Search results for ""Author Sly"

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2023 AN UNFORGETTABLE LITERARY NOVEL ABOUT MATERNAL FEAR AND THE MYTH OF IDYLLIC EARLY MOTHERHOOD The baby I hold in my arms is a leech, let’s call her Button. Button is crying. There is a before, and there is an after. In her cramped New York apartment, a mother wilts beneath the intense August heat, struggling to adapt to her role as the silent interpreter of her newborn baby’s needs. She is not the first woman to give birth, to hold and carry and soothe and cradle. But the walls of her home seem to press ever closer as she balances on the fragile tightrope between maternal instinct and the longing for all she has left behind. A lifeline emerges in the unexpected form of Peter, her ailing upstairs neighbour, who hushes the baby with his oxygen tank in tow. They are both confined to this oppressive apartment building, and they are both running out of time. Something is soon to crack. In this mesmerizing portrait of the first days of motherhood, Szilvia Molnar lays bare the strength it takes to redefine who you are, rediscovering the simple pleasures of life along the way. 'I was blown away by this book... At once somber and joyful, sly and earnest, nimble and painstaking, perverse and profoundly invigorating.' Lydia Kiesling, award-winning author of The Golden State

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A dazzling collection of poems from the T. S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted author of American Sonnets for My Past and Future AssassinSince the publication of his first book, Muscular Music, in 1999, Terrance Hayes has been one of America''s most exciting and innovative poets, winning acclaim for his sly, twisting, jazzy poems, and his mastery of emotive, restless wordplay.In So to Speak, his seventh collection, a tree frog sings to overcome its fear of birds, talking cats tell jokes in the Jim Crow South and a father addresses his daughter. In lyric fables, folk sonnets, quarantine quatrains and ekphrastic do-it-yourself sestinas, Bob Ross paints your portrait, green beans bling in the mouth of Lil Wayne and elegies for the late David Berman and George Floyd unfold amid the pandemic. These poems lyrically capture the often-incomprehensible predicaments of the present, as Hayes shapes music into language, and language into music.

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Now adapted into major film, Certain Women, starring Kristen Stewart and Michelle WilliamsCaught between opposing forces - fidelity and desire, impulse and security, innocence and experience - these unforgettable characters have each reached a fork in the road. But what kind of fool only wants it one way?Funny, sly and sparkling with energy, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It confirms Maile Meloy as an enthralling storyteller.

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Experimenting with the narrative structure by crafting together snapshots, this short story collection touches upon topics as diverse as anorexia, cleaning the oven, the terror of losing a child, exile, infidelity, and desire. Using panache and hypnotic honesty, it traverses the terrain of loss and fear, yet retains elements of quirky humor and sly surprise. Told from the perspectives of a policewoman, an art teacher, an athlete, a bassoonist, a lover, and a mother, these stories are erotic, edgy, and wise.

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Oxfordshire Murders brings together twenty-five murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Oxfordshire. They include the deaths of two gamekeepers, brutally murdered in 1824 and 1835; Henrietta Walker, killed by her husband at Chipping Norton in 1887; Mary Allen, shot by Harry Rowles at Cassington in the same year; and Anne Kempson, murdered by Henry Seymour, a door-to-door salesman, in Oxford in 1931. Nicola Sly's carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Oxfordshire's history.

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Shropshire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Shropshire. They include the Revd Robert Foulkes, who killed his illegitimate child in 1678; the murder of Catherine Lewis by John Mapp at Longden in 1867; the horrific axe murders committed by John Doughty at Church Stretton in 1924; and the tragic death of Dennis O'Neill, who was beaten and starved by his foster parents in 1944. Nicola Sly's carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Shropshire's history.

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This chilling follow-up to Bristol Murders brings together more true-life historical murders that shocked not only the city but frequently made headline news throughout the nation. They include the brutal murders of policemen Patrick White in 1846 and Christopher Wickham in 1862, a frightful case of murder and suicide at Bitton in 1842, and the deliberate starvation of a child at Knowle in 1874. There are murders for money, such as the murder of Mary Lewis in Stapleton in 1836, and a brief, but tantalising, mystery from 1915 when two separate murders in different parts of the city showed remarkable similarities. Nicola Sly’s well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to everyone interested in true crime and the shadier side of Bristol’s past.

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"A playful, punchy paean to the pervasive poot." --Kirkus Reviews (Starred review) Grandmas fart. Teachers fart. Terrifying creatures fart. But . . . is there someone who DOESN'T fart? With sly humor, this fun board book looks at a subject that's sure to make children laugh: farting. With silent farts, farts like horns, and rainbow farts from unicorns, Almost Everybody Farts comically captures the gassy scene. And only one person insists she's fart-free: MOM! But is she? Kids will insist on reading this rhyming story again and again.

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Embroider a menagerie of 30 adorable animals! From a sweet giraffe and a happy cat to a sly little red fox and a friendly hedgehog, Cute Critters features step-by-step instructions and dozens of easy-to-use patterns to create embroidery hoops for all your favorite animals with charming floral details. Intermediate embroiderers will pick them up in no time, and beginners can tackle the simpler projects and further their skills with the more complicated designs. Also included is basic introductory information about materials and supplies, techniques and a guide to basic stitches.

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Grandmas fart. Teachers fart. Terrifying creatures fart. But ...is there someone who Doesn't fart? With sly humour, this fun picture book looks at a subject that's sure to make children laugh: farting. With silent farts, farts like horns and rainbow farts from unicorns, Almost Everybody Farts comcaWy captures the gassy scene. And only one person insists she's fart-free: MUM! But is she? Kids will insist on reading this rhyming story again and again.

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A masterful collection by a literary giant of the past century, rendered by one of our most esteemed Italian translators"A fine sampling of Pirandello’s world, convincingly translated by Jewiss, who negotiates the problems of bringing his vivid, colloquial prose and effortless storytelling into English with great skill.”—Tim Parks, New York Review of Books Regarded as one of Europe’s great modernists, Pirandello was also a master storyteller, a fine observer of the drama of daily life with a remarkable ear for dialogue and a keen sense of the crushing burdens of class, gender, and social conventions. Set in the author’s birthplace of Sicily, where the arid terrain and isolated villages map the fragile interior world of his characters, and in Rome, where modern life threatens centuries-old traditions, these original stories are sun baked with the deep lore of Italian folktales. In “The Jar,” a broken earthenware pot pits its owner, a quarrelsome landholder, against a clever inventor of a mysterious glue. “The Dearly Departed” tells the story of a young widow and her new husband on their honeymoon, haunted at every turn by the sly visage of the deceased. The scorned lover, the intransigent bureaucrat, the lonely mother, the wretched peasant—Pirandello’s characters expose the human condition in all its fatalism, injustice, and raw beauty. For lovers of Calvino and Pasolini, these picturesque stories preserve a memory of an Italy long gone, but one whose recurring concerns still speak to us today.

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She's faking her way into the most exclusive social circles for revenge. But how long can her lies hold up? Seventeen-year-old Lydia Cornwallis has arrived on a remote island populated only by wealthy families and their staff. She quickly finds acceptance, even adoration, from the close-knit families that rule the island. But a storm is coming, and all routes to the mainland are cut off. But thank goodness the Harrington sisters made it in time, because Lydia simply can't wait to meet them. That's because Lydia's not really Lydia Cornwallis. And the Harringtons have hell to pay for what they've done. Lydia will need to draw on epic nerve, quicksilver adaptability and sly cunning in maintaining her cover and exacting murderous revenge. And when she meets someone new on the island and starts to develop real feelings, can that connection survive when nothing else is real? Sue Wallman is the award-winning author of teen thrillers such as Lying About Last Summer, See How They Lie, Your Turn to Die, Dead Popular, and I Know You Did It. Like Inventing Anna and the fascination with fake German heiress Anna Delvey, this fraudster story will keep readers on edge, turning the pages to find out how long Lydia can keep this brazen scheme up. Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson, Karen McManus and E. Lockhart.

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“The suspense of the story, aided by sly hints from the author, and the atmosphere of a dark, claustrophobic tomb work together to create a scary story. The characters’ fear invites the reader into the world to experience the fright themselves.” — Booklist Starred Review Deep inside the tomb exists a hidden world of wonder and terror. In 1935, British archaeologists vanished inside an Egyptian cave. A year later, one man returned covered in mysterious scars. Egyptologist Imogen Riley desperately wants to know what happened to the ill-fated expedition led by her grandfather. On a quest for answers, she joins a team of archeologists and soldiers in Egypt. Inside a mountain tomb, they’ve found a technologically advanced relic and a maze of tunnels. Dr. Nathan Trummel believes this tomb leads to the most guarded secrets of the pharaohs. When the explorers venture deep into the caves, they discover a hidden world of wonder and terror.FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

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The first ever collection of poems by the acclaimed author of the Aubrey/Maturin series of Napoleonic naval adventures. As we have stood with Jack and Stephen on the deck of the Surprise and other ships, readers around the world have been transported to a place and time at once familiar and exotic, routine and dramatic. At all times, Patrick O’Brian’s deep knowledge of the period and profound empathy with the landscape of the sea has ensured there is always a firm hand on the tiller. The writer’s command of language is combined with the poet’s eye for visual detail to remarkable, and unforgettable effect. In The Uncertain Land and Other Poems, those same strengths are vividly displayed as O’Brian leads us on a journey through his own life. Here, we see a writer full of a young man’s spirit, challenging life, and here an author reflecting an old man’s melancholy at youth gone; in between, as he describes the places that he lived and people that he encountered, are poems of sly observation, wry humour and delicate beauty. Through more than 100 poems, O’Brian reveals insights into the world that captivated him while he was at work on a succession of novels that would reach its apotheosis in the Aubrey/Maturin adventures, which would secure his reputation as ‘the Homer of the Napoleonic Wars’. Intensely personal, allusive and unique, this is the work of a lifetime, published now for the very first time.

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Strange, outdated laws from each of the 50 U.S. states-some overturned, some still on the books, and some merely the stuff of legends-are depicted with sly wit by Olivia Locher. Incisive, ironic, and gorgeous, these images will appeal to art buffs and trivia fans alike. A foreword from American poet Kenneth Goldsmith and an interview with the artist by Eric Shiner, former director of the Andy Warhol Museum, contextualize rising-star Locher's photography. From serving wine in teacups in Kansas to licking a toad in Kentucky or perming a child's hair in Nebraska, breaking the law has never looked so good.

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'Darkly unsettling' Guardian 'Intoxicating – dark, heady, lyrical’ Daily Telegraph 'Terrifying and inventive' Observer In a world devastated by antimicrobial resistance, two survivors are thrown into crisis when a woman washes ashore on the remote island where they live __________________________ Years after complete antibiotic resistance has resulted in the loss of most human life on earth, Kit and Crevan eke out an existence on a remote island. Under a collapsing castle, they spend their days in an underground bunker packed with emergency stores, venturing out only at night. They are safe. One evening a woman washes ashore, nearly drowned. Crevan wants to keep her alive, but Kit isn’t so sure. The new arrival will implode Kit and Crevan’s world with dire and fatal consequences, churning up the waters of the past and unearthing secrets they have kept from each other and from themselves. Who is really in control – and what are they both capable of doing to protect their haven? Gripping, treacherous and visceral, Whether Violent or Natural is an unforgettably dark and strikingly original work by a major new talent. 'Sly, sharp, and utterly captivating' Rory Power, New York Times-bestselling author of Wilder Girls 'Hits you like a shot of the very good stuff ... Dark-hearted, complex, and accomplished' C. A. Fletcher, author of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

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It’s rare for a first book to demonstrate the confidence and distinctive voice of Blood Hyphen. Through the publication of individual poems in journals over several years, readers have become aware of Kenny Williams as a strikingly original writer, but the range and depth of his achievement in this collection are remarkable. Williams handles big concerns—faith, hurricanes, history, the conundrum of the body—with sly humor, assurance, and poise, instantly establishing himself as a mature and memorable presence.

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This sly little journal comes from Sarah NoSpecialName for Emily McDowell & Friends. Sarah is an L.A.–based artist whose editorial paintings explore a fundamental question of modern life: are we all just the worst now? (Answer: not as long as we have smart, hilarious Friends like Sarah.) -A sketchbook, graphic notebook, and journal for our internet-famous times!-Just-right size: not quite large, not quite mini!-5.25 x 6.5-inches, 128 pages exposed spine journal

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This new title in the Braziller Series of Australian Poets features a poet whose work has been instrumental to the evolution of Australian poetry. By turns philosophical, comic, elegiac and witty, Wallace-Crabbe has forged an utterly unique voice in contemporary poetry. His delight in language is sheer pleasure for the reader, and his wry wisdom indispensable. The Sunday Times called his work "poetry of fine technical resource, precise observation, and sly wit." Wallace-Crabbe is one of Australia's most celebrated poets.

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This gorgeous Ladybird treasury of eight classic, traditional tales is guaranteed to delight and entertain young children. Each favourite fairy tale or story has been sensitively retold for modern readers and the lively mix of adventurous heroes, dastardly creatures and classic characters is perfect for young children everywhere. An ideal gift, it comes complete with a ribbon page marker, shiny foiled cover and captivating illustrations.The content includes Jack and the Beanstalk, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Gingerbread Man, The Three Little Pigs, Sly Fox and Red Hen, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

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WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY 2021 FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION 2021 A New York Times Top Book of 2020 Chosen as a Guardian Book of 2020 A BBC Culture Best Books of 2020 Nominated for Good Reads Books of 2020 One of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020 'Unputdownable ... Hong's razor-sharp, provocative prose will linger long after you put Minor Feelings down' - AnOther, Books You Should Read This Year 'A fearless work of creative non-fiction about racism in cultural pursuits by an award-winning poet and essayist' - Asia House 'Brilliant, penetrating and unforgettable, Minor Feelings is what was missing on our shelf of classics ... To read this book is to become more human' - Claudia Rankine author of Citizen 'Hong says the book was 'a dare to herself', and she makes good on it: by writing into the heart of her own discomfort, she emerges with a reckoning destined to be a classic' - Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts What happens when an immigrant believes the lies they're told about their own racial identity? For Cathy Park Hong, they experience the shame and difficulty of "minor feelings". The daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up in America steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality. With sly humour and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche - and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth.

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Penguin presents the audio CD edition of Ladybird Favourite Stories read by Daniel Weyman. This gorgeous Ladybird treasury of eight classic, traditional tales is guaranteed to delight and entertain young children. Each favourite fairy tale or story has been sensitively retold for modern readers and the lively mix of adventurous heroes, dastardly creatures and classic characters is perfect for young children everywhere. The content includes Jack and the Beanstalk, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Gingerbread Man, The Three Little Pigs, Sly Fox and Red Hen, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

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Dive into the adventure with The Singing Mermaid, a delightful tale from the stellar picture book partnership of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, creators of What the Ladybird Heard.With brilliant rhyming verse, bright and distinctive illustrations, this story is loved by children and parents alike.Tempted by the promise of fame and fortune, the Singing Mermaid joins a circus. The crowds love her, but the poor mermaid is kept in a tank by the wicked circus owner Sam Sly, and she soon longs to return to the freedom of her ocean home . . .Enjoy more stories from Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks: Sharing a Shell, The Princess and the Wizard, and Sugarlump and the Unicorn.

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Bestselling author and worst-drawing artist Ben Orlin expands his oeuvre with this interactive collection of mathematical games. With 70-plus games, each taking a minute to learn and a lifetime to master, this treasure trove will delight, educate, and entertain.From beloved math popularizer Ben Orlin comes a masterfully compiled collection of dozens of playable mathematical games. This ultimate game chest draws on mathematical curios, childhood classics, and soon-to-be classics, each hand-chosen to be (1) fun, (2) thought-provoking, and (3) easy to play. With just paper, pens, and the occasional handful of coins, you and a partner can enjoy hours of fun-and hours of challenge.Orlin's sly humor, expansive knowledge, and so-bad-they're-good drawings show us how simple rules summon our best thinking.Games include:* Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe* Sprouts* Battleship* Quantum Go Fish* Dots and Boxes* Black Hole* Order and Chaos* Sequencium* Paper Boxing* Prophecies* Arpeggios* Banker* Francoprussian Labyrinth* Cats and Dogs* And many more.

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A collection of eight of Aesop's best-loved fables retold for children growing in reading confidence. Sly foxes, thirsty storks and greedy dogs all feature in these fun stories, each with its own moral at the end. Usborne Young Reading has been developed with reading experts from Roehampton University. Also available with an audio CD with a dramatic listen-along recording with music and sound effects, followed by a read-along version with prompts for page turns.

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With less content in my life I am infinitely more content Against the backdrop of a sibling’s death, an eating disorder, and a few very dismal dating relationships, Villa Negativa looks for laughter behind darkness: the intruder who politely removes her shoes, the fabricator whose closest relationship is with fibreglass, the anorexic who sends the Diet Coke back because it tastes too good. Meditative and mischievous, confessional and philosophical, sincere and sly by turns, Sharon McCartney’s seventh collection articulates an essential truth of self-knowledge—that “to perceive something, we have to be able / to stand away from it.”

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In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, these poems bring a fresh new twist to the classic dilemmas of childhood as well as a perceptive eye to the foibles of modern family life. Full of clever wordplay and bright visual gags-- and toilet humor to spare-- these twenty-three rhyming poems make for an ideal read-aloud experience. Taking on the subjects of a bullying baseball coach and annoying little brothers with equally sly humor, renowned lyricist Rhett Miller's clever verses will have the whole family cackling.

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A Perfect Marriage Becomes a Perfect Affair!Every woman wishes for that happily ever after, but when time flies by and you''ve become a neglected housewife, what''s a woman to do? Getting sly looks from a delinquent young buck makes them feel just like they did in their high school years, but unlike then, they know exactly what they want! With the skill of a matured woman and the killer body of an all-star milf, they''ll turn the tables and teach these playboys a thing or two!

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If you think monsters don't exist, just ask Theodora Hendrix. The third in a brilliantly funny series about an ordinary girl brought up by monsters, perfect for fans of Amelia Fang and A Series of Unfortunate Events.Theodora, Sherman and Dexter are off to the Big Apple for the holidays, and they cannot wait! However, if Dracula and Mummy thought an overseas trip would keep Theodora safe from bad monsters with sinister intentions, they were wrong. For New York is teeming with Shadowmongers – sly, shadowy creatures controlled by the most sinister foe of all. A foe who wants nothing more than to see the Monstrous League of Monsters brought down ... and Theodora with it.

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Pack your bags and grab your gear: you're going to Ninja Camp! Listen closely to the ninja master, who will teach you everything you need to know to become a ninja warrior-but it won't be easy. You'll have to be sly and swift, strong and speedy, and only then will you become a Ninja of the Night!This fun and energetic book will delight and entertain kids and parents alike with its clever, rhyming verse and action-packed depictions of the coolest camp around. For fans of Ninja Red Riding Hood who are looking for a lesson in teamwork and cool stealth skills

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Given its imaginative risk and experimental daring, perhaps the most remarkable thing about Annie Freud’s poetry is its effortless success: these wise, funny, sly, erotic and lightning-witted poems all find their marks with unerring accuracy. From the disturbing dramatic monologue of the title poem, through love poems of great worldly tenderness, to a soliloquy from the inventor of the individual fruit pie – the reader is both challenged and entertained from first to last. The Best Man That Ever Was announces one of the most startlingly original poets to have emerged in recent years.

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You are about to discover the secrets of The Quick –But first, reader, you must travel to Victorian England, and there, in the wilds of Yorkshire, meet a brother and sister alone in the world, a pair bound by tragedy. You will, in time, enter the rooms of London’s mysterious Aegolius Club – a society of the richest, most powerful men in England. And at some point – we cannot say when – these worlds will collide. It is then, and only then, that a new world emerges, a world of romance, adventure and the most delicious of horrors – and the secrets of The Quick are revealed.'Sly and glittering' Hilary Mantel'Impossible to resist' Kate Atkinson

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Portrait of Colossus is a searingly forthright début that navigates parenting, masculinity, racism and ambiguities of identity. It articulates, with skill and sly humour, the migrant experience from the perspective of the second generation, the ones who “know [England]/ more than everywhere else/ put together”. Brimming with vulnerability and pitched between the lilt of hooyo's admonitions and Ted Hughes' eye for the natural world, many of the poems reconcile disparate worlds, cultures and identities, firing them with the lyricism of Dawud's Psalms. Samatar seamlessly blends influences from Somali oral history, Ovidian tales and Homer’s Odyssey into a poetics that makes Portrait of Colossus cathartic, musical, emotionally satisfying as well as erudite.

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Times Book of the Month: a spine-chilling classic festive Christmas crime mystery from beloved author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Uncle Paul.'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin'A master of suspense.' Janice Hallett'Glorious ... Got me hooked.' Ruth RendellJolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can't quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can't honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago.As the nights draw in, Imogen finds her home filling up with unexpected guests, who may be looking for more than simple festive cheer. Has someone been rifling through Ivor's papers? Who left the half-drunk whiskey bottle beside his favourite chair? And why won't that man stop phoning, insisting he can prove Imogen's guilt ..?'Beautifully written . . . Fremlin's sly, subtly feminist take on the ghost story is a gem.' Sunday Times'Reads as if it were written yesterday ... Makes you laugh, smile or wince in recognition on virtually every page ... This clever, clear-eyed mystery is the perfect antidote to the often fake bonhomie of the festive season.' Times Book of the Month'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers'A genius.' Nicola Upson

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Richard Russo's slyly funny and moving novel follows the unexpected workings of grace in a deadbeat town in upstate New York - and in the life of one of its unluckiest citizens, Sully, who has been doing the wrong thing triumphantly for fifty years.Divorced from his own wife and carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, saddled with a bum knee and friends who make enemies redundant, Sully now has one new problem to cope with: a long-estranged son who is in imminent danger of following in his father's footsteps. With its sly and uproarious humour and a heart that embraces humanity's follies as well as its triumphs, Nobody's Fool is storytelling at its most generous.

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Mikhail Zoshchenko’s Sentimental Tales are satirical portraits of small-town characters on the fringes of Soviet society in the first decade of Bolshevik rule. The tales are narrated by one Kolenkorov, who is anything but a model Soviet author: not only is he still attached to the era of the old regime, he is also, quite simply, not a very good writer. Shaped by Zoshchenko’s masterful hands—he takes credit for editing the tales in a series of comic prefaces—Kolenkorov’s prose is beautifully mangled, full of stylistic infelicities, overloaded flights of metaphor, tortured cliché, and misused bureaucratese, in the tradition of Gogol.Yet beneath Kolenkorov’s intrusive narration and sublime blathering, the stories are genuinely moving. They tell tales of unrequited love and amorous misadventures among down-on-their-luck musicians, provincial damsels, aspiring poets, and liberal aristocrats hopelessly out of place in the new Russia, against a backdrop of overcrowded apartments, scheming, and daydreaming. Zoshchenko’s deadpan style and sly ventriloquy mask a biting critique of Soviet life—and perhaps life in general. An original perspective on Soviet society in the 1920s and simply uproariously funny, Sentimental Tales at last shows Anglophone readers why Zoshchenko is considered among the greatest humorists of the Soviet era.

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Jane Austen takes a satirical swipe at the gothic novel in this classic book bursting with sly subversive wit. 'Jane Austen is a genius, and Northanger Abbey is hugely underrated' Martin Amis Catherine Morland is a young girl with a very active imagination. Her naivety and love of sensational novels lead her to approach the fashionable social scene in Bath and her stay at nearby Northanger Abbey with preconceptions that have embarrassing and entertaining consequences. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY P.D. JAMES VINTAGE CLASSICS AUSTEN SERIES - all six of Jane Austen's major novels, beautifully designed and introduced by our finest contemporary writers.

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Mrs Gentle has fooled everyone into thinking she is as sweet as she sounds - Gentle by name and gentle by nature. But local constable Hamish Macbeth isn't fooled. He believes this little old lady is actually quite sly and vicious, but he's in a minority of one. Or is he?When Mrs Gentle dies under unusual circumstances the villagers of Lochdubh are shocked and outraged. Chief Detective Inspector Blair suspects that members of her family may be involved but Hamish thinks there's much more to the story - and is willing to get rough to solve the riddle of Mrs Gentle's mysterious demise.

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Celebrated pop artist Scott C. continues to captivate audiences around the world with his deceptively simple watercolor paintings and illustrations. Now fans can once again submerge themselves in his fanciful world of dancing skeletons, smiling dinosaurs, playful superheroes, and adorable pop culture icons with an enchanting new collection of the best of his recent work. Handpicked by the artist himself, the images include over one hundred new paintings and illustrations, all created in Scott’s trademark cartoon style with his reflections and anecdotes sprinkled throughout. Filled with warmth, sly humor, and surprising insight, this book is a delightful tribute to an artist guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of both the young and the young at heart.

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Brought to you by Penguin.To pay Mrs Twit back for the worms in his spaghetti, Mr Twit thought up a really clever, nasty trick . . .Mr Twit is a foul and smelly man who always has bits of cornflake and sardine in his beard.Mrs Twit is scheming and sly and always thinking of the next horrible trick to play on her husband.The Twits are so ghastly and evil that they even keep Muggle-Wump the monkey and his family captive in their garden.But not for much longer! The monkeys are planning to trick the terrible Twits so that they can escape and put a stop to the frightful pair once and for all!1980 The Roald Dahl Story Company Ltd (P)2023 Penguin Audio

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You are about to read a book like no other. Bloody Jack is a collection about the making and unmaking of story, of poetry and of history. Based loosely on the life of John Krafchenko, a notorious Manitoban outlaw, the poems of Bloody Jack turn fact and fiction upside down and inside out. Dennis Cooley has added more than a dozen new poems to this revised edition and Douglas Barbour has written an introduction. By turns earthy and earnest, soulful and sly, Bloody Jack is a rollicking, fun-filled riot of a volume by one of Canada's favourite poets. "Bloody Jack is back again, bigger, bolder, sweeter and even more outrageous." -David Arnason Introduction by Douglas Barbour.

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Hollywood & God is a virtuosic performance, filled with crossings back and forth from cinematic chiaroscuro to a kind of unsettling desperation and disturbing - even lurid-hallucination. From the Baltimore Catechism to the great noir films of the last century to today's Elvis impersonators and Paris Hilton (an impersonator of a different sort), Robert Polito tracks the snares, abrasions, and hijinks of personal identities in our society of the spectacle, a place where who we say we are, and who we think we are, fade in and out of consciousness, like flickers of light dancing tantalizingly on the silver screen. Mixing lyric and essay, collage and narrative, memoir and invention, Hollywood & God is an audacious book, as contemporary as it is historical, as sly and witty as it is devastatingly serious.

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The triumphs and tragedies of growing up as the son of a famous Beat artistTOSH is a memoir of growing up as the son of an enigmatic, much-admired, hermetic, and ruthlessly bohemian artist during the waning years of the Beat Generation and the heyday of hippie counterculture. A critical figure in the history of postwar American culture, Tosh Berman's father, Wallace Berman, was known as the "father of assemblage art," and was the creator of the legendary mail-art publication Semina. Wallace Berman and his wife, famed beauty and artist's muse Shirley Berman, raised Tosh between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and their home life was a heady atmosphere of art, music, and literature, with local and international luminaries regularly passing through.Tosh's unconventional childhood and peculiar journey to adulthood features an array of famous characters, from George Herms and Marcel Duchamp, to Michael McClure and William S. Burroughs, to Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell, to the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Toni Basil.TOSH takes an unflinching look at the triumphs and tragedies of his unusual upbringing by an artistic genius with all-too-human frailties, against a backdrop that includes The T.A.M.I. Show, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Easy Rider, and more. With a preface by actress/writer Amber Tamblyn (daughter of Wallace's friend, actor Russ Tamblyn), TOSH is a self-portrait taken at the crossroads of popular culture and the avant-garde. The index of names included represents a who's who of midcentury American—and international—culture.Praise for Tosh:"Tosh Berman's sweet and affecting memoir provides an intimate glimpse of his father, Wallace, and the exciting, seat-of-the-pants LA art scene of the 1960s, and it also speaks to the hearts of current and former lonely teenagers everywhere."--Luc Sante, author of The Other Paris"This is the story of a kid growing up inside of art world history, retelling his upbringing warts and all. A well-written, fast-moving book that is candid, funny, often disturbing, and never dull."--Gillian McCain, co-author of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk"TOSH is a delightfully entertaining memoir filled with sly wit and a profound personal perspective."--John Zorn, composer"One could not wish for a better guide into the subterranean and bohemian worlds of the California art/Beat scene than Tosh Berman, only scion of the great Wallace. Tosh has a sly wit and an informed eye, he is both erudite and neurotic, and often hilarious."--John Taylor, Duran Duran"There's the life—and then there's the life. With TOSH you can have both. My life, and that of many who sailed with me, was formed by the 40's & 50's. TOSH takes you there."--Andrew Loog Oldham, producer/manager, The Rolling Stones "As the son of artist Wallace Berman, Tosh Berman had a front row seat for the beat parade of the '50s, and the hippie extravaganza of the '60s. It was an exotic, star-studded childhood, but having groovy parents doesn't insulate one from the challenge of forging one's own identity in the world. Berman's successful effort to do that provides the heart and soul of this movingly candid chronicle of growing up bohemian."--Kristine McKenna, co-author of Room to Dream by David Lynch "This is a beautifully written memoir, and I highly recommend it to those who are interested in the Sixties, Topanga Canyon, the Southern California art scene, and for those who wonder what it might mean to grow up as the son of one of our most acclaimed artists."--Lisa See, author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

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Wharton's sly and delicious novel about the ambitious social ascent of Undine Spragg, with a foreword bySofia CoppolaConsidered by many to be her masterpiece, Edith Wharton's second full-length work is a scathing yet personal examination of the exploits and follies of the modern upper class. As she unfolds the journey of Undine Spragg from New York to Europe, Wharton affords us a detailed glimpse of the America's interior and its nouveau riche fringes. Through a heroine who is as vain, spoiled and selfish as she is irresistibly fascinating, and through the intricate plot of Undine's marriages and affairs, Wharton conveys a vision of a social class that is both supremely informed and supremely disenchanted.

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Inspired new translations of the work of one of the world's greatest fabulistsTold in an elegant style, Jean de la Fontaine's (1621-95) charming animal fables depict sly foxes and scheming cats, vain birds and greedy wolves, all of which subtly express his penetrating insights into French society and the beasts found in all of us. Norman R. Shapiro has been translating La Fontaine's fables for over twenty years, capturing the original work's lively mix of plain and archaic language. This newly complete translation is destined to set the English standard for this work. Awarded the Lewis Galantière Prize by the American Translators Association, 2008.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST DESIGNED CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT SERIES ABDA AWARD 2020When a lovable sloth's book is hijacked by a fox with STYLE and PIZZAZZ, sloth has to learn how to find his voice and take back control.Lento the sloth is SO excited you are reading HIS book. He has a BIG story to tell you. First, though, he needs a little nap. But if you snooze, you lose. Enter Fox, stage right, to steal the show.The first book in a ridiculously fun series about a bewildered sloth who just wants to express himself and a sly old fox who keeps stealing the limelight.

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An illustrated adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes mystery – at an easy-to-read level for readers of all ages! Also includes a QR code for the free audiobook! Holmes shook his head sadly. ‘You think that unless this document is found there will be war?’ ‘It’s very likely,’ said the prime minister. ‘Then, sir, we must prepare for war.’ A secret government document has been stolen. It’s up to Holmes and Watson to find it and save the country from war! But with sly secret agents, mysterious murders and the question of a curious bloodstain to contend with, will Holmes and Watson be able to piece the puzzle together in time?

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“I, Archimedes the mathematician, son of Phidias the astronomer, prostrate myself before the goddess of wisdom. May Athena restore our people to her favour and see us through the descending storm…” So begins The Beast in the Labyrinth, a story of sly and pitiless ambition. Hieron, the tyrant of Syracuse, is struggling to chart a course between the warring empires of Rome and Carthage. His only close confidante is his eccentric cousin, Archimedes. But Hieron is ninety years old, and his nobles are scheming in the shadows. The two old men turn to Dion, the kingdom’s most brutal warrior. Surrounded by smiling enemies, and menaced by the rival empires, Dion’s mental stability comes under increasing pressure. Will he prove the kingdom’s salvation or its destruction?

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