Sam Taylor

''Lyrical and profound, delving into the depths of human connection. You will cry.''GLAMOUR''Impressive . . . it gripped my heart and imagination.''JO BROWNING WROE''Intriguing . . . there is also significant charm and energy.''GUARDIAN''Compulsive, electrifying.''SPECTATOROne man, one choice, two lifetimes.In one unforgettable night, thirteen-year-old Max Spiegelman’s life splits in two. As Max sleeps, a house fire creeps through his parents’ shop. Woken by smoke, Max manages to escape – orphaned, disfigured and adopted by an Aryan family who change his identity and his prospects.But when he awakes a second time to smoke, he finds he has the chance to save his parents and escape unharmed, facing life as a Jew in 1930s Austria.In each parallel universe, he is haunted by visions of what could have been. But in both worlds, he and his alter ego share a love with an enchanting, grey-eyed girl. . . READERS ADORE THE TWO LOVES OF SOPHIE STROM:''More than once moved me to tears.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''One of my top reads of the year.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Incredible! Thought-provoking, compelling and deeply moving.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Absolutely blew me away . . . I cannot recommend this book enough.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Eye-opening and thoroughly enjoyable.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''I found myself wishing that the story would not end.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of the funniest, most riotously inventive and enjoyable novels you'll read this year' - Observer Roland Barthes is knocked down in a Paris street by a laundry van. It's February 1980 and he has just come from lunch with Francois Mitterrand. Barthes dies soon afterwards. History tells us it was an accident. But what if it were an assassination? What if Barthes was carrying a document of unbelievable, global importance? A document explaining the seventh function of language - an idea so powerful it gives whoever masters it the ability to convince anyone, in any situation, to do anything. Police Captain Jacques Bayard and his reluctant accomplice Simon Herzog set off on a chase that takes them from the corridors of power to backstreet saunas and midnight meetings. What they discover is a worldwide conspiracy involving the President, murderous Bulgarians and a secret international debating society.