CORNER SHOP OME - Softcover

Farooki, Roopa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 033045594X ISBN 13: 9780330455947

Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

Be careful what you wish for...There are only two tragedies in life. One is not getting your heart’s desire – and the other? Getting it.Fourteen-year-old Lucky Khalil is passionate about three football, Star Wars and Portia, the girl who works in his grandfather’s corner shop. In that order.While Lucky pursues his girl and his dreams of one day scoring for England, his mother Delphine, the woman who seems to have everything, fantasizes about rediscovering the freedom of her youth. But rekindling a relationship with her father-in-law Zaki is only going to end in disaster...And, as they move closer to their dreams, do they risk losing sight of what’s really important?

About this title

About the Author

Roopa Farooki was born in Lahore in Pakistan, and brought up in London. She graduated from New College, Oxford in 1995 and worked in advertising before turning to write fiction. Roopa now lives in North London and South West France with her husband and son.

Review

Praise for Corner Shop:“Aspirations and family ties play out across three generations of the Khalil family in Farooki's fine new novel (after Bitter Sweets).... [A] flawed yet likable cast... question what, exactly, leads to a more fulfilled life. This character- and culture-rich novel will appeal to Jhumpa Lahiri and Zadie Smith fans looking for quainter fare.” --Publishers Weekly

 

“Farooki's characters are convincingly complex... While her first novel, Bitter Sweets, was called "enjoyably breezy" (New York Times), this work has a depth to it that requires more substantial adjectives. Highly recommended.” –Library Journal

 

“A complex exploration of the ever-changing nature of wants and desires and the consequences of achieving one’s dreams, Farooki’s tale eschews easy answers for the complex, appealing characters that people its pages.” –Booklist

 

"A winner... [the] characters are imperfect yet loveable, full of life but confused, annoying in their own ways while tremendously charming. One can’t help but feel like a confidant as family crises, friction, achievements, disappointments, and realizations unfold.... [This] comic and poignant novel conjures questions that come back to tease and haunt the reader." --India Currents magazine

 Praise for Bitter Sweets:“By the end of this enjoyably breezy book it becomes clear that Ms. Farooki has been maneuvering her characters toward a major showdown. She contrives a twist of fate that will drag their hidden lives into the light."-Janet Maslin, The New York Times“Fast-paced and populated with characters as colorful as a closetful of saris."
–People “Roopa Farooki’s delicious debut novel...is a candy apple of a book, an alluring confection that is substantial and healthful at its heart....This book...is simply, shrewdly sweet.”
–More magazine
“Farooki pulls off a lightly spun epic tale with effortless charm and more than enough delightful twists to keep pages turning. Even the characters’ most unexpected and disastrous choices seem somehow inevitable, and one is quickly resigned to rooting for the wily woman at the center.”
–Publishers Weekly

Edition details

• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 033045594X
• ISBN 13: 9780330455947
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Number of pages: 355