Longevity Park Dannie Abse

Longevity Park Dannie AbseChina is ageing. Its shrinking households, overworked and overstretched, struggle to carry the burden of care for their elderly. Retired Beijing judge Uncle Xiao is one among millions of old timers who face a hopeless choice: accept a lonely decline, or chase dubious miracle cures. Then into his life steps Miss Zhong, a young rural nurse with her own share of problems. The two have little in common, but as time delivers tragedies they learn that

the two women’s lives reveal unexpected connections and commonalities

continuing the story of the infamous Powell family of Nanteos mansion and of the violent

Readman’s feel for emotional nuance and flair for mixing strangeness with poignant detail make this long-awaited debut novel one to savour

For example

) and is open to seeing where his ideas take him – quite often to unexpected places

from early songs like ‘El arado’ (‘The Plow’) to ‘Estadio Chile’ (‘In the Stadium’)

thematic variety

Who was the world’s first female programmer

in which Britain has a Labour-Communist coalition government

FEATURE ON MAHMOUD DARWISH

“Here is all of the heartbreak and gravity of being human stripped of everything but its essential

and how much practice does he need before he achieves his goal