The Other Hand
Published on 22. January 2009
300 pages
978-1-84894-137-3 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and Costa Novel of the Year, this international bestseller has become a reading group classic.
We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.
Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:
It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.
The story starts there, but the book doesn't.
And it's what happens afterwards that is most important.
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.
We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.
Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:
It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.
The story starts there, but the book doesn't.
And it's what happens afterwards that is most important.
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.
Reviews / Votes
'Immensely readable and moving . . . an affecting story of human triumph' * <i>New York Times</i> * A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting...[a] superb novel... Besides sharp, witty dialogue, an emotionally charged plot and the vivid characters' ethical struggles, THE OTHER HAND delivers a timely challenge to reinvigorate our notions of civilized decency. * <i>Independent</i> * Searingly eloquent. * <i>Daily Mail</i> * It would be hard not to romp through it. * <i>Financial Times</i> * An ambitious and fearless gallop from the jungles of Africa via a shocking encounter on a Nigerian beach to the media offices of London and domesticity in leafy suburbia...Cleave immerses the reader in the worlds of his characters with an unshakable confidence. * <i>Guardian</i> * totally believable... the author has a knack of explaining human suffering... I look forward to his next offering. * <i>Daily Express</i> * impresses as a feat of literary engineering... the plot exerts a fearsome grip. * <i>Telegraph</i> * You stay in thrall to the bittersweet end. * <i>Scotland on Sunday </i> * By turns funny, sad and shocking * <i>Sainsburys Magazine</i> * Warm, witty and beautifully written. * <i>Sunday Tribune</i> * In a novel that tackles serious and uncomfortable subject matter, Cleave's writing makes one laugh and despair in equal measure. (4 stars) * <i>Time Out</i> * A better book than Chris Cleave's THE OTHER HAND may be published this year, but I wouldn't bet on it. This exquisitely written story of a Nigerian refugee and a British glossy magazine editor is the most powerful novel I've read in a long time. . . it's also a very funny book about brave, funny people who the reader quickly grows to love. . . But the heart of the book is Little Bee; naive yet insightful and sophisticated, damaged yet capable of great courage and humour, she is an unforgettable character. I finished THE OTHER HAND in tears, and I still can't get it out of my head. Just read it. * <i>The Gloss</i> * I felt the same excitement discovering this as I did Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. There is an urgency here, an inability to put it down and a deep sense of loss once finished. It is a very special book indeed. Profound, deeply moving and yet light in touch, it explores the nature of loss, hope, love and identity with atrocity its backdrop. Read it and think deeply. * Sarah Broadhurst, <i>Bookseller</i> * Stunning... a haunting work of art. * <i>Newsweek</i> on INCENDIARY * Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written. * <i>Observer</i>, Books of the Year on INCENDIARY * Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved? * <i>Guardian</i> on INCENDIARY * Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing. * <i>Sunday Telegraph</i> on INCENDIARY * 'Immensely readable and moving . . . an affecting story of human triumph' * <i>New York Times</i> * A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting...[a] superb novel... Besides sharp, witty dialogue, an emotionally charged plot and the vivid characters' ethical struggles, THE OTHER HAND delivers a timely challenge to reinvigorate our notions of civilized decency. * <i>Independent</i> * Searingly eloquent. * <i>Daily Mail</i> * It would be hard not to romp through it. * <i>Financial Times</i> * An ambitious and fearless gallop from the jungles of Africa via a shocking encounter on a Nigerian beach to the media offices of London and domesticity in leafy suburbia...Cleave immerses the reader in the worlds of his characters with an unshakable confidence. * <i>Guardian</i> * totally believable... the author has a knack of explaining human suffering... I look forward to his next offering. * <i>Daily Express</i> * impresses as a feat of literary engineering... the plot exerts a fearsome grip. * <i>Telegraph</i> * You stay in thrall to the bittersweet end. * <i>Scotland on Sunday </i> * By turns funny, sad and shocking * <i>Sainsburys Magazine</i> * Warm, witty and beautifully written. * <i>Sunday Tribune</i> * In a novel that tackles serious and uncomfortable subject matter, Cleave's writing makes one laugh and despair in equal measure. (4 stars) * <i>Time Out</i> * A better book than Chris Cleave's THE OTHER HAND may be published this year, but I wouldn't bet on it. This exquisitely written story of a Nigerian refugee and a British glossy magazine editor is the most powerful novel I've read in a long time. . . it's also a very funny book about brave, funny people who the reader quickly grows to love. . . But the heart of the book is Little Bee; naive yet insightful and sophisticated, damaged yet capable of great courage and humour, she is an unforgettable character. I finished THE OTHER HAND in tears, and I still can't get it out of my head. Just read it. * <i>The Gloss</i> * I felt the same excitement discovering this as I did Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. There is an urgency here, an inability to put it down and a deep sense of loss once finished. It is a very special book indeed. Profound, deeply moving and yet light in touch, it explores the nature of loss, hope, love and identity with atrocity its backdrop. Read it and think deeply. * Sarah Broadhurst, <i>Bookseller</i> * Stunning... a haunting work of art. * <i>Newsweek</i> on INCENDIARY * Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written. * <i>Observer</i>, Books of the Year on INCENDIARY * Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved? * <i>Guardian</i> on INCENDIARY * Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing. * <i>Sunday Telegraph</i> on INCENDIARY *More details
Edition
Digital original
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Edition type
Digital original
File size
0,24 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-84894-137-3 (9781848941373)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Chris Cleave
The Other Hand
The 'immensely readable and moving' (New York Times) international bestseller
Book
02/2009
Sceptre
€14.00
Available immediately
Person
Chris Cleave's debut novel INCENDIARY was a prize-winner and international bestseller and his second novel, THE OTHER HAND has found phenomenal success both in the UK and abroad, hitting number one on the New York Times bestseller list. He is married with three children, and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. He keeps a website at www.chriscleave.com and can be found on twitter.com/chriscleave.
