FROM THE AUTHOR SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE (1996) AND THE WHITBREAD PRIZE (2003)
‘The Mackay vision . . . as rich in history and wonder as a plain Victorian terrace house’ GUARDIAN
‘A national treasure . . . She has achieved that rarest of things for a writer’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘A dark romp but told with great panache and empathy . . . it works-exceedingly well’ KIRKUS REVIEWS
In A Bowl of Cherries, Shena Mackay tells the story of twin brothers whose lives are inexorably intertwined: Rex, a self-absorbed and successful writer, and Stanley, a minor poet who works as a dishwasher
Rex lives on the family estate being the older of the twins by one minute with his unhappy wife, Daphne, who writes children’s books. Their overweight daughter, Daisy, lives nearby, and as a result of a guilty secret of her own, has married an overbearing, misogynist, and skinflint husband, Julian. Rex’s illegitimate son, Seamus, fourteen, discovers Daisy quite by accident and their relationship blossoms despite the many flawed characters that surround them. He carries a family secret that proves to be devastating, but which ultimately releases his half-sister Daisy from her torments.
‘The Mackay vision . . . as rich in history and wonder as a plain Victorian terrace house’ GUARDIAN
‘A national treasure . . . She has achieved that rarest of things for a writer’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘A dark romp but told with great panache and empathy . . . it works-exceedingly well’ KIRKUS REVIEWS
In A Bowl of Cherries, Shena Mackay tells the story of twin brothers whose lives are inexorably intertwined: Rex, a self-absorbed and successful writer, and Stanley, a minor poet who works as a dishwasher
Rex lives on the family estate being the older of the twins by one minute with his unhappy wife, Daphne, who writes children’s books. Their overweight daughter, Daisy, lives nearby, and as a result of a guilty secret of her own, has married an overbearing, misogynist, and skinflint husband, Julian. Rex’s illegitimate son, Seamus, fourteen, discovers Daisy quite by accident and their relationship blossoms despite the many flawed characters that surround them. He carries a family secret that proves to be devastating, but which ultimately releases his half-sister Daisy from her torments.
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Reviews
Shena Mackay is a national treasure . . . She has achieved that rarest of things for a writer
The Mackay vision . . . as rich in history and wonder as a plain Victorian terrace house
A cast of definably colorful and singular characters in a surprisingly affecting tale of family love and deceit . . . A dark romp but told with great panache and empathy. An unusual mix but it works-exceedingly well
This brisk and perfectly targeted probe of the tangled lives of an English family . . . With deft control and deadly wit, Mackay guides these characters and an equally well-drawn supporting cast through a hilarious and touching plot that brings redemption to the deserving and just deserts to the less so. Inventive, insightful and vigorously entertaining
