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The Other Side Of Paradise
The Other Side Of Paradise
Sep 22, 2024 6:23 AM

Author:Margaret Mayhew

The Other Side Of Paradise

Fans of Katie Flynn, Rosamunde Pilcher and Dinah Jeffries will love this emotional and sweeping wartime romance set in Singapore from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew.

READERS ARE LOVING THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE!

"Moving tale of bravery and human endurance...the sounds and smells and life of Singapore come alive in this well-told story" - 5 STARS

"This is an amazing read" - 5 STARS

"Left me craving more, loving the characters, totally absorbed in the detailed descriptions and finding myself recommending her novels over a coffee with friends" - 5 STARS

"Great read!" - 5 STARS

"Really loved this book" - 5 STARS

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SHE ONLY LIVED FOR PLEASURE...

...until war forced her to find courage she did not know she had, and love where she least expected it.

1941: Britain is in the grip of war; life in the Far East is one of wealth and privilege.

In Singapore Susan Roper enjoys dancing, clothes and fast cars, tennis and light flirtations with visiting naval officers - her life is devoted solely to pleasure and dismisses any warnings of danger.

Singapore goes on partying, oblivious to the threat of invasion and believing the British flag will, protect them from all enemies. But when Japan invades, Susan finds herself in grave danger. She becomes an ambulance driver and is taken prisoner by the Japanese.

Gradually and reluctantly she realises that she will have to face many hardships and witness terrible events, forcing her to acknowledge the truth...But will this new world lead her to a love where she least expects it?

Reviews

Brilliantly depicts characters in pinpoint prickly prose

—— Guardian

Funny and wonderfully mean spirited

—— Saturday Review

The family dynamic has been rendered exceptionally well

—— Herald

Phenomenally strange

—— Observer

The book is fantastic if you love medical dramas and historical pieces. The characters are well thought out and written well.

—— Mojo Mums

Enjoyable seasonal romance

—— Canal Boat Magazine

Gripping and enjoyable tale that draws you in from the off

—— Waterways World

Heartwarming… despite her battle with ME the magic is undimmed

—— Peterborough Evening Telegraph

A sweet and innocent love story… An enjoyable read, any time of the year.

—— Mojo Mums

This is a compelling thriller with a pinch of fantasy, populated by larger-than-life characters… This powerfully cinematic novel, enriched by references to literature, popular culture and film, is dense, detailed and rewarding, displaying one of our leading novelists at the top of his game.

—— Vanessa Berridge , Sunday Express

For all of The Golden House’s folkloric architecture and twinkling prose, for all its impish cartoonery and exuberant storytelling, the novel is at its heart an unsettling portrait of the state of humanity in the United States of 2017. It celebrates our meager glories and exposes our flaws, particularly our inability to see outside of our own little cocoons, whether they be constructed of silk or some coarser material.

—— Nathaniel Rich , New York Review of Books

His prose is just as often a pleasure, bursting with colour and texture… The result stands as Rushdie’s most vital book in years, and perhaps the first protest novel of the Trump era.

—— Stephen Phelan , Herald

A typically bold and all-encompassing saga.

—— Hilary A White , Irish Independent

Rushdie is, as ever, excellent in conveying bitter, personal anger.

—— DJ Taylor , Literary Review

Two decades after Rushdie transplanted himself to the US, one of the major pleasures of this novel is the way in which he considers the mores of the one per cent of the one per cent. Rushdie writes about the Goldens’ glittering, private world with innumerable perfect details, down to the art hanging on the walls… It will be a long four years, but fictional protests are unlikely to be as electric as this.

—— Olivia Cole , GQ

Hugely entertaining… Told against a backdrop of American politics and culture between Obama’s inauguration and the 2016 presidential election, it’s an extraordinarily powerful tale of our times.

—— Sue Price , Saga Magazine


[The Golden House] is a recognizably Rushdie novel in its playfulness, its verbal jousting, its audacious bravado, its unapologetic erudition, and its sheer, dazzling brilliance.

—— Boston Globe

The Golden House is a searing examination of modern America and the world around it since 2008… Through the density of his intermingling literary references, puzzles and (deliberately) fanciful plot, comes Rushdie's true success: His great ability to capture the devilish mood of post-crash greed, political upheaval, and the rejection of the cosmopolitan, liberal west.

—— Peter Carey , Belfast Telegraph Morning

Rushdie’s prose is beyond much reprieve—there are few contemporary artists who come to mind that possess his ability to craft sentences. In this regard, The Golden House, his latest novel, is no exception... The Golden House is a joy to read It’s hard to not have fun reading writing at Rushdie’s level of craftsmanship. It’s clever, intimidating, jocund, and electrifying.

—— Chicago Review of Books

The Golden House is not Brideshead or Gatsby – it is too rich and too riotous. Rather it is a modern Bonfire of the Vanities, New York seen from the inside and the outside, as only a writer of multiple selves such as Rushdie – Indian, British, now a New Yorker – could do.

—— Aminatta Forna , Guardian

Rushdie’s story is a morality tale which unfolds with great verve and erudition, missing no opportunity to pillory Donald Trump with its withering contempt.

—— Richard Hopton , Country & Town House

No-one spins a yarn like Rushdie, and The Golden House’s tale of bastard sons, mysterious men and submerged pasts is hugely enjoyable… To say The Golden House is 'only' hugely enjoyable is a little like writing 'only' on a cheque for £1 million.

—— Ross McIndoe , Skinny

Salman Rushdie has garaged the magic carpets and dived deep into 21st-century America, with its concerns about identity, guns, the 1 percent and even superheroes.

—— Jane Henderson , Miami Herald
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