Synopsis
Newly installed as resident caretaker of four half-derelict West End flats, Martha Brazil can scarcely believe her luck. After years of stuffy bedsits and suburban flatshares, the future seems electric with the promise of renovation and repair. Surely, anything might happen to a girl who embraces it with gusto...But even in her new home painful memories will intrude: of a high-handed father, a mother willing to embrace only the chronically dispossessed, and a beloved brother whose antics have estranged him from the family.
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About the Author
Susie Boyt, daughter of the painter, Lucian Freud, was born in London in 1969. She is the author of THE NORMAL MAN , which was read on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, and THE CHARACTERS OF LOVE. She lives in Regents Park.
Review
'Well-written and almost painterly in its vivid word-pictures' -- Belfast Telegraph 20020302 '... beautifully written, unsettling third novel... Boyd is a singularly original writer, often darkly comic, with a vivid eye for detail... delights as much as it disturbs' -- The Sunday Times 20020317 'Beautifully written and extraordinarily well constructed. It leaves you thinking about the characters long after you've finished reading it' -- Susanna Jones, Daily Mail 20020317 The whole-page Roots feature in the Mail On Sunday was about Susie Boyt 29/7 20020317 'A very sensitively observed novel, as though the central character has one less layer of skin than other people. It is written with a very visual, almost painterly eye for detail, even when the details are bleak' Daily Mail 20020317 'The touching, romantic tale of a young woman adrift amid the bright lights of London' Mirror 20020317 'The stylish story of a young woman who, finding herself caretaker of an Oxford Street mansion block, tries to take life by the scruff of the neck' Conde Nast Traveller 20020317 'Sometimes, Martha wishes that her experience of family life was more like that of other people. Luckily for us, it's not, for the heroine of Boyt's third novel is a wonderful creation' Terry McMilllan 20020317 'Boyt has a painter's eye for colour and detail... her text is as alive with symbolism as a Holbein painting... very likeable' Independent on Sunday 20020317 'Unconventional, unsettling and beautifully written... Witty, laser-assisted vignettes suffuse THE LAST HOPE OF GIRLS... What Boyt brings to the aloof-spinster genre is an optmistic belief in her herone's "moral energy"' Lynne Truss, Sunday Times 20020317 'Beautifully written, unsettling... Boyt is a singularly original writer, often darkly comic, with a vivid eye for detail, and her droll detailing of Martha's uneven journey towards new romance and reconciliation with her family delights as much as it disturbs' -- The Sunday Times 20020317 'Her novels... vibrate with a subtly psychotherapeutic tone... her skill lies in the unravelling of intentions' -- Guardian 20020316
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # wbs8139693191
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR003121984
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The Last Hope of Girls
Published by
Headline Publishing Group, 2002
ISBN 10: 0747265151
ISBN 13: 9780747265153
Used
Softcover
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 45182899-20
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: Crappy Old Books, Barry, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Used. The Last Hope of Girls (2002) ? Susie Boyt Headline Review ISBN: 0747265151 Condition: Used , as tenderly mishandled by Crappy Old Books . If you?ve ever looked at your life and thought, ?This cannot possibly be the brochure I was promised,? then The Last Hope of Girls is basically your spiritual autobiography, but written properly and with fewer texts left on read. Susie Boyt writes about inner lives the way some people assemble fine jewellery: carefully, precisely, and with an eye for the tiny, glittering, semi-disastrous details. This is not a book of big explosions and car chases; it?s a book of emotional landmines, complicated loyalties, awkward dinners, and the quiet chaos of trying to be a functioning human woman in a world that keeps handing you the wrong script. What sort of book is this? It?s that particular kind of novel where: Feelings are both too much and not enough , often at the same time. People try to behave well and then? absolutely do not. The past hangs around like that one guest who never quite leaves the party. Hope exists, but it?s not the tidy kind you put on a greetings card ? more the stubborn, slightly frayed variety that clings on even when everything seems faintly ridiculous. Expect sharp observations, uncomfortable recognitions, and the odd line that feels like it was written specifically to personally call you out. About the condition (emotionally: fragile, physically: used) This copy is Used , which in the sacred taxonomy of Crappy Old Books means: The cover may show gentle wear , as if someone carried it around as an emotional support object they never quite finished. The spine could be lightly creased , evidence of at least one previous reader trying to process their feelings on public transport. There might be pages that fall open more easily in certain chapters ? usually the ones that hurt a bit, or were re-read for comfort, or both. If you want a flawless, untouched copy, you?ll need to find a parallel universe where books aren?t read. This one has lived. It has seen things. It has opinions. Why this is exactly your vibe (admit it) You like fiction that understands anxiety, awkwardness, and the quiet drama of everyday life better than it understands explosions. You enjoy prose that?s sharp but humane , with characters who are recognisably flawed in ways you?d rather not talk about. You want something that feels intimate and slightly off-kilter, like reading someone?s diary that is somehow both funny and devastating. This is not a ?feel-good? book in the scented-candle, happily-ever-after sense. It?s more of a ?feel-accurate? book ? which is much rarer and, frankly, more useful. Why a Used copy makes it better, not worse Because with this kind of novel: The slight scuffing and softened edges feel entirely on-theme with the contents: lives gently frayed at the corners, still holding. Any minuscule mark or crease is basically emotional marginalia ? unspoken evidence that someone else once winced at the same line you?re about to. You don?t have to worry about ?keeping it pristine.? It?s already graduated from that phase. You?re free to read it in the bath, on the bus, in bed at 2 a.m. when you ?just need to finish this chapter.? If there are any faint pencil underlinings or folded corners, consider them the ghostly fingerprints of previous readers whispering, ?Yeah, that bit. That bit hit.? The sales pitch disguised as a gentle dare The Last Hope of Girls is not here to give you easy answers. It?s here to sit beside you and say: ?Yes, it?s all a bit much. No, you?re not the only one.? It?s wry, observant, oddly comforting, and occasionally brutal in the way only honest writing can be. If you like your novels with emotional intelligence, flawed humans, and a sense that everyone is trying their best while also occasionally making a spectacular mess of it all ? this is your book. So here it is: The Last Hope of Girls (2002) by Susie Boyt. Slightly worn, structurally sound, emotionally loaded. Proudly Used and somewhat questionably curated by Crappy Old Books . Buy it. Read it. Then quietly pretend you weren?t personally attacked by at least three paragraphs. Seller Inventory # 155
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: Book Express (NZ), Shannon, New Zealand
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 256 pages. Newly installed as resident caretaker of four half-derelict West End flats, M artha Brazil can scarcely believe her luck. After years of stuffy bedsits and su burban flatshares, the future seems electric with the promise of renovation and. Seller Inventory # 1940d
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Last Hope of Girls, The
Published by
Headline Book Publishing, London, England, 2002
ISBN 10: 0747265151
ISBN 13: 9780747265153
Used
Soft cover
Seller: Reading Habit, Buttaba, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Good. First Thus. Medium softcover, first thus, 186gms, 246 pages. Book is in good condition with mild general wear and tear and moderate page discolouration/spotting throughout, otherwise no other pre-loved markings. Seller Inventory # GENFIC999979
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: Versandantiquariat Felix Mücke, Grasellenbach - Hammelbach, Germany
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Taschenbuch. Condition: Gut. 256 Seiten schief gelesen, Artikel stammt aus Nichtraucherhaushalt! Z4710 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 200. Seller Inventory # 552150
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The Last Hope of Girls
Seller: YESIBOOKSTORE, MIAMI, FL, U.S.A.
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paperback. Condition: As New. Seller Inventory # 0747265151-VB