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A true original. In this stunningly unusual prose debut, Doireann Ni Ghriofa sculpts essay and autofiction to explore inner life and the deep connection felt between two writers centuries apart. In the 1700s, an Irish noblewoman, on discovering her husband has been murdered, drinks handfuls of his blood and composes an extraordinary poem. In the present day, a young mother narrowly avoids tragedy. On encountering the poem, she becomes obsessed with its parallels with her own life, and sets out to track down the rest of the story. A devastating and timeless tale about one woman freeing her voice by reaching into the past and finding another's. ISBN 9781916434271 -
It's spring 1920 in the small military town of Nandagiri in southeast India. Colonel Aylmer, commander of the Royal Irish Kildare Rangers, is in charge. A distance away, decently hidden from view, lies the native part of Nandagiri with its heaving bazaar, reeking streets, and brothels. Everyone in Nandagiri knows their place and the part they were born to play--with one exception. The local Anglo-Indians, tainted by their mixed blood, belong nowhere. When news of the Black and Tans' atrocities back in Ireland reaches the troops, even their priest cannot cool the men's hot-headed rage. Politics vie with passion as Private Michael Flaherty pays court to Rose, Mrs. Aylmer's Anglo-Indian maid, but mutiny brings heroism and heartbreak in equal measure. Only the arrival of Colonel Aylmer's grandson Richard, some 60 years later, will set off the reckoning, when those who were parted will be reunited, and those who were lost will be found again. ISBN 9781916467187 -
A New Signed 1st Edition Hardback of 'The Land of Lost Things' by John Connolly. Any free gifts offered by John will automatically be included with your order. A PERSONALISED MESSAGE CAN BE ADDED BY THE AUTHOR AT NO ADDITIONAL COST - WE WILL EMAIL YOU ONCE YOUR ORDER IS PLACED TO CHECK FOR PERSONAL DEDICATIONS. “Twice upon a time—for that is how some stories should continue…” Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident — a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land coloured by the memories of childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father — a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting… Published 7th September 2023 - Order Now. ISBN 9781529391800 -
***WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019*** This is Britain as you've never read it. This is Britain as it has never been told. From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . . ISBN 9780241984994 -
"Ronan Hession's gorgeous novel is a funny and sweet examination of what it means to live quietly and on your own terms. It's like a warm hug of a book and will make you look at the world with a smile." Bob "Life has a way of changing; for Leonard it comes in the death of his mother, while for Hungry Paul it is the upcoming wedding of his sister. Together, they have been living a quiet existence but now they must learn to make some noise in a world that doesn't fully understand them. This story is a cup of tea in a book - it is warm, comforting, and best shared with friends. If you enjoy quirky, loveable characters and an offbeat sense of humour then this is for you." Rebekah ISBN 9781910422441 -
"If you could relive one conversation what would it be? In a secluded coffee shop in Tokyo that is exactly what you can do - as long as you follow the strict rules. Four stories intertwine to create a simple but elegant tapestry of the human heart. Whether you are in need of a fresh perspective, or just want a great read, this is not a book to miss." Rebekah ISBN 9781529029581 -
"This quirky Japanese novel is about a woman named Keiko who has been working in the same small convenience store for the last 18 years - much to her friends and family's dismay. But what does it take to be a 'productive member of society' and what happens if we reject those expectations that are forced upon us? Equally darkly funny and weirdly disturbing, this is a short book that packs a great punch!" Bob ISBN 9781846276842 -
Between life and death there is a library... When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live? ISBN 9781786892737 -
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation - awkward but electrifying - something life-changing begins. Normal People is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can't. 'The literary phenomenon of the decade.' - Guardian ISBN 9780571334650 -
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens. Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Celeste Ng, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. ISBN 9781472154651 -
Klara and the Sun is a magnificent new novel from the Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro–author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day. Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love? In its award citation in 2017, the Nobel committee described Ishiguro’s books as “novels of great emotional force” and said he has “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.” ISBN 9780571364909 -
Nina Dean has arrived at her early thirties as a successful food writer with loving friends and family, plus a new home and neighbourhood. When she meets Max, a beguiling romantic hero who tells her on date one that he's going to marry her, it feels like all is going to plan. A new relationship couldn't have come at a better time - her thirties have not been the liberating, uncomplicated experience she was sold. Everywhere she turns, she is reminded of time passing and opportunities dwindling. Friendships are fading, ex-boyfriends are moving on and, worse, everyone's moving to the suburbs. There's no solace to be found in her family, with a mum who's caught in a baffling mid-life makeover and a beloved dad who is vanishing in slow-motion into dementia. Dolly Alderton's debut novel is funny and tender, filled with whip-smart observations about relationships, family, memory, and how we live now. ISBN 9780241988688 -
"I do love the quirkiness of a good Japanese novel and this is no exception! When a young man is told he only has a few weeks left to live the Devil appears and offers him an extra day of life - but for every new day he is given, the young man must choose something to disappear forever from the world. And that's where it gets complicated! Funny, clever, sad and philosophical, this is a beautiful read!" Bob ISBN 9781509889174 -
From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six, an entrancing novel "that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all" (Kirkus Reviews), in which a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways. ISBN 9781398515697 -
FEAR KEEPS THEM RUNNING. HOPE KEEPS THEM ALIVE. Vivid, visceral, utterly compelling, AMERICAN DIRT is the first novel to explore the experience of attempting to illegally cross the US-Mexico border. Described as 'A Grapes of Wrath for our times' (Don Winslow) it is a story that will leave you utterly changed. Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop. Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist. Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world. Today, her eight-year-old son Luca is all she has left. For him, she will carry a machete strapped to her leg. For him, she will leap onto the roof of a high speed train. For him, she will find the strength to keep running. 'I couldn't put it down. I'll never stop thinking about it' Ann Patchett 'One hell of a novel about a good woman on the run with her beautiful boy' Stephen King ISBN 9781472261403 -
A stunning re-telling of the Trojan War, this novel will transport you back into Ancient Greece and the Age of Heroes. Miller’s writing is fresh and full of energy – and her engaging characters will stay with you long after the last sword is thrown down. Great for readers looking for an epic tale of love and revenge. Rebekah. ISBN 9781408891384 -
Brilliant, heart-breaking, tender, and highly original - poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born - a history whose epicentre is rooted in Vietnam - and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to the American moment, immersed as it is in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard. With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years. ISBN 9781529110685 -
"I have not now nor ever have been married, divorced, or had children (nor for that matter been a Jewish New Yorker!)yet I totally related to Ephron's 'character' in Heartburn. I love how she dealt with such an emotionally difficult time in her life in such a comical and irreverent way. A quick but memorable read." Ciara ISBN 9781844085170 -
Madrid. Unfinished. Man Dying. A great painter lies on his deathbed. Max Porter translates into seven extraordinary written pictures the explosive final workings of the artist's mind. ISBN 9780571370702 -
It's late one night at the Spanish port of Algeciras and two fading Irish gangsters are waiting on the boat from Tangier. A lover has been lost, a daughter has gone missing, their world has come asunder - can it be put together again?Night Boat to Tangier is a novel drenched in sex and death and narcotics, in sudden violence and old magic. But above all, it is a book obsessed with the mysteries of love. A tragicomic masterwork from the award-winning Kevin Barry, Night Boat to Tangier is a work of melancholy beauty, wit and lyrical brilliance. ISBN 9781782116202 -
"A fascinating portrayal of modern day France with its various secrets, prejudices, and delights. It's structured around one apartment block and the arrival of Edward into the city of light, and the attic. As tensions within the building and the city intensify we have to ask ourselves a question: do we ever really know what's happening behind our neighbours' doors?" Marta ISBN 9781473641563 -
They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together - birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie - who has the most money - insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much ... Everything stays under control until Ed's wife Cara, gets concussion and can't keep her thoughts to herself... ISBN 9781405918787 -
Queenie Jenkins can't cut a break. Well, apart from one from her long term boyfriend, Tom. That's definitely just a break though. Definitely not a break up. Stuck between a boss who doesn't seem to see her, a family who don't seem to listen (if it's not Jesus or water rates, they're not interested), and trying to fit in two worlds that don't really understand her, it's no wonder she's struggling. She was named to be queen of everything. So why is she finding it so hard to rule her own life? 'Hilarious, compelling, painful, enlightening, honest. I loved it' - Dolly Alderton ISBN 9781409180074 -
"When four siblings in New York sneak out to visit a fortune-teller who, rumour has it, can tell them the exact day that they will die, the repercussions will echo through the lives whether they choose to believe her prediction or not. This beautifully written novel is both a joy to read and deeply affecting." Bob ISBN 9781472245007 -
Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed and observant. A student in Dublin and an aspiring writer, at night she performs spoken word with her best friend Bobbi, who used to be her girlfriend. When they are interviewed and then befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist who is married to Nick, an actor, they enter a world of beautiful houses, raucous dinner parties and holidays in Provence, beginning a complex menage-a-quatre. But when Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer, the sharply witty and emotion-averse Frances is forced to honestly confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. ISBN 9780571333134 -
'Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?' I asked my sister. We were sitting in her car, parked in front of the Dutch House in the broad daylight of early summer. Danny Conroy grows up in the Dutch House, a lavish mansion. Though his father is distant and his mother is absent, Danny has his beloved sister Maeve: Maeve, with her wall of black hair, her wit, her brilliance. The siblings grow and change as life plays out under the watchful eyes of the house's former owners, in the frames of their oil paintings. Then one day their father brings Andrea home. Though they cannot know it, her arrival to the Dutch House sows the seed of the defining loss of Danny and Maeve's lives... Told with Ann Patchett's inimitable blend of humour, rage and heartbreak, The Dutch House is a book for our times; of family, love, loss, and the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetize and repel us for our whole lives. ISBN 9781526614971 -
The long-awaited return from the author of the multi-million copy bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. An instant classic that has been hailed as one of the finest works of fiction of the twenty-first century. Fifteen years later, it is finally time to enter the House and meet Piranesi... May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty. "What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being, what a tick-tock-tick-tock of reveals, what a pure protagonist, what a morally squalid supporting cast, what beauty, tension and restraint, and what a pitch-perfect ending. Piranesi is an exquisite puzzle-box far, far bigger on the inside than it is on the outside" DAVID MITCHELL. 'Piranesi is a gorgeous, spellbinding mystery that gently unravels page by page. Precisely the sort of book that I love wordlessly handing to someone so they can have the pleasure of uncovering its secrets for themselves. This book is a treasure, washed up upon a forgotten shore, waiting to be discovered' ERIN M ISBN 9781526622433 -
The Pulitzer prize-winning novel from the author of the Booker longlisted My Name is Lucy Barton and Olive, Again. Olive Kitteridge: indomitable, compassionate and often unpredictable. A retired schoolteacher in a small coastal town in Maine, as she grows older she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life. She is a woman who sees into the hearts of those around her, their triumphs and tragedies. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and a young man who aches for the mother he lost - and whom Olive comforts by her mere presence, while her own son feels overwhelmed by her complex sensitivities. A penetrating, vibrant exploration of the human soul, the story of Olive Kitteridge will make you laugh, nod in recognition, wince in pain, and shed a tear or two. ISBN 9781849831550 -
"I read this collection recently for an Ireland AM piece and was blown away by how good these stories are! Kevin Barry is wonderful at capturing the feel of small town Ireland. Clever, funny and thought-provoking I'm annoyed how long it took me to discover them!" Bob ISBN 9780955015298 -
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for kidnapping the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix's desire to help. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege. 'A gripping page-turner' Madeline Miller - 'A beautiful tale of how we live now' Elizabeth Day - 'Charming, authentic and every bit as entertaining as it is calmly, intelligently damning' Observer. ISBN 9780718179755 -
"A young, grief-stricken soldier is nursed back to health by a quirky old woman. Soothed by the nearby river - and sloe gin - the two companions create a new life together. Reading this felt like discovering a modern fairy tale - one that ambles along beautifully at its own pace. Winman’s writing is vivid and bursts with life. She creates a fantastical world of magic and hope. If you are feeling down or world weary, this is the book to read." Rebekah ISBN 9780755390939 -
Rainbow Milk is an intersectional coming-of-age story, following nineteen-year-old Jesse McCarthy as he grapples with his racial and sexual identities against the backdrop of a Jehovah's Witness upbringing and the legacies of the Windrush generation. In the Black Country in the 1950s, ex-boxer Norman Alonso is a determined and humble Jamaican who has moved to Britain with his wife to secure a brighter future for themselves and their children. Blighted with unexpected illness and racism, Norman and his family are resilient in the face of such hostilities, but are all too aware that they will need more than just hope to survive. At the turn of the millennium, Jesse seeks a fresh start in London - escaping from a broken immediate family, a repressive religious community and the desolate, disempowered Black Country - but finds himself at a loss for a new centre of gravity, and turns to sex work to create new notions of love, fatherhood and spirituality. Rainbow Milk is a bold exploration of race, class, sexuality, freedom and religion across generations, time and cultures. Paul Mendez is a fervent new writer with an original and urgent voice. ISBN 9780349700588 -
In 1973, twenty-year-old Moll Gladney takes a morning bus from her rural home and disappears. Bewildered and distraught, Paddy and Kit must confront an unbearable prospect: that they will never see their daughter again. Five years later, Moll returns. What - and who - she brings with her will change the course of her family's life forever. Beautiful and devastating, this exploration of loss, alienation and the redemptive power of love reaffirms Donal Ryan as one of the most talented and empathetic writers at work today. *SHORTLISTED for Dalkey Literary Awards Novel of the Year 2021* ISBN 9781784163044 -
When you leave Ireland aged 22 to spend your parents' money, it's called a gap year. When Ava leaves Ireland aged 22 to make her own money, she's not sure what to call it, but it involves:- a badly-paid job in Hong Kong, teaching English grammar to rich children;- Julian, who likes to spend money on Ava and lets her move into his guest room;- Edith, who Ava meets while Julian is out of town and actually listens to her when she talks;- money, love, cynicism, unspoken feelings and unlikely connections. Exciting times ensue. 'A sharp, smart, witty modern love story. I loved it' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY 'More than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers' lives' IRISH TIMES 'Droll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut' Hilary Mantel 'A frankly sensational book' Pandora Sykes *SHORTLISTED for Dalkey Literary Awards Emerging Writer of the Year 2021* ISBN 9781474613460 -
When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This'll be the third boyfriend Ayoola's dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede's long been in love with him, and isn't prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other... Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019. 'Sharp, explosive, hilarious' New York Times ISBN 9781786495983 -
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2017 Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans and she is approaching womanhood, where it is clear even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North. In Whitehead's razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South, the Underground Railroad has assumed a physical form: a dilapidated box car pulled along subterranean tracks by a steam locomotive, picking up fugitives wherever it can. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But its placid surface masks an infernal scheme designed for its unknowing black inhabitants. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher sent to find Cora, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom. At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world. As Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America, from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once the story of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shatteringly powerful meditation on history. ISBN 9780708898406 -
From the master of the absurd, these two stories of an unnamed vagrant contending with decay and death combine bleakness with the blackest of humour. ISBN 9780241338971 -
Stuck in a dead-end job, broken-hearted, broke and estranged from her best friend: Violet's life is nothing like she thought it would be. She wants more - better friends, better sex, a better job - and she wants it now. So, when Lottie - who looks like the woman Violet wants to be when she grows up - offers Violet the chance to join her exciting start-up, she bites. Only it soon becomes clear that Lottie and her husband Simon are not only inviting Violet into their company, they are also inviting her into their lives. Seduced by their townhouse, their expensive candles and their Friday-night sex parties, Violet cannot tear herself away from Lottie, Simon or their friends. But is this really the more Violet yearns for? Will it grant her the satisfaction she is so desperately seeking? Insatiable is about women and desire - lust, longing and the need to be loved. It is a story about being unable to tell whether you are running towards your future or simply running away from your past. The result is at once tender and sad, funny and hopeful. 'Extremely funny, touching and wonderfully refreshing on women and sexual desire' Marian Keyes 'As filthy as it is funny, you won't be able to put it down' Dolly Alderton ISBN 9780751580198 -
Wallace has spent his summer in the lab breeding a strain of microscopic worms. He is four years into a biochemistry degree at a lakeside Midwestern university, a life that’s a world away from his childhood in Alabama. His father died a few weeks ago, but Wallace didn’t go back for the funeral, and he hasn’t told his friends – Miller, Yngve, Cole and Emma. For reasons of self-preservation, he has become used to keeping a wary distance even from those closest to him. But, over the course of one blustery end-of-summer weekend, the destruction of his work and a series of intense confrontations force Wallace to grapple with both the trauma of the past, and the question of the future. ‘Real Life is a tender, deeply-felt, perfectly-paced novel about solitude and society, sexuality and race. It explores what the past means and, with brilliance and sympathy, dramatizes the intricacies of love and grief.’ – Colm Tóibín Longlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2020. ISBN 9781911547747 -
Eimear McBride's award-winning debut novel tells the story of a young woman's relationship with her brother, and the long shadow cast by his childhood brain tumour. It is a shocking and intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings and chaotic sexuality of a vulnerable and isolated protagonist. To read A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing is to plunge inside its narrator's head, experiencing her world at first hand. This isn't always comfortable - but it is always a revelation. ISBN 9780571317165 -
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for 'kidnapping' the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix's desire to help. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know - about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege. ISBN 9781526612168 -
Vanessa Wye was fifteen-years-old when she first had sex with her English teacher.She is now thirty-two and in the storm of allegations against powerful men in 2017, the teacher, Jacob Strane, has just been accused of sexual abuse by another former student. Vanessa is horrified by this news, because she is quite certain that the relationship she had with Strane wasn't abuse. It was love. She's sure of that. Forced to rethink her past, to revisit everything that happened, Vanessa has to redefine the great love story of her life - her great sexual awakening - as rape. Now she must deal with the possibility that she might be a victim, and just one of many.Nuanced, uncomfortable, bold and powerful, My Dark Vanessa goes straight to the heart of some of the most complex issues our age. ISBN 9780008342289 -
In an unnamed city, where to be interesting is dangerous, an eighteen-year-old woman has attracted the unwanted and unavoidable attention of a powerful and frightening older man, 'Milkman'. In this community, where suggestions quickly become fact, where gossip and hearsay can lead to terrible consequences, what can she do to stop a rumour once it has started? Milkman is persistent, the word is spreading, and she is no longer in control... 'Utterly compelling.' Irish Times ISBN 9780571338757 -
Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finns Hotel. She enjoys the liveliness of her adopted city and on June 16Bloomsdayher life is changed when she meets Dubliner James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows Joyce in pursuit of a life beyond Ireland, and they surround themselves with a buoyant group of friends that grows to include Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and Sylvia Beach. But as their life unfolds, Nora finds herself in conflict between their intense desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living in poverty throughout Europe. She desperately wants literary success for Jim, believing in his singular gift and knowing that he thrives on being the toast of the town, and it eventually provides her with a security long lacking in her life and his work. So even when Jim writes, drinks, and gambles his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, but at a cost to her own happiness and that of their children. With gorgeous and emotionally resonant prose, Nora is a heartfelt portrayal of love, ambition, and the quiet power of an ordinary woman who was, in fact, extraordinary. ISBN 9781848408500 -
"Stuck and in need of a heart-warming read? Look no further, just dive straight into the life of Ellis & the people that walk through his life and change it forever. Tender, touching, beautiful – another gem of Winman’s not to be missed." Marta. ISBN 9780755390977 -
In The End of the World is a Cul de Sac the political is intertwined with the personal, as Louise Kennedy reveals how ordinary lives can get caught up in a wider, national drama. Sarah, abandoned by her partner, sits alone in their brand new house. Orla, facing the strange revenge of her husband, is forced to judge a contest in the local f te. Peter raises his daughter in rural seclusion, at what might as well be the end of the world. Kennedy started writing at the age of forty-seven, and her prose is instilled with a clarity and wisdom born of her own experience. This collection announces a major new voice in literary fiction for the twenty-first century. ISBN 9781526623317 -
Forced to flee the scandal brewing in her hometown, Catherine Goggin finds herself pregnant and alone, in search of a new life at just sixteen. She knows she has no choice but to believe that the nun she entrusts her child to will find him a better life. Cyril Avery is not a real Avery, or so his parents are constantly reminding him. Adopted as a baby, he's never quite felt at home with the family that treats him more as a curious pet than a son. But it is all he has ever known. And so begins one man's desperate search to find his place in the world. Unspooling and unseeing, Cyril is a misguided, heart-breaking, heartbroken fool. Buffeted by the harsh winds of circumstance towards the one thing that might save him from himself, but when opportunity knocks, will he have the courage, finally, take it? ISBN 9781784161002 -
Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity. Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is depressed. Kim Jiyoung is mad. Kim Jiyoung is her own woman. Kim Jiyoung is every woman. Translated by Jamie Chang. ISBN 9781471184307 -
"If you love a story with a twist, these dark tales from Shirley Jackson will delight and intrigue you. From the woman who gets off her bus at the wrong stop, to the man who is convinced he's being followed home, each of these brilliant tales is a study in how to write the perfect short story and the unexpected endings are guaranteed to surprise and disconcert you. Shirley Jackson is a master at writing our darkest fears!" Bob ISBN 9780241308493 -
Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan is the long awaited second collection from the Booker-shortlisted author of Small Things Like These. A long-haired woman moves into the priest's house and sets fire to his furniture. That Christmas, the electricity goes out. A forester mortgages his land and goes off to a seaside town looking for a wife. He finds a woman eating alone in the hotel. A farmer wakes half-naked and realises the money is almost gone. And in the title story, a priest waits on the altar for a bride and battles, all that wedding day, with his memories of a love affair. In her long-awaited second collection, Claire Keegan observes an Ireland wrestling with its past. ISBN 9780571233076 -
"An unusual setting for an unusual novel. Incredibly atmospheric, the story follows a young woman working in a guest house on the border of North and South Korea. Used to the harsh landscape, she soon learns to see the world through the eyes of a mysterious artist. A beautiful coming-of-age story." Rebekah ISBN 9781911547549 -
They were the new icons of rock and roll, fated to burn bright and not fade away - until it all came crashing down... There was Daisy, rock and roll force of nature, brilliant songwriter and unapologetic drug addict, the half-feral child who rose to superstardom. There was Camila, the frontman's wife, too strong-willed to let the band implode - and all too aware of the electric connection between her husband and Daisy. There was Karen, ice-cool keyboardist, a ferociously independent woman in a world that wasn't ready for her. And there were the men surrounding them: the feuding, egotistical Dunne brothers, the angry guitarist chafing on the sidelines, the drummer binge-drinking on his boat, the bassist trying to start a family amid a hedonistic world tour. They were creative minds striking sparks from each other, ready to go up in flames. It's never just about the music... ISBN 9781787462144 -
"I've been a big fan of Pat Barker since her Regeneration trilogy and in this new novel she shows us what a skilful & imaginative writer she is. History is so often told to us through the words and deeds of men, but what of women’s voices? I’ve never read The Iliad but this story of Briseis, the queen given to Achilles as a bed-slave after the murder of her family is enthralling. A clever & engaging re-telling of a classic story." Bob. When the Greek Queen Helen is kidnapped by Trojans, the Greeks sail in pursuit, besieging the city of Troy. Trapped in the Greek soldiers' camp is another captured queen, Briseis. Condemned to be bed-slave to Achilles, the man who butchered her family, she becomes a pawn in a menacing game between bored and frustrated warriors. In the centuries after this most famous war, history will write her off, a footnote in a bloody story scripted by vengeful men - but Briseis has a very different tale to tell... Shorlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Costa Novel Award and the Gordon Burn Prize. ISBN 9780241983201 -
We read because we want to experience lives and emotions beyond our own, to learn, to see with others' eyes. The 32 is a celebration of working-class voices from the thirty-two counties of the island of Ireland. Edited by Paul McVeigh, this intimate and illuminating collection features memoir and essays from established and emerging Irish voices including Kevin Barry, Dermot Bolger, Roddy Doyle, Lisa McInerney, Lyra McKee and many more. Too often, working-class writers find that the hurdles they come up against are higher and harder to leap over than those faced by writers from more affluent backgrounds. As in Common People - an anthology of working-class writers edited by Kit de Waal and the inspiration behind this collection - The 32 sees writers who have made that leap reach back to give a helping hand to those coming up behind. Without these working-class voices, without the vital reflection of real lives, or role models for working-class readers and writers, literature will be poorer. We will all be poorer. ISBN 9781800180246