The Vexations

This "enthralling" debut novel and Wall Street Journal Top Ten Book of the Year circles the life of eccentric composer Erik Satie in La Belle Époque Paris and examines love, family, genius, and the madness of art (New York Times Book Review). Erik Satie begins life with every possible advantage. But after the dual blows of his mother's early death and his father's breakdown upend his childhood, Erik and his younger siblings -- Louise and Conrad -- are scattered. Later, as an ambitious young composer, Erik flings himself into the Parisian art scene, aiming for greatness but achieving only notoriety. As the years, then decades, pass, he alienates those in his circle as often as he inspires them, lashing out at friends and lovers like Claude Debussy and Suzanne Valadon. Only Louise and Conrad are steadfast allies. Together they strive to maintain their faith in their brother's talent and hold fast the badly frayed threads of family. But in a journey that will take her from Normandy to Paris to Argentina, Louise is rocked by a severe loss that ultimately forces her into a reckoning with how Erik -- obsessed with his art and hungry for fame -- will never be the brother she's wished for. With her buoyant, vivid reimagination of an iconic artist's eventful life, Caitlin Horrocks has written a captivating and ceaselessly entertaining novel about the tenacious bonds of family and the costs of greatness, both to ourselves and to those we love.

Now available in paperback A major art historian reflects on a great tradition of European painting. "The Vexations of Art is an engrossing, passionate attempt to re-engage with painting as a mode of thought at a time when 'it is not clear in what form the resource of painting?for surely painting has been a singular resource of the greater European culture?will continue."?Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times "[A] fascinating book that will surely generate discussion for some time to come."?Mindy Nancarrow, Renaissance Quarterly

A hot springs whodunit! As the Imperial Capital recovers from the rebellion stoked by Inverse Moon, Komari learns that an honors student from the Mulnite Military Academy will be joining her unit as an officer. Esther Claire is kind, considerate, and very excited to be working under the commander she idolizes...but can a straitlaced girl like her really gain the respect of the Seventh Unit’s unruly rank and file? Meanwhile, Komari’s friends meet in secret to plan her birthday celebration at a hot springs resort in Esther’s hometown. But shortly after everyone arrives, a blizzard puts the hotel on lockdown, and a murderer starts killing off the guests one by one! Does Komari have what it takes to find the culprit before she meets a grisly end?

Things are finally starting to settle down for Komari after her hectic trip to the Heavenly Paradise. That is until Pope Julius VI, supreme leader of the Scared Church, shows up at the entrance to Mulnite Palace one day! And if the arrival of an important geopolitical figure wasn’t stressful enough, the Empress is nowhere to be found! Now it falls to Komari to tide things over with the guest of honor until someone can locate Mulnite’s missing Empress...

Fresh off her success in the Six Nations War, Komari is invited to the Heavenly Paradise, a Far Eastern nation where cherry blossoms dance in perpetuity. There, she learns that one of her new allies, Karla Amatsu, is participating against her will in a weeklong ritual to determine the next ruler of the country. Always looking to shirk her duties, Komari writes the whole thing off as someone else’s problem...until Karla announces that the vampire girl will be assisting her in a battle to the death against the opposing candidate on the final day of the competition! But with multiple foreign parties attempting to influence the outcome of the proceedings and a terrorist plot developing in the background, can these two reluctant commanders really come out on top?!

Can a murderer be a pacifist? Komari has finally earned a vacation, and she’s soaking it all in at a beach resort. That’s when Nelia Cunningham, a commander from the Gerra-Aruka Republic, appears before her with an outrageous proposal: Together, they’ll take over the world. At the same time, a commander from the Heavenly Paradise named Karla Amatsu shows up and offers Komari the exact opposite proposition: Together, they’ll usher in world peace. Before long, the two nations’ clashing agendas drag the whole world into war! Rudely pulled from her summer holiday, Komari holds the key to the conflict in her hands. Without it, the war may never end.

This means war! When Komari unintentionally disrespects one of her fellow Crimson Lords, Flöte Mascarail, things escalate until she finds herself pitted against the other generals in a deadly competition where the loser gets fired (read: blown up).Though most of her opponents are as tough as nails, Komari finds an unlikely ally in Sakuna Memoir, a newly appointed Crimson Lord who shares both her timidity and love of reading. If only Vill weren’t so jealous! But while all this is playing out, a sinister plot involving the assassination of key politicians in the Empire brews. With so much going on, will this shut-in vampire ever get a moment’s peace?!

After returning from her hot springs vacation, Terakomari is immediately thrust into another crisis when Lingzi Ailan, princess of the Enchanted Lands, shows up at the Mulnite Palace begging for help. According to Lingzi, the Grand Chancellor of the Enchanted Lands is in the process of overthrowing the current ruler, and he’s forcing her to marry him to solidify his grasp on power. Sympathetic to Lingzi’s plight, Komari agrees to travel to the Enchanted Lands to help the girl break off her marriage. But in the background of the Grand Chancellor’s coup, something even more terrifying is brewing...