Product Description

Identical twins, Georgia and Bessi, 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 Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing, the twins prepare for a flapjack empire, while baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk for Michael Jackson. 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? Wickedly funny and devastatingly moving, "26A" is an extraordinary first novel. Part fairytale, part nightmare, it moves from the mundane to the magical, the particular to the universal with exceptional flair and imagination. It is for anyone who has had a childhood, and anyone who knows what it is to lose one. It is a winner of the 2005 Orange New Writers Prize. Diana Evans won the 2006 British Books Awards Writer of the Year.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24315 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

The Sunday Herald Books of the Year. Chosen by Hannah McGill.
`has real wit.'

Independent
'Very enjoyable...beautifully realized and wholly convincing...Evans writes with tremendous verve and dash.'

Sunday Times
'[A] remarkable first novel...vibrant...exotic'

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.