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Set in 1865 as the American Civil war is coming to a close, this is a remarkable epic novel. Although not exactly a sequel to Joseph O Connor’s international bestseller, ‘Star of the Sea’—only one character from the earlier novel appears-- it uses some of the same narrative techniques. The story is told through a dizzying array of diaries, ballads, poems, blues songs, broadsheets, as well as first-person accounts, all of which lend an air of historic authenticity to the central love story.

This is a big sprawling family novel from one of contemporary Africa’s most celebrated new voices. Set against the background of the Biafran war and struggle for independence, it focuses on the lives of two sisters from a well-off background, their early relationships and the bond between them, and how this changes as the political situation intensifies and the war begins. A book which delivers many of the pleasures of an old-fashioned novel, HALF OF A YELLOW SUN has a wide appeal.  

Probably the most extraordinary American novel in the past ten years, THE ROAD is quickly becoming considered a classic. McCarthy, celebrated author of several excellent novels including ‘All the Pretty Horses’ and ‘The Crossing’, here sets two characters, a father and son, walking on a road in an apocalyptic future when dust and ash are everywhere and lawlessness has taken over. THE ROAD is a dark modern fable. At times bleak and disturbing, it manages somehow to build to a quietly powerful depiction of man’s enduring spirit. While not for every reader, THE ROAD is one of the most remarkable novels of the century so far.

This is another dose of easy reading and humour from America’s most popular travel writer. Best known for his observational books on England, ‘Notes from a Small Island,’ or on Australia, ‘Down Under,’ Bryson here turns his attention to his own early years. Written with his characteristic wry humour and gently poking fun at the many absurdities he sees in his own experience of growing up in the American Mid-West, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID is a gentle, affectionate memoir with some laugh out-loud moments.