Joseph Gies, Francis Gies, Life in a Medieval Castle (ABC-Atticus)

Renowned medieval historians Joseph and Francis Gies have provided an exquisite and highly illustrative portrait of everyday life in the medieval English castle of Chepstow.

The book describes the life, leisure and nuances of relationships not only between knights and warriors, but also ordinary commoners from the surrounding villages.

The historical material of the book is presented in a very lively and fascinating language and is easily perceived, as if Life in a Medieval Castle is a fictional novel with many characters.

The laconic and structured narrative reveals the details and features of the coexistence of different classes, the role of honor in the culture of that era, life behind high walls under the constant threat of attack, as well as the formation of chivalry and its code.

The work of Francis and Joseph Gies influenced the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, George Martin.

“Some of the books that I found helpful while working on Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve special mention… These are Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City,” says Martin.

“The castle was becoming obsolete not only because of the evolution of military affairs, but also because of the improvement in the quality of life.

Already in the Middle Ages, the desire to have more comfortable and elegant living rooms led to the construction of castles of a new type, and in the 17th century it resulted in the construction of palaces for the nobility, which performed an exclusively residential function.

Sometimes the old castle or part of it was completely rebuilt, turning it into a comfortable dwelling with lighting, heating and other amenities, and it continued to be used by members of the family that owned it.

Other castles turned into picturesque ruins, next to which graceful multi-window palaces appeared.

In such residences, the large hall, once the main living space, has undergone changes since the era of barrow-palisade castles: if in the Middle Ages it was expanded and decorated,

henceforth its size and importance have decreased.

The desire for privacy required the establishment of separate dining and living rooms for the inhabitants of the palace.

In the 17th century, the great hall of the 13th century was turned into a common room for servants.

  • © Azbuka-Atticus

Elchin Safarli, “This is my home” (AST)

The first novel in three years by one of the most frequently touring writers in Russia, Elchin Safarli, is an incredibly warm and touching story that will be close to many readers.

The author's childhood memories take the audience to the private house of his grandparents near the Caspian Sea.

Meticulously and carefully, Safarli restores pictures of the life of his childhood - with all the joys, discoveries, experiences and sorrows.

Love of the family, relationships with the outside world and people, hobbies and unchanging warmth, originally from childhood, familiar to every adult and evoking nostalgia for carefree years - the author's signature style makes it possible to fully experience all this.

Reading “This is my home”, you can literally feel the smell of fresh homemade cakes, flowering trees in the garden, the breeze of the sea and plunge into these sensations with your head.

Elchin Safarli is the author of more than ten books, the total circulation of which exceeded 1.5 million copies.

Safarli's last three novels - "Tell me about the sea", "When I return, be at home" and "The house in which the light is on" became bestsellers in just over a month from the date of release.

“In honor of the onset of spring, the whole family gathered at the dacha.

Finally, you can take out a table on the veranda and sit in the air for a long time.

Look at the trees coming to life (the first leaves appeared on the Feeder), listen to the chirping of birds flying to the well, breathe in the warming breeze.

Aunt Tora arrived with her husband and two daughters (they are two classes older than us), Hati is about to arrive, we are waiting for her with Ali on the fence, anticipating the representative Volga.

“In vain I told you that Hati was carrying eclairs with chocolate cream.

They've climbed the fence!

Hold on, put it on, the sun is deceptive for now, ”mom holds out jackets, identical, in blue and white stripes.

Gosha is spinning at her feet, besotted with aromas from the kitchen, where dad and grandfather marinate lamb.

We do not have time to get dressed, as the Volga emerges from around the corner.

We freeze from the beauty of the car, from its familiar gleaming sides.

The man behind the wheel honks affably, with delight we almost fall off the fence.” 

  • © AST

Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care (ABC-Atticus)

A family drama about people who are faced with a terrible situation and forced to commit morally controversial acts, seasoned with a mixture of medical ethics, law and faith - this is how Jodi Picoult's novel Handling with Care can be characterized.

In the center of the story is an ordinary family from American New Hampshire, a married couple with two daughters.

But everything turns out to be not as unambiguous as it seems at first glance, because the youngest child has a difficult diagnosis - BUT, or osteogenesis imperfecta, that is, her bones break from minimal impact.

The already difficult situation in the family is exacerbated by the growing bills for the girl’s treatment, pity from other parents, moral torment, questions about the value of human life and an insoluble dilemma: was it worth it to give birth to a baby if her parents knew about her illness in advance?

To cover the growing costs, the main character is forced to sue her doctor - her best friend.

But the most difficult element of the novel, turning the whole situation upside down, is its denouement - tragic, biting and leaving no way back for either side.

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

About 30 books came out from under her pen.

Picoult's novels have been translated into 34 languages, and some of them have been made into films.

Two books co-written with the writer's daughter Samantha Van Leer have been adapted and remastered into the musical Between the Lines, which premiered in September 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

“There was a pulling feeling under the white cloth, I sharply sucked in air into my lungs, turning my head to the side.

And at that moment I saw: a close-up of the twenty-seventh week, seven broken bones, limbs curled up like fern leaves.

“Something terrible has already happened,” I thought.

And then you started crying, even though you were lifted up like you were made of cotton candy.

But it wasn't the shrill, clear cry of a newborn.

You screamed like you were being torn apart.

"Be careful," Dr. Del Sol told the nurse.

You have to keep it all...

Something cracked like a bubble burst, and against all odds, you screamed even harder.

- God!

- the nurse said on the verge of hysteria.

- Is it a fracture?

Did I do it?

I tried to look at you, but I could only make out the red line of the mouth and burning cheeks.

The team of doctors and nurses who gathered around couldn't comfort you.

Probably, until your very first cry, in the depths of my soul I believed that all ultrasounds, tests and diagnoses were erroneous.

  • © Azbuka-Atticus

TJ Klun, "Under the Whispering Door" ("Eksmo")

The new book by the best-selling author House in the Blue Sea and Song of the Wolf is a mystical philosophical parable about a tough and extremely unpleasant law firm owner who finds himself in extremely unusual conditions: at a crossroads between death and a transition to another world.

The Reaper has already taken him to the "Charon's Crossing" and the restless soul is trying to realize both his death and the meaning of existence of both his own and those around him, and also to understand what is there, behind the door that hides the transition.

“There were not many people at his funeral.

Wallace was unhappy with this.

He didn't have a clear idea of ​​how he got there.

For a moment, he looked at his body.

And then he blinked and found himself standing in front of a church whose doors were open and the bells were ringing.

The conspicuous sign that read IN MEMORY OF WALLACE PRICE was only confusing.

To be honest, he didn't like this sign.

Didn't like it at all.

Maybe someone at the church can explain to him what the hell is going on here.

He sat down on a bench near the entrance.

The church was everything he hated: it was pretentious, with large stained glass windows and several images of Jesus in various poses, testifying to pain and suffering, his hands were nailed to a cross that looked like it was made of stone.

Wallace was horrified that no one actually objected to seeing Christ's death throes.

No, he will never understand religion."

  • © Eksmo

Bonnie Garmus, "Chemistry Lessons" ("ABC-Atticus")

America in the 1960s.

The scientist-chemist, by coincidence, and not at all striving for this, becomes the host of a culinary show.

A year later, the program leads all possible ratings, and "Lizzie Candy" - Elizabeth Zott - turns into a real TV star.

“Cooking is chemistry,” she says.

And chemistry is life.

It gives us the opportunity to change everything, including ourselves.”

The heroine, in the company of her five-year-old daughter, a child prodigy, a neighbor, a producer, and a dog named Six-Thirty, who is not like a dog, arranges a real revolution in the "irrational society" surrounding her.

Chemistry Lessons is the captivating and witty debut novel by Bonnie Garmus, a copywriter and creative director who has worked in the fields of medicine, education and technology.

In the US, the novel was released in the spring of 2022 and became a bestseller: the book was translated into 39 languages, and the story of the main character is being prepared for film adaptation.

The role of Elizabeth Zott will be played by Brie Larson (“Captain Marvel”), and the company will be made up of Lewis Pullman (“The Time Between Us”) and Beau Bridges (“Stargate: The Ark of Truth”).

The author of the book focuses on the story of a truly strong and purposeful woman and her life, full of both funny moments and overtly dramatic ones.

The narrative is diluted with bright inserts of episodes in which the leading role is given to the daughter of the main character - Madeleine.

A smart girl beyond her years is looking for Nabokov and Norman Mailer in the school library, then she is building her own family tree, which looks quite exotic.

It has room for five minutes to five Nobel laureate in chemistry Calvin Evans, a grandmother hiding from the tax authorities in Brazil, and a grandfather who tried on a striped prison uniform.

"Don't worry, Six, your diagnosis is happiness," Four explained.

- When is the wedding?

But here there was one snag.

Elizabeth made it clear that she was not going to get married.

“Don't think that I condemn the institution of marriage, Calvin,” she said, “even though I condemn everyone who condemns our relationship with you.

Don't you agree?

“I agree,” Calvin replied, and he himself thought that more than anything in the world he would like to say this before the altar.

But when she looked at him with an expectant look, demanding details, he hastened to clarify:

I agree that you and I are very lucky.

And then she smiled at him so openly that his brain exploded.

As soon as they said goodbye, he drove to the nearest jewelry store and combed through all the departments to find the largest of the small diamonds that he could afford.

For three months, he anxiously groped in his pocket for a miniature box, waiting for the right moment.

  • © Atticus

Emily St. John Mandel, Sea of ​​Tranquility (Eksmo)

The Sea of ​​Tranquility is a new book by the modern science fiction master and author of The Glass Hotel and Station Eleven.

The action of the new work takes place in several timelines from 1912 to 2401.

The events of each segment are filled with strange incidents, anomalies, and most importantly, they are connected by the sounds of the violin that the characters hear.

Detective Gasperi-Jacques Roberts, who works at the Institute of Time, travels back in time to investigate this strange chain, but finds only more mysteries and at some point wonders if his reality is a simulation?

Mandel's work is stylish, captivating and very profound, in the spirit of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.

“The first stop of the book tour was in New York City, where Olivia held autograph sessions at two bookstores, then found an hour stroll through Central Park before a dinner given in her honor by a chain store.

Sheep meadow at dusk: silvery light, wet leaves on the grass.

Low-flying aircraft swarmed in the sky, and in the distance, the lights of a cruise ship shot up like comets towards the colonies.

Olivia paused for a moment to get her bearings, then headed towards the ancient double silhouette of the Dakota.

Behind it rose a hundred-story towers.

At the Dakota, Olivia was waiting for a new advertising agent, Aretta, who was in charge of organizing all events in the Atlantic Republic.

Aretta was a little younger than Olivia, and her deference annoyed Olivia.

When Olivia entered the lobby, Aretta quickly stood up and the hologram of who she was talking to went out."

  • © Eksmo