Rachel's Daughter

Oct 11, 2024 5:55 PM

Author:Janet Haslam

Rachel's Daughter

Rachel Cooper's father kept his family in a state of terrified subservience. When he died - apoplectic with rage at having been crossed, at last, by his son - Rachel was left to care for her helpless mother and difficult young sister. Raped by a local youth whose love she thought she had gained, she gave birth in secret to a daughter who had to be given away for adoption.

Hating and mistrusting all men, Rachel's only friend was Polly, the local wise woman whose support and counsel was to bring her through the worst of times. She managed to develop a successful career and to win the love of a good, kindly man, but her sufferings were not yet over. At last, with courage and the will to survive, Rachel found true fulfillment and reconciliation with the daughter she thought she had lost forever.

Reviews

Watch out Catherine Cookson

—— Northern Echo

A mesmerising patchwork of horror, humour and humanity

—— Independent

A magnificent, poetic, colossal novel... Superbly written... It is, in every sense, a sublime book

—— Irish Times

His most serious and ambitious achievement to date

—— Times Literary Supplement

Pleasurable... Like Steinbeck, de Bernières deserves praise for his imaginative sympathy

—— Independent on Sunday

Shafak will challenge Paulo Coelho's dominance

—— The Independent

An honour killing is at the centre of this stunning novel... Exotic, evocative and utterly gripping

—— The Times

Lushly and memorably magic-realist... This is an extraordinarily skilfully crafted and ambitious narrative

—— The Independent

The 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 Guardian

In Honour, Shafak treats an important, absorbing subject in a fast-paced, internationally familiar style that will make it accessible to a wide readership

—— Sunday Times

Fascinating and gripping - a wonderful novel

—— Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister

Vivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love

—— Sunday Telegraph

Moving, subtle and ultimately hopeful, Honour is further proof that Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years

—— Irish Times

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