The Blind Light, Stuart Evers ( 24 June 2021, paperback)
£9.99
Shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award 2021
As the 1950s draw to a close, and the Cold War escalates, the shape of Drummond Moore's life is changed beyond measure when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with James Carter, a rich and well-connected fellow national serviceman. Carter leads him to Doom Town - an army base that seeks to recreate the effects of a nuclear war - where he meets Gwen, a barmaid with whom he shares an instant connection. Set over sixty years of British history, The Blind Light by Stuart Evers is the compelling story of one family as they deal with the personal and political fallout of their times.
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Hagstone, Sinead Gleeson ( hardback April 2024)
£16.99
The haunting debut novel from beloved, Irish no. 1 bestselling author, Sinéad Gleeson. The sea is steady for now.The land readies itself. What can be done with the woman on the cliff? On a wild and rugged island cut off and isolated to some, artist Nell feels the island is her home. It is the source of inspiration for her art, rooted in landscape, folklore and the feminine.
The mysterious Inions, a commune of women who have travelled there from all over the world, consider it a place of refuge and safety, of solace in nature. All the islanders live alongside the strange murmurings that seem to emanate from within the depths of the island, a sound that is almost supernatural – a Summoning as the Inions call it. One day, a letter arrives at Nell’s door from the reclusive Inions who invite Nell into the commune for a commission to produce a magnificent art piece to celebrate their long history.
In its creation, Nell will discover things about the community and about herself that will challenge everything she thought she knew. Beautifully written, prescient and eerily haunting, Sinéad Gleeson’s debut novel takes in the darker side of human nature and the mysteries of faith and the natural world.
Last Summer on State Street ( Toya Wolfe) paperback March 2024
£9.99
State Street Chicago, 1999. One summer that changes everything. An unlikely trio: Felicia 'Fe Fe' Stevens, daughter of fiercely protective mother; Precious Brown, daughter of a prominent church Elder; and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin.They have a simple friendship, whiling away sunny days with games of Double Dutch. But when Fe Fe invites mysterious Tonya into their fold, life as they know it will never be the same again. Last Summer on State Street is a profound coming-of-age story about the restorative power of community, the claiming of one's own past, and the defining friendships which form the heartbeat of our lives.
Martyr! Kaveh Akbar ( hardback March 2024)
£16.99
This book is thrilling. It's like watching the novel itself be reinvented' - Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake'This book vibrates with love of life, beauty and language. I’m in awe...' - Natalie Portman
Cyrus Shams is lost. Ever since his mother’s plane was senselessly shot down over the Persian Gulf when he was just a baby, Cyrus has been grappling with her death. Now, newly sober, he is set to learn the truth of her life. When an encounter with a dying artist leads Cyrus towards the mysteries of his past – an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as an Angel of Death, a haunting work of art by an exiled painter – he finds himself once again caught up in the story of his mother, who may not have been who or what she seemed.
As Cyrus searches for meaning in the scattered clues of his life, a final revelation transforms everything he thought he knew. Electrifying, funny, wholly original, and profound, Martyr! was an instant New York Times bestseller w/c 27/1/24
Paper Names, Susie Luo ( paperback March 2024)
£9.99
Taut, panoramic and powerful; Paper Names is an unforgettable debut about the long shadows of our parents, the ripple effects of our decisions and the ways in which our love transcends difference. Outside a New York apartment building, an attempted mugging alters the lives of three people. Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life.His daughter, Tammy, who grapples with the expectations surrounding a first-generation American as she grows into an ambitious young woman. And Oliver, a charming white lawyer with a dark family secret, who is continuously propelled towards Tammy and Tony, whether by fate or his choices. Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives.
As Tony, Tammy and Oliver each strive for their own American dream, and make sacrifices to attain it, every joyous and heart-breaking twist in their stories begs the question: was it all worth it?
