I didn’t realise my mother was a person until I was thirteen years old and she pulled me out of bed, put me in the back of her car, and we left home and my dad with no explanations. I thought that Ma was all that she was and all that she had ever wanted to be. I was wrong.
As we made our way from Virginia to California, returning to the places where she’d lived as a child in foster care and as a teenager on the run, repaying debts and keeping promises, I learned who she was in her life-before-me and the secrets she had kept – even from herself. But when life on the road began to feel normal I couldn’t forget the home we’d left behind, couldn’t deny that, just like my mother, I too had unfinished business.
This enigmatic pilgrimage takes them back to various stages of Alex’s mother’s life, each new state prompting stories and secrets. Together they trace back through a life of struggle and adventure to put to rest unfinished business, to heal old wounds and to search out lost friends. This is an extraordinary story of a life; a stunning exploration of identity and an authentic study of the relationship between a mother and her child.
The Lauras is the new novel from the exceptionally gifted author of The Shore, which was long listed for the Baileys Women’s Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"A terrific storyteller with a flawless narrative voice." (The Times)
"An exuberant talent." (Guardian)
"The journey Taylor takes us on is ... assured, interesting and full of poise." (Sunday Times)
"A coming of age story, combined with a road trip, this is gorgeously written and the characters of Alex and Ma are so brilliantly drawn they’ll haunt you long after you’ve turned the final page. Quirky, original and moving." (Sunday Mirror)
"Author Sara Taylor has a knowing turn of phrase that illustrates a real understanding of what makes us complex human beings tick, and you’ll be rooting for Alex throughout." (Boundless Magazine)
Book Description:
From Guardian First Book Award-shortlisted and Baileys Prize-nominated author Sara Taylor comes a dazzling new work exploring identity and relationships, set against a rolling backdrop of the North American landscape.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherWilliam Heinemann
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1785150782
- ISBN 13 9781785150784
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages304
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Rating