Author:Diana Evans
**WINNER OF THE ORANGE AWARD FOR NEW WRITERS**
‘A remarkable first novel...vibrant...exotic’ Sunday Times
Discover the critically acclaimed debut from the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of Ordinary People
Identical twins, Georgia and Bessi Hunter, 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 London, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing.
Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Their elder sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing whilst the twins prepare for a flapjack empire. 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?
‘Hugely assured and very moving’ Mark Haddon
‘Diana Evans’s fiction is emotionally intelligent, dark, funny, moving. The sheer energy in her novels is enthralling. A brilliant craftswoman, a master of the form, she makes the reader ask important questions of themselves and makes them laugh at the same time’ Jackie Kay, British Council and National Centre for Writing's International Showcase on Britain's 10 best BAME writers
Winner of the British Book Award for deciBel Writer of the Year
Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award
Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Best First Book Award
Shortlisted for the Times/Southbank Show Breakthrough Award
Recipient of the Betty Trask Award
Longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
A hugely assured and very moving first novel
—— Mark Haddon , Sunday TelegraphA remarkable first novel...vibrant...exotic
—— Sunday TimesThe Great Neasden Novel has arrived...Haunting and cherishable...A hugely promising debut
—— IndependentA dazzling debut...I adored this book; I defy anyone to read the final pages without tears in their eyes. Easily the best book of the year so far
—— ScotsmanThis sparky debut novel... Enthralling from the first page, this bittersweet fusion of fairytales and nightmares is sugared by nostalgia and salted with sadness, Hephzibah Anderson, Daily Mail
—— Hephzibah Anderson, Daily Mail'This is a satisfying book, full of energy and charm'
—— Christina Koning, The Times'Very enjoyable...Evans writes with tremendous verve and dash. Her ear for dialogue is superb, and she has wit and sharp perception...A consistently readable book filled with likeable characters: a study of loss that has great heart and humour'
—— Independent'A serious and accomplished first novel, an affecting study of togetherness and separation in a family, a marriage and, most importantly, between the twins'
—— Time Out'An exciting and vibrant read. It's a weird and wonderful fairy-tale about the lives of twins...26a is brilliant and a great read'
—— Sunday Express'Poetic, complex and lingering'
—— New Statesman'Highly coloured, linguistically inventive...Evans has a powerful and often beguiling imagination'
—— Daily Telegraph'Sensual and poetic, as well as powerful and uncompromising...A mature, compelling and beautiful first novel'
—— Times Literary Supplement'The writing is both mature and freshly perceptive, creating not only a warmly funny novel of a Neasden childhood - with its engaging minutiae of flapjacks and icepops, lip gloss and daisy hairclips - but a haunting account of the loss of innocence and mental disintegration.'
—— Maya Jaggi , GuardianA witch's brew of eerie power and startling novelty
—— The New York TimesA marvellous elucidation of life ... a story full of craft and full of mystery
—— The New York Times Book ReviewCompulsory reading for anyone who has a pig, an aunt - or a sense of humour!
—— Lindsey DavisThe Wodehouse wit should be registered at Police HQ as a chemical weapon
—— Kathy LetteWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny
—— Arabella WeirThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper
—— Hugh LaurieThe greatest comic writer ever
—— Douglas AdamsP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century
—— Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius
—— Ben EltonYou don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour
—— Stephen Fry
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