Fiction & Literature (255)

A Key to Treehouse Living

ISBN: 9781911545415

Author: Elliot Reed    Publisher: Melville House UK

William Tyce is a boy without parents, left under the care of an eccentric, absent uncle. To impose order on the sudden chaos of his life, he crafts a glossary-...


William Tyce is a boy without parents, left under the care of an eccentric, absent uncle. To impose order on the sudden chaos of his life, he crafts a glossary-style list, through which he imparts his particular wisdom and thoughts on subjects ranging from ASPHALT PATHS, BETTA FISH and MULLET to MORTAL BETRAYAL, NIHILISM and REVELATION. His improbable quest ― to create a reference volume specific to his existence ― takes him on a journey down the river by raft (see MYSTICAL VISION, see NAVIGATING BIG RIVERS BY NIGHT). He seeks to discover how his mother died (see ABSENCE) and find reasons for his father’s disappearance (see UNCERTAINTY, see VANITY). But as he goes about defining his changing world, all kinds of extraordinary and wonderful things happen to him. Unlocking an earnest, clear-eyed way of thinking that might change your own, A Key to Treehouse Living is a story about keeping your own record straight and living life by a different code.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 240


Dimensions: 127 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 12-03-2020


$24.99
This Is Your Real Name

ISBN: 9781988531922

Author: Elizabeth Morton    Publisher: Otago University Press

In lieu of flowers, bring weeds. Elizabeth Morton’s poems look unflinchingly at a raw and unstable world – the crash, the aftermath, the comeback, ‘the bl...


In lieu of flowers, bring weeds. Elizabeth Morton’s poems look unflinchingly at a raw and unstable world – the crash, the aftermath, the comeback, ‘the black heat at the centre of things’. The poems in Morton’s second collection are charged with a visceral energy. This is poetry as incantation: an intense, larger-than-life, tactile experience. Underneath the surface of the contemporary world of Pokémon, The Cosby Show and hospital cubicles, the reader is drawn into a dreamscape of creeks and bogs, a fiery meadow and the guts of the sea. A blindman circles a Minotaur; a black horse rides through the pages. As the reader finds handholds within Morton’s poems, they may trace a dislocation between the voices here and the worlds into which they’re thrown – a strangely askew New Zealand, a mythological America, in liminal spaces where identity and meaning become blurred and uncertain. Jammed full of want, need, despair, love and politics, these are poems of archaeology and identity – where will we dig for our selves? By what names are we called? By whom are we known? This is darkly funny, unsettling writing that strips all the meat from the bones, ‘always writing the same story’.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 72


Dimensions: 150 x 230 mm


Publication Date: 01-02-2020


$27.50
Shifting Currents

ISBN: 9780473519247

Author: Joanna Orwin   

It is 1853. Widowed Lydia Boulcott has remarried, hoping to escape her shameful past. An isolated new life in the kauri forests of New Zealand’s Far North off...


It is 1853. Widowed Lydia Boulcott has remarried, hoping to escape her shameful past. An isolated new life in the kauri forests of New Zealand’s Far North offers the chance of a respectable future for her and her five-year-old daughter, Hannah. To her dismay, Lydia discovers that one of her few neighbours is none other than ambitious Eliza Noakes - someone from her past who has the power to reveal her guilty secrets to the world. But, despite Lydia’s best efforts, fate constantly throws them together - Inspired by the intertwined lives of two real women, and set against the fast-changing and challenging world of remote pioneer New Zealand, award-winning writer Joanna Orwin’s superbly written new novel tells a gripping and touching story of struggle, love and unlikely friendship.


Bind: paperback


Publication Date: 06-07-2020


$35.00
Awakening of Spies

ISBN: 9781913062330

Author: Brian Landers    Publisher: Red Door Press

Thomas Dylan is an unlikely spy. Rejected by MI6 he joins the Ministry of Defence where his first mission is a total failure. Unexpectedly he is then sent to Ri...


Thomas Dylan is an unlikely spy. Rejected by MI6 he joins the Ministry of Defence where his first mission is a total failure. Unexpectedly he is then sent to Rio de Janeiro to recover a submarine interrogator stolen from the US Navy. In Brazil he discovers that those supposedly on his side, MI6 and the CIA, have their own priorities and that his life is definitely not one of them. A murderous game which began with the death of a British spy in Argentina is being played out in a city of sun, sea and secret police. When Dylan comes face-to-face with the brutal realities of Brazil's military dictatorship he knows he has to trust somebody. But who? The only thing he knows for sure is that the woman he wants to trust has been lying to him from the very beginning - should he take the risk? This is a fast-paced thriller in the vein of John le Carre and Eric Ambler.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 320


Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 25-06-2020


$27.99 $18.99
The Air That We Breathe

ISBN: 9780473507756

Author: Kara Douglas   

Based on one of Australia's worst industrial disasters,The Air That We Breathe is an account of ordinary people living through the catastrophic consequences of ...


Based on one of Australia's worst industrial disasters,The Air That We Breathe is an account of ordinary people living through the catastrophic consequences of corporate greed and wilful blindness. in 1961 Italian immigrants Abele and Maria Moretti settle into life in Western Australia. They are promised a financially secure future working in an asbestos mine in the harsh and desolate outback. Despite health warnings to management, the mine continues to operate. Thirty years later, the unthinkable happens and the Moretti family begin an arduous journey to seek justice. At the same time Katerina, a lawyer, representing the mining company, makes a surprising discovery about her family that causes her to rethink her allegiances. The human stories weave between the narratives of the immigrant miner and mine manager, and later, the lawyer and the mine's daughter. The impact of this story will stir emotions that remain long after the last page has been turned.


Bind: paperback


Publication Date: 01-07-2020


$34.95
Tears of Monterini

ISBN: 9781913062361

Author: Amanda Blaskett    Publisher: Red Door Press

Monterini, Italy. 1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes...


Monterini, Italy. 1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life, Etruscan tales and the growth of Benito Mussolini. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives amidst and perhaps because of the fear and uncertainty. When Angelo discovers their liaison he suggests they marry but life is complicated and tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship. When war is declared on the day of Bella's wedding to Michele a fellow Jew, the peaceful village they live in is torn apart, and the Levis find themselves displaced and fighting for their lives. Will life ever be the same again? The Tears of Monterini is a story of love and betrayal, loyalty and friendship. Inspired by true events in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, this beautifully written debut will appeal to readers interested in history, Italy, romance, family dynamics and conflict.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 36


Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 30-07-2020


$27.99 $18.99
Trading Time

ISBN: 9781913062323

Author: Owen Martin    Publisher: Red Door Press

In a Brazilian favela a young couple is ageing before their very eyes In a New York biomedical research organisation, a ground-breaking trial is allowing resear...


In a Brazilian favela a young couple is ageing before their very eyes In a New York biomedical research organisation, a ground-breaking trial is allowing researchers to harvest time from individuals and redistribute to those who want more In a Manhattan office block a highflying lawyer finds himself grappling with a moral and ethical dilemma Suddenly you are able to buy yourself more time. But should you? Julia Madison is about to take a break from her career in the family corporate law firm. A little disheartened by the excesses around her she decides to travel to Brazil to work with some of the poorest people there. Geoff Madison is on the verge of retirement, feeling his age and ready to slow down. His long-time best friend and client, Larry is just the opposite. Full of life and energy he is excited by the massive breakthrough his research company has made into harvesting time from one human, to give to another. He wants Geoff to represent him in this, the biggest opportunity of his life. Geoff isn't sure, but Larry ploughs on anyway, beginning trials with this new method. Gabriel and Isabella live in a favela and willingly give up some of their years for the money they are offered. But the drugs haven't been checked rigorously enough and they are ageing early - and quickly. By chance, Julia meets Gabriel and hears his shocking story. As Gabriel and Isabella's bodies race towards their untimely demise, Julia vows to bring their case to trial back in New York, placing her father's friendship with Larry at risk and causing Geoff to think carefully about right and wrong as he faces his own terminal diagnosis. A twisting and twisted drama that spans the favelas of Brazil to the courtrooms of NYC.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 256


Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 30-07-2020


$27.99 $18.99
Nouns, Verbs, Etc. - Fiona Farrell (Selected Poems)

ISBN: 9781988592534

Author: Fiona Farrell    Publisher: Otago University Press

One of New Zealand’s most versatile writers, Fiona Farrell has published four collections of poetry over 25 years, from Cutting Out (1987) to The Broken Book ...


One of New Zealand’s most versatile writers, Fiona Farrell has published four collections of poetry over 25 years, from Cutting Out (1987) to The Broken Book (2011). Noun, verbs, etc. collects the best work from these books, and intersperses them with other poems thus far ‘uncollected’. The themes are wide ranging: political and personal, regional and global, including love and birth and death, war and emigration, history and landscape. The poems mix lyricism with the flat and plainspoken mode of Kiwi vernacular; they channel voices infrequently heard in poetry in traditional song and ballad forms. They are well crafted but unpretentious, jokey yet illuminating, self-deprecating but wise, sad and funny and deeply human. Fiona Farrell’s poems look light and lyrical and tidy on the page, which is the way they manage the storms of feeling that race along their lines. These are poems that know how much we yearn for terra firma yet how often we must deal with broken things. They care about family. They speak against injustice. They also know how to rescue the heart and let it sing. – Bill Manhire


Bind: hardback


Pages: 212


Dimensions: 130 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 29-10-2020


$35.00
Call Me Joe

ISBN: 9781913062354

Authors: Martin Van Es, Andrew Crofts    Publisher: Red Door Press

Sophie Adams is teaching her primary school class when suddenly the world goes dark. Chaos reigns for twelve long minutes and when the sun appears again, so doe...


Sophie Adams is teaching her primary school class when suddenly the world goes dark. Chaos reigns for twelve long minutes and when the sun appears again, so does a man call him Joe unkempt, mysterious, kind and, Sophie notes very good-looking. Sophie gradually learns more about where Joe is from and why he has appeared. She questions his sanity and her own when he claims to be the son of God returned to Earth to sort out the mess we have made of it all, but evidence outweighs her doubts and before she knows it she is besotted by this handsome and mysterious stranger. News of Joe spreads far and wide and as he begins to trend on Twitter, world leaders start to take note, bickering between themselves over who is really behind this strange event, and with cries of fake news ringing around The White House the media goes wild. Joe steadily wins over the doubters and slowly, slowly his message begins to sink in and a groundswell of positivity moves across the world. Maybe, just maybe, we have time to put things right. Set against a beautiful New Zealand backdrop this wonderful debut touches upon many things that really matter, but ultimately it is a unique love letter to the world we live in today. '...it is wonderful, for so many different reasons it really lifted me up and gave me hope it showed me how simply we can make all the changes needed an incredibly engaging read the authors obviously have a great deal of love for the world we live in and the people that inhabit it.' Tales Before Bedtime 'I loved every word I loved the concept ...fascinating and so real a unique read.' The Book Lover's Boudoir '... a book that's stayed in my mind you can't help but keep reading a mix of satire yet serious themes. An intriguing, thrilling, almost prescient read subjective, thoughtful, current and frightening - a book everyone should pick up Bravo to the author for writing such a provocative read.' AlexJ book reviews


Bind: paperback


Pages: 336


Dimensions: 156 x 234 mm


Publication Date: 01-09-2020


$27.99 $18.99
The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke

ISBN: 9781913062514

Author: Caroline Smailes    Publisher: Red Door Press

When 19-year old Theodora Quirke heads to work on Christmas Eve the last person she expects to find outside of her flat is St Nicholas of Myra - the Saint peopl...


When 19-year old Theodora Quirke heads to work on Christmas Eve the last person she expects to find outside of her flat is St Nicholas of Myra - the Saint people think is Santa Claus (much to Saint Nick's disgust). Given he is in full Santa suit and professing to be nearly 2000 years old Theo is wary, but St Nick insists he is here to save her - although he isn't sure how or why. St Nick does know that Theo is grieving however, so he shows her four scenes from her life that give her hope, but he's also had cryptic messages from the Christmas Higher Powers that lead him to begin Theo's training as the first ever female Christmas Angel - a role Theo is not sure she is cut out for. The training is soon derailed by St Nick's evil brother Krampus, filled with jealousy and spite over his brother's popularity and, with confidence dented, and saddened by society's spiraling levels of expectation and greed, St Nick begins to falter. Theo does everything she can to defeat Krampus and to lift St Nick's spirits but as the deadline for Christmas miracles draws close, she realises she must complete them herself - but is she up to the job? A Christmas Carol meets Stranger Things in this funny, sweary and moving festive story


Bind: paperback


Pages: 336


Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm


Publication Date: 15-10-2020


$27.99 $18.99
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