Kirjahaku

In Rome, in 1979, a shy young Englishwoman called Julia meets Ennio. The two fall deeply in love, but theirs will be a troubled affair, shrouded in secrecy and constantly under threat. For Italy in 1979 is a country of violent radical politics: a dangerous, heady time, filled with bitter hope and fear. And Ennio is one of the most wanted men in Italy, a member of the notorious terrorist group, Sinistra Armata. Twenty years on, their daughter Lotte, brought up by a grandmother in London, knows nothing of her parents' love affair or the shocking events leading up to her birth. But on discovering the truth, she journeys to Italy to reclaim her past - only to find her mother's story haunting her more forcefully that she could have believed. Haunting, evocative and moving, The Sunlit Stage is a breathtaking novel about love and self-discovery.

Married to a successful businessman, with a large house, a four-year-old daughter and another baby on the way, Sappho lives an enviable life. Yet a chance glimpse of a face from her past sends her reeling, uncovering potent memories she has never been able to share with anyone, and threatening her perfect life completely. Suddenly unable to care for her family, she begins a desperate search for the person she once fled from, and whose reappearance has had such an effect on her. Spanning three generations from 1970s Athens to present-day London, The Half-Known Life is a moving and intelligent story of the bonds that stay with us, no matter how drastically our lives may change.

In 2007, Simonetta and her husband made the quixotic decision to open a restaurant.Without any relevant experience IT engineer Avi and novelist Simonetta put aside their careers to throw themselves (and their three young children) into their dream.This is the story of Ida, a tiny resilient restaurant situated on an unlovely arterial road between Kilburn and Kensal Rise, a barren thoroughfare with few shops and zero passing trade.This is a book for anyone who has ever fantasised about painting a name over a door and creating a refuge of delight for their neighbourhood. And it’s for anyone who sees the beauty in serving the food you have prepared with love for the people you love – as well as the beauty in eating it.

In 2007, Simonetta and her husband made the quixotic decision to open a restaurant.Without any relevant experience IT engineer Avi and novelist Simonetta put aside their careers to throw themselves (and their three young children) into their dream.This is the story of Ida, a tiny resilient restaurant situated on an unlovely arterial road between Kilburn and Kensal Rise, a barren thoroughfare with few shops and zero passing trade.This is a book for anyone who has ever fantasised about painting a name over a door and creating a refuge of delight for their neighbourhood. And it’s for anyone who sees the beauty in serving the food you have prepared with love for the people you love – as well as the beauty in eating it.