Recommend a Book

A recommendation from:
Christina Wood

Book Title: 
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar

Author: 
Suzanne Joinson

Summary: 
The vivid characters in Suzanne Joinson’s A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar (Bloomsbury 2012) may be separated by time but they have much in common. In 1923, Evangeline, equipped with her beloved bicycle and a secret ambition, joins her sister Lizzie on a missionary quest to the ancient city of Kashgar on the Silk Road. Frieda, on the other hand, lives in modern-day London. For her, the adventure begins when she returns from a long business trip abroad to find a man sleeping outside her front door. She gives him a blanket and a pillow and, in the morning, finds the bedding neatly folded and an exquisite drawing of a bird with a long feathery tail and some delicate Arabic writing on her wall. Both Evangeline (Eva) and Frieda push the boundaries as they seek to understand the world around them and to find a place within where they belong. The author weaves their stories together, taking the reader on a journey through a finely-sketched landscape populated with memorable characters. Joinson, who has traveled widely herself, does not give in to the temptation to romanticize her settings. From the crowded markets of Sinkiang in the 1920s to a handful of easily overlooked stops along England’s modern motorways, we follow her through territory that she convincingly portrays as both foreign and familiar. Her richly textured prose highlights the common ground that can be found in a dusty cave as well as the cultural rifts that may erupt in a fish and chips shop. As the link between Eva and Frieda emerges, Joinson reminds us that boundaries are manmade and that the place where we belong may not be found on a map.



The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is posting recommendations from interested readers. The postings do not constitute an endorsement of the books by the Literacy Coalition.



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