Contemporary fiction Books 1151 results

Isabel Allende

'A spellbinding masterpiece' SANTA MONTEFIORE'Isabel Allende is a literary treasure' KRISTIN HANNAH 'A captivating novel of love and war from one of our most revered storytellers' KATE MORTON The new historical novel from literary legend Isabel Allende Emilia del Valle was always destined for great things. Abandoned at birth by her Chilean aristocrat father, Emilia comes of ...

Florence Knapp

Tomorrow - if morning comes, if the storm stops raging - Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she'll formalise who he will become. It is 1987 and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband has ordered her to follow a long-standing family tradition and...

Virginia Evans

In her letters to family and friends we come to know the life of Sybil Van Antwerp- stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word. But as the clock begins to tick for Sybil, the need for a few post-scripts to the life she's led becomes apparent. Fixing her difficult relationship with her children. Taking a final chance at ...

Sophie Kemp

'A wild, roaming marvel of a debut... some of the weirdest and funniest prose imaginable' MEGAN NOLAN 'The funniest book of the year and one of the smartest' GARY SHTEYNGART A hilarious, surreal, and devastating journey into the mind of Reality Kahn, a young woman on a quest to be the greatest girlfriend of all time. It was decreed from the moment she was bornth. Twenty-three...

John Patrick Mchugh

An Observer Best Debut Novelist of 2025 'One of the most exciting writers working in Ireland today' SALLY ROONEY 'Lively, bighearted ... an utter joy to read' COLIN BARRETT 'Truly gorgeous ... a writer of immense talent' MICHAEL MAGEE 'Funny and heartbreaking' FERDIA LENNON A stunning debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland, from the ...

Sergei Lebedev

The extraordinary new novel by the author of Untraceable. A sealed shaft in a Donbas coal mine contains unimaginable horror: layer upon layer of human bodies, the victims of Red and White terror during the Revolution, of Stalin's purges, of the Einsatzgruppen in the Holocaust. Around this infamous pit, in a polluted region convulsed once again by war and cruelty when Russia i...

Emma Gannon

*The unforgettable new novel from the bestselling author of Olive* Funny, fierce and life-affirming, TABLE FOR ONE is a love letter to you. If in doubt, date yourself. *** 'A fast-paced, funny and touching story about smart young women' ELIZABETH GILBERT 'It's a fabulous read' RUTH JONES 'Funny, warm yet galvanising' JENNIE GODFREY 'Joyful and affirming, this is a dopamine hi...

John Patrick Mchugh

THE INSTANT TOP 10 IRISH BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2025 AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST OF 2025 'A triumph ... the funniest novel I've read in years' SALLY ROONEY 'One of my favourite books of the year' JULIA ARMFIELD 'A funny and frank coming-of age-drama' OBSERVER 'Gorgeous ... a writer of immense talent' MICHAEL MAGEE A stunning debut novel fol...

Vladimir Nabokov

'And this is fantasy, the flutter, the rapture of fantasy!' A bashful dragon, a lost wood-sprite, the prophet Elijah and the Devil disguised as a middle-aged woman appear in these playful, exuberant stories by Vladimir Nabokov. So do a vengeful husband, a barber confronting his torturer and the author himself, as he recalls his first love. Each of the thirteen tales here encha...

Albert Camus

Best known for his existentialist novel The Outsider, set in French-occupied Algeria, Albert Camus was profoundly influenced by the landscapes, towns and traditions of his youth. Selected here are some of his finest personal essays about Algeria and its environs, including the luminous 'Nuptials at Tipasa', one of his earliest works where he developed the themes that would info...

Shirley Jackson

It's terribly important that I get in touch with a gentleman who may have stopped in here to buy flowers this morning. Terribly important. Sometimes, the person you think you love isn't who they seem. And sometimes, you can be your own deception. Spanning Shirley Jackson's entire career, these devilish tales of love, death, and despair show us how all that keeps us safe in sub...

Pat Barker

After ten blood-filled years, the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks fill their ships with the spoils of battle. Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks - among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra, and her watchful maid, Ritsa. Enslaved as concubine - war-wife - to King Agamemnon, Cassandra is plagued by...

Zoe Dubno

The funny, propulsive new novel about hating your friends, hating what they bring out in you, hating how you pander to them, the perfect satirical summer read for fans of Emma Cline, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Ottessa Moshfegh. A LitHub most anticipated book of 2025 'Exceptionally funny and entertaining' Katy Hessel, bestselling author of The Story of Art Without Men 'A gorgeous...

Seán Hewitt

A stunning debut novel from the acclaimed young Irish poet Seán Hewitt, reminiscent of Garth Greenwell and Justin Torres in the intensity of its evocation of sexual awakeningSet in a remote village in the north of England, Open, Heaven unfolds over the course of one year in which two teenage boys meet and transform each other's lives.James—a sheltered, shy sixteen-year-old—is a...

Jennifer Saint

The enthralling tale of a powerful Greek goddess maligned in both myth and ancient history, as told by Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Saint. 'An exceptional achievement' ELODIE HARPER 'A very special novel' COSTANZA CASATI 'The essential mythological book of the decade' NIKITA GILL When Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronus, helps her broth...

Meg Jay

Most twentysomethings don't have disorders that need to be treated; they have problems that need to be solved. In the face of an unknown future and a challenging present, our twentysomethings are struggling. From the threat of climate change to worries about affording a home, it is no wonder that many are suffering with severe anxiety and depression. They are also, however, a...

Sosuke Natsukawa

The must-have sequel to Sosuke Natsukawa's bestselling The Cat Who Saved Books - an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat, a book-loving girl and the power of books to make a difference in the world. Nanami sees nothing wrong with a library and cat combination. But a talking cat is a whole other story. Nanami Kosaki loves reading. The local library is a home from home...

Simon Scarrow

NOW A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER! THE EPIC NEW EAGLES OF THE EMPIRE NOVEL FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR SIMON SCARROW - THE PERFECT BOOK FOR THE SEASON OF ROME! ROME AND BOUDICA. A DUEL TO THE DEATH. AD 61. Britannia is divided. The rebel horde has been defeated. But the leader, Boudica, and her remaining warriors are still at large. With them is the eagle standard of the Ninth Legio...

Irvine Welsh

The #1 Sunday Times bestseller is back with a powerful, riveting new novel, as maverick investigator Ray Lennox discovers that confronting his past could cost him everything. OLD TRUTHS HAVE NEW CONSEQUENCES Ray Lennox is determined to move on from his darkest days. The former detective has left Edinburgh for a fresh start in Brighton. Soon, his fixations and addictions have ...

Jennifer Haigh

Banu Mushtaq

Longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize Winner of the PEN Translates Award A monumental first collection in English from Banu Mushtaq: lawyer, activist, champion of Muslim women, and winner of India's highest literary honors. In the twelve stories of Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern ...

Rose Ruane

'I have GULPED this novel down . . . Birding gave me everything I want in a novel, including a massive, cathartic cry at the end. Achingly poignant, yet ultimately hopeful, with a worn out seaside town I can see so clearly' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things 'A beautiful book full of stark truths . . . Lyrical and evocative, highly recommended' Evie King, ...

Hisashi Kashiwai

'Author Hisashi Kashiwai shows a tremendous amount of empathy for his characters as well as a gentle humor. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll open a delivery app' - Apple Books The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the second book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and fo...

Karim Kattan / Karim Kattan / Jeffrey Zuckerman

Faysal receives a mysterious letter about the death of aunt he can't remember. Leaving his lover and his life in Europe behind, he returns to the village of his birth in Palestine and to his family's extraordinary, deserted house, the palace on the higher hill. With a backdrop of violence and the permanent threat from settlers, Faysal wanders the once-lavish rooms as characters...

Emma Donoghue

Europe is racing towards the future. Steam travel is the emblem of progress; industry and invention are creating ever greater wealth and ever greater deprivation; and on an autumn day in 1895 a young woman determined to make her mark on history boards the Granville to Paris Express with a bomb.With her travel the train crew and her fellow passengers: the men who run the engine,...

Abdulrazak Gurnah

**Selected as a Book of the Summer 2025 by the Guardian, Financial Times, Economist and the BBC** The new novel from the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature - 'a maestro' (Guardian). A captivating story of the intertwined lives of three young people coming-of-age in postcolonial East Africa 'A poignant portrait of love, friendship and betrayal' Guardian'Storytelling ...

Kazuo Ishiguro

THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES AND GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY 'Masterly.' Sunday Times 'A brilliantly executed book by a master craftsman.' MARGARET ATWOOD 'A page-turner and a heartbreaker, a tour de force of knotted tension and buried anguish.' TIME **Complete with a brand new introduction from the Nobel Prize-winning author.** A beautiful an...

Holly Brickley

Good songs come from love. Great songs come from heartbreak. ------------------------------------------------------- Picked by Cosmopolitan and RED as a best book of 2025. 'For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and One Day, here is the will they, won't they love story of Percy and Joe ... Destined for the screen' i Paper ------------------------------------------------------- 'Te...

Cheon Seon-Ran

THE #1 KOREAN INSTANT BESTSELLER AND PRIZEWINNER WITH A UNIQUE NARRATOR Discover the original and uplifting sensation for fans of CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and KLARA AND THE SUN 'A stunning story of love, care and sacrifice' Bora Chung, author of Cursed Bunny 'Feels like a feather softly descending and tickling my heart' Reader review ***** 'A breath of fresh air' Reader review ...

Cristina Henriquez

ufeff'A gorgeous, sweeping epic' ANN NAPOLITANO 'A master of prose' WASHINGTON POST 'One of my favourite writers' ROXANE GAY 'Spectacular' JOANNE SEFTON 'I didn't want it to end' SARA SHERIDAN A breathtaking historical novel following the incredible construction of the Panama Canal and casting light on the unsung people who lived and laboured in its shadow - by acclaimed auth...