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From the neglected mother whose side-hustle becomes an obsession, to the schoolboy determined to end a long-standing feud, the characters in The Book of Shanghai show a defiance that reminds us why Shanghai - despite its hurtling economic growth - remains an epicentre for individual creativity.

The stories gathered in this anthology reflect the many complex challenges Havana's citizens have had to endure as a result of their country s political isolation from the hardships of the 'Special Period', to the pitfalls of Cuba s schizophrenic currency system, to the indignities of becoming a cheap tourist destination for well-heeled Westerners. Moving through various moments in its recent history, as well as through different neighbourhoods from the prefab, Soviet-era maze of Alamar, to the bars and nightclubs of the Malecon and Vedado these stories also demonstrate the defiance of Havana: surviving decades of economic disappointment with a flair for the comic, the surreal and the fantastical that remains as fresh as the first dreams of revolution.

The latest edition to Comma's popular Reading the City series. Ten short stories by ten Bristolian writers.

Bringing together fiction from celebrated writers, The Book of Barcelona is an anthology of short stories charting the social and and cultural change of Barcelona over the last fifty years, creating a literary map of the city.

Iceland is a land of stories; from the epic sagas of its mythic past, to its claim today of being home to more writers than anywhere in the world. Reykjavik, a fishing-village-turned-metropolis, has been both revered and reviled by Icelanders, with tension rising between the city and the surrounding countryside, its rural past and urban present.

Ramallah, the de facto capital of the West Bank, hemmed in and suffocated by the Occupation as the Oslo Peace Accords have failed. The stories collected here showcase the resilience and humour of its people, who continue to live through countless sieges, and yet still find the time, and resourcefulness, to create.

Bringing together fiction from celebrated writers, The Book of Venice is an anthology of short stories charting the social and and cultural change of Venice over the last fifty years, creating a literary map of the city.

Traversing the different neighbourhoods and districts, the stories gathered here attempt to capture the essence of contemporary Jakarta and its writing, as well as the ever-changing landscape of the fastest-sinking city in the world.

The Book of Newcastle brings together some of the city's most renowned literary talents, along with exciting new voices, proving that while Newcastle continues to feel the effects of its lost industrial past, it is also a city striving for a future that brims with promise.

Bringing together new short stories by ten of the city's most celebrated writers. From young creatives and refugees, to scrap metal collectors and student radicals, these stories offer ten different look-out points from which to gaze down on the ever-changing face of the 'Steel City'.

The Book of Tbilisi brings together ten short stories written about and from the Georgian capital, showcasing the work of some of the country's most exciting and decorated contemporary writers.

Riga may be over 800 years old as a city, but its status as capital of an independent Latvia is only a century old. The stories gathered here chronicle this growth and on-going transformation, and offer glimpses into the dark humour, rich history and love of the mythic, that sets the city apart.

Set against key moments of history - from Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick in 1965, to the Handsworth riots two decades later and the on-going tensions between communities in recent years - these stories celebrate the cultural dynamism that makes this complex, often divided `second city' far more than just the sum of its parts.

Just like Dhaka itself, these stories thrive on the rich interplay between folk culture and high art; they both cherish and lampoon the city's great tradition of political protest, and they pay tribute to a nation that was borne out of a love of language, one language in particular, Bangla (from which all these stories have been translated).

This anthology brings together some of the pioneers of the Gazan short story, as well as younger exponents of the form, with ten stories that offer glimpses of life in the Strip that go beyond the global media headlines; stories of anxiety, oppression, and violence, but also of resilience and hope, and of what it means to be a Palestinian today.

This anthology brings together ten short stories that go beyond the postcards and snapshots, and introduce us to real residents of Rio - young dancers training to be the next stars of samba, exhausted labourers press-ganged into meeting an impossible deadline, nostalgic drag queens... that make Rio the 'marvellous city' it is.

Bringing together fiction from some of the city's most celebrated writers, The Book of Liverpool traces the unique contours that decades of social and economic change can impress on a city. Part of the Reading the City series.

A unique anthology of ten stories set in the dazzling metropolis of contemporary Tokyo, translated into English for the first time.