26a

Identical twins Georgia and Bessi live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. Down below, their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on Yorkshire pudding, and their father roams the streets of Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels, and organic hairdressing; the twins prepare for a flapjack empire; and baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk like...
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Identical twins Georgia and Bessi live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. Down below, their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on Yorkshire pudding, and their father roams the streets of Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels, and organic hairdressing; the twins prepare for a flapjack empire; and baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk like Michael Jackson. But when reality comes knocking, the fantasies of childhood start to give way. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in the adult world, and which of them will be stronger?

Wickedly funny and devastatingly moving, 26a is an extraordinary first novel, a successor to Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Monica Ali's Brick Lane. Part fairytale, part nightmare, it moves from the mundane to the magical with flair and imagination.