An aging biology teacher in an East German backwater with a strict devotion to evolutionary theory has her cultural habitat altered by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Will she and East Germany adapt and change or become anachronisms and face extinction?
From the author of the wonderful Atlas of Remote Islands.
Watch this.
Venice rubs up against the Ottomans in the 16th century: a side-swipe at political hegemonies in the guise of historical fiction, written by a collective of self-styled cultural terrorists.
"Wu Ming's books sizzle with a kind of lefty jazz: they're linguistically and culturally hip, historically astute, with a heart worn challengingly on the sleeve." - Guardian
"O’Sullivan’s stories exhibit a shrewd understanding that pierces to the heart of what it means to be human. O’Sullivan can mock, satirise and laugh, but he also finds dignity in unexpected places. He is interested in the art of living, and in the borderland where truth and lies meet, both in life and in fiction itself." - The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
Accessibly traces the history of the global food system and reveals the underlying causes of recent food shortages and price spikes.
Watch the author introduce his ideas here.
A seventy-year-old avant-garde composer goes on the run when an accident in his DIY genetics lab leads to a bioterrorism alert.
"Formidably intelligent and ecstatically noisy." - Guardian
"The best novel about classical music that I've read since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus. There are passages that make you want to rush to your stereo, or download, particular pieces to listen to as you read." - Jonathan Gibbs, Independent
"The most intellectually stimulating novelist at work in the English language today." - Daily Telegraph
Born on the day of Stalin's death, Iosif Dzhugashvili learns he is (literally) inhabited by the former Soviet leader...
"Psychologically astute, and intense with insight." - Kapka Kassabova, Guardian
"A beautifully written meditation on the delicate balance of intimacy and isolation within a long marriage.” - Alice Sebold
"Might be the nearest thing to a perfect novel that I have ever read.” –The Bookseller
"Unsettling and compelling. At once quiet and memorable. Black is a writer of great wisdom." - Claire Messud, Guardian
A novella and five stories packed with tension, dysfunction and unease; an indictment of New Zealand masculinity.
A chilling tale about ghosts, growing up and the power of stories, by the author of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles'.
"Every idea has a material solution". This book showcases buildings that demonstrate an innovative use of a particular material.
Use your eyes! An absolutely absorbing kaleidoscope of stories tangled into a giant picture book, from the creators of H.O.U.S.E. and D.E.S.I.G.N.
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"A ferociously honest, funny, completely unstoppable trip through an institutionally corrupt home for disabled teenagers." - Barbara Kingsolver
"Not only shines a light on a segment of society often ignored, in art as well as life, but also is a really great read." - Washington Post
Winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
"A touching and provocative exploration of the latest research on animal minds and animal emotions." - Washington Post
A fascinating history of the illegitimate children of an aristocratic family (the Sackvilles).
How we eat, farm and shop for food is not only a matter of taste. Our choices regarding what we eat involve every essential aspect of human nature.
The flavours of the middle east are steeped in the history of ancient empires and dynasties, wars and diverse religions, and the east-west trade routes, all of which have had a lasting influence on the culinary cultures of this vast and turbulent region.
Matt Cooper is twelve, and spends quite a bit of his time honing his magic skills and tricks. He doesn't realise that his great-grandfather was a professional magician whose career came to a disastrous end when a trick he performed backfired spectacularly. But the magical nub of the mystery lies still further back in the past...
"Layer upon layer, Italy's storied past unfolds in Kaster's captivating journey along the venerable Queen of Roads. I cannot imagine a more perfect guide to such a rich trove of ancient and modern memories. Illuminating, erudite, entertaining, and evocative." - Adrienne Mayor
Explores the uncomfortable continuity between Nazi and Yankee concerns.
One of the world's leading Marxist thinkers explores the hidden workings of capital and reveals the forces that will lead inexorably to the demise of our system.
An explosive, dark and tender portrayal of life in an isolated fishing village on the Norwegian coast. "The evocation of place is wonderful; the writing fresh, the storytelling assured. Dea Brovig vividly conjures up this Norwegian community and its terrible secrets and repressions." - Jill Dawson
"What a fascinating book. The author tells the story of life in Tehran through the eyes of different individuals who have survived or tried to survive in Iran. An eye-opening read, and highly recommended." - Peter
"Stands out for its clarity and good sense from the great mass of Western writing on what Chinese politicians have taken to calling their 'peaceful development'. If you are doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about geopolitics, you will want to read it." - New York Times
Interesting biography of the photojournalist who risked his life (ultimately fatally) in Liberia and Libya to show us the lives of those devastated by conflict.
Ophuls warns that we are headed for a postindustrial future that, however technologically sophisticated, will resemble the preindustrial past in many important respects. He makes an urgent recommendation for a way of life that is materially and institutionally simple but culturally and spiritually rich.
What happens when a great stack of lies begins to topple?
"It's rare to find writing so lucid and honest at once, and in a book where pages turn themselves. I grabbed this for its mad adventure, but came away with a gift for the heart. This is the way fiction needs to go." - D.B.C. Pierre
A rare and extraordinary glimpse into the reality of life in North Korea, by a member of the government's inner circle. The author was Kim Jong-il's senior propagandist, and provides insight into the unseen workings of power.
Classy recipes with affordable ingredients and accessible methods, strikingly illustrated throughout. You'll never look at a cucumber in the same way again.
Even the most nightmarish cleaning conundrums can be solved with a smile, the right supplies, and a little music
"Wise and funny. . . . The Lorrie Moore of cleaning tutorials." - New York Times
“A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes."—Ludwig Wittgenstein
An irreverent romp with "the Elvis of cultural theory".
Have you heard this one? A guy was sent from East Germany to work in Siberia. He knew his mail would be read by censors, so he told his friends: “Let’s establish a code. If a letter you get from me is written in blue ink, it is true what I say. If it is written in red ink, it is false.” After a month, his friends get the first letter. Everything is in blue. It says, this letter: “Everything is wonderful here. Stores are full of good food. Movie theatres show good films from the west. Apartments are large and luxurious. The only thing you cannot buy is red ink.”
