Lloyd Jones

Mister Pip

El libro de la fama

Splinter

A boy watches his mother hooked and reeled ashore by a fisherman. A man builds a swing in the backyard to sit between his wife and her lover. A couple gives up their seat on a bus for lovers soon to be parted. A boy sees his mother come to life gliding on roller skates. Lloyd Jones's The Man in the Shed is a haunting collection of stories about family and longing. Jones's extraordinary tales take conventional family situations and tilt them sideways, delivering a memorable, beautiful blend of the suburban and the surreal.

Stories

The Man in the Shed

Two mysterious strangers appear at a hotel in a small country town. Where have they come from? Who are they? What catastrophe are they fleeing? The townspeople want answers, but the strangers are unable to speak of their trauma. And before long, wary hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear, and the care of the men slides into appalling cruelty. Lloyd Jones’s fable-like novel The Cage is a profound and unsettling novel about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we’re able to justify brutality. Lloyd Jones has written novels, short stories and a memoir. He won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his novel Mister Pip. His other books include Hand Me Down World and A History of Silence. Lloyd lives in Wellington. ‘It is a thought-provoking and affecting book for readers of literary fiction where the morally questionable appears very ordinary.’ Books+Publishing, FOUR STARS ‘A dark fable of imprisonment.’ Sydney Morning Herald, What to Read in 2018 ‘Jones builds calmly, rationally, in prose shot through with instances of unexpected beauty and tenderness to a terrible climax.’ Adelaide Advertiser ‘...A thinly disguised allegory of how easily ordinary, civilised people can lose their humanity, which reminded me of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.’ Australian Financial Review ‘A compelling, grimly believable tale.’ Guardian ‘Its mastery lies in its mystery; the skill with which it leaves things unsaid. An audacious and affecting riff on the tenuousness of understanding and the frailty of good intentions. What on earth will the guy do next?’ NZ Herald ‘Simply, clearly and vividly written, the moral dilemma posed in The Cage will linger long in my mind.’ NZ Spin Off, Book of the Week ‘Lloyd Jones’ new and possibly best novel will hold you in its narrative grip from its first page...This is exciting, risk-taking writing...Is it a fable? Probably, although it’s open enough for you to make your own interpretation, possibly more than one. Does it have antecedents? Numerous: Orwell, with the occupants of the hotel constantly watching the occupants of the cage: Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, with its air hopeless bleakness; the Kafkaesque way unsettling events are described with deadpan detachment; and all the absurdity and hopelessness of a Beckett play.’ North & South ‘A profound and unsettling allegorical fable...Its powerful message camouflaged by almost fairytale simplicity. The Cage explores how quickly humanity and dignity can segue into brutality when communication breaks down. Trust is revealed as fragile, forever at the mercy of authoritarian impulse.’ Qantas Magazine ‘The puzzle of where the human essence lies and is shared is implicit in Jones' dark parable.’ Age ‘It is (also) brilliant. It compels and repels.’ NZ Listener ‘With archetypal characters and a setting that is only roughly outlined, the story is contemporary yet feels out of time and place.’ Australian ‘Vivid and meticulous...Jones has forged a piece of poetry of the most uncanny and macabre kind – a timely reminder to us all that humanity cannot ever be taken for granted.’ Observer UK ‘The Kiwi master who brought us Mister Pip and The Book of Fame is in fine form with this unsettling new novel that begins with two mysterious strangers arriving at a hotel in a small country town. Hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear in this allegorical, fable-like tale about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we can justify brutality.’ Cityscape

The Cage

From the Man Booker-shortlisted author of Mister Pip comes a poetic, dreamlike novel for fans of Max Porter's Lanny and the works of George Saunders.

The Fish

A warm and fun retelling of Rudyard Kipling's much-loved 'Jungle Book; from Mowgli's first arrival in the jungle and his acceptance into the wolf pack, to his defeat of the terrible tiger Shere Khan. Illustrations: Full colour throughout

The Jungle Book

Published for the first time in flipback - the new, portable, stylish format that's taken Europe by storm. 'You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.' Bougainville. 1991. A small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda's last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. When the villagers' safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville's children are surprised to find the island's only white man, a recluse, re-opening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens. Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts' inspiring reading of Great Expectations. But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. Mister Pip is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished.

In tango, there are no wrong turns. But every dance begins with a backward step. This is where Louise and Schmidt’s story begins, with a backward step. Louise and Schmidt meet in a small town in New Zealand during World War I. When locals are stirred to violence against Schmidt for his German name, he and Louise take refuge in a remote cave overlooking the ocean. There, humming Argentinian songs into her ear, he teaches her the intimate rhythms of the tango—the dance that will bind them forever. Years later, in her restaurant in Wellington, Rosa, Schmidt’s granddaughter, tells Lionel the tale of her grandfather’s affair with Louise. And she teaches him to dance.

Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance

Elisa is no ordinary princess -- she loves plants rather than palaces. After the king locks her in a tower, Elisa decides to escape and live life by her own rules...

Young Reading Series 1: Nettle Princess

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Life, Times, and Labours of Robert Owen

Cage

'You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames'. Bougainville, 1991. A small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda's last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. When the villagers' safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville's children are surprised to find the island's only white man, a recluse, reopening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens. Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts' inspiring reading of Great Expectations. But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. Mister Pip is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished.

This novel is based on the 1905 New Zealand rugby tour of Britain, when the All Blacks achieved unheard of success in thirty-three of their matches, losing only one against Wales. In the country they call 'Home', these unassuming Kiwi men achieve massive public acclaim and become heroes.

The Book of Fame

Then she lifts the Fish up from the bassinet and holds him out to me. ‘Go on, take him.’ And to the Fish she says, ‘This is your uncle.’ I manage to clap my hands either side of the fish bundle. But I feel like I am holding an expensive glass. Once you’re told not to drop it, all you can think of is the glass shattering across the floor. When the baby is born—in a shabby caravan at a beach campground—it’s clear he is not like other babies. But the family will try hard to protect and love and accept him. Perhaps all the more to make up for letting his troubled mother down. The young uncle grapples with his connection to the Fish. And as he tries to understand his family and its confusing secrets and shame, his sense of his own place in the world begins to crumble. Lloyd Jones’s unique lyrical style is mesmerising in this tender story of family bonds, both strained and strengthened by tragedy, and the redemptive power of writing.

Lloyd Jones

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