Product Description

Almost forty and with nothing to show for it, Hannah Luckraft is starting to notice that her lifestyle is not entirely sustainable: her subconscious is turning against her, her soul is a little unwell. Her family is wounded, her friends are odd, her body is not as reliable as it once was and her drinking is frankly out of hand. Robert, a dissolute dentist, appears to offer a love she can understand, but he may only be one more symptom of the problem she must cure. From the north-east of Scotland to Dublin, from London to Montreal, to Budapest and onwards, Hannah travels in search of the ultimate altered state: the one where she can be happy - her paradise. "Paradise" is a compelling examination of failure that is also a comic triumph, a novel of dark extremes that is full of the most ravishing lyrical beauty. 'The book sings its encapsulated pain with the effervescent energy of laughter' - "The Times". 'One of Britain's most iconoclastic and fiercely independent talents, a writer who repeatedly tests our expectations - Compelling, even consuming' - "Daily Telegraph". 'A brave and uncompromising book that lingers in the mind, "Paradise" is A. L. Kennedy on top form' - "Independent". 'This is a narrative that will not let the reader go - One of the most linguistically inventive and captivating British writers of the age' - "Observer". 'A stylist of the highest order' - "Financial Times". 'Gripping, stylistically consummate' - "Sunday Times".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161955 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

The Times
'Funny, dark and surprising - a work without a single wrong note'

Laurence Phelan, Independent on Sunday
'Every sentence of Kennedy's fluid prose is to be savoured'

From the Publisher
The breakthrough novel by Best-of-Young-British novelist

Customer Reviews

Running out of steam?
I am a huge fan of A.L. Kennedy's writing, and this book does not let down anyone familiar with her other work, in that it exhibits the same imaginative, intricate and innovative use of language we have come to expect.

My only caveat is that the book seemed to run out of steam (no pun intended regarding the fact that the scene is a train) about 50 pages from the end; was that perhaps the effect of the claustrophobic world she had created?

Essential reading
Alison Kennedy's use of English is original, always interesting and at times spectacular. I found myself reading the occasional paragraph aloud to who ever would listen. She manages to lift you off the ground at the start and keep you in her world for the duration (maybe I'm still there?). This spiky, awkwardly cosy, embarrassing, painful, intensely self-absorbed world is shown with great insight and sensitivity but is not one that you would choose to inhabit. With hindsight, there are echoes of "One flew over the Cuckoo's nest" though this in no way detracts from the originality of her novel. This is not a book to enjoy in the strict sense, but makes compelling reading. Depending on your sensitivity to the subject matter you may find you need to read this in chapter sized chunks. I read this after seeing the author speaking about it - her dry, unpretentious take on life appealed to me. If you are still undecided, I would put this book in the "Essential reading" category.

A brilliant novel!
Not a novel to be picked up and put down. It won't work for ten minutes on the train and maybe later when the kids are asleep.

Take time - enjoy it by the fire and read it for long hours as I did. You will be longing to get back to it the next day. It's entirely engrossing. And you won't forget these characters!

** small warning: it may cause you to cut down on your drinking.

Highly recommended. I really loved this book!