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Village Books

£6.8£13.60Clearance
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About this deal

The best novels with a village at their heart will play with our assumptions about village life and not make even the most gossipy old woman a cliche. Here are some of my favourites.

Village Books is a long-established, award-winning independent bookshop that started life in the 1930’s as the Gallery Bookshop and Lending Library. Village is on 131 Oldham Street (M4 1LN) in the Northern Quarter. We are open seven days a week from around midday to about 6ish. At the moment our main gallery is in Leeds but we do have a small exhibition/event space within the Manchester shop. We predominantly focus on events around a publication, whether that be an exhibition which works as an extension of a publication, an exhibition where a book is made from the work shown or simply the launch of a publication.Most likely set in a similar period to The Western Wind, Harvest somehow manages to be timeless. It’s the week following the harvest and this unnamed feudal English village continues to follow its centuries-old rites and rhythms. But two columns of smoke are seen, and when three strangers appear, it is clear that change is coming. The story is narrated by outsider, Walter Thirsk, which gives us an interesting perspective on village life. There are immersive and evocative descriptions of nature, and a plot that surprises. Three anthropologists meet by chance and spend time together studying native tribes in New Guinea. While professionally they come up with “the grid” as a way of explaining cultures and people, personally they create havoc – not only among the Tam, an artistic and female-led tribe, but also among themselves. Nell is inspired by the anthropologist Margaret Mead, and though her methods of study might be outdated now, it is fascinating to see the effect she and the others have on the villagers they purport to only be observing.

Quite simply we have always loved Manchester and wanted to contribute a diverse range of contemporary printed matter to its already brilliant creative community. Why the name ‘Village’? Achebe writes his characters, no matter how reprehensible, without judgment – letting the reader decide. Though really there is no decision to make: Okonkwo, the greatest wrestler across nine villages in Nigeria in the 1890s, is a man who regularly mistreats his wives and children, but when a white man comes on a bicycle and many more follow, they are even more brutal. Though the women in this novel are not the main characters, their daily duties, together with the village rituals, will keep you captivated.

Lampoon #28

My current favourites in the shop are Barcelona-based interiors magazine Apartamento and Chance Encounters in the Valley of Lights, the recent title from Mancunian photographer Rik Moran. It tells the story of an unsolved extraterrestrial case in Todmorden during the 1980s. Village Books is also a not-for-profit gallery space. Do you have any events coming up in the new year?

We spoke to Joe at Village Books to find out more about the shop and what they sell: Can you tell me a little bit about the type of books and magazines Village sells? We’ve got a busy programme of author events – in the last year we’ve welcomed novelists, historians, actors, famous cooks and children’s writers.While this is the first Miss Marple novel, the investigation of the murder is actually led by the vicar. There’s lots of English village life from the 1920s to enjoy (or be horrified by): “the poor”, “the village cats” (old gossiping women), and tennis-playing girls. Of course, it is the witty spinster who declares that there are seven suspects in St Mary Mead, and who solves the crime while the vicar and the police lag several steps behind. We aim to be an integral part of the community by offering a first-class service to local schools and we have many years’ experience in this field. More information can be found here. We are all about bringing people together and sharing ideas. Community is at the core of what we do so the name Village felt like a suitable fit. Where can Village Books be found (in Manchester) and what are the opening hours? Run by Hazel Broadfoot with our stalwart team of Tracey, Hannah, Olivia, Harriet, James and Lyndsey Ng heading up our events programme.

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