Schaduwstad

by Elizabeth Day, Eefje Bosch (Translator)

Howard Pink is een selfmade miljonair die zijn leven koopt en gewend is aan macht en geld. Maar achter dit flinterdunne masker schuilt een man die gebukt gaat onder de verdwijning van zijn dochter jaren geleden. Wanneer hij een onvergeeflijke daad begaat, raken de levens van hem, zijn jonge slachtoffer, een ambitieuze journaliste en een oudere dame voor altijd met elkaar verstrengeld op een manier die geen van allen ooit had kunnen vermoeden.

Net als in Het feest heeft Elizabeth Day met Schaduwstad een plotgedreven roman geschreven over de kloof tussen de Britse klassen, tussen rijk en arm, tussen hen voor wie deuren zich openen en anderen die met moeite overleven. Met haarscherpe pen zet ze haar personages neer en snijdt ze ongemakkelijke thema’s aan.

Genres: Fiction, London, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Novels, British Literature

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2015

About the author

Elizabeth Day is an English journalist, broadcaster and novelist. She was a feature writer for The Observer from 2007 to 2016 and has written four novels.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - I kept turning those pages- addictive reading!
It's all about the characters!!! There are 'stories' about each of these characters ....it's not a one-plot-driven-novel.
It takes place in London- modern day.

Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire. His daughter, Ada, has been missing for 19 years. He's 65 years old...been married twice...and no matter how much you want to despise this man...your heart has a soft spot for him.
The opening scene grabs you -- so darn fast-- starting with Howard. It's close to 'classic brilliant'. The reader gets a flavor of London immediately...along with the 'can't-forget-scene' immediately. My mind, and emotions were twirling..and ready for:
"What's next, after *Room 423*?"

Beatrice Kizza is from Uganda. She does housekeeping at the Mayfield Hotel.
From the beginning of her story -- to the very end of the book--Beatrice will have your heart
fully!!!!

Esme Reade is a young tabloid journalist who has a little crush on her married boss Dave..
who is known as a shagger. Luckily Esme is not 'stupid' ... and has no plans to to let
anything happen with her crush.

Carol Hetherington's: after 40 years of marriage.. she still loves her husband, Derek.
I've been married for 36 years - I relate! I was moved by Carol...inspired, and uplifted. There is some deep sadness and loss Carol faces....(and honestly, I can't imagine anyone handling it any
better than she did)
the story. Two great kids and charming cat...are part of the 'Hetherington's' clan, too.

Penny, Claudia. Ada, Dave, Rupert, Sanjay, Alan....are other characters you will meet.

There are themes of grief, abuse, secrets, loss, loneliness, and love. This is just a
really -REALLY - good novel! Lots of heart.
Even London is bursting with energy ....with lots of building going on: "Lumbering mechanical cranes pierced the skyline at regular intervals. Hoarding patterned with the meaningless insignia of redevelopment that had crapped up everywhere."

Thank You to Bloomsbury Publishing, Netgalley, and Elizabeth Day (GREAT NOVEL)

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard review to write. I want to do justice to this superbly written, highly character driven novel. This is one of the best books that I’ve read this year. I was drawn to it by reviews posted by some of my Goodreads friends. The cover was also enticing. Reading the book blurb, it doesn’t really sound that exciting. I was so wrong.

Ms. Day’s writing is so perfectly suited to writing about the human condition. I felt as though I was in the mind of the four main protagonists. At the beginning I wasn’t sure how all four fit together but I knew that they would and the author “sews” their stories together seamlessly.

We first meet Howard Pink, a self made millionaire in the clothing industry. Most see him as a perfectly horrible, selfish person but we learn about how he started his business. Starting with selling the clothes that his mother made, then slowly building the business with a keen eye for fashion and what will sell. He is very, very good at it and therefore has amassed a large sun or money. His personal life however is in ruins, since the disappearance of his 19 year old daughter eleven years ago. He is on his second wife and very unhappy with how that relationship has disintegrated, guilt born equally by Howard and his wife.

The second person that enters the story is Esme, a young journalist who has just written a story on business tycoons, including Howard Pink. Howard likes Esme, perhaps seeing a young woman who is about his missing daughter’s age. Esme herself is new to London and still trying to make a name for herself. She knows that there is more to the story of Howard Pink and she is anxious to get a more personal interview with him.

Beatrice is a refugee from Uganda who is making a living by cleaning a very expensive hotel that Howard frequents. She finds the job demeaning and knows that she is capable of much more but doesn’t know how to find a better job and feels stuck in this thankless job. The guests never notice her, but Howard does and what happens there becomes a focal point of the story.

The fourth person in the story is Carol, a 60ish woman who has recently lost her husband. She is feeling disengaged from the world and though her daughters try to help her, along with her friends, she is still grieving. The reader is left to wonder how she will fit into the plot of this story.

All of the characters have something in common, they are all sad and looking for love and fulfillment. The characters are so well drawn that you will care very, very deeply about them, even the sometimes despicable Howard Pink.

I will definitely go back and find other books by this author. Anyone who likes strongly character driven plots with a twisted, wicked ending will enjoy this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining 2-star read if you don't think about it too much. The characters are fairly well drawn, if a little stock. Many of the scenes are deftly drawn. The whole thing comes together like an IKEA table: easy to live with for a while, and strong enough to do the job, but don't take it apart or expect it to last very long. One weird and unforgivable choice for me was that a man commits an act of what I define as rape in the first chapter, and then, not only does his victim forgive him, but he even goes on to be the redeemed hero in the end, all his demons slain..

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

PARADISE CITY is an interesting novel in that it tells the tale of four characters that have nothing in common with one another. It’s almost like the author Elizabeth Day had an ending and worked backwards as to how these people lives collided.

The main thread to them all is Howard Pink, a self-made millionaire who is in the daily papers frequently. Everyone in London knows who Howard Pink is. He owns a chain of trendy fashion stores where price points are for all shapes, sizes, and incomes. Howard created his wealth, being born poor. There’s a part of Howard that still feels he’s that unworthy poor kid. To add to Howard’s emotional toll is that his only daughter disappeared 15 years ago at the age of 19.

Esme Reade is a reporter for a London tabloid who is struggling between her personal integrity and professional ambition. An unheard of opportunity lands in her lap to interview Howard. Esme’s boss wants her to be ruthless in getting a story while Esme grapples with her own scruples.

Poor Beatrice Kizza is an immigrant from Uganda who is financially barely making it in London. She has dignity and honor, yet she is emotionally scarred from the trauma of being gay in Uganda. She works as a maid at a swanky hotel that Howard frequents.

Carol Hetherington is a widow who is recreating her life without her husband. She’s lonely and rudderless without her husband. Carol is the character in the novel that reader keeps guessing on how she ties into this story.

One of the main themes of the story is people surviving in an urban city, such as London. Each loves London for different reasons. It’s a study of different lives that enjoy the urban setting. It’s also a story of loss: each character has suffered a great loss, and the coping of the losses. It’s also an examination of integrity. Each character finds their inner strength to keep their integrity.

What I enjoyed was the happy ending. It takes great talent to bring stories together and end happily and fulfilled….and not cheesy. It’s an optimistic story, one that highlights forgiveness and understanding.

[Nat K · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the saying goes, there are six degrees of separation between us all. This theme is made a reality in this book, which cleverly interweaves the lives of four complete strangers.

Each chapter is told from the point of view of a specific character, and as the story progresses, we see the link between these four very different people. This style of writing is intriguing and adds another layer to a very well told story.

“Paradise City” is about love, loss, pain and despair. The truths we hide from ourselves, and the masks we wear to get through another day. Though it’s not an uplifting book per se, due to the circumstances and emotional upheavals the characters have lived through, the underlying theme I got from it was one of hope. That the past cannot be changed, but that there is the chance of happiness.

I’m now looking forward to reading other books by Elizabeth Day, as this one has reeled me in.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 I agree with one reviewer "a wise big hearted novel". Delightful reading.
The story of 4 people. Separate and with great personal stories. Two who eventually connect. But with a very sad story of their interconnection.
I have discovered a new author to read.
Unputdownable

[Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Random selection based primarily in the appealing cover an intriguing description turned out to be one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read in ages. There is something so, so right about Day's writing, the astute emotional intelligence with which she renders her four characters, flaws and triumphs equally, the beauty of her phrase turns, the elegance of composition, the unfailing kindness with which she approaches the human condition. At the heart of the story there are four very seemingly different individuals from different worlds and walks of life who, as the readers get to know them more, are all weighted down by sadness and/or lack of love. That is an oversimplification and an undersell of Day's novel, just as saying that the characters are all on a quest, the ever tricky pursuit of happiness. That elusive unquantifiable term denoting comfort, solace, affection, purpose. Something to wake up for, something to make life exciting an not merely a desultory function. But it should give you an idea of what to expect and maybe peek your interest. I loved this book so, so much. Even the parts one might finds overly sentimental. I thought it to be lovely and thoroughly engaging. Highly recommended.

[Liz Willard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whenever I read a book told by multiple characters whose lives intersect in some way, the anticipation in HOW they will intersect is part of what I enjoy most. This book tells 4 different stories with varying depth, and some are better than others. Howard's story is by far the most fleshed out, but while he grows on you a bit, he's a tough character to root for. Beatrice also has a very compelling backstory, but her role in the book is pretty minimal, and you never get a very strong sense of her character. Esme... seems pointless - her character had little impact on anyone's story, including her own. And Carol is in the book for one reason only, so her character is also barely written. There are some interesting parts to this book, but overall one walks away with a sense of missed potential.

[Nelleke Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knap hoe je sympathie krijgt voor personages die hele onaardige dingen doen.

[Stephen Goldenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is obvious from the title, this is a very positive and optimistic picture of London. Usually, I prefer such novels to be a touch more dystopian but, by the end of this very readable novel, I found myself admiring Elizabeth Day's generosity towards her characters. In examining the city through the interlocking stories of four very different characters, this novel most resembles John Lanchester's Capital. However, Day doesn't have Lanchester's overt political viewpoint.
At first, it looks as if she might be falling into the trap of creating topical stereotypes, in particular, using a Dominique Strauss-Khan type sexual assault incident in a luxury hotel room. However, both the African maid and the self-made millionaire gradually become far more complex and sympathetic. My only grouse is that some of the tie-ups at the end of the book are too neat and stretch credulity.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it, however, without spoiling, the author's choice of resolution for one character side-stepped an awful lot of ethical/moral questions, and the explanations offered hardly satisfied.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book a lot. I really felt for Beatrice and I liked the type of person that she was. A lot of people would have done things differently.

This book wasn't just about any one thing. It was about different people and how they led their lives and the only thing they had in common was a very rich man named Howard Pink. Howard learned a lot during this book, a lot of which he really needed to learn.

I was captured by this book at the very beginning, although it took me a little while to figure out where it was going. But I took the ride that the author sent me on and I enjoyed it very much. I kept thinking there really wasn't a lot of paradise in this book, until I realized they all lived in Paradise City, that really wasn't a paradise at all.

I would recommend this book if your into reading about people, their emotions and where they come from, how they live every day life and where they are going.

Thanks Bloomsbury and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review!

[Sarah Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like many others, I was delighted to come across this book which I found well written and unusual in tackling some really deep issues. All the main characters have something major to grieve over, which they do in differing ways, and ways which change over the course of the story. And three of them - particularly Beatrice - also have to face the cruelty of others and what their reaction to it should or could be. And yet this is not a depressing read as the characters are fully rounded and have happiness as well as misery in their lives.
Two minor points: I felt that occasionally there was more “tell” than “show”, and also although it was satisfying to have the different strands tied up at the end, one particular resolution seemed to me slightly implausible.
That said, I’ve gone on to read Elizabeth Day’s first novel, which I also enjoyed, and am halfway through her second.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give the first two-thirds of the book at least three stars, but then it falls apart. The mysteries are either not resolved at all or resolved in a very unfulfilling manner, and the whole thing is kind of an apologia for sexually assaulting hotel maids.

[Ellen IJzerman (Prowisorio) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Niemendalletje, zonder ergerlijk te worden... prima om bij in slaap te vallen.

[Yat-Yee Chong · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of the book promised more than it eventually delivered. The characters were interesting and the question of how their lives would intersect brought all sorts of possibilities to my mind. By the middle of the book, though, the chapters felt too much the same, each character's rumination and their backstories began to drag. A hint of a possible resolution to a mystery gave me a reason to continue, but that too, fizzled. That, and the big, tidy bow at the end, pushed a 3-star rating to 2.

[Sielke Vercooren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Met veel plezier ´Paradise City´ gelezen en ik merk nu bij het terugdenken eraan (we zijn al enkele weken later) dat 2 van de hoofdpersonages, Beatrice en Howard, mij elk op hun eigen manier bijgebleven zijn. Elizabeth Day heeft mij eigenlijk nog geen enkele keer teleurgesteld.

[Claire Gazzini · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this took me a while. I was having a hard time figuring out how the 4 characters here come together but Elizabeth Day did a fabulous job a making their paths cross. I really liked that. Otherwise I thought this was a good book with very clear writing but not really what I would go for in the future. 3.5

[Rachel Carnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved everything about it; the four main characters, the way the author develops their individual stories and creatively entwines their lives together, her writing style, her insights into human nature and her beautifully crafted sentences that show a depth of understanding. And all of this takes place with the backdrop of London and english life pulsing throughout the book. Just wonderful.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four characters in London from different backgrounds but all connected. A self made millionaire, refugee, journalist and widow whose lives are entwined in the city. I enjoyed the descriptions of the well to do parts of London as well as the multi cultural areas such as Shepherds Bush. Very readable story and which we all have stories to tell.

[Mrs. Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

As other reviewers have noted, Elizabeth Day’s Paradise City is a well-written,* very readable book. The reader is engaged by the characters rather than the plot, which is just as well, given that the latter is weakened by highly improbable - not to say impractical to the point of impossibility - behavior on the part of a criminal. Which is odd, given that Day has a real knack for showing how more-or-less ordinary people act in more-or-less ordinary situations (e.g. Esme’s sudden complete reversal of affections). The book’s not a thriller and for that matter not really a mystery, but it was a pleasure to read. Recommended.

* I’ve decided to quit reproaching authors, editors and/or proofreaders for simple usage mistakes of the kind that I know better than (the other kind are of course okay). Having myself been victimized often by a malign iOS spell-wrecker which has power to ignore my impassioned protests and substitute “week” for my “weak,” “theirs” for my “there’s” and “to” for my “too,” I assume that a phrase like “smoothness of her skin, taught over high cheekbones” reflects the wonders of AI rather than any unI on Day’s part.

[Jazz Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ no notes !!

[Monique Van de Graaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of Elisabeth Day was the Party, a real Page Turner. When I started Reading this book I also wanted to finish it as quickly as possible because I wanted to know how the characters were linked to one another. The book shows the strength and weaknesses of the characters. I definitely want to read more books of her.

[Sukhi G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I like how every character has their own challenges and completely different lives yet somehow they all affect one another.
I never saw that romantic relationship coming ! 😘
Great read.

[Carly Findlay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed with the homophobic and fatphobic content.

[Hélène · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heerlijk ontspannend, leest als een trein.

[Megan Gafvert · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 150 pages were pretty slow, had been hoping for something a little more compelling for this foray back into pop fiction. Touched on a number of current social issues but felt pretty surface level, as if the author thought she’d get brownie points for including them. All in all fine, but not anything special

[Moya Marshall]

have not made mind up what I think yet

[Sarah Stovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

&very good characters, page turner

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as enjoyable as magpie. i enjoy the level of description, but there were some outdated stereotypes which were distracting