Edward St Aubyn4.0 Edward St. Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose novels were some of the most celebrated works of fiction of the past decade. Ecstatic praise came from a wide range of admirers, from literary superstars such as Zadie Smith, Francine Prose, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Michael Chabon to pop-culture icons such as Anthony Bourdain and January Jones. Now St. Aubyn returns with a hilariously smart send-up of a certain major British literary award. The judges on the panel of the Elysian Prize for Literature must get through hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year. Meanwhile, a host of writers are desperate for Elysian attention: the brilliant writer and serial heartbreaker Katherine Burns; the lovelorn debut novelist Sam Black; and Bunjee, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm. Things go terribly wrong when Katherine’s publisher accidentally submits a cookery book in place of her novel; one of the judges finds himself in the middle of a scandal; and Bunjee, aghast to learn his book isn’t on the short list, seeks revenge. Lost for Words is a witty, fabulously entertaining satire that cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, and asks how we can ever hope to recognize real talent when everyone has an agenda.
Sebastian Faulks4.0 A gloriously witty novel from Sebastian Faulks using P.G.Wodehouse's much-loved characters, Jeeves and Wooster, fully authorised by the Wodehouse estate.
Due to a series of extenuating circumstances, Bertie Wooster, recently returned from a very pleasurable sojourn in Cannes, finds himself at the home of Sir Henry Hackwood. Bertie is, of course, familiar with the set-up at a country house. He can always rely on Jeeves, his loyal butler to have packed the correct number of trousers and is a natural at cocktail hour. But this time, it is Jeeves who can be found in the drawing room, while Bertie finds himself below stairs.
As is so often the case, love is the cause of the confusion. You see, Bertie met Georgiana, Georgiana liked Bertie, the feeling was mutual. Though he could be said to suffer from a reputation for flirtations, it looks as though this is the real deal. However, Georgiana is a ward of Sir Henry Hackwood and, in order to maintain his beloved Melbury Hall, Hackwood has already struck a deal would see Georgiana becoming Mrs Rupert Venables. Meanwhile, Peregrine "Woody" Beeching is trying to regain the trust of his fiancee Amelia. But why would this necessitate Bertie having to pass himself off as a valet when he has never so much as made a cup of tea? Could it be that every loyal, self-effacing, Kant loving, Jeeves has an ulterior motive? But future happiness is not the only thing at stake: there is a frightfully important cricket match and the loaded question of who one fancies for Ascot.
Evoking the sunlit days of a time gone-by, JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS is a delightfully witty story of love, reputation and mistaken intentions.
Hanif Kureishi0.0 This is the new novel from Hanif Kureishi: an outrageous, clever and very funny story of sex, lies, art and what defines a life. Mamoon is an eminent Indian-born writer who has made a career in England - but now, in his early 70s, his reputation is fading, sales have dried up, and his new wife has expensive taste. Harry, a young writer, is commissioned to write a biography to revitalise both Mamoon's career and his bank balance. Harry greatly admires Mamoon's work and wants to uncover the truth of the artist's life. Harry's publisher seeks a more naked truth, a salacious tale of sex and scandal that will generate headlines. Meanwhile Mamoon himself is mining a different vein of truth altogether. Harry and Mamoon find themselves in a battle of wills, but which of them will have the last word? The ensuing struggle for dominance raises issues of love and desire, loyalty and betrayal, and the frailties of age versus the recklessness of youth. Hanif Kureishi has created a tale brimming with youthful exuberance, as hilarious as it is touching, where words have the power to forge a world.
Хелен Филдинг3.7 Вы никогда не позволяли себе съесть третье пирожное, выпить лишнего или без повода? Вы никогда не забывали забрать детей из школы? Вы не обещали себе, что с понедельника бросите курить и начнете делать зарядку? Никогда не выглядели глупо и нелепо? И не писали в Твиттер о свидании, хотя оно еще не закончилось? Нет? Тогда эта книга не для вас.
Хелен Филдинг продолжает историю трогательной Бриджит Джонс. Дневник Бриджит – для таких бедовых и неутомимых искательниц счастья, как она сама. В погоне за счастьем на помощь ей приходят подруги и сайты знакомств, но настоящая любовь ждет Бриджит совершенно в другом месте.
Джон Нивен0.0
Kennedy Marr is a novelist from the old school. Irish, acerbic, and a borderline alcoholic and sex-addict, his mantra is drink hard, write hard and try to screw every woman you meet.
He's writing film scripts in LA, fucking, drinking and insulting his way through Californian society, but also suffering from writers block and unpaid taxes. Then a solution presents itself - Marr is to be the unlikely recipient of the W. F. Bingham Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Modern Literature, an award worth half a million pounds. But it does not come without a price: he must spend a year teaching at the English university where his ex-wife and estranged daughter now reside.
As Kennedy acclimatises to the sleepy campus, inspiring revulsion and worship in equal measure, he's forced to reconsider his precarious lifestyle. Incredible as it may seem, there might actually be a father and a teacher lurking inside this 'preening, narcissistic, priapic, sociopath'. Or is there.
Straight White Male is a no-holds-barred look into the mid-life crisis and the contemporary male sexual psyche. It is a brilliant new satire from one of Britain's sharpest writers.
Joseph O'Connor0.0
At college in 1980s Luton, Robbie Goulding, an Irish-born teenager, meets the elusive Fran Mulvey, an orphaned Vietnamese refugee. Together they form a band. Joined by cellist Sarah-Thérèse Sherlock and her twin brother Seán on drums, The Ships in the Night set out to chase fame. But the story of this makeshift family is haunted by ghosts from the past.
Spanning 25 years, The Thrill of it All rewinds and fast-forwards through an evocative soundtrack of struggle and laughter. Infused with blues, ska, classic showtunes, New Wave and punk, using interviews, lyrics, memoirs and diaries, the tale stretches from suburban England to Manhattan's East Village, from Thatcher-era London to the Hollywood Bowl, from the meadows of the Glastonbury Festival to a wintry Long Island, culminating in a Dublin evening in July 2012, a night that changes everything.
A story of loyalties, friendship, the call of the muse, and the beguiling shimmer of teenage dreams, this is a warm-hearted, funny and deeply moving novel for anyone that's ever loved a song.
