Modern Fiction

Over the past fifty years, fiction in English has never looked more various. Books bulkier than Victorian three-deckers appear alongside works of minimalist brevity, and experiments with form have produced everything from verse novels to Twitter-thread narratives. This is truly a golden age. But what unites this kaleidoscopic array of genres and styles? Celebrated writer and critic Peter Kemp shows how modern writers are obsessed with the past.

Catherine Cohen, the one-woman stand-up chanteuse who has electrified the downtown NYC comedy scene in her white go-go boots, has been posting poignant, unfiltered poems on social media since before Instagram was a thing. A self-proclaimed self-obsessed millennial on the prowl with her beaded bag, she ponders guys who call you "dude" after sex, English-major dreams, true love during the pandemic, and other weighty matters in these captivating short lyrics.

In The Making of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the 20th century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire. Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising.

His angelic beauty is frightening, and I want no part of it. I’m trapped by him now in a dark place, and I can’t escape. I vowed to bring him down, and I won’t rest until I do.

I’ve been known by many names...Junkyard Druid. Justiciar. God-Killer. And now, Trickster. That’s because I’ve thrown my lot in with the Trickster Gods’ Local #113. This merry band of defecation-stirring deities and demigods includes the likes of Sun Wukong, Loki, Heyoka, and the immortal magician formerly known as Gwydion—who happens to be my mentor.

In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, 13-year-old foster children Griselda and Holden escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it to safety, but the other is left behind. Ten years later, Griselda's boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match, and her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.

Natalie and Neil everything they could want: a stylish London house, two high-flying careers, a close-knit group of friends and family. And best of all: an ideal marriage. Having children, they’ve agreed, would only disrupt their carefree lives. But then Neil turns thirty-five, and suddenly he’s longing for a baby. However, Nat has not had a similar change of heart. As they no longer agree on this fundamental issue, their once perfect relationship starts to crumble. Nat starts to think about her exes and wonders if one of the men she has loved in the past can offer her a future.

Seamus O'Mahony charts the realities of work in the 'ministry of bodies', that huge complex where people come to be cured and to die. From unexpected deaths to moral quandaries and bureaucratic disasters, O'Mahony documents life in the halls and wards that all of us will visit at some point in our lives with his characteristic wit and dry and unsentimental intelligence.

Nick Fairfax believes that his romance with Lord Bane Dunsaney is over. Bane has chosen revenge against Nick’s family over his love for Nick. And Bane’s secret - that he is the guardian of a tiger spirit - has also caused a wedge between them with Nick still in the dark about Bane’s true nature. Can they overcome these seemingly insurmountable problems and find their happily ever after? Cursed: Beloved is the third and final book in the Cursed series.

Savushun chronicles the life of a Persian family during the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II. It is set in Shiraz, a town which evokes images of Persepolis and pre-Islamic monuments, the great poets, the shrines, Sufis, and nomadic tribes within a historical web of the interests, privilege, and influence of foreign powers; corruption, incompetence, and arrogance of persons in authority; the paternalistic landowner-peasant relationship; tribalism; and the fear of famine.

Have you ever passed out and woken up in your girlfriend’s apartment only to find you’ve lost access to your multi-million dollar dark web auctioning website–right after she found out she’s not your only girlfriend? Have you ever been accused of attempted murder by a talented and vindictive mime? Have you ever gone to jail for defending yourself against a papercut from a yoga teacher? If you haven’t, you haven’t lived!

Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this goes beyond the disaster it would be for most people: she hasn't been outside that house for two years now. Flung out into the world she's been studiously ignoring, Mercy goes to the only place she can: her not-quite-ex-husband Eugene's house. But it turns out she can't stay there either.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Georgiana Darcy should have been expelled after The Incident with Wickham Foster last year—at least if you ask any of her Pemberley Academy classmates. She may have escaped expulsion because of her family name, but she didn’t escape the disappointment of her big brother Fitz, the scorn of the entire school, or, it turns out, Wickham’s influence.

In this modern retelling of a fairy tale classic, former beauty queen Jolee Mercier finds herself in big trouble, locked in the trunk of her husband's BMW on her way to a remote location in the woods of northern Michigan where she's going to be killed. Her crime? Knowing too much. An anonymous letter arrived addressed in her name with proof that her husband, Carlos, a state logging and mining mogul, had been the one responsible for her father's death years earlier, killed for supporting the unions.

Agent Tony Mendoza has a sleeping problem… every time he falls asleep, he dreams of her. But it’s not any cozy, cuddly encounter his subconscious conjures, nor some kinky, carnal congress. Instead, Tony’s nights are haunted by nightmares of his supernatural stalker bleeding him dry. He’s also seeing things. Shadows flitting at the edges of his vision, cloaked figures lurking in darkened doorways, and a 7-foot-tall homeless man who accosts him and disappears. Except, the leviathan vagrant turns out to be real—and he’s killing people close to home.

Todos nós temos alguém em nossas vidas que nunca esquecemos, alguém que marcou nossos corações feito pele marcada com ferro em brasa e que por mais que o tempo passe essa pessoa nunca sai de nossas mentes, sempre tão viva, sempre tão perto e ao mesmo tempo tão inalcançável. 25 Anos de Solidão é o primeiro livro de uma trilogia que conta a história de Harry Goulart, um homem que esteve apaixonado pelo seu grande amor de infância, durante toda a sua vida, que acreditou que seria capaz de reconquistar o coração de Bella Meirelles.

Following the framework of a tale within a tale, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, which features the subtitle The Modern Prometheus follows the scientific - and at times horrific - exploits of Victor Frankenstein. Victor studied alchemy in college, and after a mere two years he figures out that he can put human body pieces back together and restore the entire corpse to life.

The Life and Death of Mr. Badman by John Bunyan can be a bit challenging, even for the best of listeners. Not so with this new, easy-to-understand version that translates the original archaic language into simple conversational English, allowing listeners of all ages to easily navigate this popular Christian story considered by many to be the third part of The Pilgrim’s Progress series. This story depicts the stages of life—from cradle to grave—of a very wicked man in an evil age and the miserable consequences that undoubtedly follow such wretched living.

Daedalus Tesla just wants to be left to his scientific research. The problem is, his Ontological Engine can only be powered by human beings in a state of extreme sexual excitement. And once you have one or two of those strapped down in your laboratory, people do start to talk. To make matters worse, the ontological forces he is studying are strange and unpredictable. And the line between experimenter and experiment may blur quite unexpectedly. The Ontological Engine is a skewed and sexy steampunk story like nothing else.

Maria likes to be alone with her thoughts. She talks to animals and objects, and generally prefers them to people. But whilst on holiday she begins to hear things that aren’t there—a swing creaking, a dog barking—and when she sees a Victorian embroidered picture, Maria feels a strange connection with the 10-year-old Harriet, who stitched it.