Crooked Heart

Author: Lissa Evans

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $25.00 NZD
  • : 9780552774789
  • : Transworld Publishers Limited
  • : Transworld Publishers Limited
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  • : August 2015
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 24.99
  • : June 2015
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Lissa Evans
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
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  • :
  • : 823.92
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  • : 352
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Barcode 9780552774789
9780552774789

Description

This book is longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, 2015. When Noel Bostock - aged ten, no family - is evacuated from London to escape the Blitz, he ends up living in St Albans with Vera Sedge - thirty-six and drowning in debts and dependents. Always desperate for money, she's unscrupulous about how she gets it. Noel's mourning his godmother, Mattie, a former suffragette. Brought up to share her disdain for authority and eclectic approach to education, he has little in common with other children and even less with Vee, who hurtles impulsively from one self-made crisis to the next. The war's thrown up new opportunities for making money but what Vee needs (and what she's never had) is a cool head and the ability to make a plan. On her own, she's a disaster. With Noel, she's a team. Together they cook up an idea. Criss-crossing the bombed suburbs of London, Vee starts to make a profit and Noel begins to regain his interest in life. But there are plenty of other people making money out of the war and some of them are dangerous. Noel may have been moved to safety, but he isn't actually safe at all...

Promotion info

The acidly heartwarming tale of the relationship between a WW2 orphan evacuee and his foster mother set against the backdrop of the Blitz. Longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, 2015.

Reviews

"Dazzling...a miniature masterpiece of serio-comic writing...A dark comedy, moving between drollery, pathos, farce and harrowing moments of tragic insight" The Guardian "I loved this book - Lissa Evans is a wonderful writer; Vee and Noel are utter originals, and their journey made me laugh and cry" -- JoJo Moyes "Wonderfully vivid and eccentric...there's a good dash of sharp comedy to offset the heart-warming stuff" -- Kate Saunders The Times "Unmissable...Why is Lissa Evans not one of our best-known and best-loved authors?...The great joy of Lissa Evans's writing lies in her spirited, quirky characters and, as befits a former producer of Father Ted and director of Have I Got News For You, a devilish wit" Sunday Express "At Christmas you need a book that's going to make you want to curl up in an armchair while it's raining outside and that book is Crooked Heart. It is funny and warm and so insightful and moving. An instant classic" -- India Knight Sainsburys Magazine

Author description

Lissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including Their Finest Hour and a Half, longlisted for the Orange Prize and Small Change for Stuart, shortlisted for many awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Book Awards.