With ideas for your to be read piles:
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THE SWIMMERS
by Chloe Lane
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‘Tackles the subject of
assisted dying with wit and pathos’
The Independent
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When an affair ends badly and takes her career down
with it, 26-year-old Erin leaves Auckland to spend the holiday
weekend with her aunt, uncle and terminally ill mother at their
suburban family home. On arrival she learns that her mother has
decided to take matters into her own hands and end her life – the
following Tuesday.
Tasked with fulfilling her mother’s final
wishes, Erin finds herself navigating an eccentric neighbourhood, and
her complicated family of former competitive swimmers. She must
summon the strength she would normally find in the water as she
prepares to lose the fiery, independent woman who raised her alone.
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The Swimmers is a witty, clever, quietly moving
story from a bold New Zealand talent, Longlisted for the 2021
Ockham Fiction award.
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Praise for The Swimmers
Longlisted for
the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021
‘Tackles the subject of assisted dying with
wit and pathos’
The Independent
‘Darkly funny, desperately sad, brilliantly
written. I absolutely loved it’
Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
‘This book is spectacular. A perfect blend of
devastating humour and sadness’
Emily
Austin, author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead
‘Tragic, warm and darkly funny, The Swimmers left me breathless with sorrow yet also strangely
hopeful.'
Hannah
Persaud, author of The Codes of Love
‘A beautiful, heart rending and totally
absorbing narrative, a compulsive page turner from start to end... a
little masterpiece’
Fiona Kidman, author of This Mortal Boy
‘An observational tragicomedy [The Swimmers]
traces the small panics, collaborative denial, and suburban antics
that a family perfects in their attempts to keep their heads above
dangerous emotional waters’
Foreword Reviews
‘An intense, moving and darkly comic story
about unrepentant, difficult women’
New Zealand
Herald
‘By turns touching, resonate, fiercely candid,
and beautifully written’
Jill Ciment,
author of The Body in Question
‘The Swimmers has the kind
of intelligent and beautiful quiet that explodes a brightness deep
within the reader… I can’t remember the last time I read a more
generous book about care, courage and figuring it out’
Pip Adam, author of The New Animals
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about the author
Chloe Lane is a writer and the founding editor of Hue+Cry
Press.
The
Swimmers is her first novel and was longlisted for the Ockham
New Zealand Book Awards 2021.
She lives in
Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband and young son.
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HERITAGE
by Miguel Bonnefoy
translated by Emily Boyce
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This pocket-sized family saga confirms the
rich imagination and storytelling talents of exciting young author
Miguel Bonnefoy.
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A winegrower ruined by the Great French Vine Blight
takes his one surviving vine stock and boards a ship for
California. But the new life he has in store is not the one he had
imagined – taken ill aboard ship, he is forced to disembark at
Valparaíso, where a misunderstanding at the customs post finds him
rebaptized after his birthplace, Lons-le-Saunier: the Lonsonier
family is born in Chile.
Making the journey in reverse, his sons
return to defend the motherland in 1914, and the ghosts of the war
live on across the Atlantic, in a house with three lemon trees and
a garden filled with birds, for years to come.
From the depths of the trenches to the
soaring peaks of the Andes and the shadow of dictatorship, the
personal stories of the Lonsoniers collide with key moments in a
century of global history, painting a vivid picture of what is both
gained and lost through migration.
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Praise
for Heritage
Shortlisted
for the Prix Goncourt, the Goncourt des Lycéens, the Grand Prix de
l’Académie Française, the Prix Femina and the Prix Femina des
Lycéens
‘Rich, evocative, charming, and quite simply
stunning’
Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Last Train to London
‘A lyrical fever dream of a novel. By turns
tender and ferocious, meditative and searing, it traces a graceful,
looping line across history and generations, in the process laying
bare the shared dreams, joys, and traumas that connect us as human
beings. I loved it’ Jennifer Cody Epstein, USA
Today bestselling author of Wunderland
‘Translated exquisitely into English with
beauty and precision, Bonnefoy’s bold and magical book is a
triumph’
Patty Dann, author of Mermaids
‘In the space of barely 200 pages, with a
remarkable sense for what to tell and what to leave unsaid … Heritage is a novel about uprooting and second chances,
the opposition between the forces of life and destruction, the
elation of dreams and disenchantment’
Le Figaro
‘Brilliantly combines personal stories with
key moments in world History with a capital H … Miguel Bonnefoy’s
novels take you on an enchanting journey through space and
time’
Lire
‘A 33-year-old Franco-Venezuelan whose
storytelling talents never cease to impress’
L’Express
‘A saga as gripping as it is bold’
Lire
‘Best of all are the passionate, tenacious
female characters … A dramatic, colourful novel about exile and
inheritance’
Libération
‘An extraordinary feel for detail combined
with an equal deftness for ellipsis … Magnificent’
Le Monde
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12 Eccleston Street
London, | SW1W 9LT
United Kingdom
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THE SWALLOWED MAN
by Edward Carey
mass market paperback edition
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"I am writing this account, in another man’s
book, by candlelight, inside the belly of a fish. I have been
eaten. I have been eaten, yet I am living still."
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From the acclaimed author of Little comes this beautiful and haunting
reimagining of the years Geppetto spends within the belly of a sea
beast. Ever the creator, he finds new ways to make art, all the
while musing on relationships past: his wayward son of wood, his
own difficult ‘Babbo’, and love affairs long gone. He is
accompanied by his memories, the tiny crab that lives in his beard,
and images of the family of Captain Tugthus, whose swallowed ship
gives Geppetto provisions and shelter inside the fish. And then
there is an eerie disembodied voice …
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Drawing upon the classic Pinocchio story while
creating something entirely his own, Carey tells an unforgettable
tale of fatherly love and loss, of pride and regret, and of the
sustaining power of art and imagination. Geppetto’s moving tale is
brought to life in Carey’s beautiful illustrations and photographs
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INTERVIEWS
WITH EDWARD CAREY
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Praise
for The Swallowed Man
‘Art objects live in the belly of this marvellous
novel, images swallowed by text, sustained by a sublime and loving
imagination. Like all Edward Carey’s work The Swallowed Man is
profound and delightful. It is a strange and tender parable of two
maddening obsessions; parenting and art-making’
Max Porter,
author of Lanny
‘Gepetto, carver of naughty Pinocchio, keeps
a haunting journal of his years inside the whale… Bizarre, moving,
intensely odd’
Margaret
Atwood
‘A marvellous feat of storytelling that
dives deep into the madness accompanying solitude and
creativity’
Daily Mail
‘Haunting. Geppetto’s voice, full of wistful
overemphases and bewildered revelation, is absorbing as he takes in
the oddity of his situation. And the book, sentence by sentence,
offers much in which to luxuriate’
Sunday
Times
‘A tale with plenty to say about prickly
father-son relationships and the responsibility that comes with
creation’
Mail on
Sunday
‘Inspired. . . . a riff on the entwined
themes of fatherhood and creative spark’
New York Times
Book Review
‘The
Swallowed Man stands out among
Carey’s other works. . . . an existential fairy tale for adults
told by an old artist considering the tragedy of life’
The
Washington Post
‘When I say that this is a beautiful book, I
mean that literally— the language as well as the art. . . . A
spectacular experience’
Bill
Goldstein, NBC
‘Deep and grimly whimsical'
Kirkus Reviews
‘A re-imagining of Pinocchio, told from the
viewpoint of the beast-entrapped Geppetto, it surprise and
delights, and saddens and gladdens, from start to finish'
The Big Issue
'The Swallowed
Man is a book unlike any
other that I have read for many a long year. That is recommendation
enough. Added to which it is written with fluent economy, poetic
clarity and imaginative daring. What a high note on which to end
this year of too many lows’
The Herald
‘Strange and lovely’
Rhik Samadder
‘A thing of physical beauty… The Swallowed Man can be read as an extended metaphor about the
power of art. Or perhaps it’s just a strange and hypnotic story
about a man stuck inside a fish’
The Times
‘Whimsical and macabre’
Strong
Words Magazine
‘Richly descriptive and abundantly playful .
. . [an] endearing meditation on creation and its power, conveying
how much the act adds to our existence’
Austin
Chronicle
‘A beautiful and dark meditation on
fatherhood, mercy, redemption and the alchemy of isolation.
Strange, moving and musical, it’s a delight’
A. L. Kennedy
‘Just magical – it’s that time of year, this
is a perfect Christmas present for the person in the family who
likes an original read’
NB Magazine
‘There’s plenty of mischief here and it’s a
delight to read’
Voice Magazine
‘A magical meditation on fatherly love, loss
and regret, and the transformative power of creative art’
Bookanista
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12 Eccleston Street
London, | SW1W 9LT
United Kingdom
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It is with great sadness that Gallic Books
announces the death of Liliane Korb, one half of the bestselling
writing duo known as Claude Izner.
Liliane worked for a long time as a film
editor, before becoming a bookseller on the banks of the Seine and,
along with her sister, was an expert on nineteenth-century
Paris. Murder
on the Eiffel Tower was the
first title published by Gallic Books in 2007. Gallic Books has
since published the remaining five books in the Victor Legris
series, and are honoured to have been able to share this vivid
French mystery series with English-speaking readers.
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12
Eccleston Street
London, | SW1W 9LT United Kingdom
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LEAN ON ME
by Serge Joncour
translated by Jane Aitken & Louise Rogers Lalaurie
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When a
flock of crows invades their shared apartment block,
farmer-turned-debt collector Ludovic and fashion designer Aurore
speak for the first time. With nothing but the birds in common, the
two are destined for separate lives, yet are drawn inexplicably together.
Though their story is set in Paris, the tale
of Ludovic and Aurore is far from an idyllic romance. With one
trapped in an unhappy marriage and the other lost in grief, the
city of love has brought each of them only isolation and pain. Love
between such different people seems doomed to failure, but for
these two unhappy souls trapped in ruthless worlds, perhaps loving
one another is the greatest form of resistance.
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From the author of Wild Dog, Lean on
Me explores the
realities of unlikely love, and how connection and intimacy offer
us an escape from the loneliness of the modern world
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‘Life beyond the périphérique beltway’ |
Louise Rogers Lalaurie on Translating Lean on Me
"I think ‘register’ and tone
are the biggest challenge when translating from French: things that
sound natural or everyday in French can come out rather
heavy-handed or high-flown in English."
Co-translator of Lean on Me Louise Rogers Lalaurie discusses Serge Joncour's novel, the
peculiar challenges of translating from French to English, and her
dream translation projects.
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'Reconciling Opposites' | Q&A with Serge
Joncour
“It seems to me that there are multiple forms of
loneliness; from the loneliness you feel when you are physically
alone, to the loneliness you feel when surrounded by others.”
Serge Joncour answers questions on Lean on Me, the writing life, and his fascination with the
natural world on the Gallic Books blog.
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‘This
richly observed and thoughtful novel is part love story, part
meditation on the loneliness of urban life and the necessity of
connection’
Booklist
Magazine
‘Serge Joncour has perfected his work down to the very last
detail’
Le Parisien
‘Some books have an unexpectedly powerful effect on you. Lean on
Me, despite its deceptively calm title, is one of these, [with]
lyrical lines that stay with you long after the book is
closed’
Elle
‘A terrific love story’
Livres Hebdo
‘Joncour describes the dizzying effects of love and the power of
attraction without raising the tone, retaining instead the magic
behind a sentence that allows you to move seamlessly from laughing
to crying’
Télérama
‘An agonizingly charming love story’
Culture Papier
‘A call to openness… an optimistic, comforting story’
Le Devoir
‘A love story that also paints an image of society and is
interspersed with humour, tenderness and intelligence. Joncour … is
in his element. Clearly, we can lean on him’
L’Express
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12 Eccleston Street
London, | SW1W 9LT
United Kingdom
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RED IS MY HEART
by Antoine Laurain + Le Sonneur
translated by Jane Aitken
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Sharp, yet warm, whimsical and deeply Parisian, this
is a must for all Antoine Laurain fans.
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How can you
mend a broken heart? Do you write a letter to the woman who left you
– and post it to an imaginary address? Buy a new watch, to reset your
life? Or get rid of the jacket you wore every time you argued,
because it was in some way … responsible?
Combining the wry musings of a rejected lover
with playful drawings in just three colours – red, black and white –
bestselling author of The
Red Notebook, Antoine
Laurain, and renowned street artist Le Sonneur have created a
striking addition to the literature of unrequited love.
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Praise for Antoine Laurain
'Parisian perfection'
HRH the Duchess
of Cornwall
‘A master storyteller’
Huffington Post
‘The very quintessence of French romance’
The Times
‘A little like finding a gem among the
bric-a-brac in a local brocante’
The Telegraph
‘Soaked in Parisian atmosphere … will have you
rushing to the Eurostar post-haste’
Daily Mail
Praise for The Readers' Room
The plot blends mystery with comedy to great
effect, and, as ever, Laurain has fun at the expense of his
countrymen’
Daily Mail
‘A stylish whodunnit blended with an
affectionate send-up of the world of books’
Sunday Mirror
‘[An] elegantly written little gem… the whole
thing is such fun’
The Big Issue
‘Laurain has spun a fantastically intricate
web here, where the smallest detail could be significant, and, no
matter how sure you are that you’ve grasped it, he is one step ahead.
Joyously far-fetched and metafictional’
The Herald
‘A profound love of books and authors
underpins this sprightly mystery’
Publishers
Weekly
‘A cracking literary murder mystery’
Tatler
‘A quirky, clever mystery with a unique plot’
Candis
‘A brief blackly comic masterpiece… An
observation on life’s rich tapestry; absurd, witty, truthful and
engaging’
Crime Time
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