Bone China - Hardcover

Tearne, Roma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007240732 ISBN 13: 9780007240739

Publisher: HarperPress, 2008

Synopsis

An epic novel of love, loss and a family uprooted, set in the contrasting landscapes of war-torn Sri Lanka and immigrant London.

Grace de Silva, wife of the shiftless but charming Aloysius, has five children and a crumbling marriage. Her eldest son, Jacob, wants desperately to go to England. Thornton, the most beautiful of all the children and his mother’s favourite, dreams of becoming a poet. Alicia wants to be a concert pianist. Only Frieda has no ambition, other than to remain close to her family. But civil unrest is stirring in Sri Lanka and Christopher, the youngest and the rebel of the family, is soon caught up in the tragedy that follows.

As the decade unfolds against a backdrop of increasing ethnic violence, Grace watches helplessly as the life she knows begins to crumble. Slowly, this once happy family is torn apart as four of her children each make the decision to leave their home.

In London, the de Silvas are all, in their different ways, desperately homesick. Caught in a cultural clash between East and West, life is not as they expected. Only Thornton’s daughter, Meeka, moves confidently into a world that is full of possibilities. But nothing is as easy as it seems and she must overcome heartbreak, a terrible mistake and single parenthood before she is finally able to see the extraordinary effects of history on her family’s migration.

About this title

About the Author

Roma Tearne fled Sri Lanka at the age of ten, travelling to Britain where she has spent most of her life. She gained her Master’s degree at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, and was Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. She is currently the holder of an Arts and Humanities Research Council fellowship in the visual arts. Her first novel, “Mosquito”, was published in 2007. She lives and works in Oxford.

From the Back Cover

Grace de Silva, wife of the shiftless but charming Aloysius, has five children and a crumbling marriage. Her eldest son, Jacob, wants desperately to go to England. He hates his island home. Thornton, the most beautiful of all the children and his mother’s favourite, dreams of becoming a poet. Alicia wants to be a concert pianist. Only Frieda has no ambition, other than to remain close to her family. But civil unrest is stirring in Sri Lanka and Christopher, the youngest and the rebel of the family, is soon caught up in the tragedy that follows.

As the decade unfolds against a backdrop of increasing ethnic violence, Grace watches helplessly as the life she knows begins to crumble. Slowly, this once happy family is torn apart as four of her children each make the decision to leave their home.

In London, the de Silvas are all, in their different ways, desperately homesick. Caught in a cultural clash between East and West, life is not as they expected. Only Thornton’s daughter, Meeka, moves confidently into a world that is full of possibilities. But nothing is as easy as it seems and she must overcome heartbreak, a terrible mistake and single parenthood before she is finally able to see the extraordinary effects of history on her family’s migration. Only then can she acknowledge the place she has come from and the person she has become.

Like Andrea Levy’s ‘Small Island’, ‘Bone China’ is a compelling story brought vividly to life through unforgettable characters.

From the Inside Flap

Grace de Silver, wife of the shiftless but calming Aloysius, has five children and a crumbling marriage. Her oldest son, Jacob, wants desperately to go to England. Thornton, the most beautiful of all the children, and his mothers favourite, dreams of becoming a poet. Alicia wants to be a concert pianist. Only Frieda has no ambition except to remain close to her family. But civil unrest is stirring in Sri Lanka and Christopher, the youngest and the rebel of the family, is caught up in the tragedy that follows.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperPress
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007240732
• ISBN 13: 9780007240739
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416