New Releases by A. L. Kennedy

A master-class in the short story, from the Costa Book Award winning author of Day A. L. Kennedy''s new collection of stories show us women and men wrestling with the lives they have been given and the times spinning out around them. Humour, fantasy, rage and despair both help and hinder individuals as they navigate their changing circumstances, their accumulating losses, their moments of comprehension and tenderness. Hoping for a quiet day at the zoo, a woman finally snaps at a white man''s racist tirade and vents years of fury; an American micro-celebrity practises lines for a chat show on which he will never appear; a woman walks out of her honeymoon suite at midnight, perhaps for good; and, in the extraordinary ''New Mexico'', the host of a podcast reveals why she is haunted by that particular US state. Wry, caustic and unsparing in her close examination of human relationships and their failures, A. L. Kennedy sees harder than most writers - ''Other humans are very unhappy, but try to seem glad,'' one character writes. ''People do their best.'' In this collection of raw, brilliant, unforgettable stories, A. L. Kennedy shows - once again - why she is regarded as one of our great writers.

View more details of this book at www.walkerbooks.com.au

Un relat màgic i d''una imaginació captivadora que, com El petit príncep , ens convida a reflexionar sobre la vida i les emocions. Aquesta és la història de la Mary, una nena nascuda en una ciutat plena de cançons i d''estels de colors que ballen al cel. Tot comença una tarda quan troba al seu jardí una petita serp, i es fan molt amigues... La serp, però, emprèn sovint un dels seus viatges en busca d''altres humans -tal com ha de venir a buscar-nos a tots- i cada vegada que torna al costat de la nena es troba la ciutat canviada. Sota les bombes de la guerra, la Mary i la seva família han hagut de marxar de casa. La nena s''ha fet gran i s''ha enamorat. I la petita serp sap que arribarà el dia que el destí la separarà inevitablement de la Mary, i es pregunta si val la pena viure l''amistat quan saps que la perdràs. Ressenyes: «A. L. Kennedy és una escriptora sorprenent i encisadora. Un cop entres al seu món, costa trobar la manera de sortir-ne si no és a través de les últimes pàgines. A La petita serp, les sacsejades emocionals dringuen, una després de l''altra, frase rere frase, com una intricada concatenació de fitxes de dòmino dels colors de l''arc de Sant Martí. [...] La prosa de Kennedy "com les meditacions infinites dels seus personatges més interessants" és alhora lògica i il·lògica, trista i divertida, senzilla i profundiadopta permutacions interminables, com una serp petita i elegant que lluita contra les constriccions de la seva pròpia pell brillant i amenaçadora.» Scott Bradfield, The New York Times «Un conte de fades meravellós... Una faula del nostre temps... Amb humor i un estil fresc, Kennedy ens recorda amb urgència les coses grans i petites que donen sentit a la vida.» Financial Times «Una història deliciosa, per a lectors de totes les edats.» The Spectator

El espíritu de El principito reelaborado para el siglo XXI. «Una escritora excepcional.» Observer «Una novelista de clase mundial.» New York Times Book Review Mary es una niña que vive en una hermosa ciudad, donde las cometas vuelan muy alto, en una casa con un jardín que a veces es pequeño y a veces es enorme. En ese jardín conoce a Lanmo, que se convierte en su mejor amigo. Es la primera vez que Lanmo se hace amigo de una persona. Lanmo es una serpiente dorada, con unos brillantes ojos rojos, que se acurruca junto a Mary cuando se va a la cama y se posa sobre su hombro cuando va al colegio. Pero nuestra serpiente, además, tiene ciertas obligaciones desde hace muchísimos años y debe dar uso a sus afilados colmillos en otras ciudades, con otras personas. Tras estas separaciones, algunas de ellas muy largas, cuando vuelve siempre se encuentra a Mary un poco más mayor, el pavimento siempre un poco más agrietado, siempre menos cometas en el cielo. Lanmno sabe que llegará el día en que no podrá volver a visitar a Mary y se pregunta si merece la pena tener una amiga si sabes que vas a perderla. La historia de esta peculiar amistad entre una niña y una serpiente es, a fin de cuentas, la del aprendizaje práctico de las lecciones más duras y fundamentales: en qué consisten la separación, la pérdida, la amistad, el envejecimiento, el amor. Esta fábula, tejida con un lenguaje vibrante y cargado de imaginación, muestra además un singular reverso oscuro, pero tan rico y humano que hace de Mary y la serpiente un cuento total. La crítica ha dicho... «Kennedy es una autora superlativa y sin igual.» Stuart Kelly, Scotsman «Exuberante, airada y peligrosa de leer [...]. Kennedy domina el arte de las frases buenas e impactantes.» Los Angeles Times «Después de entrar en el mundo de Kennedy, es complicado encontrar una salida [...].En Mary y la serpiente, los golpetazos emocionales van conectándose, uno tras otro, frase a frase, como en una concatenación de piezas de dominó que tuviesen el brillo del arcoíris. Divertida, sorprendente e inesperada [...], la prosa de Kennedy, como las infinitas meditaciones que despliegan sus personajes más interesantes, es al mismo tiempo lógica e ilógica, triste y alegre, sencilla y profunda, da vueltas y más vueltas en permutaciones sin fin, como si una serpiente elegante y pequeña luchase contra los límites de su propia piel, brillante y amenazadora.» The New York Times «Una joya [...]. Kennedy nos habla de manera amable, clarividente y profundamente emocionante acerca de qué significa realmente la humanidad.» Scotsman «Hermosa [...].Hay que leerla y luego leerla otra vez.» Independent «Maravillosa [...]. Kennedy es una fuerza de la naturaleza [...]. Todo lo que toca se convierte en arte y, en este caso, vuelve a impresionarnos con su audacia y asombroso cuidado por el lenguaje.» New York Times Book Review «La breve y sugerente fábula habla de la necesidad de ser amable con los demás, de la avaricia y la política, de las migraciones. Habla de las lecciones que aprendemos de los libros que leemos cuando somos niños. Pero Mary y la serpiente habla, sobre todo, de la aceptación de la muerte como una parte inevitable de la vida. [...] Si conoces a un niño (o a un adulto) que haya perdido a alguien, dale este libro Alex Preston, The Guardian

Jon ist ein guter Mensch in einer schlechten Welt. Als Staatsdiener der britischen Regierung in London muss er täglich unmoralisch handeln. Um seiner Entfremdung zu entkommen, schreibt er Liebesbriefe im Auftrag alleinstehender Frauen. Eine von ihnen ist Meg, die sich gerade von ihrer Alkoholsucht erholt. Von seiner Handschrift und seinen Worten betört, sucht sie Jon inmitten der pulsierenden Großstadt auf... Gibt es sie wirklich, jene Liebe, die wahrhaft süß ist, weil sie den anderen – seine Verletzungen, seine Einsamkeit – ernst nimmt? In ihrem ergreifenden und skurril-witzigen Roman fragt A.L. Kennedy, wie in unserer narzisstischen Zeit wahre Gefühle noch möglich sind.

Our bodies all have stories to tell - and who better to tell them than fifteen of the world''s finest writers? Buried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us. In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose''s striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery. The human stomach, we discover, contains as many brain cells as a cat has in its head. The lungs weigh about the same as a loaf of bread. A traumatic memory can show itself on the skin. Moving, comical and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies. Based on the BBC Radio 3 series ''A Body of Essays''.

Badger Bill needs rescuing. He''s been kidnapped by two nasty sisters who are about to make him fight a boxing match against three even nastier dogs. The four most depressed llamas in the history of llamas need rescuing too. They are about to be turned into llama pies. But never fear - Uncle Shawn is here. He loves rescuing things. He has a rescuing plan, which involves dancing and a mole and an electric fence. What could possibly go wrong?

Trinken ist das Paradies, Trinken ist die Hölle Das Paradies ist Hannah Luckraft nicht fremd: Einen Hauch davon spürt sie auf der Haut ihres Liebhabers und in jedem Drink, den sie zu sich nimmt. Hannah Luckraft ist Ende dreißig und Alkoholikerin. Ihr Leben ist alles andere als eine Erfolgsgeschichte, und es dämmert ihr, dass es so eigentlich nicht weitergehen kann: Die Anzeichen, dass es ihrer Seele nicht gut geht, mehren sich, und auch auf ihren Körper ist kein Verlass mehr. Der Zahnarzt Robert scheint ihr Liebe und Rückhalt zu bieten; vielleicht ist er aber auch nur ein weiteres Symptom jenes Problems, für dessen Beseitigung es höchste Zeit wird.

Jon Sigurdsson, 59 and divorced, is a senior civil servant in Westminster who hates many of his colleagues and loathes his work for a government engaged in unmentionable acts. He''s pinballing around the city with a mobile phone and a letter-writing habit he can''t break. Accountant Meg Williams, 45, bankrupt and shakily sober, lives on Telegraph Hill, looking for safety. These two damaged people are ready to sacrifice what''s left of themselves for honesty, and for a chance at tenderness.

David Almond (Je m’appelle Mina), Tracy Chevalier (La jeune fille à la perle), Timothée de Fombelle (Le livre de Perle), Michael Morpurgo (Cheval de Guerre)... Les plus grandes signatures de la littérature racontent la Première Guerre mondiale à partir d’objets emblématiques. Un superbe recueil contenant des nouvelles écrites par onze écrivains célébrés partout dans le monde : Timothée de Fombelle, Michael Morpurgo, Tracy Chevalier rendent hommage aux héros les plus ordinaires. Un soldat de plomb, un plat à beurre, une boussole... Des objets du quotidien. Pourtant, aux yeux de nos auteurs, ces artefacts touchent au cœur des vies humaines pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. Chaque auteur de ce recueil a été enjoint de choisir un objet qui avait un lien avec la guerre – une croix de Victoria pour Timothée de Fombelle, un kit d’écriture pour David Almond, un casque pour Michael Morpurgo – et de s’en servir comme inspiration pour une nouvelle originale. Le résultat : un recueil extraordinaire, illustré par Jim Kay (Quelques minutes après minuit), avec des photographies des objets qui ont inspiré les nouvelles.

From award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, an original Doctor Who novel featuring the beloved Fourth Doctor, as played by Tom Baker. “I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe.” Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch--owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word. Whatever it is, the Doctor is most at home when faced with the distinctly odd. With the help of Fetch Brothers’ Junior Receptionist Bryony, he’ll get to the bottom of things. Just so long as he does so in time to save Bryony from quite literally losing her mind, and the entire world from destruction. Because something huge, ancient and alien lies hidden beneath the ground and it’s starting to wake up…

Ein unbeschwerter Tag – Die Freunde Ronald und Jim verbringen ausgelassene Stunden im Schnee. Als Ronald auch noch bei seinem Kameraden übernachten darf, scheint das Glück für die Kinder perfekt. Doch allein im fremden Bett wächst in Ronald ein Gefühl der Schuld: Hoffentlich geht es der Mutter gut. Wird der Vater sie in Frieden lassen? War es ein Fehler, sie mit ihm alleinzulassen? Ist er ein schlechter Sohn? Wird er sich irgendwann gegenüber dem Vater wehren? Ist er dann ein schlechter Sohn – oder gerade nicht?

A dozen sharp new stories by one of contemporary fiction''s acknowledged masters

... Is about the elsewhere at home. With insightful new work from Ali Smith, Anne Fine, Alasdair Gray and Miguel Syjuco, ... moves through families and surprising encounters to find hope, escape and reconciliation.

The ferociously talented author of Original Bliss and On Bullfighting offers this haunting tale of two forlorn people who find in each other a hope and love as genuine and original as this marvelous book in which they come to life. M. Jennifer Wilson is a mid-thirties radio announcer living in Glasgow. She shares a house with Art and Liz, two typical Scotland thirtysomethings, but her life takes a drastic turn with the arrival of her new housemate, an elusive man who glows in the dark and can''t remember his name. He soon reveals himself to be none other than Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, the famed writer and duelist of eighteenth-century France, and what unfolds is a love story stark and surreal, tender and humane.

"Kennedy is a world class writer."--The New York Times Book Review A brilliant American debut from one of Scotland''s most acclaimed writers, named by Granta as one of the Twenty Best Young British Novelists. Emotionally numb, crippled with insomnia, and caught in a frightening, abusive marriage, Helen Brindle believes that God has recently left her. She spends her days performing banal domestic chores in front of a blaring television. On the BBC one day she watches a self-help guru expound on, among other things, the "rules" of masturbation and the importance of "interior lives." Edward G. Gluck, she discovers has developed a program that guides lost souls toward contentment. Helen seeks him out, hoping to find an answer. Instead she discovers Gluck''s own sadomasochistic obsession, and his profound shame and disgust. And what they both encounter, painfully, is the love each fears and both yearn to embrace. "A darkly comic tale.... [that] is hilariously funny about sexual obsession and brilliantly perceptive about the dynamics of human relationships."--The Baltimore Sun

Hannah Luckraft sells cardboard boxes for a living. Her family is so frustrated by her behavior they can barely stand to keep in touch with her. Each day is fueled by the promise of annihilation, the promise of a reprieve, the paradise that can only be found in a bottle. When Hannah meets Robert, a kindred spirit, the two become constant companions. Together and alone Hannah and Robert spiral through the beauty and depravity of a love affair with alcohol. Paradise is a spectacular novel of desire and oblivion.

The love story (as well as the story of love lost, obsessed over, or longed for) gets a complete and thrilling renovation at the hands of the most virtuosic literary stylist to appear in the British Isles since Jeanette Winterson. A. L. Kennedy’s men and women huddle in foreign hotel rooms, immobilized by travel-sickness and betrayal. They plan seductions on the line at a cheese shop. They’re undone by a passing embrace in the office men’s room. Their passion is so urgent and imperious that it invades the stories they tell their children. By turns chaste and ferociously sexy, funny and unbearably sad, every story in Indelible Acts is a testament to the lengths to which desire drives us. And all are marked by Kennedy’s wisdom and humanity, and language that captures the briefest tremor of the infatuated heart.

From the prodigiously talented A. L. Kennedy comes a flamboyantly stylish and fiercely emotional novel about fathers and daughters, creation and self-destruction, and love’s paradoxical power to heal its most devastated victims. One such victim is Nathan Staples, a writer whose hilarious contempt for humanity is surpassed only by his corrosive self-loathing. Along with five equally dysfunctional colleagues Nathan lives on an island retreat off the coast of Wales, where he yearns for the daughter he lost years before. Now, in defiance of all his hopes, Mary Lamb–herself an aspiring writer–is about to join him as the seventh member of the colony. As Nathan tortuously wins the trust of the child who has no inkling of their true relationship, Mary comes to a gradual understanding of her gift. In Everything You Need, A. L. Kennedy combines the mythic resonance of Arthurian legend with a sensibility as lyrical as it is profane.