Editorial Content for Paradise City
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Reviewer (text)
A novel balancing the perspectives of four diverse characters can be a challenge even for the most adept of writers. And trying to tie the various plots together into a cohesive whole can result in a narrative mess. But when a writer is successful in presenting distinct yet connected points of view in one novel, and when that book is engaging and smart, it is truly worth reading. Elizabeth Day's new novel, PARADISE CITY, is an example of the latter: an ambitious plot peopled by assorted figures, each finely drawn and believable, delivered in a well-written package.
The four characters here are Howard Pink, Beatrice Kizza, Esme Reade and Carol Hetherington, all of whom live in London. Each starts from a point distant from the others and is moved, sometimes with shocking speed and other times almost imperceptibly, toward each other and a series of emotional resolutions.
"As an exploration of urban life, PARADISE CITY is great. As an examination of the modern human condition, it is fantastic. Though Day clearly puts effort into giving her characters depth, the result doesn't feel forced or overwritten."
Sir Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire and the boss of a popular chain of clothing stores. Yet, as a child of poor Jewish immigrants, he has never felt fully comfortable in the circles of the rich and aristocratic in which he travels. Most essentially, he is still struggling with the heartbreak and fear caused by his teenage daughter's disappearance 11 years ago. A terrible decision to sexually molest a stranger brings Howard into the life of hotel maid Beatrice. She is a refugee from Uganda who had to flee her own country when her homosexuality was discovered. When Howard assaults her at work, it’s the last straw: as a woman who has suffered abuse and rape, she decides to take a stand and make demands.
As Beatrice finds a strength and a voice, and as Howard wallows in guilt and shame, he meets Esme, a young journalist torn between professional integrity and just getting ahead in her field. She lands an interview with the millionaire and finds that behind the blustery public image is a hurting man with whom she shares some things in common.
While Howard, Esme and Beatrice come together, Carol remains a satellite of their story. A recently widowed mother and grandmother, she shares a deep sense of loss, sadness and loneliness with the other three. When she makes a gruesome discovery in her neighbor's garden, her life begins to change in ways she never imagined. Though horrified by what she finds next door and terrified by the closeness of it, Carol is forced to abandon her routine of mourning when the tragedy introduces her to Howard.
As an exploration of urban life, PARADISE CITY is great. As an examination of the modern human condition, it is fantastic. Though Day clearly puts effort into giving her characters depth, the result doesn't feel forced or overwritten. Her style is intelligent and easy, giving readers a tale that is both provocative and entertaining. The voice of each character is unique and well-developed. The book tackles some serious issues, like sorrow and isolation, but balances the heaviness with some lightness and lots of heart. It’s optimistic without being predictable or saccharine, and elegant without being fussy.
While Howard's storyline is a touch repetitive, it is the lynchpin that holds the novel together and allows for moments of fascinating transformation and realization. Overall, PARADISE CITY is a success.
Teaser
Howard Pink is a wildly successful businessman still struggling to cope 15 years after his 19-year-old daughter disappeared. Beatrice Kizza fled persecution from Uganda where homosexuality is illegal; she now works as a maid at a hotel Howard frequents. Esme Reade, an ambitious staff reporter for a Sunday tabloid, is desperate to get the Howard Pink interview for which all London reporters froth at the mouths. Carol Hetherington, a widow who keeps an eye on her neighbors' actions, makes an astonishing discovery. These four disparate characters find themselves linked together in PARADISE CITY.
Promo
Howard Pink is a wildly successful businessman still struggling to cope 15 years after his 19-year-old daughter disappeared. Beatrice Kizza fled persecution from Uganda where homosexuality is illegal; she now works as a maid at a hotel Howard frequents. Esme Reade, an ambitious staff reporter for a Sunday tabloid, is desperate to get the Howard Pink interview for which all London reporters froth at the mouths. Carol Hetherington, a widow who keeps an eye on her neighbors' actions, makes an astonishing discovery. These four disparate characters find themselves linked together in PARADISE CITY.
About the Book
An audacious, compassionate state-of-the-nation novel about four strangers whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences.
Beatrice Kizza, a woman in flight from a homeland that condemned her for daring to love, flees to London. There, she shields her sorrow from the indifference of her adopted city, and navigates a night-time world of shift-work and bedsits.
Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire who has risen from Petticoat Lane to the mansions of Kensington on a tide of determination and bluster. Yet self-doubt still snaps at his heels and his life is shadowed by the terrible loss that has shaken him to his foundations.
Carol Hetherington, recently widowed, is living the quiet life in Wandsworth with her cat and "The Jeremy Kyle Show" for company. As she tries to come to terms with the absence her husband has left on the other side of the bed, she frets over her daughter's prospects and wonders if she'll ever be happy again.
Esme Reade is a young journalist learning to muck-rake and doorstep in pursuit of the elusive scoop, even as she longs to find some greater meaning and leave her imprint on the world.
Four strangers, each inhabitants of the same city, where the gulf between those who have too much and those who will never have enough is impossibly vast. But when the glass that separates Howard's and Beatrice's worlds is shattered by an inexcusable act, they discover that the capital has connected them in ways they could never have imagined.
Audiobook available, narrated by Alison Reid
