Nourishment

A few days ago, whilst foraging in the depths of the Goldsboro Books kitchen, I came across a proof that caught my eye purely due to its title; Nourishment, by Gerard Woodward. After considering it for a moment I noticed it was published by Picador (one of my favourite publishers) so I grabbed it, put it in my bag and started reading it on the way home. Within a few pages I was hooked and by the end of the first few chapters and my train ride, I had decided to blog about it, why? Read on to find out.

A part of its genius, I feel, is the light-hearted tone of the book which thoroughly belies the seriousness of its subject, and yet somehow never undermines it. While I found myself unable to fully empathise with the characters (as the comic narration creates something of a barrier in this respect) I nevertheless found myself understanding all that they were going through. I was able to engage with the book and the lives of the protagonists on an entirely different level to any I have experienced before, so much so that I can barely account for how Woodward has managed it. I have a small inkling however, that it has something to do with the seamless transition between character viewpoints that pervades the book; from Mrs Head to Tory, Donald and Branson, each character has a wonderfully constructed point of view that allows the reader to see different aspects of the same occurrence. Tory's letters serve as a brilliant example of this; at first Donald's apparently illogical and relentless insistence on Tory writing him a dirty letter tends to grate on the nerves a bit and left me wondering at his blinkered persistence and Tory's equally annoying refusal to try, but as the novel progresses we learn the reasons behind his requests and, for me at least, it serves as a strong reminder that assumptions can be dangerous things.

The other great thing about this book is the perfect title! Perfect because it is interwoven so tightly with the book that I can't seem to make it come unstuck. Addressing not just issues of edible nourishment (as I initially thought) but also issues of sexual and emotional nourishment (without being cheesy); the prose is engaging, witty and whole-hearted, altogether it makes for a fantastic read.

Thoroughly recommended. Signed copies are available from today.

Victor Lodato wins the PEN USA

PEN USA, the West Coast centre for the renowned writers' organization International PEN, has unveiled the winners of its prestigious 2010 Literary Awards competition. We are delighted that a previous Book of the Month, a Goldsboro Books exclusive slipcase edition, Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato won the fiction prize. We have a handful of copies left of this beautiful edition.

Annexed, Sharon Dogar and a new blogger...

Hello Book Lovers,

My name is Nicola and I am the new blogger on the block for Goldsboro Books! Nice to meet you all, unfortunately for you, you now have to put up with my inane wittering until such a time as David comes to his senses and decides to drag me kicking and screaming from the computer, before changing the password and username to get on here, and then seriously considering the future of my employment at Goldsboro...

A few weeks ago we had a signing by Sharon Dogar of her new, rather controversial book, Annexed and I was lucky enough to be at her launch party with Andersen Press. I can safely say, despite the uproar surrounding it, it was a very sensitive, illuminating account of life in the Annexe. Dogar I think has a special talent for dealing with the teenage years of her protagonists with sensitivity and clarity and this is no different, she has picked a difficult subject but has done it justice, exploring a fresh viewpoint of life in the Annexe and considering a question with an otherwise slightly elusive answer – what happened after Anne’s Diary?

It is all too easy to forget that events such as the Holocaust could be repeated – here I will reference a film called The Wave. Based on an actual sociological experiment it features a class of school children that believe the Holocaust could never happen in today’s society. The teacher then creates a group which the class vote to call The Wave, complete with salute and uniform. Over the course of a week the children form a tight-knit group, rejecting those that speak out against The Wave and creating a creepy group mentality that quickly takes over the school, resulting in terrifying consequences when the teacher then tries to make his point and disband The Wave. An extremely scary comment on how easy it actually was and is to fall into the mentality the Nazi’s created.

But I digress, the point is, in my opinion, Annexed serves to keep these issues alive, it is something we should continually be considering, and whilst Anne’s diary should always be a compulsory text in anybody’s reading list, Annexed casts a fresh light on some important issues the youth of today who, languishing in our fairly comfortable society, might otherwise forget. Signed and dated copies are available now.

New Books from Goldsboro Books

Greetings!
Not too long ago, it would have been hard to think of examples of Scandinavian crime fiction beyond Miss Smilla's Feeling of Snow. Suddenly, readers are blessed with a range of choices. What has led to such a renaissance of crime fiction from scandanavia? Well, Steig Larsson helped! The Millenium Trilogy has been a world-wide success. Henning Mankell's Wallender series is also garnering deserved praise and more readers. Plus Camilla Lackberg and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir are building nicely.
The new one's with a lot of promise are award-winning journalist Anders Roslund and ex-criminal Börge Hellström who are Sweden's most acclaimed fiction duo. Their unique ability to combine inside knowledge of the brutal reality of criminal life with searing social criticism in complex, intelligent plots has put them at the forefront of modern Scandinavian crime writing. Three Seconds is to be published in the next week here in the UK and we are delighted that both authors will be visiting Goldsboro Books to sign this fantastic novel. Watch a trailer here.
Camilla Ceder's Frozen Moment is her debut novel in English and we are delighted to have signed, lined (in Swedish) and dated copies which were signed by the author at her home in Sweden.

Away from Scandanavia, we are pleased to announce that we have signed, lined and dated copies of 15 Miles by Rob Scott which is the author's first solo novel. He wrote the Eldarn trilogy, THE HICKORY STAFF, LESSEK'S KEY and THE LARION SENATORS with Jay Gordon. We are the only UK bookshop to have signed copies.

Ruth Rendell visited us yesterday on her return from her Australian tour to sign copies of Tigerlilly's Orchids. From the much-loved Inspector Wexford series or her disturbing stand-alone psychological crime novels this will appeal more to the fans of the latter.

Jed Rubenfeld is the author of The Interpretation of Murder which was the bestselling UK adult paperback title of 2007, and winner of the Richard and Judy Bookclub. The Death Instinct is his second novel and the author visited us this morning on his whistle-stop tour of the UK to sign and date copies.

Peter F. Hamilton has also been to sign copies of The Evolutionary Void.

Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the World was a huge success and Fame is his new published novel here in the UK. We have signed and dated copies available.

We have many, many more new releases.. Visit our New Arrivals Page.

Sincerely,
David Headley
Goldsboro Books Limited

New Books Available

We are delighted to have our Goldsboro Books signed copies of Heartstone by C J Sansom available and in stock. C J Sansom spent a while signing copies for us and we caught up with him at the launch of his book at The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. The new novel is set on the Mary Rose so the venue was perfect. Heartstone is a brilliant novel and like the previous novels you can feel and smell the period in which he writes.

Everyone knows about the diary of Anne Frank, and her life hidden in the secret annexe in Amsterdam. Peter van Pels and his family were also locked away with the Franks, and Peter sees it all differently in Annexed by Sharon Dogar. What is it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, to hate her and then find yourself falling in love with her? To know you're being written about in her diary, day after day? And, what's it like to sit and wait and watch whilst others die, and you wish you were fighting? Anne's diary ends on August 4 1944, but Peter's story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps. He details with accuracy, clarity and compassion, the reality of day to day survival in Auschwitz - and the terrible conclusion. This is a brilliantly imagined novel by Sharon Dogar and has caused quiet a stir in the UK. We have signed and dated copies of this remarkable book.

Ben Kane has kindly spent hours signing, lining and dating copies of he new novel, The Road to Rome. Copies are available to buy. He is certainly following in the footsteps of Simon Scarrow and harry Sidebottom for collectibility.

Continuing the powerful epic that started with THE STORMCALLER, Tom Lloyd's new novel, The Ragged Man is now in stock and signed and dated.

Boxer, Beetle is a clever and distinctive debut novel from a very talented new author, Ned Bauman. We have signed and dated copies. It states "This is a novel for people with breeding." I am sure you all are.

Martin Walker has visited to sign copies of Black Diamond which is the third, Bruno, Chief of Police novel.

Laura Wilson has signed copies of her new novel, A Capital Crime which is in the series during the Second World War.

Derek Landy visited without any volcanic disruption to sign copies of his new Skulduggery Pleasant - Mortal Coil.

Conn Iggulden has also been to Goldsboro Books to sign copies Empire of Silver. This is the eagerly awaited 4th novel in the bestselling Conqueror series, continuing the life and adventures of the mighty Khan dynasty.

Coming soon we will have signed and numbered copies of The Facility by Simon Lelic. It is our December Book of the Month and it will be available to us a month prior to the trade release. Rupture was Simon's debut novel and our January 2010 Book of the Month. It is now short-listed for the CWA Debut Dagger. The Facility is a fable for our times and whilst it is challenging and shocking in parts, it is an amazing read. Don't miss out!

We have many, many more new releases.. Visit our New Arrivals Page.