or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Dust Diaries
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Dust Diaries [Paperback]

Owen Sheers (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.25 (25%)
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.
Only 5 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, May 31? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --   -- --
Paperback £6.74   -- --
Books Trade-In
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details.

Frequently Bought Together

The Dust Diaries + Resistance + Skirrid Hill
Price For All Three: £17.34

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

  • In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Resistance by Owen Sheers Paperback £4.31

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Skirrid Hill by Owen Sheers Paperback £6.29

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (3 Mar 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571210260
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571210268
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 161,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

More About the Author

Owen Sheers
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Owen Sheers Page

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Owen Sheers, already picked out as poetry's bright hope by poet laureate Andrew Motion, reveals with The Dust Diaries that he is also a dab hand at biography, travel writing and fiction--all in one gripping book. A stray comment from his grandmother one summer afternoon whets his interest in her uncle--a poet called Arthur Shearly Cripps--and the more Sheers finds out, the more Cripps and his life intrigues him. Gradually, a fragmentary portrait emerges of this distant relative who left England for Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) where he lived as a missionary until his death.

Given the assumption of guilt against missionaries of the era, readers may well be surprised to find themselves warming to Cripps. He was clearly a thorn in the side of both the colonial administration and the Anglican church, constantly siding with the Africans. Yet Sheers does avoid the temptation of making him a saint. Why did this successful man leave England? The untold dust diaries of experience are what Sheers imagines as he tries to come closer to his relative. The book successfully shuffles fictionalised episodes from Cripps's life, including wartime adventure, with Sheers's visits to Zimbabwe. Sheers writes lyrically and vividly of each experience. We come to know his remarkable ancestor, the Shona people he lived with and the troubles and beauty of their land. Fittingly, it is at the all-night, all-singing, all-dancing Shearly Cripps Festival--held at Cripps's grave--that Sheers finally learns what his ancestor means to him, in a very Shona way. --Stefan Tobler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Doris Lessing, TLS Books of the Year 2005

'A truly wonderful book.'
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(2)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book whilst on leave for 2 weeks and have nothing but praise for it. The writing is liquid and the characters are defined and developed so brilliantly, it's a real pleasure to read. It is a fairly long book, but it's one worth persevering with.

I shed a tear or two towards the end, which surprised me as much as it did the author in the part of the book I was reading!

To provide you with a synopsis is tough as the book combines so many genres, being as it is part biography, part travel book, part history, part page turner, part autobiography etc etc.

In a nutshell, Owen Sheers finds an old book in his father's study that details the life and work of Arthur Shearly Cripps. Owen's intrigued that one of his ancestors was a poet too and decides to investigate to find out more.

Sheers then combines an account of the investigation whilst imagining the life and times of Shearly Cripps... By the close of the book you feel that you've gained a real feel for both Arthur and Owen and a real respect for Father Cripps and the African people he befriended.

Looking forward to the next novel from this already acclaimed poet.

Was this review helpful to you?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Beautifully written 21 July 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this book on a holiday which allowed me to read it word for word and take in the description of the scenery and to take in the characters. It was a beautifully written book that brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion - not necessarily because it was sad but I found it so incredibly touching. A wonderful book and well worth reading.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A true labour of love 28 Jun 2010
Format:Hardcover
This exceptional book almost defies categorization. It explores the mystery of the life and work of an early and remarkable anglican priest to the young country Rhodesia. Starting from a few relics this young Welsh writer tracks and discovers and recreates many wonderful stories in his kinsman's life. As he travels and researches Owen Sheers beautifully describes the country both now and in its earlier development as he empathizes with the people he comes into contact with, bringing his theme to life wonderfully. In a gripping narrative he reveals a remarkable biography and describes the heritage of the life of Fr Sherley Cripps, in doing so he sheds light on contemporary problems in modern Zimbabwe where Cripps is still fondly remembered and celebrated for his achievement.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Search Customer Reviews
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
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
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


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges