Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015
A Spool of Blue Thread
Anne Tyler
Vintage (paperback), 2015
PRs 695
‘It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon…’ This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that summer’s day in 1959. The whole family on the porch, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before.
From that porch we spool back through the generations, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define the family. From Red’s father and mother, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red’s grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century – four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their home…
Brimming with all the insight, humour, and generosity of spirit that are the hallmarks of Anne Tyler’s work, A Spool of Blue Thread tells a poignant yet unsentimental story in praise of family in all its emotional complexity. It is a novel to cherish.
What people are saying: “Anne Tyler’s unflinching fictional portraits of family life should secure her a place at the literary top table” (The Telegraph).
World Order
Henry Kissinger
Allen Lane (hardback), 2014
PRs 1,995
In World Order, Henry Kissinger – one of the leading practitioners of world diplomacy and author of On China – makes his monumental investigation into the ‘tectonic plates’ of global history and state relations.
World Order is the summation of Kissinger’s thinking about history, strategy and statecraft. As if taking a perspective from far above the globe, it examines the great tectonic plates of history and the motivations of nations, explaining the attitudes that states and empires have taken to the rest of the world from the formation of Europe to our own times.
Kissinger identifies four great ‘world orders’ in history – the European, Islamic, Chinese and American. Since the end of Charlemagne’s empire, and especially since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Europeans have striven for balance in international affairs, first in their own continent and then globally. Islamic states have looked to their destined expansion over regions populated by unbelievers, a position exemplified today by Iran under the ayatollahs. For over 2,000 years the Chinese have seen ‘all under Heaven’ as being tributary to the Chinese Emperor. America views itself as a ‘city on a hill’, a beacon to the world, whose values have universal validity.
How have these attitudes evolved and how have they shaped the histories of their nations, regions, and the rest of the world? What has happened when they have come into contact with each other? How have they balanced legitimacy and power at different times? What is the condition of each in our contemporary world, and how are they shaping relations between states now?
To answer these questions, Kissinger draws upon a lifetime’s historical study and unmatched experience as a world statesman. His account is shot through with observations about how historical change takes place, how some leaders shape their times and others fail to do so, and how far states can stray from the ideas which define them.
Classic Tales for Children
Terry O’Brien
Rupa (paperback set), 2013
PRs 2,120
An assorted collection of short stories and extracts from some of the best-known works in the English language. This box set contains eight books of stories on adventure, animals, bravery, detectives, humour, mysteries, horror and school, compiled and edited by Terry O’Brien, from some of the worlds best-known classics.
A collection of easy-to-read extracts, Classic Tales for Children: Adventure Stories is perfect for those who want to be thrilled. Comprising some of the most famous animal tales in literature, Classic Tales for Children: Animal Stories will gladden the hearts of all animal lovers. Tales of bravery and courage excerpted from timeless classics, Classic Tales for Children: Bravery Stories will be much loved by those who appreciate stories of derring-do. A selection of stories by some of the greatest writers of detective fiction, Classic Tales for Children: Detective Stories is for those who love to get to the bottom of things. Classic Tales for Children: Funny Stories brings together stories by some of the best-loved humourists of the English language. Recommended for everyone who enjoys a good laugh. Excerpted from some of the best-known classics in the horror genre, Classic Tales for Children: Scary Stories is guaranteed to keep you awake at night. A treasure trove of heart-warming stories and choice excerpts from novels, Classic Tales for Children: School Stories will delight any reader who likes stories about friendship, loyalty and coming-of-age. It is the perfect set of books for any child’s reading list.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James
One World (paperback), 2015
PRs 1,295
Seven gunmen storm Bob Marley’s house, machine guns blazing. The reggae superstar survives, but the gunmen are never caught.
From the acclaimed author of The Book of Night Women comes a dazzling display of masterful storytelling exploring this near-mythic event. Spanning three decades and crossing continents, A Brief History of Seven Killings chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters – slum kids, one-night stands, drug lords, girlfriends, gunmen, journalists, and even the CIA. Gripping and inventive, ambitious and mesmerising, A Brief History of Seven Killings is one of the most remarkable and extraordinary novels of the twenty-first century.
What people are saying: “James’ talent has grown from book to book, and his imagination consistently shines a light on dark and gory places... this is a work that explores the aesthetics of cacophony and also the aesthetics of violence” (The Guardian).
“Critics rave about James’ mastery of both oral history storytelling and patois dialect, and his ability to craft and juggle perspectives that often contradict and obscure the truth. With comparisons to the works of David Foster Wallace and Quentin Tarantino, James has garnered the highest of contemporary praise” (Wired 10 Best Books of 2014).