed to leave. With their usual resourcefulness, they are determined to make the best of it, and remain cheerful and healthy. As Anne keeps saying: They're lucky, really, to have all this countryside and fresh air at their disposal!

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Book SynopsisA rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, by one of our best chroniclers of faith in the 21st century."I enjoyed it enormously. The story is so interesting, the theme so important and pertinent, and the fluency and lightness of touch so engaging to read" PHILIP PULLMAN"[Arditti] has given us a novel very much for our time, good enough to be for all time, too" The Scotsman"An engrossing, three-dimensional, grown-up narrative" ROWAN WILLIAMS"The perfect combination of matters ecclesiastical and artistic" Financial Times"Bursting with intellectual richness and joyously acidic dialogue" The Spectator"A compelling read" Observer" I loved this book for its lightness of touch about serious subjects and for dialogue that glitters like clashing rapiers" MIRANDA SEYMOUR"An intelligent and entertaining novel that handles lightly problems of great moral weight" GuardianAs a woman in the early 1980s, Clarissa Phipps is unable to pursue her priestly vocation. Instead, she joins the BBC, where she is sent to interview the artist Seward Wemlock about the panels he is painting for an ancient Cheshire church."A serious and important writer" ROSE TREMAIN"Arditti has delivered a complex moral fable with skill and aplomb" Mail on SundayThirty years on, now rector of that same church, she chances upon Brian, the chief bell-ringer and husband of her closest friend, fondling fifteen-year-old David. David claims they are in love, but Clarissa is obliged to act. Will she choose friendship or conscience, sympathy or her duty of care?The fallout from that choice forces her to reflect on past concerns over Wemlock's relationship with his teenage models. Had she heeded the whispers at the time, how many lives - her own included - would have turned out differently?The Choice is a rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, questioning whether it's possible, let alone prudent, to separate the art from the artist, which reaches to the heart of the contemporary culture wars. Richly comic and deeply compassionate, it is a remarkable synthesis of the sacred and profane."At a time when British fiction has never been more timorous about tackling novels of ideas, Michael Arditti has produced one worthy of Iris Murdoch and Graham Greene. Brilliantly ambiguous, waspishly witty and thoroughly enjoyable, this is Michael Arditti's own masterpiece to date" AMANDA CRAIGTrade ReviewI enjoyed it enormously. The story is so interesting, the theme so important and pertinent, and the fluency and lightness of touch so engaging to read. -- PHILIP PULLMANPast sins, present values, forgiveness and redemption all inform this subtle modern morality tale . . . A compelling read. -- Peter Stanford * Observer *An absorbing novel, a mature and important work . . . [Arditti] has given us a novel very much for our time, good enough to be for all time, too -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *The Choice is an intelligent and entertaining novel that handles lightly problems of great moral weight. Clarissa faces many hard choices and unearths many horrors, but in the end, for her and for the reader, it is all worth it. -- Christopher Shrimpton * Guardian *A book that probes any number of aggressive varieties of moralism, while testing the reader's own moral alertness for rigour, realism and generosity. An engrossing, three-dimensional, grown-up narrative. -- ROWAN WILLIAMSIn a novel bursting with intellectual richness and joyously acidic dialogue, it's fitting he ends on a deliciously poised note - a question rather than an answer -- Jude Crook * The Spectator *A serious and important writer -- ROSE TREMAINMichael Arditti's magnificent novel is the first to place a woman priest at the centre of what proves to be an irresistibly readable, thoughtful and characteristically witty examination of the quandaries and compromises faced by the Church of England in an era of decline . . . I loved this book for its lightness of touch about serious subjects and for dialogue that glitters like clashing rapiers. -- MIRANDA SEYMOURArditti has delivered a complex moral fable with skill and aplomb -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday *At a time when British fiction has never been more timorous about tackling novels of ideas, Michael Arditti has produced one worthy of Iris Murdoch and Graham Greene . . . Brilliantly ambiguous, waspishly witty and thoroughly enjoyable, this is Michael Arditti's own masterpiece to date. -- AMANDA CRAIGArditti's fondness for comic flourishes adds levity to what is not infrequently a discomforting exploration of art, religion and morality - one that, with the fate of artist Eric Gill's oeuvre back In the headlines, feels very current -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Challenging, mischievous and enormously satisfying. -- Neil Norman * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisFrom bestselling author Nick Spalding comes a hilarious, uplifting story about one man’s attempt to live a tech free life. Andy Bellows is in a right state. Plagued with insomnia, anxiety and neckache, he’s convinced there’s something seriously wrong with him. And the worst thing is that his doctor agrees. The diagnosis: Andy is in the grip of a self-destructive addiction to technology—he just cannot put that bloody mobile phone down. Texting, tweeting, gaming and online dating—technology rules Andy’s life. His phone even monitors his bowel movements. So how will he cope when he’s forced to follow doctor’s orders and step away from all of his beloved screens? When he loses his precious digital window on the world, Andy discovers just how bewildering and scary living an analogue life can be. And when his sixty-day detox hits the headlines—making him a hero to suffering technophiles everywhere—Andy is sorely tempted to pack it all in and escape in the nearest Uber. Can he get himself out of this mess, and work out how to live a better, technologically balanced life…without consulting Google even once?Trade Review“It was great. He addresses the pitfalls of digital life with the balance we desperately need.” —Beth the Bookworm “The humour is so dry, so hilarious and it all felt very genuine…it’s really got a message that all of us could pause and take note of.” —Sarah in Readerland “Aside from being a great, humorous, sweet story about taking a break from technology, it is truly FUNNY.” —Life’s a Parade “Despite the book having quite a serious theme, it was constantly lighthearted and easy to read…a great holiday read, or a great pick-me-up book.” —Audrey’s Reviews

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually comes a laugh-out-loud story about saving your job…and maybe saving the planet in the process. Meet Ellie Cooke. When it comes to all things environmental she’s, well, a bit ‘green’. It’s not that she doesn’t care about things like climate change and plastic pollution, it’s just that life has always got in the way of that sort of thing. But when the PR firm Ellie works for is taken over by keen environmentalist Nolan Reece, it’s clear that if she wants to save her job, she’s going to have to get serious about being green—or face being recycled. Going green is no walk in the park, though. It involves a lot of big changes, tough choices…and at least one case of accidentally showing your knickers off to your boss. Can Ellie do enough to save her job, and maybe do her bit to help save the planet while she’s at it? And what will Nolan think of her, now that she can’t stop thinking about him…?

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Book SynopsisFrom an award-winning Tunisian author comes a stirring allegory about a country in the aftermath of revolution and the power of a single quest. Sidi lives a hermetic life as a bee whisperer, tending to his beloved “girls” on the outskirts of the desolate North African village of Nawa. He wakes one morning to find that something has attacked one of his beehives, brutally killing every inhabitant. Heartbroken, he soon learns that a mysterious swarm of vicious hornets committed the mass murder—but where did they come from, and how can he stop them? If he is going to unravel this mystery and save his bees from annihilation, Sidi must venture out into the village and then brave the big city and beyond in search of answers. Along the way, he discovers a country and a people turned upside down by their new post–Arab Spring reality as Islamic fundamentalists seek to influence votes any way they can on the eve of the country’s first democratic elections. To succeed in his quest, and find a glimmer of hope to protect all that he holds dear, Sidi will have to look further than he ever imagined. In this brilliantly accessible modern-day parable, Yamen Manai uses a masterful blend of humor and drama to reveal what happens in a country shaken by revolutionary change after the world stops watching.Trade ReviewWinner of the Prix Comar d’Or and the Prix des Cinq Continents International Praise for The Ardent Swarm “Yamen Manai…speaks with the accuracy of the scientist and at the same time the fire of a poet and the imagination of the novelist.” —Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, in interview with Patrick Simonin, TV5 Monde “[The Ardent Swarm explores] the problems of contemporary Tunisia but [they are] approached in a very gentle, very subtle way, with a smile.” —Yvan Le Perec, France Bleu “What a wonderful little book that is at once an enchantment, a hymn to nature, a warning about intolerance and the fundamentalism that threatens us, and also a great lesson in courage.” —Gérard Collard, La Griffe Noire Praise for The Ardent Swarm “Warmth, compassion, and humanity, with here-and-there touches of sarcasm and humor. A well-told tale showing that modernity isn’t always a blessing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Masterly…The enormous talent on display here recommends a second reading to relish the author’s storytelling ability.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Lyrical prose and layered insights…a vivid meditation on societal discord and harmony. This elegant allegory of globalization’s insidious nature finds rich drama in the tense, turbulent reckoning with questions of modernity versus tradition.” —Publishers Weekly “A beautifully written novel that blends poetry with politics.” —Christian Science Monitor “Manai delves into serious issues in this novel, but there’s also this humor, this passion, this humanity that buzzes around every page.” —Writer’s Bone “The Ardent Swarm reminded me of my time in Tunisia in the years that followed the Jasmine Revolution in 2011. Drawing on real events that took place in the country, the author constructs a revealing allegory about the opposing political forces at work then. For readers who want to know more about the Arab Spring, The Ardent Swarm is a perfect place to begin their journey.” —Jake Walles, Former U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia

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Book SynopsisIn this madcap tale from the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually, two’s company for Jake and his bestie Sy. But three? A disaster! Jake Carlisle is living his best life, thanks to the crazily successful influencer channel he created with his best friend Sy. Reviewing whacky hobbies and adrenaline-fuelled adventures, Sy has pushed Jake into doing more exciting stuff than either ever thought possible. Then disaster strikes. When newbie Helena joins the team, Sy quickly falls head over heels for her…All of a sudden, with romance blossoming and the business dynamic shifting, Jake is horrified to find himself becoming the dreaded third wheel. Being the odd one out was not what he signed up for. And he’ll do anything to get his best friend back—even if that involves a little light sabotage, an unhealthy amount of jealousy…and one very unfortunate pair of tartan Speedos. Will Jake be relegated to the background from now on? Or will he finally learn to stand on his own two feet and succeed at getting his life—along with his friendship—back on track?

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of Dumped, Actually comes a hilarious, heartfelt story about marriage, divorce and what the hell happens next. Amy and Joel’s honeymoon in the Maldives was the perfect week of love, sun, sex and a free minibar…but unfortunately, it was also the high point of a marriage that quickly descended into an absolute disaster zone. Eight years on, they’re back in paradise, trying to recreate the magic with new partners. What a crying shame they’ve picked the same week to do it… Trapped together on an island small enough to spit across with the wind behind you, Amy and Joel pick up right where they left off: at total loggerheads. And so begins a hideous week of rivalry, one-upmanship and score-settling—as each tries to prove they’ve now comprehensively won at life. The thing is, hurt and pain are strongest where there was once love. And what if being back in this island paradise, with all its wonderful memories, sets sparks flying in more ways than one?

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Book SynopsisFrom a bold voice in African fiction comes a satirical and unputdownable reimagining of an overlooked episode in Cameroon’s colonial past. Cameroon, 1929. As colonial powers fight for influence in Africa, French military surgeon Eugène Jamot is dispatched to Cameroon to lead the fight against sleeping sickness there. But despite his humanitarian intentions, the worst comes to pass: seven hundred local villagers are left blind as a result of medical malpractice by a doctor under Jamot’s watch. Damienne Bourdin, a young white woman, ventures to Cameroon to assist in the treatment effort. Reeling from the loss of her child, she’s desperate to redeem herself and save her reputation. But the tides of rebellion are churning in Cameroon, and soon after Damienne’s arrival, she is enlisted in a wild plot to staunch the damage caused by the blunder and forestall tribal warfare. Together with Ndongo, a Pygmy guide, she must cross the country on foot in search of Edoa, a Cameroonian princess and nurse who has gone missing since the medical blunder was discovered. As Damienne races through the Cameroonian forest on a farcical adventure that unsettles her sense of France’s “civilizing mission,” she begins to question her initial sense of who needed saving and who would save the day.Trade Review“Cameroonian writer Mutt-Lon skewers self-centered and condescending humanitarian efforts of people from the first world in his sharp English-language debut…This impressive work finds the humanity of its targets.” —Publishers Weekly “Mutt-Lon writes with a bracing mix of directness and humor…Yet he never creates enough irony to soften discomfort; doing so would be too easy, and The Blunder, no matter how swift and funny it gets, is an intensely complex novel, full of nuanced characters and difficult histories of colonial and inter-tribal prejudice and conflict…The Blunder is an excellent model of bluntness mixed with sophistication — and, as such, an excellent and infuriating read.” —NPR “…extremely readable—a testament to both Mutt-Lon’s skillful prose and Amy B. Reid’s deft translation.” —Historical Novels Review

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Book SynopsisCandide, the illegitimate nephew of a German baron and student of eternal optimist Pangloss, is living a simple and sheltered life in “the best of all possible worlds.” But when Candide falls in love with the wrong woman, his uncle’s young daughter, he is exiled from the baron’s castle and suffers great tragedy and catastrophe, which leaves him disillusioned and questioning the goodness of the universe. Penned in just three days—and published in secret because of its blasphemous and seditious nature—Voltaire’s legendary satire deftly skewers religious, romantic, and political naïveté with an acerbic and ribald wit that delights to this day. Revised edition: Previously published as Candide, this edition of Candide (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

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Book SynopsisA kind of cross between The Haunting of Hill House, Stoner and Alice in Wonderland. Mayr's novel The Widows was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book in the Canada-Caribbean region. Monoceros won the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, the 2012 Relit Award for Best Novel, and was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

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Book SynopsisOliver Vice, forty-one, prominent philosopher, scholar, and art collector, is missing and presumed dead, over the side of Queen Mary 2.Troubled by his friend’s possible suicide, the unnamed narrator of Lawrence Douglas’ new novel launches an all-consuming investigation into Vice’s life history. Douglas, moving backward through time, tells a mordantly humorous story of fascination turned obsession, as his narrator peels back the layers of the Vice family’s rich and bizarre history. At the heart of the family are Francizka, Oliver’s handsome, overbearing, vaguely anti-Semitic Hungarian mother, and his fraternal twin brother, Bartholomew, a gigantic and troubled young man with a morbid interest in Europe’s great tyrants. As the narrator finds himself drawn into a battle over the family’s money and art, he comes to sense that someone—or perhaps the entire family—is hiding an unsavory past. Pursuing the truth from New York to London, from Budapest to Portugal, he remains oblivious to the irony of the search: that in his need to understand Vice’s life, he is really grappling with ambivalence about his own.

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Book SynopsisAn irreverent, allusive, scatalogical, tragicomic masterpiece that centers on the patrons of a run-down bar as they try to document the details of their lives in a country that appears to have forgotten the importance of remembering.In Republic of the Congo, in the town of Trois-Cents, in a bar called Credit Gone West, a former schoolteacher known as Broken Glass drinks red wine and records the stories of the bar and its regulars for posterity: Stubborn Snail, the owner, who must battle church people, ex-alcoholics, tribal leaders, and thugs set on destroying him and his business; the Printer, who had his respectable life in France ruined by a white woman, his wife; Robinette, who could outdrink and outpiss any man; and Broken Glass himself, whose own tale involves as much heartbreak, squalor, disappointment, and delusion.But Broken Glass fails spectacularly at staying out of trouble as one denizen after another wants to rewrite history in an attempt at making sure his portrayal will properly reflect their exciting and dynamic lives. Despondent over this apparent triumph of self-delusion over self-awareness, Broken Glass drowns his sorrows and riffs on the great books of Africa and the West. Brimming with life, death, and literary allusions, Broken Glass is Mabanckou's finest novel--a mocking satire of the dangers of artistic integrity.

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Book SynopsisA young stand-up comedian must adapt to an apocalyptic virus affecting people’s sense of humor in this darkly satirical debut novel. What happens when all humor is wiped off the face of the Earth? Around the world, an unusual viral plague is striking the population. The virus attacks only one particular section of the brain. It isn’t fatal, but it results in the victim’s sense of humor being obliterated. No one is immune. Elliot Greeley, a young stand-up comedian starving his way through alternative comedy clubs in Los Angeles, isn’t even certain the virus is real at first. But as the pandemic begins to eat away at the very heart of civilization itself, the virus affects Elliot and his close knit group of comedian friends in increasingly personal ways. What would you consider the end of the world? Until the Last Dog Dies is a sharp, cutting satire, both a clever twist on apocalyptic fiction and a poignant look at the things that make us human.Trade Review“By turns mystical and ashcan-real, insanely funny and grimly ghastly, Guffey’s novel cuts a zigzag trail through conventionality as it follows Elliot Greeley in his half-serious, half jesting quest for some deeper meaning to existence. If you build your life on laughs, what happens when the laughs disappear? Kissing cousin to Max Barry’s novel Lexicon, about killer language, and to Ben Marcus’s The Flame Alphabet, about language killed, Guffey’s standup debut is standout speculative fiction.” —Paul DiFilippo, Locus “Taps into the cultural zeitgeist . . . A nihilistic satire that takes the idea that death is easy and comedy is hard to a whole new level.”—Kirkus Reviews “Guffey’s debut takes full advantage of an absurd, unexpected premise, delivering one of the strangest dystopian novels in a year filled with them.”—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog “Guffey’s sardonic, cleverly written comedic debut relies heavily on absurd synchronicity, bold characterization, and heavy irony to make its points about the apocalyptic nature of American humorlessness.”—Publishers Weekly “Not only a novel unique to this [political] moment, but one that is to comedy what Catch-22 was to war. One of the great books of the year.” —Adam-Troy Castro, Sci Fi Magazine “A playful amalgam of Andy Kaufman and Philip K. Dick by way of Shaun of the Dead.” —Damien Lincoln Ober, author of Doctor Benjamin Franklin's Dream America “This satirical tale explores the role of comedy in maintaining a healthy democracy. . . . A clever concept.”—Kirkus Reviews“By turns mystical and ashcan-real, insanely funny and grimly ghastly, Guffey’s novel cuts a zigzag trail through conventionality as it follows Elliot Greeley in his half-serious, half jesting quest for some deeper meaning to existence. If you build your life on laughs, what happens when the laughs disappear? Kissing cousin to Max Barry’s novel Lexicon, about killer language, and to Ben Marcus’s The Flame Alphabet, about language killed, Guffey’s standup debut is standout speculative fiction.” —Paul DiFilippo, Locus “Taps into the cultural zeitgeist . . . A nihilistic satire that takes the idea that death is easy and comedy is hard to a whole new level.”—Kirkus Reviews “Guffey’s debut takes full advantage of an absurd, unexpected premise, delivering one of the strangest dystopian novels in a year filled with them.”—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog “Guffey’s sardonic, cleverly written comedic debut relies heavily on absurd synchronicity, bold characterization, and heavy irony to make its points about the apocalyptic nature of American humorlessness.”—Publishers Weekly “Not only a novel unique to this [political] moment, but one that is to comedy what Catch-22 was to war. One of the great books of the year.” —Adam-Troy Castro, Sci Fi Magazine “A playful amalgam of Andy Kaufman and Philip K. Dick by way of Shaun of the Dead.” —Damien Lincoln Ober, author of Doctor Benjamin Franklin's Dream America “This satirical tale explores the role of comedy in maintaining a healthy democracy. . . . A clever concept.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisThe definitive edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s fiction concludes with three brilliantly satirical novels of the 1980s and ’90s collected in one volume for the first time. Here are the final three novels of the visionary master who defined a generation. Bluebeard (1987) is the colorful history of a phenomenally gifted realist painter who, in the 1950s, betrayed his artistic vision for commercial success. now, at seventy-one, he writes his memoirs and plots his revenge on the worldly forces that conspired to corrupt his talent. In Hocus Pocus (1990), a freewheeling prison memoir by a Vietnam vet and disgraced academic, Vonnegut brings his indelible voice to a range of still-burning issues—free speech, racism, environmental calamity, deindustrialization, and globalization. Timequake (1997), the author’s last completed novel, is part science fiction yarn (starring perennial protagonist Kilgore trout), part diary of the mid-1990s (starring the author himself). the result is a perfect fusion of Vonnegut’s two signature genres, the satirical fantasy and the personal essay, and a literary magician’s fond farewell to his readers and his craft. Rounded out with a selection of short nonfiction pieces intimately related to these three works, this volume presents the final word from the artist who the San Francisco Chronicle, reviewing Timequake, called an “old warrior who will not accept the dehumanizing of politics, the blunting of conscience, and the glibness of the late-twentieth-century Western world.”LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

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Book SynopsisA definitive edition of a modern master: three essential works that reveal his incomparable style, dark humor, and uncanny sensitivity to the complexities of living in dangerous timesIncludes White Noise, now a major motion picture starring Adam Driver and Greta GerwigThis first volume in the Library of America Don DeLillo edition presents three indispensable novels from the 1980s, published here with new prefaces from the author. The Names (1982) was DeLillo's breakthrough novel, a book that, as he reflects here, spanned a “broader expanse” than his earlier novels. James Axton, a “risk analyst” tasked with assessing dangers for his corporate clients from terrorism and other forms of political upheaval, uncovers evidence of ritual murders committed by a cult obsessed with ancient languages. The investigations of these crimes yields a profound series of meditations on identity, disconnection, and the nature of language itself. Part campus satire, part midlife character study, and part fever dream of a hyperreality that has become uncannily familiar, the National Book Award–winning White Noise (1985) creates a terrifying yet wickedly funny portrait of a postmodern America that is still recognizably ours, a world where children chant brand names in their sleep, university professors “read nothing but cereal boxes,” and “you are the sum of your data.” Three years in the research and writing, Libra (1988) offers a magnificent counter-history of the JFK assassination and a nuanced portrait of the president’s murderer. DeLillo has observed that “the novel, working within history, is also outside it, correcting, clearing up, finding balances and rhythms.” The result is a revelatory new depiction of a defining event in twentieth-century history. Rounding out the volume are two hard-to-find essays directly related to the novels: “American Blood,” the 1983 Rolling Stone article that was DeLillo’s first effort to grapple with the JFK assassination and the welter of information and speculation the events of the killing and Oswald’s own murder by Jack Ruby; and “Silhouette City,” an assessment of extremist right-wing groups and the troubling presence of neo-Nazism in the United States.

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Book SynopsisThe Mafia comes to Comic-Con and outrageousness ensues, in the new fast-paced suspense caper The Don Con. A hilarious comic crime thriller in the tradition of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich, The Don Con mixes suspense, razor-sharp pop culture satire and author Richard Armstrongs dry comic style into a delightful cocktail of pure entertainment. Joey Volpe hit the high watermark of his acting career when he played a small role as a mobster on The Sopranos. If you blinked, you missed it. But now hes unemployed, broke and forced to make a living by signing autographs at pop-culture fan conventions, or Fan-Cons, for $35 a pop. His lack of income, along with his chronic womanising, has put his marriage at risk, too. Joeys life gets even worse when real mobster Tony Rosetti shows up in the autograph line with a plan to rob the next Fan-Con an offer Joey cant refuse. When the heist goes awry, Joey is left with a beef with Rosetti and two long years to plan. Partnered with a smooth-talking con man, Joey is using all his acting skills on new projects: Revenge. Money. And saving his marriage. Combining the intrigue of Oceans 11 and The Bank Job with pointed comic takes on The Sopranos, The Godfather, Comic-Con, Star Trek, The Sting and nerd culture. A crime thriller / screwball comedy that will leave readers breathless with excitement and laughter.

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Book SynopsisAbrupt Mutations leads the reader on a humorous, meandering tour of 1960s Megalopolis, at the heart of which is a hotly anticipated gathering of the city’s culturati at the home of O Jango, a Brazilian billionaire and aesthete equally revered and reviled by his fellow Megalopolitans. Parodying a number of literary styles, including the detective novel and science fiction, Revol’s novel is first and foremost a Menippean satire of the cosmopolitan west in the sixties, detailing hilariously but humanely the lives of intellectual and artistic émigré’s who have fled from dictatorships and found in their adopted city opportunities for personal freedom and pleasure they previously could never have dreamed of.

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