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In the spirit of Station
Eleven and Never Let Me
Go, this dazzling and
ambitious literary debut
follows three generations
of beekeepers from the
past, present, and
future, weaving a
spellbinding story of
their relationship to the
bees – and to their
children and one another
– against the backdrop
of an urgent, global
crisis.England, 1851.
William is a biologist
and seed merchant, who
sets out to build a new
type of beehive—one
that will give both him
and his children honour
and fame.United States,
2007. George is a
beekeeper and fights an
uphill battle against
modern farming, but
hopes that his son can be
their salvation.China,
2098. Tao hand paints
pollen onto the fruit
trees now that the bees
have long since
disappeared. When Tao’s
young son is taken away
by the authorities after
a tragic accident—and
is kept in the dark about
his whereabouts and
condition—she sets out
on a grueling journey to
find out what happened to
him.Haunting,
illuminating, and deftly
written, The History of
Bees joins these three
very different narratives
into one gripping and
thought provoking story
that is just as much
about the powerful
relationships between
children and parents as
it is about our very
relationship to nature
and
humanity.‘Spectacular
and deeply moving. Lunde
has elegantly woven
together a tale of
science and science
fiction, dystopia and
hope, and the trials of
the individual and the
strengths of family’
Lisa See, New York Times
bestselling author‘Such
is the genius of debut
novelist Maja Lunde that
her tale of three
eras—the long past,
the tenuous present and
the biologically damned
future—is strung on the
fragile hope of the
survival of bees’
Jacquelyn Mitchard, New
York Times bestselling
author‘As a lover of
honeybees and a fan of
speculative fiction, I
was doubly smitten by The
History of Bees. Maja
Lunde’s novel is an
urgent reminder of how
much our survival depends
on those remarkable
insects. It is also a
gripping account of
how—despite the
cruelest
losses—humanity may
abide and individual
families can heal’ Jean
Hegland, author of Into
the Forest‘By turns
devastating and hopeful,
The History of
Beesresonates powerfully
with our most pressing
environmental concerns.
Following three separate
but interconnected
timelines, Lunde shows
us the past, the
present, and a
terrifying future in a
riveting story as complex
as a honeycomb’ Bryn
Greenwood, New York
Times bestselling
author‘Here is a story
that is sweeping in scope
but intimate in detail’
Laura McBride, author of
We Are Called to Rise
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`I have rarely seen
modern marriage
reproduced so faithfully
in print. It`s about love
once the early romance
has subsided. Hilarious`
Jojo Moyes, Woman and
Home `Standard Deviation
is a marvel` Kate
Atkinson `Addictive
reading` Mail on Sunday
`A comic masterpiece`
Observer A divinely funny
novel about the
challenges of a good
marriage, the delight
and heartache of raising
children, and the
irresistible temptation
to wonder about the path
not taken. Graham
Cavanaugh`s second wife,
Audra, is everything his
first wife was not. She
considers herself
privileged to live in the
age of the hair towel,
talks non-stop through
her epidural, labour and
delivery, invites the
doorman to move in and
the eccentric members of
their son`s Origami Club
to Thanksgiving. She is
charming and spontaneous
and fun but life with her
can be exhausting. In the
midst of the day-to-day
difficulties and delights
of marriage and raising a
child with Asperger`s,
his first wife, Elspeth,
reenters Graham`s life.
Former spouses are hard
to categorize - are they
friends, enemies, old
flames, or just people
who know you really,
really well? Graham
starts to wonder: How can
anyone love two such
different women? Did he
make the right choice? Is
there a right choice?
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‘This belated
collection shows us the
depths of Fitzgerald`s
vision and talent. Only
now are we beginning to
appreciate what was
lost’ The PoolI`d Die
for You is a collection
of the last remaining
unpublished short stories
by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
iconic author of The
Great Gatsby and Tender
Is the Night. All
eighteen short fictions
collected here were lost
in one sense or another:
physically lost, coming
to light only recently;
lost in the turbulence of
Fitzgerald`s later life;
lost to readers because
his editors sometimes did
not understand what he
was trying to write.
These fascinating stories
offer a new insight into
the arc of Fitzgerald`s
career, and demonstrate
his stylistic agility and
imaginative power as a
writer at the forefront
of Modern literature.
‘Superbly edited and
annotated, this richly
fascinating miscellany is
a marvellous reminder of
what was lost when, at
forty-four, a coronary
killed Fitzgerald’
Sunday
Times‘Forward-thinking
for their time...
Fitzgerald was a master
of short story writing’
The Times‘This
much-vaunted collection
of stories... is a
ragtag bundle of
surprises, curios,
irrelevancies and
delights... We can
marvel at the strength of
his imagination, his
display of elegance and
precision’ Sunday
Telegraph‘Readers will
find much to enjoy in
this gorgeously produced
book’ New York
Times‘A beguiling
meditation on the dark
side of wealth and the
American dream’
Independent
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This is one man`s
journey, swimming across
Britain`s countryside and
immersing in the
sometimes icy waters
while coming to terms
with something more
challenging than the
choppy waters of the
English Channel. As Joe
Minihane comes up for
air, he discovers that
swimming is both a joyous
activity and a voyage
into oneself. Minihane
became obsessed with wild
swimming and its
restorative qualities,
developing a new-found
passion by following the
example of naturalist
Roger Deakin in his
classic Waterlog. While
fighting the currents,
sometimes treading water,
Minihane begins to
confront the buried
issues in his life. Along
the way, he rekindles
old friendships and
forges new ones, and
after an unexpected
setback discovers that he
has already gained enough
strength to continue his
recovery on dry land.
Both strange and
beautiful, the wild
water puts him in touch
with nature and himself.
Floating is a remarkable
memoir about a passion
for swimming and nature.
Moving from darkness into
light, it is as intense
and moving as it is
lyrical and generous. It
captures in memorable
detail Minihane`s
struggle to understand
his life, to move
forward and, steeped in
the anti-authoritarian
and naturalistic spirit
of Deakin, celebrates
the joy of taking time to
enjoy life. From
Hampstead to Yorkshire,
and Dorset to Jura, from
the Isles of Scilly to
Wales, Minihane has
written a love letter to
wild stretches of water.
We swim with him through
ponds and lakes, rivers
and canals, lodes and
marshes, even the
ice-cold sea and come out
of the water
healthier.Review: Lovely,
lively, passionate... a
celebration of nature`s
ability to inspire
healing and joy` --
Robert MacFarlane,
author of Landmarks `I
love this book... this
has to sit next to
Waterlog in every
swimmer`s library` --
Jenny Landreth, author
of Swell: A
Waterbiography `Minihane
writes with a compulsive
honesty and clarity that
draws you into its stream
as beguiling as any river
Deakin ever swam - a
wonderful read. Highly
recommended!` -- Kate Rew
founder of the Outdoor
Swimming Society `A
wonderful book: a love
letter to wild swimming,
a hate letter to anxiety
and a story of how we can
learn to live with
ourselves, our
overclocked minds, even
after we climb out of the
water` -- Joe Dunthorne,
author of Submarine
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FLIGHTS, a novel about
travel in the
twenty-first century and
human anatomy, is Olga
Tokarczuk`s most
ambitious to date. It
interweaves travel
narratives and
reflections on travel
with an in-depth
exploration of the human
body, broaching life,
death, motion, and
migration. From the
seventeenth century, we
have the story of the
Dutch anatomist Philip
Verheyen, who dissected
and drew pictures of his
own amputated leg. From
the eighteenth century,
we have the story of a
North African-born slave
turned Austrian courtier
stuffed and put on
display after his death.
In the nineteenth
century, we follow
Chopin`s heart as it
makes the covert journey
from Paris to Warsaw. In
the present we have the
trials of a wife
accompanying her much
older husband as he
teaches a course on a
cruise ship in the Greek
islands, and the
harrowing story of a
young husband whose wife
and child mysteriously
vanish on a holiday on a
Croatian island. With her
signature grace and
insight, Olga Tokarczuk
guides the reader beyond
the surface layer of
modernity and towards the
core of the very nature
of humankind.
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Shortlisted for the
Walter Scott Prize
2017County Kerry,
Ireland, 1825. Nora,
bereft after the sudden
death of her beloved
husband, finds herself
alone and caring for her
young grandson Micheal.
Micheal cannot speak and
cannot walk and Nora is
desperate to know what is
wrong with him. What
happened to the healthy,
happy grandson she met
when her daughter was
still alive?Mary arrives
in the valley to help
Nora just as the whispers
are spreading: the
stories of unexplained
misfortunes, of
illnesses, and the
rumours that Micheal is a
changeling child who is
bringing bad luck to the
valley. Nance`s knowledge
keeps her apart. To the
new priest, she is a
threat, but to the
valley people she is a
wanderer, a healer.
Nance knows how to use
the plants and berries of
the woodland; she
understands the magic in
the old ways. And she
might be able to help
Micheal. As these three
women are drawn together
in the hope of restoring
Micheal, their world of
folklore and belief, of
ritual and stories,
tightens around them. It
will lead them down a
dangerous path, and
force them to question
everything they have ever
known.Based on true
events and set in a lost
world bound by its own
laws, The Good People is
Hannah Kent`s startling
novel about absolute
belief and devoted love.
Terrifying, thrilling
and moving in equal
measure, this
long-awaited follow-up to
Burial Rites shows an
author at the height of
her powers.
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In 1938, two rival
expeditions set off for a
lost Mayan temple in the
jungles of Honduras, one
intending to shoot a
screwball comedy on
location there, the
other intending to
disassemble it and ship
it back to New York. A
seemingly endless
stalemate ensues, and
twenty years later, when
a rogue CIA agent learns
that both expeditions are
still out in the
wilderness, he embarks
on a mission to exploit
the temple as a
geopolitical pawn. But
the mission hurtles
towards disaster when he
discovers that the temple
is the locus of grander
conspiracies than anyone
could have guessed.
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LONGLISTED FOR THE
WOMEN`S PRIZE FOR FICTION
2018A GUARDIAN BOOK OF
THE YEAR 2017AN OBSERVER
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017A
TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE
YEAR 2017A NEW STATESMAN
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017AN
EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF
THE YEAR 2017 A NEW YORK
TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
2017`Elegant and
evocative.. . A powerful
exploration of the clash
between society, family
and faith in the modern
world` Guardian`There is
high, high music in the
air at the end of Home
Fire` New York TimesIsma
is free. After years
spent raising her twin
siblings in the wake of
their mother`s death,
she is finally studying
in America, resuming a
dream long deferred. But
she can`t stop worrying
about Aneeka, her
beautiful, headstrong
sister back in London -
or their brother,
Parvaiz, who`s
disappeared in pursuit of
his own dream: to prove
himself to the dark
legacy of the jihadist
father he never knew.Then
Eamonn enters the
sisters` lives. Handsome
and privileged, he
inhabits a London worlds
away from theirs. As the
son of a powerful British
Muslim politician,
Eamonn has his own
birthright to live up to
- or defy. Is he to be a
chance at love? The means
of Parvaiz`s salvation?
Two families` fates are
inextricably,
devastatingly entwined in
this searing novel that
asks: what sacrifices
will we make in the name
of love?A contemporary
reimagining of Sophocles`
Antigone, Home Fire is
an urgent, fiercely
compelling story of
loyalties torn apart when
love and politics collide
- confirming Kamila
Shamsie as a master
storyteller of our times.
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Pre order Marian Keyes`
new novel The Break in
paperback NOW... `Myself
and Hugh... We`re taking
a break.`A
city-with-fancy-food sort
of break?`If only.Amy`s
husband Hugh says he
isn`t leaving her.He
still loves her, he`s
just taking a break -
from their marriage,
their children and, most
of all, from their life
together. Six months to
lose himself in
south-east Asia. And
there is nothing Amy can
say or do about it.Yes,
it`s a mid-life crisis,
but let`s be clear: a
break isn`t a break up -
yet... However, for Amy
it`s enough to send her -
along with her extended
family of gossips,
misfits and troublemakers
- teetering over the
edge.For a lot can happen
in six-months. When Hugh
returns if he returns,
will he be the same man
she married? And will Amy
be the same woman?Because
if Hugh is on a break
from their marriage,
then isn`t she?The Break
isn`t a story about
falling in love but about
staying in love. It is
Marian Keyes at her
funniest, wisest and
brilliant best. `A born
storyteller` Independent
on Sunday`When it comes
to writing page-turners
that put a smile on your
face and make you think,
Keyes is in a class of
her own` Daily Express
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