The Eloquence of Desire
by Amanda Sington-Williams
Description
"I have just stumbled onto the nicest surprise" - Susan Abraham
"an atmospheric novel with thought provoking themes" - Bookish Magpie
"A good read" - Book Pleasures
"For those who know me, giving a book a 5 is something I don't do. My belief is if a book receives a 5 rating, it better be worthy of a Nobel Prize in literature. The Eloquence of Desire is one such book. Ms. Sington-Williams has written a book that flows rhythmically, lyrically, like poetry or a song, but touches on every facet of human nature. This is not an easy read. Filled with emotion and every facet of human nature laid bare before the reader, this story will grip your heart and bring your emotions to the foreground. I don't think anyone will come away from this story untouched." - Romance Writers United.
"an engrossing and atmospheric novel... has the sharp edge, clarity and narrative drive of Somerset Maugham... Thoroughly recommended!" - Dr. Stephen Wyatt, Award-winning writer of Memorials to the Missing.
The book
Set in the 1950s, The Eloquence of Desire explores the conflicts in family relationships caused by obsessive love, the lost innocence of childhood and the terror of the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Richly descriptive and well-researched, the story told by Amanda Sington-Williams unfolds as George is posted to the tropics in punishment for an affair with the daughter of his boss. His wife, Dorothy, constrained by social norms, begrudgingly accompanies him while their twelve year old daughter Susan is packed off to boarding school. Desire and fantasy mix with furtive visits, lies and despair to turn the family inside out with Dorothy becoming a recluse, George taking a new lover, and Susan punishing herself through self-harm. The Eloquence of Desire is written in Sington-Williams' haunting and rhythmical prose.
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Rights Information
WORLD
Endorsements
"A good read" - Book Pleasures
"For those who know me, giving a book a 5 is something I don't do. My belief is if a book receives a 5 rating, it better be worthy of a Nobel Prize in literature. The Eloquence of Desire is one such book. Ms. Sington-Williams has written a book that flows rhythmically, lyrically, like poetry or a song, but touches on every facet of human nature. This is not an easy read. Filled with emotion and every facet of human nature laid bare before the reader, this story will grip your heart and bring your emotions to the foreground. I don't think anyone will come away from this story untouched." - Romance Writers United.
“I grew up in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s. This book evoked a whole world of sights, smells and sounds. It captured the fear and uncertainty of the times and the very needed stiff upper lips. I recall vividly traveling from Singapore to Ipoh in an armored car and stopping at each armed checked post. Other than that, this was an engrossing read and extremely well done. I found my book club recommendation for this year!” - Genene Cote, Reviewer, USA
“George is obsessed with the woman he has been having an affair with, but when her father, who is also George’s boss, gets wind of the situation he sends George and his wife off to do company business in Malaya. The couple opt to send their daughter Susan to boarding school. George’s wife, Dorothy is a woman of her time, the 1950′s required that a woman kept her mouth shut, even when she knew her husband was being unfaithful. As time passes, Dorothy begins to slip into her own world and George, thought still obsessing over Emily, moves on to a new lover. Susan, meanwhile, is having problems of her own, she begins to hurt herself out of fear and frustration about her parents unhappy marriage.
“While the characters in this book were a little too self obsessed to generate real sympathy, I believe that that may have been the author’s intention. The vivid descriptions of tropical Malaya are evocative of a time and place long gone. An absorbing read.” - Rosemary Smith, Librarian, USA
“Set in the 1950s, The Eloquence of Desire follows the disintegration of a marriage and combines it with the heady descriptions of life in Ipoh, in Malaya. At the start of the novel we are made aware that George is being punished for an extra marital dalliance with the Boss’s daughter, by being sent abroad. George’s wife Dorothy does not wish to accompany him, but for the sake of propriety she agrees to leave their daughter Susan behind at boarding school in England, and goes with George. What then follows is the story of deception, infidelity and heartache.
“The story is well written and certainly maintains interest throughout
Reviews
"I have just stumbled onto the nicest surprise" - Susan Abraham
"an atmospheric novel with thought provoking themes" - Bookish Magpie
Author Biography
The author grew up in Cambridge and Liverpool. She has lived in Japan, Spain and Australia. She now lives in Brighton. Many of her short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies.
Amanda has an MA in Creative Writing and Authorship from Sussex University. For this novel she won an award from the Royal Literary Fund.
Copyright Information
© 2010, 2020 Sparkling Books Limited
Sparkling Books Ltd.
The Financial System Limit by investment manager David Kauders FRSA, is now published in print. This book challenges Keynesian policy assumptions followed by central banks.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Sparkling Books
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9781907230752
- Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
- FormatPaperback
- Pages320
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Copyright Year2020
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