Showing titles in Contemporary Fiction

In 1904, six-year-old Polly Flint is sent to live with her aunt’s in a house by the sea. Orphaned shortly thereafter, Polly will spend the next eighty years stranded in this quiet corner of the world as 20th century rages in the background. Throughout it all Polly returns again and again to the story of Robinson Crusoe, who, marooned like her, fends off the madness of isolation with imagination.

" À force d'écrire des nouvelles, je me suis lancée dans la rédaction d'un roman. Le premier est toujours un peu autobiographique. " Françoise Bourdin. Une histoire personnelle et authentique, d'une jeune femme dont la précocité littéraire laissait présager l'auteur à venir. Frédérique est une jeune fille pleine de fougue et passionnée de course hippique. À dix-sept ans, elle décide de fuir la relation fusionnelle mais compliquée qu'elle vit avec son premier amour, Joël.

〔ブッカー賞受賞〕短い旅に出た執事が美しい田園風景のなか古き時代を回想する。

A murder has taken place in a tony Mumbai neighbourhood. A prime suspect, Prashanth, keeps his silence in the interrogation room as Inspector Khan plays the tapes of his therapy sessions. The explosive tapes, surreptitiously recorded by therapist Shaily Gupta, slowly reveal shocking information about Prashanth, about his relationship with his girlfriend Sonya, about the therapist and about the gruesome murder in question.

１４歳で母を亡くした浩輔は、同性愛者である自分を押し殺し過ごした思春期を経て、東京で暮らしていた。ある日、癌の母と暮らすトレーナーの龍太と出会う。そんな浩輔を待ち受けていた、残酷な運命とは…。

During the day, the heat of June clashes with the start of the rainy season, while at night, the fragrance of damp leaves flows through the open window. But the coming of summer does little to warm Lily’s spirits. As the world turns slower than it did yesterday, a new emptiness appears which the vibrant colours fail to fill.

Wenn das Ende erst der Anfang ist ... Kim Ribbig hat den Schockdoktor Martin Rudbeck gekidnappt und hält ihn im Keller seiner Villa fest. Er will verstehen, was es ist, das einen Menschen dazu bringt, unter dem Vorwand der Wissenschaft junge Menschen zu quälen. Derweil recherchiert die Ex-Polizistin Julia Malmros im Milieu der "Wahren Schweden", einer rechtsextremen Partei mit Kontakten in die kriminelle Szene. Und plötzlich steht Julia vor der schwersten Entscheidung ihres Lebens: Muss sie Kim, der zu einem Teil von ihr geworden ist, verraten?

«Nací cuando mis padres ya no se querían», recuerda Adriana, mucho después de que todo haya sucedido. Por ello, la niña se crea un paraíso propio, poblado por amigos imaginarios y una familia de su elección. «Uno de mis recuerdos más lejanos se remonta a la noche en que vi correr al Unicornio que vivía enmarcado en la reproducción de un famoso tapiz. Con asombrosa nitidez, le vi echar a correr y desaparecer por un ángulo del marco, para reaparecer enseguida y retomar su lugar; hermoso, blanquísimo y enigmático.»

Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen (French: Cinq semaines en ballon) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing a plot full of adventure and twists that hold the reader's interest with passages of technical, geographic, and historic description.

Neil Munro's captivating Tales of Para Handy, captain of the "Vital Spark", the "smertest" steamboat ever to sail the River Clyde. Whatever happened to the shaggy dog story? Very few, if any seem to be published these days. Maybe our lives are all too pressurised and full-on to allow us to kick back and listen to an engaging, diverting, well-told tale.

Antwerpen, Hauptbahnhof, Salle des pas perdus im Jahr 1967. Dem Erzähler fällt ein Mann auf, der eingehend die Architektur des Gebäudes betrachtet. Die beiden Herren kommen ins Gespräch und verabreden sich für den nächsten Tag. Aus dem zufälligen Zusammentreffen wird ein über 30 Jahre andauerndes Gespräch an verschiedensten Orten Europas. Zwischen London, Paris und Prag erzählt der Kunsthistoriker Austerlitz seine Geschichte.

Le retour de l'auteur japonais le plus lu en France. Dans son nouveau roman qui a fait sensation au Japon, on retrouvera l'onirisme caractéristique de l'œuvre de Haruki Murakami, dans la lignée de ses grands succès, Kafka sur le rivage, 1Q84, La Course au mouton sauvage, Au sud de la frontière à l'ouest du soleil, Le Meurtre du commandeur, Des hommes sans femmes, L'Incolore Tsukuru Tazaki et ses années de pèlerinage, Abandonner un chat, Première personne du singulier ou encore La Ballade de l'impossible.

"Behunytam szemem, hőséget éreztem, szédülést. Ez a szédülés pillanatokig tartott. Kezem védekezően nyújtottam ki" most megkérdi - gondoltam -, Istenem, most megkérdi. Mit? Talán, hogy miért történt az egész? Talán, hogy én voltam-e a gyáva? Nem, most felelni kell! "Mélyen lélegeztem, s ránéztem, készen a válaszra."

Written 20 years ago, Puberty Blues is the best-selling account of growing up in the 1970s that took Australia by storm and spawned an eponymous cult movie. Puberty Blues is about "top chicks" and "surfie spunks" and the kids who don't quite make the cut: it recreates with fascinating honesty a world where only the gang and the surf count. It's a hilarious and horrifying account of the way many teenagers live, and some of them die.

Rosie Gardener and Vickie Winters were best friends, closer than sisters. Svelte and single Vickie only wanted the best for her friend - and she couldn't stay quiet when Rosie, overweight and unable to see her own worth, fell under the spell of Kent Bliss, a two-timing cad. The night before Rosie's wedding was the last time Vickie spoke to her - to warn her about Kent's true nature. On her third wedding anniversary, Rosie realizes Vickie was right--and that the Porsche and other indulgences were her attempts to buy the love of a man who only cared about himself.

Where can a woman turn when her own life threatens to overwhelm her ability to keep her children safe? New York Times best-selling author Jacquelyn Mitchard takes the readers of her newest novel on a wry and moving journey of loss and healing.

Brad spends his days swinging a hammer and his weekend nights pouring drinks just to keep his nose clean. At only 21, he's already had enough trouble to last him a lifetime. But when he realizes the boy upstairs has new injuries that coincide with loud shouting matches from that apartment, he knows he has to do something to help.

Diese rührende Geschichte über das Verlieren und Wiederfinden sowie zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen möchte man gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen. Henry entflieht seinem stressigen Job als Reisebegleiter, um in einem Fundbüro der Bahn, das von seinem Onkel geleitet wird, zu arbeiten. Auf seiner neuen Arbeitsstelle trifft Henry viele interessante Menschen und verliebt sich sogar. Jedoch muss er einige Rückschläge einstecken und sich außerdem mit einer Motorradgang auseinandersetzen, die nicht nur ihn bedroht. Doch egal was passiert, für seine Kollegen, die er schnell kennen und lieben lernt, ist er sich für nichts zu schade.

He's big. He's bold. He's brash. And as the new governor of Minnesota, Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente is the most compelling figure to appear on the state - and national - political landscape in decades.

The new King of American Politics (and former UWA World Champion) tells all to best-selling author, public radio show host, and fellow Minnesotan Garrison Keillor. This is satire at its best, delivered as only Keillor can.

A novel for everyone, Shelve Under C is a big, leaning stack of humor, heart, stray cat hairs, old book dust, mystery, family drama, longing, and hope. Used bookshops often have a cat or two roaming the aisles, sleeping on the shelves, or sleeping on the customers. Here is a novel all about one bookshop and its resident cats, Stomper and Buglit; and about Kris, a 12-year-old boy who apprentices in the shop. Kris is a little bit like the cats: he's a foster child getting used to a new family, and the cats are being fostered in the bookshop for the local shelter.