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WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 1996 Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea at Margate. For reasons best known to herself, Jack’s widow, Amy, declines to join them . . . On the surface a simple tale of an increasingly bizarre day’s outing, this Booker-prize winning, internationally acclaimed novel is a resonant and classic exploration of the complexity and courage of ordinary lives. Intensely local but overwhelmingly universal, faithful to the fleeting rhythms and accidental eloquence of everyday speech but also to the timeless truths of life and death, it succeeds in being comic and heartstopping, affectionate and wise, and in conferring on its stumbling, disappointed characters an enduring decency, dignity and depth.  ‘A surpassing testament to Swift’s vibrant and powerful gifts’ The Times‘A triumph . . . a story about the most fundamental things of all’ Evening Standard

A breathtaking and cinematic novel about the lust for gold and its bloody consequences, set in the unforgiving landscape of the sub-Arctic Canadian wilderness, from the acclaimed author of The North Water A ragged fur peddler arrives at a remote outpost of the Hudson Bay Company in the winter of 1766 with a lump of gold, claiming that there is plenty more like it further north at a place called Ox Lake. The outpost’s chief factor, Magnus Norton, dreams of instant riches and launches a secret and perilous expedition to find the treasure and bring it back. Led by a family of native guides, the party of prospectors includes Norton’s brutish deputy, John Shaw, and Thomas Hearn, the insular and intellectual first mate from the factory’s whaling sloop. During their long journey north, Shaw’s callousness and arrogance lead him to commit an act of sexual violence whose disastrous consequences will only fully emerge once they reach their final destination. There, amidst the bleak beauty of the Barren Grounds, as Norton’s carefully crafted plans begin to fall apart and the brutal arctic winter starts to descend, Hearn is forced to make a choice that will define his character and determine his future forever. Utterly captivating, White River Crossing transports us back to the furthest edges of the eighteenth-century British empire where two radically different worlds—indigenous and European—collide with calamitous and deadly results.  

NOW A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES STARRING COLIN FARRELL, JACK O'CONNELL AND STEPHEN GRAHAMA ship sets sail with a killer on board . . . 1859. A man joins a whaling ship bound for the Arctic Circle. Having left the British Army with his reputation in tatters, Patrick Sumner has little option but to accept the position of ship's surgeon on this ill-fated voyage. But when, deep into the journey, a cabin boy is discovered brutally killed, Sumner finds himself forced to act. Soon he will face an evil even greater than he had encountered at the siege of Delhi, in the shape of Henry Drax: harpooner, murderer, monster . . . 'A tour de force' Hilary Mantel'Riveting and darkly brilliant' Colm Tóibín 'One of my favourite books ever' Richard Osman

‘Hilarious and heartbreaking’ MONICA ALI 'Deeply funny and knowing' MEG WOLITZER 'Witty, moving' ANN NAPOLITANO 'Poignant, funny and brilliantly told' POSY SIMMONDSAn often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughter – for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Royal Tenenbaums. Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. Miranda’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Her mother likes to bring conversation back to the War, although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. A wry, propulsive, exquisitely observed story of a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them. This is an extraordinary debut novel from a seasoned playwright with a flare for dialogue and, in the end, immense empathy. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ‘Hilarious and heartbreaking. Barnes’s dialogue is pitch-perfect, and her characters dance off the page and straight into your heart’ Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage ‘Camilla Barnes deftly deciphers the secret language of one family, often with deeply funny and knowing results. I loved spending time in the very specific, complicated and memorable world of this novel’ Meg Wolitzer, author of The Wife   ‘I love nothing more than reading about eccentric families, and the family in The Usual Desire to Kill is just that. Miranda and her sister work to uncover the true story of their parents' marriage, only to have their brilliant, quirky mother and father deflect them at every turn. Barnes has written a witty, moving novel about characters who, even when they seem incapable of speaking honestly, are worth listening to nonetheless’ Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful ‘An account of two ageing, secretive, disputatious and thoroughly maddening parents – poignant, funny and brilliantly told through gritted teeth’ Posy Simmonds, author of Cassandra DarkeEARLY READERS' REVIEWS FOR THE USUAL DESIRE TO KILL: ‘Family saga at its very best told with a tenderness that matches the dark humour in equal parts. I think this a book a lot of people will identify with’ ‘Hugely relatable. Endearingly flawed characters with real depth and an insightful understanding of the ways in which family dynamics play out’ ‘A unique yet weirdly relatable family saga’ ‘Funny, honest, and engaging’ ‘An observant and darkly witty debut’

The new novel from the award-winning translator of Sweet Bean Paste Winner of the Naoki Prize Winner of the Society of Authors Sasakawa Foundation Prize  Perfect for fans of The Guest Cat and Before the Coffee Gets Cold 'It’s no wonder the author won the prestigious Naoki Prize for this novel, which is at times heartwarming and suspenseful, detailing true resilience and survival.' Belfast Telegraph 'Everyone, please read this English translation and keep a handkerchief nearby.’ Nozomi Abe, Sasakawa Prize judgeOne dog changes the life of everyone who takes him in on his journey to reunite with his first owner in this inspiring tribute to the bond between humans and dogs and the life-affirming power of connection. Following a devastating earthquake and tsunami, a young man in Japan finds a stray dog outside a convenience store. The dog’s tag says “Tamon,” a name evocative of the guardian deity of the north. The man decides to keep Tamon, becoming the first in a series of owners as the dog journeys south to find the boy whom disaster tore him from.   Over the course of five years, Tamon will be taken into six vastly different homes, the final one belonging to his beloved first owner, Hikaru, a boy who has not spoken since the trauma of the tsunami. An agent of fate, Tamon is a gift to everyone who welcomes him into their life. At once heart-rending and heart-warming, intimate and panoramic, suspenseful and luminous, this bestselling, award-winning novel weaves a feel-good tale of survival, resilience, and love beyond measure. “Heartrending . . . Powerfully demonstrates how love and loyalty can overcome obstacles . . . and how a dog’s love can save a person in every possible way.”  Booklist “Affecting . . . Moving . . . Never feels sentimental or overdrawn . . . [Seishu Hase] proves himself a gifted storyteller.” Publishers Weekly “Heartbreakingly moving in its simplicity . . . A touching meditation on shining lights in the face of trauma and hopelessness.” Kirkus Reviews

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop, comes a delightful, offbeat, charming and bittersweet tale about the distance one man will travel for the sake of love and friendship. Henri is about to meet his teenage son, Sam, for the first time. But as Henri crosses Hammersmith Bridge, an accident happens. Sam reads about it in the newspaper - his father is a hero, now in a coma in hospital. So their first meeting takes place there, alongside the hospital’s neurologist, whom the staff name God and is the first person to treat Sam as an equal in intelligence. And that’s because Sam, due to a condition called synaesthesia, can sense things the doctors can’t - he can see the colours of his father’s thoughts and dreams, and many relationships build from this.  This beautiful novel is warm, wise, wry look at what love means. It’s about fathers and sons, friendship and family, life, death and making peace with the past in order to find a future.Praise for Nina George’s novels: ‘This charming tale is already a bestseller in Germany. For fans of Like Water for Chocolate and Amelie’ Red ‘George uses a heady cocktail of literature and more sensual pleasures to create a wonderfully offbeat romance’ Mail on Sunday ‘Glowing . . . layered with wit, enchanting writing and a love of books’ Daily Mail ‘A true gem for fiction lovers’ Good Housekeeping ‘A captivating curiosity, for those who still believe in love and books, friendship and food, happiness and romance’ Saga ‘A capricious, meandering journey of love, loss and wonderful food, so beautifully described. I enjoyed every moment’ Carole Matthews ‘If you're looking to be charmed right out of your own life for a few hours, sit down with this wise and winsome novel . . . Everything happens just as you want it to . . . from poignant moments to crystalline insights in exactly the right measure’ oprah.com   'An enchanting, uplifting read . . . the sort of book that acts as a soothing tonic as you read' Independent   'A life-affirming novel' Sunday Express

An international bestseller and finalist for the Prix Goncourt; a suspenseful tale of a tangled love triangle in the long shadow of the war on terror.Manhattan attorney Sam Tahar appears to have it all: fame, fortune, an enviable marriage to a prominent socialite, and two children. But his charmed life is built on a lie - he isn''t the person he pretends to be. As the son of a Tunisian immigrant growing up in a grimy Paris tower block, Samir Tahar seemed destined to stay on the margins - until he decided to ''cut through the bars of his social jail cell, even if he had to do it with his teeth''. At law school, he became friends with Jewish student Samuel Baron. The two were inseparable until the irresistible Nina, torn between the men, chose Samuel. Samir fled to America, where he assumed Samuel''s identity while his former friend remained trapped in a French suburb, a failed writer seething at Samir''s triumphs. Years later, the three meet again and Samir''s carefully constructed existence is blown apart, with disastrous consequences. The Age of Reinvention is a smart, captivating story about the temptations and terrible costs of remaking oneself. ''A work of great magnitude. It delves into and embraces the complexity of our modern world, mixes it up, describes, dissects and, finally, helps us to understand it. Brimming with ideas, original, compulsive'' Le Figaro ''Stolen identities, social ambition, and suspense: Karine Tuil triumphs with this masterful novel...Unquestionably one of the season''s best'' Paris Match''Karine Tuil''s energy and inventiveness never flag. A distinctive and powerful work'' French Elle

The beloved classic novel, the basis of the classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them. All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away.  And eventually they do - one marries, the other runs as far from home as she can manage. Years later, however, tragedy will bring the sisters back together. And they’ll find that no matter what else may happen, they’ll always have each other. An enchanting tale of love, forgiveness and family, Practical Magic is beloved of readers of all ages. Book 3 in the Practical Magic series.*~*~*Readers love Practical Magic*~*~*   'A real pleasure' Kate Atkinson 'Simply brilliant' Daily Mail ‘[A] delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible’ Cosmopolitan ‘What do you do when your long lost little sister shows up on your suburban front step… a dead man in the Oldsmobile that’s blocking your driveway? …You help her bury him in your backyard, underneath a wilting lilac bush that will suddenly spring back to life, bearing masses of heady flowers that remind everyone who passes by of desires they thought they’d long since stifled’ Vogue‘Dark comedy and a light touch carry the story along to a truly Gothic climax, complete with heaving skies and witchery on the lawn’ New York Times 'A scrim of magic lies gently over [this] fictional world, in which lilacs bloom riotously in July, a lovesick boy's elbows sizzle on a diner countertop and a toad expectorates a silver ring...' Publishers Weekly

Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents.”Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny – with a growing sense of unrest and distrust – starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid’s genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.‘I loved this book and couldn't put it down – a deeply gripping, surreal and wonderfully mysterious novel. Not only has Reid given us a brilliant page turner, but a profoundly moving meditation on life and art, death and infinity. Reid is a master’ Mona Awad, author 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and All's Well

The brand-new series from the bestselling author of Practical Magic, following two brilliant young women in 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, as they become immersed in a mysterious secret group of witches at Radcliffe known as the Lilith Society.Once upon a time, women were drowned in the river and the only witnesses were the crows in the trees. The Puritans blamed Eve for the sins of the world. That was when we began to meet in the name of Lilith, Adams first wifebanished for refusing to do as she was told. We Fly TogetherBy the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far removed from the legendary witch trials that marked its early days as a colony. Ava, a bright young woman from a small town in Maine, arrives for her first year at Radcliffe College. There, she meets Lauren, her opposite in every waythe wild and brazen daughter of a wealthy and well-established Cambridge family. But the two have more in common than they think. Both are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches at Radcliffe dating back to colonial times. As they learn more about their legacy, Ava and Lauren form a close bond that is put to the test as they learn to navigate their new power, friendship, and love.While Radcliffe seems like a safe haven, the shadow of McCarthyism looms large, an ever-present threat to the flourishing creative and intellectual life in Cambridge. And as girls from the Lilith Society begin to go missing, Ava and Lauren realize the witch trials of the past may not be as deeply buried as they once believed.

'The day the great man sang, heat blazed in haloes over Bennelong Point. This is what Pearl will remember, later, this is what she will say: that his voice turned the air holy. Men, sweat-slicked, stood with bowed heads or hung off scaffolds, swatting at flies and tears. Few looked at the singer; they needed all their senses to hear. Needed their whole bodies, skin and eyes and hearts, to absorb what they couldn’t say: that sacredness had returned to this place. It flowed through them on a single human voice, through their bodies and the building that was rising beneath their hands.' ‘A shimmering love letter to Sydney, with the husk of the emerging Opera House its beating heart … Required reading‘  Australian Women’s WeeklySydney, 1960s: newspaper reporter Pearl Keogh has been relegated to the women’s pages as punishment for her involvement in the anti-war movement, and is desperate to find her two young brothers before they are conscripted.   Newly arrived from Sweden, Axel Lindquist is set to work as a sculptor on the Sydney Opera House. Haunted by his father’s acts in the Second World War, he seeks solace in his attempts to create a unique piece that will do justice to the vision of Jørn Utzon, the controversial architect of the Opera House’s construction.Pearl and Axel’s lives orbit and collide, as they both struggle in the eye of the storm. This is a soaring, optimistic novel of art and culture, and of love and fate.A beautifully crafted, spellbinding story of love, loss and identity, set in the shadow of the Vietnam War, for readers who loved All the Light We Cannot See and The Goldfinch.  Praise for Shell: ‘Destined to become a classic due to the exquisite imagery of [Olsson’s] prose. If the test of contemporary fiction is whether a second reading delivers fresh layers of insight and meaning, the answer here is an unequivocal yes’  Caroline Baum, Sydney Morning Herald, The Best Books of 2018 ‘This narrative of war and hope, architecture and yearning, and old and new world, makes Shell a novel of energy and enlightenment, and, to boot, a source of delightful reading' Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler’s List and In the Name of the Father ‘A luminous look at a city at a time of change, a time when the building of the Sydney Opera House was a reach for greatness' The New York Times ‘Olsson’s writing is beautiful, captivating, and is enough in itself to recommend this book … Her descriptions are vivid, evocative’ New York Journal of Books ‘This is a novel with a sharp eye, a warm heart and sprawling ambitions, painted on the most splendid canvas of all’ The Australian   'War, architecture, guilt, salvation, politics – this book has a little bit of it all... A fascinating look at Australia during the Vietnam War, the creation of the Sydney Opera House, and the ever-present battle between the violence of war and the beauty of art. Recommended' Historical Novel Society ‘Kristina Olsson is such a graceful, wise and perceptive writer. The woman’s massive heart is one big literary taproot feeding all of us answers about the Australian condition’ Trent Dalton, bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe

THE TOP TEN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Winner of the August Prize for Fiction Dazzlingly inventive, witty and mysterious: a writer pieces together the story of a young man's death in an exhilarating narrative puzzle reminiscent of the hit podcast Serial. A young man dies in a car crash - accident or suicide? An unnamed writer with an agenda of his own sets out to piece together Samuel's story. From friends, relatives and neighbours, a portrait emerges of a loving son, reluctant bureaucrat, contrived poser, loyal friend. But who was Samuel really, and what happened to him? In filling out the contours of his existence, the writer grasps at a fundamental question: how do we account for the substance of a life?'My books of the year [include] Jonas Hassen Khemiri's enigmatic novel' Joyce Carol Oates Heartbreakingly sad and laugh-out-loud funny . . . Its chorus of drifters, romantics and cynics stick in the memory, each competing to tell their own truth’ Hari Kunzru ?'Unforgettable. In this non-putdownable puzzle of a story, Khemiri manages to both thrill and break your heart' Gary Shteyngart 'Khemiri's audacious and richly drawn novel pushes the boundaries of literary fiction . . . Beneath the structural pyrotechnics lies a broader story of imposition, appropriation and lack of individual agency: that of the immigrant experience' Lucy Scholes, The National

This novel confirms Michael Idov as the real deal The Times Idov writes with a wit and humour rare in the genre Financial Times'Really does merit comparisons to vintage le Carr' Mail on SundayNimble plot work and sheer storytelling audacity New York TimesAn ingenious and exciting novel Literary Review Smart, agile writing Irish TimesThe quiet exile of CIA officer Ari Falk, as he lays low in the Republic of Georgia, is shattered when a mission arises one perfectly suited for someone as jaded and unpredictable as him. Enter Asha Tamaskar, a brilliant, neurodivergent CIA officer with her own secrets, and Felix Burnham, a chilling antagonist with radical alliances that could change the global balance of power. Moving between Tbilisi to Prague, Andorra to Bethesda, The Cormorant Hunt brims with razor-sharp dialogue, heart-stopping twists and complex character dynamics that bring humanity to the chaos. Blending suspense, wit, and authentic storytelling, this is a sparkling spy thriller that remakes the rules._______________________________________________This novel confirms Michael Idov as the real deal. . . The writing has the required sense of authenticity and lean pace . . . above all, there is an agile intelligence and lightness of touch The Times, Thriller Book of the MonthIdov invests even familiar staples of spy fiction a mole hunt, a reckless love with a vital spark . . . the plot has a ripped-from-the-headlines immediacy . . . Idovs smart, agile writing moves so quickly it would be easy to underestimate how much is going on Irish TimesMichael Idov ups the pace with verve. . . He writes with a wit and humour rare in the genre . . . Falk wonders if the agency is still the same clusterf*ck of bureaucracy, cruelty, hubris, and over-reach, just in a fun new millennial wrapper. The answer soon becomes clear in this cracking tale Financial TimesFull of twists, turns, cynical wisdom and genuinely nail-biting border crossings, this really does merit comparisons to vintage le Carr Mail on Sunday'An ingenious and exciting novel' Literary Review Brilliantly written with twists and turns galore The Sun ****

'A stunningly good debut ... that will keep readers up all night' Steven Galloway, author of the Cellist of Sarajevo 'The novel has at its lodestone Brideshead Revisited. Donna Tartt's The Secret History is also in the DNA here ... Readers will find themselves transfixed by this richly drawn cast of characters' Independent Bright, bookish Oscar Lowe has grown to love the quiet routine of his life as a care assistant at a Cambridge nursing home, until the fateful day when he is lured into King's College chapel by the otherworldly sound of an organ. There he meets and falls in love with Iris Bellwether and her privileged, eccentric clique, led by her brother Eden. A troubled but charismatic music prodigy, Eden convinces his sister and their friends to participate in a series of disturbing experiments. However, as the line between genius and madness begins to blur, Oscar fears that danger could await them all ... Benjamin Wood's brilliant debut novel will delight fans of The Secret History and Never Let Me Go.  Praise for The Bellwether Revivals: 'Read it. Quite a debut' Patrick Neate 'Suffused with intelligence and integrity' Guardian 'Effortlessly vivid ... Wood's confident, sometimes creepy novel draws you in ... and then, once you're inside, holds on, ever tightening the grip' Independent on Sunday 'There's more than a hint of Donna Tartt's The Secret History about this novel … highly effective' Daily Mail

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES starring Pierce Brosnan and co-written by Philipp Meyer The critically acclaimed, New York Times-bestselling epic, a saga of land, blood and power, follows the rise of one unforgettable Texas family from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th century. Eli McCullough is just twelve years old when a marauding band of Comanche storm his Texas homestead, brutally murder his mother and sister and take him captive. Despite their torture and cruelty, Eli - against all odds - adapts to life with the Comanche, learning their ways and language, taking on a new name, finding a place as the adopted son of the band's chief and fighting their wars against not only other Indians but white men too, which complicates his sense of loyalty, his promised vengeance and his very understanding of self. But when disease, starvation and westward expansion finally decimate the Comanche, Eli is left alone in a world in which he belongs nowhere, neither white nor Indian, civilized nor fully wild. Deftly interweaving Eli’s story with those of his son Peter and his great-granddaughter JA, The Son maps the legacy of Eli’s ruthlessness, his drive to power and his lifelong status as an outsider, even as the McCullough family rises to become one of the richest in Texas, a ranching and oil dynasty that is as resilient and dangerous as the land they claim. Yet, like all empires, the McCulloughs must eventually face the consequences of their choices. Panoramic, deeply evocative and utterly transporting, The Son is a masterpiece American novel - part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story - that combines the narrative prowess of Larry McMurtry with the knife-edge sharpness of Cormac McCarthy. 'Stunning ... a book that for once really does deserve to be called a masterpiece' Kate Atkinson 'Magnificent ... McCarthy's Border Trilogy is a point of reference, as is There Will Be Blood, but it is not fanciful to be reminded of certain passages from Moby-Dick - it's that good'The Times 'Brilliant ... a wonderful novel' Lionel Shriver

They say it takes 28 Questions to fall in love. Then what? 'Funny, clever, sad without self-pity, and with an uplift that is the writing itself' Jeanette Winterson 'If it's an addictive read you're after, consider this your next stop.' Stylist 'An intensely beautiful cleverly layered story of young queer love. An intense but entertaining read. Highly recommend.’ Juno RocheA queer When Harry Met Sally for the Sally Rooney Generation‘Reader, imagine yielding to someone with a power so strong she has the ability to slice time. Before. Her. After.’   When first-year music student Amalia stumbles into her Oxford college bar, she has no idea that everything is about to change. Seated across from her is Alex, a velvety-voiced fellow Australian with eyes the colour of her native sky. They strike up a friendship that is immediate - its intensity both thrilling and terrifying.   As the days and weeks go by, they spend more and more time together: philosophising, hypothesising, questioning everything. There is nothing they cannot talk about, except the one thing that matters most. Dare they risk a romantic entanglement if it threatens this most perfect of friendships? Set across four years and five cities, and suffused with music, literature, art, dance, sex, and the exquisite pain and pleasure of first love, 28 Questions is a passionate and unforgettable first novel about love in all its guises, growing up, and figuring out who you are along the way. 

‘This delicate requiem to musicians and their music – how it is born in their veins, why it bleeds from their skin – is larger than the small span of time it embodies, much like a symphony itself. And the utter poetry of the writing! I found myself gasping at a phrase, transported just the way the right series of notes would move me’, Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author 'A lush, gorgeous novel that will completely immerse you in Vienna, seduce you with music and philiosophy and art, and then capture your heart', Eleanor Shearer, author of River Sing Me Home 'Musical, hypnotically lyrical, rhythmic and sensory', Laura Dockrill, author of I Love You I Love You I Love You ‘Joyful, sensuous and erudite, Since the World is Ending is sharply observed and gloriously intelligent. A delight.’ Jessica Moor, author of KeeperCan we really get over an all-consuming love?  What kind of love should define our lives?  Maya is living her dream in Vienna. First violinist with the prestigious Habsburg Philharmonic, her days are filled with music, her nights with wild parties and passionate, no-strings-attached sex with her colleague, star cellist Lucia Rizzo.  But when Josh - the ex-love of Maya's life - unexpectedly shows up at her door, the perfect world she's built begins to unravel.  Set over a blisteringly hot weekend in a city where ghosts lurk in every alleyway, Since the World is Ending explores the sacrifices we make and the risks we take when we pour life into our art.  A novel about music, consequence, desire and the importance of love and art in a world on fire by a daring and uniquely compelling young novelist.

A stunning collection of new short stories originally commissioned byThe New York Times Magazineas the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, from twenty-nine authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Colm Toibin, Kamilia Shamsie and more, in a project inspired by Boccaccio's The Decameron.When reality is surreal, only fiction can make sense of it. In 1353, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote ';The Decameron': one hundred nested tales told by a group of young men and women passing the time at a villa outside Florence while waiting out the gruesome Black Death, a plague that killed more than 25 million people. Some of the stories are silly, some are bawdy, some are like fables. In March of 2020, the editors ofThe New York Times MagazinecreatedThe Decameron Project, an anthology with a simple, time-spanning goal: to gather a collection of stories written as our current pandemic first swept the globe. How might new fiction from some of the finest writers working today help us memorialize and understand the unimaginable? And what could be learned about how this crisis will affect the art of fiction? These twenty-nine new stories, from authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Colm Toibin, Kamila Shamsie and David Mitchell vary widely in texture and tone. Their work will be remembered as a historical tribute to a time and place unlike any other in our lifetimes, and offer perspective and solace to the reader now and in a future where coronavirus is, hopefully, just a memory. Table of Contents: ';Preface' by Caitlin Roper ';Introduction' by Rivka Galchen ';Recognition' by Victor LaValle ';A Blue Sky Like This' by Mona Awad ';The Walk' by Kamila Shamsie ';Tales from the LA River' by Colm Toibn ';Clinical Notes' by Liz Moore ';The Team' by Tommy Orange ';The Rock' by Leila Slimani ';Impatient Griselda' by Margaret Atwood ';Under the Magnolia' by Yiyun Li ';Outside' by Etgar Keret ';Keepsakes' by Andrew O'Hagan ';The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase' by Rachel Kushner ';The Morningside' by Tea Obreht ';Screen Time' by Alejandro Zambra ';How We Used to Play' by Dinaw Mengestu ';Line 19 Woodstock/Glisan' by Karen Russell ';If Wishes Was Horses' by David Mitchell ';Systems' by Charles Yu ';The Perfect Travel Buddy' by Paolo Giordano ';An Obliging Robber' by Mia Cuoto ';Sleep' by Uzodinma Iweala ';Prudent Girls' by Rivers Solomon ';That Time at My Brother's Wedding' by Laila Lalami ';A Time of Death, The Death of Time' by Julin Fuks ';The Cellar' by Dina Nayeli ';Origin Story' by Matthew Baker ';To the Wall' by Esi Edugyan ';Barcelona: Open City' by John Wray ';One Thing' by Edwidge Danticat

‘This anthology of literary fiction features an all-star ensemble’ Cosmopolitan‘A reflective and must-read collection’ StylistKink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by lauded writers R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and more.Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors. The stories within explore bondage, power-play, and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates, therapists’ offices, underground sex clubs, private estates, and even a Victorian-era sex theater. While there are whips and chains, sure, the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires, as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers.

A POWERFUL MEMOIR AND MANIFESTO CHALLENGING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BLACK MAN IN BRITAIN “A blisteringly honest take on contemporary Britishness that manages to be both nuanced and shocking. Highly recommended.” Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)  You’re a black man.    Aggressive. Athletic.  Feared. Fetishised.  Policed. Politicised.   It’s limiting. It’s tiring. And it’s not true.    What makes a man in the 21st century? For generations ‘being a man’ has meant behaving in a very particular way. It has meant being strong, sexually assertive and overtly heterosexual. Assumptions around masculinity have been the root cause of countless problems which, to this day, continue to affect the whole of society.  When the question of masculinity intersects with race, these assumptions too often mutate into pernicious prejudice in ways that are particularly damaging for the men themselves. In this groundbreaking and revealing book, actor, activist and writer Obioma Ugoala – a man of mixed Nigerian and Irish heritage – examines the ways in which his life has been affected by people failing to address their own prejudices about what they conceive a Black man to be.  As well as talking about these – often shocking – experiences he take a broader cultural and historical view to challenge notions of race and masculinity that have over centuries become embedded in British society, poisoning the public discourse and blighting people’s lives.  With unflinching honesty and deep humanity, this unique and important book challenges us all to face our personal failings while offering a vision of a more positive future if we dare to do better. When first published as The Problem with My Normal Penis the book met resistance from some who considered the title unnecessarily provocative. In this updated edition, Ugoala addresses the reception his book received and the light this shed on the very issues of race and masculinity that he was addressing. ‘Whipsmart and refreshingly vulnerable. In this book, Obioma Ugoala brilliantly exposes the systems and the individuals that have long perpetuated dangerous and irresponsible ideals around Blackness and masculinity.’ Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie "A valiant venture of a book that is somehow both tender memoir and unflinching excavation of the sociological blights that affect both self and society. Looking outward, inwards and forward, it lucidly explores complicated truths. Hopeful and honest, uncomfortable and encouraging, it is a book this country needs." Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour “An urgent, personal, compassionate book that never backs away from the difficulty of what we are facing but provides a forgiving mirror and a useable map so we can truly reflect & navigate. Obioma Ugoala’s treatise should be a set text for a world in crisis.” Deborah Frances White'In his enquiring memoir, he astutely explores where the expectations of his race and masculinity meet, unpicking and challenging his past experiences of prejudice. His personal stories are told in the context of the wider culture, and the book is a compassionate rallying cry to be more conscious.' Evening Standard

A searing memoir of American racism from a Somali-American who survived hardships in his birth country only to experience firsthand the dehumanization of Black people in his adopted land, the United States.“No one told me about America.”  Born in Somalia and raised in a valley among nomads, Boyah Farah grew up with a code of male bravado that helped him survive deprivation, disease, and civil war. Arriving in America, he believed that the code that had saved him would help him succeed in this new country. But instead of safety and freedom, Boyah found systemic racism, police brutality, and intense prejudice in all areas of life, including the workplace. He learned firsthand not only what it meant to be an African in America, but what it means to be African American. The code of masculinity that shaped generations of men in his family could not prepare Farah for the painful realities of life in the United States. Lyrical yet unsparing, America Made Me a Black Man is the first book-length examination of American racism from an African perspective. With a singular poetic voice brimming with imagery, Boyah Farah challenges us to face difficult truths about the destructive forces that threaten Black lives. By affirming that there is a “melancholy redemption in possessing a Black body in America,” he also attempts to heal a fracture in Black men’s identity in this unforgettable book.

"A dazzling wild ride of a novel – daring, fresh, entertaining, and magical.  Mona Awad is a powerful and poetic storyteller, telling us something new and profound here about the connection between suffering and elation.  When I was away from this book, I longed to get back to it." — George Saunders, New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo "Wild and exhilarating and so fresh it takes your breath away, All's Well is an utterly delicious novel of pain and vitality, Shakespeare and the uncanny, and our own subtle moral failures when we brush up against the pain of others. Mona Awad's talent is so vital that it absolutely roars out of her. " — Lauren Groff, New York Times bestselling author of Fates and Furies "Tragic, macabre, and wicked. I laughed out loud the whole way through. One of the funniest books I’ve read in years." —  Heather O'Neill, author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel "Really funny ... The satirical targets, all brilliantly hit, include useless physios, entitled students, internet advertising and — for all you romantics out there — love!" Wendy Holden in the Daily Mail Longlisted for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award Miranda Fitch’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating, chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now she’s on the verge of losing her job as a college theater director. Determined to put on Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, the play that promised, and cost, her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instead. Miranda sees her chance at redemption slip through her fingers. That’s when she meets three strange benefactors who have an eerie knowledge of Miranda’s past and a tantalizing promise for her future: one where the show goes on, her rebellious students get what’s coming to them, and the invisible, doubted pain that’s kept her from the spotlight is made known. With prose Margaret Atwood has described as “no punches pulled, no hilarities dodged...genius,” Mona Awad has concocted her most potent, subversive novel yet. All’s Well is the story of a woman at her breaking point and a formidable, piercingly funny indictment of our collective refusal to witness and believe female pain.

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate and find a connection that is more than skin deep?A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 in The Guardian,Bustle, The Millions, LitHub, TOR, Good Housekeeping, Our Culture Mag, and more!'[A] biting satire on the beauty industry' The Guardian 'Awad is a genius, preternaturally gifted at creating vicious, hilarious tales about the depravity inside us.' Vulture"A brilliant, biting critique of western beauty standards as well as a soaring, phantasmagoric, Angela Carter-esque fairy tale about trauma and the loss of self. Rouge is deeply unsettling, funny, obsessive, and unlike anything I've read. A truly mesmerizing read." Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, ROUGE explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, ROUGE holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath. "Rouge is a fever dream—a brilliant, intense, unforgettable horror story about a beauty cult with a deeply moving mother-daughter story at its core. Mona Awad’s signature and singular imagination and black humor and empathy are on full display here, and her wild-ride of a tale is masterfully grounded in the emotional devastation of childhood and grief. I loved every word of this." Laura Zigman, author of Small World "There is nobody else like Mona Awad, daring enough to plunge her hands—rings and all—into the viscera of story and discover an unsettling beauty within. ROUGE is her most magnetic work yet, a thrilling dystopian romp that knows that beneath the glossy, aspirational veneer of self-care lurks the same old gothic abyss." Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun "Unsettling, whimsical, and moving, Rouge is an authentic, innovative kind of narrative magic that's both surreal and absolute. A striking novel of incandescence and heart." Iain Reid, author of I'm Thinking of Ending Things “Awad’s latest is a dreamy (or perhaps nightmarish) gothic fairy tale about a mother, a daughter, and their shared obsession with their own beauty. Like all of Awad’s novels, it reels you in, shakes your brain until you’re not sure what you’re seeing, and then floats off cackling on a cloud of smoke. Metaphorically, that is. I’d forgive you for not being sure.” Lit Hub (Most Anticipated Books of 2023) "Mona Awad, I will read everything you ever write. She is a writer of unbelievable talent." Tor.com “[A] hypnotic tour de force… Awad approaches the increasingly well-trod ground of sinister wellness gurus with aplomb, creating an atmosphere of creeping discomfort and surreality right from the start. This is the stuff of fairy tales—red shoes, ballrooms, mirrors, and thorns but also sincerity, poignancy, and terror.” Kirkus (Starred Review) “[A] delightfully twisted fairy tale… The author’s acerbic wit radiates in this excoriating story of beauty’s ugly side.” Publisher's Weekly

A brilliantly observed story of crises and reconciliations within families and stepfamilies and the conflict between Millennials and their Baby Boomer parents.  Funny, dark, yet limned with hope, Tim Lott returns to a family saga – and social commentary – that began with the award-winning White City Blue, continuing with When We Were Rich. It is a story for everyone trying to make sense of a sharply polarised world where the political has become personal and the personal has become a minefield. Brighton, December 2019: a teenage girl is on an early morning run along the seafront. In her mind she is running away from something she hates, towards something she fears. China’s home is with her mother Veronica, her pompous stepfather Silas and his dysfunctional son Mason. Her father, Frankie, is in London, but they have little contact, his entrenched views a provocation to her socially conscious ideals, his Brexit-supporting girlfriend a jealous rival. Exhausted by family tensions, when China leaves Brighton, her godfather Nodge, Frankie’s best friend, and his husband Owen are her first port of call. But they, too, are beset by domestic conflict. Which leaves only her father to takes her in.  They argue, they spar, the fault lines between them grow wider – and then coronavirus strikes.  Praise for When We Were Rich ‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity’  ― Sarah Hughes, i paper‘What a terrific novel – wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining – I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’  ― Deborah Moggach‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’  ― Sadie Jones‘Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ ― Jonathan Coe‘Lott delivers many hilarious and sad scenes of life in a long-term relationship. He also explores the poignancy and fragility of male friendships, in a manner reminiscent of Graham Swift’s Last Orders. . .  [He is,] crucially, careful to linger over moral difficulty and vulnerability rather than evading it’ ― TLS‘Lott’s carefully observed period piece captures the mood of an era that now seems like a lost world’ ― Daily Mail

‘Searing and beautifully rendered’Koa Beck, author of White Feminism'This story of love, loss and resilient female friendship is a definite must read.’Tola Rotimi Abraham, author of Black Sunday'Unflinching and cuts to the core'Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street‘An accomplished and emotional triumph’Louise Beech, author of How To Be Brave What can I do?’ she asked. You can fight, I thought, you can fight for your daughters. But then again, who was I to speak of such things When Gozie and Obianuju meet in August 1978, it is nothing short of fate. He is the perfect man: charismatic, handsome, Christian, and – most importantly – Igbo. He reminds her of her beloved Uncle Ikenna, her mother’s brother who disappeared fighting in the Civil War that devastated Nigeria less than a decade before. It is why, when Gozie asks her to marry him within months of meeting, she says yes, despite her lingering and uncertain feelings for Akin – a man her mother would never accept, as his tribe fought on the other side of the war. Akin makes her feel heard, understood, intelligent; Gozie makes her heart flutter.For Uju, the daughter her mother never wanted, marriage would mean the attainment of that long elusive state of womanhood, and something else she has desired all her life – her mother’s approval. All will be well; he is the perfect match, the country will soon be democratic again and the economy is growing, or so she thinks …Loosely based on the stories of real women known to the author, Tomorrow I Become a Woman follows a complex relationship between mother and daughter as they grapple to come to terms with tremendous loss. This powerful debut by Aiwanose Odafen is a sensitive exploration of a woman’s struggle to meet societal and cultural expectations within the confines of a difficult marriage, a tribute to female friendship and a love story that spans two decades and continents against a backdrop of political turmoil and a fast-changing world.

‘We were three: complete, as we were meant to be…’   Ego, Zina and Eriife were always destined to be best friends, ever since their grandmothers sat next to each other on a dusty bus to Lagos in the late 1940s, forging a bond that would last generations. But over half a century later, Nigeria is a new and modern country. As the three young women navigate the incessant strikes and political turmoil that surrounds them, their connection is shattered by a terrible assault. In the aftermath, nothing will remain the same as life takes them down separate paths. For Ego, now a high-powered London lawyer, success can’t mask her loneliness and feelings of being an outsider. Desperate to feel connected to Nigeria, she escapes into a secret life online. Zina’s ambition is to be anyone but herself; acting proves the ultimate catharsis, but it comes at the cost of her family. And Eriife surprises everyone by morphing from a practising doctor to a ruthless politician’s perfect wife. When Ego returns home, the three women’s lives become entwined once more, as Nigeria’s political landscape fractures. Their shared past will always connect them, but can they – and their country – overcome it?