'Your mind's full of rubbish, Morley, just like that pig bin.'The Pig Bin is a laugh-out-loud novel about the embarrassing escapades of a war time adolescent. Morley Charles is a shy Catholic boy with a stammer. His mother disapproves of most of his friends; his father is away at the war; his uncle is a black marketeer, and the drunk lodger staying with them is a source of shame. Morley has started exploring his body, and is desperate to find the right word to describe the sinful pleasure he's just discovered so he can make his confession and not go straight to hell if a bomb falls on him. Things start to look up, however, when the American serviceman who's sweet on his neighbor gives him a brand new lumber jacket. May, his aunt, is generous with the affection his mother seems unable to show. If he pretends to be French his stammer miraculously vanishes, and his artistic talent might give him a future at the Balsley School of Art. With the war nearly over, all he needs to do now is find that word.

The Pig Bin

Literature & Fiction

Richardson, Michael

Literary

Tindal st Pr Ltd

A moving tale of an innocent trapped in the pyschiatric care system and his struggle to find hope

A Lone Walk

Davis, Gul Y.

Des McGinlay is a down-on-his-luck PI from the gritty, industrial city of Birmingham, England. Lately, business has been poor, mostly because Des likes booze more than he should but also because he's suffering from being unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend. So when he is asked by Bertha Turton to investigate the suspicious death of her daughter, Claudette, Des is pleased to get off the self-pity slow train and onto the money-making express. Bertha's willingness to fill the empty side of Des' bed doesn't hurt. Des soon realizes that Claudette was murdered, and the killing was ordered by a rich but corrupt politico with lots of clout and the power to make Des' future miserable, or worse, nonexistent. Dalton's debut is a clever, atmospheric, quirky, violent thriller featuring an antihero who's quite unlike the typical private eye. This is definitely a writer to watch.""--Booklist

The City Trap

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Dalton, John

Mystery

Stylish, witty stories from women writers told with an energy that will dazzle and delightThis bold, sharp-eyed anthology casts a crystalline light on contemporary lives. Aligning modern dilemmas with ancient themessuch as fertility, loneliness, and survivalAli Smith, Liza Cody, Amy Prior, Helen Cross, and many more fresh, unsung voices present 21 majestic stories that illuminate the courage of everyday people. There's Melody, more of a tart than a sophisticate, who escapes to sunshine with her teacher’s baby; an unlikely wedding breakfastshared peaches by the roadside on a bright June morning; two African sisters who are displaced to a "little England" boarding school; and a teenage boy who catches sight of love while tending his grandmother's garden, among others. Celebrate adventures of the spirit with the everyday splendor of Her Majesty.

Her Majesty: 21 Stories by Women

Jackie Gay

Short Stories & Anthologies

Birmingham Nouveau: 20 New Birmingham Stories

Alan Mahar

Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2003, this absorbing, beautifully written, and perceptive novel perfectly captures the complexity of memory and the dynamics of family life When an innocent trip to see the play Peter Pan gives Kitty's four brothers an excuse to deny her access to her much-loved nieces, she finds herself in a skewed, vividly colored world where children become emblems of hope, longing, and grief. Still reeling from the loss of her own child that never was, Kitty is suddenly made shockingly aware of the real reason for her pervasive sense of non-existence. Suddenly, her family's oddness, the secrets of her mother’s life and death, and the disappearance of her sister come into a startling new focusone that leaves Kitty struggling to find own identity.

Astonishing Splashes of Colour

MORRALL, Clare

Contemporary

"For lovers of Caribbean literature, a humorous, character-packed account of a man's return 'back home' to Jamaica with his teenage daughter." —Bookseller
When Frank returns to Jamaica for Poppa Ben's funeral, he's pursued by Rose, an old flame who's still convinced their destiny is shared. Meanwhile, Jewelle—flummoxed by her daily chores, but seduced by Jamaica's charm—discovers there's more to the island than its beauty. What's "dis big people business" that no one will tell her about?

What Goes Round

Clarke, Maeve

The heartfelt story of Romany and Katetwo soul sisters linked by a love of escape and adventureA lyrical adventure novel that follows two soul sisters from inner city Birmingham and English domesticity to the streets of India and the wondrous mountains, prayer flags, and lush meadows of Nepal. Street girl Romany is caught up in an Indian romance with the once-bookish Tybut what unspoken loss makes the icy Himalayas so irresistible to him? Kate journeys to the Norfolk coast where the sea-mist sounds beneath Frieda's outpost home. But disaster, death, and mishap interveneand, as the inextricable threads between the sisters tighten, they must rework their bond in the light of dark truths from their family’s past. From Tom the one-eyed urban tramp to Nyala who herds the buffalo grazing by her mountainside home, Wist's engaging characters and thought-provoking themes will delight and challenge, offering a unique perspective on what can happen when "the sky falls in on your head."

Wist

Gay, Jackie

Featuring twenty vigorous, original stories by widely published authors and up-and-coming new talent, this impressive anthology transports readers from Birmingham to Trinidad, Colombia to Canada, and Liverpool to London Award-winning author Alan Beard expertly compiles a surprising array of contemporary voices in this engaging read. Stories include Gemma Blackshaw's spot-on portrait of an Essex girl on the verge of losing her virginity; Joel Lane’s beautiful, poetical allegory about a man’s relationship with alcohol; and Godfrey Featherstone's heartbreaking tale of an illiterate Birmingham couple, told in the form of a letter from a prison cell. Also included is a story written by Beard himself, which cuts of the quick with a painfully honest study of growing regret and acceptance after a marriage break-up through infidelity. Going the Distance is always powerful, original, and perfectly understated, with each author's voice both presented in a thoroughly strong and enticing manner. 

Going the Distance

Alan Beard

Award-winning novelist Lesley Glaister introduces a showcase of four accomplished writers This impressive collective of literary short stories captures the sensation of dawdling along a street at dusk, just as the lights come on but before the curtains are drawn—the tantalizing glimpses of other lives—teasing, intriguing, and suggestive of so much more. Contained in this slim volume are eight individual works which offer up such glimpses, lit within the frame of the authors' chosen words. Giving just a taster of the work of four contemporary new authors, there are two stories each from Mandy Sutter, Sidura Ludwig, Polly Wright, and Myra Connell.

Are You She?

Lesley Glaister

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