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What he doesn't know yet is that when he meets ill-tempered, reclusive widower Mr Peterson, he'll make an unlikely friend. Someone who tells him that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make the best possible choices. So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at Dover customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing.  A tale of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey, Alex's story treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears.  And it might just strike you as one of the funniest, most heartbreaking novels you've ever read.","brand":"smeikalbooks","offers":[{"title":"New - Paperback","offer_id":1218615640075,"sku":"9781444765892N","price":5.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2481\/5790\/products\/getImage_924845db-ff1b-4140-9df3-4ac5e2dadfb1.jpg?v=1510786165"},{"product_id":"return-to-mandalay","title":"Return to Mandalay","description":"Eva Gatsby has often wondered about her grandfather Lawrence's past, and exactly what happened to him in Burma during the Second World War. But it is only when Eva's job as an antiques dealer suddenly requires a trip to Mandalay that Lawrence finally breaks his silence and asks her to return a mysterious artefact of his own - a chinthe - to its rightful owner. 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Delicious.\n\n\nReview\n\n\n\" This is one of those special novels--a piece of working magic, warm, funny, and san--that you just want to ride off into the sunset with.\" --Thomas Pynchon\n\" The best fiction, so far, to come out of the American counterculture.\" --\"Chicago Tribune Book World\"\n\n\"This is one of those special novels--a piece of working magic, warm, funny, and san--that you just want to ride off into the sunset with.\"-Thomas Pynchon\n\"The best fiction, so far, to come out of the American counterculture.\"--\"Chicago Tribune Book World\n\"\"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues comes as a magical gift, a brilliant affirmation of private visions and private wishes and their power to transform life and death.\" --\"The Nation\n\"\n\n\nSynopsis \n\n\nStarring Sissy Hanshaw - flawlessly beautiful, almost. 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He is the author of six other novels including Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates and Still Life with Woodpecker.","brand":"smeikalbooks","offers":[{"title":"New - Paperback","offer_id":1223892566027,"sku":"9781842430248N","price":7.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2481\/5790\/products\/getImage_701aa82d-abc9-4908-9593-fcf64feee2fa.jpg?v=1510794605"},{"product_id":"robbins-still-life-with-woodpecker","title":"Still Life With Woodpecker","description":"\n\n\nReissue of one of Robbins's best-loved books which has been a bestseller since first publication.\n\n\nReview\n\n\n\"Robbins's comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.--\"People\n\"\n\n“Robbins’s comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.—\"People\n\"\n\n\nSynopsis \n\n\nStill Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.\n\n\nFrom the Inside Flap\n\n\n\"Still Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.\n\n\nFrom the Back Cover\n\n\nStill Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.\n\n\nAuthor Bio\n\n\nTom Robbins has been called \"a vital natural resource\" by The Portland Oregonian, \"one of the wildest and most entertalning novelists in the world\" by the FT, and \"the most dangerous writer in the world today\" by Fernanda Pivano of Italy's Corriere della Sera. A Southerner by birth, Robbins has lived in and around Seattle since 1962. He is the author of six other novels including Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates and Another Roadside Attraction.","brand":"smeikalbooks","offers":[{"title":"New - null","offer_id":12657477353557,"sku":"9781842430224N","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2481\/5790\/products\/9781842430224.jpg?v=1655286343"},{"product_id":"mccall-smith-novel-habits-of-happiness-isabel-dalhousie-novels","title":"McCall Smith: Novel Habits of Happiness (Isabel Dalhousie Novels)","description":"Isabel Dalhousie is one of Edinburgh's most generous (but discreet) philanthropists - but should she be more charitable?  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She welcomes Angie with open arms - it's time to unburden herself, and tell the story she'll otherwise take to her grave.\n\nIt's the story of the Nazi occupation of Crete during the Second World War, of horror, of courage and of the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her children. And it's the story of bitter secrets that broke a family apart, and of three enchanting women who come together to heal wounds that have damaged two generations.\n\nWhat readers are saying about Island of Secrets:\n\n'Island of Secrets is a book full of raw emotions, family vendettas, hidden secrets and three very strong women. It's a book I enjoyed very much and one which fans of Victoria Hislop and Debbie Rix are sure to enjoy' (NetGalley Reviewer)\n\n'So well written and utterly heartbreaking . . . a story that needs to be told' (NetGalley Reviewer)\n\n'Page-turning, enthralling and heartbreaking by turns'\n\n'Made me laugh and cry, just couldn't put this book down'\n\nReady for your next incredible read from Patricia Wilson? Villa of Secrets is available now. 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