John Irving introduces his new novel In One Person

In One Person, the latest novel from John Irving, is available at Virgin Megastores. 

Olympic Fiction

Check out this trailer for the new novel from Chris Cleave, the author of The Other Hand (or Little Bee in the US) and Incendiary. Gold is a timely tale of Olympic athletes and promises to be one of the year’s bestselling titles, and as usual with Cleave, who was one of the stars of the 2010 Dubai Lit Fest, it is shrouded in secrecy…

Coming Soon to Virgin Megastores.

Lunch Like A Lannister

Ever wonder what it’s like to attend a feast at Winterfell? Wish you could split a lemon cake with Sansa Stark, scarf down a pork pie with the Night’s Watch, or indulge in honeyfingers with Daenerys Targaryen?

George R. R. Martin’s bestselling saga A Song of Ice and Fire and the runaway hit HBO series Game of Thrones are renowned for bringing Westeros’s sights and sounds to vivid life.

But one important ingredient has always been missing: the mouthwatering dishes that form the backdrop of this extraordinary world. Now, fresh out of the series that redefined fantasy, comes the cookbook that may just redefine dinner . . . and lunch, and breakfast. 

Learn how to cook your Brunch of Thrones at Virgin Megastore!

Liz Fenwick invites you to The Cornish House

UAE-based author Liz Fenwick would like to introduce you to her debut novel, which is in stores now!

A grieving 38 year old widow and her 15 year old step-daughter move into an inherited ancient Cornish manor house filled with secrets. Both women are broken when they arrive and Maddie, the widow believes that this will be their salvation while Hannah, the teenager, thinks she has been brought to hell. Can a house heal a broken heart?

The Cornish House is my debut novel, but not the first one that I’d written. Back in 2004 when we were living in Dubai the first time (this is our second), I began writing fiction again. Writing had always been my dream but earning a living and then raising a family as we travelled around the world intervened.

I wrote the first draft of The Cornish House in 2006, in just three months. It was a story that was bubbling inside of me and poured out onto the page. But then I didn’t touch it for a year because I didn’t know how to balance the story. Hannah, the teenager, stole the first draft. Her story dominated and I wanted it to be Maddie’s story.

After a year of thinking about it a friend reminded me that every story has already been told but it’s what you, the writer, bring to the story that makes it different. That unlocked the story for me and it fell into place when I gave Maddie something of mine. This of course was scary and still is, if I am honest.

The story sweeps you away to a remote part of Cornwall to a house that captured my imagination from the first moment I saw it nestled in a fold in the land off a lovely Cornish lane. And yes, The Cornish House does exist but not quite as it is portrayed in the book. The actual one seized my imagination from first sight. The house spoke of past lives and I wondered what it would be like to live in a house so steeped in history. I think many of us have peered into an estate agents window and wondered about buying that dream house…

I wrote The Cornish House for me. I love to be taken into the world of the story when I’m reading so that I forget what is actually around me. I wrote this book in several locations and it always took me to the magic of Cornwall. I hope it does the same for you! – Liz Fenwick.

The Cornish House is available now from Virgin Megastores. 

The Sultan’s Wife

I enjoyed this novel a great deal and although I’m not usually drawn to fiction but when I do find myself reading, I get a little too carried away with my emotions. This book drew three major reactions from me; I LOLed, I gasped, I was sad to a point I didn’t want to finish the book, but it all came to a pleasing end.

So again, I’m looking at this mysterious book cover only this time it was literally staring back (see that eye on the cover?) and I’m just wondering what it was that I was going to find out about this Sultan’s wife that I couldn’t already guess. Well … surprisingly, and slightly misleadingly, it is and isn’t much about her.

The main character in this story, also the main narrator, is a charming servant called Nus Nus, whom the story would seem lifeless without. The author characterizes him as a smart, caring, and humorous slave whose luck is on his side as he constantly cheats random gruesome fates. Through Nus Nus, we are introduced to the second narrator, the Sultan’s wife, Alys, whom this book is based on. The story starts out with an ordinary day in a life of a palace servant who witnesses a death, but by the next few chapters the plot escalates to exciting encounters that lead to the transformation of this insignificant servant into a warrior who saves the day. And there’s much saving to do; the Sultan is a blood thirsty, yet charismatic warrior who is responsible for both the narrators’ woes.

This piece of adult fiction is structured as personal diary entries written by each of the narrators, which makes it all the more interesting getting to know two different perspectives of both characters around the same situation. The diary or chapter titles are sometimes written down as important dates that further elaborate on 17th century Morocco under the Sultan’s rule and help keep up with the constant moving time. The story is conceived around the historical event that took place in 1682 when Sultan Moulay Ismail sent off the Moroccan embassy to England to meet with King Charles II. There are many old Arabic words and Islamic references that communicate the era when Islam was on the rise, but fear not Western reader, the author dedicates a two-page glossary for these words. The author, Jane Johnson, is well versed in Moroccan culture from many years residing in the country, which she also uses to her benefit as a major topic in some of her previous work.

Aside from all the killings, injustices, slavery, and other atrocious events that take place, the tone is light with a touch of dark humor that at times makes of a less serious tragedy but adds to the reality of a slave mocking himself and his master as he faces the most awkward and dangerous situations. The novel is a modern fairytale where things don’t go as planned but the ending is emotionally rewarding.

Oh! … And you will fall in love with Nus Nus!

The Sultan’s Wife is available at Virgin Megastores. 

The best boxset by miles!

I realise yesterday I went off-topic mentioning I was growing addicted to the West Wing boxset. (And Boardwalk Empire, but that’s nine kinds of by the by). TV boxsets are a great way to spend a couple of days, but book boxsets…well, they’re just amazing.

Zeeba at our Mercato, Dubai store has just finished reading the new boxset of legendary writer Haruki Murakami’s novel 1Q84.

Murakami is to fiction what David Lynch is to cinema: a fearless auteur and surrealist, not afraid to play with his audience, obsessed with recurring themes and tropes, and still riding a wave of popular affection and critical regard bouyed by his 1990′s masterworks. I loved the book, but would Zeeba?

Here’s what she thought of it.

So this week I finally finished the book 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. A project of sorts, this book took me a couple of months to get through, but it is one of the finest reads I’ve come across in a very long time.

I think it is only fair to warn any new readers not accustomed to his writing, that Murakami is what I’d call an acquired taste. But once you get the hang of the odd narration and twisted storyline, you will be lucky enough to be introduced to one of the most brilliant authors of this century.

To say this book is complicated would be a very misleading understatement. It covers time travel, alternate realities, several overlapping narrations and some romance thrown in for good measure. However, as long and twisted as it is, I reiterate: it is one of the best books I have ever read.

This time I will not give a rating because I am very truly biased when it comes to this author. I would give it an unabashed 10 on 10. But having recognized the unfairness of such a rating, I dare anyone to read this book and not be as awed and amazed as I was.

You can’t argue with that. And it looks pretty sexy too.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is available now from Virgin Megastores.

Serious Authors, Being Silly

You may not have read books by all of these authors (I sure haven’t) but you’ll agree, these are great pics of otherwise very respectable literary figures.

Enjoy.

In other news, I’m still reading The Heart Broke In, by James Meek, which is due out in September 2012. It’s still AMAZING, but my reading time has been massively reduced because I got a boxset of The West Wing. Hey-ho.

What else? Malda is reading something very exciting which she’ll be blogging about next week, and I’m working on creating a great summer promotion for our stores to showcase the best new paperbacks. You’ll like it. Honest.

Today the postman brought me an advance reading copy of Lionel Asbo, the forthcoming novel from Martin Amis, my all-time favourite writer, so I’m over the moon about this. I’m also in contact with not one but three big authors about them writing a little something for you on our blog, so keep your eyes peeled for some famous names over the next couple of months. Coming along even sooner will be the gift catalogue and so we’re on the hunt for the best books to include.

Any day now we expect to get our hands on our book of the month,  Bring Up The Bodies, the new novel from Hilary Mantel, the eagerly-awaited sequel to Wolf Hall.

Our bestsellers over the last week include Fifty Shades of Grey, The Magic, The Avengers Movie Annual and Desperate In Dubai. Never let it be said our customers aren’t an eclectic and diverse bunch!

Phew…..! What are you guys reading?

Maldaland

This week our resident book-blogger Malda has been scaring herself witless in the name of book reviewing…

First let me say this: this book is not as creepy as it looks.

Sure, there’s a black and white photograph of a girl levitating on the book cover and yes, there are plenty more equally eerie photographs as part of the book, still by the fifth chapter you’ll realize it was not Children of the Corn meets Zombie. (I accept I’m a bad judge of book covers.)

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is a thriller/adventure novel that will sure get your teenage-self flipping through its pages right to the very end in a matter of a few days. The book is Ransom Riggs’ first literary work and  apart from being on The New York Times’ best-seller’s list for 9 weeks, it’s also being turned into a movie as we speak.

There’s something about the musical style in the trailer that reminds me of a Tim Burton movie and the bizarre fantasy world he creates.

The first thing that grabs your attention has got to be those interesting authentic vintage photographs that seem to tell their own mysterious story; they set the frame for imagination. There’s a good amount of dialogue that speeds things up and keeps you on your feet while you join the narrator in finding out more about each peculiar character he meets and begin noticing the clues the author leaves throughout.

The setting is in present day Florida, which makes the whole fantasy world even more desirable in comparison to other adventure stories set before the 21st century. The narrator is a 16-year old boy who goes on a life altering journey in search of a secret and, before this sentence turns into a cheesy voice-over, the kid is what you expect every 16-year old in 2012 to be, holding on to his camera-enabled phone while dealing with the psychological impacts of life and death, and sacrificing for love and friendship.

Miss Peregrine is in fact a nice lady and those children are indeed very peculiar and this adventure nicely brings two worlds and two times together in excitement and thrill. The novel is very well written and very entertaining even to a 24-year old such as myself. However, note to be taken, and don’t say I didn’t warn you, if you’re afraid of the dark then my advice is that you DO NOT read chapter 10 right before you go to sleep….

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is available at Virgin Megastores. 

Blog from a bookseller…

Today, Zeeba from our Mercato store wants to share with you two recent bestsellers she’s recently enjoyed…

This week I read Desperate in Dubai by Ameera al Hakawati. The book that’s causing quite a fuss in UAE at the moment.

Why? Well for one, it chronicles the outrageous escapades of a rebellious Emirati heiress. And second, gives a peek into the social life of the Emirati population like never before. More than enough to cause some controversy, I would think. After being placed under a ban that was later lifted, the book has been immensely popular in the Middle East.

But controversy aside, is it a good book? Although the language is a little juvenile it can be forgiven since its based on a blog and the same language style was followed in the book. On the bright side the uncomplicated prose makes it a very quick and comfortable read.

The plot is quickly paced and the story has quite a neat ending.

Overall, a great summer read that opens one’s eyes to what’s really going on among the Emiratis in the UAE.

After hearing rave reviews and getting an unrelenting flow of recommendations to read it, I finally gave into the pressure to try The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book covers a reality game hosted by Panem, a fictional totalitarian country, called, as if you couldn’t guess, the Hunger Games.

The point of the game? Kill or be killed.

The story focuses on Kathreen Everdeen who steps in as volunteer instead of her sister and Peeta Mellark the bakers son who is competing against her. Who will survive? Read and find out!!

The story, with its dark plot and sinister twists is not my cup of tea. But I can see why it was such a hit.

Collins creates another world perfectly and builds an almost tangible atmosphere of poverty, desperation and helplessness. It’ll have you at the edge of your seat, as it is a great of-the-moment read you really must try and make time for in your summer.

Books for the weekend

This weekend, with temperatures soaring, payday looming and bad news coming from all four corners of the globe, the only thing on any sensible person’s minds is, obviously, getting to the cinema to watch The Avengers.

This huge movie has a pretty powerful pedigree, with Joss “Buffy” Whedon on writing duties and featuring all the Marvel superheroes you could ever want, and they will be hitting things, punching this and probably blowing stuff up, too, which is all we really want from a superhero movie, right?

The Hulk finally gets the cinematic depiction he deserves, and everyone loved the Iron Man films, right? (Hmmm. The first film was brilliant. The second one was, I concede, total pants.)

We have all the books you could ever want about this thrill-packed team-up for the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and all the rest, so why not come and add to your avenging fun by reading all about the heroes and the biggest movie of the year*?

If you’d rather spend your time learning something serious and useful, with a local flavour, why not try Tom Holland’s In the Shadow of the Sword?

In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on, and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. In The Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland explores how this came about. Spanning Constantinople to the Arabian desert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, horror and startling achievement.

We’ve also got all the must-read fiction, wise-read health and parenting titles, gripping biographies and for those of you who scoff in the face of weekends we also have a range of great business titles. Our kids section gets more lively all the time so we’re confident we’ve got a book for everyone.  Come and prove us wrong!

*Second biggest. The Dark Knight Rises is going to be massive.