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In the Absence of Men
By Philippe Besson. 2002
'An astonishing love story, beautifully told' Time Out'I am sixteen. I am as old as the century'It is 1916. Vincent…
is sixteen, on the brink of manhood. Vincent is aristocratic and privileged, frequenting the salons of Paris while France is at war and the city almost deserted of men. In that brutal summer, Vincent's beauty and precocity captivate two men: Marcel, thirty years his senior, a writer and celebrated socialite; and Arthur, the twenty-one year old son of one of the servants, who is now a soldier at the front. As both relationships develop Vincent intuitively tries to keep his passions separate, but over the weeks of indolent Parisian summer and far-off war, confidences are made, absences endured, secrets revealed. All of these men will suffer, and Vincent will lose the last vestiges of his childhood innocence. In the Absence of Men is a stunning first novel to discover this pride season: in its daring in representation and celebration of gay sexuality, in the beauty of its prose and in its delicacy of feeling.The Hollow Sea: The unforgettable and mesmerising debut inspired by mythology
By Annie Kirby. 2022
THE ISLANDERS SAY IT'S CURSED. BUT THAT'S ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE STORY . . .'A bold, magical story' JO…
BROWNING WROE, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Terrible Kindness'A majestic work of the imagination . . . I woke up thinking about it' ROSIE ANDREWS, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Leviathan'An atmospheric tale, shot through with folklore. The writing shimmers' KATE SAWYER, Costa shortlisted author of The Stranding_______They say the Hollow Sea is cursed. A wild expanse separating the remote islands of St Hía, not even the locals brave its treacherous waters.But new arrival Scottie feels a pull she can't ignore. Because behind the curse is the legend of Thordis: a woman whose story feels eerily familiar. No one knows what became of her, but Scottie believes Thordis's fate may answer questions about her own past.Despite the islanders' warnings, Scottie sets out to discover the truth. But as she dares to cross the Hollow Sea, will its secrets give her the answers she needs?Or will the past drag her under?_______'A heart-rending atmospheric novel of finding what makes one whole' Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring'Mesmerising' Good Housekeeping'A poetic tale' PrimaThe Island (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Ana María Matute. 1959
'This is an old and wicked island. An island of Phoenicians and merchants, of bloodsuckers and frauds'Expelled from her convent…
school for kicking the prioress, and abandoned by her father when her mother dies, rebellious teenager Matia is sent to live with her domineering grandmother on the scorching island of Mallorca. There she learns to scheme with her cousin Borja, and finds herself increasingly drawn to the strange outsider Manuel. But civil war has come to Spain, tearing communities apart, and it will teach Matia about the adult world in ways she could not foresee.This feverish 1959 coming-of-age novel by one of the greatest Spanish writers of the 20th century depicts Mallorca as an inferno, a lost Eden and a Never Land combined, where ancient hatreds and present-day passions collide.Hurricanes in Perfect Power: Tales of Modern Motherhood
By Various. 2009
A stunning new collection of short stories about motherhood, selected and introduced by Candice Brathwaite.______________'To describe my mother would be…
to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colours of a rainbow' MAYA ANGELOUThe story of motherhood is an endlessly rich one: it's one of love - and all the highs and lows that come with that world-turning emotion - and, in the purest sense, of life itself. Within these pages, some of the finest writers in the world explore motherhood in wildly varying modes, from single parenthood to sisters coparenting, from the deepest hardships to the biggest celebrations.Selected and introduced by Candice Brathwaite, author of I Am Not Your Baby Mother.Stories by Lydia Davis, Anita Desai, Mary Gaitskill, Tessa Hadley, Jamaica Kincaid, Toni Morrison, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Irenosen Okojie, Casey Plett, Tabitha Siklos, Helen Simpson, Ali SmithHunters & Collectors
By M. Suddain. 2016
John Tamberlain is The Tomahawk, the universe’s most feared food critic – though he himself prefers the term ‘forensic gastronomer’.…
He’s on a quest, in search of the much-storied Hotel Grand Skies, a secretive and exclusive haven where the rich and famous retreat to bask in perfect seclusion. A place where the waiters know their fish knife from their butter knife, their carotid from their subclavian artery, and are trained to enforce the house rules with brutal efficiency. Blurring the lines between detective story, horror and sci-fi, Hunters & Collectors is a mesmeric trip into the singular imagination of M. Suddain – a freewheeling talent whose poise, invention and sensational sentences have already earned him comparisons to Vonnegut, Pynchon and Douglas Adams.The Hunter And The Whale
By Sir Laurens Van Der Post. 1967
This is the story of a South African boy, Peter, who grows to manhood through a hard course of physical…
and emotional experiences.The scene, a heroic one, is set both on sea and on land. Peter is exposed to the conflicts set up by other characters, chief amongst whom are a dedicated and fanatical whaling captain, a Zulu stoker, a famous white hunter and his daughter. He learns how men can become obsessed by greed and the will to power; and he witnesses the struggle of natural man to come to terms with the demands of contemporary life.Peter's developing relationship with captain and crew; the fury and beauty of the chase; the fanaticism of the two great hunters - these are the leading motifs in Laurens van der Post's stirring narrative. His remarkable knowledge of whaling, and the force of his imagination sounding deeper then leviathan himself, carry the reader irresistibly forwards.How It Ends
By Dan Collins. 2003
Following a stint as a Las Vegas showgirl and an early botched marriage, Lee Annis has finally found some definition…
and success as part of Anaconda, the band she fronts alongside the enigmatic Billy. But all is set to change as Billy announces that he's about to marry and pull the plug on the band and his life with Lee. Over the course of a restless summer, Lee moves between London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Rome and Berlin, rediscovering a hapless instinct for misadventure. Unable to shake off the bizarre, sometimes macabre, grip of the past, she resorts to the usual analgesics of sex and drugs, as she probes the true nature of her complex, troubled relationship with Billy.Hell Screen (Little Clothbound Classics)
By Ryunosuke Akutagawa. 2006
Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by…
the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Akutagawa was one of the towering figures of modern Japanese literature, and is considered the father of the Japanese short story. This paradigmatic selection, which includes the stories that inspired Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, showcases the terrible beauty, cynicism, sublime pain and absurd humour of his writing.'One never tires of reading and re-reading his best works. The elegantly spare style has a truly spine-tingling brilliance' - Haruki MurakamiHarris’s Requiem
By Stanley Middleton. 1960
From Booker-Prize winning novelist Stanley Middleton. Thomas Harris is on the cusp of success as a classical composer with a…
growing reputation.When his father, a coal miner, dies Thomas decides to write a requiem for him which is also a thinly veiled attack on the powerful elite. In spite of opposition he finally succeeds in getting his work performed but how will the critics react?House with No Doors: A creepy and atmospheric psychological thriller
By Jeff Noon. 2020
At first glance, Leonard Graves’ death was unremarkable. Sleeping pills, a bottle of vodka, a note saying goodbye. But when…
Detective Henry Hobbes discovers a grave in the basement, he realizes there is something far more sinister at work. Further investigation unearths more disturbing evidence. Scattered around the old house are women’s dresses. All made of the same material. All made in the same colours. And all featuring a rip across the stomach, smeared in blood. As the investigation continues and the body count rises, Hobbes must also deal with the disappearance of his son, the break-up of his family and a growing sense that something horrific happened in the Graves’ household. And he’s running out of time to find out what.The House on the Hill (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Cesare Pavese. 2021
'Pavese's novels are works of an extraordinary depth where one never stops finding new levels, new meanings' Italo CalvinoJune, 1943.…
Allied aircraft are bombing Turin; fascist Italy is on its knees. Every evening, after a day's teaching in the city, Corrado returns to the safety of the hills and the care of his two doting landladies. He has no attachments, no obligations. Yet against his better judgement he is drawn to the easy warmth of a circle of anti-fascists who congregate at a nearby tavern, and confronted with a painful choice: emotional and political commitment, with all its dangers - or devastating retreat. Pavese's extraordinary semi-autobiographical novel is a lucid portrayal of missed opportunities and human weakness, set against the seductive intensity of the Italian countryside.Translated with an introduction by Tim ParksShortlisted for The Society of Authors Translation Award 2022The House of Mirth
By Edith Wharton. 2012
The House of Mirth follows the tragic fall of Lily Bart, a beautiful socialite who loses her footing in the…
savage social-climbing world of New York high society in the nineteenth century.Lily Bart has no fortune, but she possesses everything else she needs to make an excellent marriage: beauty, intelligence, a love of luxury and an elegant skill in negotiating the hidden traps and false friends of New York's high society. But time and again Lily cannot bring herself to make the final decisive move: to abandon her sense of self and a chance of love for the final soulless leap into a mercenary union. Her time is running out, and degradation awaits. Edith Wharton's masterful novel is a tragedy of money, morality and missed opportunity.‘Edith Wharton's 1905 novel gave literature one of its most complicated tragic heroines’ IndependentHe was meant to be the perfect man, until she discovered the hidden truth . . . The gripping story…
of love, heartbreak and one devastating confession that changes everything FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THURSDAYS IN THE PARK AND THE AFFAIR'A story that twists and turns. I couldn't put it down' 5***** READER REVIEW'An engrossing story. Exciting and full of heart. Her characters are brilliantly envisaged' 5***** READER REVIEW'Keeps you turning the pages' 5***** READER REVIEW________ Sara Tempest never expected to meet a man like Bernard.Charming and captivating, over the course of one hot summer he and Sara fall desperately in love.Without a second's thought, Sara moves into his beautiful home on the wind-battered cliffs of Hastings, ready for her new life to begin. But soon she begins to wonder if Bernard is all he seems . . . He's barely in touch with his children. Stifling reminders of his late wife appear everywhere Sara looks. And then comes Bernard's confession. All too quickly, Sara's newfound happiness starts to crumble around her . . . ________ Praise for Hilary Boyd 'Hilary Boyd nails family dynamics and misplaced loyalties with pin-sharp precision in an impressively well-written tale' Daily Express 'I was ripping through this book . . . addictive' Evening Standard 'Boyd is as canny as Joanna Trollope at observing family life' Daily MailThe Penguin English Library Edition of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad'The mind of man is capable of anything -…
because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there after all? Joy, fear, sorrow, devotion, rage - who can tell? - but truth - truth stripped of its cloak of time. Let the fool gape and shudder - the man knows, and can look on without a wink'Marlow, a seaman, tells of a journey up the Congo. His goal is the troubled European and ivory trader Kurtz. Worshipped and feared by invaders as well as natives, Kurtz has become a godlike figure, his presence pervading the jungle like a thick, obscuring mist. As his boat labours further upstream, closer and closer to Kurtz's extraordinary and terrible domain, so Marlow finds his faith in himself and civilization crumbling. Conrad's Heart of Darkness has been considered the most important indictment of the evils of imperialism written to date.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.Heart of Darkness: 'as Powerful A Condemnation Of Imperialism As Has Ever Been Written'
By Joseph Conrad. 2007
A haunting Modernist masterpiece and the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-winning film Apocalypse Now, Heart of Darkness explores the…
limits of human experience and the nightmarish realities of imperialism. Conrad's narrator Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz: dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities. Travelling upriver to the heart of the African continent, he gradually becomes obsessed by this enigmatic, wraith-like figure. Marlow's discovery of how Kurtz has gained his position of power over the local people involves him in a radical questioning, not only of his own nature and values, but also those of western civilisation. Part of a major series of new editions of Conrad's most famous works in Penguin Classics, this volume contains Conrad's Congo Diary, a chronology, further reading, notes, a map of the Congo, a glossary and an introduction discussing the author's experiences in Africa, the narrative and symbolic complexities of Heart of Darkness and critical responses to the novel.Edited with an introduction by Owen Knowles'Seems to reach into the heart of Conrad himself' Peter AckroydHound Music
By Rosalind Belben. 2001
To George Lupus, Master of the Quarr Hounds, the fox is a 'gentleman'. The four children all hunt, and are…
tremendously keen. But Dorothy Lupus dislikes the sport that has been her beloved husband's passion. When a tragedy occurs, Dorothy finds she can't bear the proximity of the kennels across the park. Roguish, Rakish, Harebell, Arcady and Argot, Striver, Decorous, Fearless, Snowmaid... Dorothy wishes never to hear their hullabaloo again. She is adamant...Herland and The Yellow Wallpaper
By Charlotte Perkins Gilman. 2015
What would happen if society was run by women? Charlotte Perkins Gilman imagines the result...When three American men discover a…
community of women, living in perfect isolation in the Amazon, they decide there simply must be men somewhere. How could these women survive without man's knowledge, experience and strength, not to mention reproductive power? In fact, what they have found is a civilisation free from disease, poverty and the weight of tradition. All alone, the women have created a society of calm and prosperity, a feminist utopia that dares to threaten the very concept of male superiority. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LINDY WESTHadrian the Seventh
By Frederick Rolfe. 2018
'If there be one place in all this orb of earth where a secret is a Secret, that place is…
a Roman Conclave' Part novel, part daydream, part diatribe, this strange masterpiece tells the story of George Arthur Rose, a poor, frustrated writer who lives in a shabby bedsit, saving his cigarette ends and eating soup - until one day he is made Pope. As the first English pontiff in five centuries, he is a mass of contradictions: infallible and petulant, humble and despotic. Yet Hadrian the Seventh is really a knowing self-portrait of its flamboyant author Baron Corvo, a would-be priest with aristocratic pretensions, and one of the greatest eccentrics of English literature.The Gobbler
By Adrian Edmondson. 1995
Julian Mann, the hard drinking, preening, and sexually provocative star of the TV sitcome Richard the Nerd, feels caught on…
the horns of a dilemma: should he be concentrating on his career, which is on the slide after an unseemly bout of fisticuffs at the BAFTA awards; or following his baser instincts and bedding every young girl in sight?His twin dreams of comic immortality and a penthouse flat full of booze and young models seem to be frustrated by his wife and children; by Tom, his wife's best friend from university days, a pretentious 'National Theatre Player' who appears to be competing with Julian on the small sreen and in the bedroom; by the tax man, who's chasing him for sixty thousand pounds; and by Lillith, a psychotic fan, and member of a strange Herculean cult whose eight-year cycle of death and regeneration might augur Julian's imminent nemesis...A Goat's Song
By Dermot Healy. 1994
In a wind-battered Mayo cottage, playwright Jack Ferris tries to salvage something from his broken love affair with Catherine Adams.…
Drink and despair drove her away; can his imagination call her back? But as he summons up her past, Jack finds he has also called up Catherine's RUC father and a whole dangerous world of opposed traditions.