Our Favourite Fitzcarraldo Editions

Recommendations18th June 2024

For this year's Independent Bookshop Week celebrations, we're partnering with the independent London-based publisher Fitzcarraldo Editions. Founded 10 years ago, they have become well-known for publishing inventive and dynamic fiction and essays both in English and in translation, including multiple Nobel Prize in Literature laureates. We asked our booksellers to choose their favourite of the iconic blue and white titles – see their choices below.

The Years – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE cover

The Years – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

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Published: 20th Oct '22

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

Cold Enough for Snow cover

Cold Enough for Snow

A very moving and calm novel, Cold Enough For Snow follows a mother and daughter as they travel to and visit Tokyo in the autumn. Between sightseeing, sharing meals, and observing modern art, they discuss many things like family and memory. But who is the narrator of this powerfully slim novel? The mother, or the daughter? This is a beautiful novel about the multitudes of love, as well as complexities of human relationships. I felt like I was experiencing Tokyo too.

Jenna

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Published: 23rd Feb '22

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

Paradais cover

Paradais

Melchor's prose is cloying and unforgiving. Despite its short length, Paradais is thrilling and terrifying with its heady, ever-present threat of violence hanging overhead. With two misfit teenagers at its centre, this critical exploration of masculinity and Mexican society is grim and necessary.

Kira

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Published: 23rd Mar '22

Format: Paperback

Price: £10.99

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead cover

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

One of my favourite novels in recent years, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead follows the reclusive Janina who lives in a remote Polish village but soon becomes involved in the investigation of various murders. Tokarczuk subverts the crime genre to explore ideas of animal rights, aging, madness and death, creating an atmosphere veiled in mystery through her references to astrology and the poetry of William Blake. Such a unique and vivid story that is so compelling and memorable.

Lily

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Published: 18th Oct '19

Format: Paperback

Price: £8.99

The Plague cover

The Plague

I know not everyone will hear the words "book about the pandemic" and rush towards it. And I do understand. But the toll of the pandemic still exerts itself upon the collective psyche, and not to interrogate its effects is to deny a very real grief. Rose's essays probe the reality of the last few years with an astounding clarity; and her driving purpose, to dive beneath what has been repressed, is not only searingly political, but also animates what she describes in the book as a "philosophy of grief."

Marc

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Published: 7th Jun '23

Format: Paperback

Price: £12.99

London Feeds Itself cover

London Feeds Itself

Originally published by Open City and now a Fitzcarraldo title, this collection explores London's true food culture by escaping the tourist traps and high end restaurants of an undeniably gentrifying city and revealing the places that exist in the margins from community centres to allotments, church cafes to Desi pubs. Each essay, accompanied by beautiful photography, encourages us to notice and take seriously the spaces that exist around us already and to value connection and community above novelty and exclusivity.

Molly

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Published: 12th Mar '24

Format: Paperback

Price: £25.00

Minor Detail cover

Minor Detail

Minor Detail is the story of two women erased by history. The first, in 1949 Palestine, is captured by soldiers and, after being raped and murdered, is discarded in the desert. Years later, a young woman from Ramallah, due to a coincidence, catches wind of this incident, and puts her life on pause to find out everything she can about it. Through her dispassionate eyes, we see the checkpoints and bureaucracy, as well as the violence, that threatened Palestinian's everyday life. A poignant, haunting read.

Ness

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Published: 6th May '20

Format: Paperback

Price: £10.99

What Is Mine cover

What Is Mine

In What is Mine, Bortoluci conducts a series of interviews with his father, tracing his life as a truck driver in Brazil from the 1960s to the 2010s. Tender yet incisive, this examination expertly weaves the story of one man's life set against the backdrop of Brazil's recent history. With reflections on labour, class, capitalism and familial relationships, Bortoluci makes a brilliant case for the importance of witnessing a life.

Selena

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Published: 2nd May '24

Format: Paperback

Price: £10.99

A Woman's Story – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE cover

A Woman's Story – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

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Published: 10th Apr '24

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

Alphabetical Diaries cover

Alphabetical Diaries

It seems that great minds really do think alike as several of my colleagues chose my Fitzcarraldo favourites before I did! That being said, I am excited to read Alphabetical Diaries soon as I absolutely loved hearing about the editing process behind this innovative book at the event we hosted with Sheila Heti back in May. She is scaling new heights with form and I'm intrigued.

Euan

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Published: 6th Feb '24

Format: Paperback

Price: £10.99