Picador

The first novel from the Booker Prize winning author of Last Orders and Waterland. In the sweet shop Willy Chapman was free, absolved from all responsibility, and he ran his sweet shop like his life – quietly, steadfastly, devotedly. It was a bargain struck between Chapman and his beautiful, emotionally injured wife – a bargain based on unexpressed, inexpressible love and on a courageous acceptance of life’s deprivations... threatened only by Dorry, their clever, angry, unforgiving daughter.

Although Woody Allen is best known for his cult movies, he is also a writer of outstanding wit and skill. Dip into this collection of fifty-two pieces for hilarity, deadpan weirdness, and some extremely outlandish ideas. Do you want to hear about the time Hitler went for a haircut? Or why Woody reveres Socrates? Have you ever wondered what would have happened if the Impressionists had actually been dentists? You can learn much about history the piece on the invention of sandwiches is eye-opening or modern life in this laugh-out-loud collection of thoughts, observations, diaries and stories from one of the most original minds and wonderfully comic voices of our time. It's no secret that Allen's short stories are just as entertaining and accomplished as his films... Allen's witty stories satirise contemporary society and classic modern literature in a style that is characteristically breathless, off the cuff and brilliant Observer.

‘Well... yes, and here we go again’ Dr Hunter S. Thompson Indeed we do. Here, in one chunky volume, is the best of Gonzo. From Private Thompson in trouble with the Air Force, to the devastating portrait of the ageing Muhammad Ali. Taking in the Kentucky Derby, Freak Power in the Rockies, Nixon in ’68, McGovern in ’72, Fear and Loathing at the Watergate, Jimmy Carter and the Great Leap of Faith – and much more. An indispensable compendium of decadence, depravity and horse-sense.

Llewlyn Moss, hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, stumbles upon a transaction gone horribly wrong. Finding bullet-ridden bodies, several kilos of heroin, and a caseload of cash, he faces a choice – leave the scene as he found it, or cut the money and run. Choosing the latter, he knows, will change everything. And so begins a terrifying chain of events, in which each participant seems determined to answer the question that one asks another: how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life? 'No Country for Old Men is a compelling, harrowing, disturbing, sad, endlessly surprising and resonant novel' Robert Edric, Spectator 'No Country for Old Men is a severed head and shoulders over anything else written in America this year' Independent on Sunday 'A Western thriller with a racy plot and punchy dialogue, perfect for a lazy Sunday' Sarah Emily Miano, The Times '[An] utterly absorbing, chilling tale . . . One of the most sinister characters in modern American fiction' Herald 'A fast, powerful read, steeped with a deep sorrow about the moral degradation of the legendary American West' Lionel Shriver, Financial Times.