It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
The year is 1984, and life in Oceania is ruled by the Party. Under the gaze of Big Brother, Winston Smith yearns for intimacy and love - 'thought crimes' that, if uncovered, would mean imprisonment, or death. But Winston is not alone in his defiance, and an illicit affair will draw him into the mysterious Brotherhood and the realities of resistance.
Nineteen Eighty-Four has been described as chilling, absorbing, satirical, momentous, prophetic and terrifying. It is all these things, and more.
The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Robert Harris.
*This stunning edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Animal Farm and Down and Out in Paris and London.*
Laurent Binet lives and works in France. His first novel, HHhH, was an international bestseller which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman, among other prizes. The 7th Function of Language won the Prix de la FNAC and Prix Interallie. Civilisations is a bestseller that has won the Grand Prix de l''Academie francaise.>
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell's fable of revolutionary farm animals - the steadfast horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic pigs Snowball and Napoleon, and the deafening choir of sheep - who overthrow their elitist human master only to find themselves subject to a new authority, is one of the most famous warnings ever written.
Rejected by such eminent publishing figures as Victor Gollancz, Jonathan Cape and T.S. Eliot due to its daringly open criticism of Stalin, Animal Farm was published to great acclaim by Martin Secker and Warburg on 17 August 1945. One reviewer wrote 'In a hundred years' time perhaps Animal Farm ... may simply be a fairy story: today it is a fairy story with a good deal of point.'
Seventy-five years since its first publication, Orwell's immortal satire remains an unparalleled masterpiece and more relevant than ever.
The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.
*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Nineteen Eighty-Four and Down and Out in Paris and London.*
It's 1945: a German bomber flies over Iceland in a blizzard. Puzzlingly, there are both German and American officers on board. One of the senior German officers claims that their best chance of survival is to try to walk to the nearest farm and sets off, a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. He soon disappears into the white vastness.
Kotaro Isaka (Author) Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-wining writer who is published around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers'' Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize and twelve of his books have been adapted for film or TV.
Two decades after Portuguese novelist and Nobel Laureate José Saramago shocked the religious world with his novel The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, he has done it again with Cain, a satire of the Old Testament. Written in the last years of Saramago's life, it tackles many of the moral and logical non sequiturs created by a wilful, authoritarian God, and forms part of Saramago's long argument with religion.
The stories in this book are witty and provocative. After Adam and Eve have been cast out of Eden, Eve decides to go back and ask the angel guarding the gate if he can give her some of the fruit that is going to waste inside. The angel agrees, and although Eve swears to Adam that she offered the angel nothing in return, their first child is suspiciously blond and fair-skinned. Cain, in his wandering, overhears a strange conversation between a man named Abraham and his son Isaac - and manages to prevent the father from murdering the son. The angel appointed by God to prevent the murder arrives late due to a wing malfunction. Cain brushes off his apology. 'What would have happened if I hadn't been here?' Cain asks, 'and what kind of god would ask a father to sacrifice his own son?'
Elizabeth Costello is a writer of international renown. Famous for an early novel from which, it seems, she will never escape, she has reached the stage where her remaining function is to be venerated and applauded. What matters to her is the search for a means of articulating her vision.
In the wake of his parents'' tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne.
Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that Tom prank called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Black Mirror Wood. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear . . .
You know who I am. She''s going to burn. The one you love is going to burn. There''s not a thing you can do about it.
When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence-and preserve his sanity-as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction.
Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story.
Philida decides to risk her whole life by lodging a complaint against Francois, who has reneged on his promise to set her free. His father has ordered him to marry a white woman from a prominent Cape Town family, and Philida will be sold on to owners in the harsh country up north.
'Arnaldur Indridason is a literary phenomenon - and it's easy to see why' HARLAN COBEN
'Indridason writes crime novels that are as chilling as the landscape where they're set' ANN CLEEVES
'The undisputed King of the Icelandic Thriller' Guardian
A lifetime of secrets. A murder that will expose the truth.
A woman is found murdered in her Reykjavík home, her apartment ransacked. On her desk lies a note with retired detective Konrad's phone number. Days earlier, she had begged him to find the child she gave up nearly fifty years ago. But Konrad, reluctant to reopen old wounds, turned her away. Now, haunted by guilt, he vows to uncover the truth - for her and for himself.
As Konrad digs into the woman's past, he is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Each revelation points to a hidden life that connects her death to a decades-old murder - and to shadows from Konrad's own family history.
The Quiet Mother is a masterful blend of human tragedy and relentless suspense, where every discovery comes at a cost. Arnaldur Indridason once again proves why he is the voice of Nordic Noir, delivering a harrowing tale of guilt and redemption.
'One of the greats of modern crime fiction' Sunday Times
'A work of genius' Steinthor Gudbjartsson, Iceland Monitor Daily
'Comprehensive proof that the crown rests securely on King Arnaldur's head' Financial Times
*OVER 20 MILLION BOOKS SOLD WORLDWIDE*
A pianist falls grandly, helplessly in love in this elegant new novella from the twice-Booker Prize winner The Pole tells the story of Witold Walczykiewicz, a vigorous, white-haired pianist, who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his Barcelona concert.
Although Beatriz, who is married, is initially unimpressed by Wittold, she soon finds herself pursued and ineluctably swept into his world. As he sends her letters, extends countless invitations to travel, and even visits her husband''s summer home in Mallorca, their unlikely relationship blossoms, though only on her terms.
As the power struggle between them intensifies -- Is it Beatriz who limits their passion by controlling her emotions? Or is it Witold, trying to force into life his dream of love? Evocative of Joyce''s ''The Dead,'' The Pole is a haunting work, evoking the ''inexhaustible palette of sensations, from blind love to compassion'' (El Pais) typical of Coetzee''s finest novels.
Published together with five exceptional stories, this new work from one of our greatest writers is a must for all literary connoisseurs.
When Anna McDonald's world is suddenly shattered, she tries to avoid her pain by listening to a true crime podcast. But when she hears one of the victim's names, she realises that this is a murder she can't ignore. This is a crime she must solve herself. CONVICTION isÿa topical, poignant thriller, touching on issues surrounding the #MeToo movement.
Jacquie Red Feather and her sister Opal grew up together, relying on each other during their unsettled childhood. As adults they were driven apart, but Jacquie is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. That's why she is there. Dene is there because he has been collecting stories to honour his uncle's death. Edwin is looking for his true father. Opal came to watch her boy Orvil dance. All of them are connected by bonds they may not yet understand. All of them are there for the cultural celebration that is the Big Oakland Powwow. But Tony Loneman is also there. And Tony has come to the Powwow with darker intentions. 'There There is a propulsive, groundbreaking novel, polyphonic and multigenerational, weaving together an array of contemporary Native American voices into a singularly dynamic and original meta-narrative about violence and recovery, about family and loss, about identity and power.' Derek Palacio
Freedom comes in many forms... At home full-time with her two-year-old son, an artist finds she is struggling. She is lonely and exhausted. She had imagined - what was it she had imagined? Her husband, always travelling for his work, calls her from faraway hotel rooms. One more toddler bedtime, and she fears she might lose her mind. Instead, quite suddenly, she starts gaining things, surprising things that happen one night when her child will not sleep. Sharper canines. Strange new patches of hair. New appetites, new instincts. And from deep within herself, a new voice... With its clear eyes on contemporary womanhood and sharp take on structures of power, Nightbitch is an outrageously original, joyfully subversive read that will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. Addictive enough to be devoured in one sitting, this is an unforgettable novel from a blazing new talent.
After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent by her mother to live for a year with her aunt and uncle. It is a year which will change her life.
The 1970s are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle''s big colonial mansion hides many secrets. It also has an unusual occupant in Pochiko, a Pygmy hippopotamus who is the last survivor from a time when the extensive gardens housed a zoo. But it is Tomoko''s growing friendship with her cousin Mina which has the most profound effect on her time with the family.
As the two girls share confidences and enthusiasms, encounter heartache and have their eyes opened to the workings of the adult world, they build an enduring bond which will change both of them.
Welcome to Soyangri Book Kitchen, where a woman leaves her busy life in Seoul to open a bookshop café in the countryside where guests can stay overnight.
The irresistible, escapist and cosy read to curl up with, for fans of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop.
Readers love it:
'A heartwarming and soothing journey' *****
'One of the best books I've read in a while... A beautiful book' *****
'A must read for anyone at a crossroads in their life' *****
'This book held my heart... profoundly deep and inspiring' *****
'Perfect for fans of cosy fiction with heart and delicious detail' *****
In a peaceful village in the countryside, far from the bustling heart of Seoul, lies a book lovers' paradise. With its wafts of delicious food and book-filled shelves, Soyangri Book Kitchen is managed by its plucky proprietor Yoojin. Her aim? To create a sanctuary for weary souls like herself.
But the book kitchen is more than just a place to eat or read - it's a place which offers its guests a true escape, not just inside the pages of its many books, but in the warm embrace of an overnight bookstay.
Over one year, seven people at a crossroads in their lives find their way to Yoojin's book kitchen. Among them are Da-in, a singer grappling with an identity crisis, Sohee, a promising lawyer confronted with a daunting medical diagnosis, and Soohyuk, a young musical director whose dreams have been stifled.
As they arrive in Soyangri, each of them will find their life subtly transformed by the magic of its books and the kindness of its people.
A lavishly illustrated edition of Murakami's classic story.
Katagiri found a giant frog waiting for him in his apartment. It was powerfully built, standing over six feet tall on its hind legs. A skinny little man no more than five foot three, Katagiri was overwhelmed by the frog's imposing bulk.
'Call me "Frog,"' said the frog in a clear, strong voice.
Fully illustrated and beautifully designed, this special edition of Murakami's celebrated short story sees the bewildered Katagiri find meaning in his humdrum life through joining forces with Frog in an effort to save Tokyo from an existential threat.
'No other author mixes domestic, fantastic and esoteric elements into such weirdly bewitching shades' Financial Times
'A master storyteller' Sunday Times
A pure pleasure of a novel set in Georgian London, where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance. There is a fine line between coincidence and fate... London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents'' famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle''s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young man seeking acceptance into the Society of Antiquaries. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore her parents'' shop to its former glory, and to escape her uncle. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has ever known about her life, her family and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason. Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora deals with themes of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.
**From the global crime sensation comes a NEW gritty standalone thriller**
Nesbo deserves to be crowned the king of all crime thriller writers'' Sunday Express
Every killer has a story.
When a small-time crook is shot down in the street, all signs point to a lone wolf, a sniper who has seemingly vanished into thin air.
To tell it he needs to get caught.
Down-and-out detective, Bob Oz is sitting in a dive bar in Minneapolis when he gets the call: there''s been another murder, and they don''t think it will be the last.
And this wolf wants the world to know...
As the body count grows, Oz suspects that something more sinister is at play. And the closer he gets the more disturbed he becomes. Because the serial killer reminds him of someone: himself.
He''s only just getting started.
Wolf Hour is a gritty, standalone thriller jam-packed with unexpected twists, dark secrets, and bubbling personal and political tension, from crime writing''s king of the cliffhanger.
A joyful queer love story from the author of Japanese cult hit DIARY OF A VOID
There she stood. A goddess. I was in love with the marble goddess.
When Rika Horauchi accepts an unusual new part-time job, she never expects to fall in love.
Rika has been tasked with talking to Venus, to keep her company when the museum is closed on Mondays. As Venus comes to life in the quiet of their surroundings, she opens up new worlds for Rika, and they speak about everything. But when the museum's curator, Hashibami, makes it clear he wants to keep Venus for himself, what will Rika do?
When the Museum is Closed is by turns charming, funny and surprising, a love story about our perceptions of beauty, overcoming loneliness and breaking free.
Translated by Yuki Tejima
READERS LOVE WHEN THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED:
'I quickly became addicted'
'Lyrical and enchanting'
'Filled with comedy, yet it constantly makes the reader question societal norms'
'Unlike anything I've ever read'
'Effortlessly blends the everyday with the fantastical'
'Fun, charming... if you've ever struggled with self-doubt, anxiety or just feeling like you don't quite belong you'll relate to and enjoy'
We are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that 'they' must never do it again. But who are 'they'?
HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance - including Eco's iconic essay 'Ur-Fascism', which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini.
Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times.
If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future.
Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Do not forget.'
'He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' Guardian
