Tearne, Roma Brixton Beach ISBN 13: 9780007301553

Brixton Beach - Softcover

9780007301553: Brixton Beach
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Opening dramatically with the horrors of the 2005 London bombings, this is the profoundly moving story of a country on the brink of civil war and a child's struggle to come to terms with loss.

London. On a bright July morning a series of bombs bring the capital to a halt. Simon Swann, a medic from one of the large teaching hospitals, is searching frantically amongst the chaos and the rubble. All around police sirens and ambulances are screaming but Simon does not hear. He is out of breath because he has been running, and he is distraught. But who is he looking for?

To find out we have first to go back thirty years to a small island in the Indian Ocean where a little girl named Alice Fonseka is learning to ride a bicycle on the beach. The island is Sri Lanka, with its community on the brink of civil war. Alice's life is about to change forever. Soon she will have to leave for England, abandoning her beloved grandfather, and accompanied by her mother Sita, a woman broken by a series of terrible events.

In London, Alice grows into womanhood. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she has a son. Slowly she fulfils her grandfather's prophecy and becomes an artist. Eventually she finds true love. But London in the twenty first century is a mass of migration and suspicion. The war on terror has begun and everyone, even Simon Swann, middle class, rational, medic that he is, will be caught up in this war in the most unexpected and terrible way.

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Review:

'Prose so lush it appeals to every sense, the pages are suffused with the scents and tastes, ring with the sounds of Sri Lanka and South London... Roma Tearne is an exquisite writer and captivating storyteller, such that the reader is endlessly torn between the desire to linger and the urge to turn the page to see where she will take us next.' Aminatta Forna

Synopsis:
The stunning, shocking and compelling new novel from the author of 'Mosquito' and 'Bone China'. Alice Fonseka's idyllic Sri Lankan childhood is blown apart when her mother is deliberately abandoned in labour by her doctor, for racist reasons. Alice's little sister is stillborn and the family realise that they must leave Sri Lanka for England. Her parents' marriage comes under unbearable strain and her father leaves Sri Lanka to find a job and send for his family later. In the meantime, Alice stays with her grandparents, and her mother, as the political situation in Sri Lanka worsens and the threat comes ever closer. Finally escaping the country, eleven-year-old Alice knows that nothing will ever be the same again. 'Brixton Beach' is the moving and compulsively readable story of a country torn apart by civil war and a child's struggle to come to terms with her losses -- intertwined with the political and cultural state of England today. Culminating in the July 7th bombings of 2005, this beautifully written and compelling novel grips on every level.

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  • PublisherWilliam Collins
  • Publication date2009
  • ISBN 10 0007301553
  • ISBN 13 9780007301553
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages432
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Book Description Paperback. Opening dramatically with the horrors of the 2005 London bombings, this is the profoundly moving story of a country on the brink of civil war and a child's struggle to come to terms with loss. London. On a bright July morning a series of bombs bring the capital to a halt. Simon Swann, a medic from one of the large teaching hospitals, is searching frantically amongst the chaos and the rubble. All around police sirens and ambulances are screaming but Simon does not hear. He is out of breath because he has been running, and he is distraught. But who is he looking for? To find out we have first to go back thirty years to a small island in the Indian Ocean where a little girl named Alice Fonseka is learning to ride a bicycle on the beach. The island is Sri Lanka, with its community on the brink of civil war. Alice's life is about to change forever. Soon she will have to leave for England, abandoning her beloved grandfather, and accompanied by her mother Sita, a woman broken by a series of terrible events. In London, Alice grows into womanhood. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she has a son. Slowly she fulfils her grandfather's prophecy and becomes an artist. Eventually she finds true love. But London in the twenty first century is a mass of migration and suspicion. The war on terror has begun and everyone, even Simon Swann, middle class, rational, medic that he is, will be caught up in this war in the most unexpected and terrible way. This is a used book in fair condition, meaning a worn but fully readable copy; it may be scuffed, have rips or marks, contain highlighted passages and annotations, or be missing its dust jacket.Most of our images are sourced automatically, so the book cover shown might be different to the edition we have in stock. Seller Inventory # 16608802

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