Foreign Fruit - Hardcover

Moyes, Jojo

3.67

15,660 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 034081912X ISBN 13: 9780340819128

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003

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Merham is a well-ordered 1950s seaside town: the kind of town in which everyone knows their place (and those who don't are promptly put in it). Lottie Swift, an evacuee who has grown up with the respectable Holden family, loves Merham, while the Holdens' daughter Celia chafes against the constraints of the town.

When a group of bohemians takes over Arcadia, a stark Art Deco house on the seafront, the girls are as drawn to its temptations as Merham's citizens are appalled by them. They set in place a chain of events both within the Holden family and Merham itself which will have longstanding and tragic consequences for all concerned.

Now, almost fifty years on, Arcadia is returning to life, and its inhabitants stirring up strong feelings again. And prompting more than one person to look into their own romantic history and ask: Can you ever leave your past behind?

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Review:

If you like books that leave you feeling a little weepy once you've turned the final page then you'll love Jojo Moyes' second novel Foreign Fruit (her debut, Sheltering Sky, is equally appealing.) Set in Merham, a very English seaside town, it tells the stories of Lottie Swift and Daisy Parsons whose lives, upon arrival at the unremarkable town, are transformed.

The book opens in the 1950s with Lottie, an evacuee who's staying with the respectable Holden family and their daughter Celia, where "noise and suppressed hysteria" are the norm. Their small town ways are dramatically disrupted when Arcadia, the Art Deco house overlooking the sea, is taken over by a fast and Bohemian set where "nude painting and uncertain domestic situations" are the order of the day. Adeline, the Queen Bee in the set-up, declares that Lottie needs "to learn to dream". Good advice, except that her dream comes in the shape of Guy, the handsome son of a melon and banana importer. Lottie is instantly smitten, but Guy is engaged to Celia. Forbidden fruit, indeed.

Fast forward to the present and the perils of Daisy Parker. She's has been abandoned by her partner, is the new mother of a little baby, and has taken on the all-consuming project of renovating Arcadia for a businessman called Jones. The owner of the "ocean liner" house, has, up until recently been Lottie Swift. In a series of emotionally rewarding and devastating encounters secrets from the past and present are tantalisingly revealed. --Eithne Farry

Review:

'Moyes again proves herself a worthy successor to Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher with her second novel.' - Publishers Weekly

Believable characters, faithfully described scenery, horses and hounds, mud and mould, this is good, old-fashioned storytelling at its best. Destined to be a bestseller, the book has a beautifully designed cover and, once opened, it is almost impossible to stop reading (North Shore Times, Australia on Sheltering Rain)

'a wonderfully entertaining novel ... Moyes' descriptions are so perfect you can taste the salty sea air on your lips, smell the irresistible scent of fried fish and chips, and picture the beautiful Cecilia after she moves to the city and makes herself over as a glamour girl ... a big, entertaining read about life, love and the past always catching up on you.' Mercury (Hobart) (Mercury (Hobart))

The characters are strong, believable and endearing - and will evoke recognition and sympathy from all ages . . . An enjoyable read - and a promising debut novel (Sunday Express on Sheltering Rain)

Wonderful full-blooded traditional storytelling, but with a fresh slant (Sarah Harrison)

'a novel that irrevocably throbs with romance, intrigue and betrayal.' - Woman & Home

'Even if the sun isn't shining, this book will make you feel like it is . . .' - Good Housekeeping on Foreign Fruit

tender and touching (Ottakar's Fiction Newsletter)

Moyes evokes the strictures of time beautifully, as well as the enervating charms of a sleepy resort. (Good Housekeeping)

'Vivid, moving and absorbing' - Saffron Walden Reporter

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