{"title":"Fiction","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"circe","title":"Circe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGabi's review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter her wonderful tale The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller has given us another gem. A modern feminist spin on a classic Greek myth. Circe's wise universal voice commentates on medicine, motherhood, jealously, love and men, with the odd dose of magical vengeance.  I could have remained in exile with Circe and her lions, on her stunning sun-kissed island for a whole additional book, yes, that good.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublishers Overview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. 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Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. While Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval, the Count, stripped of the trappings that defined his life, is forced to question what makes us who we are.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Amor Towles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42551869636767,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/a-gentleman-in-moscow.jpg?v=1614868103"},{"product_id":"shuggie-bain","title":"Shuggie Bain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2020 Booker Prize\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKerry:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Glasgow in the 80’s is grim. Mines are closing, shipyards are shrinking, only unemployment is rising as is poverty, addiction and despair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAgainst this isolating backdrop Shuggie is trying to navigate life in a crippled mining village on the outskirts of Glasgow.  Shuggie knows he is different and what is worse so does everyone else. “He’s no right” is a constant refrain throughout. As Shuggie grows his family shrinks until he is left alone with his much loved alcoholic mother Agnes. Agnes is beautiful, proud and vain, in a grey Pithead she stands out just as much as her son. Shuggie Bain is their story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis isn’t an easy book to read. The characters are so well drawn their anger, and their wanting is tangible. Women in particular are vividly drawn. The Language is physical, words are spat and accusations land like punches - but the dialogue is also rhythmic. The contrast kept me off kilter and kept me reading. Yes it is about addiction, abuse and neglect - a portrait of a city and communities ravaged by economic forces, but it is also poignant, tender and so very human.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShuggie had my heart from page one and held it until the last page – even when I wanted to run. Persevere, you won’t regret it.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e'\u003cem\u003eA debut novel that reads like a masterpiece, Shuggie Bain\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e gives voice to the kind of helpless, hopeless love that children can feel toward broken parents.'\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The way Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e carved a permanent place in our heads and hearts for the junkies of late-1980s Edinburgh, the language, imagery, and story of fashion designer Stuart's debut novel apotheosizes the life of the Bain family of Glasgow . . . 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So good!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe latest novel from the National Book Award winner blends fiction with history to examine how two men channel their grief into political power as they become advocates for peace in the Middle East\u003c\/em\u003e * TIME MAGAZINE *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA work that is both spectacularly inventive and grounded in brutal fact. It is about grief and forgiveness, about family and politics. 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The characters are old fashioned in their ways and yet the whole thing never ceases to be gripping.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe three main characters are children, and the action takes place over one day, a day, for which at least one of them, will spend her life trying to atone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘The best thing he has ever written’\u003c\/em\u003e Observer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Smoulders with slow-burning menace\"\u003c\/em\u003e * The Times of London *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eA complex, thought-provoking novel.\u003c\/em\u003e -- Fanny Blake * Woman and Home * \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eBrilliantly explores the currents of guilt, shame and anger... Utterly satisfying, complete\u003c\/em\u003e * Scotsman *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e An evocative depiction of the dangers of innocence and ignorance in the face of uncomfortable reality.\u003c\/em\u003e * Herald *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e Atonement is a masterpiece...it is also an elegy to a time which, however volatile, still had certainties\u003c\/em\u003e * The Times of London * \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e A beautiful and majestic fictional panorama --\u003c\/em\u003e John Updike McEwan's best novel so far, his masterpiece * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian McEwan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39306831331487,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Atonement.jpg?v=1614659842"},{"product_id":"putney","title":"Putney","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eReview by Dolores Maund.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBefore beginning \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney\u003c\/em\u003e the responses on the back of the book alerted me to the nature of its concern – the sexual abuse of a girl child. This immediately brought to mind the only other book which I have read which deals with this same topic, that is, Vladimir Nabakov’s much acclaimed \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLolita,\u003c\/em\u003e which was first published in 1955 and which I read sometime during the tumultuous 1970s.   For this reason, while reading \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney,\u003c\/em\u003e and later while thinking about this important and timely book, I could not but compare it with its famous precursor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney\u003c\/em\u003e Zinovieff carefully examines the dramatic changes which have taken place within the zeitgeist from the time of the publication of \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLolita \u003c\/em\u003eand my reading of it some twenty years later on the one hand, to the greatly enlightened contemporary understandings of child sexual abuse with which we are familiar today, on the other.  While sexual relations between an adult and a child have long been regarded as a social taboo and a moral wrong of mammoth proportions in modern western society as well as in many others it is only in recent decades that this particular social ill has come to the fore of public discussion. It is this airing of society’s dirty linen which has made for a much greater understanding of the psychological make-up of the adult involved – or the perpetrator of sexual child abuse as such a person has now come to be described – and the massive social, psychological, emotional and lasting damage invariably done to the child.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eZinovieff’s story begins in London during the 1970s, a time of enormous social upheaval throughout the Western world and beyond, a time when all social conventions, particularly those relating to sexuality and the family, were challenged as being unhealthy, repressive constraints on the freedom of the individual. Fidelity within marriage – and within sexual relationships in general – along with traditional notions of child rearing practices were abandoned by many in the name of such freedom. In addition to this radicalism, at this time the huge interest in psychology, an interest which permeates every aspect of contemporary society and has done so for decades, had not yet developed. Even for those of us who were adults during the 1970s it is difficult to now imagine  or properly remember an absence of such magnitude in the social imaginary.  Zinovieff shows how the social climate of that radical decade almost facilitated perpetrators of the sexual abuse of children: the stage was set for such, as it were. Ralph, the abuser in \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney,\u003c\/em\u003e exhibits all the characteristics of a classic narcissist – a trait which is part of the psychological make-up of all perpetrators and without which such people could not act as they do. Zinovieff elucidates the ways in which the particular social climate of the 1970s not only allowed narcissism in its many and varied guises to go unquestioned but gave it a licence to flourish. In this regard her interpretation of important aspects of the era is both novel and acutely observed indeed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney\u003c\/em\u003e Zinovieff has been able to blend sophisticated psychological insights and a clearsighted understanding of all aspects of the phenomenon under discussion in an extraordinarily imaginative way. The characters she creates are so superbly conjured that they loom large in the mind’s eye long after finishing the book. She has a highly developed capacity in this regard as she does in her ability to create vivid images of the places and the different eras during which the story takes place\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e.  Putney\u003c\/em\u003e is immediately and immensely absorbing which meant that from the moment I began to read I had to close out the world and devote myself to the book. While Zinovieff is a generous spirited writer and presents her characters as flawed human beings rather than monsters there is absolutely no doubt as to the reasons for her moral condemnation of this age-old social ill that has for far too long been relegated to the ante chambers of society’s mind. In \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney \u003c\/em\u003eZinovieff demonstrates the way in which the novel can serve as a brilliant vehicle for the illumination of a social ill.  It is not possible after reading \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePutney \u003c\/em\u003ethat anyone could justify or condone Ralph’s behaviour by saying “But he loved her” as a woman said to me of his counterpart in Lolita at the time of my reading of that disturbing and memorable book. Zinovieff’s careful examination of all aspects of the roles played by both the perpetrator and the abused child along with the effects of their relationship on each of their lives contrasts starkly with Nabakov’s almost total neglect of the effect of sexual abuse on Lolita, the girl in his story.  Putney is indeed a much needed contribution to this most important of topics and will undoubtedly enrich all who read it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sofka Zinovieff","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39306920919199,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Putney.jpg?v=1614660526"},{"product_id":"behind-the-scenes-at-the-museum","title":"Behind the Scenes at the Museum","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***Winner of the \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ethe Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year Prize\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnne:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs the Lane Bookshop has existed just about forever and at one stage I was in my youth and now am in my old age, I thought I might take you back to some of our glorious old books that never lose their appeal and what’s more we usually have them on the shelves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eRumour has it that Kate Atkinson was employed as a cleaning lady when she was suddenly informed that she had won one of the world’s top prizes in literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe book is completely non-conformist and madly original. Sharp, witty and she has us all in hysterics without even trying.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBy the way have you noticed how few truly amusing books there are around?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Little short of a masterpiece...Fizzing with wit and energy, Kate Atkinson's hilarious novel made me laugh and cry' \u003c\/em\u003eDaily Mail\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e'An astounding book...without doubt one of the finest novels I have read for years' \u003c\/em\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Delivers its jokes and its tragedies as efficiently as Dickens...outrageously funny...will dazzle readers for years to come' - \u003c\/em\u003eHILARY MANTEL, author of The Mirror and the Light\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eMore about the book:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRuby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, and Ruby...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRuby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eMore on Kate Atkinson:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKate Atkinson is one of the world's foremost novelists. She won the Costa Book of the Year prize with her first novel, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBehind the Scenes at the Museum\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Her three critically lauded and prizewinning novels set around World War II are \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLife After Life, A God in Ruins\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(both winners of the Costa Novel Award), and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTranscription.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e She was appointed MBE for services to literature in 2011.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHer bestselling literary crime novels featuring former detective Jackson Brodie, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCase Histories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eOne Good Turn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen Will There Be Good News?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eStarted Early, Took My Dog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e became a BBC television series starring Jason Isaacs. Jackson Brodie returns in her new novel \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBig Sky.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kate Atkinson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39327046402207,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/BehindtheScenes.jpg?v=1614864578"},{"product_id":"old-filth","title":"Old Filth","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"booktitle\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e*** Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnne:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book written in 2004 is just as entertaining today as it was in 2004 and has the additional advantage of being set in a very different Hong Kong.  The Colonial Hong Kong of the past, which allows us to compare it with todays most troubled City.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOLD FILTH stands for Failed in London Try Hong Kong. Once again, I will leave the discovery of the story to the reader as I am always distressed if too much actual plot is revealed before the book is even in hand, suffice to say this moving and wonderfully funny portraits of an era is one of the best fiction books I have ever read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA magnificent, deeply moving and compassionate portrait of an era and a sentimental education \u003c\/em\u003e* Daily Mail *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBeautiful, vivid and defiantly funny \u003c\/em\u003e* The Times *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Typical excellence and compulsive readability…the miracle of “Old Filth” is that its hero eludes sociological or psychological pigeonholing. If he is a characteristic Raj orphan, he is also triumphantly his own man \u003c\/em\u003e* New York Times *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis novel is surely Gardam’s masterpiece. On the human level, it is one of the most moving fictions I have read for years…This is the rare novel that drives its reader forward while persistently waylaying and detaining by the sheer beauty and inventiveness of its style. One must savour every phrase. The marriage of quirky eccentricity and psychological authenticity is a Gardam technique, but here her cunning wit, moving deftly between scenes and eras, displays the tragedy of a vintage world forever passing away \u003c\/em\u003e* Guardian *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jane Gardam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39327086837919,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/OldFilth.jpg?v=1614865307"},{"product_id":"blackout","title":"Blackout","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNick:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBefore reading this I had not read a crime fiction novel for quite some time. Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed crime fiction from the likes of Robert Harris and William Boyd and intend to read further with Mick Herron and John Banville. I was a little worried when I received this as novel from one of our publishers, that this might be a little trashy given the over the top nature of the cover. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHowever, from the first chapter onwards I was captivated.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe book deals with normal people living through pre World War II Germany. It deals with the horror of how these souls were swept up along with a movement that wanted to \"Make Germany Great Again\".  The book's plot sweeps you up into it and the crime narrative is an excellent vehicle for exploring the ethical dilemmas that face the main protagonists in the novel. Scarrow's descriptions and sense of place in his book are raw and visceral.  He paints vivid dark backdrops for night time prowling under the blackouts of pre war Germany and brilliant crisp mornings with fresh bloodied snow. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI thoroughly recommend this book to those who are fans of crime fiction as the crime narrative is gripping - so much so I could not put the book down towards the end. However, the book also has an added depth for those wanting to question how real people are affected when the politics of a country get thrown so far out of balance and the moral quandaries they then have to deal with. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAs an aside, I was telling the murder story in chapter one of the book to some staff at the Lane Bookshop recently when I received a phone call from the WA Police department. They were enquiring about a murder. Apparently my phone had pocket dialed 000 and they had overheard a conversation about a murder. I explained that this was in fact me describing a book called \"Blackout\" in our bookshop. The police officer on the line had a good laugh about it and hopefully I am not still being monitored..... \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e 'Taut and chilling - I was completely gripped' - \u003c\/em\u003eAnthony Horowitz\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A wonderfully compelling thriller, reeking of authenticity, and a terrific depiction of the human world within the chilling world of the Third Reich' -\u003c\/em\u003e Peter James\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Mesmerising. Nail-biting. Unputdownable. Utterly authentic and beautifully written. The perfect way to bring the past alive' - \u003c\/em\u003eDamien Lewis\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eScarrow is a genius and I love everything he writes, but Blackout takes things to a whole new level. It's by far the best book I've read this year - \u003c\/em\u003eTom Marcus\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon Scarrow","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39328685752479,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Blackout.jpg?v=1614877617"},{"product_id":"slough-house","title":"Slough House","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKerry:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAt The Lane, Mick Herron's spy books have rated high on the charts of customer favourites since 2010, when the first in the Slough House series, Slow Horses, hit the shelves. With each new release our readers would bring them to the counter, thrilled with the prospect of sharing another espionage misadventure with Jackson Lamb and his misfits.  Delighted and eager to to share the joy they would urge me to read Mr Herron, promising me I wouldn't be disappointed. It took me 10 years and a stint in quarantine before I opened my first Slough House, they were right, I have loved each and everyone of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHerron starts every book with a tour of Slough House. A four story neglected building in Aldergate St, 'where the dull weight of mediocrity hangs heavy'.... 'the building is a bad tooth set in a failing mouth. Here is where nothing happens: nothing to see here. Move along.' He also ends each book at Slough House after an awful lot has happened here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAlong with the mould, desperation and the reek of failure rises from the opening pages. Slough House is where MI5 banishes its agents who have disgraced themselves. Here they hope they will succumb to the humiliation of exile, the mind numbing boredom, and the head banging fruitily of Slough House and give in and resign. Much easier than going through HR's hoops to fire them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOverseeing this tenth circle of hell is Jackson Lamb. Jackson Lamb was a spook, an agent in the field, a Cold War warrior. A legend and a truly, truly appalling character. A bellicose menace he goads and torments his slow horses, this larger than life character terrifies and horrifies in equal measure. Lamb makes an art form of being un-PC, he is a man you would never invite into your home, but he also really makes you laugh. Herron's dialogue is razor sharp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAll seven books are clever, tightly plotted contemporary page turners shot through with biting political satire and a dark humour. While you could read each title as a standalone you would be doing yourself a disservice. Herron constructs his plots and develops his characters with a subtlety that renders them and the scenarios disturbingly plausible - like Lamb he plays the long game, each book builds on the others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eImpressively 6 of the 7 books in the series have either been shortlisted for or won crimes most prestigious awards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mick Herron","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39771017904287,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/files\/slough-house_1.jpg?v=1709947161"},{"product_id":"girl-a","title":"Girl A","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGirl A\u003c\/em\u003e is told from the perspective of the central character, Alexandra, a young and successful lawyer who works in New York but has returned to the UK because of the death of her mother. As the executor of her mother’s will Alexandra is required to contact her siblings which, combined with her mother’s death, stimulates disturbing memories of their family life in which the children were subjected to appalling violence and cruel privation by their pathologically warped parents. Stories of this nature hold a particular fascination for a variety of reasons, one being that it is beyond the imaginings of most people to begin to comprehend the behaviour of such parents. Also, in this novel, the means by which the children endure such circumstances and then the type of adults they grow to be makes for an engrossing meditation on the nature of the human condition – a topic ever ripe for endless speculation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhile all of the characters in \u003cem\u003eGirl A\u003c\/em\u003e are finely etched and fully realised several of them are bound to leave a permanent imprint on the inner landscape of the reader, particularly the unforgettable Alexandra. Her acute observational powers in relation to her fellow human beings along with her exceptional integrity and courage in the way in which she faces her own psychological disfigurement and that of her siblings make for an admirable and endearing character. Furthermore, her character is made more convincing by her voice which is typical of a young adult shaped by the digital era and which effectively conjures the zeitgeist. The gradual unfolding of the story and development of the characters in \u003cem\u003eGirl A\u003c\/em\u003e make for utterly compelling reading. I could not put the book down and since finishing have continued to mull over this memorable novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the hands of a lesser writer the subject matter which Abigail Dean has chosen to deal with in \u003cem\u003eGirl A\u003c\/em\u003e could indeed make for grim reading. Instead, the book is, among other things, a testament to the power of the human spirit. While this novel is not likely to appeal to the Pollyannas of this world or those who wish to skate over the surface of life it is Abigail Dean’s superb illumination of complex social and psychological phenomena which makes her novel a tour de force. Her intelligent perspective on aspects of the human condition can only serve to enrich and expand the imagination of the reader. I am sure readers will eagerly await Abigail Dean’s next book as I most certainly do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘Sensational. Gripping, haunting, and beautifully written' RICHARD OSMAN\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘Haunting, powerful, with a pitch-perfect ending' THE NEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ‘The biggest mystery thriller since Gone Girl' ELLE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ‘Incendiary, beautifully written debut' GUARDIAN\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ‘Psychologically astute, adroitly organised, written with flair' THE SUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e ‘An astonishing achievement.' JESSIE BURTON\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ‘Gripping, beautifully written perfection.' SOPHIE HANNAH \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘A masterpiece.' LOUISE O'NEILL \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e ‘Fantastic.' PAULA HAWKINS\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abigail Dean","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39965428744351,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/GirlA.jpg?v=1620440077"},{"product_id":"the-children-s-house","title":"Children’s House","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Children’s House quickly elicited in me that marvelously satisfying feeling of wanting to continue to read through to the end while ignoring all the goings on of ordinary life. I began reading one evening and finished the following day. Not only did Alice Nelson succeed in completely immersing me in her particular world but the central theme of the book and its sensitively etched characters have stayed with me and now occupy part of my own inner landscape, a clear indication of the force of the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe main concern of The Children’s House is the way in which extreme trauma deprives two women in totally different circumstances of their ability to nurture their children in a normal, loving way and then the ramifications of being denied this most fundamental of all human bonds on the children born of these mothers. While Alice Nelson is clear about the permanent psychological and emotional damage done to children who suffer such deprivation much of the book nevertheless deals with the way in which this inner ruin can be compensated for by the development of loving and stable relationships later in life. Both Marina and Gabriel, two of the characters whose mothers were marred by trauma, have the good fortune to become part of an exceptionally close-knit, stable and loving Jewish family in contemporary New York, the utter antithesis of their experience with their own mothers. One other does not have such luck on his side. Alice Nelson has performed a delicate balancing act indeed in examining such a deeply disturbing topic while also maintaining, in a realistic and convincing way, the possibility that people such as Marina and Gabriel are nevertheless able to live satisfying lives. For this reason, while the pain endured by the main characters is made clear, The Children’s House is still life affirming in that it carries a strong message of hope. This wonderfully interesting book is also timely in as much as that most important of shaping forces of an individual’s life, the bond between mother and child, is one which has and is being effectively undermined from a number of quarters. Thank you, Alice Nelson, for your contribution to the life of the mind and the imagination. The Children’s House has enriched and expanded my interior world. It is a beautiful and sensitive book and one which will undoubtedly be similarly appreciated by many other readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alice Nelson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40010859708575,"sku":"","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/TheChildrensHouse.jpg?v=1620964175"},{"product_id":"the-valley","title":"Valley","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI approached The Valley by Steve Hawke with some slight trepidation because the very nature of its subject matter could not but entail the objective of attempting to contribute to an understanding of the lives of indigenous Australians in contemporary society, no small undertaking indeed. Furthermore, I was acutely aware that such an ambition could only be achieved by means of a highly developed literary capacity. Thus, before even opening the book, I had such high expectations of it – or, more accurately, hopes of those particular expectations being fulfilled. Hawke’s deftly and sympathetically etched characters who shall undoubtedly remain alive in my imagination, his acutely observed descriptions of parts of the landscape of northern Western Australia wherein the novel is set, and the way in which the story line developed all combined to prove my feelings of apprehension totally unfounded. Hawke exceeded my hopes and expectations for this important and memorable novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe period in which The Valley is set probably roughly coincides with the time in which Hawke’s own grandparents lived through to the present day. The story told is therefore one within living memory, one which shows how recent and constant were certain forms of cruel social dislocation and suffering endured by indigenous Australians. Hawke’s telling of recent history through the novel form counters a commonly held view that the privations suffered by indigenous Australians happened some two hundred years ago, that is, in their distant past. Furthermore, the lives of the characters in The Valley also undermine the widely held view that many light-skinned indigenous Australians are really mostly Caucasian and that their identification with the wider group of indigenous Australians is therefore somehow spurious. In The Valley Hawke has demonstrated the power of literature to evoke strong feelings in the reader which illuminate for him or her that commonality which exists between all human beings despite differences of race or social and historical circumstance. In doing so Hawke has contributed to eroding those trenchantly held images in the popular imaginary which are borne of ignorance and a lack of generosity.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Steve Hawke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40010919149727,"sku":"","price":27.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/TheValley.jpg?v=1620964834"},{"product_id":"the-museum-of-broken-promises","title":"Museum of Broken Promises","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of The Museum of Broken Promises spans some three or more decades and moves between communist Czechoslovakia during the latter stages of the Cold War and Paris and Berlin in the period after the fall of the Wall. This particular historical context, as most readers will be well aware, provides fertile ground for a discussion of the way in which repressive regimes shape and limit even those most deeply personal choices made by people living within such intensely constrained circumstances. Through her deftly and sympathetically drawn characters Buchan illuminates various ways in which many ordinary people in communist Czechoslovakia were forced to compromise their own integrity and then left to live with the consequences of their actions. Her rendering of the effects of this sorry state on the interior lives of the characters provides a memorable apercu of the central theme of the book. The way in which the narrative moves back and forth between the past and the present over such a long period gives a feeling of a gradual fitting together of the pieces of a jig-saw and in so doing makes for compelling reading. This structure also allows for a clear delineation of the long term psychological and emotional effects on the lives of the main characters along with the way in which each character attempts to attain some semblance of equilibrium. In throwing light on the insidious nature of Czechoslovakian society under communist rule Buchan asks the reader to place him or herself in the shoes of those unfortunate people who were forced to betray not only their own moral codes but in certain cases, other human beings. While for many readers this imaginative exercise will be an immensely absorbing one it is also likely to disturb in its inevitable prompting of the old adage that ‘but for the grace of god there go I.’\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the moment I began The Museum of Broken Promises I became completely immersed in the world created by Buchan and even after reaching the end of the book the images of life in the two different societies along with her superbly etched characters have remained with me. In this memorable and profoundly affecting novel Buchan has made a significant contribution to that well-established tradition within literature which deals with life in certain notoriously repressive and warped societies of twentieth century Europe. Many a reader’s imaginative horizon will be expanded by their entering into Buchan’s world.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'I ADORE cold-war novels and I live for love stories - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Broken Promises\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a perfect combination of both. It's a gem of a book ... beautiful, elegant.' \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- Marian Keyes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'Intricately plotted and beautifully written, the characters and the setting stay with you and leave you yearning for Paris.' \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- Katie Fforde, author of\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eA Vintage Wedding\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elizabeth Buchan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40011029020831,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Museumofbroken.jpg?v=1620965736"},{"product_id":"the-only-story","title":"Only Story","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\nThe characters in The Only Story are superbly drawn and so convincingly fleshed out that, in addition to causing me to weep on occasion, they have remained alive in my imagination during the past six or so weeks since reading the book and will undoubtedly continue to do so. Furthermore, I should add that the book so engaged me that I began it on an afternoon and finished it the next morning while still in bed. Barnes was able to take me into his world and completely envelop me. It was as if he had invited me to listen to him, a man of mature years, attempt to put the pieces of the jigsaw of his life together, a process which is common to those of a reflective and sensitive disposition as they sense the dimming of the light. In Barnes’ case, as undoubtedly with others, the entire process of such reflection and attempt at making sense of the most important aspects of life is given further impetus by the pain and suffering endured, the disappointments and the loses experienced. One can’t imagine that a person who views the world through the lens of positive thinking would ever have either the wherewithal or the inclination for such a pursuit. One of Barnes’ themes is the way in which we change our judgements about what we remember about both ourselves and others, how maturity and experience cause us to see things not simply in greater complexity but often dramatically differently. For example, his view of the husband from the vantage point of maturity bears no resemblance to that which he held as a young man. We make about turns which would have been unimaginable to our younger selves. While Barnes’ close and courageous examination of certain aspects of his life, those he undoubtedly considers the most important, could not have been achieved without considerable emotional cost, he does convey that the end result is a degree of acceptance which comes from understanding and with it the gaining of equanimity. However, the very nature of the process which Barnes describes is also one without an ending, is never complete, is always partial. If one of the aims of literature is to provide the reader with a rendering of the interior life which affirms and illuminates the readers’ own experience of life, and in doing so bridges that gap in communication and understanding which exists to varying degrees between all human beings, then, in The Only Story, Barnes has produced a tour de force. For the intimacy which Barnes afforded me in this exquisitely sensitive book I am not only grateful but also know that he has left a permanent imprint on my emotional landscape. I hope he knows how much he has enriched the lives of those who have loved this book.","brand":"Julian Barnes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40011090821279,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/OnlyStory.jpg?v=1620966173"},{"product_id":"the-other-half-of-augusta-hope","title":"Other Half of Augusta Hope","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Dolores Maund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot only did The Other Half of Augusta Hope engage my interest immediately but the way in which the story unfolded and the characters developed meant that I was compelled to read the book from beginning to end over two days. During the time in which I became completely immersed in the world of Joanna Glen’s creation there were occasions when I laughed out loud at the sharply observed comical aspects of life which are depicted so adeptly while at other times I was so deeply moved that I wept. Joanna Glen has mastered the art of eliciting in the reader deep feelings for her wonderfully memorable characters, characters who will undoubtedly remain vivid in the mind of the reader long after the book is finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFor the most part the novel focuses on the life of the character of the title, Augusta Hope, while the lesser part is devoted a young Rwandan man called Parfait. Each story is told in the first person and takes place over a similar time span. The book begins with Augusta’s perceptions of life as a pre-pubescent girl in a middle-class English family and ends with her as an adult. Augusta’s view of her family and the social milieu in which they live is rendered in a humorous, highly observant and delightfully convincing voice. The myriad and nuanced ways in which the family members communicate with and respond to one another is keenly noted by the perspicacious and intelligent Augusta whose rich interior life is so superbly depicted. While still a girl Augusta registers the distance, which often takes on the proportions of a chasm, between the goings on within her own inner landscape on the one hand and the mental and imaginative horizons of her sister and parents on the other. She is acutely aware of the difference between herself and her family in regard to the nature of their respective preoccupations, aspirations and general way of apprehending the world. In this regard Augusta recognizes the disjuncture which is often the consequence of one family member aiming for and achieving a significantly higher level of education than the others. At different stages of her life Augusta observes those forces which both bind and create distance within her family along with the changes in the dynamics of these over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBoth Augusta’s and Parfait’s stories entail loss, forms of loss which are a part of life for many and then other more profound forms which mark a person’s life forever. While the pain and emotional dislocation of grief are made clear in each of their respective stories both Augusta and Parfait come to an understanding of those aspects of life which aid in healing the wounds of deep and life shattering loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI have no doubt that many readers will delight in this humorous, sad, insightful, warm and generous spirited book. In The Other Half of Augusta Hope Joanna Glen has given us a gem.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Joanna Glen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40011119165599,"sku":"","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Otherhalfofaugustahope.jpg?v=1620966393"},{"product_id":"lapsed","title":"Lapsed","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Anne Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom devout ten-year-old performing the part of Jesus in a primary school play to blaspheming, undergraduate atheist, Monica Dux and her attitude to the Catholic Church changed profoundly over a decade. Eventually, she calmed down and was just 'lapsed'. Then, on a family trip to Rome, her young daughter expressed a desire to be baptized. Monica found herself re-examining her own childhood and how Catholicism had shaped her. Was it really out of her system or was it in her blood for life?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eLapsed\u003c\/em\u003e, Monica sets out to find the answer. Her investigations lead her to test a miracle cure in Lourdes and visit the grave of a headless Saint who claimed to be married to Christ (and wore a wedding ring made of his foreskin to prove it). She speaks to canon lawyers, abuse survivors and even a nun who insists that the Virgin Mary starts her car every morning.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eReview by Kerry:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStatistics are slippery at the best of times, it is easy being a Catholic in a census. Just tick a box. Done. However as Germaine Greer states” I am still a Catholic, I just don’t believe in God. I am an atheist Catholic – there are a lot of them around.” And there are, in \u003cem\u003eLapsed\u003c\/em\u003e Monica Dux examines her own journey from convent to lapsed to ticking the ‘no religion box’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDux admits writing this book was cathartic as she tried to understand how much of the ritual of Catholism is ingrained in her identity, and if she was being unfair refusing to allow her daughter to attend a Catholic school. Can you align yourself with an institution that is at odds with your own moral code, why does she still feel the urge to pray? Calling on her own personal and familial experiences and research from both Catholic and non-Catholic sociologists Dux explores what it is to be a lapsed Catholic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHaving been educated by nuns in the early aftermath of Vatican 2, I recognise Monica’s suburban church - Spiritus Sanctus. I admit I found our gory martyrs tales riveting and credit them with my love for the black absurdist humour of Monty Python. I was less enamoured with the liturgical dances and guitar masses, but then I am tone deaf. \u003cem\u003eLapsed\u003c\/em\u003e won’t be for everyone but for me it definitely struck a chord. Dux’s levity made me laugh while her honesty made me pause and re-examine my own box ticking position.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eEnlightening, forensic and laugh-out-loud funny' - JANE CARO\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA f\u003c\/span\u003erank, funny and heartfelt exorcism of our need to believe in a man in the sky' - SHAUN MICALLEF\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Monica Dux","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40214990061727,"sku":"","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/Lapsed.jpg?v=1622773694"},{"product_id":"secrets-of-happiness","title":"Secrets of Happiness","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Anne Day:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthan, a young lawyer in New York, learns that his father has long kept a second family - a Thai wife and two kids living in Queens. In the aftermath of this revelation, Ethan's mother spends a year travelling abroad, returning much changed, just as her now ex-husband falls ill. Across town, Ethan's half-brothers are caught in their own complicated journeys: one brother's penchant for minor delinquency has escalated and the other must travel to Bangkok to bail him out, while the bargains their mother struck about love and money continue to shape all their lives.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs Ethan finds himself caught in a love triangle of his own, the interwoven fates of these two households elegantly unfurl to touch many other figures, revealing secret currents of empathy and loyalty, the bounty of improvised families and the paradoxical ties that weave through life's rich contours. With a generous and humane spirit, Secrets of Happiness elucidates the ways people marshal the resources at hand in an effort to find joy.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA tightly plotted, brilliantly executed account of two families whose lives intersect in unexpected ways.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJoan Silber is the author of nine books of fiction. Her last book, \u003ci\u003eImprovement\u003c\/i\u003e, was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN\/Faulkner Award and was listed as one of the year's best books by the\u003ci\u003e Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eSeattle \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in New York.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Joan Silber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40215231168671,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/SecretofHappiness.jpg?v=1622776521"},{"product_id":"hot-stew","title":"Hot Stew","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Kerry\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMozley’s first novel \u003cem\u003eElmet\u003c\/em\u003e won numerous awards and was shortlisted for the 2017 Booker. \u003cem\u003eHot Stew,\u003c\/em\u003e her follow-up title, moves from the rural north of England to the cramped streets of Soho. While the location has changed her characters are once again living on the fringes of society, albeit in the centre of London.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe opening pages of Hot Stew offer a sense of history and continuity. Soho evolving from the first foundations being laid in the 17th century to the present – always a ferment of gambling and sex, where music has always played, where people have always lived, loved and died. Her streets vibrating with fashion, art and pleasure. Enter the 21st century, the dances are new, the drugs are new but the plots and betrayals remain the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn Hot Stew Soho is a larger than life, non-judgemental character that shelters her communities - the sex workers, the addicts, the invisible of our cities, and she is under attack. Greed masked as progress threatens to demolish the last of the old buildings - a brothel without pimps, run by the women for the women. For sex workers Precious and Tabitha, who throughout their lives have taken so much on the chin, this eviction is something that needs to be fought. Hot Stew is the ensuing battle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMozley breathes life into her sex workers, her ambitious politicians, ruthless developers, punters and addicts – even the hideous are drawn with empathy, compassion and humour. Yes everyone has an agenda and it is rarely honourable, but for balance we are also privy to their backstories. The sensitivity that marked and elevated Elmet also illuminates Hot Stew. By shining a bright and searching light down the alleyways of Soho Mozley askes her readers to look at our cities, to think about what has gone before and the repercussions on individuals, communities and society by allowing carte blanche development. ‘And luxury flats stood on the crumbling slums like shining teeth on rotten gums.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs in Elmet, Mozley challenges us to really look.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fiona Mozley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40264530296991,"sku":"","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/HotStew.jpg?v=1623398135"},{"product_id":"weekend","title":"Weekend","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Anne Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis fine book is one of the best I have read this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMe being a woman in her mid-seventies. None of the issues at stake are relevant to those of fifty years or under. But WOWEE… the rest of you will find yourselves on some journey as the tale of these three women comes together, compelling us to make comparisons with our own lives and theirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike going through our own lives for a second time – with a brand-new slant on it - Utterly spellbinding!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘The Weekend is so great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice… Wood is an agonisingly gifted writer: I am now going to read all her other books!’\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMarian Keyes\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e‘It was refreshing to encounter a novel that so profoundly sympathises with women on the forbidding cusp of being classified as “elderly”. Wood ably conveys that older women didn’t used to be old, and that the experience of ageing is universally bewildering’\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLionel Shriver (Observer, Books of the year)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Authentic, funny, brutally well-observed… As with the novels of Elizabeth Strout or Anne Tyler, these are characters not written to please, but to feel true’\u003cbr\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Glorious… Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout’\u003cbr\u003eGuardian\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charlotte Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40315614134431,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/the-weekend.jpg?v=1623987246"},{"product_id":"the-promise","title":"Promise","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew fiction from twice Booker-shortlisted author Damon Galgut\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Astonishing’ Colm Toibin\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A literary masterpiece’ Sarah Hall\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKerry's Review:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGalgut’s latest novel, The Promise spans over thirty years. The decades that see South Africa, the international pariah, pitch forward through riots in the townships to a post-apartheid jubilant South Africa winning the World Cup in 1995, and then onto Jakob Zuma’s fall from grace in 2018.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eChapter 1 ‘Ma’ opens on an Afrikaner farm on the outskirts of Pretoria, the Swarts are gathered to bury their mother, Rachel. Manie, his grief curdled by the fury that his wife returned to her Jewish faith shortly before her death. Anton, the eldest son serving his compulsory national service who has returned burdened by an act of violence. Astrid, beautiful and aloof in her emergent sexual awareness. And Amor, “He was always worried, based on nothing tangible about whether Amor is actually his child. The last-born, not planned…” all but invisible. It is Amor that hears her father promise his dying wife that he will give their maid Salome the titles to the house she lives in. This promise, broken, ignored, doubted, seeps like a stain through the years as, reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, the family splinters and disintegrates.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Promise is neatly divided into four extended chapters, each named to deliver insights into and herald the death of a character. Tidy and the only concession to traditional prose Galgut makes. The narrative is strong and totally engaging but the sliding point of view that Galgut employs throughout is what makes this one of the standout books of the year. It flits free floating and omniscient, creating an intimacy with the reader and also allowing for bursts of mordant humour. Highly effective and a total joy.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePromises are continually broken throughout this novel, promises to self, to family, to a nation. Vows made with good intentions, promises inspired by guilt and pledges assured - all broken. However the closing pages offer a sense of restitution “... towards whatever it is that happens next.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn extraordinary read.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Damon Galgut","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40444322906271,"sku":"","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/products\/ThePromise.jpg?v=1625282129"},{"product_id":"cloud-cuckoo-land","title":"Cloud Cuckoo Land","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Kerry\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The world as it is enough.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAbsurd optimism, naivety and absolute craziness is what springs to mind when we hear the expression cloud cuckoo. It has been and continues to be employed by politicians to scorn and deride, however it was the Greek playwright Aristophanes who first used the phrase in his 414BCE comedic play The Birds. Fragments of this ancient text impacts on and unites the beautifully drawn characters of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a sweeping epic of over 600 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Sliding through time and space - Constantinople in 1453, Idaho in 2020 and an unspecified location in the future, Doerr has created a rich tapestry of connections and a belief in the future. At times I found the sheer scale of the story almost overwhelming with its disparate eras and slipping genres but was anchored by the aging of the main characters. 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Her book is a fantastical, historical and contemporary journey through the eyes of its young narrator Jessie. Jessie takes us across a myriad of ages and countries including ancient Greece, Victorian England, France, Ethiopia and China; and for those living in Perth it also has a number of familiar places. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe History of Mischief can be read on a number of levels. To start with it is pure fun and a rollicking ride through the ages. However, it is also a meditation upon \"mischief\" and the use of mischief in dealing with trauma, challenging negative authority and gauging risk. Tim Winton once mentioned in one of his talks on his book Breath, that he was worried about the children of today being so wrapped in cotton wool and the potential harm that this may do to them in the long run. Gentle non-harmful mischief is a way out of this and elucidated in this novel which acknowledges its importance to the youth and young adults of today. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJessie searches, and as Elliot says at \"the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.\" As is mostly the case, it is not the destination that is important but the journey and the places that our explorations take us to. That exploring I found captivating and transported me through to philosophers in ancient Greece to diplomatic disputes in Victorian London and back to Perth. The book is a testament to the years of research that Rebecca has completed and brings historical characters to life that will delight both children and adults.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRebecca is to be congratulated on her first book and it is no surprise that she won the Fogarty Literary Award for this.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Reviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn her award-winning debut novel for young adults, Rebecca Higgie takes us into the secret lives of history's mischief-makers - the philosophers and tyrants, the shapeshifters and dragons. 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While this crime was not reported as being motivated by racism, she maintains that she believes it was. She goes on to discuss how, due to a sudden change in her circumstances, she was temporarily forced to work as a cleaning woman, an experience which gave her an insight into the nature of unequal social class relations. For this reason, before beginning People Like Them, I assumed that racism and class differences were to be central themes in her novel. Therefore, on finishing the book I was somewhat perplexed to note that racism seemed not to have played a significant part in the story, if any at all. 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That People Like Them is told from the perspective of the de-facto wife of the murderer gives the book its emotional force and complexity. First of all, that she has known the murderer intimately since his youth allows for a detailed teasing out of the various influences in his life which culminated in the tragedy. Furthermore, she is perfectly situated to witness the ruin brought about by the tragedy. In addition to the death of the five family members, the lives of the murderer’s daughters, his de-facto wife, his parents and friends are left utterly shattered, not to speak of that of the murderer himself. People Like Them is Samira Sedira’s first novel and a highly accomplished one at that. 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As a teenager I read The Buddenbrooks and while I enjoyed it, it remained the only Mann title on my bookshelves.  When I picked up The Magician, fellow staff member Peta advised me to read A Death in Venice first and I am so pleased I did as Toibin draws on it to imagine Mann’s interior life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntimate and respectful of the Nobel Prize winning author, Tobin’s latest book seeks to illuminate the complexities of a man who loves and regards the sensibilities of his nations’ art, music and traditions but refuses to be drawn into its politics or engage in change as it navigates the tumultuous inter war years and the rise of Nazism. We see him as a son, a brother, a husband, a father – a man. A man with a public life who is compelled to write and yet remains a private island to his family and the world. This schism provides the novel with intensity and invites the reader to pause and contemplate the impetus of art. Mann’s sexuality - its impact on his personal life and writing is also  addressed with a sensitivity that holds the reader.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the book Toibin places Mann in his study, cloistered from the outside world. While the door was firmly closed, as a reader I found the privacy Toibin affords Mann with these moments allowed me to imagine him as a writer, as if I was sharing the quietness that allowed him to be. In sharp opposition to this seclusion Mann’s household was large, [he had six children] and mercurial. Suicide, addiction and scandals formed the backdrop to his bohemian family. In striking comparison, Mann’s Teutonic earnestness often saw him at odds with and at times estranged from his siblings and children. Part of the success of this book is the vivid characterisations of Mann’s family and irreverent depictions of historical figures. Isherwood being one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith The Magician Toibin has created an intimate family saga. Quietly and assuredly he has walked Mann through six decades of writing and living. This isn’t a dry biography, it is a sensuous and (I think) unbiased homage to a very human writer. Toibin has offered us readers front row seats as he evokes a life where art is paramount, a force that can’t be denied. How very lucky we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you haven’t read Death in Venice the edition I suggest is translated by Michael Henry Heim and has a wonderful introduction by Michael Cunningham.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Review:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn this novel,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Magician\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e, Colm Tóibín captures the profound personal conflict of Thomas Mann's very public life, and through this life creates an intimate portrait of the twentieth century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen the Great War breaks out in 1914 Thomas Mann, like so many of his fellow countrymen, is fired up with patriotism. He imagines the Germany of great literature and music, which had drawn him away from the stifling, conservative town of his childhood, might be a source of pride once again. But his flawed vision will form the beginning of a dark and complex relationship with his homeland, and see the start of great conflict within his own brilliant and troubled family. Colm Tóibín's epic novel is the story of a man of intense contradictions. Although Thomas Mann becomes famous and admired, his inner life is hesitant, fearful and secretive. His blindness to impending disaster in the Great War will force him to rethink his relationship with Germany as Hitler comes to power. He has six children with his clever and fascinating wife, Katia, while his own secret desires appear threaded through his writing. He and Katia deal with exile bravely, doing everything possible to keep the family safe, yet they also suffer the terrible ravages of suicide among Thomas's siblings, and their own children. In\u003ci\u003e The Magician\u003c\/i\u003e, Colm Tóibín captures the profound personal conflict of a very public life, and through this life creates an intimate portrait of the twentieth century. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Magician\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e 'This graceful novel is a moving and intimate portrait by one master of another . . . It is a stunning tribute to the great man, and a vital story for now.' - Anna Funder \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e'The Magician\u003c\/i\u003e is a remarkable achievement. Mann himself, one feels certain, would approve.' - John Banville \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'As with everything Colm Tóibín sets his masterful hand to, \u003ci\u003eThe Magician\u003c\/i\u003e is a great imaginative achievement - immensely readable, erudite, worldly and knowing, and fully realized.' - Richard Ford\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e 'No living novelist dramatizes artistic creation as profoundly, as luminously, as Colm Tóibín, or conveys so well the entanglement of imagination and desire.' - Garth Greenwell \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'The Magician recaptures a literary giant . . . Toibin's symphonic and moving novel humanizes [Mann]... Maximalist in scope but intimate in feeling' - \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'What Mr. Tóibín's exquisitely sensitive novel gets right, in a way that biography rarely does, is its acknowledgment of unknowability... one of the most sublime endings I've come across in a novel in a long time.' - \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'Extensively researched and lyrically wrought...a complex but empathetic portrayal of a writer in a lifelong battle against his innermost desires, his family and the tumultuous times they endure.' - \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, Best Books of Fall 2021 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'It's hard not to talk about Colm Tóibín's latest novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Magician\u003c\/i\u003e, in the loftiest of terms, as something staggering, or dazzling, or an achievement . . . these accolades feel deserving . . . [a] vast and stunningly realized world . . . you'll find yourself savoring every page.' - \u003ci\u003eVogue \u003c\/i\u003e'a work of huge imaginative sympathy . . . quite thrilling . . . 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