FICTION

The beautiful novel of female friendship and family secrets on a small Korean island, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger. Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossible to ignore. The Island of Sea Women is an epic set over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, through the era of cell phones and wetsuits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story—one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them—The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives. ‘For centuries, women on Korea’s Jeju island have been free-diving into the sea, a practice explored through this fictionalized story of two friends who struggle to stay close amid war, family rivalries, and a shifting cultural landscape. It’s riveting, historical, and heartbreaking all at once’ Marie Claire ‘Lisa See excels at mining the intersection of family, friendship and history... This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled’ Jodi Picoult, author of A Spark of Light ‘I was spellbound the moment I entered the vivid and little-known world of the diving women of Jeju… No one writes about female friendship… with more insight and depth than Lisa See’ Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees

An epic, kaleidoscopic story of four women connected across time and place by an invisible thread and their determination to shape their own stories, from the acclaimed author of The Mother Fault.Shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2024 Longlisted for the Stella Prize and Indie Book Awards 2024Sydney Morning Herald Best Reads of the Year for 2023 One of the lucky few with a job during the Depression, Peggy’s just starting out in life. She’s a bagging girl at the Angliss meatworks in Footscray, a place buzzing with life as well as death, where the gun slaughterman Jack has caught her eye – and she his. How is her life connected to Hilda’s, almost a hundred years later, locked inside during a plague, or La’s, further on again, a singer working shifts in a warehouse as her eggs are frozen and her voice is used by AI bots? Let alone Maz, far removed in time, diving for remnants of a past that must be destroyed? Is it by the river that runs through their stories, eternal yet constantly changing – or by the mysterious Hummingbird Project, and the great question of whether the march of progress can ever be reversed? Propulsive, tender and engrossing, this genre-bending novel is a feast for the heart as well as the mind and senses. For fans of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, Michelle de Kretser’s The Life to Come and Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House, it confirms Mildenhall as one of the most ambitious and dynamic writers in the country. 'Kate Mildenhall is such an exciting writer to read … This generous, playful novel speaks to themes of climate change, survival and holding space for each other, as well as the enduring power of female friendship.' The Guardian ‘Spellbinding, genre-defying, and powerful in its vision of the future … The Hummingbird Effect is a devastating novel that exposes the ways the future is seeded in the past.’ Australian Book Review

A collection of delightful short stories from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel 'A fake! A quack! A charlatan! Get a grip on yourself, woman! We'll say another rosary and then I'll leave you home.'Stories of Ireland is a brilliant, colourful compendium of mid-century Irish experience from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel. Demonstrating all of Friel's peerless instinct for voice, scene, and the uncanny mystery found in the everyday, these tales tell of beauty, struggle and discovery- from the drowning of a man in the bog-black waters of Lough Keeragh, to the camaraderie of teenage potato gathers in County Tyrone, and from the careful work of the German War Graves Commission in Glenn na fuiseog, to trawlermen's talk of sunken gold off the coast of Donegal.Selected by Friel himself, and introduced by acclaimed author Louise Kennedy, this delightful, heartful collection truly offers some of the best stories ever written.

Second Chance Family A moving and heart-warming new rural romance from internationally acclaimed author Barbara Hannay that proves it's never too late to start over. Callie Madden, a grieving widow and single mother of three, is stunned to learn she's inherited one half of Hawkridge, a beautiful acreage in the Misty Mountains of Far North Queensland. A potential family scandal surrounds the reasons for this bequest and there are additional complications. Callie is to share the inheritance with Ben Galbraith, a Scotsman, who'd helped Hawkridge's owner in his final years. Also, the property can't be sold for twelve months. Callie's life is in Townsville with her teenage twin daughters and six year old son. Ben plans to return to Scotland. How can they negotiate an entire year of caring for Hawkridge? And as they try to work together, is there more at stake than the property's future? Set on the picturesque hinterland of Australia's tropical far north, this is a deeply moving and uplifting story about making the most of the unexpected opportunities life throws your way. Ideal for fans of Tricia Stringer and Fiona Lowe.

A Thousand Blues From a massive rising star in the world of Korean female sci-fi comes the gripping, heartrending tale of how two sisters train a worn-out racehorse to run the slowest race of its life - for fans of KLARA AND THE SUN and CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN THE #1 KOREAN INSTANT BESTSELLER AND PRIZEWINNER Discover the original and uplifting sensation for fans of CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and KLARA AND THE SUN 'A stunning story of love, care and sacrifice' - Bora Chung, author of Cursed Bunny  'Feels like a feather softly descending and tickling my heart' - Reader review ***** 'A breath of fresh air' - Reader review ***** 'Full of human warmth' - ***** From its perch on top of a pile of junk inside a shed, Coli, a robot with powerful observational qualities, waits patiently for someone to find it. Coli is special among AI robots. This is because Coli has the capacity for emotion. Today, Coli is feeling particularly in awe - of the sky in all its wondrous shades of blue. Luckily for Coli, a young girl is about to pass by. She is obsessed with robots. Together, they will save a life. But first, they must make friends, put themselves at risk, and pull off the mother of all deceptions. 'Engaging, touching, subtly disturbing' - K-Lit Review 'A stunningly crafted novel, evoking a myriad emotions' - Kim Bo-young 'A dazzling, warm novel that shows us how to move forward as a society without leaving anyone or anything behind' - Choi Jin-young, author of To the Warm Horizon

New Skin A powerful debut about first love and second chances from a stunning new voice in Australian fiction

Cockatoo Cove is a charming rural romance filled with new friends, family, and community spirit. From the bestselling author of Wallaby Lane, this story is delightfully packed with love and camaraderie.

A Beautiful Family  An eventful summer forever changes the lives of a family in the most engrossing debut you'll read this year.

Aftertaste: Feast Upon This Year'S Most Delicious Debut Novel'A Fun Romp Through New York'S Food Scene' Sunday Times'Practically exploding with love, life and flavour' LOUISE KENNEDY'Bitingly inventive, written with humour and heart' ELIZABETH DAY'A hauntingly evocative journey through the realms of pain, pleasure and the power of food' NIGELLA LAWSON A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour. When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure something he's craved for as long as he can remember. There are just three problems-1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.3. He's falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped. A bittersweet cocktail of humour and heart, Aftertaste is an imaginative odyssey through food and love, life and death- the things that sustain us, connect us, transport us, and remind us who we are.

Notes On Infinity Normal People meets The Dropout with a dash of Tomorrow x3 in this epic love story of two young Harvard students with a shared dream who are drawn into the vortex of American start-up culture. When Zoe and Jack meet in a chemistry classroom in Harvard, they couldn't be more different- she's the daughter of a renowned MIT professor, he's escaping an upbringing steeped in poverty - but they are immediately drawn to one another. Neither knows it yet, but in two years' time, they will have dropped out of college and become business partners in a billion-dollar company that promises longer life. But as they become wrapped up in a maelstrom of insatiable ambition, greed and ultimately deceit, their love for each other will be tested to its very limit...

The Listeners 'By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling' - Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark 'Around every corner of this richly imagined world, we discover some new wonder' New York Times 'An ambitious work that brings its setting and its large ensemble of characters vividly to life' Sunday Times 'Cinematic and so very satisfying... A phenomenally immersive read' Claire Lombardo 'A marvel: strange, witty, moving, exuberant... at once gloriously extravagant and perfectly poised' Robert Macfarlane The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss' Hudson, a local girl turned general manager, has known its power since she first stepped through the century-old doors - and into the fold of the Gilfoyle family, the hotel's aristocratic owners. But in 1942, the real world intrudes. War comes to the Avallon dressed in fine furs and government suits. Under the State Department's watchful eye, the Gilfoyle heir welcomes three hundred enemy diplomats and Nazi sympathisers. And June must play host. As dark alliances and unexpected desires crack the Avallon's polished veneer, not every guest is who they seem. Not least Agent Tucker Minnick, listening for secrets through the hotel walls, whose coal tattoo threatens to betray his past and undo June. And more troubling is the secret she has guarded for years - that the mountain waters can harm as much as heal... The extraordinary, genre-defying debut adult novel by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author. ***READER REVIEWS*** 'I have not stopped thinking about it' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ 'It feels like the kind of story that becomes a classic' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ 'A hauntingly beautiful read' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ 'I wonder if Maggie Stiefvater would have ever suspected how well timed this book release would be. History tends to rhyme, after all' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ 'A beautiful story about the human condition' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐

The Passengers On the Hankyu LineFrom the authentic and original healing fiction author of TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES comes a 1.4-million-copy bestseller - set in a famously scenic railway line in Japan, following key emotional dramas for five commuters.DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FEELGOOD JAPANESE NOVEL, BY THE AUTHOR OF THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLESOver 1.4 million copies sold in Japan'You will be wrapped in laughter and tears' Reader review*****'What I love about it is its Kindness' Reader review*****'I wanted to tap the shoulders of the characters' Reader review*****_________The contents of each traveller's heart is a mystery known only to themselvesTrundling through the scenic countryside of Kyoto and Osaka is the Hankyu line, a burgundy-coloured electric train that has been carrying its commuters to their destinations for decades.Over the course of a single journey in springtime, and the return journey six months later just as the leaves begin to fall-- a young man meets the woman who happens to take out the last copy of the library book he was about to borrow;- an angry wedding guest dresses in a white gown to upstage the bride;- a university student leaves home for the first time;- a twenty-something finally grows the courage to walk away from an abusive partner- a widow learns independence, as she and her granddaughter meet their new dog.As the seasons change and the landscapes change, passengers jostle and connect, as this gentle timeless train carries each one forward towards the person they intend to become.