Жанр: Зарубежный юмор

In the spirit of Flashman and in the inimitable George MacDonald Fraser style comes a rousing story of prize fighting in the 19th century.When Captain Buck Flashman sees the black boxer catch a fly in mid-flight he realizes that he is in the presence of speed such as the prize ring has never seen. Tom Molineaux may be crude and untutored, but if ‘Mad Buck’ knows anything, this ex-slave is a Champion in the making. Under his ambitious patronage, the ‘Black Ajax’ is carried on a popular tide of sporting fever to his great dream: to fight the invincible, undefeated Champion of England,…

A witty yet practical short guide to modern manners that, like Lynne Truss, takes a subject often treated in a stuffy, high-handed way and deals with it lightly and humorously.Until recently, social conduct (as it was known), was illogical but easy. There were rules, and everybody knew and adhered to them. ‘Don’t hold your knife like a pen.’ ‘Offer to pass your neighbour the salt/pepper/water/butter. Don’t wait for them to ask.’ ‘When you have finished, leave your knife and fork at six o’clock/four o’clock/nine o’clock with the prongs of the fork turned up/turned…

Armistead Maupin meets Beautiful People in Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s hilarious and yet poignant coming-of-age taleJayson Blocher is fifteen years old with a wayward mother, a disabled brother and a neighbour who thinks he’s the spawn of the devil.For so long he has worshipped at the feet of popular culture, but now he wants to be part of it, and let’s face it, what’s to keep him in Wisconsin? Even his own mother wants him to go.So Jayson heads off to find fame and fortune, accompanied by an ever-changing cast of quirky extended family members.From a New York escort agency to the glamour…

Don’t miss the gorgeously uplifting and funny new book from bestselling author Maxine Morrey!Pre-order…

A darkly comic novel about the fall and rise of a TV presenter. Written by an insider, it’s a page-turning account of life on the sofa and in front of the cameras.When Katie Fisher, morning TV presenter, returns from holiday it’s to discover that she’s literally yesterday’s news. Publicly sacked from her job as anchor of Hello Britain! and replaced by a pert young thing, she does what any self-respecting thirty something would in these circumstances – she makes a dash for her parents and hits the bottle.But Katie, sooner or later, has to face the world, the…

Sadie is in a tailspin: will anyone break her fall?Having had more than her share of misfortune, Sadie Summerfield seems to have finally ended up lucky. She has the perfect homelife. For the first time in a very long time, she has a future.So when another man, a cautious, subdued man, so very different from her own warm-hearted husband, drifts into Sadie’s life, she must ask herself the question: Is she ready to risk everything for the sake of love? And besides, shouldn’t affairs begin with a shiver of danger, with the thrill of the chase, rather than this?In Commencing Our Descent…

Freaking hilarious. This is the novel moms have been waiting for.–Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened»Perfect for readers looking for a funny, realistic look at motherhood.»–Booklist (starred review)From the creator of The Honest Toddler comes a fiction debut sure to be a must-read for moms everywhere.There are good moms and bad moms–and then there are hot-mess moms. Introducing Ashley Keller, career girl turned stay-at-home mom who’s trying to navigate the world of Pinterest-perfect, Facebook-fantastic and…

A ribald tale from Britain’s best-love Science Fiction writer.Available for the first time in eBook.The Cretan Teat is a bawdy novel, telling the extraordinary tale a Byzantine painting of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the infant Jesus.This false icon gets adopted by the people – and so becomes instrumental in the downfall of mankind.This is a story where the narrator – the author – is regularly caught with his trousers down.It is at once funny and important, a post-modern text reminiscent of Pirandello, where sexcapades brush shoulders with the end of the…

Oliver Cromwell McCoy, God’s man in Ulster, has stumbled into the radio age. With a crumbling transmitter left over from the Titanic he has taken to blasting the countryside with his inimitable brand of mendacious evangelism.His old adversary across the Shambles, Cardinal Schnozzle O’Shea, is determined to go one better. He needs a good-looking priest to anchor the great TV chat show he believes will get Ireland back on its knees. When his eye lights on young Frank Feely, authoritarianism and bigotry duly lock horns.But more elemental forces are at work too. Emboldened by a dimly recalled…

Following the hugely acclaimed bestseller Hey Nostradamus! comes a major novel from Douglas Coupland: the wonderfully warm, funny, life-affirming story of Liz Dunn, a woman who has spent her whole life alone and lonely – until now… This is a brilliant work of commercial literary fiction from an author who just gets better and better.’My name is Liz Dunn. The Liz Dunns of this world take classes in croissant baking, and would rather chew on soccer balls than deny their children muesli. They own one sex toy, plus one cowboy fantasy that accompanies its use… Look at me: I am a…

A brilliantly witty story of unconventional, unwavering, and regularly exasperating friendship.Meet Jarvis Ham: tea-room assistant, diarist, lift-cadger, Princess Di fan, secret alcoholic, and relentless seeker of fame. Jarvis may be an all-round irritant, but he’s harmless, and deep down, you know, he’s got a heart of gold. Hasn’t he?As his oldest (and only) friend reflects on his life with Jarvis Ham – infatuations, questionable hairstyles, home-made charity singles, reality TV auditions, paedophile alerts at the local swimming baths – he wonders what it would have been like if…

The witty, sexy sequel to Tracy Quan’s bestselling ‘Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl’.Like everyone, Nancy finds that as life goes on, she has to adapt. She’s learning to hone her respectable image as the wife of investment banker Matt, cooking fashionable meals and taking his shirts to the cleaners, while turning a few tricks on the side. Volume is down, but the sex is kinkier. And she finds herself pulled into the discreet subculture of the married call girl. Some women’s husband’s know what they do, some don’t, and some ‘know, but don’t know.’ Nancy’s is in the dark,…

The sly and subversive sixth book from Nicola Barker, one of our most funny and anarchic writers.It’s the summer of 1981. Medve, sixteen years old and six foot three inches tall (a positive girl giant) is stuck in a semi-derelict art-deco hotel on a tiny island off the South coast of Devon, with the rest of her crazy family members. There’s nothing to do but paint Margaret Thatcher mugs to supplement the meagre family income, wait for Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ to come out and dream of literary murderer Jack Henry Abbott.Into this family affair, strolls…

Here for the first time is the full horror and madness of sharing a house, told by someone who’s been there. Birmingham pulls no punches: from dead rats in the kitchen to tent-dwelling lodgers in the living room, you’ll run for the safety of living alone.‘A rat died in the living room at King Street and we didn’t know. There was at least six inches of compacted rubbish between our feet and the floor. Old Ratty must have crawled in there and died of pleasure. A visitor uncovered him while groping around for a beer.’Tales of debauchery, drugs, flatmates from hell and nasty things…

Kate Reddy is counting down the days until she is fifty, but not in a good way.Fifty, in Kate’s mind, equals invisibility, and she’s caught between her traitorous hormones, unknowable teenage children and ailing parents.She’s back at work after a break, now that her husband Rich has dropped out of the rat race to master the art of mindfulness. But just as Kate is finding a few tricks to get by, her old client and flame Jack reappears – complicated doesn’t even begin to cover…

Is there such a thing as the perfect body?Vivian Ward thinks she is in total control of her life. Actually…she’s thirty five, an out-of-work actress who puts more effort into partying than getting good parts, is estranged from her family and emotionally unavailable to her boyfriend.Truth is, the only thing she’s in control of is what’s on her plate…But then she meets movie star Maximilian Fry, who’s just as screwed up, and journeys into a world of celebrity even more damaging than the one she was already living in. Will image triumph, or will she realise that some of her…

Bestselling artist Edward Monkton’s profound and funny musings on LOVE and RELATIONSHIPS are both funny and profound, making this collection the perfect gift for lovers everywhere.You are a Chocolate Buttonof LOVELINESS on thegreat Caramel Pudding ofLIFEFollowing the phenomenal success of such stylish and original books as The Lady and the Chocolate, The Pig of Happiness, The Shoes of Salvation, Love and The Penguin of Death, Edward Monkton now assembles his funny, sometimes surreal and suprisingly philisophical drawings and thoughts on love.Edward Monkton’s surprisingly philosophical…

Ever wondered what life would be like if you’d made different decisions? Chosen another career? Said yes to that date? Or married someone else?Jennifer Wright is full of ‘what if’ questions.If she’d stayed with unconventional, carefree Aidan, would she be enjoying life in sun-kissed Australia?Should she have married fabulously wealthy, workaholic Tim?Could she have found happiness after all with kind, gentle Steve?Jennifer’s about to find out. After a terrible row with her husband, she runs out of the house and straight into the path of a car. Whilst in a coma…

An achingly funny story about how to be your own hero when life pulls the rug out from under your feet. From the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLODelia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong.When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault.When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault.And when he wanted her back like nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame…From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and…

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a warm, funny story of brilliant women, recycled exes and the power of best friends.Catherine’s ex-husband and business partner drops a bombshell over their Chardonnay: he’s about to marry his twenty-three year old girlfriend. Catherine has bras that are older than his new fiancée, yet he’s about to install her in Catherine’s beloved matchmaking business.Meanwhile, architect Rachel is battling romantic mistake, James, to win their firm’s biggest project. So when she joins Catherine’s website, RecycLove.com, where everyone…