Kirjahaku

Coming of age in rural England in the eighties is far from straightforward for Kate Happy, in a hilarious, highly-praised debut novel of family, secrets and dead ancestors in the attic. Gran has been homesick for Coney Island for thirty-eight years, hating her husband but determinedly donning her best pink Chanel suit and high heels to step out into the muck-splattered farmyard. Grandpa is bonkers, an ex-naval Captain who wanders round the house shouting sea-faring commands. Mum's gone AWOL since she ran over Kate's dad in her soft-top Triumph Spitfire. And are those really Dad's ashes in a Hellmann's mayonnaise jar in the attic? Crackling with the darkest of dark humour, brimming with crazy ancestors and closely guarded secrets, HAPPY ACCIDENTS is a wonderful first novel that confirms Tiffany Murray as a rising star of British fiction.

A book of the year for the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Daily Mail'Charming . . . heartbreaking, sometimes both funny and unsettling, and always - from start to end - very, very good' RODDY DOYLE'Magical . . . as scrumptious as the home-made mayonnaise, pumpkin soup and game pie coming out of Joan's kitchen' DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK'A love letter to a remarkable childhood. A total joy' SARAH WINMAN____________________________________________________________________________In a small corner of a field in Wales, Tiffany Murray is hiding with Boggle the dog, dreaming of her mum's moussaka, blackberry and apple crumble, and, if she's lucky, ice-cold lemonade. A sheep bleats. The smell of hay tickles her nose. The twang of a guitar and crack of a snare carry on the breeze.It's the late 1970s and Tiff lives with her mum, Joan, at Rockfield, the iconic recording studios. This place of legend, where some of the most famous rock albums of all time were recorded, is the background to a freewheeling, ever-changing whirlwind of a childhood. Tiff's days are spent running around the farm, making friends with local wildlife and helping out with the endless array of dishes her mum creates to keep the bands fed. She's looking for a dog, she's looking for a father; but the one constant throughout is her and Joan, building an unconventional family in the most unlikely of locations.My Family and Other Rock Stars is Tiff's remarkable, truly unique story of growing up in a rural idyll, of Cordon Bleu cookery and of a childhood where the chances of bumping into Freddie Mercury playing piano, or a group of Hell's Angels turning up to record for Lemmy, or even the hope of David Bowie appearing, were as normal as hopscotch and homework.____________________________________________________________________________'You will fall in love with Tiff, her hilarious non-nonsense mother Joan, and a cast of hungry rock stars from Freddie Mercury to Siouxsie Sioux. An utter treat' RACHEL JOYCE'Full of pop gossip that'll leave you starry-eyed, and written with a warmth and precision you'll want to savour for as long as you can . . . I didn't want it to end' SÉAMAS O'REILLY'Enchanting' INDEPEDENT, 20 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARLonglisted for the Penderyn Music Book PrizeMy Family and Other Rock Stars was the Daily Mail book of the week 17.05.2024

A book of the year for the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Daily Mail'Charming . . . heartbreaking, sometimes both funny and unsettling, and always - from start to end - very, very good' RODDY DOYLE'Magical . . . as scrumptious as the home-made mayonnaise, pumpkin soup and game pie coming out of Joan's kitchen' DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK'A love letter to a remarkable childhood. A total joy' SARAH WINMAN____________________________________________________________________________In a small corner of a field in Wales, Tiffany Murray is hiding with Boggle the dog, dreaming of her mum's moussaka, blackberry and apple crumble, and, if she's lucky, ice-cold lemonade. A sheep bleats. The smell of hay tickles her nose. The twang of a guitar and crack of a snare carry on the breeze.It's the late 1970s and Tiff lives with her mum, Joan, at Rockfield, the iconic recording studios. This place of legend, where some of the most famous rock albums of all time were recorded, is the background to a freewheeling, ever-changing whirlwind of a childhood. Tiff's days are spent running around the farm, making friends with local wildlife and helping out with the endless array of dishes her mum creates to keep the bands fed. She's looking for a dog, she's looking for a father; but the one constant throughout is her and Joan, building an unconventional family in the most unlikely of locations.My Family and Other Rock Stars is Tiff's remarkable, truly unique story of growing up in a rural idyll, of Cordon Bleu cookery and of a childhood where the chances of bumping into Freddie Mercury playing piano, or a group of Hell's Angels turning up to record for Lemmy, or even the hope of David Bowie appearing, were as normal as hopscotch and homework.____________________________________________________________________________'You will fall in love with Tiff, her hilarious non-nonsense mother Joan, and a cast of hungry rock stars from Freddie Mercury to Siouxsie Sioux. An utter treat' RACHEL JOYCE'Full of pop gossip that'll leave you starry-eyed, and written with a warmth and precision you'll want to savour for as long as you can . . . I didn't want it to end' SÉAMAS O'REILLY'Enchanting' INDEPEDENT, 20 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARLonglisted for the Penderyn Music Book PrizeMy Family and Other Rock Stars was the Daily Mail book of the week 17.05.2024

It's Easter 1955 and as Lilia scrapes the ice from the inside of the windows, and the rust from the locks, but there are pasts that lurk with the moths in the folds of the drapes at Sugar Hall that she cannot reach. Mouldering in the English border countryside the red gardens of Sugar Hall hold a secret, and as Britain waits for its last hanging, Lilia and her children must confront a history that has been buried but not forgotten. Based on the stories of the Black Boy that surround Littledean Hall in the Forest of Dean, this is a superbly chilling ghost story from Tiffany Murray.Tiffany Murray grew up in Wales. Her first novel, Happy Accidents (2005), is the coming-of-age tale of 11-year-old Kate Happy, set on a rural farm on the Welsh-English border, and has drawn comparison with Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm. Her second novel, Diamond Star Halo (2010), tells the story of Halo Llewelyn and her unconventional family who run a recording studio in rural Wales. It is a story of first love and rock n' roll and drew comparisons with Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle. Both novels were shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, and Guardian critics selected Diamond Star Halo as one of the best of the fiction year, 2010.

It's Easter 1955 and as Lilia scrapes the ice from the inside of the windows, and the rust from the locks, but there are pasts that lurk with the moths in the folds of the drapes at Sugar Hall that she cannot reach. Mouldering in the English border countryside the red gardens of Sugar Hall hold a secret, and as Britain waits for its last hanging, Lilia and her children must confront a history that has been buried but not forgotten. Based on the stories of the Black Boy that surround Littledean Hall in the Forest of Dean, this is a superbly chilling ghost story from Tiffany Murray.

The summer Elvis and Marc Bolan die, a new star is born ... and this is his story: a tale of fate, loss and rock 'n' roll, Diamond Star Halo shows what happens when a family and a farm become the breeding ground for fame Growing up in a rural recording studio, Halo Llewellyn is rarely star-struck, but when one of the visiting singers gives birth to Fred, she knows right away that he's special. As the golden child grows into the gilded man, she remains dazzled by his ambition and his talent. Up on stage, being screamed at by hundreds of teenage girls, Fred will always turn his spotlight on Halo in the crowd. But that's the problem with falling in love with your charismatic almost-brother - it can never be a secret. In the end, the whole world has to know. "A touching family chronicle with an impeccable soundtrack, this is Cider with Rosie for rock 'n' rollers" Mark Radcliffe "A beautiful, pitch-perfect harmony of Wuthering Heights and your favourite mix tape" Owen Sheers