NEW RELEASES (26.5.23)
New books — just out of the carton! Click through for your copies.
Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü (translated from Turkish by Maureen Freely) $23
A lyrical autofictional account of the author's fight to survive depression and carve out her own path in 1950s and 60s Istanbul. The narrator of Cold Nights of Childhood grows up in a rapidly changing Turkey, where the atmosphere is nationalist, patriarchal, technocratic. As a misfit in search of freedom, love and happiness, she escapes to Berlin, is overcome by depression on her return, and trapped in a psychiatry clinic for five years. After electroshock therapy and inhumane treatment, she is released into the care of friends and family, making tentative steps in a halting journey towards recovery. In her unique, unstructured style, Tezer Özlü explores the extremity of her inner life and the painful pleasures of memory.
Trilogy by Jon Fosse (translated from Norwegian by May-Brit Akerholt) $35
Trilogy is Jon Fosse's critically acclaimed, luminous love story about Asle and Alida, two lovers trying to find their place in this world. Homeless and sleepless, they wander around Bergen in the rain, trying to make a life for themselves and the child they expect. Through a rich web of historical, cultural, and theological allusions, Fosse constructs a modern parable of injustice, resistance, crime, and redemption. Consisting of three novellas (Wakefulness, Olav's Dreams, and Weariness), Trilogy is a haunting, mysterious, and poignant evocation of love, for which Fosse received The Nordic Council's Prize for Literature in 2015.
”It is easy to see Fosse's work as Ibsen stripped down to its emotional essentials. But it is much more." —New York Times
"An exploration of zones that are murky, dangerous, crucial, where craftmanship and inspiration seek and repulse each other." —Le Monde
>>Pure prose.
>>Other books by Jon Fosse.
The North African Cookbook by Jeff Koehler and Ellie Smith $80
Life in North Africa heavily revolves around that most important of passions, food. Drawing on Berber, Arabic, and Ottoman influences as well as French, Spanish, and Italian ones, this gorgeous cookbook explores the culinary diversity of the Maghreb, a region that spans Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. With 445 delicious and authentic North African dishes that can easily be recreated at home, this book reveals an exciting cuisine that is as varied and fascinating as the countries it covers. Authentic ecipes and stunning photography bring the region to life, from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast in the west and the north, across farmland, orchards, plateaus carpeted in wheat, and mountain peaks, to the great Sahara in the south and east. Essays scattered throughout the book introduce key ingredients and cultural traditions, celebrating the food culture in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, as well as providing a brief history of North Africa itself.
”A thorough, investigative journey through the food of the Maghreb, full of comforting and inviting recipes.” —Yotam Ottolenghi
”If you're interested in the vibrant food of North Africa, this book is absolutely essential. Smart and beautifully written, it is filled with wonderful recipes you'll want to cook.” —Ruth Reichl
>>Look inside!
Langrishe, Go Down by Aidan Higgins $35
This poetic book traces the fall of the Langrishes—a once wealthy, highly respected Irish family—through the lives of their four daughters, especially the youngest, Imogen, whose love affair with a self-centered German scholar resonates throughout the book. Their relationship, told in lush, erotic, and occasionally melancholic prose, comes to represent not only the invasion and decline of this insular family, but the decline of Ireland and Western Europe as a whole in the years preceding World War II. In the tradition of great Irish writing, Higgins's prose is a direct descendent from that of James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, and nowhere else in his mastery of the language as evident as in Langrishe, Go Down.
”The best Irish novel since At Swim-Two-Birds and the novels of Beckett." —The Irish Times
”The ferocious and dazzling prose of Aidan Higgins, the pure architecture of his sentences, takes the breath out of you. He is one of our great writers." —Annie Proulx
>>The book was adapted for television by Harold Pinter.
Knowing What We Know: The transmission of knowledge, from ancient knowledge to modern magic by Simon Winchester $38
With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things—no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation—are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness? Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored, and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography, and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion—from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google, and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundaneum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.
"Winchester has written about information systems before, as in his 1998 book The Professor and the Madman, about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. In his robust new compendium, the author examines those systems in far grander scope, from mankind's earliest attempts at language to the digital worlds we now keep in our pockets. This isn't just a rollicking look back; Winchester asks what these systems do to our minds, for good and ill." —Los Angeles Times
Pathogenesis: How germs made history by Jonathan Kennedy $40
Humans did not make history — we were its host. This humbling and revelatory book shows how infectious disease has shaped humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome, and the rise of Islam. How did the Black Death lead to the birth of capitalism? And how did the Industrial Revolution lead to the birth of the welfare state? Infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a part of who we are. The only reason humans don't lay eggs is that a virus long ago inserted itself into our DNA. In fact, 8% of the human genome was put there by viruses. We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong- human evolution is not simply about our strength and intelligence, but about what viruses can and can't use for their benefit.
”Pathogenesis doesn't only cover thousands of years of history - it seeks radically to alter the way the reader views many of the (often very well-known) events it describes.” —Rachel Cooke, Observer
>>A golden age for microbes.
Devil-Land: England under siege, 1588—1688 by Clare Jackson $40
Among foreign observers, seventeenth-century England was known as 'Devil-Land' — a diabolical country of fallen angels, torn apart by seditious rebellion, religious extremism and royal collapse. Clare Jackson's revisionist account of English history's most turbulent and radical era tells the story of a nation in a state of near continual crisis. As an unmarried heretic with no heir, Elizabeth I was regarded with horror by Catholic Europe, while her Stuart successors, James I and Charles I, were seen as impecunious and incompetent. The traumatic civil wars, regicide and a republican Commonwealth were followed by the floundering, foreign-leaning rule of Charles II and his brother, James II, before William of Orange invaded England with a Dutch army and a new order was imposed. Devil-Land reveals England as, in many ways, a 'failed state' — endemically unstable and rocked by devastating events from the Gunpowder Plot to the Great Fire of London. Catastrophe nevertheless bred creativity, and Jackson makes use of eyewitness accounts — many penned by stupefied foreigners — bring to life this century of flux.
”Jackson reappraises Stuart England in two distinctive ways: The result is a richer picture not only of England under the Stuarts and as a republic, but also of its neighbours. The research is impressive, the writing lucid and every page thought-provoking. It is also tremendously entertaining.” —London Review of Books
>>Talking Tudors.
Brutes by Dizz Tate $33
In Falls Landing, Florida—a place built of theme parks, swampy lakes, and scorched bougainvillea flowers—something sinister lurks in the deep. A gang of thirteen-year-old girls obsessively orbit around the local preacher's daughter, Sammy. She is mesmerizing, older, and in love with Eddie. But suddenly, Sammy goes missing. Where is she? Watching from a distance, the girls edge ever closer to discovering a dark secret about their fame-hungry town and the cruel cost of a ticket out. What they uncover will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. Through a darkly beautiful and brutally compelling lens, Dizz Tate captures the violence, horrors, and manic joys of girlhood. Brutes is a novel about the seemingly unbreakable bonds in the 'we' of young friendship, and the moment those bonds are broken forever.
”Whip-smart and warped.” —Guardian
The Maiden by Kate Foster $38
"In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me." Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian Nimmo is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess. Only a year before, Christian was leading a life of privilege and respectability. So, what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn't the only woman in Forrester's life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead. A compelling historical novel based on an actual case, with a feminist revisionist twist.
”The Maiden is a masterpiece. A thrilling historical murder tale but so much more. Vivid, evocative and full of humanity. The fact this is inspired by a true story makes it all the more chilling and relevant. I was transported to 17th Century Edinburgh so completely, I'm sure a part of me is still there.” —Janice Hallett
How to Think Like a Philosopher: Essential principles for clearer thinking by Julian Baggini $33
Pay attention. As politics slides toward impulsivity, and outrage bests rationality, how can philosophy help us critically engage with real world problems? Question everything. Drawing on decades of work in philosophy including a huge range of interviews with contemporary philosophers, Julian Baggini sets out how philosophical thought can promote incisive thinking. Introducing everyday examples and contemporary political concerns — from climate change to implicit bias — How to Think Like a Philosopher is an exploration of the techniques, methods and principles that guide philosophy, and how they can be applied to our own lives. Seek clarity, not certainty. Covering canonical philosophers and focal movements, as well as introducing new voices in contemporary philosophy, this is both a short history of philosophy and an accessible, practical guide to good thinking.
>>Browse our philosophy shelves.
The Mud Puddlers by Pamela Rushby $19
Twelve-year-old Nina is not happy. Her scientist parents are spending a year in Antarctica. And Nina's being sent to London to stay with her Aunt Bee, an intertidal archaeologist, who lives on a converted barge on the Thames. She's also a keen mud larker, combing the river mud for fascinating, long-forgotten articles from past lives. Nina arrives with an Attitude. Her parents have never left her behind before. It takes time for her to settle in, helped by the MudPuddlers, a local group of enthusiastic amateur mud larks, and especially by Molly, an elderly MudPuddler living on a nearby barge. Molly draws Nina into the magic and mystery of the ancient river and its treasures. When she finds herself stranded in time, in the Blitz in 1940, Nina and a very unwilling fellow traveller, Tom, become runaways, fumbling their way across wartime England, desperate to return to London. Will they ever see their families again?
Accidental Czar: The life and lies of Vladimir Putin by Andrew S. Weiss and Brian “Box” Brown $58
A graphic novel of the life of the Russiaqn leader. In the West's collective imagination, Vladimir Putin is a devious cartoon villain, constantly plotting and scheming to destroy his enemies around the globe and in Ukraine. But how did an undistinguished mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? And how much of Putin's tough-guy persona is a calculated performance? Andrew S. Weiss, a former White House Russia expert, and Brian "Box" Brown seeks to show how Putin has successfully cast himself as a cunning, larger-than-life political mastermind—and how the rest of the world has played into the Kremlin's hands by treating him as one.
>>Look inside.
Illegitimate Authority: Facing the challenges of our time by Noam Chomsky and C.J. Polychroniou $26
In these wide-ranging interviews, Chomsky addresses the urgent questions of this tumultuous time, speaking to the rapidly deteriorating quality of democracy in the United States and rising tensions globally. Noam Chomsky examines the crumbling of the social fabric and the fractures of the Biden era, including the halting steps toward a Green New Deal, the illegitimate authority of the Supreme Court, in particular its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the ongoing fallout from COVID-19. Chomsky also untangles the roots of the War in Ukraine, the diplomatic tensions among the United States, China, and Russia, and considers the need for climate action on an international scale. Illegitimate Authority exposes those who wield power in their own self-interest and plots framework for how we can stand together and fight against injustice.
The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad $15
The heir to the Land should be strong. Fierce. Ruthless. At least, that's what Beau's father has been telling him his whole life, since Beau is the exact opposite of what the heir should be. With little control over his future, Beau is kept locked away, just another pawn in his father's quest for ultimate power. That is, until Beau meets a girl who shows him the secrets his father has kept hidden. For the first time, Beau begins to question everything he's ever been told and sets off in search of a rebel who might hold the key to setting things right. Teaming up with a fiery runaway boy, their mission quickly turns into something far greater as sinister forces long lurking in the shadows prepare to make their final move. But it just might be Beau who wields the power he seeks — if he can go from pawn to player before the Land tears itself apart.
Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano $38
An involving and ultimately hopeful graphic novel about two young people on different continents whose lives are set on new courses by climate change. Yuki lives in an increasingly deserted Inuit township in Nova Scotia. One day she sets out into the wilderness of the Arctic tundra planning to photograph a rare grolar bear (a terrifying grizzly-polar crossbreed created by climate change) — if she can prove it's a grolar, she can protect it from being shot. With only her faithful dog for company and adrift on a fragment of melting glacier, she finds herself being stalked across the changing wilderness by a starving grolar bear, with only her wits and her harpoon to keep her alive. Sami lives in a fishing village on the Bay of Bengal. But because of the ever-rising ocean level, each day is a struggle to survive. One night, Sami sets out to return to his old, submerged family home, alone. He takes a deep breath and dives beneath the moonlit waters, hoping to find his past. But a cyclone is coming…
>>Look inside.
>>From the same team: Illegal.