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The Wasted Vigil (Vintage International Ser.)
by Nadeem Aslam'This land and its killing epochs.'Nadeem Aslam's dazzling new novel takes place in modern-day Afghanistan. A Russian woman named Lara arrives at the house of Marcus Caldwell, an Englishman and widower living in an old perfume factory in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains. It is possible that Marcus's daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara's brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously. But like Marcus's wife, Zameen is dead; a victim of the age in which she was born. In the days that follow, further people will arrive at the house: David Town and James Palantine, two Americans who have spent much of their adult lives in the area, for their respective reasons; Dunia, a young Afghan teacher; and Casa, a radicalised young man intent on his own path.The stories and histories that unfold - interweaving and overlapping, and spanning nearly a quarter of a century - tell of the terrible afflictions that have plagued Afghanistan. A work of deepest humanity, The Wasted Vigil offers a timely portrait of this region, of love during war and conflict. At once angry, unflinching and memorably beautiful, it marks Nadeem Aslam as a world writer of major importance.
Where Roses Never Die (Varg Veum #18)
by Gunnar StaalesenSeptember 1977. Mette Misvær, a three-year-old girl disappears without trace from the sandpit outside her home. Her tiny, close middle-class community in the tranquil suburb of Nordas is devastated, but their enquiries and the police produce nothing. Curtains twitch, suspicions are raised, but Mette is never found.Almost 25 years later, as the expiry date for the statute of limitations draws near, Mette’s mother approaches PI Varg Veum, in a last, desperate attempt to find out what happened to her daughter. As Veum starts to dig, he uncovers an intricate web of secrets, lies and shocking events that have been methodically concealed. When another brutal incident takes place, a pattern begins to emerge…Chilling, shocking and full of extraordinary twists and turns, Where Roses Never Die reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s foremost thriller writers.'Mature and captivating’ Herald Scotland‘One of the finest Nordic novelists - in the tradition of Henning Menkell’ Barry Forshaw, Independent‘Masterful pacing’ Publishers Weekly‘Norwegian master Staalesen is an author who eschews police procedural narratives for noirish private eye pieces’ Financial Times‘Staalesen is one of my very favourite Scandinavian authors and this is a series with very sharp teeth’ Ian Rankin‘A Norwegian Chandler’ Jo Nesbo‘One of Norway’s most skilful storytellers’ Johan Theorin
The Love Songs of Nathan J. Swirsky
by Christopher HopeIt is the early fifties in Badminton, Johannesburg, where all the street-names recall British kings and queens and where retired soldiers relive the desert war in their dusty gardens. This small-town dreamscape erupts with the arrival of Nathan J. Swirsky, a pink volcano with an extravagant moustache; a magical pharmacist who speaks of exotic travels to faraway, forbidden places. In alarm and delight, the children of Badminton observe his unlikely resurrection...
Maxwell's Grave (Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell mystery #3)
by M.J. TrowWhen Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell took his kids from Leighford High on an archaelogical dig, all should have been learning and fun. The professionals were very excited - was the grave they had found that of Alfred the Great? No, because the corpse was not Saxon and it wasn't a king, but an altogether more recent murder.No sooner has the first body been found than another, a policeman on the case, is found dead at the wheel of his car. What knowledge did he possess that led to his death? And does his colleague, Maxwell's partner Jacquie Carpenter, unwittingly have the same information?Maxwell locks horns with the great and not so good in a vicious world of skulduggery, academic back-biting and religious mania which can only end in murder.
The Taliban Cricket Club: A Novel (Playaway Adult Fiction Ser.)
by Timeri MurariRukhsana, a spirited young journalist in Kabul, is summoned to the infamous Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to face its terrifying minister, Zorak Wahidi. A cricket tournament is announced, with the winning team to travel to Pakistan for training and then represent Afghanistan at an international level. In reality, the idea is ludicrous. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness and equality. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play cricket, except Rukhsana. The tournament offers hope - a means of escape for her brother and young cousins. And for Rukhsana, escape is essential - Wahidi wants to marry her, a frightening proposition which will enslave her in his home. With the help of her cousins, Rukhsana devises an audacious plan that could ensure their freedom. All they have to do is learn to play cricket - and win. A soaring novel of resilience, strength, hope and tenderness, The Taliban Cricket Club reveals how love can overcome, and outwit, the power of tyrants.
Shakespeare, Authority, Sexuality: Unfinished Business in Cultural Materialism (Accents on Shakespeare)
by Alan SinfieldShakespeare, Authority, Sexuality is a powerful reassessment of cultural materialism as a way of understanding textuality, history and culture, by one of the founding figures of this critical movement. Alan Sinfield examines cultural materialism both as a body of ongoing argument and as it informs particular works by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, especially in relation to sexuality in early-modern England and queer theory. The book has several interlocking preoccupations: theories of textuality and reading the political location of Shakespearean plays and the organisation of literary culture today the operation of state power in the early-modern period and the scope for dissidence the sex/gender system in that period and the application of queer theory in history. These preoccupations are explored in and around a range of works by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Throughout the book Sinfield re-presents cultural materialism, framing it not as a set of propositions, as has often been done, but as a cluster of unresolved problems. His brilliant, lucid and committed readings demonstrate that the ‘unfinished business’ of cultural materialism - and Sinfield’s work in particular - will long continue to produce new questions and challenges for the fields of Shakespeare and Renaissance Studies.
Mama Dada: Gertrude Stein's Avant-Garde Theatre (Studies in Modern Drama)
by Sarah Bay-ChengMama Dada is the first book to examine Gertrude Stein's drama within the history of the theatrical and cinematic avant-gardes. Since the publication of Stein's major writings by the Library of America in 1998, interest in her dramatic writing has escalated, particularly in American avant-garde theaters. This book addresses the growing interest in Stein's theater by offering the first detailed analyses of her major plays, and by considering them within a larger history of avant-garde performance. In addition to comparing Stein's plays and theories to those generated by Dadaists, Surrealists, and Futurists, this study further explores the uniqueness of Stein via these theatrical movements, including discussions of her interest in American life and drama, which argues that a significant and heretofore unrecognized relationship exists among the histories of avant-garde drama, cinema, and homosexuality. By examining and explaining the relationship among these three histories, the dramatic writings of Stein can best be understood, not only as examples of literary modernism, but also as influential dramatic works that have had a lasting effect on the American theatrical avant-
The Old Man and His Sons
by Heðin BrúThese are the Faroe Islands as they were some fifty years ago: sea-washed and remote, with one generation still tied to the sea for sustenance, and a younger generation turning towards commerce and clerical work in the towns. At the post-hunt whale-meat auction, the normally cautious Ketil enthusiastically bids for more meat than he can afford. Thus in his seventieth year, Ketil and his wife, along with their youngest son, struggle to repay their debt. They scavenge for driftwood and stranded seals, and knit up a storm of jumpers to sell in town. A touching novel that deftly captures a vanishing way of life. 'The Faroese voted this their book of the 20th century; by any nation's standards it's a classic.' Financial Times
Spies: A Novel (New Windmills Ser.)
by Michael FraynIn the quiet cul-de-sac where Keith and Stephen live the only immediate signs of the Second World War are the blackout at night and a single random bombsite. But the two boys start to suspect that all is not what it seems when one day Keith announces a disconcerting discovery: the Germans have infiltrated his own family. And when the secret underground world they have dreamed up emerges from the shadows they find themselves engulfed in mysteries far deeper and more painful than they had bargained for.'Bernard Shaw couldn't do it, Henry James couldn't do it, but the ingenious English author Michael Frayn does do it: write novels and plays with equal success ... Frayn's novel excels.' John updike, New Yorker'A beautifully accomplished, richly nostalgic novel about supposed second-world-war espionage seen through the eyes of a young boy.' Sunday Times'Deeply satisfying . . . Frayn has written nothing better.' Independent
The Jewel
by Catherine CzerkawskaA luscious historical novel, The Jewel brings to glorious life the dramatic years of Jean Armour and Robert Burns’s courtship, and their tempestuous, passionate married life, against a background simmering with political intrigue and turmoil. Jean, a beautiful young woman with the voice of a nightingale, set young Rab’s heart aflame from the first. Jean’s father tried to protect her from the advances of the mercurial ploughman-poet, whose roving eye was notorious. But she would not be kept from him. Their marriage endured against all odds, its rocky course revealing Jean’s indomitable strength and character. How Jean lived with – and frequently without – her famous husband is surely Scotland’s greatest love story.
Emerald Springs
by Fleur McDonaldAfter finishing university, Amelia Bennett returns to her home town. Determined to lose her old reputation for being scatty, she works hard to prove herself as the treasurer of the local rodeo committee.Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the town's history, Amelia is driving the bags of cash into town when she becomes the victim of a terrifying smash and grab. Injured and distraught after her ordeal, she's even more devastated when she finds out that she and her boyfriend Paul are in the frame for the crime.To prove her innocence and that of the man she loves, Amelia must convince a sceptical detective that her account of what happened does add up and that he must help her track down the real culprits...With its cracker plot, feisty heroine and engaging love story, Emerald Springs will have you reading well into the night.
The Assistant (The\collected Works Of Bernard Malamud Ser.)
by Bernard MalamudTime magazine's 'All-Time list of 100 Novels'Frank Alpine, a drifter fleeing from his past, runs straight into struggling Brooklyn grocer Morris Bober. Seeing a chance to atone for past sins, Frank becomes Bober's assistant and keeps shop when the owner takes ill. But it is Bober's daughter, Helen, who gives Frank a real reason to stay around, even as he begins to steal from the store.Widely considered as one of the great American-Jewish novels, The Assistant is a classic look at the social and racial divides of a country still in its infancy, and a stunning evocation of the immigrant experience - of cramped circumstances and great expectations.
Bones in the Nest (Sean Denton #2)
by Helen CadburyThe Chasebridge Killer is out; racial tension is rising and the mutilated body of a young Muslim man is found in the stairwell of a tower block in Doncaster. As he gets drawn into the case, Sean Denton’s family life and his police job become dangerously entwined. Meanwhile a young woman is trying to piece her life back together, but someone is out there; someone who will never let her forget what she’s done.
Dozy Bear and the Secret of Food (The World of Dozy Bear #2)
by Katie BlackburnGrumble grumble went Dozy's tummy. He was hungry! 'I'll go and find some FOOD,' Dozy decided, and off he trotted into the woods. And that's how his adventure began!The curious little Dozy Bear learns the secret of food in this innovative, thoughtful picture book which encourages youngsters to try something new . . . Dozy is hungry, but he doesn't like the food that Mama and Papa bear like. He only wants fish! But can a food adventure with the other animals in the forest change his mind? This charming story gently introduces the idea that trying new foods can be fun - perfect for any parent who has ever struggled at dinnertime.
The Beauty Room
by Regi ClaireAfter the death of her mother, Celia Roth begins life anew by redecorating the house where they lived together -the house containing her mothers beauty room. But as the new paint covers their shared history, layer upon layer of dark truths begin to surface. Celias attempts to wrestle free from her mothers shadow falter when she receives a bouquet of black tulips, and realizes she is being watched. The revelation of long-held family secrets and a passionate new affair combine to shatter Celias secure life in the Swiss gem trade. Forced to confront her own grief and guilt, finally she must find the strength and courage to lay her familys past to rest. "The Beauty Room" is a compelling story of intense family relations. With a beautifully compassionate voice, Regi Claire talks of the pain of coping with the loss of those you loved and those you secretly grew to hate.
Kingdom Swann: The Story of a Photographer
by Miles Gibson'Woman will be the death of me,' mutters Kingdom Swann, peering up at the nude woman hung by her wrists from a pillar. An impressive old man with a wonderful wealth of beard, he appears the very picture of Victorian respectability. Yet behind the walls of his Piccadilly studio the erotic fantasies of a generation are being acted out for the eye of his camera. For this master of the epic nude painting has turned his hand to pornography: art has come to life and all hell is breaking loose . . .'With enormous relish Gibson presents a memorable and hugely enjoyable portrait of both the man and the world he inhabited.' Today'As in Daniel Defoe's Roxanna, a voyeuristic fascination plays games with high morality.' Times'Wonderful fun to read.' Daily Mail
Dead Heading (Sloan and Crosby #24)
by Catherine AirdWhen Jack Haines reports a break-in at his greenhouse, the motive of the intruder is unclear. Other than the destruction of some expensive orchids, no damage has been done and nothing seems to be missing. But Detectives Sloan and Crosby sense something sinister, and soon their suspicions are confirmed. Similar reports are multiplying and sabotage is the word on everyone's lips.The pair are drawn into an equally perplexing case when the mysterious Miss Enid Maude Osgathorp goes missing. Investigations begin at her deserted abode, Canonry Cottage, where the detectives soon discover that the house has been raided. Shattered glass is found in the larder and traces of blood bespatter the floor – a disturbing event has taken place, but the identity of the perpetrator is unknown.It soon becomes clear that the cases are linked, but will this provide the clues necessary to solve the mystery? Detectives Sloan and Crosby aim to find out . . .
Jellicle Cats (Old Possum's Cats)
by T. S. EliotJellicle Cats come one and all.Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.Join the Jellicle Cats under the Jellicle Moon in the forth picture-book pairing from Arthur Robins and T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's cats, as they dance the night away.To sit alongside other classics such as The Gruffalo, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and Spot.
Tudor Folk Tales
by Dave TongeIn Tudor times the ‘common sort’ were no different from us, laughing together, mocking each other and sharing bawdy tales in tavern yards, marketplaces and anywhere else that people came together. These stories were later collected in the cheap print of the period, and professional storyteller Dave Tonge has sought them out to assemble here. Within these pages hide smooth-talking tricksters, lusty knaves, wayward youths and stories of the eternal struggle to wear the breeches in the family, for a sometimes coarse but often comic telling of the everyday ups and downs in Tudor life.
The Girls of Ennismore: A heart-rending Irish saga
by Patricia FalveyIreland, 1900. Two girls meet. They are from vastly different worlds, but will be united in friendship through loves, losses and wars. A sweeping, heartrending saga for fans of Diney Costeloe and Rosie Clarke. It's the early years of the twentieth century, and Victoria Bell and Rosie Killeen are best friends. Growing up in rural Ireland's County Mayo, their friendship is forged against the glorious backdrop of Ennismore House. However, Victoria, born of the aristocracy, and Rosie, daughter of a local farmer, both find that the disparity of their class and the simmering social tension in Ireland will push their friendship to the brink...
Dead End: A Detective Geraldine Steel Mystery (A DI Geraldine Steel Thriller #3)
by Leigh Russell‘BRILLIANT’ – JEFFERY DEAVER * ‘UNMISSABLE’ – LEE CHILD * ‘COMPELLING’ – PETER JAMESHeadmistress Abigail Kirby is dead. A potential witness has been murdered. And for DI Geraldine Steel, the stakes have been raised yet higher. Abigail’s teenage daughter, Lucy, is missing, believed to have run away with a girl she met online. Time is quickly running out for Geraldine before her naivety costs Lucy her life.But with a serial killer on the loose, Geraldine’s own life is in danger, and though her Sergeant Ian Peterson makes a shocking discovery, could it be too late to save her from a dreadful fate?'Good, old-fashioned, heart-hammering police thriller...a no-frills delivery of pure excitement’ - SAGA MagazineFor fans of Peter James, Angela Marsons and Robert BryndzaLook out for more DI Geraldine Steel investigations in Cut Short, Road Closed, Dead End, Death Bed, Stop Dead, Fatal Act, Killer Plan, Murder Ring, Deadly Alibi, Class Murder and Death RopeDon't miss the DI Ian Peterson series: Cold Sacrifice, Race to Death and Blood Axe
Choose Life. Choose Leith.: Trainspotting on Location
by Tim BellBy examining the book, the play and the film, Choose Life. Choose Leith. both critically analyses the Trainspotting phenomenon in its various forms, and contextualises the importance of the location of Leith and the culture of 1980s Britain. Looking in detail at the history of Leith, the drug culture, the spread of HIV/AIDs, and how Trainspotting affected drug policy, Leith and the Scottish identity, the book highlights the importance of Trainspotting. Choose Life. Choose Leith. acts as a reference book, a record of the times and a background as to the history that led to the real-life situation and the publication of the book.
Bachelors
by Adalbert StifterVictor leaves his foster mother's home to begin his working life. His journey takes him to a remote island, where he visits his only relative, an uncle whom he has not met before. The old man, who has never known love, resides in a barricaded mansion, surrounded by an atmosphere of death and decay. Victor finds himself a virtual prisoner on this mysterious island - and is forced to confront his own past, if he is ever to regain control of his life.
The Betrayal of the Living: Blood Ninja; Lord Oda's Revenge; The Betrayal Of The Living (Blood Ninja #Bks. 1-3)
by Nick LakeTaro is at a crossroads: He has vanquished Lord Oda for good, but with no land and no title, he has no hope of marrying Hana, the daughter of a daimyo. So when Taro receives news of a murderous dragon and the large reward for killing it, he and his friends find themselves on a dangerous quest to slay the beast.Their mission has the potential to save the people of Japan - but failure will result in the deaths of thousands. And dragons are not the only monsters they will encounter: The dead, led by the odious Kenji Kira, have begun to rise, and they have Taro in their sights.In this heart-stopping conclusion to the Blood Ninja trilogy, the future of all feudal Japan is in danger, and everything Taro holds dear will be threatened. But it is the betrayal of flesh and blood - his own flesh and blood - that may be his ultimate undoing.
The First Day of the Rest of My Life
by Cathy LambIt’s time to start living againMadeline O'Shea tells people what to do with their lives. A renowned life coach, she inspires thousands of women through her thriving practice-exuding enviable confidence along with her stylish suits and sleek hair. But her confidence, just like her fashionable demeanor, is all a front.For decades, Madeline has lived in fear of her traumatic past becoming public. Now a reporter is reinvestigating the notorious crime that put Madeline's mother behind bars, threatening to destroy her elaborate façade. Only Madeline's sister, Annie, and their frail grandparents know about her childhood – but lately Madeline has reason to wonder if her grandparents also have a history they've been keeping from her.The First Day of the Rest of My Life is an eloquent and triumphant tale of a fierce act of love, a family's legacy, and one woman's awakening to her own power – with no secrets . . .