Showing titles in Contemporary Fiction

Women's Short Stories - Volume 4. The art of writing a short story can be barely noticed by a reader such is the quality with which they are usually written. It is a difficult trade, an unforgiving discipline but for those who master it the rewards is many.

大晦日の朝、私立探偵・沢崎のもとを見知らぬ若い女、伊吹啓子が訪れた。銀行強盗を自首した父の無罪を証明してほしいという。彼女を父親が拘留されている新宿署に送り届けた沢崎は狙撃事件に遭遇してしまう。

For years, Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now-grown daughters. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined.

The popular Beijing Duck House in Rockville, Maryland, has been serving devoted regulars for decades, but behind the staff's professional smiles simmer tensions, heartaches and grudges from decades of bustling restaurant life. Owner Jimmy Han has ambitions for a new high-end fusion place, hoping to eclipse his late father's homely establishment. Jimmy's older brother, Johnny, is more concerned with restoring the dignity of the family name than his faltering relationship with his own teenage daughter, Annie.

A mű középpontjában a barátság, hűség és árulás nagy kérdései állnak. De nem pusztán egyes emberi sorsokról van itt szó, hanem egy másik, talán még nagyobb tragédiáról, arról, hogy a régi rend, társadalom széthullása a hagyományos erkölcsi értékek megrendülését is jelenti. Nagy indulatoktól feszülő, szuggesztív erejű regény ez, Márai stílusművészetének remeke.

Inspired by an old photograph album to investigate the life of a lost relative, a man finds himself on a journey that traverses the 20th century, leading him from an American asylum to the shores of the Dead Sea. Adapted by Edward Kemp from W G Sebald's acclaimed novel about the experiences of Jewish emigrants.

Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric uncle Billy’s bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda’s 12th birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda’s life. She doesn’t hear about him again until 16 years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy, and one final scavenger hunt.

Gene Wilder's audiobook is the story of Lonny Serkin, a boy dealing with the curves life throws at him. With just his father and then the love of a new mother to guide him, he does his best to navigate the twin countries of humor and tragedy that he must travel through. Even Dogs Learn How to Swim is a story of growing up, deciding to move forward when all seems lost, and appreciating love when and where you find it.

Annette and Spicer make a perfect pair. But on this, the first day of the rest of their blissful lives, Spicer fails to kiss Annette goodbye, as he leaves for the office. The years of marriage shift and change: the rock of Annette's marriage may be sand.

Everything is changing in Rossmore. No longer a sleepy Irish town where the young people leave to travel the world, nowadays it's a prosperous place, so busy that a new bypass has been proposed. The people of Rossmore are divided, particularly since the road will go right through the Whitethorn Woods and the well dedicated to St Ann - a well thought by some to have near-spiritual properties, and by others dismissed as a superstition.

Discreetly disguised as a boy, Brook travels to Texas with a tantalizing young army captain and his Indian guide. There she finds her father who welcomes her with open arms. But Brook's stepmother and Ram, her handsome stepbrother, resent her. When she accidently discovers Ram's underhanded schemes, she knows that her life is in danger. Isolated on the ranch, is there anywhere she can go for help? Would she dare to turn to Captain Jeremy Grant for help?

Michael Cunningham's luminous, compassionate new novel begins with a vision. It's November 2004. Barrett Meeks, having lost love yet again, is walking through Central Park when he is suddenly and inexplicably inspired to look up at the sky, where he sees a pale, translucent light that seems to regard him in a distinctly godlike way. Although Barrett doesn't believe in visions - or in god, for that matter - he can't deny what he's seen.

Vier erwachsene Schwestern, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten, folgen der rätselhaften Einladung ihrer Mutter zu einem Familientreffen am Ferienort ihrer Kindheit. Holland war für die vier Schwestern ein Paradies. Jedes Jahr fuhr die Familie aus Köln in den Sommerurlaub nach Bergen an die Nordsee. Doch die Idylle fand ein jähes Ende, als der Vater am Strand tödlich verunglückte. Mit gemischten Gefühlen treffen die Schwestern nun in Bergen ein. Sie alle bringen ihre Geheimnisse mit - das größte aber hat ihre Mutter in petto.

Zwei Frauen, die Jahrhunderte trennen – der Wunsch nach Selbstbestimmung, der sie verbindet. Marschlande ist der neue Roman der Bestseller-Autorin Jarka Kubsova. Im Hamburger Marschland lebt ums Jahr 1580 Abelke Bleken. Sie führt allein einen Hof, trotzt Jahreszeiten und Gezeiten. Und sie versucht, sich gegen ihre Nachbarn zu behaupten, in einer Zeit, die für unabhängige Frauen lebensgefährlich ist. Fast fünfhundert Jahre später zieht Britta Stoever mit ihrem Mann und ihren Kindern in die Marschlandschaft.

As war rages across Europe, one young woman faces an impossible choice. Will she save her country...or the man she loves? It is the late 1930s. In London, socialite Rosamund Hanbury is determined to give up the parties and social sets of which she is a prominent member to join the war effort, along with scores of other young women.

「半沢直樹」シリーズのドラマ化で大ブレイクした著者が、「ぼくの小説の書き方を決定づけた記念碑的な一冊」と語る本作。とある銀行の支店で起きた現金紛失事件。女子行員に疑いがかかるが、別の男が失踪!?

Zwanzig Jahre sind vergangen: Als sich Stefan und Theresa zufällig in Hamburg über den Weg laufen, endet ihr erstes Wiedersehen in einem Desaster. Zu Studienzeiten waren sie wie eine Familie füreinander, heute sind kaum noch Gemeinsamkeiten übrig. Stefan hat Karriere bei Deutschlands größter Wochenzeitung BOTE gemacht, Theresa den Bauernhof ihres Vaters in Brandenburg übernommen. Aus den unterschiedlichen Lebensentwürfen sind gegensätzliche Haltungen geworden. Stefan versucht bei seiner Zeitung, durch engagierte journalistische Projekte den Klimawandel zu bekämpfen.

A gripping and heartfelt story about overcoming the past and finding where you belong. Anna Wilson travels the world as a professional housesitter – stepping into other people’s lives - caring for their homes, pets and sometimes even neighbours. Living vicariously. But all Anna has ever really wanted is a home of her own – a proper one, filled with family and love and happy memories. If only she knew where to start.

Newark 1944. In der Stadt bricht eine schreckliche Polioepidemie aus. Die meisten Betroffenen sind Kinder...

When a man and a woman get married, things can get complicated. When they have children from previous marriages, "complicated" can become the understatement of the year.