Mister Pip

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize n n 'Lloyd Jones brings to life the transformative power of fiction . . .

This is a beautiful book' Sunday Times n n 'You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing.

A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.' n n Bougainville, 1991. A small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific.

Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda's last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. n n When the villagers' safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville's children are surprised to find the island's only white man, a recluse, re-opening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens.

Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts' inspiring reading of Great Expectations. n n But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences.

Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. Mister Pip is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished. n