Inside the Whale - Softcover

Rooney, Jennie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0701182741 ISBN 13: 9780701182748

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2008

Synopsis

Stephanie Sandford, recently widowed, must tell her family the truth - but the past is indistinct and it's complicated. First, there was her mum, who developed an anxious streak after marrying the wrong Reg. Then there was the young man from the dairy who taught Stevie to swim and broke her heart. War came, and four years spent chopping root vegetables in the canteen of the Sun Pat peanut factory on the Old Kent Road, followed by wet London nights, with the Doodle Bugs slipping through the sky like huge silvery fish. It's not until she's under an umbrella with Jonathan - dark hair and seaweed eyes - that Stevie finally starts to sense safety. Meanwhile, Michael Royston's memories are squashed into a shoebox (along with Queen Matilda's Dicken Medal for bravery) ready for his move into hospital. Years ago, he trained military carrier pigeons for the Royal Corps of Signals in Cairo so it's ironic that his own homecoming has taken a lifetime. Michael has never been good at putting things into words; he's more comfortable with the click of Morse code. But Anna, a young healthcare assistant, has the patience - and rare tenderness - to eke out his story. And so he begins. Stories have the power to change things, and this one will alter Stevie's past and transform Anna's future...

About this title

Review:

'...only talent can account for the TLC a young novelist lavishes on characters so far removed in age and experience' -- The Independent

From the Publisher:

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, Jennie Rooney's heart-wrenching debut novel is a story to relish, and a book you'll want to recommend with passion to everyone you know.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatto & Windus
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0701182741
• ISBN 13: 9780701182748
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272