Modern and contemporary fiction Books

The seventh novel in the witty, wily Inspector Singh series  Inspector Singh is irate. He's been instructed to attend a Commonwealth conference on policing in London: a job for paper pushers, not real cops, as far as he is concerned.  And as if that...

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival...

Ambitious, accomplished, deeply humorous, brilliant and witty and moving. A literary sensation' INDEPENDENT With a new foreword by Dave Eggers Somewhere in the not-so-distant future the residents of Ennet House, a Boston halfway house for recovering...

Now a major Netflix series 'Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most...

A collection of highly imaginative short pieces that speak to our times with deadly accuracy.   A recently widowed fantasy writer is guided through a stormy winter evening by the voice of her late husband. An elderly lady with Charles Bonnet syndrome...

WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIA-ASIA LITERARY AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIME MINISTER'S LITERARY AWARD In these thirty-one stories David Malouf's imagination inhabits shocking violence, quick humour, appealing warmth and harsh cruelty with equal intensity. He...

David Malouf shines new light on Homer's Iliad, adding twists and reflections, as well as flashes of earthy humour, to surprise and enchant. In this exquisite gem of a novel, Achilles is maddened by grief at the death of his friend Patroclus. From the...

It is 1954 and thirteen-year-old Frank Gold, refugee from wartime Hungary, is learning to walk again after contracting polio in Australia. At the Golden Age Children's Polio Convalescent Home in Perth, he sees Elsa, a fellow patient, and they form a...

When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Soon she was feted as the most elegant woman in the city. A dancer who shocked and delighted audiences, as a confidante and courtesan she bewitched the era's richest and most powerful men. But as...

What happens when you discover the man of your dreams is going out with your best friend?  Lily needs a break. A man break. She hadn’t exactly meant to sleep with her friend, Pete, and she certainly hadn’t expected him to confess his love – for another...

Life is full of downs and ups . . . Dolly Jamieson is not homeless, she's merely between permanent abodes. The 78-year-old spends her days keeping warm at the local library, where she enjoys sparring with the officious head librarian and helping herself...

I'll Leave You With This is a heartbreaking, funny, thought-provoking and honest novel about a brother's legacy and the tangled bonds of sisterhood. 'Heartwarming, uplifting, inspiring . . . a compelling read.' Graeme Simsion 'A page-turner from the...

This rattling good yarn has now been made into a major movie- Hunt For the Wilderpeople, directed and written by Taika Waititi, and starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. When Social Welfare threatens to put Ricky into care, the overweight Maori boy...

The thought-provoking new novel from the international bestselling author whose words change lives. This is Linda's story. She's lucky. She knows that. It's what makes being unhappy even worse. Her friends advise taking medication. But Linda wants to...

In the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to appease the needs of the Party. Inwardly, he rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him...

This special edition of A Clockwork Orange restores the text of Anthony Burgess' novel as he originally wrote it, and includes a glossary of his teen slang 'Nadsat', pages from the original typescript, explanatory notes, interviews, articles and reviews,...

Shirley Jackson's masterpiece- the deliciously dark and funny story of Merricat, tomboy teenager, beloved sister - and possible mass murderer Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat...

A stunning new series look for one of the greatest writers of the 20th century in Penguin Modern Classics Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie, have nothing in the world except each other - and a dream. A dream that one...

When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them, masterminded by the...

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly- flatulent, eloquent and pretty much unemployable . . . The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade...

"The Reluctant Fundamentalist" is Mohsin Hamid's thrillingly provocative international bestseller. It is shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2007. Now a major film directed by Mira Nair and starring Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland. 'Excuse me,...

A brand new imprint from Penguin Classics Okonowo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan. But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father,...

Prisoner of war, optometrist, time-traveller - these are the life roles of Billy Pilgrim, hero of this miraculously moving, bitter and funny story of innocence faced with apocalypse. Slaughterhouse 5 is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centring...

'Brilliant and compelling - one is constrained to follow to the end' Spectator The death and burial of Addie Bundren is told by members of her family, as they cart the coffin to Jefferson, Mississippi, to bury her among her people. And as the intense...

The entrancing story of a reclusive Hollywood starlet as she reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine – from the bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six.   Reclusive Hollywood movie icon...

Find out who you are, and live that life.' Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last...

It's not always easy to be loud and proud - unless you have someone to show you the way. A fun, exuberant and moving gay novel by an exciting new voice in commercial fiction, where these diverse stories can be hard to find. This is a contemporary love...

Set against the backdrop of the new millennium, a seductive summer read about obsession, sex, friendship and music from an exciting new talent. 'A smart, swaggering love letter to smart, swaggering youth, told in a voice that's racing hot, icy cool and...

From the south coast of England to the rugged farmland of northern Tasmania and the lively streets of postwar Paris, this is an extraordinary story of courage, determination and everlasting love from the internationally bestselling author of The Lavender...

Five months after Mel told her husband to leave, a ghost moved in upstairs.  A young man who reminds her, with eerie intensity, of a past lover, someone who changed Mel's life and then vanished.  When the man's travelling girlfriend joins him, Mel's...

The uplifting new novel by the bestselling author of The Garden of Hopes and Dreams  Happiness has a way of catching up with you, even when you've given up trying to find it.  Tilly doesn't believe she can ever be happy again Fourteen-year-old Tilly's...

From the author of the international bestsellers Star-crossed and The Lost Love Song comes a captivating novel about a young woman whose one little mix-up sets off an unexpected chain of events, with repercussions for her business . . . and her love life...

It won't matter how many diamonds you find if you lose the love of your child.' When six-year-old Clementine Knight loses her mother to malaria during the 1870s diamond rush in southern Africa, she is left to be raised by her destitute, alcoholic...

It is 1939. Nazi Germany.  The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier,  and will become busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up an object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The...

It seemed like a good idea at the time. . . Infecting twelve death-row prisoners with an ancient virus, in order to create human weapons. Instead, the virus turned them into ravening unstoppable monsters. And when the Twelve broke out of the underground...

An epic love story in the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks returns with this unexpected and profound love story of two couples.Two couples. Two love stories. One epic tale . . .Ninety-one-year-old Ira Levinson is in...

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war...

From the author of the phenomenal number one bestseller TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, comes this enchanting, beautifully written novel that explores a mystery only heaven can unfold

Her latest novel is her best yet . . . a wonderful read about growing older and grabbing hold of life' Weekend Australian Husband and wife GPs Alan and Heather Winterbottom have worked side by side in their idyllic rural practice for over forty years...

Iris doesn't remember the first time she met Nina. But she remembers the first time she paid attention to her. It was when he did. The first year of high school brought Iris into a type of privilege she'd never felt part of. But then she found her place...

A poignant and unpredictable debut from an exciting new literary talent. Shortlisted for both The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers and the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. Small Joys of Real Life is Sally Rooney meets Helen...

Kokomo is a stunning debut novel from the winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. When Mina receives an urgent call from her best friend back in Melbourne, her world is turned upside down. Her reclusive mother,...

From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of March and People of the Book comes a vivid and unique new novel for lovers of sweeping historical fiction and books about iconic racehorses like Seabiscuit and Secretariat 'He tilted his desk lamp so that the...

We think we've seen it all before, but the future still arrives without warning. For the wry narrator of this riveting journey, each shift brings him somewhere new-he's protecting his grandparents from the world outside their city gates; he's evacuating...

A reissue of the hauntingly romantic and utterly irresistible story set between 1916 and the present day, from the internationally bestselling author What happened to the girl you left behind? France, 1916. Sophie Lefevre must keep her family safe...

Odette, be sensible. Sissy cannot leave this town.' Shea threw his hands in the air. 'Listen to me, please, Odette. It's not as if your Sissy is a white girl.' Odette Brown has lived her whole life on the fringes of a small country town. Raising her...

From a town near you comes thirteen linked stories, spanning a year in the lives of thirteen young people. You'll live their love and loss, grief, humour and passion; feel their hope and hopelessness. From the serendipity of an unexpected moment of...

A heartbreaking, haunting story of childhood, loss and love by one of Ireland's most acclaimed writers. 'A real jewel.' Irish Independent'A small miracle.' Sunday Times 'A thing of finely honed beauty.' Guardian 'Thrilling.' Richard Ford 'As good as...