NEW RELEASES (24.4.25)
Build an autumn store of books for the reading days ahead. We can send your books by overnight courier or have them ready to collect from our door.
House of Fury by Evelio Rosero (translated from Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft) $42
Taking place entirely on a single evening — Friday, April 10, 1970 — in a large Bogotá mansion, House of Fury tells a hair-raising story. Nacho Caiciedo, a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice, lives with his wife Alma and their six grown daughters. The Caiciedos have planned an enormous celebration in their home. But before the party has even started, the family is shocked by two pieces of news: their teenage daughter Italia is pregnant, and Alma's prodigal brother Jesús is expected at any moment. Guests from all levels of Bogotá society arrive, two earthquakes strike, and the party descends into debauchery; Nacho, out in the city streets, searching for Italia, is kidnapped by a ragtag militia, and its troops eventually invade the party and bring more chaos. House of Fury begins as a black comedy and unravels into a grim portent of the conflict that would rage across Colombia for fifty years. House of Fury is an indelible, fantastical work that with its unforgettable characters and unflinching, poetic, and humane voice, brings to light Colombia's violent history. [Paperback]
”Chekhov would've been mesmerized. In lieu of a single gun, Evelio Rosero sets up the contents of an entire armory. Building the intricate, involute procession of a single terrible night, the Colombian writer braids the many threads of his story with a candor and a knowingness that always hints towards the devastation to come. That House of Fury still manages to astound, then, is a testament to Rosero's finesse of the macabre, his merciless indictment of his nation's brutal history, and his utter disregard for narrative comforts.” —Xiao Yue Shan, Asymptote Journal
On the Clock by Claire Baglin (translated from French by Jordan Stamp) $38
In one strand, a young family bumps and scrapes through life. The hapless father balances demanding factory shiftwork, while the mother constantly prioritises the needs of others over her own. But there is also happiness: a trip to the seaside; sibling squabbles, games and laughter; tenderness and support. In another strand, a young woman describes her days working in a burger chain. It is exhausting, repetitive labour, too often peopled by tricky customers and even trickier managers. Hours pass. Days, weeks, years. It is an existence that marks the body and mind and governs a life. What emerges, alive with eloquent detail, is a compelling exploration of social inequality. Writing with nimble nuance, a sly, subtle wit, and a sharp ear, Claire Baglin marks her debut in On the Clock as a blazingly original talent. [Paperback with French flaps]
”A sophisticated new voice exploring the French working-class experience and the ways in which language may express its precarious specificities.” —Times Literary Supplement
The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel (translated from Spanish by Rosalind Harvey) $36
When an albatross strays too far from its home, or loses its bearings, it becomes an 'accidental', an unmoored wanderer. The protagonists of these eight stories each find the ordinary courses of their lives disrupted by an unexpected event and are pushed into unfamiliar terrain: a girl encounters her uncle in hospital, who was cast out of the family for reasons unknown; a menacing force hovers over a fracturing family on a rural holiday; a couple and their children inhabit a stifling world where it is better to be asleep than awake; a man's desire for a solution to his marital dissatisfaction has unforeseen consequences. Deft and disquieting, oscillating between the real and the fantastical. [Paperback with French flaps]
”Guadalupe Nettel yet again walks into uncertain terrain with these mysterious stories. There are secrets everywhere, she says, especially in life's most intimate and familiar aspects. The Accidentals never loses its sense of things being out of joint, and Nettel explores these fears with calm and with beauty.” —Mariana Enriquez
”I adored this collection, it spread its roots out within me. Nettel is an extraordinary writer.'“ —Daisy Johnson
”The Accidentals is a striking and compelling collection that searches for the extraordinary within the ordinary. Each narrative veers seamlessly from the mundane to the existential; the writing is deft, and unsettling prose imbues the work with a profound resonance. I loved these stories, mad and controlled, and brilliant.” —Elaine Feeney
”Nettel is one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature. I envy how naturally she makes use of language; her resistance to ornamentation and artifice; and the almost stoic fortitude with which she dispenses her profound and penetrating knowledge of human nature.” —Valeria Luiselli
Visas Now! Aotearoa’s response to global refugee emergencies by Murdoch Stephens et al $30
This incisive study examines Aotearoa’s history of humanitarian immigrations and then zooms in on the high-stakes, one-off intakes of Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians in the past decade. The book also includes nine people who share how their communities came together to seek emergency refugee intakes, including some whose calls went unanswered. Essential reading for anyone interested in humanitarian protection in a time of crisis. [Paperback]
Atlas of the New Zealand Wars, Volume 1: 1834—1864, Early Engagements to the Second Taranaki War edited by Derek Leask $90
This splendid and completely fascinating book will add new dimensions to your understanding of this pivotal period, and demonstrates the central place of cartography to the colonial project. In the Atlas of the New Zealand Wars, five decades of maps and plans from 1834 to 1884 provide remarkable new insight into the deep conflicts running through nineteenth-century Aotearoa. Beginning with early skirmishes off the Taranaki coast and at the Chathams, Volume One follows the tracks inland from the Bay of Islands towards the Hokianga in the Northern Wars; it reveals the web of Te Rauparaha's influence radiating out from Kapiti to Port Nicholson and across Cook Strait to the Wairau; it takes us inside the barracks and ramparts of the colony's new towns; and concludes as the brewing unrest around Waitara in Taranaki explodes into war. Through the maps, we meet the people: Hone Heke and FitzRoy, Te Rangitake and Pratt, warriors and missionaries; and we go where they went: from the flagpole at Kororareka to Kawiti's pa at Ruapekapeka, up the Hutt River to Boulcott's farm, across Taranaki from Waitara to Kaitake pa. Through both tangata and whenua we understand the conflicts and their consequences anew. Based on thirty years of research, the Atlas of the New Zealand Wars reveals a complex series of challenges and misunderstandings, skirmishes and negotiations, battles and wars that have profoundly shaped the lives of Māori and Pākeha on these islands ever since. [Hardback]
”Derek Leask’s Atlas is a magnificent labour of love. It adds a whole new — visual — dimension to our understanding of the New Zealand Wars.” — James Belich, Beit Professor of Global and Imperial History, University of Oxford
Surplus Women by Michelle Duff $35
Survival, friendship, love, desire, pain, freedom. Jess is the only one in her group who hasn’t lost her virginity. Genevieve is being held captive in a dug-out with her gymnastics nemesis from 40 years ago. At night, Jade absorbs catcalls like Mario powering up on mushrooms. From heaven, the Dream Team data-analyses human destinies while worrying about their job security. As Whetū and Sia race to the hospital in the rain, Whetū remembers another night that changed everything. This is a collection of stories about women in past, present and future Aotearoa. Michelle Duff’s cast of hungry teenage girls, top detectives who forget to buy milk, frustrated archivists, duplicitous real estate agents, and ‘surplus women’ are all as vivid as wafts of Impulse from a backpack in the 90s. These stories move nimbly from realism to comic overdrive, from the outlandish to the simply true, with characters reappearing from new angles. As they meditate on power and patriarchy, love and bad decisions, these stories remind us of the sweet dreams we used to have and how it feels to wake up from them. [Paperback]
”Vibrant, eclectic, sharp as hell. We’re in the presence of a writer who is acutely aware of the way each story whispers to another — especially, crucially, around what girls and women leave chronically unsaid, the surplus silence in our lives.” —Tracey Slaughter
”The characters are unforgettable. This is a voice I am happy to spend time with, a voice that is offering something new.” —Tina Makereti
Zone by Mathias Énard (translated from French by Charlotte Mandell) $28
”Énard 's text is like a ball-bearing rolling around indefinitely inside a box over surfaces imprinted with every sort of information about the wider Mediterranean, from Barcelona to Beirut, and Algiers to Trieste (the ‘Zone’), past and present. Énard very effectively uses the necessarily one-directional movement of a sentence to sketch out, through endless repetition and variation, the multi-dimensional complexity of the political, cultural, historical, social and physical terrain of the entire Zone. The narrative, so to call it, takes the form of a single 496-page sentence perfectly capturing (or perfectly inducing the impression of) the thought processes of the narrator as he travels, in ‘real’ time by train from Milan to Rome bearing a briefcase of classified information on terrorists, arms dealers and war criminals to sell to the Vatican, speeding on amphetamines, fatigue and alcohol, in his memory through multistranded loops from his experiences, which include his involvement as a mercenary in Croatia and working for the French secret service as well as his string of personal relationships, and in even greater loops of knowledge and association that pertain to the places in which his experiences took place and the history associated therewith. Énard’s prose is so irresistible and so mesmeric that the reader is effortlessly borne along, its forward movement not at all inhibited by the encyclopedic effect of the loops, and the loops upon the loops, upon the strand of the narrator’s journey, nor by the pieces of painful psychological grit not yet abraded from the narrator’s personal history of involvement in the recent traumas of the Zone. By so seductively inhabiting the mind of his less-than-admirable narrator, a mind caught between obsessive focus and restless discursion, Énard provides a panoramic view of the political and personal violence that has shaped the history and cultures of the Zone, and also intimates the way in which an individual is caught irretrievably in the great web of their circumstances, submission to those circumstances being the price of travelling along them.” —Thomas. [New paperback edition]
Death Goddess Guide to Self Love by Carin Smeaton $30
Death Goddess sings loud, proud and offkey about the trauma, mess and gore of our awa atua, red river fox, our frenemy enemy ovaries! This goddess isn’t afraid of nothing. She’s not afraid to spill her moon sickness on the western line. She is not afraid to kick up a storm in colonial institutions. She’s not gonna wear their shame. Rather, this collection kicks these brutal systems high up into the whetu for a pulse check. She’s Carin Smeaton’s third full length collection of new original poetry, her unexpected baby, her new born freedom fighter! [Paperback]
"Carin’s kupu come sideways, they break the rules, they respect the kuia and the power of slang, her poems are a testament to staying sly and aware, her angles are always a beautiful surprise, she embraces the ordinary and the divine, and biting into her mahi is to experience both, like popping candy let loose in the cage of the waha." —Talia Marshall
Going Mainstream: Why extreme ideas are spreading, and what we can do about it by Julia Ebner $28
Incels. Anti Vaxxers. Conspiracy theorists. Neo-Nazis. Once, these groups all belonged on the fringes of the political spectrum. Today, accelerated by a pandemic, global conflict and rapid technological change, their ideas are becoming more widespread: QAnon proponents run for U.S. Congress, neo-fascists win elections in Europe, and celebrity influencers spread dangerous myths to millions. Going Mainstream asks the question: What is happening here? Going undercover online and in person, UK counter-extremism expert Julia Ebner reveals how, united by a shared sense of grievance and scepticism about institutions, radicalised individuals are influencing the mainstream as never before. Hidden from public scrutiny, they leverage social media to create alternative information ecosystems and build sophisticated networks funded by dark money. Ebner's candid conversations with extremists offer a nuanced and gripping insight into why people have turned to the fringes. She explores why outlandish ideas have taken hold and disinformation is spreading faster than ever. And she speaks to the activists and educators who are fighting to turn the tide. Going Mainstream is a dispatch from the darkest front of the culture wars, and a vital wake-up call. [Paperback]
''With unparalleled insight and urgency, Ebner reveals the dangerous spread of extremist beliefs. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the terrifying new reality we face.'' —Eliot Higgins, author of We Are Bellingcat
Powsels and Thrums: A tapestry of a creative life by Alan Garner $45
In this memoir, Garner traces the line of his life: from a working-class childhood in the landscape of Cheshire during World War II, through a grammar school education and on to the University of Oxford, and then home to see if he could become what he most desired: a writer. We see the serendipitous moments that drove his course, from coming-of-age in a period of great cultural change, to crossing paths with a famous mathematician while out long-distance running, to the fateful day he chanced across Blackden, the medieval hall, miraculously located next to the giant telescope at Jodrell Bank, that was to become his lasting home and the setting for Treacle Walker. As Garner tells us, a lifetime of working with a pen produces the powsels and thrums of research, imagination and story. These oddments can be shaped into something more than its parts: a vivid tapestry of a creative life that will inspire any reader. [Hardback]
”Who could resist such a title? The term derives from handloom weaving, Alan Garner's great-grandfather's trade, and refers to the scraps of cloth that weavers kept for themselves - an evocative metaphor for the writings collected herein. These snippets, produces on the same magical loom, together attain a mesmerizing wholeness, vibrating with life and curiosity.” —Observer
”A sequence of work collected from various sources across the years which offers a remarkable window into Garner's mind and heart. I use the word window advisedly, for Garner's prose is as clear as glass, perfectly conveying the precision of his thought. You don't have to know his work well to become immersed in this little book.” —Spectator
Colony by Annika Norlin (translated from Swedish by Alice E. Olsson) $38
One morning, Emelie can't get out of bed. Her therapist calls it burnout. Her neighbour calls it the tiny work death. She needs to get away from the brightness of the city lights, the noise of the people, the constant demands, so she goes to the woods, pitches her tent overlooking the lake, breathes. And that's where she sees them, the Colony- A man with a sad face. A tall, strong, older woman. A woman in her forties, squatting to examine an ant hill. Another woman in her forties, short, long hair, ample bosom, good posture - the leader? An extremely beautiful man. A slightly younger man, in a Helly Hansen jacket and trucker hat. And a teenage boy, standing a little way from the group. Who are they? What do they mean to each other? And why do they behave in such strange ways- thanking the fish they eat, sleeping under a tree, singing off key, dancing without music, never letting the boy fully in? As Emelie becomes more and more drawn to the Colony, she begins to re-evaluate her own lifestyle. Wouldn't it be nice to live as these seven do? Apart from society and its expectations. But groups always have their dynamics and roles. Which are you? And what if you want to change? [Paperback]
Te Moana o Reo | Ocean of Languages edited by Michelle Elvy and Vaughan Rapatahana $30
This sparkling collection of stories brings more than 40 languages together, highlighting the complex realities of Aotearoa’s multicultural and multilingual society. Including microfictions and creative nonfictions, plus 12 essays from language practitioners and experts, Te Moana o Reo holds words to the light, examining, contemplating and declaring who we are. This is a 21st-century view of Aotearoa, a taonga for our world. Writers include: David Eggleton, Airana Ngarewa, Melanie Kwang, Karlo Mila, Ghazaleh Gol, James Norcliffe, Robert Sullivan, Lynn Jenner, Harry Ricketts, Jana Grohnert, Serie Barford, Lynn Davidson, Renee Liang, Hēmi Kelly. [Paperback]
Mozart in Italy: Coming of age in the land of opera by Jane Glover $28
At thirteen years old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who had captured the hearts of northern Europe, but his father Leopold was now determined to conquer Italy. Together, they made three visits there, the last when Mozart was seventeen, all recounted here by conductor Jane Glover. Father and son travelled from the theatres and concert salons of Milan to the church-filled streets of Rome to Naples, poorer and more dangerous than the prosperous north, and to Venice, the carnivalesque birthplace of public opera. All the while Mozart was absorbing Italian culture, language, style and art, and honed his craft. He met the challenge of writing Italian opera for Italian singers and audiences, and provoked a variety of responses, from triumph and admiration to intrigue and hostility: in a way, these Italian years can be seen as a microcosm of his whole life. [Paperback]
Borderlines: A history of Europe told from the edges by Lewis Baston $40
Europe's internal borders have rarely been 'natural'; they have more often been created by accident or force. In Borderlines, political historian Lewis Baston journeys along twenty-nine key borders from west to east Europe, examining how the map of the continent has been redrawn over the last century, with varying degrees of success. The fingerprints of Napoleon, Alexander I, Castlereagh, Napoleon III and Bismarck are all there, but today's map of Europe is mostly the work of the Allies in 1919 and Stalin in 1945. To journey to the centre of the story of Europe, Baston takes us right to its edges, bringing to life the fascinating and often bizarre histories of these border zones. We visit Baarle, the town broken into thirty fragments by the Netherland-Belgium border, and stop in Ostritz, the eastern German town where Nazis held a rock festival. We meander the back lanes of rural Ireland, and soak up the atmosphere in the Viennese-style coffee houses of the elegant Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. Through these borderlands, Baston explores how places and people heal from the scars left by a Europe of ethnic cleansing and barbed wire fences, and he searches for a better European future — finding it in unexpected places. [Paperback]
Uprooting: From the Caribbean to the countryside — Finding home in an English garden by Marchelle Farrell $28
What is home? It's a question that has troubled Marchelle Farrell for her entire life. Years ago she left Trinidad and now, uprooted once again, she heads to the peaceful English countryside — and finds herself the only Black woman in her village. Drawn to her new garden, Marchelle begins to examine the complex and emotional question of home in the context of colonialism. As her relationship with the garden deepens, she discovers that her two conflicting identities are far more intertwined than she had realised. Winner of the Nan Shepherd Prize. [Paperback]
Clara and the Birds by Emma Simpson $35
For as long as she can remember, Clara has always been fascinated with birds--where they go, how they take flight, and the way they immediately fly away from her when she comes into contact with them. Like the birds she so admires, Clara is considered shy by those around her. She too feels the urge to flee the company of others, preferring the comforting bubble of solitude instead. Convinced that her desire to be alone is a weakness, she fails to find her voice or recognize her own inner strength. That is, until she has a chance encounter with a bird who doesn't immediately fly away. [Hardback]
Pakistan: Recipes and stories from home kitchens, restaurants, and roadside stalls by Maryam Jillani $65
Thanks to shared borders with Afghanistan, China, India, and Iran, and a history of migration and trade, Pakistani dishes draw upon a marvelous array of flavours and ingredients that make food one of the country's finest qualities. With over 100 recipes for sauces, chutneys, aromatic curries and subtly spiced vegetables, Pakistan is a perfect introduction to readers new to the cuisine and a welcome reminder of favorites to those already familiar. A few of the recipes that await: Spiced Chicken Dumplings, Lentil Fritters in Yogurt, Tangy Potato Curry, Slow-Cooked Lamb, Saffron-Infused Flatbread, and Parsi Wedding Custard. Along with essays profiling each of the country's regions, abundant and dramatic photography, and a show-stopping package, Pakistan is a cookbook to be read, savoured, and cooked from. [Hardback]