... Lesley Glaister's Little Egypt
A highlight of my recent reading, this is a black comedy, a gothic tale of obsession, and in its structural integrity, its strong narrative rhythm, and its memorable central character, it's quite beautifully done.
Little Egypt was once a many-acred estate in the north of England, home to two Egyptologists, their children, Isis and Osiris, and a clutch of servants. Now the twins - who are in their nineties - are the sole occupants of the house, most of the land has been sold off, and the property itself, islanded by a dual carriageway, a superstore and a railway, is falling down, but the resourceful Isis sees a way out and a future for herself at a pleasant care home if only the stumbling block that is her highly eccentric brother Osiris can be removed.
Just how she goes about this, and what dark secret the house has held these many years, I'll leave you to discover for yourself, for this is a very entertaining piece and a highly accomplished one. The book is one of the eight winners of this year's Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, and I'm glad it will get extra exposure as a result; it certainly deserves it.
I quite agree! I reviewed it for Shiny New Books and thought it was outstanding. Glaister is sadly underrated and not well enough known!
Posted by: Adele Geras | 12 August 2014 at 05:19 PM
It's absolutely superb!
I was very interested to read that the novel was a long, long time in the writing, partly because LG felt her earlier publisher wouldn't like it and that she should concentrate on something more 'mainstream'. Thank goodness Salt saw its merit and brought it into the world.
Posted by: Cornflower | 12 August 2014 at 05:26 PM
This sounds fantastic, I love books with houses full of secrets and have a big interest in Egypt, shall definitely be buying this.
Posted by: Dot Scribbles | 17 August 2014 at 10:25 PM
Great! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did, Dot.
Posted by: Cornflower | 18 August 2014 at 08:17 PM