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January - June 2007

Roman's Journey by Roman Halter with a preface by Sir Martin Gilbert
'To lose everything but to retain one's sanity and, more staggeringly, one's love of life beggars the imagination. This is the book of a man who has achieved just that... I urge you to read it.' John Hurt

I, Wabenzi by Rafi Zabor
An extraordinary exploration of mortality, regret, family and things of the spirit from a writer of enormous comic and tragic gifts who is part Woody Allen, part Bruno Schulz.

Wintering by Derek Johns
'A beautiful, quietly shocking story about childhood, about family, about errant fathers and the casualties they leave behind. Full of loving period detail and told with the relaxed economy of the real writer.' Jonathan Coe

Secret by Philippe Grimbert Translated from the French by Polly McLean
'A splendid book that gives the unspeakable written form.' Le Monde

The Punishment of Virtue by Sarah Chayes
'A devastating indictment of the contradictions of US policy in Afghanistan by an extremely courageous woman' and 'the inside story on Afghanistan after the Taliban by someone who knows and cares.' Christina Lamb

Whiteman by Tony D'Souza
'A startlingly assured debut which captures the intricacies of West African life with a dry but immensely warm humour... sensual and powerfully insightful.' Metro *****

The Seven Days of Peter Crumb by Jonny Glynn
A shatteringly well-written, carcrash-compelling description of a week in the hell inhabited by one splintered and savage soul - an unrehearsed and unputdownable Jekyll and Hyde for our time.

The Incomplete Husband by Ben Faccini
Moving between the isolated Italian mountains, the plains of sun-drenched Camargue and the vibrant jumble of Paris, The Incomplete Husband is a richly involving story about migration and refuge from one of our most observant and talented young story-tellers.

This Time of Dying by Reina James
'Rich and absorbing... a five-star weepie' The Times

Eternity is Temporary by Bill Broady
'Full of drifting imagery, heady with the fever of first love, city heat and rock'n'roll, and bursting with off-kilter characterisation...' Metro

January - June 2007 (cont)

Minding by Chris Paling
One of Britain's most distinguished novelists comes to Portobello with a book that takes him into compelling and tender new territory: the story of a young mother and her son - kept apart by mental illness, brought back together by love.

The Visible World by Mark Slouka
'Mark Slouka is a fine stylist with a marvellous eye for telling details. It's a pure pleasure to turn its pages.' Ha Jin, author of Waiting

Twenty-Eight: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
There are 28 million people infected with the HIV virus in Africa. Why should we care? Here, in 28 powerful, unforgettable stories, are 28 reasons why.

The Vitamin Murders: Who Killed Healthy Eating in Britain? by James Fergusson
'Fergusson's sensitivity to his themes and prose and dialogue give it the flavour of a novel. a richly entertaining, artful slice of journalism.' Daily Telegraph on Kandahar Cockney

The Officer's Daughter by Zina Rohan
An epic wartime tale in which a young woman faces hardship, danger and impossible choices as the events of history sweep her across continents, and two suitors compete to win her heart.

July - December 2007

Holy Warriors by Edna Fernandes
An eye-opening exploration of India's incendiary religious mix - based on a series of face-to-face encounters with all varieties of the faithful, the fervent and the fanatical.

Gregorius by Bengt Ohlsson
A masterly exploration of the essence of love and the complex mysteries of the human heart.
Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008

Tao by Aya Goda
Far from its boomtown coast there is another China - join an unlikely vagabond couple exploring it in this Chinese On The Road.

Enslaved by Rahila Gupta
Britain is once again home to hundreds of slaves - they reach our shores via unimaginably perilous crossings, are locked into back-breaking working lives, and remain hidden to the rest of us. Very few get free to tell of their appalling incarceration. Meet five who did in this compelling, revealing book.

July - December 2007 (cont)

The Family That Couldn't Sleep by D. T. Max
A compelling investigation into one of the strangest and most sinister family tragedies: a noble Venetian clan condemned to watch their closest relatives die - slowly and helplessly - from an inability to sleep.

Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel
From farm to fork, this is the first book to look at the entire global food chain, revealing the hidden complexities and terrifying simplicities of a planet squeezing itself dry in order to make half its citizens obese and the other half malnourished.

Remedy by Anne Marsella
A stylishly charismatic and endearing debut about a single girl in Paris, who works in fashion and calls upon the saints to help her find the perfect man: Remedy is the perfect cure for anyone yearning for a book whose heroine is as intelligent as she is loveable, and still manages to pull of an exhilarating fairytale ending.

Cocktail Culture by Mark Kingwell
Cocktail Culture: Shake together four parts hard liquor, three parts literary gossip, two parts thespian intemperance, and one part louche behaviour, and serve straight up with a dash of barstool wisdom and a twist of wit for garnish.

Looking for Enid by Duncan McLaren
A strikingly inventive and unusual portrait of the most successful English writer for children until JK Rowling, Enid Blyton, who entertained millions worldwide with her myriad adventure stories and mysteries but was herself an adventure and a mystery.

When I Forgot by Elina Hirvonen
An astonishingly assured and compelling debut novel about the love siblings have for each other, the past they share and the painful memories that shape their lives for ever.

One Soldier's War in Chechnya by Arkady Babchenko
An outstanding dispatch from the frontline of war - unsparing, unsentimental, blackly comic and brutally beautiful - by an ordinary soldier who tells it like it is.

The Book of Words by Jenny Erpenbeck
A brilliant and ambitious follow up to The Old Child for a writer of unmistakable originality - Erpenbeck has unerring ability to peel away the layers of her characters' minds and to leave an indelible mark upon our own.