The Break

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Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her. He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in south-east Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it. Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet. However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge. For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns if he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman? Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she?

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Its 1997 and Cool Britannias in full swing. Oasis and Blur are top of the pops and it feels like the whole countrys sorted out for Es and wizz. But its not just UK plc thats on a high. Lifes looking up for Frankie James too. Hes paid off his debts to Londons fiercest gang lord, Tommy Riley. His Soho Open snooker tournament is about to kick off at his club. The future looks bright. But then Frankie finds himself being blackmailed by a face from his past. They want him to steal something worth millions. Its enough to get him killed. Or banged up for life if he says no. Frankies going to need every ounce of luck and guile that hes got if hes going to pull off the heist of the century and get out of this in one piece.

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As in his widely praised Fists, Pietro Grossi's The Break brings out the epic human drama in a tale of everyday life in his characteristically lucid, stripped-down prose. Dino is a placid, unambitious man. Living in a small provincial town, he and his wife spend their time planning journeys to faraway places - journeys they never take. Dino's only passion is billiards, and he spends his evenings in the local billiards hall honing his technique. One day, however, Dino's quiet life is interrupted: his wife is pregnant. This the first in a series of events that shake him from his slumber and force him to test himself for the first time. Translated from the Italian by award-winning translator Howard Curtis, Pietro Grossi's The Break echoes the styles of Hemingway, Salinger and is published by Pushkin Press 'Small and perfectly formed ... reaching its end leaves the reader desirous to start all over again' - Amanda Hopkinson, Independent 'Howard Curtis's translation moves with the swiftness of Dino's cueball' - Guardian Pietro Grossi, writer and translator, was born in 1978 in Florence and currently lives and works in Tuscany. His novel Fists is also available from Pushkin Press.

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The Break explodes into the gangland world of 90s Soho, by snooker world champion and national superstar, Ronnie O'Sullivan. It's 1997 and Cool Britannia's in full swing. Oasis and Blur are top of the pops and it feels like the whole country's sorted out for E's and wizz. But it's not just UK plc that's on a high. Life's looking up for Frankie James too. He's paid off his debts to London's fiercest gang lord, Tommy Riley. His Soho Open snooker tournament is about to kick off at his club. The future looks bright. But then Frankie finds himself being blackmailed by a face from his past. They want him to steal something worth millions. It's enough to get him killed. Or banged up for life if he says no. Frankie's going to need every ounce of luck and guile that he's got if he's going to pull off the heist of the century and get out of this in one piece.