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Archives: Books

Anxious People

The funny, touching and unpredictable No. 1 New York Times bestseller, now a major Netflix TV series

‘A brilliant and comforting read’ MATT HAIG
‘Funny, compassionate and wise. An absolute joy’ A.J. PEARCE
‘A surefooted insight into the absurdity, beauty and ache of life’ GUARDIAN
‘I laughed, I sobbed, I recommended it to literally everyone I know’ BUZZFEED
‘Captures the messy essence of being human’ WASHINGTON POST

From the 18 million copy internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove
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It’s New Year’s Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment when an incompetent bank robber rushes in and politely takes everyone hostage.

For Anna-Lena and Roger, busy buying-up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage, it’s something else to talk about.

For Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be, it’s yet another worry.

Lonely bank manager Zara only came here for the view.

While 87-year-old grandmother Estelle seems rather pleased by the company . . .

As the police gather outside, the anxious strangers huddled within try to make the best of a very sticky situation – but could it be that they have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye?
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Readers are loving Anxious People!

‘Backman never disappoints . . . heartwarming and multi layered’ 5***** READER REVIEW

‘As always Backman manages to delight . . . a really satisfying ending that makes you feel better about the world’ 5***** READER REVIEW

‘A wonderfully unusual tale, told with flair and finesse that is so wonderful it is sure to cure everything that ails you. Don’t miss out on this beautiful book’ 5***** READER REVIEW

‘This novel is about humanity at its most raw and at its most wonderful and I LOVED it!’ 5***** READER REVIEW

Demon Copperhead

A masterful recasting of David Copperfield, narrated by an Appalachian boy whose wise, unwavering voice relates his encounters with poverty, addiction, institutional failures and moral collapse-and his efforts to conquer them. – the Pulitzer

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JSMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR FICTION
THE MULTI-MILLION COPY SELLING AUTHOR
BOOK AT BEDTIME ON BBC RADIO 4
AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK
WITH OVER 26,000 5* REVIEWS

‘Extraordinary.’ OPRAH
‘She means to save us by telling us stories. . . She comes closer than anyone else I know.’ ANN PATCHETT
‘Electrifying. . . Every sentence here sizzles.‘ Daily Mail
‘It’s EPIC. Righteously angry, DEEPLY moving and exquisitely written.’ MARIAN KEYES

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Demon Copperhead is a once-in-a-generation novel that breaks and mends your heart in the way only the best fiction can.

Demon’s story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking ‘like a little blue prizefighter.’ For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.

In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn’t an idea, it’s as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn’t an abstraction, it’s neighbours, parents, and friends. ‘Family’ could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he’s willing to travel to try and get there.

Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.

‘Legit about to get an ‘I’d rather be reading Demon Copperhead’ sticker for my Nissan Murano.’ ROB DELANEY

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What readers are saying:

***** ‘An amazing, beautifully written story I cannot wait to recommend to everyone I know.’

***** ‘Powerful and brilliant. To immerse yourself in a Kingsolver novel is to put yourself in the hands of a master.’

***** ‘A must read and heart-opening book.’

***** ‘Raw, angry, starkly beautiful. . . Genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read.’

***** ‘Amazingly complex. . . [Kingsolver] is, by far, one of the greatest living authors’

The Forty Rules of Love

*The international bestseller from the author of the Booker-shortlisted novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World*

* One of the BBC’s ‘100 Novels that Shaped the World’*

“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven’t loved enough…”

Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella’s life – an emptiness once filled by love.

So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work.

It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored. . .

‘Enlightening, enthralling. An affecting paean to faith and love’ Metro

‘Colourfully woven and beguilingly intelligent’ Daily Telegraph

‘The past and present fit together beautifully in a passionate defence of passion itself’ The Times

Eragon

One boy . . . One dragon . . . A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands…

Eldest

Darkness falls . . . Despair abounds . . . Evil reigns . . .

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesméra, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn’t sure whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall – one that puts Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life . . .

Brisingr

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors, Eragon and Saphira narrowly escaped with their lives. But more awaits the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by promises he may not be able to keep, including his oath to cousin Roran to help rescue his beloved Katrina. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes, Eragon must make choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Conflict, action, adventure and one devastating death await readers as Eragon battles on behalf of the Varden while Galbatorix ruthlessly attempts to crush and twist him to his own purposes. Can he become a leader who can unite the rebel forces and defeat the King?

Inheritance

It began with Eragon . . . It ends with Inheritance.

Not so very long ago, Eragon – Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider – was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now, the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

The Rider and his dragon have come farther than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

Featuring spectacular artwork by cult artist John Jude Palencar, this stunning book brings the bestselling Inheritance cycle to a breathtaking conclusion.

Wonder

‘Has the power to move hearts and change minds’ Guardian

‘Tremendously uplifting and a novel of all-too-rare power’ Sunday Express

‘An amazing book . . . I absolutely loved it. I cried my eyes out’ Tom Fletcher

Read the award-winning, multi-million copy bestselling phenomenon that is WONDER in this new tenth anniversary edition.

‘My name is August. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.’

Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things – eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary – inside. But ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren’t stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he’s being sent to a real school – and he’s dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted – but can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, underneath it all?

A funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut – and a true global phenomenon – to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

Discover more from the World of Wonder:

White Bird, a graphic novel *Soon to be a motion picture!*
Auggie & Me
365 Days of Wonder
We’re All Wonders

And read more from R. J. Palacio with Pony, an unforgettable new story!

Everything, Everything

‘Powerful, lovely, heart-wrenching, and so absorbing I devoured it in one sitting’ – Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places

If you loved Hazel and Augustus, Violet and Finch, and Mia and Adam, get ready to fall again for Maddy and Olly – the girl who lives in a bubble, and the boy next door . . . Soon to be a major motion picture!

This is the story of the thrill and heartbreak that ensues when we break out of our shell to do crazy, sometimes death-defying things for love.

Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddy, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Olly writes his IM address on a piece of paper, shows it at her window, and suddenly, a door opens. Maddy is certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

The Sun is also a Star

The fantastic new YA love story from master storyteller and author of Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon

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