Author:Pamela Jooste
'I knew then that there were some things not even Ruby could keep from me for ever and this was one of them. We were coloured girls in a white world that didn't want us.'
Born on the wrong side of a racial divide in apartheid-torn Cape Town, young sisters Ruby and Rose exist in a world where they are not welcome. As part of the Cape Coloured community they are considered socially inferior, yet even within their own social group the sisters live down the poor end of town. Their father was killed when they were very small, so when their mother dies after a protracted illness Ruby and Rose's fate falls into the hands of Aunt Olive. Ruby knows without being told that their aunt's home will not be opened up to them - charity does not extend to the poor relations who would cast a smudge on such a respectable house. Aunt Olive condemns her nieces to the local orphanage, relieving her conscience with monthly invitations to Sunday lunch.
In the orphanage the girls grow up sheltered from a divided world that they do not yet fully understand, but the day approaches when Ruby and Rose must forge their own paths in life and confront the lessons that apartheid enforces.
Like the award-winning Dance with a Poor Man's Daughter, this beautifully observed novel of sisterly love once again displays Pamela Jooste's poignant understanding of human nature.
A richly comic, poignant narrative
—— Harper Lee, author of To Kill a MockingbirdIt's very good, in fact, just wonderful
—— Los Angeles TimesA real novel and a good one...from the busy brain of a born storyteller
—— New York TimesA thoroughly entertaining comic novel
—— NewsdayA funny and macabre novel
—— Washington PostIn the world of Flagg, plots, situations and outcomes that would normally make you fling a book across the room, here just have you reading on, smiling and hoping
—— Julie Myerson , GuardianLodge's vignettes of army life are spiced with a wit that is both droll and mordant, and his characters are deftly rendered...Lodge's novel is a moving glimpse of a world on the cusp of a change: Janus-faced, profound above all in its uncertainties.
—— Lettie Ransley , ObserverAn engrossing novel
—— Image MagazineShe represents historical research as exciting, romantic and as offering personal catharsis.
—— History TodayMaxwell's achievement is to show how human relationships work in spite of the confines of history, language and nationality
—— Daily TelegraphStylishly, subtly, the enjoyment of getting to know another country is conveyed with authority and a perceptions that's rare in our careless times
—— The OldieAn incredibly emotional read
—— GraziaA thrilling page-turner
—— Alexander Larman , SpectatorThis is a novel that strikes both horror and joy in the reader, the first-person narration deftly articulating Judith's escalating confusion and fear ... A talent to watch
—— Lucy Scholes , The Sunday TimesA touching, delicate book, it's hitting the shelves with high hopes...On March 1, head out and buy Grace McCleen's book
—— Louis Wise , Sunday TimesA distinctive debut that pulls off the use of a child narrator in delightful style
—— We Love This BookTouching and funny… a compelling and wholly original debut.
—— Marie ClaireShimmers with little miracles.
—— Peggy Hughes , Scotland on SundayThis is a promisingly bold book and McCleen is a talent to watch
—— Lucy Scholes , Sunday TimesA gripping and mesmerizing debut of an unforgettable ten-year-old heroine and her battle with good and evil… A harrowing and powerful story about isolation and belonging
—— My WeeklyAn original new voice... Haunting and absorbing, this is a joy to read
—— Jackie Carrier , Suffolk Free PressA seemingly slight work that is, in fact, possessed of almost infinite depth. It's an elegant inquiry into what we can know and how we can know it - and it's gripping too
—— Erica Wagner , The Times, Books of the YearIt sets off a moving meditation on ageing, regret and the unreliability of memory
—— Sunday Express, Books of the YearHas rightly been praised for its economy and elegance
—— Margaret Drabble , Guardian, Books of the YearBelatedly and deservedly, this was the year of Julian Barnes
—— Mark Lawson , Guardian, Books of the YearExquisitely written and deeply engaging
—— Lorrie Moore , Guardian, Books of the YearElegant verbal exactness, analytic finesse and a witty portrayal of contemporary and 1960's life complement the intricate plot
—— Peter Kemp , Sunday Times, Books of the YearA worthy Booker laureate of this or any other year, our most versatile novelist...a perfect present in these last days of the book as a singular object
—— Philip French , Observer, Books of the YearA worthy winner of this year's Booker prize: short, but certainly not slight, precise and insightful
—— Kate Cunningham , Herald, Books of the YearThis novel packed more emotion into its 150 pages than any other I have read this year
—— Bob McDevitt , Herald, Books of the YearMelancholic, suspenseful and thought-provoking
—— Kirsty Wark , Herald, Books of the YearSeveral plot twists later, what started off as a thoughtful (and fascinating) meditation on memory becomes something close to a full blown thriller
—— James Walton , Daily MailEssential reading for any writer, aspiring or otherwise
—— Patrick Keogh , GuardianA meditation on memory and regret slyly conveyed through the unreliable voice of a complacent man whose past gives him a nasty surprise
—— Justine Jordan , GuardianA deserving winner
—— Éibhear Walshe , Irish Times, Books of the YearMasterful, gripping and, above all, surprising
—— Victoria Hislop , The Week, Books of the YearBarnes has always has an ear for the bleak comedy of the first person
—— Olivia Cole , GQNovel, fertile and memorable
—— Justine Jordan , GuardianJulian Barnes’ Man-Booker prize-winning novel has extraordinary power and emotional density
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayAn eloquent meditation on relationships, emotional arrogance and the discomfort of remorse
—— James Urquhart , Financial TimesThe key to this slender, tantalizing mystery is on its opening page: what you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed
—— Katie Owen , Daily TelegraphHis art is artful, often openly so, but never showy or obvious
—— Colm Toibin , New York ReviewDescribed in Justin Cartwright’s review as 'a very fine book, skillfully plotted, boldly conceived’
—— Guardian, Holiday ReadsI am eager to read it, though I hear it needs to be read twice to be fully appreciated
—— Colm O'Gorman , Independent