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Fathers and children: Introduction by John Bayley (Everyman's Library Classics Series)
By Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Avril Pyman. 1991
Classic nineteenth-century Russian novel portraying the conflicting points of view of two generations. The protagonist, Bazarov, is a young, radical…
intellectual who tries in vain to convert his aristocratic father and his friend's uncle to his theories of a new social orderCarry the Sky
By Gigi Little, Jeb Sharp, Kate Gray. 2014
Kate Gray takes an unblinking look at bullying in her debut novel, Carry the Sky. It's 1983 at an elite…
Delaware boarding school. Taylor Alta, the new rowing coach, arrives reeling from the death of the woman she loved. Physics teacher Jack Song, the only Asian American on campus, struggles with his personal code of honor when he gets too close to a student. These two young, lonely teachers narrate the story of a strange and brilliant thirteen-year-old boy who draws atomic mushroom clouds on his notebook, pings through the corridors like a pinball, and develops a crush on an older girl with secrets of her own. Carry the Sky sings a brave and honest anthem about what it means to be different in a world of uniformity.Among the Lesser Gods: A Novel
By Margo Catts. 2017
For fans of authors like Barbara Kingsolver and Leif Enger, a stunning new voice in contemporary literary fiction."Tragedy and blessing.…
Leave them alone long enough, and it gets real hard to tell them apart." Elena Alvarez is living a cursed life. From the deadly fire she accidentally set as a child, to her mother's abandonment, and now to an unwanted pregnancy, she knows better than most that small actions can have terrible consequences. Driven to the high mountains surrounding Leadville, Colorado by her latest bad decision, she's intent on putting off the future. Perhaps there she can just hide in her grandmother's isolated cabin and wait for something–anything–to make her next choice for her. But instead of escape, she finds reminders of her own troubles reflected from every side–the recent widower and his two children adrift in a changed world, Elena's own mysterious family history, and the interwoven lives within the town itself. Bit by bit, Elena begins to reconsider her role in the tragedies she's held on to and the wounds she's refused to let heal. But then, in a single afternoon, when threads of cause and effect tangle, Elena's fragile new peace is torn apart. It's only at the prospect of fresh loss and blame that she will discover the truth of the terrible burdens we take upon ourselves, the way tragedy and redemption are inevitably bound together–and how curses can sometimes lead to blessings, however disguised.Betty: The International Bestseller
By Tiffany McDaniel. 2020
'Breahtaking'Vogue'So engrossing! Betty is a page-turning Appalachian coming-of-age story steeped in Cherokee history, told in undulating prose that settles right…
into you'Naoise Dolan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Exciting Times 'I felt consumed by this book. I loved it, you will love it' Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Everthing Under'I loved Betty: I fell for its strong characters and was moved by the story it portrayed' Fiona Mozley, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Elmet 'A girl comes of age against the knife.' So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words. 'Not a story you will soon forget' Karen Joy Fowler, Booker Prize shortlisted author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'Shot through with moonshine, Bible verses, and folklore, Betty is about the cruelty we inflict on one another, the beauty we still manage to find, and the stories we tell in order to survive' Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow ChildAfter the War is Over: A heart-warming story from the queen of saga writing
By Maureen Lee. 2012
A heart-warming tale set in Liverpool and London during the post-war years, from bestselling author Maureen Lee'Queen of saga writing'…
My WeeklyLiverpool, 1945. Three women, firm friends, return home from the war and try to fit back into their old lives after they've been demobbed. They've been thrown together by the war, and have shared all sorts of good and bad times. Now their old lives seem dull in comparison. But not for long...The younger women, Maggie and Nell, are both twenty-one and are full of hope and excitement; Iris, on the other hand, is feeling apprehensive about returning to civilian life. At the age of thirty,her only wish in life is to have a baby, but sadly this wish has yet to come true.When one of the women falls pregnant, there begins a dramatic sequence of events so far-reaching that the three friends' lives will become more intricately interwoven than they could ever have imagined. Over the next quarter of a century, this story of three remarkable - and very different - women unfolds into an uplifting tale of how three ordinary families become extraordinary.Past Imperfect: A novel by the creator of DOWNTON ABBEY and BELGRAVIA
By Julian Fellowes. 2008
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERFROM THE CREATOR OF DOWNTON ABBEY and BELGRAVIA 'A gloriously funny ride through modern times' Evening Standard…
Damian Baxter is very, very rich. But he has but one concern, which is becoming more urgent at the weeks go by: who should inherit his fortune. A letter from an ex-girlfriend suggests that, as a young man, Damian may have fathered a child, but the letter is anonymous. Finding the truth will not be easy - and the only man who Damian can turn to for help also happens to be his sworn enemy... 'A must-read' Sunday Express'An elegant satire, it offers an entertaining commentary on our times and a heartfelt lament for a kinder, more courteous Britain' Tatler'A witty take on the world as it was and is now' Woman & HomeOlga: A Novel
By Prof Bernhard Schlink. 2018
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'Bernhard Schlink speaks straight to the heart' New York Times'Brilliant... A tale of love and loss in…
20th century Germany' Evening Standard'A cleverly-constructed tale of cross-class romance' Mail on Sunday'A poignant portrait of a woman out of step with her time' Observer Olga is an orphan raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village around the turn of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, she fights against the prejudices of the time to find her place in a world that sees her as second-best.When she falls in love with Herbert, a local aristocrat obsessed with the era's dreams of power, glory and greatness, her life is irremediably changed.Theirs is a love against all odds, entwined with the twisting paths of German history, leading us from the late 19th to the early 21st century, from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west.This is the story of that love, of Olga's devotion to a restless man - told in thought, letters and in a fateful moment of great rebellion.Looking For Eliza
By Leaf Arbuthnot. 2020
'Clever, warm and funny' - ADAM KAY'Beautifully rendered, thoughtful and original' - Pandora Sykes'A marvellous read' - Ruth HoganAda is…
a widowed writer, navigating loneliness in Oxford after the death of her husband. She has no children. No grandchildren. She fears she is becoming peripheral, another invisible woman. Eliza is a student at the university. She finds it difficult to form meaningful relationships after the estrangement of her mother and breakup with her girlfriend.After meeting through Ada's new venture, 'Rent-a-Gran', and bonding over Lapsang Souchong tea and Primo Levi, they begin to find what they're looking for in each other. But can they cast off their isolation for good? An exquisite story of connection and loss, and how a person can change another person's life. Full of heartache yet joyful and life-affirming, this is for fans of Normal People, Expectation and Sarah Winman's Tin Man.'Leaf's writing is warm and lyrically funny - she has an eye for details both sublime and ridiculous.Looking for Eliza is an intelligent and big-hearted read with the human condition at its core.' - Harriet Walker, The TimesThe Book of Wonders: The perfect feel-good novel for 2021
By Julien Sandrel. 2018
Open your heart to the most life-affirming and uplifting novel of the year...Thelma and Louis, it's always just been the…
two of them, Thelma and her beloved son, Louis.But when Louis is involved in an accident, their lives are turned upside down, as Louis falls into a coma. Feeling lost without him by her side, Thelma finds Louis' book of wonders - a bucket list of all the things he wants to accomplish in his life. She suddenly sees a way to feel close to him: she will fulfil Louis' dreams, living them out for him, in the hope that it will inspire him to survive.Thelma is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime... and in a way, so is Louis...The Book of Wonders is a heart-warming and charming story about finding the joy in every moment of life and making each and every day count. Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and A Man Called Ove.After the End: The powerful, life-affirming novel from the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author
By Clare Mackintosh. 2019
Have you read the book that everyone's talking about?'If I could give this book 10 stars I would' (Reader review)'This…
book touched my soul' (Reader review)'I could not put it down. What a story. What a storyteller' (Reader review)'This is in my top five books of all time. Absolutely incredible' (Reader review)'I have never felt so emotionally wrapped up in characters in a book' (Reader review)No. 1 bestseller Clare Mackintosh brings you the most moving book you'll read this year. After the End is powerful, uplifting and full of hope.__________________________Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. Only now they're facing the most important decision of their lives - and they don't agree.With the consequences of an impossible choice threatening to devastate them both, nothing will ever be the same again.But anything can happen after the end . . .Clare Mackintosh returns with an unmissable thriller this summer - Hostage is out now.***********'The most moving book you'll read this year' LISA JEWELL'Life-affirming . . . richly drawn' SUNDAY TIMES 'Compelling and clever, tender and true. I can't stop thinking about it' LIANE MORIARTY'Heart-wrenching . . . an absolute must-read' MIKE GAYLE'Put this on the top of your list. You won't regret it' JANE CORRY'One of the most moving stories I have ever read. It's perfect' JOANNA CANNONThe Residue Years: from Pulitzer prize-winner Mitchell S. Jackson
By Mitchell S. Jackson. 2013
'This novel is written with a breathtaking, exhilarating assurance and wit. Terrific' The Times 'A wrenchingly beautiful debut by a…
writer to be reckoned with' Jesmyn WardMitchell S. Jackson grew up black in a neglected neighbourhood in America's whitest city, Portland, Oregon. In the '90s, those streets and beyond had fallen under the shadow of crack cocaine and its familiar mayhem. In his commanding autobiographical novel, Jackson writes what it was like to come of age in that time and place, with a breakout voice that's nothing less than extraordinary.The Residue Years switches between the perspectives of a young man, Champ, and his mother, Grace. Grace is just out of a drug treatment programme, trying to stay clean and get her kids back. Champ is trying to do right by his mum and younger brothers, and dreams of reclaiming the only home he and his family have ever shared. But selling crack is the only sure way he knows to achieve his dream. In this world of few options and little opportunity, where love is your strength and your weakness, this family fights for family and against what tears one apart.Honest in its portrayal, with cadences that dazzle, The Residue Years signals the arrival of a writer set to awe.Winner Whiting Writers' AwardWinner Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary ExcellenceFinalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut FictionThe Book of Wonders: The perfect feel-good novel for 2021
By Julien Sandrel. 2019
Open your heart to the most life-affirming and uplifting novel of the year...Thelma and Louis, it's always just been the…
two of them, Thelma and her beloved son, Louis.But when Louis is involved in an accident, their lives are turned upside down, as Louis falls into a coma. Feeling lost without him by her side, Thelma finds Louis' book of wonders - a bucket list of all the things he wants to accomplish in his life. She suddenly sees a way to feel close to him: she will fulfil Louis' dreams, living them out for him, in the hope that it will inspire him to survive.Thelma is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime... and in a way, so is Louis...The Book of Wonders is a heart-warming and charming story about finding the joy in every moment of life and making each and every day count. Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and A Man Called Ove.The Residue Years: from Pulitzer prize-winner Mitchell S. Jackson
By Mitchell S. Jackson. 2014
'This novel is written with a breathtaking, exhilarating assurance and wit. Terrific' The Times 'A wrenchingly beautiful debut by a…
writer to be reckoned with' Jesmyn WardMitchell S. Jackson grew up black in a neglected neighbourhood in America's whitest city, Portland, Oregon. In the '90s, those streets and beyond had fallen under the shadow of crack cocaine and its familiar mayhem. In his commanding autobiographical novel, Jackson writes what it was like to come of age in that time and place, with a breakout voice that's nothing less than extraordinary.The Residue Years switches between the perspectives of a young man, Champ, and his mother, Grace. Grace is just out of a drug treatment programme, trying to stay clean and get her kids back. Champ is trying to do right by his mum and younger brothers, and dreams of reclaiming the only home he and his family have ever shared. But selling crack is the only sure way he knows to achieve his dream. In this world of few options and little opportunity, where love is your strength and your weakness, this family fights for family and against what tears one apart.Honest in its portrayal, with cadences that dazzle, The Residue Years signals the arrival of a writer set to awe.Winner Whiting Writers' AwardWinner Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary ExcellenceFinalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut FictionThe Last Story of Mina Lee: the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick
By Nancy Jooyoun Kim. 2020
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICKINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'I loved this book so much' REESE WITHERSPOON---In 1987, Mina Lee flies…
from Seoul to Los Angeles to start a new life.Thirty years later, Margot Lee speaks to her mother for the last time.Between these two moments extends a lifetime of secrets. These are stories of unexpected loves and devastating losses. Of choices made and those left behind. Of a mother and daughter who have always struggled to understand each other.These are stories waiting to be told, before it's too late.Reminiscent of Celeste Ng's page-turning meditations on identity, this searing mother-daughter story explores the diverse and unsettling realities of being an immigrant in America.---'Suspenseful and deeply felt... raises questions about the reality of the American dream and illuminates stories that often go untold' CHLOE BENJAMIN'Painful, joyous... A story that cries out to be told' LA TIMES'Carefully illuminates the two sides of the silence between a Korean immigrant mother and her Korean American daughter, a silence only too familiar to many of us - and emerges with a stunningly powerful and original novel' ALEXANDER CHEE'A timely, important novel... Fans of Celeste Ng won't be able to put down this heartfelt, cross-generational novel about the powerful bond and fragility of family and what it really means to strive for the "American dream"' POPSUGAR---Readers fell in love with Margot and Mina...'Beautifully rendered. Achingly sweet. Enjoyable story with wonderfully realistic characters that you want to follow''An emotionally gripping story of loss and belonging''I LOVED THIS BOOK''This book is filled with wonderful characters, a story to please and mouth-watering Korean food''It speaks to all women who have been marginalized by their families or society at large'SOON TO BE A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES 'An absolute scorcher' Evening Standard'Fidelity thrilled me, made me think and moved me…
deeply. As deep as any literature and as irresistible as any gossip' Jonathan Safran Foer'Intimate and ultimately moving... completely absorbing'Daily Mail'Cuts right through to the darkness of our inner lives'Roberto Saviano'A gripping novel exploring the tensions in an apparently idyllic marriage' Financial Times 'A must-read'Sydney Morning HeraldCarlo, a part-time professor of creative writing, and Margherita, an architect-turned-real estate-agent: a happily married couple in their mid-thirties, perfectly attuned to each other's restlessness. They are in love, but they also harbour desires that stray beyond the confines of their bedroom: Carlo longs for the quiet beauty of one of his students, Sofia; Margherita fantasises about the strong hands of her physiotherapist, Andrea.But it is love, with its unassuming power, which ultimately pulls them from the brink, aided by Margherita's mother Anna, the couple's anchor and lighthouse - a wise, proud seamstress hiding her own disappointments.But after eight years of repressed desires and the birth of a son, when the past resurfaces in the form of books sent anonymously, will love be enough to save them? A no. 1 international bestsellerSoon to be a Netflix show directed by Andrea Molaioli, director of the Netflix hit series SuburraWinner of the Premio Strega GiovaniShortlisted for the Premio Strega'Powerful, delicate, exquisite' Claudio Magris 'Masterful... The ending is just as good as that of Joyce's The Dead' Corriere della Sera'You'll feel like taking refuge in this book and never leaving its confines' La Stampa'With all-encompassing writing, Marco Missiroli opens the rooms of his characters and the streets of Milan, the thoughts and the concealed desires, makes dialogue and silences reverberate with the spontaneity of great narrators' Il FoglioThe Lip: a novel of the Cornwall tourists seldom see
By Charlie Carroll. 2021
'This unsparing debut novel portrays the unromantic side of Cornwall few visitors see and which so many novelists choose to…
overlook. Charlie Carroll inhabits his damaged heroine completely' Patrick Gale 'A moving and affecting novel about life on the edge, with a very special flavour of wild and rugged Cornwall.' Emma Stonex, author of THE LAMPLIGHTERSAway from the hotels and holiday lets, there is an unseen side of Cornwall, where the shifting uncertainties of the future breed resentment and mistrust. Melody Janie is hidden. She lives alone in a caravan in Bones Break: a small cliff-top on Cornwall's north coast. She spends her time roaming her territory, spying on passing tourists and ramblers, and remembering. She sees everything and yet remains unseen. However, when a stranger enters her life, she is forced to confront not only him but the terrible tragedies of her past. The Lip is a novel about childhood, isolation and mental health, told in the unique and unforgettable voice of Melody Janie. 'All of this is Bones Break. All of this is mine. I know every inch of it; I know it as intimately as the seagulls. I stand at dead-centre, my feet teetering on the edge of the lip. Below, the thundering tattoo of waves on rock. Wind catches the tips of my hair, lifting them above my ribs: less force than it takes to knock me down; enough to make me right myself with a step to the left, and then another back again. Here on the lip, it is vital to know where my feet are.'The Hummingbird: ‘Magnificent’ (Guardian)
By Sandro Veronesi. 2019
'MAGNIFICENT' GUARDIAN'A TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT' FINANCIAL TIMES'INVENTIVE, BOLD, UNEXPECTED' THE SUNDAY TIMES'Everything that makes the novel worthwhile and engaging is here:…
warmth, wit, intelligence, love, death, high seriousness, low comedy, philosophy, subtle personal relationships and the complex interior life of human beings'Guardian'Not since William Boyd's Any Human Heart has a novel captured the feast and famine nature of a single life with such invention and tenderness'Financial Times'There is a pleasing sense of having grappled with the real stuff of life: loss, grief, love, desire, pain, uncertainty, confusion, joy, despair - all while having fun'The Sunday Times'The kind of novel summer is made for: instantly immersive, playfully inventive, effortlessly wise'Observer'Masterly: a cabinet of curiosities and delights, packed with small wonders'Ian McEwan'A real masterpiece. A funny, touching, profound book that made me cry like a little girl on the last page'Leïla Slimani'A remarkable accomplishment, a true gift to the world'Michael Cunningham'Ardent, gripping, and inventive to the core'Jhumpa LahiriMarco Carrera is 'the hummingbird,' a man with the almost supernatural ability to stay still as the world around him continues to change.As he navigates the challenges of life - confronting the death of his sister and the absence of his brother; taking care of his parents as they approach the end of their lives; raising his granddaughter when her mother, Marco's own child, can no longer be there for her; coming to terms with his love for the enigmatic Luisa - Marco Carrera comes to represent the quiet heroism that pervades so much of our everyday existence.A thrilling novel about the need to look to the future with hope and live with intensity to the very end.THE NO. 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLEROver 300,000 copies soldSoon to be a major motion pictureWinner of the Premio StregaWinner of the Prix du Livre EtrangerBook of the Year for the Corriere della SeraFault Lines
By Emily Itami. 2021
'A brilliant modern love story. I found it atmospheric and transporting but also wise, clever and universal in its exploration…
of love, family and identity. I loved it' Cathy RentzenbrinkMizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It's everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether it would be more fun to throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband or hanging up laundry. Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship, a voice, and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives - and in the end, we can choose only one. Alluring, compelling, startlingly honest and darkly funny, Fault Lines is a bittersweet love story and a daring exploration of modern relationships from a writer to watch.Northern Spy: A Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Pick
By Flynn Berry. 2020
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK'You'll devour Northern Spy . . . I loved this thrill…
ride of a book'Reese Witherspoon'A sharp, moving thriller: you lose your breath for adrenalin'Abigail Dean, author of Girl A'An exciting thriller... A domestic noir with a difference'Adrian McKinty, author of The Chain'A chilling, gorgeously written tale'New York Times'Nerve-shredding suspense'Daily Mail'Thrillingly good... Flynn Berry shows a le Carré-like flair for making you wonder what's really going on at any given moment'Washington Post A producer at the Belfast bureau of the BBC, Tessa is at work one day when the news of another IRA raid comes on the air: as the anchor requests the public's help in locating those responsible for this latest attack - a robbery at a gas station - Tessa's sister Marian appears on the screen, pulling a black mask over her face.The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa knows this is impossible. But when the truth of what has happened to her sister reveals itself, Tessa will be forced to choose: between her ideals and her family. Praise for Flynn Berry'Breathtaking . . . Berry writes thrillingly'New York Times'Beautifully paced and satisfyingly ominous'Guardian'Mesmerizingly effective'The Times 'A thrilling page-turner'Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train'Berry's clever, thrilling writing wound me in and left me heartbroken'Fiona Barton, author of The Widow'What a book! A skillful and compelling exploration of families, crime, and class'Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You GoI Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
By Claire Vaye Watkins. 2022
A darkly funny, soul-rending novel of love in an epoch of collapse-one woman's furious revisiting of family, marriage, work, sex,…
and motherhood.Since my baby was born, I have been able to laugh and see the funny side of things. a) As much as I ever did. b) Not quite as much now. c) Not so much now. d) Not at all. Leaving behind her husband and their baby daughter, a writer gets on a flight for a speaking engagement in Reno, not carrying much besides a breast pump and a spiraling case of postpartum depression. Her temporary escape from domestic duties and an opportunity to reconnect with old friends mutates into an extended romp away from the confines of marriage and motherhood, and a seemingly bottomless descent into the past. Deep in the Mojave Desert where she grew up, she meets her ghosts at every turn: the first love whose self-destruction still haunts her; her father, a member of the most famous cult in American history; her mother, whose native spark gutters with every passing year. She can't go back in time to make any of it right, but what exactly is her way forward? Alone in the wilderness, at last she begins to make herself at home in the world.Bold, tender, and often hilarious, I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness reaffirms Watkins as one of the single writers of our time.