26a - Hardcover

Evans, Diana

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701177969 ISBN 13: 9780701177966

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2005

Synopsis

Identical twins, Georgia and Bessi, live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing, the twins prepare for a flapjack empire, while baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk for Michael Jackson. It is when the reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give way. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude, and which of them will be stronger? Wickedly funny and devastatingly moving, 26a is an extraordinary first novel. Part fairytale, part nightmare, it moves from the mundane to the magical, the particular to the universal with exceptional flair and imagination. It is for anyone who has had a childhood, and anyone who knows what it is to lose one. (2004-06-24)

About this title

Review:

'A sparky debut novel...Enthralling...this bittersweet fusion of fairytales and nightmares is sugared by nostalgia and salted with sadness' -- Daily Mail

'An exciting and vibrant read. It's a weird and wonderful fairy-tale...26a is a brilliant and great read' -- Sunday Express

'Diana Evans is chosen as one of the most influential figures in black Britain.'
-- Independent on Sunday magazine

'Evans has her own distinctive voice: highly coloured, linguistically inventive...Evans has a powerful and often beguiling imagination' -- Daily Telegraph

'Very enjoyable...beautifully realized and wholly convincing...Evans writes with tremendous verve and dash.' -- Independent

'[A] remarkable first novel...vibrant...exotic' -- Sunday Times

The great Neasden novel has arrived...Evans' Neasden of the 1980s becomes a place of mystery, fantasy, joy and melancholy -- Boyd Tonkin, The Independent, Rising Star of 2005

From the Publisher:

Diana Evans is the new literary voice of multicultural Britain. Her unforgettable first novel has all the heartbreak of Brick Lane and all the vibrancy of White Teeth, but a very special magic of its own.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatto & Windus
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0701177969
• ISBN 13: 9780701177966
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240