NEW RELEASES (23.8.24)
The following books are keenly awaiting admission to your shelf.
Click through to our webiste for your copies:
Diaries by Franz Kafka (translated by Ross Benjamin) $50
Dating from 1909 to 1923, Franz Kafka's Diaries contains a broad array of writing, including accounts of daily events, assorted reflections and observations, literary sketches, drafts of letters, records of dreams, and unrevised texts of stories. This volume makes available for the first time in English a comprehensive reconstruction of Kafka's handwritten diary entries and provides substantial new content, restoring all the material omitted from previous publications — notably, names of people and undisguised details about them, a number of literary writings, and passages of a sexual nature, some of them with homoerotic overtones. By faithfully reproducing the diaries' distinctive — and often surprisingly unpolished — writing as it appeared in Kafka's notebooks, translator Ross Benjamin brings to light not only the author's use of the diaries for literary invention and unsparing self-examination but also their value as a work of genius in and of themselves.
”One of the finest translating achievements in recent history.” —Literary Review
”A new translation of the writer's diaries from his twenties restores them to how he wrote them: chaotic, sometimes incoherent and full of black comedy. The diaries will open your eyes.” —John Self, The Times
”An unprecedented, almost 600-page peephole into the mind of a writer whose published prose is otherwise classically abstract and inscrutable. It's some secret to be let into.” —Tanjil Rashid, Financial Times
”This new edition restores the variegated richness of the diaries. Here Kafka seems both genius and ingenue, and the contradiction brings him closer to us.” —Guardian
”This edition of the Diaries seems a model of both scrupulousness and generosity. Here we find the unpolished inner life of one of the most significant writers that ever lived; and the entries, which come from the mind of an ordinary human being and not from some otherworldly realm of inner consciousness, do not in any way detract from Kafka's work.” —Nicholas Lezard, The Spectator
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange $38
A tender, shattering story of generations of a Native American family, struggling to find ways through displacement, addiction and pain, towards home and hope. Following its unforgettable characters through almost two centuries of history, from the horrors of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1865 to the aftermath of a mass shooting in the early 21st century, Wandering Stars is an indelible novel of America’s war on its own people. Readers of Orange’s classic debut There There will know some of these characters and will be eager to learn what happened to Orvil Red Feather after the Oakland Powwow. New readers will discover a wondrous novel of poetry, music, rage and love, from one of the most astonishing voices of his generation.
”This powerful epic entwines the stories of a diverse cast of characters, each grappling with the weight of history, identity and trauma. Through well-crafted prose and deftly drawn perspectives, Tommy Orange paints a vivid portrait of the Native American experience – both the pain of displacement and the resilience of those who continue ancestral traditions. Spanning centuries, the novel explores universal themes of family, addiction and the search for belonging in a society that often fails to recognise the value of its Indigenous people. Wandering Stars is a stunning achievement, a literary tour de force that demands attention.” —Booker judges’ citation
”It’d be a mistake to think that the power of Wandering Stars lies solely in its astute observations, cultural commentary or historical reclamations, though these aspects of the novel would make reading it very much worthwhile. But make no mistake, this book has action! Suspense! The characters are fully formed and they get going right out of the gate […] Orange’s ability to highlight the contradictory forces that coexist within friendships, familial relationships and the characters themselves, who contend with holding private and public identities, makes Wandering Stars a towering achievement.” —Jonathan Escoffery, New York Times Book Review
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood $37
A woman abandons her city life and marriage to return to the place she grew up, finding solace in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of the Monaro. She does not believe in God, doesn't know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive life almost by accident. As she gradually adjusts to the rhythms of monastic life, she ruminates on her childhood in the nearby town. She finds herself turning again and again to thoughts of her mother, whose early death she can't forget. Disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signalling a new battle against the rising infestation. Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who left the community decades before to minister to deprived women in Thailand - then disappeared, presumed murdered. Finally, a troubling visitor to the monastery pulls the narrator further back into her past. With each of these disturbing arrivals, the woman faces some deep questions. Can a person be truly good? What is forgiveness? Is loss of hope a moral failure? And can the business of grief ever really be finished?
”Sometimes a visitor becomes a resident, and a temporary retreat becomes permanent. This happens to the narrator in Stone Yard Devotional – a woman with seemingly solid connections to the world who changes her life and settles into a monastery in rural Australia. Yet no shelter is impermeable. The past, in the form of the returning bones of an old acquaintance, comes knocking at her door; the present, in the forms of a global pandemic and a local plague of mice and rats, demands her attention. The novel thrilled and chilled the judges – it’s a book we can’t wait to put into the hands of readers.” —Booker Judges’ citation
”I have rarely been so absorbed, so persuaded by a novel. Wood is a writer of the most intense attention. Everything here — the way mice move, the way two women pass each other a confiding look, the way a hero can love the world but also be brusque and inconsiderate to those around them — it all rings true. It's the story of a small group of people in a tiny town, but its resonance is global. This is a powerful, generous book.” —Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Guardian
What Is Mine by José Henrique Bortoluci (translated from Portuguese by Rahul Bery) $28
In What Is Mine, sociologist José Henrique Bortoluci uses interviews with his father, Didi, to retrace the recent history of Brazil and of his family. From the mid-1960s to the mid-2010s, Didi’s work as a truck driver took him away from home for long stretches at a time as he crisscrossed the country and participated in huge infrastructure projects including the Trans-Amazonian Highway, a scheme spearheaded by the military dictatorship of the time, undertaken through brutal deforestation. An observer of history, Didi also recounts the toll his work has taken on his health, from a heart attack in middle age to the cancer that defines his retirement. Bortoluci weaves the history of a nation with that of a man, uncovering parallels between cancer and capitalism — both sustained by expansion, both embodiments of ‘the gospel of growth at any cost’ — and traces the distance that class has placed between him and his father. Influenced by authors such as Annie Ernaux and Svetlana Alexievich, What Is Mine is a moving, thought-provoking and brilliantly constructed examination of the scars we carry, as people and as countries.
”A son’s journey, around father and country, subtle and complex, tender and brutal; an intimate work of rare beauty and power.” —Philippe Sands
”What Is Mine is an unforgettable oral history of truck driving along the potholed roads carving up the Amazon rainforest: bandits, sleep deprivation, beef barbecued on the engine. It is also an incisive political critique of ecocidal ideas of ‘progress’, a powerful reflection on the ways labour shapes a human body, and a loving exploration of a relationship between a father and son. It already has the feel of a classic.” —Caleb Klaces
”A political document told as memoir, this is a book of incredible beauty and insight, one which demonstrates one of the greatest truths: that our lives, and the lives of our families, are inextricably bound to the structures of class, economics, and history they were born into.” —Madeleine Watts
Philosophy of the Home: Domestic space and happiness by Emanuele Coccia (translated by Richard Dixon) $30
A bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom — are these three rooms all that make a home? Not at all, argues Emanuele Coccia. The buildings we inhabit are of immense psychological and cultural significance. They play a decisive role in human flourishing and, for hundreds of years, their walls and walkways, windows and doorways have guided our relationships with others and with ourselves. They reflect and reinforce social inequalities; they allow us to celebrate and cherish those we love. They are the places of return that allow us to venture out into the world. In this intimate, elegantly argued account, Coccia shows how the architecture of home has shaped, and continues to shape, our psyches and our societies, before then masterfully leading us towards a more creative, ecological way of dwelling in the world.
”I have been waiting for Philosophy of the Home. Coccia's reflections take you through the complexity of the notion of home — not merely as a place, but as a space of philosophy, history, politics, and art.” —Hans Ulrich Obrist
”A precious guide. There is so much more at stake than the material quality of a place for living — for us human beings, the house represents the universe.” —Chris Dercon
Pity by Andrew McMillan $37
The debut novel from award-winning poet Andrew McMillan, exploring community, masculinity and post-industrialisation in Northern England. The town was once a hub of industry. A place where men toiled underground in darkness, picking and shovelling in the dust and the sleck. It was dangerous and back-breaking work but it meant something. Once, the town provided, it was important, it had purpose. But what is it now? Brothers Alex and Brian have spent their whole life in the town where their father lived and his father, too. Still reeling from the collapse of his personal life, Alex, is now in his middle age, and must reckon with a part of his identity he has long tried to mask. Simon is the only child of Alex and had practically no memory of the mines. Now in his twenties and working in a call centre, he derives passion from his side hustle in sex work and his weekly drag gigs. Set across three generations of South Yorkshire mining family, Andrew McMillan's short and magnificent debut novel is a lament for a lost way of a life as well as a celebration of resilience and the possibility for change. [Hardback]
”Tender and true. It explores with brilliance and deep empathy how our lives — and our secrets — are always intertwined with those who went before us.” —Douglas Stuart
”Pity digs deep into the heart and history of South Yorkshire and brings out the black gold of love, longing and loss. A triumph.” —Jon McGregor
”Pity pays a great poet's tough but tender attention to the unspoken layers and historic fissures which lie beneath the wounded town of the self. This beautiful book about the marks that are left on people and places in turn leaves a deep empathic mark on the reader.” —Max Porter
”Pity is as tough, glittering and multilayered as the coal upon which it rests. With lyrical prose and deep tenderness, Andrew McMillan beautifully explores the complex hauntings of love and grief across generations.” —Liz Berry
”Truly stunning. A novel that deals with the ways history intervenes in our lives and how we can use our lives to intervene in history. South Yorkshire is a crucible.” —Helen Mort
Quit Everything: Interpreting depression by Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi $40
Depression is rife amongst young people the world over. But what if this isn't depression as we know it, but instead a reaction to the chaos and collapse of a seemingly unchangeable and unliveable future? In Quit Everything, Franco Berardi argues that this "depression" is actually conscious or unconscious withdrawal of psychological energy and a dis-investment of desire that he defines instead as "desertion". A desertion from political participation, from the daily grind of capitalism, from the brutal reality of climate collapse and from a society which offers nothing but chaos and pain. Berardi analyses why this desertion is on the rise and why more people are quitting everything in our age of political impotence and the rise of the far-right, asking if we can find some political hope in desertion amongst the ruins of a world on the brink of collapse.
”Berardi, your words are disgusting.” —Giorgia Meloni
No Judgement: On being critical by Lauren Oyler $40
It is the age of internet gossip; of social networks, repackaged ideas and rating everything out of five stars. Mega-famous celebrities respond with fury to critics who publish less-than-rapturous reviews of their work (and then delete their tweets); CEOs talk about reclaiming 'the power of vulnerability'; and in the world of fiction, writers eschew actually making things up in favour of 'always just talking about themselves'. In this blistering, irreverent and funny first book of non-fiction, Lauren Oyler — one of the most trenchant, influential, and revelatory critics of her generation — takes on the bizarre particularities of our present moment in a series of interconnected essays about literature, the attention economy, gossip, the role of criticism and her own relentless, teeth-grinding anxiety. No Judgement excavates the layers of psychology and meaning in how we communicate, tell stories and make critical judgements.
”Brisk, honest and soaring with elan. Oyler persuasively advocates clear thinking through doing it herself with such poise. Her critical approach isn't currently common sense, but it should be, and soon enough maybe it will.” —Naoise Dolan
Tipo 00: The pasta cookbook by Andreas Papadakis $55
This attractive and informative book is packed with everything you want to know to be able to make superb pasta — from scratch to sauce — any time of the day. With over 80 recipes and illustrations that will soon make you an expert in the kitchen and very popular with anyone who eats in your house, this is a good book to have. You’ll soon be eating pasta for every meal of the day. [Hardback]
Living on Earth: Life, consciousness, and the making of the natural world by Peter Godfrey-Smith $40
How has life shaped and been shaped by our planet? He visits the largest living stromatolite fields, examples of how cyanobacteria began belching oxygen into the atmosphere as they converted carbon dioxide and water into living matter using the sun's light. The extraordinary increase in oxygen in the atmosphere resulted in an explosion in the diversity of life. And so began a riotous tangle of coevolution between plants and animals, as each changed the environment around them allowing others to utilise these new ecosystems and thus new species to evolve. From cyanobacteria, through algae on to ferns or trees or grasses, and from protists , through invertebrates and fish through the dinosaurs and on to birds and mammals - our planet has seen an explosion of life forms, all reacting to their environment and all creating new environments that allow other life to evolve. In our own evolutionary line, an initially unremarkable mammal changed in new ways, evolving to come out of the trees to inhabit new savannas and then onto inhabit the whole planet. One of the most adaptable species ever found on Earth, and arguably the species causing the most change, humans are still part of this 3.8 billion year history of life forms changing the world around them. In Living on Earth, Godfrey-Smith takes us on a grand tour of the history of life on earth. He visits Rwandan gorillas and Australian bowerbirds, returns to coral reefs and octopus dens, considers the impact of language and writing, and weighs the responsibilities our unique powers bring with them, as they relate to factory farming, habitat preservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. Living on Earth shows that Humans belong to the infinitely complex system that is the Earth, and our minds are products of that system, but we are also an acting force within it. We are creatures of Earth, but we hold Earth's future in our hands.
”An exquisite account of intelligence across species. Living on Earth is consistently rewarding, packed with insights and invitations to reflect, and blessed with exquisite writing'.” —Guardian
”Clever, compassionate and often deeply moving. An excellent finale to an ambitious trilogy exploring the evolution of intelligence.” —New Scientist
Mrs S. by K. Patrick $35
In an elite English boarding school where the girls kiss the marble statue of the famous dead author who used to walk the halls, a young Australian woman arrives to take up the antiquated role of ‘matron’. Within this landscape of immense privilege, in which the girls can sense the slightest weakness in those around them, she finds herself unsure of her role, her accent and her body. That is until she meets Mrs S, the headmaster’s wife, a woman who is her polar opposite: assured, sophisticated, a paragon of femininity. Over the course of a long, restless heatwave, the matron finds herself irresistibly drawn ever closer into Mrs S’s world and their unspoken desire blooms into an illicit affair of electric intensity. But, as the summer begins to fade, both women know that a choice must be made. K. Patrick’s portrait of the butch experience is revelatory; exploring the contested terrain of our bodies, our desires and the constraints society places around both.
”The intense physicality of the novel's emotions and its stylish, stripped-back prose make for an arresting pairing.” —Observer
”Entirely captivating. Patrick's staccato sentences become a secondary language for butchness, powerful and confident” —New York Times
The Samurai of the Red Carnation by Denis Thériault (translated from French by Louise Rogers Lalaurie) $45
Matsuo is born to be a samurai, but as he is being trained in the art of war he realises he was meant for a different art altogether. Turning his back on his future as a warrior of the sword, he decides instead to do battle with words, as a poet. Thus begins a story of romance and adventure, love and betrayal, that takes Matsuo across medieval Japan, through bloody battlefields and burning cities, culminating in his ultimate test at the uta awase — where Japan's greatest poets engage in fierce verbal combat for the honour of victory. [Hardback]
”A charming, magical, picaresque journey through medieval Japan, filled with mystery, meaning and wonderful imagery. Denis Theriault's brilliant evocation of the noble art of the waka (classical Japanese poetry) is an absorbing, pacy and immensely enjoyable read.” —Sean Lusk
The Tree Collectors: Tales of arboreal obsession by Amy Stewart $55
When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from deeper, more profound motives, such as a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation. In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us fifty captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Vivian Keh has forged a connection to her Korean elders through her persimmon orchard. The former poet laureate W. S. Merwin planted a tree almost every day for more than three decades, until he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And Joe Hamilton cultivates pines on land passed down to him by his once-enslaved great-grandfather, building a legacy for the future. Stewart populates this lively compendium with her own watercolour portraits of these extraordinary people and their trees, side trips to investigate famous tree collections, arboreal glossaries, and even tips for 'unauthorised' forestry. [Hardback]
Sick Of It: The global fight for women’s health by Sophie Harman $40
We know the causes of death and disease among women all over the world. We have the funding and commitment from governments and philanthropists to tackle it. So why are women still dying when they don't have to? Harman argues that women's health is being caught in the crossfires of global politics — and gives us a roadmap for how we might stop it. There are multiple case studies on how women's health is being used and abused by politics and politicians across the globe: the repeal of abortion rights, Serena Williams's near-death experience, the bombing of Ukrainian maternity hospitals, and lesser-known issues like healthwashing by countries like Rwanda and the exploitation of women by the very health organisations that are supposed to help them. Through these stories, Sick of It explores urgent, topical questions around populist politics, big data and how women's work is valued, and offers smart solutions on how to fix this crisis through activism and political work.
”A powerful and inspiring must-read.” —Elinor Cleghorn
”Radical and thought-provoking, this book should drive us all to action — and the author tells us how.” —Gina Rippon
Cake for Everyone by Thé Tjong-Khing $30
Just when it is time for cake, an eagle swipes up the picnic blanket and flies away. The animals chase after to find all their stolen picnic things. Thé Tjong-Khing's visual storytelling slows us down and invites us to look more closely. Can you remember everything on the blanket? Hat, ball, doll, feather, cake? Who is hiding in the bush? What has the dog seen on the cliff? How will pig get back her sun umbrella? Why is the rabbit crying? And how can there be cake for everyone when the very hungry rat family has eaten it already? Collect all the missing objects, find out who they belong to, and come back home for more cake in this cheerful, wordless look-and-find story. (There is cake at the end.) [Hardback]