Roughage
“She wanted to dig a square hole in the dark mud, lie down in it, and wait for someone to come along and cover her up. Thank you, she would say, if they did.”
“She wanted to dig a square hole in the dark mud, lie down in it, and wait for someone to come along and cover her up. Thank you, she would say, if they did.”
‘Her mere presence made other people feel ill at ease, and on her agonising journey home, she realised that she could never be safe, comfortable or relax in the company of other people, and that she never really had, she thought; her true fragile self was suddenly back.’
A short story by Vigdis Hjorth, translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Thrillist, The Millions, Frieze, and Metropolis Japan, Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki showcases her singular slant on speculative fiction that would be echoed in countless later works, from Neuromancer to The Handmaid’s Tale.
All fiction is 40% off to celebrate the publication of Terminal Boredom and Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us.
"I want to read fiction by writers whose imagination outstrips mine, writers who can pick up on details I won’t see. I want to read stories by people who live larger lives and make grander mistakes. I want a taste of something that’s strange to me. These seven stories, which offer a selection of some of Izumi Suzuki’s best-known science fiction writing, satisfy all those wants of mine." – Cian McCourt, editor
How has our experience of time under the COVID-19 lockdown changed? Fernando Sdrigotti explores the temptations to do nothing to this period of slowed-down experience, or to find an alternative vital measure of living in the moment.
50% off Fall Fiction
A story about a dog-life creature who takes on all too human qualities, from Eka Kurniawan's short story collection Kitchen Curse, translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao.
What starts as a humorous study of a middle-class family imploding through its own greed, vanity and entitlement, soon takes a much darker turn. And as it does, the question of who we believe becomes much more critical.
Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth and translated by Charlotte Barslund was longlisted for the 2019 National Book Awards for Translated Literature.
An excerpt from Marianne Fritz's The Weight of Things with an introduction from translator Adrian Nathan West.