Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #173071 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

26a is wondrous
I had never heard of this book before I found it on a shelf in Smiths, but after reading the back cover I thought that i would give it a go. It took a few pages to get into but once i was passed that i was hooked! The synopsis doesn't do the book justice. Each character is totally believable with their own gentle warmth and personality and with the writers use of language and description form a brilliant image in your mind and a place in your heart. It wasnt long before the unusual conversations and childish thinking become second nature to me and I understood exactly what they meant. However in a book that triumphs in so many ways the real storyline winner is the relationship between the twins, Bessie and Georgia, so magnificently told. Throughout the book you cannot get away from the strength and intensity of love that the twins have for one another. From the opening pages about their birth right through to the last sentence the feeling of 'twoness in oneness' is omnipotent. Anyone who manages to read the last few pages without crying their eyes out(as i did) cannot be human. In a nutshell this book tells the story of childhood innocence, adolescent realisation, family dynamics, differences in cultures and the breakdown of a mind with perfect perception and detail.What more can i say...this book is pure gold.

Beautifully written but incredibly sad
26a is a story about a mixed White/Nigerian family growing up in Britain and briefly in Nigeria in the 1980s and 1990s. The characterisation is deep, emotional and superb and one is really drawn in to feel empathy with each character in some way. The prose is beautiful and the pace is constant with a good rhythm. I understand from another reviewer that this is partly autobiographical which makes the story only more impacting. In summary, this is an excellent read and gives the reader a great insight into the lives and thoughts of four girls growing up in late 20th century Britian but my only warning is that this is a tragedy. It is incredibly sad and the descriptions of onsetting mental illness/depression and its outcome at the end are poignant and perhaps too upsetting for some.

Inexplicably brilliant!!
Words cannot express the emotions that this book stirred in me. I read this book with such a heavy heart and a lump in my throat. Diane Evans so accurately describes and explains all the emotions that Georgia and Bessi experience, taking the reader along with them. I cannot explain how much the 2 characters became a part of my world whilst I was reading this book. I genuinely felt fear and frustration for Georgia and ached to be able to help her. Never before has a book touched me or affected me so much. This is the most moving and emotional book I have ever read! I would urge everyone I know to read this book and I defy anyone not to love it.

I read many great books in 2006 but this was by far my favourite book of the year - if not ever! Diane Evans certainly deserves every award she won for this book.