Elliot Perlman

Frustrated by years of unrequited love, an unemployed school teacher takes matters into his own hands, with unexpected repercussions, in a story told by six different narrators whose lives have become entangled with one another.

Seven Types of Ambiguity

"From the author of Seven Types of Ambiguity, an epic that reaches across generations and spans continents, revealing the interconnectedness and interdependence of humanity and the profound impact of memory on our lives"--

The Street Sweeper

On the crowded streets of New York City there are even more stories than there are people passing each other every day... only some of these stories survive to become history. Lamont Williams, recently released from prison and working as a hospital janitor, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a patient, an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor who starts to tell him of his extraordinary past. Meanwhile Adam Zignelik, the son of a prominent Jewish civil rights lawyer, is facing a personal crisis: almost 40-years-old, his long-term relationship is faltering and his academic career has stalled. It's only when one of his late father's closest friends, the civil rights activist William McCray, suggests a promising research topic that the possibility of some kind of redemption arises. Dealing with memory, racism and the human capacity for guilt, resilience, heroism, and unexpected kindness, The Street Sweeper spans over fifty years, and ranges from New York to Melbourne, Chicago, Warsaw and Auschwitz, as these two very different paths - Adam's and Lamont's - lead to one greater story.

The story is told in seven parts, by six different narrators, whose lives are entangled in unexpected ways. Following years of unrequited love, an out-of-work schoolteacher decides to take matters into his own hands, triggering a chain of events that neither he nor his psychiatrist could have anticipated. Brimming with emotional, intellectual, and moral dilemmas, this novel-reminiscent of the richest fiction of the nineteenth century in its labyrinthine complexity-unfolds at a rapid-fire pace to reveal the full extent to which these people have been affected by one another and by the insecure and uncertain times in which they live. Our times, now.

The stories in this collection explore the complex worlds of lovers, poets, lawyers, immigrants, students, and murderers. They tell of corporate betrayals and lost opportunities, and of the obsessions, hopes, fears, and vagaries of desire.

The Reasons I Won't Be Coming

'I am absolutely terrified of losing a job I absolutely hate.' Stephen Maserov has problems. A onetime teacher, married to fellow teacher Eleanor, he has retrained and is now a second-year lawyer working at mega-firm Freely Savage Carter Blanche. Despite toiling around the clock to make budget, he's in imminent danger of being downsized. And to make things worse, Eleanor, sick of single-parenting their two young children thanks to Stephen's relentless work schedule, has asked him to move out.

Maybe the Horse Will Talk

A republication of the long-unavailable debut fiction work by the author of Seven Types of Ambiguity follows the experiences of a man who struggles to come to terms with his place in an increasingly hostile corporate arena while holding fast to his humanity and sense of humor. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Three Dollars

When a pampered cat has to share her home with a lost dog, sparks are set to fly. To her surprise, Catvinkle starts to like Ula. She even tells Ula her three secrets. But a cat and a dog can’t be friends – can they? A tail-spin of a tale that will make you howl with laughter – and remind you that if you aren’t open to adventure, you might never meet your best friend.

The Adventures of Catvinkle

A hilarious and wonderfully illustrated children's debut from a prize-winning author 'Charming and whimsical... a delightful and easy-to-read story with laugh-out-loud dialogue' Books + Publishing Catvinkle is a sleek and satisfied housecat, whose hobbies include baby-shoe dancing and snoozing (but mainly snoozing). Ula is a damp and down-at-heel dalmation whose owners have abandoned her, and she's too hungry to have any hobbies. Together they make an unlikely pair, but Catvinkle falls head over eels for Ula's delicious musky scent, and soon they are best friends. But trouble is on the horizon in the shape of Catvinkle's nemesis, Twinkiepaws... This is a brilliantly charming and beautifully illustrated story about a friendship that knows no bounds. Oh, and one last thing: Catvinkle can fly! Elliot Perlman's books for adults have won the Age Book of the Year Award, the Betty Trask Award, and the Fellowship of Australian Writers' Book of the Year Award, and been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Queensland Premier's Award for Fiction. The Adventures of Catvinkle is his first book for children. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

When best friends Catvinkle and Ula are asked to defend two sheep accused of eating Amsterdam's tulips, they're not sure what to believe. The sheep say they're innocent, but they do look very sheepish. To win this case, Catvinkle will need the help of a wolfhound, a llama, two travelling koalas, a pair of Russian bears . . . and a very special bird.

Elliot Perlman

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