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Soldier's Joy

A Vietnam vet returns to rural Tennessee in this acclaimed novel from the National Book Award–nominated author of Save Me, Joe Louis. After the horrors of Vietnam, Thomas Laidlaw returns to his home in rural Tennessee where he spends his days raising sheep and growing vegetables. At night he likes to roam the quiet countryside and practice his banjo, revelling in the roots music he finds so grounding. Over time, he resumes his friendship with Rodney Redmon, a fellow vet and childhood friend scarred not only by the wages of war, but also by the deep wounds of racism. As the two friends piece together a new life as civilians, they also piece together a band with the addition of a fiddler. Through a masterful accumulation of details, Bell brings his story to a fever pitch, concluding in “an unexpected, if powerful, finale” (Publishers Weekly). “This important, insightful novel” (Library Journal) proves once again that “every sentence [Bell] writes is a joy. His power is exhilarating” (The New Yorker). “Bell’s impressive talents as a writer, which include endowing settings with the significance of character, and a patient, compassionate probing of injured souls, are on full display.” —Publishers Weekly

Good Buddy

The Instructions

‘Adam Levin’s book is the real thing, I think. It appeals to the young readers who like formal invention and ambition... But there’s also real substance there.’ Dave Eggers This is the story of Gurion Maccabee, age ten: a lover, a fighter, a scholar, and a truly spectacular talker. Gurion has been expelled from three Jewish day-schools for acts of violence and messianic tendencies. He ends up in the Cage, a special lockdown program for the most hopeless cases at Aptakisic Junior High. But in just four days, from the moment he meets the beautiful Eliza June Watermark to the terrifying Events of November 17, Gurion’s search for righteousness sparks a violent, unstoppable rebellion. Driven equally by moral fervour and teenage exuberance, The Instructions is hilarious, troubling, empathetic, monumental, breakneck, romantic and unforgettable. ‘Evocative of David Foster Wallace... full of death-defying sentences, manic wit, exciting provocations and simple human warmth.’ Rolling Stone ‘This is a life-consuming novel, one that demands to be read feverishly. When it is over, other fiction feels insufficient, the newspaper seems irrelevant...’ New York Observer ‘A hysterical, heartfelt journey of self-discovery... A book that moves beyond completely transparent influences to reach its own distinct, new, great height.’ Village Voice ‘Manic, articulate, full of passions, courageous in its form and very funny.’ George Saunders