The Book of Memory - Softcover

A witty and tender account of a life in a country undergoing momentous change. Author: Paula Hawkins Source: Observer 'Books of the Year'

Startlingly vivid [with] a thriller-like suspense . . . this is a moving novel about memory that unfolds into one about forgiveness, and a passionate paean to the powers of language. Author: Anita Sethi Source: The Observer

A writer to take to the heart as well as the head. Source: Financial Times

'The Book Of Memory flits back and forth in time and the plot twists and turns right to the end. It is no surprise that Petina Gappah is considered a rising literary star.' Author: Aline Reed Source: Sunday Express

A tale which is both compelling and believable. ..Gappah manages to navigate a potentially uncomfortable relationship with great intelligence...Insightful and at the same time a highly personal account of a young Zimbabwean woman's stuiggle, Gappah's work does not disappoint. Author: Jane Bradley Source: Scotland on Sunday

It's a cleverly written and powerful story. It will imprint on your own memory. Author: Anna Fielding Source: Emerald Street

Every once in a while a debut book comes along that demands attention. And The Book of Memory is exactly that...while the themes and plot are serious and, at times, desperate, it's testament to Gappah's talent that the novel still fizzes with life and humour. Author: Natasha Lunn Source: Red

Two sentences in and I was sold. Gappah's compelling first novel is the story of Memory, a Zimbabwean woman convicted of the murder of her adoptive father. The novel weaves between the three strands of Memory's story, and is at times sharply funny, at others searingly painful. Slowly, it becomes clear that not only can memories be unreliable, but if you're not given all the pieces of the puzzle, you build your own story - sometimes with devastating consequences. ' Source: The Pool

Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with law degrees from Cambridge, Graz University and the University of Zimbabwe. Her debut collection, An Elegy for Easterly, won the Guardian First Book Prize in 2009