Secondhand Contemporary & Literary Fiction Bargain Book Box SP2417

Secondhand Contemporary & Literary Fiction Bargain Book Box

Discover a world of compelling narratives with this diverse collection of fifteen secondhand novels. From the classic Russian tales of Gogol to modern bestsellers like The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair and The Invention of Wings, this box offers a mix of literary fiction, historical drama, and gripping thrillers. Whether you want to explore the streets of Cairo in The City Always Wins or the Mexican ghost town of Comala in Pedro Páramo, these books will transport you. Each book is secondhand and may show signs of wear.

1. Nikolai Gogol: The Collected Tales by Nikolai Gogol This volume brings together the essential short stories of the Russian master of the surreal and the grotesque. Including famous works like "The Nose" and "The Overcoat," these tales blend satire with supernatural elements to paint a vivid picture of 19th-century Russia.

2. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker A young writer heads to a quiet New Hampshire town to cure his writer's block, only to find himself in the middle of a murder investigation. His mentor, a famous author, is accused of killing a teenage girl thirty years earlier. It is a twisting, turning mystery about love, fame, and the lies we tell.

3. The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn Two women, separated by a century, are connected by a mysterious notebook and a rare flower. In Victorian England, a woman embarks on a dangerous expedition to Chile, while in modern-day Australia, a gardener uncovers a secret that threatens her safety.

4. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd Set in early 19th-century Charleston, this novel follows the lives of two women: Sarah Grimké, the daughter of a wealthy slave owner, and Handful, the enslaved girl given to her as a present. Spanning decades, it charts their complex relationship and their individual struggles for freedom.

5. Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada In a near future where Japan has disappeared from the map, a woman named Hiruko travels across Europe teaching a made-up language. She searches for anyone who can speak her native tongue, leading to a whimsical and thought-provoking journey about identity and belonging.

6. The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton A visceral and urgent novel set during the Egyptian Revolution. It follows a group of young activists fighting for a new future in Cairo, capturing the chaos, euphoria, and heartbreak of a movement that changed the world.

7. The Dark Meadow by Andrea Maria Schenkel A chilling crime novel inspired by a true story. When a woman and her daughter return to a remote village after the war, they find that old secrets and new dangers await them. It is a dark atmospheric tale of guilt and retribution.

8. This I Know by Eldonna Edwards Grace Carter is a young girl with a special gift—she can "know" things about people just by touching them. Growing up in a small town with a preacher father, she struggles to understand her abilities and find her own voice in a community that fears what it doesn't understand.

9. The Principle by Jérôme Ferrari A philosophical novel that explores the life of physicist Werner Heisenberg, the man behind the uncertainty principle. It delves into the moral dilemmas faced by scientists during the rise of Nazism and the atomic age.

10. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo A masterpiece of Latin American literature. Juan Preciado travels to the ghost town of Comala to find his father, Pedro Páramo, only to discover a place inhabited by the spirits of the dead. It is a haunting, dreamlike narrative that influenced magical realism.

11. The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim A dark and twisted horror-comedy about a young woman obsessed with eyes. As her life unravels, her fixation grows, leading to a gruesome and satirical exploration of beauty standards and female rage.

12. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima A group of disaffected teenage boys rejects the adult world, which they see as hypocritical and soft. When one of the boys' widowed mother falls in love with a sailor, the group decides to punish him for abandoning his life at sea for domesticity.

13. The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri From the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, this novel follows a family devastated by a wildfire in Greece. It is a moving story about trauma, survival, and the enduring power of nature and human connection.

14. The Empire by Michael Ball Set in the glamorous world of the theatre in the 1920s. When The Empire theatre is threatened with closure, a diverse group of performers and staff must band together to save their home. It is a heartwarming tale of friendship and the magic of the stage.

15. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper After their father dies, the Foxman family gathers to sit Shiva for seven days. Trapped in their childhood home, they confront old grievances, failed marriages, and their own immaturity in this hilarious and touching family drama.