Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020 Longlisted for the (US) National Book Award for Fiction 2020 ''We were bowled over by this first novel, which creates an amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love.'' The judges of the Booker Prize ''Douglas Stuart has written a first novel of rare and lasting beauty.'' Observer It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother''s sense of snobbish propriety. The miners'' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no'' right . But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart''s Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst''s The Line of Beauty , it also recalls the work of edouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.
B>The controversial Sunday Times bestseller./b>br>b>/b>br>b>Candid, fearless and provocative /b>b>-/b>b> the author of American Psycho on who he is and what he thinks is wrong with the world today. /b> Bret Easton Ellis is most famous for his era-defining novel American Psycho and its terrifying anti-hero, Patrick Bateman. With that book, and many times since, Ellis proved himself to be one of the world's most fearless and clear-sighted observers of society - the glittering surface and the darkness beneath.In White, his first work of non-fiction, Ellis offers a wide-ranging exploration of what the hell is going on right now. He tells personal stories from his own life. He writes with razor-sharp precision about the music, movies, books and TV he loves and hates. He examines the ways our culture, politics and relationships have changed over the last four decades. He talks about social media, Hollywood celebrities and Donald Trump. Ellis considers conflicting positions without flinching and adheres to no status quo. His forthright views are powered by a fervent belief in artistic freedom and freedom of speech. Candid, funny, entertaining and blisteringly honest, he offers opinions that are impossible to ignore and certain to provoke. What he values above all is the truth. 'The culture at large seemed to encourage discourse,' he writes, 'but what it really wanted to do was shut down the individual.' Bret Easton Ellis will not be shut down.
Raise your hand if you''ve been personally victimised by this funny, weird, razor-sharp, intensely compassionate, subversive, sweet, electrifyingly romantic knockout of a book. Casey freaking McQuiston, you''ve done it again.''>
Jane Austen's final novel is her most mature and wickedly satirical. It follows the story of Anne Elliott, who as a teenager, was engaged to a seemingly ideal man, Frederick Wentworth. But after being persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that he is too poor to be a suitable match, Anne ends their engagement. When they are reacquainted eight years later, their circumstances are transformed: Frederick is returning triumphantly from the Napoleonic War, while Anne's fortunes are floundering. Will their past regrets prevent them from finding future happiness?Gorgeously illustrated by Hugh Thomson, this Macmillan Collector's Library edition of Persuasion also includes an afterword by author and critic Henry Hitchings.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.
Jeffrey Lockhart has been summoned to The Convergence: a remote and secret compound where death is exquisitely, cryogenically controlled.He is there to say goodbye to his stepmother, Artis, who has chosen to surrender her dying body; preserving it until a future time when biomedical advances and new technologies can return her to a life of transcendent promise. And his healthy father, Ross, might join her.br>Hypnotic and seductive, Zero K is a visionary novel about the legacies we leave, the nobility of death, and the ultimate worth of 'the mingled astonishments of our time, here, on earth.
Aged ten, Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthier relations, the Bertrams, at Mansfield Park. However, life there is not as she imagined. Treated with disdain by three of her cousins, she finds her only comfort in the kindness of the fourth, Edmund. As they grow, their friendship develops into romantic love - until the arrival of Henry Crawford and his charming sister Mary causes an emotional upheaval that no one in the family expects. With psychological insight and sparkling wit, Jane Austen paints an irresistibly lifelike portrait of shifting values and split loyalties.This gorgeous edition of Mansfield Park is delightfully illustrated by the celebrated Hugh Thomson and includes an afterword by historian and author Nigel Cliff.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.
Elegantly constructed and told with exceptional grace, The Light Years is a modern classic of twentieth-century English life and is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard''s extraordinary, bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles. Every summer, the Cazalet brothers - Hugh, Edward and Rupert - return to the family home in the heart of the Sussex countryside with their wives and children. There, they are joined by their parents and unmarried sister Rachel to enjoy two blissful months of picnics, games, and excursions to the coast. But despite the idyllic setting, nothing can be done to soothe the siblings'' heartache: Hugh is haunted by the ravages of the Great War, Edward is torn between his wife and his latest infidelity, and Rupert is in turmoil over his inability to please his demanding wife. Meanwhile, Rachel risks losing her only chance at happiness because of her unflinching loyalty to the family. With cover artwork exclusively designed by artist Luke Edward Hall, this will be an edition to treasure. The Light Years is followed by Confusion , the second book in the series. ''Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared'' - Times
''So wise, so graceful, so rich. I loved Sea of Tranquility '' Naomi Alderman, author of The Power From the award-winning author of Station Eleven Who could you sacrifice to protect the future? Lives separated by time and space have collided, and an exiled Englishman, a writer trapped far from home, and a girl destined to die too young, have each glimpsed a world that is not their own. Travelling through the centuries, between colonies on the moon and an ever-changing Earth, together their lives will solve a mystery that will make you question everything you thought you knew to be true. ''A spiralling, transportive triumph - sci-fi with soul'' Kiran Millwood Hargrave ''St. John Mandel remains an instant-buy writer'' Glamour ''Ingenious, hugely ambitious and beguiling'' Guardian
From the Sunday Times number one bestselling author Lucinda Riley, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt draws the multimillion-copy epic series The Seven Sisters to an unforgettable conclusion. *Publishing Autumn 2022* *** Praise for The Seven Sisters series: ''The Seven Sisters series is heart-wrenching, uplifting and utterly enthralling'' - Lucy Foley ''Well researched and compelling ... on an epic scale'' - Sunday Express ''There''s something magical about these stories'' - Prima ''Addictive storytelling'' - Woman & Home '' A masterclass in beautiful writing'' - Sun
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ''Prepare your hearts, for Douglas Stuart is back. After the extraordinary success of Shuggie Bain , his second novel, Young Mungo , is another beautiful and moving book, a gay Romeo and Juliet set in the brutal world of Glasgow''s housing estates.'' The Observer The extraordinary, powerful second novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain , Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow''s housing estates, where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they''re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo''s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in western Scotland with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart''s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.
The Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller The sequel to Jessie Burton''s million-copy bestseller The Miniaturist, The House of Fortune returns to Nella''s mysterious family in historic 18th-century Amsterdam for a story of fate and fortune.
''Elegant, atmospheric, compelling. I absolutely loved it'' - Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel ''A book of beauty and insight . . . awe-inspiring. Burton is a master storyteller'' - Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie 1705. In the golden city of Amsterdam Thea Brandt is turning eighteen, and she is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms. At the city''s theatre, the love of her life awaits her, but at home all is not well - her father Otto and Aunt Nella argue endlessly, and the Brandt family are selling their furniture in order to eat. On Thea''s birthday, also the day that her mother died, the secrets of the past begin to overwhelm the present.
Nella is desperate to save the family and maintain appearances, to find Thea a husband who will guarantee her future, and when they receive an invitation to Amsterdam''s most exclusive ball, she is overjoyed - perhaps this will set their fortunes straight.
But, as Thea discovers new miniatures, Nella''s fears are realized. Eighteen years after she first entered the family''s life, the miniaturist may have plans of her own . . .
The House of Fortune is a glorious, sweeping story of ambition, secrets and dreams, and one young woman''s determination to rule her own destiny.
B>The Seven Sisters is a sweeping epic tale of love and loss by the international number one bestseller Lucinda Riley. /b>Maia D'Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home - a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva - having been told that their beloved adoptive father, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt, has died.Each of them is handed a tantalising clue to their true heritage - a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil . . .Eighty years earlier, in the Belle Epoque of Rio, 1927, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into aristocracy. But Izabela longs for adventure, and convinces him to allow her to accompany the family of a renowned architect on a trip to Paris. In the heady, vibrant streets of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.b>The Seven Sisters is the first book in the spellbinding Seven Sisters series./b>
From the Sunday Times number one best-selling author Lucinda Riley, The Missing Sister is the seventh instalment in the multimillion copy epic series They''ll search the world to find her. The six D''Apliese sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister? They only have one clue - an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe; from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland, uniting them all in their mission to at last complete their family. In doing so, they will slowly unearth a story of love, strength and sacrifice that began almost one hundred years ago, as other brave young women risk everything to change the world around them. PRAISE FOR THE SEVEN SISTERS SERIES ''The Seven Sisters series is heart-wrenching, uplifting and utterly enthralling'' Lucy Foley ''Well researched and compelling ... on an epic scale'' Sunday Express ''There''s something magical about these stories'' Prima ''Addictive storytelling'' Woman & Home '' A masterclass in beautiful writing'' The Sun
The fourth novel in Toshikazu Kawaguchi''s internationally bestselling ''Before the Coffee Gets Cold'' series The regulars at the magical Cafe Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary, secret menu time travel offering. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family, and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks and there are rules to follow. Travellers must have visited the cafe previously and crucially, must return to the present in the time it takes for their coffee to go cold.
In the tradition of Toshikazu Kawaguchi''s sensational ''Before the Coffee Gets Cold'' series, readers will once again be introduced to a new set of visitors:
The husband with something important left to say The woman who couldn''t bid her dog farewell The woman who couldn''t answer a proposal The daughter who drove her father away . . .
Translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot and featuring signature heart-warming characters and wistful storytelling, in the beautifully haunting Before we say goodbye, Kawaguchi poses: who would you visit if you could travel through time?
The post-apocalyptic modern classic with an introduction by novelist John Banville. In a burned-out America, a father and his young son walk under a darkened sky, heading slowly for the coast. They have no idea what, if anything, awaits them there. The landscape is destroyed, nothing moves save the ash on the wind and cruel, lawless men stalk the roadside, lying in wait. Attempting to survive in this brave new world, the young boy and his protector have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves. They must keep walking. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Road is an incandescent novel, the story of a remarkable and profoundly moving journey. In this unflinching study of the best and worst of humankind, Cormac McCarthy boldly divines a future without hope, but one in which, miraculously, this young family finds tenderness. An exemplar of post-apocalyptic writing, The Road is a true modern classic, a masterful, moving and increasingly prescient novel. This edition is part of the Picador Collection, a new list of the best in contemporary literature published in Picador''s 50th Anniversary year. McCarthy''s eagerly anticipated new novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris , will be published by Picador in October 2022.
From the bestselling author Ken Follett, The Evening and the Morning is a historical epic that will end where The Pillars of the Earth begins. A TIME OF CONFLICT It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages, and England faces attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Life is hard, and those with power wield it harshly, bending justice according to their will - often in conflict with the king. With his grip on the country fragile and with no clear rule of law, chaos and bloodshed reign. THREE LIVES INTERTWINED Into this uncertain world three people come to the fore: a young boatbuilder, who dreams of a better future when a devastating Viking raid shatters the life that he and the woman he loves hoped for; a Norman noblewoman, who follows her beloved husband across the sea to a new land only to find her life there shockingly different; and a capable monk at Shiring Abbey, who dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a centre of learning admired throughout Europe. THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE Now, with England at the dawn of the Middle Ages, these three people will each come into dangerous conflict with a ruthless bishop, who will do anything to increase his wealth and power, in an epic tale of ambition and rivalry, death and birth, and love and hate. Thirty years ago we were introduced to Kingsbridge in The Pillars of the Earth , and now in this masterful prequel international bestseller Ken Follett will take us on a journey into a rich past, which will end where his masterpiece begins.
B>'As unexpectedly beguiling as it is affecting.' Daily Mail/b>Since his award-winning debut collection of stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men, Brad Watson's work has been as melancholy, witty, strange, and lovely as any in America. Inspired by the true story of his own great-aunt, he explores the life of Miss Jane Chisolm, born in rural, early-twentieth-century Mississippi with a genital birth defect that would stand in the way of the central "uses" for a woman in that time and place - namely, sex and marriage.From the country doctor who adopts Jane to the hard tactile labor of farm life, from the sensual and erotic world of nature around her to the boy who loved but was forced to leave her, the world of Miss Jane Chisolm is anything but barren. Free to satisfy only herself, she mesmerizes those around her, exerting an unearthly fascination that lives beyond her still.
The Sunday Times Thriller of the Month ''Stunning . . . one of the most compelling reads of the year'' - Daily Express Expertly researched and visionary in scale, international number one bestseller Ken Follett''s Never is more than a thriller. It imagines a scenario we all hope never comes true, one which will keep you transfixed until the final page . . . A stolen US army drone. A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert. A secret stash of deadly chemicals. Each is a threat to global stability. Each can be overcome with only the highest levels of diplomacy. But when those in charge disagree and refuse to back down, an international chain reaction kicks off with potentially catastrophic consequences: a world edging closer to war . . . Now three people must work with the utmost skill to stop that from happening: A spy working undercover with jihadis. A brilliant Chinese spymaster. A US president beleaguered by a populist rival for the next election. The only question is - in a game of brinksmanship, can the inevitable ever be stopped? ''Bold in scale and meticulously researched'' - Sunday Times ''Probably his best yet'' - Stephen King Urgent and fiercely compelling'' - The Washington Post More than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over 80 territories and 37 languages. The international no.1 bestselling phenomenon returns.
