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Summer
Summer
Apr 24, 2025 4:22 AM

Author:Karl Ove Knausgaard,Anselm Kiefer,Ingvild Burkey

Summer

Summeris the fourth volume of the Seasons quartet, a collection of short prose and diaries written by a father for his youngest daughter, with stunning artwork by Anselm Kiefer.

'Knausgaard unearths the mysteries of the commonplace' Observer

In Summer, Karl Ove Knausgaard writes about long days full of sunlight, eating ice cream with his children, lawn sprinklers and ladybirds. He experiments with the beginnings of a novel and keeps a diary in which the small events of his family's life are recorded. Against a canvas of memories, longings, and experiences of art and literature, he searches for the meaning of moments as they pass us by.

'Wondrous... There are blissful glimpses of nature's mystery and balance' Financial Times

Reviews

[Knausgaard is] endlessly curious about the world… [and] his perceptions of it are so particular.

—— Observer

[Knausgaard] brings it all alive in his prose, makes it shimmer. Whether intellectually parsing for meaning or playing this existential video game of political turmoil, horror, and heartache, his writing flows easily from quiet, thoughtful engagement to ecstatic communion with the world… He may be done with this quartet, the My Struggle series, and autofiction altogether, but I still want more of it. That kind of passionate literary intimacy is rare.

—— Los Angeles Review of Books

Engrossing… Knausgaard’s prose evokes universal themes from intimate specifics.

—— Publishers Weekly

Knausgaard closes his quartet of autobiographical meditations on the seasons in an appropriately verdant and optimistic fashion. . . While interrogating the nature of storytelling, he’s priming readers for a powerful, straightforward yarn. Breezy reading that’s also a commentary on breezy reading. Some trick.

—— Kirkus

Quite possibly the most important pain book ever written. The Way Out will be the answer for millions who live in constant agony. Read this book, you deserve it.

—— Annie Grace, author of This Naked Mind

Every person who suffers with chronic pain will find comfort and healing in the pages of The Way Out. Every clinician who treats chronic pain should read The Way Out, they will become a wiser and better guide for their patients.

—— Steven Richeimer, MD, Chief of Pain Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine

The Way Out offers a wonderfully clear and compelling combination of personal experience and the latest breakthroughs in brain science to show how to reduce chronic pain. Beautifully written - a transformation that will affect both you and those with whom you share your life.

—— Mark Williams, emeritus professor of clinical psychology, University of Oxford, coauthor of Mindfulness

Alan Gordon writes with compassion, empathy, and a deep understanding of living with pain. Finding relief from his own suffering prompted him to find freedom for others.

—— Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Change

The Way Out highlights the role of neuroplasticity in chronic pain and explores how to tackle it. This is a great positive step forward in chronic pain treatment.

—— Clifford Woolf, MD, professor of neurology and neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

The strain in pain lies mainly in the brain. This accessible, warm book is a re-minder of how you can learn to better control pain by learning to think differently about it.

—— David Spiegel, MD, Willson Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, coauthor of Trance and Treatment

It's long been assumed that chronic pain is irreversible, but The Way Out introduces an approach that proves otherwise. The Way Out is quite simply the most effective treatment for chronic pain.

—— Howard Schubiner, MD, clinical professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and founder and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Program, Ascension Providence Hospital

Brilliant, vivid - I enjoyed this book ENORMOUSLY

—— Marian Keyes

Eimear Ryan is a superbly talented writer and Holding Her Breath is a brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving first novel, full of startling perceptions and richly believable characters. This is absolutely the real thing

—— Kevin Power

A confident, textured, fluent novel about first love - and the campus novel sections are a pure joy

—— Niamh Campbell

Written with a wonderful clarity and insight, Holding Her Breath lingers in the imagination. Beth's unravelling and re-ravelling is drawn with great skill and empathy. A brilliant debut

—— Donal Ryan

Enthralling

—— Image

So finely polished it gleams, and yet it's also almost effortless reading . . . new, bright, exciting, glittering. I absolutely loved it

—— Claire Hennessy

Stylishly written, with strong female voices

—— Irish Times

Very assured . . . a refreshing, accomplished debut

—— Sunday Independent

It's a truly compelling read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend

—— Buzz

I very much enjoyed reading this one and if you love intimate coming of age tales as much as I do, you have to pick this up

—— Miriam Stimpfl

An engaging narrative . . . written with perfect poise

—— Saga

Fast-paced and filled with witty dialogue, and the book explores the depth and complexity of friendships between women

—— INDEPENDENT: 10 BEST BOOKS BY BLACK AUTHORS

Wildly entertaining

—— THE BOOKSELLER

I LOVED this absolute cracker of a book about the cuckoo in the next and a toxic female friendship. Highly recommended

—— LIZ NUGENT, author of LYING IN WAIT and OUR LITTLE CRUELTIES

I loved hanging out with Ronke, Simi and Boo. A brilliant portrayal of how complicated friendships can sometimes be

—— NINA POTTELL

This story draws you in and spits you out, breathless. Echoes of Atwood's The Robber Bride but so its own thing. A treat.

—— KATE SAWYER, author of THE STRANDING

A heady mix of friendship, dark comedy and murder. WAHALA is razor-sharp

—— OK! MAGAZINE

May's nuanced exploration of race and gender makes this refreshing. This will leave readers intrigued to see what May does next

—— PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

A terrific, witty debut

—— I-NEWS

WAHALA hooked me from page one and kept me enthralled till the (TWIST!) end. A riot of colour and noise, friendships, enemies, secrets, lies and soul food. Written with a lightness of touch. Insightful, clever, and honest. I will read anything and everything she writes

—— ERICKA WALLER, author of DOG DAYS

This gripping debut is a journey of friendship, revenge and finding your true self

—— STYLIST MAGAZINE

Nikki May builds a propulsive reading experience as she slowly reveals Isobel's manipulations while keeping the reasons behind them hidden. Compelling character studies of each of the women don't shy away from the jealousies and judgements that sometimes make the line between friend and enemy razor thin...A fascinating look at the dark side of female friendship

—— KIRKUS

A funny brilliant read

—— BELLA

This will satisfy hungry appetites and blow your thriller taste buds. Deliciously spicy

—— HEAT MAGAZINE, Read of the Week

Nikki May's sharp and funny debut novel is a delight on many levels. WAHALA bursts with life from start to finish

—— DAILY EXPRESS, 'Books of 2022'

May seamlessly weaves love, betrayal, self-reflection, and Nigerian food, clothing, and customs into this fast-paced debut...Fans of domestic suspense will revel in this tale of friendship, family, and forgiveness, set in the cultural milieu of Lagos

—— LIBRARY JOURNAL

Sharp and darkly witty

—— CULTURE FLY

A rapid and wildly hilarious page-turner

—— COUNTRY AND TOWN HOUSE

A hotly tipped debut for 2022

—— DAILY EXPRESS

WAHALA combines a frank and daring exploration of modern female friendship with a dark, punchy thriller

—— WOMAN AND HOME

Fabulously fun

—— PRIMA MAGAZINE

May's skill for weaving together entertaining personal problems with a wistfulness for Nigerian food, customs and culture is unparalleled. WAHALA is hard to put down - an energetic, entertaining interrogation of a fundamentally flawed friendship

—— I-NEWS

Refreshing and original. Exhilarating

—— SUNDAY TIMES, Best Popular Fiction of 2022

Contemporary female friendship goes glam in this lively debut novel with remarkable depth

—— WASHINGTON POST

I would definitely recommend this book to friends. I already have!

—— Recommended Read, BBC Radio 2 Book Club

Sharply observed ... sophisticated and culturally adept ... May is a masterful chronicler of Black upper-middle-class lie and ennui in Britain. WAHALA is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living: women's evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships and multicultural identity, the current competition that runs through so many friendships and daily interactions and, most of all, how easily intimacy can morph into enmity

—— NPR.ORG

Witty-wity-edge. Its humour is pin sharp

—— THE SHIFT, Sam Baker's Summer Reading

A dazzling, rich and efferverscent read. It's relevant and full of life. The killer edge was unexpectedly shocking. Just fantastic in every way

—— NB MAGAZINE

A glorious read

—— STYLIST MAGAZINE, 'The Style List'

Spicy as Aunty K's moin moin, satisfying as a plate of Ronke's jollof rice

—— SAGA MAGAZINE

Pacy, fun and gripping ... May wanted to write "a brown Sex and the City, or a brown Big Little Lies" - we reckon WAHALA could be just as big

—— EVENING STANDARD, Faces of 2022

Like "Sex and the City" but set in London. And with mystery. And murder

—— COSMOPOLITAN

The upshot is a funny, slightly murdery story about three women and their wahala, or "trouble" - their boyfriends, their professional aspirations, and their weaves

—— GLAMOUR MAGAZINE

The novel's strength lies in May's attention to her main character's identities. May's breezy prose is well-suited to these moments of casual intimacy, unfolding over drinks, at the hairdresser's or at the kitchen table, where all the best gossip takes place

—— NEW YORK TIMES

Some of the smartest reading fun I've had all year

—— DAISY BUCHANAN
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