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26A

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26A by Diana Evans introduces readers to the lives of identical twin sisters. Bessi and Georgie are intricately connected from even before the womb, as the author so uniquely illustrates. The story is set in England, in a suburb of London called Neasden, their address being 26 Waifer Avenue (the "A" signifying the attic where the twins reside). Bessi and Georgie are bi-racial and live with their mother, Ida, who fled from Lagos, Nigeria to avoid an arranged marriage; their father, Aubrey, who is English and a successful businessman who met their mother while in Nigeria on an extended business trip; their older sister, Isabel (Bel) and their younger sister, Kemy. All of the sisters are extremely close and very protective of each other. However, their older and younger sisters make special effort to protect the bond of the twins. Their space is respected and no one enters their world without permission. The sisters are an extreme comfort and support to each other as they deal with their parents impending "divorce" and cope with their father's frequent bouts of anger, as they often refer to him as Dr. Jekyll or Mr Hyde, depending on his behavior that day.

What resonated most about 26A was the way in which the author described the relationship between Bessi and Georgie. Evans literally blew me away with how she described a relationship that I, as an identical twin, could never begin to put into words myself - and probably never would, because some of the things shared seemed as natural as breathing. For example, Bessi and Georgie "share" dreams. Georgie visits a character in her dreams named Gladstone that she talks to Bessi about all the time, as if he is a real part of their family. Another example is how they feel each other's discomfort or pain. Evans described a scene so vividly in which one of the twins was being harmed and the other felt her pain.

Bessi and Georgie do not make any moves without consulting the other - their twin's consideration is always put first and it has to be because they were partners before their lives began! From being business partners in their flapjack-making endeavor, The Famous Flapjack Twins, to lifetime partners. Their dependency on one another is likened to the way your left foot is dependent on your right. One cannot go further until the other one goes first and if one breaks, well, the other one will carry all the weight until her partner recovers.

This is a love story of sorts which describes the bond between two soul mates that would do anything to protect the private world in which they live. They protect this world by keeping it peaceful, safe, happy, and young. First and foremost, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a twin or a sibling of twins, for you will gain much more appreciation for your/their relationship, or anyone that is fascinated with the unique relationship of twins or of sisters coming of age. The cultural references were also enlightening and very interesting to read about as well. Overall, you will not be disappointed!

Reviewed by: Lena Willis
APOOO BookClub

In this magnificent debut, Diana Evans captures the magic and complexity of childhood with such honesty and candor it will take you right back to your own memories. To quote an excerpt:

"On the outside of their front door Georgia and Bessi had written in chalk '26a', and on the inside 'G + B', at eye level, just above the handle. This was the extra dimension. The one after sight, sound, smell, touch and taste where the world multiplied and exploded because it was the sum of two people. Bright was twice as bright. All the colours were extra. Girls with umbrellas skipped across the wallpaper and Georgia and Bessi could hear them laughing."

Georgia and Bessi are identical twins growing up in Neasden, London. Their mother is a Nigerian immigrant who pines after her homeland and converses with 'spirits' while their father, an English accountant, drowns his sorrows in the bottle. Despite these difficulties, Georgia and Bessi grow up as confident and imaginative girls, escaping in their own world of fantasy and possibility.

What makes this novel so successful is the ultra-delicious writing, sprinkled with unusual linguistic devices and elements of 'magical realism'. Add to that animated, well-crafted characters and a story line that is hard to put down!

Part hilarious, part endearing, part sobering, 26a is a moving ode to childhood, the pains of growing up and the magic of 'twinhood'.

I listened to this on tape, read by the amazing Adjoa Andoh. I don't know if I would have appreciated all the playful language if I had been reading silently. The language, the view through children's viewpoints (which not many of us actually grow out of anyway, the great story telling all made me keep listening. The troubles near the end may disturb ome readers, but, in spite of mystical touches, the difficulties of the lives are not treated fancifully. I was quite interested in the characters in spite of their great differences from my milieu.

In her first published novel, Diana Evans masterfully weaves together the twin realities of growing up in a fractured, multicultural, essentially modern family and the magical world shared only by two sisters whose bond serves as a model of familial togetherness and companionship so intense it makes one person of two.

Born to an English banker and his Nigerian-born wife in the London suburb of Neasden, twin protagonists Georgia and Bessi Hunter claim as their shared birthright a multiplicity of locales -- the deceptively pedestrian environs of their middle-class English home, the unfamiliar Nigerian homeland of their mother, and the many realms they explore together in dreams and visions. None of these places is without considerable danger, and the twins face great horrors in each. Their growing-up throughout the course of the novel is a struggle against abuse, alienation, and uncertainty.

Evans relates her balanced and forceful plot with a strong lyric voice informed by her experience with poetry. Though she occasionally gives way to melodrama, readers are unlikely to resent her for it, given her rich appreciation for her characters' inner lives and her peculiar sense of linguistic and narrative invention.

Diana Evans' debut novel, 26A, boasts more than just this author's proficient use of the English language. Evans' language and characterization of the two young protagonists, Georgia and Bessi, reaches out to the reader and finds his sentimentality, his complex understanding of himself and his relationships, and his nostalgia. Evans employs the real and mystical realms as she probes ontological understandings of the reason through the often separate parts of the twins: their Nigerian halves from their mother Ida and their English halves from their father Aubrey. The mystic realm enters through their Ida: her baths and secret conversations with Nne-Nne, her father's stories of Nigerians labeling twins as evil, and her aid in Bel's interpretations of prophetic dreams. The real realm enters through Aubrey: his nightly glass of scotch, his overbearing mother, and his need to control his household. The twins' relationship and spiritual bond also reflects on the mystic realm. The girls are affected physically when one thing happens to one of them the other feels it. They have a deeper understanding of one another's feelings.

Diana Evan's novel explores thoughts, and conceptions of what the reader conceives as reality and magical realism. Evans writes about these multicultural and multiracial twins that experience everything together in their lives. She starts off with the reader questioning the reality of the story because the girls were born from animals that were recently road kill. Through their experiences they learned that they can't always be together forever which will become evident at the ending. Evans also creates a story full of metaphors that examine different meanings in the novel. By combining the Nigerian and English cultures she brings forth different sets of values and beliefs.

This started interestingly enough...twins that seemed joined from a past life. But it quickly derailed into non-stop depressing, life-altering tragedies. It WAS well written, despite the authors intentional use of poor grammar (the character's London and Nigerian accents). But the ending was meaningless and a true disappointment for this reader who stuck it out, only to be disappointed. I was hoping for another Audrey Niffenegger"s "Her Fearful Symmetry", but I got a Thomas Hardy remake instead.

This book can fool you with its magical writing, because it handles some pretty heavy topics (like depression and abuse) so well. It is realistic and true without losing a mystical feeling of "oneness" that permeates the sisters and also their Nigeria, even while trying to fit in at school and in their young lives. The characters are beautiful and thoroughly written. Just a wonderful book. I look forward to reading more from this author!

As a voracious reader, 26a stopped me in my tracks. I would have to stop reading it to savor the richness and then quickly return to it. The fluency and reality of this novel blew me away. How could someone as young as Ms. Evans write so exquisitely? The story line I could relate to even though I'm not British nor have I been to Niger nor have I a twin. But I believed every character. Ms. Evans brought the characters to life. So often authors forget about the minor characters once they are introduced, but Kemy was well-rounded. Errol and Dean instantly came to life. I can't wait for the next novel. My hat goes off to Diana Evans!

I found this book rather randomly, as I was browsing bookshelves in no particular order, and I reading it made me very grateful that I still find the time to visit brick & mortar bookstores!

Even though this is the story of two biracial girls living in London, even though their Nigerian roots are strong, Evans never makes the novel about race. Rather, being biracial, having a Nigerian mother who believes in spirits, these are important, influential parts of who they are. Its not portray as an obstacle or a difficulty, which I appreciated. But even better than this story of a family of women with exceptional connections and insight into the human spirit and across continents and physical boundaries, the language is this novel is what makes it stand out. The language of this novel is what makes it move. I think I will be dreaming of the last few chapters, "the last bit," as Evans might say, for days.

The characters were real and interesting, the story was moving, and the writing just took my breath away. Evans has a real gift for poetic prose and imagery. The clash of cultures especially vivid, and the pain and confusion of depression -- I just can't even imagine how Evans was able to portray it so vividly. I can't wait for more.