Building Waves

It is the early eighties, and the housing industry is booming. Previously unpopulated mountainous areas of the Japanese countryside are being leveled to accommodate new waves of people. Similarly, a new wave of feminism, particularly a change in attitudes toward marriage and child-rearing, is growing among the women of Japan. Both the physical and social landscapes are in flux. In her early forties, married, and childless by choice, Kyoko has no compunction about getting what she wants. But when she begins a relationship with a man who is as traditional and conformist as they come, the result is at times uncomfortable, at others comical, but ultimately fatal. Beautifully written by Taeko Tomioka, a renowned poet, Building Waves is often droll in tone, but always touching in its portrayal of a culture divided, and ultimately swept away, by ferocious waves of change. Ever wasted hours debating your 'All Time England XI'? Well now it's 2022 and the discussion is finally over, England have eleven players as good as any of them. The unbeatable national team have reached the final of the Qatar World Cup. But one journalist is convinced there is a scandalous secret behind England's incredible form. His lifetime's dream is to see the Three Lions win the World Cup. But if he pursues and exposes the shocking truth, his beloved England could be sent home in disgrace. Suddenly this is much more than England vs Germany; it's Love vs Duty, it's Truth vs Happiness. The pressure of the penalty shoot-out is nothing compared to this. There's Only Two David Beckhams is John O'Farrell's love-letter to football; part-detective story, part-sports memoir, part-satire on the whole corrupt FIFA circus; it just made the final for the funniest football fiction ever written .. Re-live the glory and the heartache of England's greatest ever game - and THAT World Cup Final back in 2022.Well now it's 2022 and the discussion is finally over, England have eleven players as good as any of them. it's Love vs Duty, it's Truth vs Happiness.