A Cupboard Full of Coats - Softcover

Edwards, Yvvette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851688382 ISBN 13: 9781851688388

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2011

Synopsis

He just knocked, that was all, knocked at the front door and waited, like the fourteen years since the night I'd killed my mother hadn't happened at all...A" Crushed by an impossible shame, Jinx's life has been little more than a shell; estranged from her husband, she is even relieved when he takes her young son with him. When Lemon, an old friend of her mother's, turns up on her doorstep, Jinx is forced to confront her past, and with the pain of remembrance comes the possibility of redemption. But Lemon has his own secrets to share, and together they unravel an unforgettable family drama, stoked with violence and passion. Rich with voices from East London and the West Indies, Edwards's narrative is delivered with a unique and uncompromising bite that announces a new talent in British fiction.

About this title

Review

""A Cupboard Full of Coats" is high drama, full of breathtaking tension, and, at times, brought to mind the works of Arthur Miller and August Wilson, both of whom knew a thing or two about secrets spilled across a kitchen table."

(Attica Locke, author of Black Water Rising)

A gut-wrenching and gorgeously lyrical debut... Engrossing and human to the core, Edwards's novel wrings the heart in the most tender of ways. 

(Publishers Weekly)

"With great courage, both physical and political, Anderson reveals in stark detail the absence of genuine contact between the foreign armies and the civilians they claim to be helping... gripping and disturbing." 

(Jonathan Steele, former Chief Foreign Correspondent for the Guardian)

A novel that pulses with rhythm, texture, language, and a story that keeps you locked to its pages. Brutally honest, expertly woven, and utterly mesmerizing. I loved this book. --

(Naseem Rakha, author of the international bestseller The Crying Tree)

One to watch

(Daily Mail)

From the Back Cover

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

Deeply moving, wonderfully written . . . a study of grief and remorse. Times (London)

In this potent mystery . . . Edwards makes us greedy for the full story. New York Times

Plagued by guilt, paralyzed by shame, Jinx has spent the years since her mother s death alone, estranged from her husband, withdrawn from her son, and entrenched in a childhood home filled with fierce and violent memories. When Lemon, an old family friend, appears unbidden at the door, he seduces Jinx with a heady mix of powerful storytelling and tender care. What follows is a tense and passionate weekend, as the two join forces to unravel the tragedy that binds them. Jinx has long carried the burden of the past; now she must relive her mother s last days, confront her grief head-on, and speak the truth as only she knows it.

Expertly woven and perfectly paced, A Cupboard Full of Coats is both a heartbreaking family drama and a riveting mystery, with a cast of characters who linger in the mind and the heart long after the last page has been turned.

Engrossing and human to the core, Edwards s novel wrings the heart in the most tender of ways. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A piercing and engaging narrative that navigates through past and present heartache with tenderness and candor. This promising new author twists and turns words with skill reminiscent of Toni Morrison and Barbara Kingsolver, who similarly explore hidden and revealed secrets. Booklist"

About this edition

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1851688382
• ISBN 13: 9781851688388
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 268