English books

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The new novel from the internationally bestselling author of ‘The Joy Luck Club’. In fin de siècle Shanghai, Violet Minturn grows up at Hidden Jade Path, the city’s most exclusive courtesan house. But when revolution comes, she is separated from her mother and forced to become a “virgin courtesan.” Both Chinese and American, Violet moves between these cultural worlds, becoming a shrewd businesswoman who deals in seduction and illusion. But her successes belie her private turmoil. Violet’s need for answers propels her on a quest of discovery: a journey to make sense of her life, to right the wrongs of the past – to find love requited. Spanning fifty years and two continents, ‘The Valley of Amazement’ dramatises the collapse of China’s imperial dynasty and the secret life of the courtesan house. Unfolding old family secrets, this novel returns readers to the compelling territory of ‘The Joy Luck Club’. With her characteristic wisdom, grace and humour, she conjures a story of the inheritance of love, its mysteries and betrayals, and its illusions and truths.

An Insurrectionist Manifesto contains four insurrectionary gospels based on Martin Heidegger's philosophical model of the fourfold: earth and sky, gods and mortals. Challenging religious dogma and dominant philosophical theories, they offer a cooperative, world-affirming political theology that promotes new life through not resurrection but insurrection. The insurrection in these gospels unfolds as a series of miraculous yet worldly practices of vital affirmation. Since these routines do not rely on fantasies of escape, they engender intimate transformations of the self along the very coordinates from which they emerge. Enacting a comparative and contagious postsecular sensibility, these gospels draw on the work of Slavoj Zizek, Giorgio Agamben, Catherine Malabou, Francois Laruelle, Peter Sloterdijk, and Gilles Deleuze yet rejuvenate scholarship in continental philosophy, critical race theory, the new materialisms, speculative realism, and nonphilosophy. They think beyond the sovereign force of the one to initiate a radical politics "after" God.

Get set for the next level in book two of the Game Trilogy, the Swedish series taking the world by storm. How do you protect yourself from a threat whose existence you cannot prove? After fourteen months in exile, HP misses the thrill of The Game. When he discovers that a powerful IT corporation may be affiliated to it, he begins a dangerous investigation. Meanwhile, his sister Rebecca is threatened by a faceless enemy – are they connected to The Game too?

Agatha Christie was the most famous female crime writers of all time, and yet in December 1926 when she was 35 years old, became the subject of a mystery: her disappearance for a period of eleven days. Questions arose such as why did she abandon her motorcar on such a bitterly cold winter’s night with her fur coat inside it? Why did Christie adopt a false name and claim that she originated from Cape Town, South Africa? Why did she not recognize either a photograph of her own daughter or husband when she was finally reunited with him? He accused her of playing a deliberate hoax on the police in an attempt to generate publicity as a crime writer. Others declared that this was an attempt to embarrass her unfaithful husband Archie (whom she knew was about to leave her) and gain sympathy at the same time. But was there another far more profound reason for her behavior whereby she became the innocent victim of circumstances completely beyond her control? Norman agrees with the "Fugue state" theory, suggesting that she had no conscious knowledge of her actions. All this and more can be revealed for the first time in Andrew Norman’s gripping Agatha Christie: The Disappearing Novelist.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Four friends One sisterhood Ten years later, the story continues On the cusp of turning thirty, Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget are now living separate lives, out on their own. Yet despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness. Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

Roger has faced down Queens, barbarians, dangerous ghostly dogs and even armies. There is one challenge left: to stand against the mysterious Soulviners and their dangerous plans to dominate the Land of the Dead. His friends held captive, his true powers still undiscovered, it's possible only the legendary bright and terrible sword can save them now . .. A fast-paced, character- and story-driven tale, this tale is packed with action, emotion and danger.