Frankie and Stankie

by Barbara Trapido (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.47

  Dinah and her sister Lisa are growing up in 1950s South Africa, where racial laws are tightening. They are two little girls from a dissenting liberal family. Big sister Lisa is strong and sensible, while Dinah is weedy and arty. At school, the sadistic Mrs Vaughan-Jones is providing instruction in mental arithmetic and racial prejudice. And then there's the puzzle of lunch break. 'Would you rather have a native girl or a koelie to make your sandwiches?' a first-year classmate asks. But Dinah doesn't know the answer, because it's her dad who makes her sandwiches. As the apparatus of repression rolls on, Dinah finds her own way. As we follow her journey through childhood and adolescence, we enter into one of the darker passages of twentieth-century history.

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.47

  Dinah and her sister Lisa are growing up in South Africa in the fifties - a time of dreadful changes. Dinah is weedy and doesn't much like eating. Lisa is an angel-face who likes chocolate sprinkles on bread. It is at school that Dinah first learns about racism. 'What would you rather have - a native girl or a koelie to make your sandwiches?' a little girl asks. Dinah doesn't know what she's talking about, because it's her dad who makes her sandwiches. As we follow Dinah from childhood, through adolescence and marriage, to voluntary exile in London, we get a vivid glimpse of one of the darker passages of twentieth century history. Barbara Trapido's writing has always possessed a painful edge beneath a dazzling surface of style and wit and in this, her new novel, she breathtakingly juggles light and shadow as only she knows how. Seductive, funny, heartbreaking - this is pure Trapido.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2003

  $3.47

  Dinah and her sister Lisa are growing up in 1950's South Africa, where racial laws are tightening. They are two little girls from a dissenting liberal family. Big sister Lisa is strong and sensible, while Dinah is weedy and arty. At school, the sadistic Mrs Vaughan-Jones is providing instruction in mental arithmetic and racial prejudice. And then there's the puzzle of lunch break. 'Would you rather have a native girl or a koelie to make your sandwiches?' a first-year classmate asks. But Dinah doesn't know the answer, because it's her dad who makes her sandwiches. As the apparatus of repression rolls on, Dinah finds her own way, escaping into rewarding friendships. Then there's the minefield of boys and university and finally, there's marriage and voluntary exile in London. As we follow Dinah's journey through childhood and adolescence, we enter into one of the darker passages of twentieth-century history. Balancing darkness and light with marvellous dexterity, this is Barbara Trapido at the top of her form - vibrant, profound and, as always, irresistible.

• New

  Paperback
  2009

  $13.79

  Dinah and her sister Lisa are growing up in 1950s South Africa, where racial laws are tightening. They are two little girls from a dissenting liberal family. Big sister Lisa is strong and sensible, while Dinah is weedy and arty. At school, the sadistic Mrs Vaughan-Jones is providing instruction in mental arithmetic and racial prejudice. And then there's the puzzle of lunch break. 'Would you rather have a native girl or a koelie to make your sandwiches?' a first-year classmate asks. But Dinah doesn't know the answer, because it's her dad who makes her sandwiches. As the apparatus of repression rolls on, Dinah finds her own way. As we follow her journey through childhood and adolescence, we enter into one of the darker passages of twentieth-century history.