Author:Elvi Rhodes
In ' A Little Light Flirtation', when a husband and wife on holiday quarrel one morning, everyone in the hotel hears. But what they don't hear are the thoughts running through her head. A walk around the sights of this foreign city could open up all sorts of possibilities...
In 'A Question of Choice', Kate hasn't had the smoothest ride in life. She had a miscarriage when she was three months' pregnant, and lost her partner of three years with it. When she returns to the UK from New York she is shocked to discover there is a rift between her and her friends who are happily settled with families. But Kate knows deep down that her life's direction is merely a question of choice.
In 'Flight of Fancy', for Joe, the mundanity of prison life is lifted by two things - his pet budgie, Beauty, and visits from his wife Miriam. He counts down the days until the end of sentence - dreaming of returning home and trying to remember how different life is there. But his homecoming won't be quite what he expects...
Part of the Storycuts series, these three short stories were previously published in the collection Summer Promise and Other Stories.
Hull's answer to Catherine Cookson
—— BBC Radio 4's Front RowA heart-warming story filled with compelling action
—— Rosie GoodwinWonderfully fully-fleshed characters are the mainstay of [Val Wood's] stories
—— Peterborough TelegraphA gripping saga
—— The People's FriendPleasurable... Like Steinbeck, de Bernières deserves praise for his imaginative sympathy
—— Independent on SundayShafak will challenge Paulo Coelho's dominance
—— The IndependentAn honour killing is at the centre of this stunning novel... Exotic, evocative and utterly gripping
—— The TimesLushly and memorably magic-realist... This is an extraordinarily skilfully crafted and ambitious narrative
—— The IndependentThe book calls to mind The Color Purple in the fierceness of its engagement with male violence and its determination to see its characters to a better place. But Shafak is closer to Isabel Allende in spirit, confidence and charm. Her portrayal of Muslim cultures, both traditional and globalising, is as hopeful as it is politically sophisticated. This alone should gain her the world audience she has long deserved
—— The GuardianIn Honour, Shafak treats an important, absorbing subject in a fast-paced, internationally familiar style that will make it accessible to a wide readership
—— Sunday TimesFascinating and gripping - a wonderful novel
—— Rosamund Lupton, author of SisterVivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love
—— Sunday TelegraphMoving, subtle and ultimately hopeful, Honour is further proof that Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years
—— Irish Times