The Miserables ~ Damien Wilkins

‘Fiction’s highest accomplishment is, I
think, the power to mix character and
incident in such a way as to virtually
bond them forever. Its most difficult
accomplishment is to do this without
using a single villain, to find, I mean,
everyone’s essential humanity. In The
Miserables Damien Wilkins strikes off
the decency of each of his characters in
lines at once so sharp and beautiful and
clear the reader feels as if he’s in a
gallery of fine paintings. 1 liked the
book so much I was jealous.’
—Stanley Elkin

The first novel from one of our most
acclaimed young writers, author of
The Veteran Perils and The Idles.
$24.95

All the Nice Girls ~ Barbara Anderson

All the Nice Girls is set in and around
the Devonport naval base in the winter
of 1962. Sophie Flynn’s life is becoming
alarmingly complicated. While her
husband is at sea, her friendship with
the Commodore develops. At the same
time she takes home an elderly, infirm
neighbour. When Lieutenant Com-
mander Flynn returns, Sophie has to
juggle loves and loyalties against
society’s expectations. As the mood
darkens, the plot accelerates, bringing
Sophie finally to a new beginning.

Readers of the best-selling Portrait
of the Artist’s Wife will revel in All the
Nice Girls. Anderson’s comic timing has
never been surer, while her insights into
human behaviour are moving and true.
$24.95

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
15 MOUNT ST, PO BOX 600, WELLINGTON