Africa Junction - Softcover

Baily, Ginny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846554608 ISBN 13: 9781846554605

Publisher: Harvill Secker, 2011

Synopsis

Adele is in a mess. On her own with her young son, struggling to cope with her job as a teacher, and stuck in a disastrous - and dangerous - affair, her life is unravelling. The sharp contrasts and certainties she experienced during the years she spent as a child in far-off Senegal have faded to a distant blur. Then, one night, when she looks in the bathroom mirror, she sees the face of Ellena, a girl she knew in those carefree days, staring back at her from the glass.

As the daughter of a nightwatchman in exile from the brutal conflict in Liberia, Ellena's childhood was far from the idyll of Adele's memories. Her mysterious appearance sets in motion a chain of events that takes Adele back to Africa, in the hope that she can make amends for a heartless act that broke the girls' friendship and damaged Ellena's family irrevocably.

Africa Junction artfully interweaves the stories of dramatically different lives and experiences - a Senegalese boy setting sail for Europe, a Welsh teenager running from Timbuktu, a young girl escaping from a life of slave labour in Mali - but at its heart is Adele and her quest.

From the rain-drenched streets of Britain to the sun-baked reds and yellows of Senegal and the violence of Liberia's civil war, Africa Junction follows one woman's attempt to draw the threads of her life together. Out of the quagmire of violence and hardship there emerges a tentative vision of common humanity and, ultimately, the possibility both of redemption and of love.

About this title

Review:

"Ginny Baily's first novel is a thrilling ride. It takes in large issues of armed conflict and epidemics, and small ones of private, tender emotion. It is always exactly conceived and precise, and it grips the reader throughout. Original, memorable and warm, this will be one of the most striking debuts of 2011" (Philip Hensher)

"Africa Junction takes the many threads that bind or separate its characters and weaves them into a compelling story. Ginny Baily opens a door onto the harsh, dazzling landscapes of Senegal and Mali, the anguish of children sold into slavery by their parents, the determination of a boy to find his sister, and the mystery of friendship between two girls whose lives soon tear them apart. Africa Junction beautifully expresses the search for survival, love and meaning that drives each one of Baily's characters" (Helen Dunmore)

"Ginny Baily writes with perception and insight, telling the stories of her many characters with great skill and eventually weaving them together into a satisfying whole. She clearly knows Africa and the people who live there, as her affection and understanding shine out. It's a compelling read, carrying you along effortlessly, each section creating its own momentum long before the connections become clear" (Clare Morrall)

"A great story; touching, elegantly written, very human, very sincere." (Joan Harris)

"A novel of grave emotional weight and colour. Whether she describes terrible or magical events, to read Ginny Baily is to pick up riches in every paragraph... It's a rare achievementA novel of grave emotional weight and colour. Whether she describes terrible or magical events, to read Ginny Baily is to pick up riches in every paragraph... It's a rare achievement" (Sam North)

Book Description:

A brilliantly constructed first novel following a young woman's quest for redemption set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of modern Africa.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvill Secker
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1846554608
• ISBN 13: 9781846554605
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288