ALady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar

A breathtaking debut for fans of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and The Glass Palace by Amitav GhoshSuzanne Joinson works for the British Council, specialising in the Middle East, North Africa and China, and draws on her considerable knowledge of these regions to enrich her remarkable novelSuzanne Joinson works in the literature department of the British Council, and regularly travels widely across the Middle East, North Africa, China and Europe. In 2007 she won the New Writing Ventures Award for Creative Non-Fiction for 'Laila Ahmed'. She is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, and lives by the sea on the South Coast of England. www.suzannejoinson.com @suzyjoinsonIt is 1923 and Evangeline English, keen lady cyclist, arrives with her sister Lizzie and their zealous leader Millicent at the ancient city of Kashgar to establish a mission. As they encounter resistance and calamity, Eva commences work on her Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar... In present-day London, Frieda opens her door to find a man sleeping on the landing. Tayeb, a Yemeni refugee, has arrived in Frieda's life just as she learns that she is next-of-kin to a stranger, a woman whose abandoned flat contains many surprises. The two wanderers embark on a journey that is as great, and as unexpected, as Eva's.An extraordinary story of inheritance, belonging and the stories that bind us to our past, set in modern-day London and 1920s KashgarA sprightly, engaging and lovingly written bookAn enthralling tale, packed with vivid impressions and full of surprisesBold and elegant ... An ambitious, accomplished debutThrilling and densely plotted ... an impressive debut, its prose as lucid and deep as a mountain lakeA haunting, original and beautifully written tale that conveys a sense of profound alienation, and of other realitiesAn astonishing epic - colonial-era travel combined with a modern meditation on where we belong and how we connect in the world - I could not put it downJoinson possesses a touching, joyful quality that somehow suits the fragile, elusive nature of her charactersAn impressive debut exploring themes of freedom in present-day London and 1920s China. From the far reaches of the colonial Silk Route to the streets of modern London, there's a brilliant sense of place in this original debutI was blown away by this debut. It's amazing. Clever, exotic, compulsive, intensely movingThe title of Suzanne Joinson's first novel promises much and delivers ... Joinson's characterisation is finely drawn and brings Kashgar vividly to life - it's a debut novel of noteBrilliantly descriptive, this is a book to delight in and savourAn ambitious debut ... With intriguing characters and exotic locations, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar is a compelling and likeable tale ... not only a smartly paced adventure story but also a careful meditation on the myriad ways in which loving, and failing, our children are often tragically and inextricably linkedJoinson balances these parallel stories with impressive skill. In an alternating-chapter narrative, there's always a temptation to skip through one story in favour of the other. Here, both are equally absorbing ... a strikingly original first novel, and a total page-turner. In fact, it has the look of a slow-burn, word-of-mouth favouriteA delicate yet gutsy spirit of adventure pervades the pages of A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar. Suzanne Joinson writes of faraway places, across the globe and within ourselves, with a control and vivacity that fires our own dreams of flightAn extraordinary story of inheritance, belonging and the stories that bind us to our past, set in modern-day London and 1920s Kashgar