Books published by Faber & Faber

As the Takács welcomes a new violist during the COVID-19 pandemic, Britten's string quartets shape the ensemble's experience of rehearsing at home. Combining travel writing with revealing and humorous insights into the working lives of string quartet musicians, Distant Melodies illuminates the relationship between music and home.

Introduced by Petina Gappah, a lost classic by a radical black South African author: as exiled African activists in post-war London plot to revolutionise their native countries, idealism and tragedy collide when they return home as political leaders ... Those men who are history now; did they feel like this? >Inspired by Peter Abrahams' befriending of future African heads of state in mid-century London, A Wreath for Udomo (1956) is a radical lost classic, unforgettably exploring the nature of freedom, power, leadership and love. 'The forerunner of an entire school of African literary art.' Sunday Times

Featuring essays from David Olusoga, Dawn Butler MP, Kit de Waal, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and many more.In response to the international outcry at George Floyd's death, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder have commissioned this collection of essays to discuss how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter - not just for Black people but for society as a whole.Recognising Black British experience within the Black Lives Matter movement, nineteen prominent Black figures explain why Black lives should be celebrated when too often they are undervalued. Drawing from personal experience, they stress how Black British people have unique perspectives and experiences that enrich British society and the world; how Black lives are far more interesting and important than the forces that try to limit it."e;We achieve everything not because we are superhuman. We achieve the things we achieve because we are human. Our strength does not come from not having any weaknesses, our strength comes from overcoming them"e; Doreen Lawrence."e;I always presumed racism would always be here, that it was a given. But the truth is, it was not always here, it was invented."e; David Olusoga"e;Our identity and experience will shape every story, bleed into every poem, inform every essay whether it's about Black 'issues' or not"e; Kit de Waal

Here is a story that everyone should know.It's the tale of a princess named Shiloh.She lived in a kingdom, not far from yours,in a grand house with a swimming pool and fourteen floors.I know that sounds too big but here's the thing:her mother and father were the Queen and King.Being a princess is a tough job for someone so small.It's even harder when you have a problem you can't solve at all.You see, every princess in the kingdom could sing.Yet Shiloh's voice could do no such thing . . .Shiloh might not be able to sing like her sisters, but she has other talents, and sometimes it's about embracing your differences and celebrating them!

It's the opportunity of a lifetime:Feyi is about to be given the chance to escape the City's blistering heat for a dream island holiday: poolside cocktails, beach sunsets, and elaborate meals. And as the sun goes down on her old life our heroine also might just be ready to open her heart to someone new. The only problem is, she's falling for the one man she absolutely can't have.

The stunning only novel by the celebrated poet and first Black author to win a Pulitzer Prize, introduced by Margo Jefferson.'Such a wonderful book. Utterly unique, exquisitely crafted and quietly powerful. I loved it and want everyone to read this lost literary treasure.' Bernardine Evaristo'Maud Martha finds beauty in the brutal formative moments that make us. It is one of my favorite depictions of how a woman comes to trust her eyes.' Raven Leilani'The quotidian rises to an exquisite portraiture of black womanhood in the hands of one of America's most foundational writers.' Claudia Rankine 'Maud Martha reveals the poetry, power, and splendor of an ordinary life.' Tayari JonesWhat, what, am I to do with all of this life?Maud Martha Brown is a little girl growing up on the South Side of 1940s Chicago. Amidst the crumbling taverns and overgrown yards, she dreams: of New York, romance, her future. She admires dandelions, learns to drink coffee, falls in love, decorates her kitchenette, visits the Jungly Hovel, guts a chicken, buys hats, gives birth. But her lighter-skinned husband has dreams too: of the Foxy Cats Club, other women, war. And the 'scraps of baffled hate' - a certain word from a saleswoman; that visit to the cinema; the cruelty of a department store Santa Claus- are always there .Written in 1953 but never published in Britain, Maud Martha is a poetic collage of happenings that forms an extraordinary portrait of an ordinary life: one lived with wisdom, humour, protest, rage, dignity, and joy.

Patti Smith arrived in New York City at the end of the Age of Aquarius in search of work and purpose. What she found - what she fostered - was a cultural revolution. Through her poetry, her songs, her unapologetic vocal power, and her very presence as a woman fronting a rock band, she kicked open a door that countless others walked through. No other musician has better embodied the "e;nothing-to-hide"e; rawness of punk, nor has any other done more to nurture a place in society for misfits of every stripe.Why Patti Smith Matters is the first book about the iconic artist written by a woman. The veteran music journalist Caryn Rose contextualizes Smith's creative work, her influence, and her wide-ranging and still- evolving impact on rock and roll, visual art, and the written word. Rose goes deep into Smith's oeuvre, from her first album, Horses, to acclaimed memoirs operating at a surprising remove from her music. The portrait of a ceaseless inventor, Why Patti Smith Matters rescues punk's poet laureate from "e;strong woman"e; cliches. Of course Smith is strong. She is also a nuanced thinker. A maker of beautiful and challenging things. A transformative artist who has not simply entertained but also empowered millions.

The amphibious cult classic: a magical tale of a suburban housewife's affair with a frogman ...'Disturbing but seductive ... Wonderful.' Margaret Atwood'Perfect.' Max Porter'Still outpaces, out-weirds, and out-romances anything today.' Marlon James'A feminist masterpiece: tender, erotic, singular.' Carmen Maria Machado''Genius ... A broadcast from a stranger and more dazzling dimension.' Patricia Lockwood'Genius ... Like Revolutionary Road written by Franz Kafka ... Exquisite.' The Times'Incredibly liberates readers from the awfulness of convention to a state where weirdness and otherness are beautiful.' Sarah Hall'A devastating fable of mythic proportions ... Wondrously peculiar.' Irenosen Okojie (foreword)Dorothy is a grieving housewife in the Californian suburbs; her husband is unfaithful, but they are too unhappy to get a divorce. One day, she is doing chores when she hears strange voices on the radio announcing that a green-skinned sea monster has escaped from the Institute for Oceanographic Research - but little does she expect him to arrive in her kitchen. Muscular, vegetarian, sexually magnetic, Larry the frogman is a revelation - and their passionate affair takes them on a journey beyond their wildest dreams ... Rachel Ingalls's Mrs Caliban is a bittersweet fable, a subversive fairy tale, as magical today as it was four decades ago'A miracle . A perfect novel.' New Yorker'Every one of its 125 pages is perfect ... Clear a Saturday, please, and read it in a single sitting.' Harper'sWhat Readers Are Saying:'Maybe the most gorgeous, lyrical book ever written'*****'A fantastic wee novel, strange and brilliant, and absolutely the inspiration for The Shape of Water.'*****'Wonderful, sharp minimal prose offers big truths. Superb - brilliant, in fact.'*****'Absolutely incredible. It's weird, funny, and heartbreaking, like a Richard Yates novel except with lizardman sex.'*****'One of the best tongue-in-cheek social satires that I've ever read. It delves into gender politics. It takes a long, hard look at mental health. It addresses female sexual freedom and agency. It asks the reader to examine what it means to be human ... Genius.'*****'Really brilliant: a deconstruction of suburbia by way of monster movies that examines sad realities with hilarious verve ... Sometimes you need a sexy frog person to break you out of the ties that bind. '*****'Hooked me so deeply I picked it up and finished it the same night ... Beautiful ... Will stay with me.'*****'What the hell just happened?'*****

An intimate and original memoir of love, grief and male friendship by one of Scotland's brightest young talents.'As perfect a portrait of friendship as I've ever read.' STEPHEN FRY'Lucid, lyrical, loaded . . . A love letter to friendship.' JACKIE KAY'A lovely book: bright and heartfelt, funny and refreshing.' ANDREW O'HAGAN'A beautiful, moving, life-affirming book.' IAN RANKINFriendships just might be the greatest love affairs of our lives . . .In 2018 poet and author Michael Pedersen lost a cherished friend, Scott Hutchison, soon after their collective voyage into the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Just weeks later, Michael began to write to him. As he confronts the bewildering process of grief, what starts as a love letter to one magical, coruscating human soon becomes a paean to all the gorgeous male friendships that have transformed his life.'Tender, funny . . . lifted my spirits in the way Ali Smith does.' VAL McDERMID'Dazzling . . . uncommonly romantic, irreverent and at times laugh out loud funny. A delight.' SHIRLEY MANSON'Beautiful . . . send it to every friend you've ever loved.' CHARLOTTE CHURCH

Matty - her childhood friend, her best friend, her brother, her protector - now runs the Anthill, a day care refuge for the street kids of Medellin.

This edition gathers the expansive and spirited public lectures delivered by Simon Armitage during his 'conscientious and often amusingly self-conscious tenure' (TLS) as Oxford University Professor of Poetry. Armitage tries to identify a 'common sense' approach to an artform that can lend itself to grand statements and vacuous gestures, questioning both the facile and obscure ends of the poetry spectrum, asserting certain fundamental qualities that separate the genre from near-neighbours such as prose and song lyrics, examining who poetry is written for and its values in contemporary society. Above all, these are personal essays that enquire into the volatile and disputed definitions of poetry from the point of view of a dedicated reader, a practising writer and a lifelong champion of its power and potential.

I NeanderthalPrince of the PlainsI saw EdenIt wasn't muchI sawThe treeThe gatesRustyBut stillIntactI sawThe triple lockThe jack bootThe size of an oakI retreatedWiselyGod they WereUgly Marina Carr's iGirl premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in October 2021.

'Korelitz draws us in again, this time with her ease, grace and wit, in a satisfying novel that spans generations, lives, and fates.' Meg WolitzerThe Oppenheimer triplets have been reared with every advantage: wealth, education, and the determined attention of at least one of their parents.

Nothing is more inviting to disclose your secrets than to be told by others of their own ... London, June 1965. Karl Braun arrives as a lodger in Pimlico: hatless, with a bow-tie, greying hair, slight in build. That summer, Braun courts a woman, attends classical concerts, buys bacon, dances the twist.

By the celebrated author of The Pear Affair and The Secret Starling - Patch finds adventure on every deck of the 'floating palace' she accidentally stows away on.

'Whatever Uglow writes about she makes absolutely fascinating.' DIANA ATHILLThe story of Sybil Andews and Cyril Power, two artists who changed each other in an age of experiment and turmoil.'In all her books, she makes us feel the life behind the facts.' GUARDIAN'Wonderfully sharp and sympathetic . . . Uglow is a perfect biographer.' CRAIG BROWN, MAIL ON SUNDAYIn 1922, Cyril Power, a fifty-year-old architect, left his family to work with the twenty-four-year-old Sybil Andrews. They would be together for twenty years. Both became famous for their dynamic, modernist linocuts, streamlined, full of movement and brilliant colour, summing up the hectic interwar years. Yet at the same time they looked back, to medieval myths and early music, to country ways disappearing from sight.Cyril & Sybil traces their struggles and triumphs, conflicts and dreams, following them from Suffolk to London, from the New Forest to Vancouver Island. This is a world of Futurists, Surrealists and pioneering abstraction, but also of the buzz of the new, of machines and speed, shops and sport and dance, shining against the threat of depression and looming shadows of war.

The Occupation had a hangover, but still the Occupation went to work. Tokyo, July 1949, President Shimoyama, Head of the National Railways of Japan, goes missing just a day after serving notice of 30,000 job losses.

At home, classes include Poached Egg and How to Dig a Winter Grave, and her Grandma is a lively - if exasperating - teacher. Swiv isn't the only member of her family who has been fighting.

From 'The Everyday Housewife' to 'The Cougar', 'Tricks' to 'Snowflake Time', Laura Lippman's sharp and acerbic stories explore the contemporary world and the female experience through the prism of classic crime, where the stakes are always deadly.And in the collection's longest piece, the novella 'Just One More', she follows the trajectory of a married couple who, tired of re-watching 'Columbo' re-runs during lockdown, decide to join the same dating app:'Why would we do something like that?''As an experiment. And a diversion. We would both join, then see if the service matches us. Just for grins...'

*A New Statesman Book of the Year*'A taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller.' SUNDAY TIMES'A remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story.'-JON McGREGOR'A Lonely Man is a delicate snare of a novel.'-BRANDON TAYLOR'A thrilling, unnerving novel. a page-turner with exacting syntax and emotional heft.'-CATHERINE LACEY'Impressively deft. A Lonely Man is a tense and taut work.'-BENJAMIN MYERSWhen two men meet in a bookshop in Berlin they begin an uneasy friendship. Patrick has a sensational story to tell, one that Robert decides to take for himself. A twist on the cat-and-mouse narrative, A Lonely Man is about the search for identity and the elastic nature of truth. As the two men's association hurtles towards tragedy, Robert is forced to confront whether actual events are the only things that give a story life, and if some stories are too dangerous to tell.'Gripping.' FINANCIAL TIMES'A classy page-turner.' MAIL ON SUNDAY

His struggle to resolve this crisis, without fracturing his marriage or compromising his comfortable way of life, is explored in original and unsettling ways. Florian Zeller's raw and mysterious play, translated by Christopher Hampton, premieres at Hampstead Theatre, London, in February 2022.