The Elliott Bay Book Company

When the first copy of this book arrived on my desk it sat there for weeks. I knew nothing about it, but for some reason I was in no reason to read it and even had a strange inclination not to want to like it. Then I read it. This is one of the most outstanding novels I’ve read in years. It’s atmospheric prose transports you to a remarkable world that is a playground for the mind and the senses. When I finished it, I went right back to page one and read it again. It is that good! Seriously, I can't think of anyone who likes to read fiction who won't enjoy this. So set aside your preconceptions and read it it!

This wildly imaginative first novel is the ultimate guilty pleasure this year! Eschewing literary pretension, Bazell has created a brilliantly readable adventure with great character and non-stop action. A very highly recommended book guaranteed to launch you out of your seasonal reading rut. Enjoy the ride!

Ten years ago David Czuchlewski burst onto the the literary scene with this incredible debut novel. Unfortunately for readers it went out of print soon after and only a select few had the chance to enjoy this tremendously beguiling story of identity, madness, authorship, love and possibly murder. This is one of those stories that will stick with you long after you've closed the book and one that you'll likely share with friends who love a good story. Thankfully readers now have another chance to enjoy the power of this remarkable novel.

You may have heard about this novel. It won France's prestigious Prix Goncourt as well as The Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award. It has been hotly debated by reviewers and readers with fans lauding Littell's creativity and virtuosity and proclaiming it a modern War & Peace. Detractors counter that it is obscene, crude and glorifying of violence and perversion. I, personally, thought it was excellent. The writing is inspired and it exhibited an exceptional scope of literary vision and execution. Yes, it is the story of a Nazi, there is stomach-turning violence and a few incestuous acts and fantasies, but let's remember that this is based on The Oresteia which Aeschylus wrote 2500 years ago. Have we really evolved to such a moral high ground since then? You'll never know what all of the fuss is about unless you've read it for yourself!

This book is a masterpiece of children's literature on so many levels I don't even know where to begin. The illustrations are wonderfully playful and demonstrative, some of which are homages to great masterpieces of world art. (See if you can spot them!) The story is beautiful—both heart-warming and tear-jerking. I absolutely love this book, and I think everyone (young and old) will adore it too.

When I read Ball's first novel Samedi The Deafness I thought to myself—"Wow, this guy is a really gifted writer and this is a really good book, but with his talent he could have done more." Well, Mr. Ball has really fulfilled my expectations with this new one. This story reads like the love child of a fiendish menage a trois between David Lynch, Lewis Carroll and Franz Kafka. That's right.

This is a wonderfully enjoyable read that defies conventional categorization. Dahlquist effectively mixes elements of adventure, mystery and fantasy into a Victorian time frame and shrouds it with an eroticism as supple and enticing as a sheer silk negligee. This steam punk extravaganza is the best historical fiction/fantasy since Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and will appeal to an even wider variety of readers because of its steady action and alchemical intrigue. Also keep your eye out for Volume Two, and the third portion of the series The Dark Volume.

It took me a while to decide if I loved or hated this book. There were definitely times that it infuriated me, and times that I just could not stop reading it. It is not an easy read...some work is required on your part to get the full effect. There are sections of untranslated French, Greek and Latin that you will have to figure out. But, I think it is ultimately worth it. Like our hero Nicholas, you will emerge from this experience entirely changed. Whether or not it is a change for the better is for you to decide.

Woah! This novel is one hell of a wild ride! A 250 page orgy of death, destruction, sex and cussing perpetrated by filthy, lecherous characters. Old Texas, Alabama makes the Deadwood, South Dakota portrayed on HBO look like Sesame Street. You'll laugh, you'll gasp, you'll wonder "just what exactly is going on here?" This is a well written walk on the lighter side of literature. Enjoy the ride!

A fun read for your summer holiday. this book has a little bit of everything. At 360 pages, this lively historical novel provides an incredible amount of entertainment for the amount of luggage space it takes up. Follow young Claude Page through 18th Century France as his life takes one unlikely turn after another. This is quite simply a great story!

Hercule Barfuss (the birth name of our hero) is one of the most unlikely leading men of recent literary creation. A deaf-mute midget, Hercule has useless doughy lumps for hands and arms, a thick pelt of fur on his back, snail-like horny growths come out of his head, and where his nose and mouth should be, a grotesque fleshy pit resides instead. Despite his physical abnormalities he has one major asset: he can read other people's minds and inject his own thoughts into them. Communicating through telepathy and using his feet as hands (and feet), Hercule's journey is magnificent and heartwarming.

A dark comedy you can sink your teeth into...
Egolf's rollercaster of a narrative click-clacks ominously onwards and upwards until it crests and plummets in a crescendo of madness and depravity. If A.J. Liebling, Dave Eggers, and Stephen King took a roadtrip to Amish Country and were set upon by an unholy Lycanthrope, their story might very much resemble "Kornwolf".

On a summer night in 1945 a young boy is led through the streets of Barcelona by his father. Their destination: an underground catacomb of a library christened: "The Cemetary of Forgotten Books". From the first page you are drawn into Zafon's web of literary intrigue. This is a remarkable book: historical fiction with a touch of gothic fog licking at the window panes. If a musty old book feels like a treasure in your hands, you're going to love this one.