or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
13 used & new from £2.99
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Lara
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Lara (Paperback)

by Bernardine Evaristo (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.95
Price: £6.15 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.80 (31%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £5.46 2 used from £2.99
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback 13 used & new from £2.70

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Emperor's Babe: A Novel by Bernardine Evaristo

Lara + The Emperor's Babe: A Novel
Price For Both: £11.62

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Emperor's Babe: A Novel

The Emperor's Babe: A Novel

by Bernardine Evaristo
5.0 out of 5 stars (6)  £5.47
Clear Light of Day

Clear Light of Day

by Anita Desai
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £4.98
Soul Tourists

Soul Tourists

by Bernardine Evaristo
2.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £11.69
Small Island

Small Island

by Andrea Levy
4.4 out of 5 stars (94)  £4.54
Blonde Roots

Blonde Roots

by Bernardine Evaristo
4.7 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.30
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd; New edition edition (10 Oct 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1852248319
  • ISBN-13: 978-1852248314
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 362,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

The Independent

'A moving epic of restlessness and desire written with lyrical beauty and highly resonant images.' Well Worth Reading, Best of Black & Asian Writing. 'The linguistically exultant Lara is a true discovery.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Review

LARA is a wonderful piece - extraordinarily beautiful - rich and evocative - fascinating in its span of time and continents. Like all the best writing, by the end I felt not only a little older, but a lot wiser. --Andrea Levy

A short, lyrical, vividly real novel-in-verse, dipping 150 years into the past to explore the family history of a British woman with a Nigerian father and English mother. It's funny, touching, informative, passionate and very easy to read. If you're tired of novels that all seem the same, this one's a complete original. --Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year)

Adventurous, compelling and utterly original. --The Times on Bernardine Evaristo
See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(8)
(2)
(4)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Lara
69% buy the item featured on this page:
Lara 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.15
Blonde Roots
16% buy
Blonde Roots 4.7 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.30
The Emperor's Babe: A Novel
11% buy
The Emperor's Babe: A Novel 5.0 out of 5 stars (6)
£5.47
Soul Tourists
3% buy
Soul Tourists 2.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£11.69
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, 29 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Lara (Paperback)
'Lara' is a wonderfully lyrical read rich in imagery, and a real novel for the millenium.This is a story of Britain and British life that is only now beginning to be told. A great read for any thirtysomething - who can remember the akwardness of school discos and the era of 'shang-a-lang'. Lara, the title character, like many British citizens has roots in a diaspora, the acknowledgement of which, in the face of all-pervasive 'englishness', becomes her essential self-defining salvation. 'Lara' is innovative in form, without being a difficult read. It's funny, insightful, brilliantly constructed - and the best read you'll have in a long time. Watch out for Ms. Evaristo - the empire writes back!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful fusions: the transformative power of LARA, 29 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Lara (Paperback)
LARA is a truly original book. Fusing poetry and fiction, history and myth, it tells of a young girl's family experience, crossing generations and continents. From her Irish great-grandmother's English aspirations and her Nigerian grandfather's Brazilian slave legacy, through the 'mixed race' marriage of her parents in the wake of the British Empire, we are eventually drawn into the young life of Lara herself, growing up in the all-white London suburb of Woolwich in the 1970s. In varyingly hilarious and poetic form, the book traces these seemingly disparate histories, whilst describing Lara's struggle to resolve the multiple presences within herself:

"I longed for an image, a story, to speak me, to birth me whole. Living in my skin, I was, but which one?"

The novel builds a web of beautiful fusions, bringing magic to the mundane and accessibility to the mysterious and unknown. Richly textured, and better with each reread, this is a powerful and moving book not to be missed. Be prepared to laugh, cry, wonder and be inspired.

Review by Jana Newland

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This was one of the best books I have ever read!, 11 Jan 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Lara (Paperback)
A friend gave me Lara for Christmas and at first I wasn't sure what to expect as it is a verse novel and I've never read one before. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Lara is a most astonishing book, full of surprises and inventiveness, and although I found it easy to read I also wanted to slow down and savour the writing. The characterisation is amazing, sometimes summing up the essence of a character in a few wonderfully poetic words. The beauty of the writing is breathtaking and it felt like I was in a dream being taken across centuries and continents. The story had depth and clarity, passion and wisdom and by the time I had finished it I wanted to go back and read it again, to savour every word again and experience the joy of reading it again. In fact I am now on to my third reading. The story also says much about the mixed-race experience and about mixed marriages. In fact miscegenation is at the core of the book - how a Nigerian and a white British woman marry and fare in a racially hostile London in the 50s, 60s and 70s and how one of their children Lara, comes to terms with her dual heritage. But the book has much to say to everyone and transcends boundaries of race and nationality. There are no stereotyped baddies or goodies, more, why people do the things they do, is explored Their are passages of description which are so vivid I was there, I could see it, smell it, touch it. There are moments in the book which are hysterically funny and I had to laugh out loud, and their are moments where the pain turned my stomach. I think this has to be one of the most significant books produced this century. The writer has the depth, clarity and vision expected of one of the century's great writers and I am sure we will be hearing a lot more about her.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Where characters resonate with the people down your street.
There are Laras and Taiwos and Ellens and Ediths everywhere. Young girls who hate their hair because it's not fashionable, old ladies who serve tea in fine China while their... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 1999

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.