It is 1923. Evangeline (Eva) English and her sister Lizzie are missionaries heading for the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar. Though Lizzie is on fire with her religious calling, Eva’s motives are not quite as noble, but with her green bicycle and a commission from a publisher to write A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar, she is ready for adventure.
In present day London, a young woman, Frieda, returns from a long 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, some delicate Arabic writing, and a boat made out of a flock of seagulls on her wall. Tayeb, in flight from his Yemeni homeland, befriends Frieda and, when she learns she has inherited the contents of an apartment belonging to a dead woman she has never heard of, they embark on an unexpected journey together.
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar explores the fault lines that appear when traditions from different parts of an increasingly globalized world crash into one other. Beautifully written, and peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, the novel interweaves the stories of Frieda and Eva, gradually revealing the links between them and the ways in which they each challenge and negotiate the restrictions of their societies as they make their hard-won way toward home.
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar marks the debut of a wonderfully talented new writer.
See a bit more of Kashgar in this wonderful video
"A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar grabbed me from the start as Eva and her sister Lizzie are traveling through the desert of East Turkestan in 1923 with Millicent, the imperious, cigarette smoking benefactress from the Missionary Order of the Steadfast Face. They come upon a very young girl in hard labor, shunned by her village. When she dies these three eccentric British women are detained. Their enforced stay in Kashgar is the backdrop for a drama that whirls around religion, politics, women's rights and sexual identity and Suzanne Joinson's fine writing brings this time in history and far corner of the world to vivid life.
Present day London provides a parallel narrative as Frieda, a single, globe hopping young researcher meets Tayeb, an illegal immigrant on the run from authorities at the same time she learns of a mysterious inheritance from a woman she's never heard of. As the two tales unfold they tantalizingly wind their way towards a common thread.
Of the many wonders and gifts of great fiction, one that I love most is the chance to get a glimpse into a culture or subculture that is foreign, obscured by taboo or tradition or by our own prejudices. A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar offers many such glimpses, sometimes amusing, occasionally hair-raising, and always compelling. I loved this adventure of a novel."
Jackie says: "This debut novel has a lot going on. There are two stories. The first is set in 1923 and involves a lady missionary who has found a disciple in Eva's sister Lizzie. Concerned about her epileptic sister, and not wanting to miss out on an adventure, Eva joins the duo as they head to Turkestan, to help with the missionary work (though not really a believer) and to write a travel book about the area. That book is named the same as this novel. The journey is hard, and things go horribly wrong for the women when they stop to help a very young outcast girl who was in labor at the side of the road. The girl dies and the women are put under arrest for her death, as well as given the task of taking care of the new baby. The area at the time is rife with unrest thanks to the very uneasy cohabitation of the Muslim and the Chinese in the area. Political unrest, religion, women's issues and sexuality make for tinder for a fire just waiting to explode.
The second story is told in the modern day about an independent young woman, Frieda, who travels the world yet still feels a bit lost. One night she finds a man sleeping outside her door. A gentle soul, she brings him a blanket and a pillow, thus striking up a very interesting relationship that deepens as Frieda is informed of an inheritance from a woman she has never heard of.
The true magic of this book is that these two narratives slowly twine together creating a story that is far larger than its parts. The subtle and very literary writing is simply brilliant. This is an astonishing debut of a writer who is about to become very, very well known."
Every now and then we encounter a new book that we’re so excited about we want to shout it from the rooftops, so we've created a special tag to distinguish it from the rest: TC V.I.B. (very impressive book)! That means it’s a true stand-out in a season of many excellent and compelling new books.
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