Narrative theme: Social issues

  • The proof of my innocence

    £20.00

    When Phyl, a young literature graduate, moves back home with her parents, she soon finds herself frustrated by the narrow horizons of English country life. But the chance discovery of a forgotten novelist from the 1980s stirs her into action, as does a visit from a family friend, Chris – especially when he tells her that he’s working on a political story that could put his life in danger. Chris has been following the progress of an opaque think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, which has been steadily pushing the British government in a more extreme direction. After years in the political wilderness, they are finally poised to put their ideas into action. As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn.

  • Juice

    £22.00

    Juice is an epic adventure: a story of survival, passion and revenge from twice Booker-shortlisted author Tim Winton.

  • Into the storm

    £22.00

    A storm lies ahead of her. Freedom lies beyond it ?

  • Behind the painting

    £9.99

    Nopporn, a Thai student studying in Japan, is tasked with hosting a distinguished old family friend and his new wife, the beautiful, aristocratic Kirati. Despite their difference in age and status, and the social constraints of the day, Nopporn and Kirati are inexorably drawn to each other. A stirring portrayal of youthful romantic obsession, and later attempts to come to terms with the frailty of once-passionate feelings, ‘Behind the Painting’ also affords an intimate insight into the sterile existence endured by many women of high social status at the time. First published in 1937, the novel has been reprinted more than fifty times in Thailand and has twice been adapted for film as well as a musical.

  • Our evenings

    £22.00

    A stunning portrait of modern England from one of Britain’s finest novelists.

  • Entitlement

    £16.99

    Brooke is 33, resolutely single and slightly adrift. She wants her work and life to have meaning – and she finds it at the Asher and Carol Jaffee Foundation, where she’s tasked with assisting an octogenarian billionaire in the noble quest to give away his hard-earned fortune. When Asher Jaffee takes a special interest in Brooke, it’s hard for her not to fall under his spell. He’s attracted to her intelligence, her willingness to spar with him, her refusal to be deferential. She’s intoxicated by the proximity to his money and power – and his apparent willingness to share both with her. Asher offers Brooke a first-hand look at how the 1% truly live and work: above the rest of us in an atmosphere that exists only for them. But before long, being under Asher’s wing is not enough, and Brooke finds herself in deep water as she blurs the lines between what belongs to Asher, and what should belong to her.

  • The assassin

    £9.99

    How far will he go to save a future he may never see? Having been made High Commissioner in Nairobi, Ed Barnes is keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. But when his daughter, Sophie, is kidnapped following a security crisis for which he is blamed, his attempts at normality fall apart once again. He finds himself at the heart of a complex negotiation with a dangerous Somali terrorist group, in an effort to avert a regional security crisis and free his daughter. Meanwhile, across the globe a series of political assassinations have been shaking the world of business and government. Tensions boil over when a Chinese envoy is murdered in Jordan, only days before a crucial climate change conference, sparking a diplomatic crisis and the threat of US/China confrontation.

  • Madwoman

    £16.99

    Brave, hilarious and full of surprising twists, Madwoman is a story of violence, recovery, and Clove’s refusal to be defined by her worst experiences. 

  • And so I roar

    £16.99

    When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother – terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria – and her aunt, the repercussions will send her on a desperate quest to uncover a secret her mother has been hiding for nearly two decades. Back home in Lagos a few days later, Adunni, a plucky 14-year-old runaway, is lying awake in Tia’s guest room. Having escaped from her rural village in a desperate bid to seek a better future, she’s finally found refuge with Tia, who has helped her enroll in school. It’s always been Adunni’s dream to get an education, and she’s bursting with excitement. Suddenly, there’s a horrible knocking at the front gate. It’s only the beginning of a harrowing ordeal that will see Tia forced to make a terrible choice between protecting Adunni or finally learning the truth.

  • The bluest eye

    £9.99

    ‘The Bluest Eye’ chronicles the tragic, torn lives of a poor black family in 1940s Ohio. Pecola, unlovely and unloved, prays each night for blue eyes like those of her privileged white schoolfellows.

  • The figurine

    £9.99

    Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors – and looters – alike. When Helena inherits her grandparents’ apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship. Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime’s generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them? Her desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island.

  • Minor disturbances at Grand Life Apartments

    £9.99

    Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be retired dentist who spends her days counting down to the annual visits from her daughter who is studying in the UK. Her neighbour, Revathi, is a thirty-two-year-old engineer who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date in the arranged marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London. The residents have their own complicated lives to navigate, but what they all have in common is their love of where they live, so when a developer threatens to demolish the apartments and build over the gardens, the community of Grand Life Apartments are brought even closer together to fight for their beautiful home.