There is no doubt that the cheapest way to enjoy books is to swap them between friends, passing on recommendations as you go. For years my Mum had a shelf in her office at work that was used by the whole team as a mini-library. After various department reshuffles however, the shelf has been retired and she now sends her books my way once she’s done. Sometimes this is awesome, like when she recommended White Teeth by Zadie Smith, or Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris. Mostly though, it involves “a touching love story” or a “forbidden love” or a “tale of sorrow and epic loss” and other such schmaltzy nonsense that features a women on the cover, running her fingers through sand and looking a bit gutted about something. I’m always prepared to be proven wrong in my rash and biased judgments though, so this week I’ve read The Divide by Nicholas Evans. The woman on the cover of this book looked so upset that she’s hidden most of her face with her massive hand. She also looks kinda green. Perhaps that was what she was so sad about. I chose The Divide out of all the books in the From Mum pile because the synopsis mentioned a ranch out West and I’d just finished The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, so felt like I was in the horsey zone or something. I had a head for dusty landscapes and Stetsons. But, somewhat inevitably, The Divide was less about coyotes and much much much more about how residual anger from a divorce can “tear a family apart”. Excuse me while I attempt to stifle my yawns. When the story did eventually become less predictable, with a fugitive daughter contacting her estranged parents for an emergency cash injection, the prose itself replaced all the banality previously provided by plot. “Give me back my daughter, you bastard!” It makes me cringe just typing it here. So I guess what I’m saying is, recommendations from friends and family can often be the best way to find new authors, but never trust a book which has a woman looking a bit upset on its cover. Nicholas Evans - The DividePublication date: 2006Publisher: TimeWarner BooksPrice then: £6.99Price now: Free from Mum From the synopsis: “In a journey of discovery and redemption that takes us from the streets of New York to the daunting grandeur of the West, The Divide tells the story of a family fractured by betrayal.”
There is no doubt that the cheapest way to enjoy books is to swap them between friends, passing on recommendations as you go. For years my Mum had a shelf in her office at work that was used by the whole team as a mini-library. After various department reshuffles however, the shelf has been retired and she now sends her books my way once she’s done.


Sometimes this is awesome, like when she recommended White Teeth by Zadie Smith, or Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris. Mostly though, it involves “a touching love story” or a “forbidden love” or a “tale of sorrow and epic loss” and other such schmaltzy nonsense that features a women on the cover, running her fingers through sand and looking a bit gutted about something. I’m always prepared to be proven wrong in my rash and biased judgments though, so this week I’ve read The Divide by Nicholas Evans. The woman on the cover of this book looked so upset that she’s hidden most of her face with her massive hand. She also looks kinda green. Perhaps that was what she was so sad about.

I chose The Divide out of all the books in the From Mum pile because the synopsis mentioned a ranch out West and I’d just finished The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, so felt like I was in the horsey zone or something. I had a head for dusty landscapes and Stetsons.

But, somewhat inevitably, The Divide was less about coyotes and much much much more about how residual anger from a divorce can “tear a family apart”. Excuse me while I attempt to stifle my yawns. When the story did eventually become less predictable, with a fugitive daughter contacting her estranged parents for an emergency cash injection, the prose itself replaced all the banality previously provided by plot. “Give me back my daughter, you bastard!” It makes me cringe just typing it here.

So I guess what I’m saying is, recommendations from friends and family can often be the best way to find new authors, but never trust a book which has a woman looking a bit upset on its cover.

Nicholas Evans - The Divide
Publication date: 2006
Publisher: TimeWarner Books
Price then: £6.99
Price now: Free from Mum

From the synopsis: “In a journey of discovery and redemption that takes us from the streets of New York to the daunting grandeur of the West, The Divide tells the story of a family fractured by betrayal.”