Showing results for "1" in Contemporary Fiction

With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it’s hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn’t. Because you have to.... Jess’ gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she’ll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess’ teenage stepson, can’t fight the bullies alone. Sometimes Jess feels like they’re sinking.... Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future.

Anna Cole grew up poor, but her mother's love made her feel rich every day. Then her mother died, and Anna was sent to a care home. As a teenager, Anna vowed that one day she would have children of her own and create the happy, noisy family life she always craved. Then, one day, Anna meets Theo Montgomery in a lift. Theo has kind eyes but a sad past. His family were rich, but his childhood was full of neglect. Theo can't imagine bringing a child into this cruel world, but he does want a soul mate. Someone to love him unconditionally; someone with whom he can share his family's wealth.

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula which was published in 1897.

Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school, and at the heart of the school, its head mistress, Miss Read. Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs. Pringle, to the young school children, with their scraped knees, hopeful faces, and inevitable mischief.

Glorious short stories from international bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, in a collection written especially for World Book Day. There are times when ladies must use all their wisdom and good sense to face life's problems and mysteries. Mma Ramotswe, owner of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, keeps her wits about her as she looks into why the country's star goalkeeper isn't saving goals.

For more than three decades Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed its own trail through popular culture...from a groundbreaking newspaper serial, to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of six novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales of the City is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live.

A thrillingly original story of the adventures of a small band of feral cats in Delhi who communicate by whisker mind-link and face an unprecedented threat to their tribe's survival; for listeners of Life of Pi and Philip Pullman. In the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in Delhi, India, lives a small band of cats.

An action-filled reimagining of the famous Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, brilliantly told by classicist Mark Knowles. He has come to take what is yours... Iolkos, Thessaly. 1230 BC. King Pelias has grown paranoid, tormented by his murderous past and a prophecy of the man who will one day destroy him. When a stranger arrives to compete in the Games of Poseidon, Pelias is horrified, for this young man should never have grown to manhood. He is Jason, Pelias' nephew, who survived his uncle's assassins as a child. Now Jason wants his revenge – and the kingdom.

Everything can change - in just one day. Flora has always adored her brother Billy. Born just 18 months apart, their childhood was spent like two peas in a pod - no one could separate them. Now, as adults, they remain the best of friends. And as Flora is immersed in family life, Billy is always there to lend a hand. But, in just one day, everything changes. In just one day, Flora’s life falls apart. In just one day, Flora has to learn how to live again.

A grey dawn in 1943: On a street in Rome, two young women, complete strangers to each other, lock eyes for a single moment. One of the women, Chiara Ravello, is about to flee the occupied city for the safety of her grandparents' house in the hills. The other has been herded onto a truck with her husband and their young children and will shortly be driven off into the darkness. In that endless-seeming moment, before she has time to think about what she is doing, Chiara makes a decision that changes her life for ever.

I den selvbiografiske roman "Min Kamp" beskriver forfatteren Karl Ove Knausgård sin kamp for at komme overens med livet, sig selv, sine litterære ambitioner og de mennersker, han har omkring sig. I romanen fortæller forfatteren om sit forhold til sin far og faderens død.

Can you ever forget your first love? Liberty Evans hasn’t.She has a beautiful daughter, a successful career as an actress, and she’s married to one of Hollywood’s most powerful directors.But behind the glamour, things are not what they seem. Her daughter Brooke is turning into a spoiled teenager, her husband controls everything she does, and Liberty longs for Cory, the man she loved before she became famous. Unable to live a lie any more, Liberty returns to England with a reluctant Brooke, to start a new life.

人生にあるいくつかの大事な分岐点。そして私は今ここにいる。ビートルズのLPを抱えて高校の廊下を歩いていた少女。同じバイト先だった女性から送られてきた歌集の、今も記憶にあるいくつかの短歌。

Loner Cole North has always been the odd guy out. His IQ is sky-high, but he’s not so bright when it comes to people or relationships. Years ago, he spurned expectations, shunned his family’s business, and embraced a career in construction, instead. Now, he values his job above everything, in part because of his secret feelings for his boss Sierra.

Your family are always there for you...aren't they? For Tara, Vee, Niall, and Damian, the children of the Shine family, their parents have seen them through thick and thin. In fact, Gus and Joan's lifetime of hard work has given their children a very comfortable start in life. But with the Irish economy in crisis - money is thin on the ground and perhaps it's time to for the younger generation to learn a few home truths. As the children are forced to live a life without the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Vishesh is a dreamer who is driven by his passion for writing and words. But like most Indian middle-class families, his parents are impatient to see him settled in a government job. Despite all obstacles, making no complaints, he continues to follow the hard path, holding up the promise he had made to himself, trying to fulfil his father's wishes and failing over and over.

Cosa sarebbe successo se invece di quella scelta ne avessimo fatta un'altra? Che persone saremmo oggi se quel giorno non avessimo perso il treno, se avessimo risposto al saluto di quella ragazza, se ci fossimo iscritti a quell'altra scuola, se... A volte per raccontare una vita non basta una sola storia. Il 3 marzo 1947, a Newark, nasce il primo e unico figlio di Rose e Stanley: Archie Ferguson.

「人が死ぬのって、素敵よね」彼女は僕のすぐ耳もとでしゃべっていたので、その言葉はあたたかい湿った息と一緒に僕の体内にそっともぐりこんできた。

Paul Austers største, mest hjerteskærende og overbevisende roman. En overvældende og overraskende fortælling om arv og miljø, om kærlighed og livet selv. Den 3. marts 1947 bliver Archibald Isaac Ferguson født på hospitalet i New Jersey. Fra det øjeblik han kommer til verden, tager familiens liv fire samtidige og uafhængige retninger. Hver af de fire versioner af Ferguson bliver tryllebundet af den skønne og mageløse Amy Schneiderman, og hver af de fire Ferguson'er får hver deres egen helt enestående relation til hende. Som læser følger man alle fire i medgang og modgang. Forskellige liv og dog det samme.

In One Flat Summer, newly redundant clothing salesman Ken Warburton finds himself adrift and drawn into the serious world of gambling after a good win at Newmarket. He has big plans, but what of the cost at home? In the sequel, Sharing Fatman, Margaret disapproves of her husband Ken's gambling on horses and takes the reins to find an absorbing new hobby to fill their retirement. But she ends up throwing caution to the wind when they make a connection with Mr Fatman at the horse sales.