Λογοτεχνία

The Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives.

Sunday Times Novel of the YearLonglisted for the Man Booker PrizeA magnificent, century-spanning saga about a love triangle that spawns a myth, and a family mystery, across generations. In the late summer of 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge friend Cecil Valance, a charismatic young poet, to visit his family home. The weekend will be one of excitements and confusions for everyone, but it is on George's sixteen-year-old sister Daphne that it will have the most lasting impact.

As the decades pass, Daphne and those around her endure startling changes in fortune and circumstance, and as reputations rise and fall, the events of that long-ago summer become part of a legendary story. The Stranger's Child is Hollinghurst's masterly exploration of English culture, taste and attitudes. Epic in sweep, it intimately portrays a luminous but changing world and the ways memory - and myth - can be built and broken.

It is a powerful and utterly absorbing modern classic.

What if your life worked out perfectly . . . for someone else?It's been 18 years since Ava spent the summer on the Greek island of Corfu, but she has never forgotten what happened during those months - or who she left behind. Now single, estranged from her family, and preparing to wave her daughter off to university, Ava's life seems a million miles away from the one she dreamed about as a teenager - a life now being lived by her sister instead. When Ava decides to return to Corfu for the summer, she knows she must finally face the place and the people that broke her heart. But with old resentments festering, long-buried secrets lurking, and familiar feelings resurfacing, it looks set to be a holiday that will change all their lives forever. . . ***Praise for Isabelle Broom:'Gloriously escapist, unashamedly romantic, witty and hugely enjoyable'Sunday Mirror'I totally lost myself in this heart-warming, charming tale of love, family and gorgeous Greece. I adored it'Milly Johnson'A writing powerhouse'Carrie Hope Fletcher'Brilliantly evocative - it's left me longing for a Greek holiday!Paige Toon'A gorgeous story of heartbreak, forgiveness and self-discovery.'Giovanna Fletcher'This book takes you on holiday'Adele Parks'Well-written and perfect for a lazy afternoon on the sofa'Daily Mail'Combines a wonderful setting with the poignancy of self-discovery and a touching romance'Katie Fforde'Brilliant, warm and beautifully judged - I raced through it'Cathy Kelly'An evocative and enchanting story'Cathy Bramley

Escape to the beautiful Greek island of Santorini for the wedding of the year... Anna has the perfect life on the island of Santorini with her gorgeous vineyard-owning boyfriend Nikos, and she travels the world for work. So why does she feel that something is missing? When Anna's best friend Elena gets engaged, she should be celebrating with her, but instead it seems to cause cracks in her own relationship that she never saw coming. Nikos is thrilled that Anna's career is going from strength to strength, but being without her so much has left him feeling disconnected in ways that could have devastating consequences for their future. As celebrations get underway for the wedding of the summer, secrets will be revealed, and ultimatums will be given. In the end, Anna and Nikos must decide whether their love story can have the happy ever after they both desperately want... Readers LOVE Samantha Parks! 'Wow, what an amazing debut book. Samantha Parks's writing style had me gripped from the very first page' Faith, Twitter 'Will 110% make you want to visit Santorini!' Stacey, The Cosiest Corner Book Blog 'Gorgeous... thank you Samantha Parks for delightful book!' Margaret, Netgalley 'Perfect beach or pool read' Bee, Netgalley 'Lovely and heartfelt' Cheryl M-M's Book Blog 'Perfect chick lit!' Christie, Instagram 'A glorious summer holiday read' Ruth, top 100 Amazon reviewer 'A lovely romance set among rustic villages and white sandy beaches. What more could you ask for?' Angela, Goodreads

Haunting. Worrying. Beautiful' Russell T. Davis'Brilliantly unsettling' Olivia Laing'A magificent book' Neil Gaiman'An extraordinary experience' William GibsonWinner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2020, this is fiction that pushes the boundaries of the novel form. Shaw had a breakdown, but he's getting himself back together. He has a single room, a job on a decaying London barge, and an on-off affair with a doctor's daughter called Victoria, who claims to have seen her first corpse at age thirteen. It's not ideal, but it's a life. Or it would be if Shaw hadn't got himself involved in a conspiracy theory that, on dark nights by the river, seems less and less theoretical... Meanwhile, Victoria is up in the Midlands, renovating her dead mother's house, trying to make new friends. But what, exactly, happened to her mother? Why has the local waitress disappeared into a shallow pool in a field behind the house? And why is the town so obsessed with that old Victorian morality tale, The Water Babies? As Shaw and Victoria struggle to maintain their relationship, the sunken lands are rising up again, unnoticed in the shadows around them.

The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as six other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a "man of two minds," a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.

One of the world's oldest novels and the greatest single work of Japanese literature, this 11th-century romance offers a vast tapestry of court life, rich in poetry and subtle social, psychological observations.

With an Introduction and Notes by Peter Merchant, Canterbury Christchurch University CollegeThe Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and sometimes violent novel of expectation, love, oppression, sin, religion and betrayal. It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Huntingdon, the mysterious `tenant' of the title, and her dissolute, alcoholic husband. Defying convention, Helen leaves her husband to protect their young son from his father's influence, and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hiding at Wildfell Hall, she encounters Gilbert Markham, who falls in love with her. On its first publication in 1848, Anne Bronte's second novel was criticised for being `coarse' and `brutal'. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nineteenth century in a strong defence of women's rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands. Anne Bronte's style is bold, naturalistic and passionate, and this novel, which her sister Charlotte considered `an entire mistake', has earned Anne a position in English literature in her own right, not just as the youngest member of the Bronte family. This newly reset text is taken from a copy of the 1848 second edition in the Library of the Bronte Parsonage Museum and has been edited to correct known errors in that edition.