Cloth Girl by Marilyn Heward Mills
Matilda Quartey is fourteen years old when sophisticated black Gold Coast lawyer, Robert Bannerman, sets eyes on her and resolves to take her as his second wife. For Julie, his first wife, this is a colossal slap in the face; for Matilda it is an abrupt - and cruel - end to childhood. Entwined with their story - by turns funny and heartbreaking - is that of Alan Turton, new ADC to the Governor and his dissatisfied wife, Audrey, a hard-drinking accident waiting to happen, who is appalled by her new life. Marilyn Heward Mills's Africa is a cauldron of contradictions: fatalistic but brimming with optimism; outwardly Christian, yet profoundly superstitious and reliant on fetish priests; poverty-stricken, but rich in pride and family values; vibrant with colour yet darkened by violence; exhausting, yet exhilarating. For Matilda it is her passionately loved homeland; for Audrey it is a prison. For the men it is a land of opportunity, where careers can be made and broken, fortunes lost and won. And for all of them the events of these ten years will shape and define their lives forever.
Mill s' first novel is an assured study of Ghanaian life. . She vividly portrays both the black and white communities and mines considerable humour from those Africans who have their feet in both camps . . . Above all, in the character of Matilda . . . she creates a richly sympathetic portrait of a young woman whose warmth and integrity win the reader's heart along with the hearts of all those around her * Daily Express *
Heward Mills deftly captures the ironic pity each feels for the other's situation. Written with fluency and confidence, this is an impressive debut * New Statesman *
this is a debut novel of substance that movingly captures the meaning of loss and the cost of gain * Scotland on Sunday *
I loved it, I enjoyed Cloth Girl with its huge sense of place and character . . . I particularly loved Audrey and the contrast between the two * Alex Hemsley, BBC 5 Live Book Club *
Heward Mills deftly captures the ironic pity each feels for the other's situation. Written with fluency and confidence, this is an impressive debut * New Statesman *
this is a debut novel of substance that movingly captures the meaning of loss and the cost of gain * Scotland on Sunday *
I loved it, I enjoyed Cloth Girl with its huge sense of place and character . . . I particularly loved Audrey and the contrast between the two * Alex Hemsley, BBC 5 Live Book Club *
Marilyn Heward Mills was brought up in Ghana, the daughter of a Ghanaian father and Swiss mother. Cloth Girl is her first novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780751538151 |
| ISBN 10 | 0751538159 |
| Title | Cloth Girl |
| Author | Marilyn Heward Mills |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Year published | 2007-10-04 |
| Number of pages | 592 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Costa Prize; First Novel Award 2007 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |