Author:Katie Flynn
Young Kitty Drinkwater lives in Paradise Court, just off Burlington Street. Life is tough in Liverpool in the years after the First World War and Kitty is always hungry and dressed in rags. As the eldest child, she is the scapegoat for her feckless, drunken mother. She dreams of a better life...
Lilac Larkin's prospects, by contrast, are very different; she is beautiful, self-possessed young woman, and even when her pleasant job as a lady's maid comes to an end and she starts work in a bag factory, she is sure that her life will be full of promise and excitement...
So when the two girls meet by chance in a millinery shop, neither can have any idea what changes in their lives the encounter will bring nor how strangely fate will work to bring them together once more.
Touching and evocative.
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This compelling wartime tale will delight saga lovers.
—— Choice magazineMoving and heart-warming saga.
—— Peterborough Evening TelegraphA tender tale of what happens to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances
—— Marie ClaireBeautifully observed . . . [Anshaw] intimately dissects how one event or choice can alter the trajectory of a life, how a fork in the road can lead to wholly unexpected and divergent outcomes
—— Michiko Kakutani , The New York TimesA funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches
—— Rachel Johnson , VogueCarol Anshaw is one of those authors who should be a household name . . . [a] fine, eloquent novel
—— USA TodaySuperb . . . [Anshaw] has a knack for capturing a personality in a single phrase
—— Financial TimesMoving and engaging . . . Anshaw has written not only a funny, smart and closely observed story, but also one that explores the way tragedy can follow hard on celebration, binding people together even more lastingly than passion.
—— Sylvia Brownrigg , The New York Times Book ReviewWords used to praise Anshaw's earlier novels - witty, warm, intimate, poignant - apply equally well to her most compelling book yet, a wholly seductive tale of siblings, addiction, conviction, and genius . . . Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humour, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory
—— BooklistA brilliant feat of storytelling . . . one of the most intensely vibrant novels I've ever read
—— Boston GlobeHere's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide
—— Emma DonoghueSplendid . . . sits somewhere between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a collection of haiku
—— Entertainment WeeklyFunny, touching, knowing . . . a quiet, lovely, genuine accomplishment
—— Publishers WeeklyAnshaw is that rare, brilliant, witty writer whose prose is rich and buttery, and whose plotting is as well-conceived and seamlessly executed as that of the most intricate thriller
—— Chicago TribuneIf you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book
—— Entertainment WeeklyGraceful and compassionate . . . Writing with rueful wit and a subtle understanding of the currents and passions that rule us, Anshaw demonstrates that struggling to do one's best, whatever the circumstances, makes for a life of consequence
—— PeopleA fine novel . . . stunning . . . wise
—— TLSAnshaw submerges the reader in gorgeous detail
—— IndependentCarol Anshaw's writing is cool and funny, outraged and sympathetic by turns. The book is full of sharp observations and memorable phrases
—— Literary ReviewBeautiful prose
—— Independent on SundayBeautiful prose
—— Independent on SundayA series of beautifully detailed snapshots . . . an arresting examination of three intersecting lives, forcefully told
—— Telegraph