Author:Sheila Walsh
Ryan's Bakery is at the hub of Liverpool life in the late thirties: its driving force, Kathleen, who loves her quiet husband, Michael, and her family, and is fiercely ambitious for them all - Rita, soon to be a teacher; stage-stuck Shirely Anne; Chris, a baker like his dad, and carefee young Joey.
Then a late and difficult pregnancy blunts Kathleen's ambition and presents her bright middle daughter, Liz, with a challenge. In meeting it, the enthusiastic sixteen-year-old discovers untapped creative talents, and a dream is born - that one day she will be Elizabeth Ryan, renowned for quality pastries and home-made chocolates.
With her first small success, Liz makes an enemy - Alec Mannings, son of a rival baker. But she also finds an invaluable friend in Fritz Lendl, and Austrian confectioner, driven from his homeland by the Nazis.
When Leigh, the dashing American flyer, first captures Liz's heart, he sees her only as an endearing gutsy kid, and she is enough of a realist to know it. Besides, there is Jimmy, the boy she has promised to marry. But during the Second World War, fate brings them together once more, and Liz is no longer a child. There are agonizing choices to be made, as time and again their love seems destined to be denied - until tomorrow.
Watch out Catherine Cookson
—— Northern EchoA mesmerising patchwork of horror, humour and humanity
—— IndependentA magnificent, poetic, colossal novel... Superbly written... It is, in every sense, a sublime book
—— Irish TimesHis most serious and ambitious achievement to date
—— Times Literary SupplementPleasurable... 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