*Finalist for the Costa First Novel Award**Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize* From a rising literary star, a thrilling debut novel of psychological suspense set among the colleges of CambridgeWhen bright and bookish Oscar Lowe follows the haunting sound of an organ into the chapel of Kings College, Cambridge, one day, his whole world changes. He meets a beautiful and seductive medical student, Iris Bellwether, and her charismatic and troubled brother Eden. Oscar is seduced by their life of scholarship and privilege, but when Eden convinces Iris and her close-knit group of friends to participate in a series of disturbing experiments, Oscar fears he has entered into something from which he cannot escape. Reminiscent of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, The Bellwether Revivals is a gripping exploration of the line between genius and madness that will hold readers spellbound until its breathtaking conclusion.
'Britain's answer to Donna Tartt' Sunday Times'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel 'What a writer' Richard Osman In the summer of 1952, Joyce and Charlie Savigear are waiting on a railway platform in the quiet English countryside. The siblings have just been released from borstal to start a new life as apprentices at Leventree, an architecture practice with a difference.The architects who've chosen them are Florence and Arthur Mayhood, a married couple motivated to give young offenders second chances. At first, they seem to offer the Savigears a steady path to happiness. But when a menacing figure from Joyce's past comes knocking, they are lured back to the world they left behind. Will the Mayhoods' goodwill be enough to steer their young apprentices away from danger, or will the darkness of their past catch up with them?'Benjamin Wood is a beautiful writer and this is his best novel yet, both gripping and unputdownable' Andrew O'Hagan'The Young Accomplice shows the difference between a book that slides down the surface of things, and one that digs it claws into you and sticks there' The Times'Benjamin Wood is building a sublime body of work. This masterful, suspenseful novel is his best yet' David Whitehouse
A mesmerising portrait of a young man confined in by his class and the ghosts of his family's past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment. It confirms Benjamin Wood as an exceptional talent in British literature.'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel'Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written' Douglas StuartThomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.'Seascraper is powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough' Benjamin Myers, award-winning author of Cuddy 'Britain's answer to Donna Tartt' Sunday Times'What a writer' Richard Osman
'Britain's answer to Donna Tartt' Sunday Times'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel'Was this how it was going to be for ever? Wrapping things for customers in womenswear, no conversation. Polishing the counters so her face reflected in the brass and sweeping floors at closing time until the boss said she could leave. How much worse off would she be if she went driving with a stranger for a while?'When sixteen-year-old Joyce Savigear absconds from work to go out with a man she barely knows, she hopes a new, exciting life is just beginning. But, two years later, she is waiting on a railway station in the tranquil English countryside. It's the summer of 1952 and she and her younger brother Charlie have just been released from borstal. Another fresh start awaits - but can Joyce ever outrun the darkness of her past?'What a writer' Richard Osman 'An involving tale of revenge and responsibility, which, while it devastates, also tells us that new lives can be built among the ashes' FT 'The Young Accomplice shows the difference between a book that slides down the surface of things, and one that digs its claws into you and sticks there' The Times
From the award-winning author of The Bellwether Revivals comes a "gorgeous and harrowing work" (Emily St. John Mandel) set on a mysterious island, where artists strive to recover their lost gifts--and where nothing is quite as it seems. Situated on a Turkish island, Portmantle might be the strangest, most exclusive artists' colony around. Its brilliant residents linger for years, all expenses paid and living under assumed names. Relieved of the burdens of time and ego, they are free to create their next masterpieces. Elspeth Conroy (aka "Knell") is a Scottish painter who has been at Portmantle for a decade, a refugee from the hectic London art scene. Her fellow longtimers include Quickman, whose sole book became a classic and paralyzed his muse; MacKinney, a playwright who left behind her family; and Pettifer, an architect obsessing over an unfinished cathedral. In his astonishing second novel, Benjamin Wood gives us "an intensely intimate portrait of an artist as a young woman, with truths on every page" (Independent). The hermetic world at Portmantle shatters when the 17-year-old Fullerton arrives at the gates, his provenance and talents unknown. As Knell searches for answers, she reveals the path that led her to this place: Her intimate bond with her gruff drunk of a mentor; her early successes and crushing failures; a journey across the Atlantic and into the psychiatrist's office; and a grand commission of astronomical significance. What is "The Ecliptic," and how does it relate to the life Elspeth left behind? This gorgeous puzzle of a novel touches the head and the heart, and the effect is nothing short of electrifying.
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street, and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?Haunting and timeless, this is the story a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.
The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self â?? weaving a haunting story of violence and love.
In 2014 the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were consolidating their control over a vast area of the Middle East. They singled out the Yazidis, adherents of an ancient monotheistic religion, for annihilation. Unlike Christians or Jews, who were seen as "people of the book," Yazidis were classified as pagans and therefore subject to extermination. The men were to be executed and the women and children enslaved. In August ISIS fighters attacked Sinjar, an Iraqi city inhabited mostly by Yazidis. Some 50,000 panic-stricken civilians fled to Mount Sinjar in 110° heat with no food or water. The ISIS militants quickly surrounded the mountain and after several days people began to die of exposure, exhaustion, and dehydration. This is a history of the ISIS attack on the Yazidis and the American response, which represented the opening salvo in the war against ISIS. With a potential genocide looming, President Barack Obama ordered the U.S. military into action in order to save the thousands of men, women and children desperately calling for help from Mount Sinjar. While the U.S. Air Force dropped tons of food, water, and supplies to those stranded, U.S. Navy aircraft attacked ISIS positions at the base of the mountain. In the following months the United States assembled a coalition of nations which, along with Kurdish militias, eventually destroyed the Islamic State, saved the Yazidis and liberated millions from the brutal rule of ISIS.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, Quakers are increasingly divided over matters of theology, religious belonging, and the status of Friends’ Christian past. Recent controversies over Theism, Non-Theism and Universalism have highlighted deep-rooted transformations of Quaker self-understanding. In contrast to earlier decades, many contemporary Quakers hanker after an intensely inclusive community, unhampered by the particulars of Christian theology. Many British Friends no-longer see the Quaker movement as an expression of the Gospel nor a manifestation of the Universal Church. What might Friends be missing by re-imagining Quakerism in these resolutely post-Christian terms? Author Benjamin Wood argues that, far from limiting the bounds of Quaker identity, a selective return to Quakerism’s seventeenth-century roots can restore to modern Liberal Friends a shared story capable of deepening their spiritual life and worship-practice. Based neither on doctrinal agreement nor inflexible religious borders, the Quaker narrative recovered in The Living Fountain: Remembrances of Quaker Christianity is drawn together by sacred experiments in mutual love and enduring hope. Through a series of extended reflections on God, Jesus, and the language of salvation, Wood seeks to uncover a dynamic faith ncommitted to universal healing, reconciliation, and the crossing of religious and cultural boundaries. At the centre of this retrieval is the insistence that the God revealed in Quaker worship cherishes our differences and delights in our diversity.
SUPER BRAIN. SUPER LIFE. The brain contains millions of neurons (also called brain cells) that are necessary for our learning, cognition and memory retention. However, neurons die, and the brain does not generate more of it unlike other cells in the body. This can lead to memory loss and the reduction of our cognitive skills. From the moment that we are born, we lose few neurons, and the death of brain cells does not stop only until our death.But there are simple and productive techniques that will help your brain to work at 100% Have good reading Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn...Your HappinessSuper BrainProductive LifeA Waste of LifeMoney and HappinessMemoryDownload your copy today (c) 2017 All Rights Reserved Tags: Brain, Memory, More, Techniques, Faster, Aging, Time, Living, Learn, Exercises, Training, Super, Remember, Unlock, Dancing, Chronic, Body, Count, Perception, Productive, Reduce, Top, Unlimited, lumosity, brain games, elevation, funbrain, mind games for adults
MOST PEOPLE NEVER TAP INTO 10% OF THEIR POTENTIAL FOR MEMORY And You're About to Learn HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY THINK FASTER, CONCENTRATE MORE AND REMEMBER EVERYTHING Improving your memory is never too late or early, so it's essential that you take the chance to strengthen your brain and sharpen your mind when you can Here's just a taste of the memory methods you'll learn in this book: How Does The Brain Work? Can We Prevent Memory Loss As We Age? Improving Your Memory through Food, Sleep, and Other Lifestyle Choices. Memory Improvement Techniques. Brain Training Exercises If you're ready to harness the incredible power of your mind to remember more in less time, this book is for you. Download your copy today (c) 2017 All Rights Reserved Tags: Brain, Memory, More, Spiritual, Freedom, Techniques, Faster, Aging, Time, Living, Learn, Exercises, Training, Super, Remember, Unlock, Dancing, Chronic, Body, Count, Perception, Productive, Reduce, Top, Unlimited, lumosity, brain games, elevation, funbrain, mind games for adults, Improvements, Thinking fast and slow, Improve memory, Speed reading, Memory improvement, Memory help, Kindle memory