Synopses & Reviews
From a stunning new voice, a debut novel that, like Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Monica Ali's Brick Lane, confronts the multi-racial realities of modern Britain with humour, grace, and lyrical intensity.
Identical twins Georgia and Bessi live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue in Neasden, London. It is their place, one of strawberry-scented beanbag chair, a view of the apple trees, and very important decisions, and all visitors must knock on the door marked 26a before entering.
Downstairs is a less harmonious world: Ida, the twins' Nigerian mother, puts cayenne pepper on Yorkshire pudding and can only assuage her bouts of desperate homesickness with five-hour baths and long conversations in Edo with her own absent mother; Aubrey, their Derbyshire-born father, shouts Haddock! in frustration with his house full of women, and angrily roams the streets of Neasden to escape his demons. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels, and organic hairdressing, and baby sister Kemy is obsessed with Michael Jackson. The twins plan their own flapjack empire as the ticket to a shining future for two.
But as Georgia and Bessi grow up, discovering the temptations and dangers of London in the 1980s and 90s, the realities of separateness and of solitude crowd in. Each must decide on her own path to adulthood and pursue it -- and discover if she can face the future as only one.
Wickedly funny and devastatingly moving, 26a is 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 everyone who remembers their childhood, and anyone who knows what it is to lose it.
On the outside of theirfront door Georgia and Bessi had written in chalk '26a, ' and on the inside 'G&B, ' at eye level, just above the handle. This was the extra dimension. The one after sight, sound, smell, touch and taste where the world multiplied and exploded because it was the sum of two people. Bright was twice as bright. All the colours were extra. Girls with umbrellas skipped across the wallpaper and Georgia and Bessi could hear them laughing.
--Excerpt from 26a
From the Hardcover edition.
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“[Evans] can turn a haunting, perfect praise. A promising debut from a young author with much yet to offer.” Library Journal
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“Marvelously written . . . rich with both ordinary and extraordinary realities .” Seattle Times
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“Kept me reading past midnight . . . hugely assured and very moving.” Daily Telegraph (London)
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“Amazing. . . . 26A deserves to be read, and reread, by a large audience.” Boston Globe
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“Funny, intimate and moving.” London Sunday Times
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“Bittersweet . . . an alluring blend of fairytales and nightmares.” Daily Mail (London)
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“A heartwarming epic thats never syrupy sweet. A-.” Entertainment Weekly
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“A sad, magical telling of the uncommon link between Gemini sisters . . . enchanting.” Toronto Star
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“Beautifully written.” New York Times Book Review
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“Beautiful . . . Evans is in a class of her own.” Melbourne Herald Sun
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“Evanss lyrical telling . . . fluidly juxtaposes disparate worlds.” ALA Booklist
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“A vivid, affectionate picture of the family as a melting pot.” Daily Telegraph (London)
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“Superb [and] quirkily rendered.” Vancouver Sun
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“A trenchant debut that speaks eloquently about identity, displacement, the most anguished of losses, and bone-deep love.” Booklist
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“[A] marvelously written novel . . . rich with both ordinary and extraordinary realities.” Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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“Beautiful . . . A very earthy and relatable tale of family bonds and fractures.” Boston Herald
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“Enjoyable and engrossing . . . Evans has a distinctive voice.” The Observer
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“[A] poignant debut novel.. . . Perfect for your next book-club selection.” Essence
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“Heartwrenching.” Sunday Times (London)
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“At once tender and funny: [26a is] a keen study of home, homelessness and the limits of symbiosis.” Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
A hauntingly beautiful, wickedly funny, and devastatingly moving novel of innocence and dreams that announces the arrival of a major new talent to the literary scene
In the attic room at 26 Waifer Avenue, identical twins Georgia and Bessi Hunter share nectarines and forge their identities, while escaping from the sadness and danger that inhabit the floors below. But innocence lasts for only so long—and dreams, no matter how vivid and powerful, cannot slow the relentless incursion of the real world.
About the Author
Diana Evans has worked as a journalist and arts critic, contributing to Marie Claire, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, and The Independent. Her short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies. She lives in London, England.