Книги издательства «Akashic Books»

Winner of the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction

Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney, London, for years. A flamboyant, wise-cracking character with a dapper taste in retro suits and a fondness for Shakespeare, Barrington is a husband, father, grandfather--and also secretly gay, lovers with his childhood friend, Morris.

His deeply religious and disappointed wife, Carmel, thinks he sleeps with other women. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away? With an abundance of laugh-out-loud humor and wit, Mr. Loverman explodes cultural myths and shows the extent of what can happen when people fear the consequences of being true to themselves.

Winner of the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction

Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney, London,…

When Johnny Richardson returns to Oakridge he has one thing on his mind--correcting a terrible mistake that caused him to flee his hometown eight years ago. Revisiting the past, though, is a dark and dangerous game in small-town America. When a careless sexual episode leads to the suicide of the town’s first lady, Johnny finds himself the target of a revenge campaign that threatens to tear apart the fragile world he’s built among the gold-bearing mountains of Northern California.
Left an unexplained piece of land when his father mysteriously disappears, Johnny must unravel its secrets in a desperate bid to protect those he loves. But his efforts to do this have deadly consequences and will ultimately force him to confront not only his own failings, but the very nature of guilt.
A searing meditation on the futility of trying to right the wrongs of the past, Empty Mile blends elements of thrilling urban noir with the wide-open spaces of outdoor adventure in a story that reflects America’s contemporary uncertainty about itself.

When Johnny Richardson returns to Oakridge he has one thing on his mind--correcting a terrible mistake that caused him to flee his hometown eight years ago. Revisiting the past,…

Rick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on his South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived. When he lands a job as a research assistant for the elderly Mrs. W--, the heir to an oil fortune, he sees it at first simply as a source of extra cash. But as he grows closer to the iconoclastic, charming, and feisty Mrs. W--, he gets drawn into a world of privilege and wealth far different from his racially mixed, blue-collar beginnings.

Putting aside his half-finished dissertation, Rick sets up office in Mrs. W--'s grand Bel Air mansion and begins to transcribe her journals--which document an old Los Angeles not described in his history books. He also accompanies Mrs. W-- to venues frequented by the descendants of the land and oil barons who built the city. One evening, at an event, he meets Fiona Morgan--the elegant scion of an old steel family--who takes an interest in his studies. Irresistibly drawn to Fiona, he agrees to help her with a project of questionable merit in the hopes he'll win her favor.

A Student of History explores both the beginnings of Los Angeles and the present-day dynamics of race and class. It offers a window into the usually hidden world of high society, and the influence of historic families on current events. Like Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby, it features, in Rick Nagano, a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn't belong.

Rick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on his South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived.…

It’s the nineties, and Tosh Livingston, straight-A student and superstar athlete, is living the dream—he’s made it out of upstate New York and into the incoming freshman class at Harvard University. But after an accident blows up his basketball-playing hopes, he discovers a new purpose in life—to win the frenzied competition for a spot on the staff of the Harvard Harpoon, the school’s legendary humor magazine.

Along with Lao, his pot-smoking roommate from China, their friend Meera, a passive-aggressive science major from India, and Zippa, a Jamaican student-activist with a flair for cartooning, Tosh finds that becoming a member of the Harpoon is weirder and more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. Success requires pushing themselves to their limits and unearthing long-buried secrets that will rock their school and change all of their lives forever.

With its whip-smart humor and fast-paced narrative, Around Harvard Square will appeal to readers of all ages interested in exploring the complicated roles that race and class play in higher education.

It’s the nineties, and Tosh Livingston, straight-A student and superstar athlete, is living the dream—he’s made it out of upstate New York and into the incoming freshman class at…

Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas’ idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo’s father, following his mother’s advice, places her in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as religious atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is enslaved within the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and learn to trust and love again.

In the tradition of Chris Cleave’s Little Bee, Praise Song for the Butterflies is a contemporary story that offers an educational, eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa. Spanning decades and two continents, Praise Song for the Butterflies will break and heal your heart.

Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas’ idyllic…

Set in early 1970s Detroit, a divided city still reeling from its violent race riot of 1967, Beautiful Music is the story of one young man's transformation through music. Danny Yzemski is a husky, pop radio–loving loner balancing a dysfunctional homelife with the sudden harsh realities of freshman year at a high school marked by racial turbulence.
But after tragedy strikes the family, Danny's mother becomes increasingly erratic and angry about the seismic cultural shifts unfolding in her city and the world. As she tries to hold it together with the help of Librium, highballs, and breakfast cereal, Danny finds his own reason to carry on: rock and roll. In particular, the drum and guitar–heavy songs of local legends like the MC5 and Iggy Pop. In the vein of Nick Hornby and Tobias Wolff, yet with a style very much Zadoorian's own, Beautiful Music is a touching story about the power of music and its ability to save one's soul.

Set in early 1970s Detroit, a divided city still reeling from its violent race riot of 1967, Beautiful Music is the story of one young man's transformation through music. Danny…

International best-selling rock band Garbage presents its own autobiography, a gorgeous, full-color coffee-table book with text and images galore.

“This title is an honest and in-depth account of the story of an uncompromising, experimental, never boring band . . . Through a first-person narrative, an abundance of photos, and solid data (including an extensive discography and list of tour dates) these musicians have produced the template for rock (auto) biography. This is unmitigated Garbage. Refuse to settle for anything less.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review

Garbage are known around the world for songs that mix pop sweetness with the dour thunder of industrial music and the rhythmic punch of hip-hop. Now, for the first time, the four band members tell the story of that music in their own words. Packed with rare photos and personal snapshots, this book examines how Garbage make their music, and how they’ve kept it together (or not) for more than twenty years.

International best-selling rock band Garbage presents its own autobiography, a gorgeous, full-color coffee-table book with text and images galore.

“This title is an honest and…

Frederick Douglass never lived in Brooklyn, but from the early 1850s onward, his frequent visits to the fast-growing city invariably attracted considerable attention. Brooklyn was home to several leading abolitionists who were key allies of Douglass, a roster led by Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore Tilton, and Rev. James and Elizabeth Gloucester. Yet through the Civil War, pro-Confederacy sentiment also ran strong, as evidenced by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s vitriolic attacks on Douglass and his friends.Akashic's position as a centerpiece in the Brooklyn literary world will help position this title.Preface and Afterword to be contributed by a notable scholar and another public figure.Theodore Hamm is a well-respected New York journalist who was a founding editor of The Brooklyn Rail.Theodore Hamm is currently the chair of journalism and media studies at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn.Akashic's promotion will have a strong social media componentGalleys available in March 2016.

Frederick Douglass never lived in Brooklyn, but from the early 1850s onward, his frequent visits to the fast-growing city invariably attracted considerable attention. Brooklyn was…

Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world.

Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot--if she's willing to sow the seeds of civil war.

Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly…

A main selection of the Black Expressions Book Club

"Refreshingly ambitious in its intellectual scope." —New York Times Book Review

"A captivating tale of Oufoula Sindede, an African diplomat in a passionless marriage who falls madly in love with Marguerite, a New York City artist.” —Essence

“Right from the start of this haunting novel, Nunez adopts the mesmerizing myth-spinning voice of an oral storyteller . . . In unaffected prose, Nunez explores self-deception, envy, Christian monogamy vs. African polygamy, and the very real dilemma of loving two people at once . . . . This rich, multilayered narrative is powerful in its sweep and moving in its insight." —Publishers Weekly

“A complex portrait of a love triangle by a gifted writer.” —Booklist

Set amongst the struggles of American, Caribbean, and African diplomacy in the late 1980s, Discretion follows the harrowing journey of Oufoula Sindede, a diplomat of rough beginnings, who discovers his desires may be out of his control.

Dutifully married to lovely Nerida, Oufoula goes through the motions of marriage, formally keeping his distance from the woman with whom he shares his bed. And yet there is a deeper, buried passion within him that will lead him to question which values he holds sacred and which can be sacrificed.

Despite his quiet marriage, the memory of a fiery love affair triggers Oufoula to entangle himself in the life of another woman, a Jamaican-born painter named Marguerite. Soon he discovers that Marguerite is nothing like any of his quick old flames or his gentle wife, Nerida—Marguerite is much more.

And so begins a whirlwind affair, spanning over twenty years, between a young woman who wants order and love and a man who is torn between the honors of his profession and his dishonorable love life; the old African customs of polygamy and the American dream; and the passion for a mistress and the duty to his wife. Nunez’s heartbreaking fourth novel questions the customs we think we know with the truths that passion and love reveal about ourselves.

A main selection of the Black Expressions Book Club

"Refreshingly ambitious in its intellectual scope." —New York Times Book Review

"A captivating tale of Oufoula Sindede,…

On the heels of the New York Times best seller You Have to F**king Eat (a sequel to the worldwide mega-best seller Go the F**k to Sleep), now comes the version that is entirely appropriate to read to--and with--children. While the message and humor will be similar to the adult version, there will, of course, be no profanity whatsoever.

Step aside Green Eggs and Ham, there's a new, 21st-century book in town that will compel all finicky children to eat!

On the heels of the New York Times best seller You Have to F**king Eat (a sequel to the worldwide mega-best seller Go the F**k to Sleep), now comes the version that is entirely…

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Featuring brand-new stories by: Rawi Hage, Muhammad Abi Samra, Leila Eid, Hala Kawtharani, Marie Tawk, Bana Baydoun, Hyam Yared, Najwa Barakat, Alawiyeh Sobh, Mazen Zahreddine, Abbas Beydoun, Bachir Hilal, Zena El Khalil, Mazen Maarouf, and Tarek Abi Samra.

Most of the writers in this volume are still living in Beirut, so this is an important contribution to Middle East literature--not the "outsider's perspective" that often characterizes contemporary literature set in the region.

From the introduction by Iman Humaydan (translated by Michelle Hartman):

"Beirut is a city of contradiction and paradox. It is an urban and rural city, one of violence and forgiveness, memory and forgetfulness. Beirut is a city of war and peace. This short story collection is a part of a vibrant, living recovery of Beirut. Beirut Noir recovers the city once again through writing, through the literary visions of its authors...

"From within this collection of stories, a general attitude toward Beirut emerges: the city is viewed from a position of critique, doubt, disappointment, and despair. The stories here show the vast maze of the city that can't be found in tourist brochures or nostalgic depictions of Beirut that are completely out of touch with reality. Perhaps this goes without saying in a collection of stories titled Beirut Noir. But the 'noir' label here should be viewed from multiple angles, and it takes on many different forms in the stories. No doubt this is because it is imbricated in the distinct moments that Beirut has lived through and how they are depicted in the stories."

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location…

"Marvel and a Wonder" is a darkly mesmerising epic and literary page-turner.

In summer 1995, Jim Falls, a Korean War vet, struggles to raise his 16-year-old grandson, Quentin, on a farm in Indiana. When they receive a mysterious gift - a beautiful quarter horse - it upends the balance of their lives. The horse catches the attention of a pair of meth-dealing brothers and the horse is stolen and sold. Grandfather and grandson must travel the landscape of the bleak heartland to reclaim the animal. Along the way, both will be forced to face the tragedies of their past.

"Marvel and a Wonder" is a darkly mesmerising epic and literary page-turner.

In summer 1995, Jim Falls, a Korean War vet, struggles to raise his 16-year-old grandson, Quentin,…

In this brand new book we see Simon’s Cat face any feline’s most dreaded scenario – he’s off to the vet. And he’s not at all happy about it. The book shares its theme with the first ever full colour Simon’s Cat 12 minute longer format film (to be released in 2016), which was funded by a record-breaking IndieGoGo campaign, Simon’s Cat: Off to the Vet is packed with over 240 pages of hilarious new gags featuring our favourite furry friend and his companions – both old and new.

In this brand new book we see Simon’s Cat face any feline’s most dreaded scenario – he’s off to the vet. And he’s not at all happy about it. The book shares its theme with the…

Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Reflecting a city still divided, Belfast Noir serves as a record of a city transitioning to normalcy, or perhaps as a warning that underneath the fragile peace darker forces still lurk.

Featuring brand-new stories by: Glenn Patterson, Eoin McNamee, Garbhan Downey, Lee Child, Alex Barclay, Brian McGilloway, Ian McDonald, Arlene Hunt, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Claire McGowan, Steve Cavanagh, Lucy Caldwell, Sam Millar, and Gerard Brennan.

From the introduction by Adrian McKinty & Stuart Neville:

"Few European cities have had as disturbed and violent a history as Belfast over the last half-century. For much of that time the Troubles (1968–1998) dominated life in Ireland's second-biggest population centre, and during the darkest days of the conflict--in the 1970s and 1980s--riots, bombings, and indiscriminate shootings were tragically commonplace. The British army patrolled the streets in armoured vehicles and civilians were searched for guns and explosives before they were allowed entry into the shopping district of the city centre...Belfast is still a city divided...

You can see Belfast's bloodstains up close and personal. This is the city that gave the world its worst ever maritime disaster, and turned it into a tourist attraction; similarly, we are perversely proud of our thousands of murders, our wounds constantly on display. You want noir? How about a painting the size of a house, a portrait of a man known to have murdered at least a dozen human beings in cold blood? Or a similar house-sized gable painting of a zombie marching across a postapocalyptic wasteland with an AK-47 over the legend UVF: Prepared for Peace--Ready for War. As Lee Child has said, Belfast is still 'the most noir place on earth.'"

Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of…

The 14 stories in this Akashic noir anthology provide a bizarre and gruesome window into this outwardly tranquil and snow-covered city of Helsinki. True fans of the macabre will enjoy some of the more disturbing tales, such as Jukka Petäjä’s “Snowy Sarcophagus,” in which the bodies of two women are discovered preserved in life-size snowmen, and Antti Tuomainen’s “The Script,” which told from the point of view of a Finnish film and television producer who also happens to be a serial rapist. The vignette-like entries range in quality, from the stereotypical murder-for-the-inheritance scheme in Joe L. Murr’s “The Silent Woman” to the original and eccentric take on Christmas in which a female security guard disguises herself as Santa Claus to expose the thieves among the staff in Leena Lehtolainen’s “Kiss of Santa.” Readers should be prepared to keep the lights on at night after finishing this unnerving collection.

The 14 stories in this Akashic noir anthology provide a bizarre and gruesome window into this outwardly tranquil and snow-covered city of Helsinki. True fans of the macabre will…

דמות ושמה "המוות" שותה כוסית אחרונה בבר בכיכר רבין לפני פיגוע חבלני; סיור מאורגן של אתרי פשע מיתולוגיים, מפלורנטין ועד שדרות נורדאו, הופך בעצמו לקטלני; שותף בכיר בחברת הייטק נעלם בדיזנגוף סנטר, וחלקי גופה מתחילים לצוץ ברחבי המבנה; משולש אהבה מסוכן בין עורך דין ביבים, נערת ליווי ומאפיונר רוסי...
תל אביב היא עיר תוססת ובטוחה, רוב הזמן, עבור רוב תושביה. אבל הסיפורים בקובץ הזה מספרים מה קורה בשאר הזמן לשאר האנשים: תל אביב נואר מציג ארבעה–עשר סיפורים חדשים מאת יוצרים שונים, המכונסים כולם סביב העיר תל אביב — כל אחד מהם חוקר את צדה האפל של שכונה או אזור שונים בעיר.
אתגר קרת ואסף גברון, מהסופרים הישראלים הבולטים בדור הנוכחי, קיבצו קבוצת כותבים מלהיבה, צעירה ומגוונת. כל אחד ואחת מהם ניגש לז'אנר הנואר מכיוון אחר, אבל כולם מוכשרים כשדים וקשורים בעבותות אל העיר תל אביב.
קובץ הסיפורים יוצא לאור בו–בזמן בעברית ובאנגלית. בארצות הברית הוא מתפרסם במסגרת "סדרת ערי הנואר" עטורת הפרסים והשבחים של הוצאתAkashic, שבה יצאו לאור כבר יותר משישים קובצי נואר חובקי עולם — מטוקיו ועד לוס אנג'לס, מפריז ועד מוסקבה, ועכשיו מטהרן ועד תל אביב.
המשתתפים:
גדי טאוב, מתן חרמוני, לביא תדהר, דקלה קידר, גון בן–ארי, אנטוניו אונגר, סיליה בקנג, שמעון אדף, ג'וליה פרמנטו, יואב כ"ץ, אלכס אפשטיין, גיא עד, אתגר קרת ואסף גברון.

דמות ושמה "המוות" שותה כוסית אחרונה בבר בכיכר רבין לפני פיגוע חבלני; סיור מאורגן של אתרי פשע מיתולוגיים, מפלורנטין ועד שדרות נורדאו, הופך בעצמו לקטלני; שותף בכיר בחברת הייטק נעלם…

From the author of the international best seller Go the F*** to Sleep comes a long-awaited sequel about the other great parental frustration: getting your little angel to eat something that even vaguely resembles a normal meal. Profane, loving, and deeply cathartic, You Have to F***ing Eat breaks the code of child-rearing silence, giving moms and dads new, old, grand- and expectant, a much-needed chance to laugh about a universal problem.

A perfect gift book like the smash hit Go the F*** to Sleep (over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide!), You Have to F***ing Eat perfectly captures Mansbach's trademark humor, which is simultaneously affectionate and radically honest. You probably shouldn't read it to your kids, so there's a kid-friendly version, Seriously, You Have to Eat.

From the author of the international best seller Go the F*** to Sleep comes a long-awaited sequel about the other great parental frustration: getting your little angel to eat…

Beverley Cottrell had a dream life: a prestigious job, a beautiful husband and baby boy. This is stolen from her one winter afternoon when her son Malakay is kidnapped from a parked car. Despite a media campaign, a full police investigation, and the offer of a reward, Malakay is never found. Beverley’s marriage soon dissolves and her husband immigrates from England to the U.S. with a new wife.

Beverley gives up her job, sells the house, and moves from the leafy suburbs to the inner city to reside in a west London housing project. She cocoons herself in grief, growing more isolated with each passing year. After two decades she gives up any hope of finding her son. She teaches children who have been expelled from school in the local community center, bright kids thrown on society’s scrap heap.

Beverley starts to believe she has finally pieced her life together—until a young man starts appearing wherever she goes. Beverley is convinced that he’s stalking her. One dark evening the stalker gets past her security door and calls through her letterbox. He tells her not to be scared. He says that he is Malakay, her son.

The Gospel According to Cane is a novel about inner-city youth in contemporary London. It’s a meditation on pain and loss, the burden of heritage, and how the past can blur the present. It’s about trust and the perceived lack of trust, disillusion, and its consequences. A world where everyone is the victim, and no one is to blame.

Beverley Cottrell had a dream life: a prestigious job, a beautiful husband and baby boy. This is stolen from her one winter afternoon when her son Malakay is kidnapped from a…

A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy Fiction Pick for 2013

"Allen’s concise book’s power lies within its understated irony, never more heavy-handed than a preacher’s admonition that 'a world without mans is a world without us all.' The plain narrative and relationship between boy and female man, rounded out with humor and occasional (sometimes literal) bite, promises to be a sleeper favorite among speculative audiences."
-- Publishers Weekly

“Allen...throws caution to the wind with his bizarre but exquisitely composed fable that uses transhumanism as the prism to reflect on the nature of humanity...It’s also intellectually curious and rather cutting in many of its conceptual and cultural assessments. It’s a world where man is not only pet, but also meat, where religion, wars and empires are just as backward as they are in our own world, and where worlds collide with a temperamental angst that is as uncomfortable as it is alluring. Much like Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel Planet of the Apes, this novel is a sardonic parable on the nature and destiny of the species. A nimble fable whose bold narrative experiment is elevated by its near-biblical language and affectionate embrace of our inherent flaws.”
-- Kirkus Reviews

"An imaginative and honest epic, weaving together biblical stories, fantasy, poetry, and fairy tales with a touch of realism…Allen asks us to question the assumptions, -isms, and contradictions of the modern world…Recalling the humanitarian concerns of Octavia Butler’s Fledgling and the poetry of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, this book will appeal to readers of literary fiction and fantasy."
-- Library Journal

"Imaginative, versatile, and daring Allen (Jesus Boy, 2010) raids the realms of myth and fairy tales in this topsy-turvy speculative fable. …With canny improvisations on 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' the 'Epic of Gilgamesh,' and Alice in Wonderland, Allen sharpens our perceptions of class divides, racism, enslavement, and abrupt and devastating climate change to create a delectably adventurous, wily, funny, and wise cautionary parable."
-- Booklist

"There's no doubt this is an original story and one you should read."
--Book Sp(l)ot Reviews

"From this point forward, readers consulting any reference work addressing the concept of tour de force will find there a citation of Preston L. Allen's Every Boy Should Have a Man. It is one thing to devise a fable dealing so adroitly with such concepts as racism, war, religion, and the very nature of civilization itself, but Preston's true triumph is the infusion of each page and every astonishing episode with palpable emotional resonance."
--Les Standiford, author of Desperate Sons

A riveting, poignant satire of societal ills with an added dose of fantasy, Every Boy Should Have a Man takes place in a post-human world where creatures called oafs keep humanlike "mans" as beloved pets. One day, a poor boy oaf brings home a man whom he hides under his bed in the hopes his parents won't find out.

With echoes of Margaret Atwood and Jack and the Beanstalk, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Octavia Butler's Kindred, this is a picaresque journey into uncharted territory in earth, sky, and firmament.

Oafs and mans each gain insight and understanding into one another's worlds, and the worlds that touch theirs—ultimately showing that oafs and mans alike share a common "humanity." Filled with surprising twists and turns, the novel is in part a morality tale that takes on many of today's issues, including poverty, the environment, sexism, racism, war, and religion, all in lighthearted King James prose.

A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy Fiction Pick for 2013

"Allen’s concise book’s power lies within its understated irony, never more heavy-handed than a preacher’s admonition that 'a…