Engelska

Ghost Girl, Banana [Bok / Häftad]

<p><b>Can a name shape the course of a life?</b><br/><br/>In the wake of the 1987 storm, Cora sets off with her 9-year-old daughter Maia to register her son's birth. Her husband Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow his family tradition going back generations, and name the child Gordon. But on the journey there, Cora wonders if it's right to impose the burden of this name and its legacy onto her newborn son. She herself has Julian in mind, and Maia offers up her own suggestion: Bear.<br/><br/>What follows are three alternate and alternating versions of her son's life shaped by Cora's last-minute choice of name. Spanning thirty-five years, the novel takes in themes of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.<br/><br/>In prose as precise and intimate as it is thrilling, Knapp draws us in from the very first page, ushering in the tenderness of close family connections, as we follow three unforgettable journeys, each heart-pounding in its own way. With echoes of <i>Life After Life</i> by Kate Atkinson and deep characterisation reminiscent of Ann Patchett and Maggie O'Farrell, Knapp's debut will make you gasp as you root for Cora, Maia and Bear/Julian/Gordon, weighing up which has been the better life, not just for the central character but also for his mother, grandmother, and sister.</p>

It's early 2020, and with the world in chaos as coronavirus spreads, two lonely people, both seeking to break with their pasts, meet and start sharing a home. One is a former security guard who was captured on video knocking down a protester who died soon afterward; the other, a former teacher accused of driving a student to suicide. In an oppressive atmosphere of tension and fear, the pair avoid direct contact and communicate through notes and their shared presences, close yet distant. Their odd connection, with neither affection nor trust, brings them a kind of privacy and safety they both need - but at what cost?

<p><b>Follow the bank of the Koitogawa river until you reach the beach. From there a path of white seashells will lead you to the Chibineko Kitchen. Step inside, they'll be expecting you.</b><br/><br/>Nagi Hayakawa is facing an impossible choice. Should she agree to marry her boyfriend, despite being ill and not knowing how many years she has left to live, or should she protect him from future heartbreak by refusing? Desperate for advice from the one person no longer there to give it - her mother who died years before - she reserves a table at the Chibineko Kitchen.<br/><br/>When she takes her first bite of the miso-marinated tofu and rice, prepared for her by the restaurant's young chef, Kai, the gulls outside fall silent and the air grows hazy.<br/><br/>Deliciously heart-warming, <i>The Chibineko Kitchen</i> is about savouring every moment.</p>

<p><b><i>Romeo & Juliet </i>meets <i>The Vegetarian</i> in this record-breaking South Korean sensation of a novella</b><br/><br/><i>How should I proceed after I wrap up this story. What should I do. I could go to the police station and confess. I could find a priest and confess. I ate a person. Is that a sin?</i><br/><br/>This story begins with death. When Dam finds the body of her soulmate, Gu, bruised and battered on the street by a gang of government debt collectors, she is paralysed with grief. As she cradles his corpse in her defeated arms, Dam begins to tell it a story.<br/><br/>In a fragmented sequence of monologues and meditations, this unexpected novella slowly builds into a panoramic portrait of two like souls who have passed a lifetime in utter devotion to one another. It's a story that snakes between past and present where, as she narrates, Dam is committing one final act to the tale of their undying love.<br/><br/>Dam is slowly eating Gu, whose body she has lovingly washed, embalmed and elected to preserve in her own - where he will rest - for all eternity. At once romantic and horrific, HUNGER is an instant classic of philosophical fiction that cuts to the very heart of existence, love, loss, and how ferociously we rage - tooth and nail - against our own mortality.</p>

The Life Impossible [Bok / Pocket]

<p><b>*An Amazon Best Fiction Book of 2024*</b><br/><br/></p><p><b>She did everything right. So why did it go so wrong?</b><br/><i><b>Jade isn't even my real name. Jade began as my Starbucks name, because all children of immigrants have a Starbucks name.</b></i><br/><b>'I loved Jade. Rooting for her felt like rooting for myself' </b>Reader review<br/><b>'It really is one of the most moving books I've ever read and far easier to read than a book this deep should be, thanks to the authors beautiful writing' </b>Reader review<br/><b>'Jade was the perfect main character. I loved reading her story ... I urge everyone to read this' </b>Reader review<br/><i>------------------</i><br/><b>Jade has become everything she ever wanted to be.</b><br/>Successful lawyer. Dutiful daughter. Beloved girlfriend. Loyal friend.<br/><br/>Until one night, something terrible happens after a work event, and she starts to wonder if she really wants to be the person she's become.<br/>She's learned to laugh when she's felt like crying, opted to be invisible when she wanted to speak up and changed her identity to please people. But now Jade has to make a decision for herself. The question is, which is the right one?<br/>This searing novel explores the strength we find in female friendship, the hope that lights up the dark moments and recovery that's far from linear, and will leave you asking yourself: what would you have done in Jade's situation?<br/><b>'</b>Ela Lee is a remarkable new voice in fiction ... <b>JADED made me laugh, cry and really bloody furious' Stacey Halls, <i>Sunday Times </i>bestselling author of <i>The Familiars</i></b><br/>'<b>Brilliantly empowering... a love letter to female friendship</b>' Emily Koch<br/>'JADED is a thoughtful, hard-hitting exploration of race, identity, and the rippling effects of sexual assault. Ela Lee writes with an urgency and clarity that will have you hooked until the last page.' <b>Cecile Pin, Women's Prize longlisted author of <i>Wandering Souls</i> </b><br/>'This raw, dark novel explores racism, class and sexism and you'll want to savour every word on every page' <b><i>Refinery 29</i></b><br/><b>'</b>A raw, compulsive and nuanced novel<b>' <i>i</i> newspaper</b><br/></p>