The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
Hortensia James and Marion Agostino are neighbours. One is black, one white. Both are successful women with impressive careers. Both have recently been widowed. And both are sworn enemies, sharing hedge and hostility which they prune with a zeal that belies the fact that they are both over eighty. But one day an unforeseen event forces the women together. And gradually the bickering and sniping softens into lively debate, and from there into memories shared. But could these sparks of connection ever transform into friendship? Or is it too late to expect these two to change?
"Wit, charm and playful energy.. An insightful and fascinating diptych of two women, with the history of colonialism and slavery lurking in the background" -- Nick Major * Herald Scotland *
"Cape Town's answer to Mapp and Lucia, a war of wits and witticisms amid the bougainvillea of an impossibly smug neighborhood. Yewande Omotoso's deft writing and subtle weaving in of difficult history will leave you in love with these two stubborn old women. Delightful" -- Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
"A finely observed account of female prejudice, redemption and that often elusive commodity - friendship" -- Deidre Conroy * Irish Independent *
"At once historical and contemporary, The Woman Next Door is charged with beauty, precision, nuance, and hope. Yewande Omotoso is a stunning, essential voice" -- NoViolet Bulawayo
"Hilarious" * Pool *
"Yewande Omotoso's novel is an impressive achievement that carries echoes of Nadine Gordimer... It takes stock of the past in the present and examines the geographies of intimacies, which produce in miniature larger power dynamics" -- Julie Hakim Azzam * Times Literary Supplement *
"An intimate, frequently hilarious look at the lives of two extraordinary women in post-apartheid South Africa...Deeply satisfying...The vivid setting and intricate descriptions transport the reader to this very specific time and place, though the crackling dialog and lively, fiercely independent protagonists are universal" * Booklist *
"A must-read not only because it is a deftly written and absorbing tale but because it compells self-reflection" * Sunday Times, South Africa *
"Hers is a fresh voice as adept at evoking the peace of walking up a kopje as the cruelty of South Africa's past" -- Publishers Weekly
"Picked by the Times Literary Supplement's as one of the 'Best Books by Women Every Man Should Read" * Times Literary Supplement *
"Cape Town's answer to Mapp and Lucia, a war of wits and witticisms amid the bougainvillea of an impossibly smug neighborhood. Yewande Omotoso's deft writing and subtle weaving in of difficult history will leave you in love with these two stubborn old women. Delightful" -- Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
"A finely observed account of female prejudice, redemption and that often elusive commodity - friendship" -- Deidre Conroy * Irish Independent *
"At once historical and contemporary, The Woman Next Door is charged with beauty, precision, nuance, and hope. Yewande Omotoso is a stunning, essential voice" -- NoViolet Bulawayo
"Hilarious" * Pool *
"Yewande Omotoso's novel is an impressive achievement that carries echoes of Nadine Gordimer... It takes stock of the past in the present and examines the geographies of intimacies, which produce in miniature larger power dynamics" -- Julie Hakim Azzam * Times Literary Supplement *
"An intimate, frequently hilarious look at the lives of two extraordinary women in post-apartheid South Africa...Deeply satisfying...The vivid setting and intricate descriptions transport the reader to this very specific time and place, though the crackling dialog and lively, fiercely independent protagonists are universal" * Booklist *
"A must-read not only because it is a deftly written and absorbing tale but because it compells self-reflection" * Sunday Times, South Africa *
"Hers is a fresh voice as adept at evoking the peace of walking up a kopje as the cruelty of South Africa's past" -- Publishers Weekly
"Picked by the Times Literary Supplement's as one of the 'Best Books by Women Every Man Should Read" * Times Literary Supplement *
Yewande Omotoso was born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria, moving to South Africa with her family in 1992. She is the author of Bom Boy, published in South Africa in 2011. In 2012 she won the South African Literary Award for First-Time Published Author and was shortlisted for the South African Sunday Times Fiction Prize. In 2013 she was a finalist in the inaugural, pan-African Etisalat Fiction Prize. She lives in Johannesburg, where she writes and has her own architectural practice.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781784740337 |
| ISBN 10 | 1784740330 |
| Title | The Woman Next Door |
| Author | Yewande Omotoso |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2016-05-05 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Prizes | Long-listed for Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2017 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |