by Lloyd Jones (Author)
'You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.' Bougainville. 1991. A small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda's last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. When the villagers' safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville's children are surprised to find the island's only white man, a recluse, re-opening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens. Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts' inspiring reading of Great Expectations. But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. Mister Pip is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 01 Feb 2008
ISBN 10: 0719521831
ISBN 13: 9780719521836
Prizes: Shortlisted for Independent Booksellers' Week Book of the Year Award: Adults' Book of the Year 2008 and Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2007.
Lloyd Jones is the author of Biografi, The Book of Fame, Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance, Mister Pip, The Man in the Shed and Hand Me Down World.