Miss Webster and Cherif

Miss Webster and Cherif

by PatriciaDuncker (Author)

Synopsis

Elizabeth Webster is a cantankerous spinster pushing 70. Forced out of her old school teaching job, she unleashes her sharp tongue and dogmatic opinions on everyone in the English village of Little Blessington. Then one cold spring night, sitting on the sofa alone, she grinds to a dead halt. To recover from this mysterious, near-fatal illness her doctor sends her on a journey to a North African country where she ventures into the desert and has a brush with terrorism. But Miss Webster no longer cares about anything, least of all Islamic politics and suicide bombers. Three weeks after her return there is a ring on her doorbell. Standing there in the gusty darkness is a young Arab man of astonishing beauty. Worryingly, he is carrying a large suitcase. But who is Cherif? Why is he there and what does he want? Entertaining, intelligent, provocative, Patricia Duncker's new novel is a comedy of errors set in the aftermath of 9/11, in a darkening world moving towards war. This engaging tale about friendship, trust and liberation is full of reversals and surprises, tenderness and humour.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 01 May 2006

ISBN 10: 0747582777
ISBN 13: 9780747582779
Book Overview: 'Bittersweet, compelling and moving. What a treat to find a feisty and convincing 69-year-old female protagonist who engages, albeit reluctantly, with the world as it is today.' Sheila Hancock A intelligent, stylish page-turner. For fans of Ali Smith, A.L Kennedy, Julian Barnes and Justin Cartwright's The Promise of Happiness A book about old-lady-power. For fans of Miss Marple mysteries, Driving Miss Daisy and Guarding Tess

Media Reviews
'Patricia Duncker should be made a DBE' Louis de Bernieres 'The finest literary historical novel since Rose Tremain's RESTORATION.' Time Out on James Miranda Barry 'A gripping detective story about sex, identity and biography.' Alain de Botton on James Miranda Barry 'Duncker manages her brainy material with a touch so deft it is almost skittish, inserts little hooks into the heart as well as the mind, and rounds the whole lot off with a thriller-like twist.' Independent on Sunday on Hallucinating Foucault
Author Bio
Patricia Duncker is the author of three novels: Hallucinating Foucault (winner of the Dillons First Fiction Award and the Mckitterick Prize in 1996), The Deadly Space Between, and most recently James Miranda Barry. She has also written two books of short stories, Monsieur Shoushana's Lemon Trees and Seven Tales of Sex and Death, and a collection of essays on writing and contemporary literature, Writing on the Wall. Patricia Duncker is currently a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.