So it’s September, a chill is in the air, and we’re beginning to think it might be worth abandoning those needlessly optimistic outdoor plans, and settling down with a nice book.
Luckily for you, we’ve got three gems this month. And luckier still, you can win them all! Simply tell us on Twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below which of the three books below you’re most interested in, and you’ll be in the hat to win all three.
The Sermon on the Fall of Rome by Jérôme Ferrari (translated by Geoffrey Strachan)
Of all the author’s we’re publishing this year, Ferrari is certainly amongst the most highly acclaimed. The reviews for this book in France (where it won the Prix Goncourt – comfortably the most prestigious of France’s many literary awards) are quite staggering: Raphaëlle Leyris of Le Monde proclaimed it “the best novel of the year”, Claire Devarrieux at Libération declared it ”overflowing with eroticism, sensuality, violence and blinding flashes of wisdom”, while Bernard Pivot of L’Academie Goncourt said “Language that undulates like a serpent in the sun … A brilliant novel”.
We could go on to list the plaudits Jérôme’s last novel, Where I Left My Soul, received in Britain (listed as a book of the year in four national newspapers), but we could equally talk for days about what this new masterpiece is about – the biggest questions of life, the universe and everything are exquisitely distilled into the story of a small Corsican bar, and the various miscreants whose lives sequentially fill it. Funnier, sadder and wiser than his already-wonderful previous work, this is absolutely not to be missed.
Buy now from MacLehose Press | Amazon | Waterstones
Forever Yours by Daniel Glattauer (translated by Jamie Bulloch)
Daniel Glattauer came to the world’s attention with Love Virtually, an epistolary romance for the digital generation about two strangers who are brought together by a typo in an email address. By turns funny and romantic, it captured the imagination of an international audience, and also came to be adapted into a radio play by BBC Radio 4, starring no lesser luminaries than David Tennant and Emilia Fox.
This new novel is a wonderfully strange creation. Judith, a perfectly cheery thirty-something singleton, meets Hannes, who proceeds to fall in love with her. She’s a bit thrown by his passion, but he’s charming and witty and intelligent – what could go wrong? Described as being “like a cocktail laced with arsenic”, this is a psychological suspense story like nothing you’ve ever read before.
Buy now from MacLehose Press | Amazon | Waterstones
Oliver by Philip Ziegler
Widely regarded as being the finest actor of his generation, there are no shortage of biographies of Laurence Olivier in existence. Why read this one? Well, since you asked, The Times described it as Olivier’s “definitive and best-sourced biography”, the Daily Mail described it as “probably the best-focused”, and Tarquin Olivier – Laurence’s son – describes Ziegler’s book as being “the Larry I knew”.
But this isn’t just the best Olivier biography, it’s also a gripping read. It is “compelling” (Simon Callow), “a triumph” (Sunday Times), “joyful and wonderful” (The Times), “outrageously enjoyable (Scotsman) “outstanding” (Literary Review), “splendid” (Economist) and “superbly insightful” (Independent). Whether as an actor, a lover or the founder of the British National Theatre, Ziegler’s Olivier is an astounding creation.
Buy now from MacLehose Press | Amazon | Waterstones
