Fruit of the Lemon
Published on 3. February 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-0-7472-6114-8 (ISBN)
Description
Introduction by Kit de Waal
_______
We're thinking of going home to Jamaica.'
And my reaction was, 'For a holiday. Fantastic! How long for?'
'Not for a holiday, Faith,' Dad said hesitantly. 'Your mum and me are thinking . . .' He held up his hand, 'Only thinking, mind, of going back there to live. To get a little place and live.'
I stared at my dad and thought about Fondant Fancies. My mind involuntarily remembered the price of them and I worked out if I could afford to buy my own. I looked at Carl as he tapped his fingers on the chair, desperate to get to somewhere he could smoke. I went to smile but I couldn't. 'Going home to Jamaica,' I eventually said. I had then intended to say, 'Fantastic! I can come and visit,' but instead I said, 'Why?'
'Your dad and me are getting old now,' Mum started, 'and we feel that you and Carl are grown-up, so we can go home and . . .'
I'd stopped listening. Because what I meant by why, the question I wanted answering was, why Jamaica? Why is Jamaica home?
_______
'Reinforces Levy's reputation as an astute observer of modern British life'
Financial Times
'Bright and inventive, brought alive by the loving and humorous creation of Faith's colourful extended family, and its extraordinary history'
Independent
'Andrea Levy's third novel is easily her most powerful . . . from the first page you're caught up'
Elle
_______
We're thinking of going home to Jamaica.'
And my reaction was, 'For a holiday. Fantastic! How long for?'
'Not for a holiday, Faith,' Dad said hesitantly. 'Your mum and me are thinking . . .' He held up his hand, 'Only thinking, mind, of going back there to live. To get a little place and live.'
I stared at my dad and thought about Fondant Fancies. My mind involuntarily remembered the price of them and I worked out if I could afford to buy my own. I looked at Carl as he tapped his fingers on the chair, desperate to get to somewhere he could smoke. I went to smile but I couldn't. 'Going home to Jamaica,' I eventually said. I had then intended to say, 'Fantastic! I can come and visit,' but instead I said, 'Why?'
'Your dad and me are getting old now,' Mum started, 'and we feel that you and Carl are grown-up, so we can go home and . . .'
I'd stopped listening. Because what I meant by why, the question I wanted answering was, why Jamaica? Why is Jamaica home?
_______
'Reinforces Levy's reputation as an astute observer of modern British life'
Financial Times
'Bright and inventive, brought alive by the loving and humorous creation of Faith's colourful extended family, and its extraordinary history'
Independent
'Andrea Levy's third novel is easily her most powerful . . . from the first page you're caught up'
Elle
Reviews / Votes
''Levy has a gift for creating character through mimickry, bu tnever succumbs to thepitgalls of sentiment masquerading as authenticity. This is a comic but sharp novel that steers its readers confidently through its heroine's revelatory journey' Times Funny and moving... Levy is an ironic comedian whose subtle, intelligent novel steers well clear of whimsy * Guardian * A pleasure to read... Entertaining and revelatory * TLS * 'Written in an accessible, friendly style' Independent on Sunday Reinforces Levy's reputation as an astute observer of modern British life * Financial Times * Always refreshingly undogmatic... [readers] will recognise the truthfulness of the world which Andrea Levy describes * Sunday Telegraph *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Headline Publishing Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 199 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
243 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7472-6114-8 (9780747261148)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
After she passed away on the 14th of February 2019, the Bookseller wrote: 'Andrea Levy will be remembered as a novelist who broke out of the confines assigned to her by prejudice to become a both a forerunner of Black British excellence and a great novelist by any standards.'
Born in England to Jamaican parents who came to Britain in 1948, Andrea Levy wrote the novels that she had always wanted to read as a young woman, engaging books that reflect the experiences of black Britons and at the intimacies that bind British history with that of the Caribbean. She was described by BBC News as 'a writer who tackled important social issues . . . her writing . . . witty, humane and often moving, and full of richly drawn characters'.
She was the author of six books, including SMALL ISLAND, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Whitbread book of the Year, and was adapted for TV and for the stage, by the National Theatre. It was selected by the BBC as one of its '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'. Her most recent novel, THE LONG SONG, won the Walter Scott Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and was adapted for TV by the BBC.
Born in England to Jamaican parents who came to Britain in 1948, Andrea Levy wrote the novels that she had always wanted to read as a young woman, engaging books that reflect the experiences of black Britons and at the intimacies that bind British history with that of the Caribbean. She was described by BBC News as 'a writer who tackled important social issues . . . her writing . . . witty, humane and often moving, and full of richly drawn characters'.
She was the author of six books, including SMALL ISLAND, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Whitbread book of the Year, and was adapted for TV and for the stage, by the National Theatre. It was selected by the BBC as one of its '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'. Her most recent novel, THE LONG SONG, won the Walter Scott Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and was adapted for TV by the BBC.