Rasa Askinyte - The Easiest - Out May 1st 2017

We're excited about the launch of Rasa Askinyte's novel, 'The Easiest'. Our May 1st 2017.

Breathing into Marble - A beautifully told piece of literary fiction with a twist

A lovely review for Breathing into Marble by book blogger, SocialBookshelves.com

This book is different to almost anything else you’re likely to find. It’s a beautifully told piece of literary fiction that features a twist on the “boy meets girl” tale by subverting it into a “boy meets mum” story about an adopted kid with some mental health issues.

Translated into English from Lithuanian, the language in which the original piece was a bestseller, it’s almost like a modern day revival of Hemingway and Graham Greene, or even Burroughs or Kerouac.

Just as it is, it’s a very good book. But it’s made more impressive by the way that it translates so easily – the story itself could take place almost anywhere, and that alone makes it relatable. That’s boosted by the beauty of the language and the little thoughts that Laura’s characters have. It’s full of little observations that leave you nodding your head and smiling, and it’s also entertaining.

The Noir Press line-up for 2017

The Easiest – Rasa Askinyte

April 2017

Blanka lives on the first floor of a wooden house that can only be reached by climbing a painted ladder. She thinks this must be the reason why she never has any visitors. She spends most of her days in France. No, not the real France…

Rasa Askinyte has a degree in philosophy. She is the winner of the Book of the Year in Lithuania. Her novels are characterised by a light, ironical tone; a lightness that belies the darkness that lurks behind.

‘The analytical, scalpel-wielding Aškinytė has no peer in Lithuanian literature. She appeals to scholars as well as hipsters. And I mean that as a compliment.’ Emilija Visockaitė

ISBN 978-0995560017

Paperback

RRP £10

Shtetl Love Song – Grigory Kanovich

September 2017

Grigory Kanovich's autobiographical novel ‘Shtetl Love Song’ is based on real events from the life of the author's family and the small town characters that peopled the world of his early years. It has been described as being a requiem for the pre-war Lithuanian Jewish shtetl.

Grigory Kanovich, born 1929, is one of the most prominent modern Lithuanian Jewish writers, winner of Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts. Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava. He has written more than ten novels – a virtual epic saga – dealing with the vicissitudes of the history of Eastern European Jewry from the 19th century to the present day.

‘Probably the last link in the chain is Grigory Kanovich’ Tomas Venclova

ISBN 978-0-9955600-2-4

Paperback

RRP £12

The Music Teacher – Renata Serelyte

November 2017

A small town police investigator broods obsessively on her tragic love affair with her school music teacher. After the town is shaken by the murder of a teenage girl, the police investigator quickly finds that her ex-lover is her main suspect.

Shortlisted for the Lithuanian Book of the Year Award, The Music Teacher was made into a film in Lithuania.

ISBN 978-0-9955600-3-1

Paperback

RRP £10

Noir Press at States of Independence Book Fair

Noir Press is making an appearance at the independent book fair, States of Independence at De Montfort University, Leicester on the 11th March. As well as being another great opportunity to talk about Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite's Breathing into Marble, it will be an opportunity to talk about writing more generally in Lithuania. The talk is at 1pm.

Radio Nottingham promotes 'Lithuanian Noir'

Noir Press was given an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Lithuanian writing when invited by BBC Radio Nottingham to talk about Lithuanian Noir on their breakfast show.

Despite a late-night return from the Lithuanian Embassy, Noir got themselves out of bed and onto the radio to sing the praises of the writing of Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite.

Superb Review for Breathing into Marble

Breathing into Marble got a great review from the Nottingham Evening Post and a wonderful write up of the work that Noir Press is doing. Review Amy Wilcokson wrote of the novel, 

"The reader is drawn into Cerniauskaite's fractured world, and left alarmed by the dark, foreboding tone of the novel...I found it hard to put this book down as the level of suspense within the novel was so intense...Breathing into Marble's relatively short length of less than two hundred pages, means it is a quick, yet haunting read, which I would thoroughly recommend.'

To read more about Noir and the full review of Cerniauskaite's novel, click the picture below.

Breathing into Marble Launch at the Lithuanian Embassy London

Noir enjoyed a great evening at the Lithuanian Embassy in London, launching Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite's Breathing into Marble. The event was organised by the British Lithuanian Society and introduced by Simon Butt, ex-British Ambassador to Lithuania

http://www.britishlithuaniansociety.org.uk/

Noir Acquires New Novel

Noir is delighted to have secured the rights to Renata Serelyte's wonderful and dark novel, 'Vardas tamsoje' (A Name in the Dark). Vardas tamsoje was a Lithuanian Book of the Year shortlisted novel and was made into a film.