Contemporary Fiction
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The Distinctly Competent District Councillor: The new, heart-warming novel from the multi-million copy bestselling phenomenon
The charming and original story of a small, declining community’s struggle to survive in the shadow of an all-consuming metropolis, from from the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.
All over the world, people sleep blissfully in Traumbett beds. These marvellous feats of German engineering have successfully cornered the mattress market everywhere. Everywhere, except Sweden and owner Konrad Kaltenbacher Jr is desperate to expand there.
With Konrad Jr’s sights set firmly on stylish Stockholm, Julia Bäck, district councillor of the small, decaying town of Halstaholm, has plans of her own. Seeing an opportunity to attract 800 new jobs, Julia jumps into spearheading a persuasive campaign to win the contract. A roundabout is hastily renamed in honour of Angela Merkel; a German school is quickly established under the leadership of a ten-year-old boy and three elderly pensioners; and the town swimming pool is rapidly transformed into a beerhouse – it had been empty for years anyway!
Julia’s get-up-and-go impresses the German boss … but has she made herself a tricky bed to lie in?
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Arborescence: ‘Extraordinary’ Sophie Ward
‘A wry tale, deftly told… transforms the anguish of our moment into a fable of hope’ RICHARD FLANAGAN, TLS, BOOKS OF THE YEAR
‘Laugh-out-loud funny, disarmingly wise and very, very readable’ NATHAN FILER
‘You will not be able to stop thinking about this extraordinary book’ SOPHIE WARD
‘A great and beautiful book that is profound and profoundly moving’ JENNIFER CROFT
‘Thrilling, thought-provoking and incredibly tender’ CHIOMA OKEREKE
‘Reads like a thriller but has the tenderness and insight of poetry’ BEN RAWLENCE
‘A dazzling blend of cosmic eco-horror and arthouse sci-fi’ CHRIS FLYNN
‘Brilliant… a book about us, a book about now’ SHAUN TANWhat makes a person want to be a tree?
Bren and his partner Caelyn are feeling at a standstill in their lives. One day they come across a video of people in the forest who believe that if they stand still for long enough they will transform into trees. The idea is absurd. But it’s spreading. Soon, people start to go missing and trees appear in unlikely places.
As cities decay and the world becomes greener, Caelyn becomes more and more convinced that arborescence is exactly what will save the planet from human destruction. Bren isn’t so sure. Drifting apart, Bren and Caelyn are forced to question what it really means to be human – and if they are ready to stand still.
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From £10.25£16.99Arborescence: ‘Extraordinary’ Sophie Ward
From £10.25£16.99
