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Showing 1 - 20 of 22 items
By Spencer Johnson. 2003
Bestselling author of Who Moved My Cheese? (DB 49513) offers a "practical parable" for rediscovering what is truly important in…
life. Relates a young man's journey to adulthood and search for a magical "present"--the power to focus on right now, learn from the past, and plan for the future. Bestseller. 2003By Melatu Uche Okorie. 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS SUNDAY INDEPENDENT NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR'A landmark book by an important new…
voice in Irish writing' EMILIE PINETHIS HOSTEL LIFE tells the stories of migrant women in a hidden Ireland.Queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel, a group of women squabble and mistrust each other, learning what they can of the world from conversations about reality television and Shakespeare. In another story, a student shares her work with a class only to be critiqued about her own lived experience, and a mother of young twins, living in Nigeria, is at risk of losing her newborns to ancient superstitious beliefs.An essay by Liam Thornton (UCD School of Law) is also included, explaining the Irish legal position in relation to asylum seekers and direct provision.'Fresh, devastating stories . . . Okorie writes with uncomfortable clarity about things we think we already know' LIA MILLS 'Melatu Uche Okorie has important things to say - and she does it quite brilliantly' RODDY DOYLEBy Halle Butler. 2020
From the author of the 'great' (Dolly Alderton), 'terrific' (Zadie Smith) The New Me, comes a subversive, hilarious portrait of…
two colleagues, each more like the other than they would care to admit.'Wretchedly riveting' Jia Tolentino, New Yorker'Butler is an essential contemporary voice' Literary Hub'A master of writing about work and its discontents' The MillionsMegan is only twenty-four but her life feels like a dead end. Working as a gastroenterologist's receptionist and resenting the success and happiness of her friends, the only thing that makes her feel better is obsessively critiquing the behaviour of her colleague, Jillian. A grotesquely optimistic thirty-five-year-old single mother, Jillian's chirpy positivity obscures her mounting struggles - until her downfall is precipitated by the purchase of a dog . . .'Outrageous and amusing ... reads like rubbernecking or a junk-food binge, compelling a horrified fascination and bleak laughter' Kirkus'The funniest book I've read in a long time, but also one of the most important ones' The RumpusBy Marie NDiaye. 2016
The Cheffe is born into a very poor family in Sainte-Bazeille in south-western France, but when she takes a job…
working in the kitchen of a couple in the Landes region, it does not take long before it becomes clear that the Cheffe has an unusual, remarkable talent for cooking. She dreams in recipes, she's always imagining food combinations and cooking times, she hunts down elusive flavours and aromas, and she soon usurps the couple's cook.But for all her genius, the Cheffe remains very secretive about the rest of her life. She becomes pregnant, but will not reveal her daughter's father. She shares nothing of her feelings or emotions. And when the demands of her work and caring for her child become too much, she leaves her baby in the care of her family, and sets out to open her own restaurant, which will soon win rave reviews and be lauded by all.But her relationship with her daughter will never be easy, and before long, it will threaten to destroy everything the Cheffe has spent her life perfecting.By C. K. Stead. 2012
Recently divorced New Zealander Sam Nola returns to London, where he spent two years in his early twenties. It is…
early 2003, and on both sides of Atlantic the case for military intervention in Iraq is being made - or fabricated. But life for Sam has never been better: a grown-up, half-French daughter from a long ago affair has recently got in touch, and he has walked into a lucrative role in the booming banking sector. It is only when he learns of the deaths of two friends within a week that intrigue begins to intrude on his contentment, that life begins to feel a little more precarious.By Marie NDiaye. 2019
The Cheffe is born into a very poor family in Sainte-Bazeille in south-western France, but when she takes a job…
working in the kitchen of a couple in the Landes region, it does not take long before it becomes clear that the Cheffe has an unusual, remarkable talent for cooking. She dreams in recipes, she's always imagining food combinations and cooking times, she hunts down elusive flavours and aromas, and she soon usurps the couple's cook.But for all her genius, the Cheffe remains very secretive about the rest of her life. She becomes pregnant, but will not reveal her daughter's father. She shares nothing of her feelings or emotions. And when the demands of her work and caring for her child become too much, she leaves her baby in the care of her family, and sets out to open her own restaurant, which will soon win rave reviews and be lauded by all.But her relationship with her daughter will never be easy, and before long, it will threaten to destroy everything the Cheffe has spent her life perfecting.By Elias Khoury. 2002
Yalo was a soldier on one of the many sides in Lebanon's sectarian civil war, before becoming a deserter and…
a thief, a nightwatchman in Paris, an arms smuggler, and then a rapist. And then he falls in love with his victim - who turns him in to the police. This novel is a modern Thousand and One Nights, a series of confessions extracted under torture, a recitation of all of his memories, all his sorrows, all his guilt - and of the other crimes his interrogators have him confess to. Beirut and the legacy of the wars of the Middle East are the texture of Elias Khoury's extraordinary literary achievement.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 & HomeBy Adriaan Van Dis. 2010
Mulder, a Dutchman, returns at last to South Africa, his memories scattered by forty years and two strokes. Once he…
fought to free the country from apartheid; now he finds its people asking whether years of democracy have left them any better off. The village where his friend Donald - a comrade from his Fraternité days - lives is as segregated as ever: fishermen struggle to eke out a living and kids wreck their brains with crystal meth. Tensions are high: Donald wages a campaign against the local mayor; every day the whites add inches to their perimeter fences. So when Mulder and Donald attempt to help a young tik-head get clean against his will, their muddled good intentions can only be misunderstood...By Sergio De La Pava. 2012
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING JOHN BOYEGA, OLIVIA COOKE AND BILL SKARSGÅRD"The Wire written by Voltaire" Sunday Times"Crime and Punishment…
as reimagined by the Coen Brothers" The MillionsCasi is a hotshot public defender working on the front line of America's War on Drugs. So far he's on the winning side. He's never lost a case. But nothing lasts forever, and pride like his has a long way to fall. Funny, smart and always surprising, A Naked Singularity speaks a language all of its own and reads like nothing else ever written. Casi's beautiful mind and planetary intelligence make him an inimitable and unforgettable narrator. In De La Pava's hands, the labyrinthine miseries of the New York Justice System are as layered and diabolical as Dante's nine circles of Hell. But the Devil doesn't hog the best lines. There are plenty here to go around.By Melatu Uche Okorie. 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS SUNDAY INDEPENDENT NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR'A landmark book by an important new…
voice in Irish writing' EMILIE PINETHIS HOSTEL LIFE tells the stories of migrant women in a hidden Ireland.Queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel, a group of women squabble and mistrust each other, learning what they can of the world from conversations about reality television and Shakespeare. In another story, a student shares her work with a class only to be critiqued about her own lived experience, and a mother of young twins, living in Nigeria, is at risk of losing her newborns to ancient superstitious beliefs.An essay by Liam Thornton (UCD School of Law) is also included, explaining the Irish legal position in relation to asylum seekers and direct provision.'Fresh, devastating stories . . . Okorie writes with uncomfortable clarity about things we think we already know' LIA MILLS 'Melatu Uche Okorie has important things to say - and she does it quite brilliantly' RODDY DOYLEBy Jérôme Ferrari. 2008
In a village square in Corsica lies the body of ardent nationalist, Stéphane Campana, shot down at close range. And…
over his body weeps Virginie, the young woman who has venerated Stéphane all her life - a veneration that has led her to abandon herself to him and his twisted desires completely.Meanwhile, brother and sister Khaled and Hayet, who once gazed out to sea from the shoreline path known as "Balco Atlantico" and dreamed of a better future, are now stranded in Corsica. As Ferrari traces the history of Stéphane and Virginie that leads to the shooting in the village square, we encounter the story of Khaled and Hayet and see through their story and the stories of many others in this one Corsican square how a relentless pursuit of happiness and fulfilment can bring us perilously close to despair and disillusionment.By Charlotte Wood. 2015
'Savage: think Atwood in the outback' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train'An unforgettable reading experience' Liane Moriarty,…
author of Big Little Lies'Ferocious... recalls the early Elena Ferrante' NPR'A masterpiece' Guardian'Devastating' EconomistShe hears her own thick voice deep inside her ears when she says, 'I need to know where I am.'The man stands there, tall and narrow, hand still on the doorknob, surprised.He says, almost in sympathy, 'Oh, sweetie. You need to know what you are.'"Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a brokendownproperty in the middle of a desert.Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be therewith eight other girls, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious jailers.Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn what links them: ineach girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man.They pray for rescue but as the hours turn into days and the days into weeks and months,it becomes clear only the girls can rescue themselves. Winner, 2016 Stella PrizeWinner, 2016 Indie Book of the Year AwardWinner, Fiction Book of the Year, 2016 Indie Book AwardWinner, 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award for FictionWinner, Reader's Choice, 2016 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted, 2016 Miles Franklin Literary AwardShortlisted, 2016 ABA Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice AwardLonglisted, 2017 International Dublin Literary AwardBy Stephanie Scott. 2020
A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE DAILY MAIL AND WOMAN AND HOMEA New York Times 'Editor's Pick'One of the…
Observer's Ten Best Debut Novelists of 2020Shortlisted for the Author's Club First Novel AwardLonglisted for the Jhalak PrizeLonglisted for the CWA John Creasy New Blood Dagger'Enrapturing... This richly imagined novel considers the many permutations of love and what we are capable of doing in its name' New York Times'A brilliant debut' Louise Doughty, author of Apple Tree Yard'You'll have the heart rate of an Olympic hurdler' Sunday Express'I read it with my heart in my throat' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 'An exquisitely crafted masterpiece you'll be pressing into the hands of others' Woman & Home 'An intoxicatingly atmospheric mystery' Daily Mail'Dark, addictive and eye-opening, this is a brilliant debut' StylistA gripping debut set in modern-day Tokyo and inspired by a true crime, What's Left of Me Is Yours follows a young woman's search for the truth about her mother's life - and her murder.In Japan, a covert industry has grown up around the wakaresaseya (literally "breaker-upper"), a person hired by one spouse to seduce the other in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings.When Sato hires Kaitaro, a wakaresaseya agent, to have an affair with his wife, Rina, he assumes it will be an easy case. But Sato has never truly understood Rina or her desires and Kaitaro's job is to do exactly that - until he does it too well.While Rina remains ignorant of the circumstances that brought them together, she and Kaitaro fall in a desperate, singular love, setting in motion a series of violent acts that will forever haunt her daughter Sumiko's life.Told from alternating points of view and across the breathtaking landscapes of Japan, What's Left of Me Is Yours explores the thorny psychological and moral grounds of the actions we take in the name of love, asking where we draw the line between passion and possession.By Adriaan Van Dis. 2010
Mulder, a Dutchman, returns at last to South Africa, his memories scattered by forty years and two strokes. Once he…
fought to free the country from apartheid; now he finds its people asking whether years of democracy have left them any better off. The village where his friend Donald - a comrade from his Fraternité days - lives is as segregated as ever: fishermen struggle to eke out a living and kids wreck their brains with crystal meth. Tensions are high: Donald wages a campaign against the local mayor; every day the whites add inches to their perimeter fences. So when Mulder and Donald attempt to help a young tik-head get clean against his will, their muddled good intentions can only be misunderstood...By David Abbott. 2010
Henry Cage seemed to have it all. A successful business career, considerable wealth, and a reputation for being a just…
and principled man. But public virtues can conceal private failings, and as Henry faces retirement, his well-ordered life begins to unravel. On the eve of the new millennium he is the victim of a random act of violence which soon escalates into a prolonged persecution, with tragic consequences. Family secrets are revealed, and when his ex-wife Nessa summons Henry to Palm Beach, he realises that there is little time to redress the mistakes of the past. The Upright Piano Player explores with a tender, yet unflinching eye the small but devastating flaws in human nature that can shape our destinies.By Jérôme Ferrari. 2008
In a village square in Corsica lies the body of ardent nationalist, Stéphane Campana, shot down at close range. And…
over his body weeps Virginie, the young woman who has venerated Stéphane all her life - a veneration that has led her to abandon herself to him and his twisted desires completely.Meanwhile, brother and sister Khaled and Hayet, who once gazed out to sea from the shoreline path known as "Balco Atlantico" and dreamed of a better future, are now stranded in Corsica. As Ferrari traces the history of Stéphane and Virginie that leads to the shooting in the village square, we encounter the story of Khaled and Hayet and see through their story and the stories of many others in this one Corsican square how a relentless pursuit of happiness and fulfilment can bring us perilously close to despair and disillusionment.By Stan Charnofsky. 2017
Wealthy, mega-successful parents reared Harry Schiff to hunger for fame and fortune. At college he sees others throw off family…
fiats and successfully begin to define themselves. He meets Juliet, driven to be an actor, sensuous, passionate, yet never with commitment. His good friend, Katy Bloom, also a striving actor, becomes his confidante, secretly in love with him. A fourth buddy, Galen Thurston, an Adonis, blessed with Hollywood connections, gets a seeming break because of his father, but with strings. A tragedy explodes when Galen discovers his father’s ugly secret. The group’s chemistry is altered with an intrigue that involves both Harry’s and Galen’s parents. Juliet is on her rocket to fame, her own family’s tale so sordid that she cannot tolerate her father’s presence. Is Harry Juliet’s toy? She would deny it, but eventually, Harry must face off his two demons: his parents’ domination and Juliet’s emotional indifference. Resolution comes when he gets a heady break, screws up his courage to confront his issues, and sees Katy Bloom in another light. To be true to himself becomes more important than to become famous.By Julian Fellowes. 2008
Damian Baxter is very, very rich - and he's dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, looked…
after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern: who should inherit his fortune...PAST IMPERFECT is the story of a quest. Damian Barker wishes to know if he has a living heir. By the time he married in his late thirties he was sterile (the result of adult mumps), but what about before that unfortunate illness? He was not a virgin. Had he sired a child? A letter from a girlfriend from these times suggests he did. But the letter is anonymous.Damian contacts someone he knew from their days at university. He gives him a list of girls he slept with and sets him a task: find his heir...By Andrew Lipstein. 2023
Herschel Caine is a master of the universe. His hedge fund, built on the miracle of machine learning, is inches…
away from systematically sapping profits from the market. His SoHo offices (shoes optional, therapy required) are ready for desperate investors to flood through the doors. But on May 12, his mind is elsewhere-at his Cobble Hill townhouse and the dinner party designed to impress his flawless neighbours. When the soiree falters, Herschel concocts a prank that goes horrifically awry, plunging him into a tailspin of guilt and regret. As Herschel's perfect world starts to slip away, he clings to the moral clarity he finds in the last place he'd expect: a sudden connection with his neighbour's dog.A wildly inventive, reality-bending trip, The Vegan holds a mirror up to its reader and poses a question only a hedge fund manager could: is purity a convertible asset? The more Herschel disavows his original sin, and the more it threatens to be revealed, the more it becomes something else entirely: a way into a forgotten world of animals, nature, and life beyond words. Andrew Lipstein, the author of Last Resort, a novel that 'you'll think about . . . for weeks after you read the last pages' (Los Angeles Times), challenges our ideas of contemporary morality in his scintillating, provocative second novel.