Rupert Thomson Books

If he suddenly found what surrounded him unbearable, it was because it was artificial. Everything had been designed and manufactured, he was trapped in it. Philip Notman, a celebrated scientist turned historian, attends a conference in Bergen, Norway. On his return to London and to his wife and son, he finds himself irrevocably changed and unable to settle back into his normal life. Instead, he is overcome with a deep revulsion for the consumerism, powerlessness and emptiness of modern technological civilization. Seeking answers, he flies to Cadiz to unite with Ines, an attractive Spanish academic with whom he shared a connection, and after a chance encounter with a wealthy elderly couple, spends the summer in their house in Crete. But his efforts prove futile. He becomes consumed with his disgust for the modern world and with his feelings of hopelessness for the family that await him. Spiralling further into despair, he feels compelled to take action. He returns to London and finds refuge in a scaffolding yard in Vauxhall. In this fugitive underground existence, using his scientific knowledge, he embarks on a path that could lead to devastating destruction.

"In this unsettling, timely, and explosive novel, one of the UK's most admired and celebrated writers gives us a portrait of an ordinary man in an extraordinary dilemma, and asks questions that could be transformed, if only we could see through the illusions and disinformation that have us in their grasp. It's February 2019. Philip Notman, a respected academic with a German wife and a troubled nineteen-year-old son, is on his way back from a conference in Norway when he has an unexpected and disturbing experience that completely alters his view of the world. In an instant, the reality that he has always taken for granted becomes unbearable. Believing that Ines, a Spanish woman he met at the conference, can shed light on what he is feeling, he travels to Cadiz to see her. But his journey doesn't end there. In a progress that involves both the exploration of an idea and a quest for a simpler and more meaningful existence, he winds up in a small village on the south coast of Crete. Gradually, and yet inexorably, a drastic course of action occurs to him. He returns to London, knowing exactly what he must do, even if it ruins his life and the lives of those closest to him. How much are we prepared to sacrifice for our beliefs? Can love take second place to an idea? Is it possible to find a more authentic way of living?"-- Provided by publisher

A collection of short stories by young British writers, this provides an introduction to the work of Iain Banks, Peter Benson, H.S. Bhabra, James Buchan, Patricia Ferguson, Ronald Frame, Patrick Gale, Carlo Gebler, James Lasdun, Deborah Levy, Adam Lively, Aidan Mathews, Candia McWilliam, Geoff Nicholson, Tim Parks, Philip Ridley, Joan Smith, Rupert Thomson, Daisy Waugh and Mathew Yorke. Many of these have already received critical acclaim. The collection is introduced by Graham Swift, author of "Waterland" and "Out of this World".

Based on actual events, NEVER ANYONE BUT YOU is the gripping, beautifully written story of a love affair between Suzanne Malherbe and Claude Cahun - two extraordinary women who not only smashed gender barriers, but also played an influential role in the Surrealist movement in Paris, and ultimately risked their lives resisting the Nazis.

Set on the eve of the financial crash of 2008, Barcelona Dreaming is made up of three stories that are linked by time and place, and also by the moving, unexpected interactions of a rich cast of characters.

The Book of

A sculptor of the macabre. A sorcerer of wax. A criminal. A runaway. Zummo is exactly what the last great Medici ruler of Florence needs...

It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom, and an eight-year-old boy is removed from his home and family in the middle of the night. He learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment. In an attempt to reform society, the government has divided the population into four groups, each representing a different personality type. The land, too, has been divided into quarters. Borders have been established, reinforced by concrete walls, armed guards and rolls of razor wire. Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment, a revelation that will challenge everything he believes in and will, in the end, put his very life in jeopardy …

It is a Thursday evening. After work Martin Blom drives to the supermarket to buy some groceries. As he walks back to his car, a shot rings out. When he wakes up he is blind. His neurosurgeon, Bruno Visser, tells him that his loss of sight is permanent and that he must expect to experience shock, depression, self-pity, even suicidal thoughts before his rehabilitation is complete. But it doesn't work out quite like that. One spring evening, while Martin is practising in the clinic gardens with his new white cane, something miraculous happens.

The waitress Glade Spencer -- white-blond hair, perfect skin, just 22 years old -- drifts innocent and waiflike through life, thus far avoiding harm to herself. . . Barker Dodds, hoping to shed his hard-man reputation, has fled his native Plymouth for a fresh start in London. There, meanwhile, in an act of desperate inspiration, an ambitious young executive faced with a saturated market, contrives a revolutionary strategy for introducing a new beverage, Soft!, that has all the potential of becoming the soft drink of the 21st century. Once this highly confidential strategy develops unforeseen complications, Barker is paid a visit by a friend from the old life, and soon is presented with an unthinkable dilemma. And the person with whom he now shares a destiny -- unbeknownst to her -- is Glade.