Kashgar oder Mit dem Fahrrad durch die Wüste

by Suzanne Joinson

It is 1923. Evangeline (Eva) English and her sister Lizzie are missionaries heading for the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar. Though Lizzie is on fire with her religious calling, Eva's motives are not quite as noble, but with her green bicycle and a commission from a publisher to write A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar , she is ready for adventure. In present day London, a young woman, Frieda, returns from a long trip abroad to find a man sleeping outside her front door. She gives him a blanket and a pillow, and in the morning finds the bedding neatly folded and an exquisite drawing of a bird with a long feathery tail, some delicate Arabic writing, and a boat made out of a flock of seagulls on her wall. Tayeb, in flight from his Yemeni homeland, befriends Frieda and, when she learns she has inherited the contents of an apartment belonging to a dead woman she has never heard of, they embark on an unexpected journey together. A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar explores the fault lines that appear when traditions from different parts of an increasingly globalized world crash into one other. Beautifully written, and peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, the novel interweaves the stories of Frieda and Eva, gradually revealing the links between them and the ways in which they each challenge and negotiate the restrictions of their societies as they make their hard-won way toward home. A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar marks the debut of a wonderfully talented new writer.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Travel, Historical, Asia, Book Club, China

Paperback

First published June 4, 2012

About the author

From author's website:

Hello,

My second novel The Photographer's Wife is out by Bloomsbury in the UK and US. This is what The New York Times had to say

My debut novel A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar was published by Bloomsbury in 2012. It was a US National Bestseller, a Guardian/Observer Book of the Year
2012 and translated into 16 languages. It was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin literary award 2014.

I have written for a range of places including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Independent, Vogue UK, Lonely Planet and many others. I have published
short stories, essays, travel pieces and reviews.

My short story, 'Theory of Flight' was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and an essay 'I've Never Told Anyone This Before...' was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

In 2011 I was writer in residence at the 1930s Art Deco Shoreham Airport in Sussex. My non-fiction piece LAILA AHMED won a New Writing Ventures prize in 2008.

From 2002-2012 I worked part-time in the literature department of the British Council travelling regularly in the Middle East, China, Russia and Western and Eastern Europe. I have worked in and explored Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Greece and many other countries.

I now write full-time and travel as much as I can. I live with with my husband, two tiny children and a scruffy dog in a small seaside town in Sussex, England. I am currently the Writer-in-Residence at the wonderful Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex and can often be found wafting around the South Downs National Park. I sometimes tweet at @suzyjoinson.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story alternates between two time frames, 1923 , and present day London. It follows 3 female missionaries in Kashgar ( even though one of them is there under false pretences, having no real interest in saving souls). The descriptions are really well written, you can almost taste the food, feel the heat, smell the vast range of aromas. The mission however turns into something of a nightmare, but a collection of letters etc eventually turns up in modern day London that bring about some answers. I don't know that there's much cycling involved, but I think the timeframes were brought together nicely, and I do feel as if I l’ve actually been on a bit of an adventure.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

This is another in the growing trend of novels that blend a modern and historical storyline. It can be an interesting concept, contrasting and comparing our times and issues with those past. In this case, I spent the whole novel questioning what the link actually was. Having finished it, I don't see how either Frieda's story in modern London or Eva's in 1920s Kashgar actually complemented or added any weight to each other. Yes, they are both bold independent women (and in many ways Eva is a reflection of our times rather than her own). Yes, there was a tenuous link 'revealed' at the end, but the two stories are essentially unrelated.

I wasn't quite sure whether the "Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar" came into the story. There was little to no cycling, some random quotes that seemed to bear no relation to the following chapters and actually not much of a journey or development of character. Perhaps it was just a symbol of the pioneering independent spirited women in the story but it wasn't really developed as such. I was disappointed that I didn't really learn much about Kashgar. One of the strengths from previous historical/travel novels I've read in the past is that they totally immerse you in a different culture and setting, evoking how people live in foreign lands. This novel could have been set anywhere remote visited by missionaries at the turn of the century.

In fairness, I felt this novel was quite well-written with some beautiful descriptions and paragraphs, and raised some interesting issues. Eva and her companions' lives as female missionaries in lands where they were not at all wanted is a fraught and dangerous one, and each comes to her calling with very different agendas and motivations, something I've always found fascinating and have previously studied. Tayeb was the most interesting character to me - I wanted to know more about his life as an illegal immigrant and his background in Yemen but the story was just touched on and not at all fleshed out. This is true of many of the characters and plotlines in this novel: lots of threads contained with a novel that wasn't really expansive enough to give them much justice.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic and complex read.

The prose is beautifully written and this was a delight to read. The description were sumptuous, beautiful, lavish and luxurious and I found myself instantly transported to Kashgar.

This book switched between two time periods and various characters, but for once I actually enjoyed the changes of perspective. It really really worked and despite it usually being something that puts me off reading a book instead it drew me in further.

The pace is subtle and I didn't realise how very much the whole book had changed between the first page and the last. Suzanne Joinson's writing is simply AMAZING. You journey with the characters, feel as they feel.

I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach as I finished this book, as I am sure Evangeline did at the end of her journey. What happens between the pages is haunting and shocking, yet somehow delicate and quite lovely.

This is definitely one of those books which leaves you with a "what next" feeling.
What happens now? Where do the characters go from here? Where to I go from here?

I received a copy of this for free via Goodreads First Reads.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson was a lovely debut historical fiction work that weaved two timelines, one beginning in the 1920s to current time London when eventually the two stories begin to interconnect in very dramatic ways. But as the tale begins with two sisters Evangeline and Elizabeth joining the missionaries as they head for Kashgar, the ancient city on the Silk Road. Elizabeth (Lizzie) has her treasured Leica camera in which she documents their experiences. Evangeline (Eva) has her treasured bicycle as she has visions of writing a book about cycling and keeps a journal with her notes that will ultimately be published.

"It is many long months since we left Victoria Station (where I picked up my glorious, green BSA Lady's Roadster bicycle). Our luggage was labelled with fantastical words: BERLIN. BAKU. KRASNOVODSK. OSH. KASHGAR."

"What the Bicycle Does: Mounted on a wheel, you feel at once the keenest sense of responsibility. You are there to do as you will within reasonable limits; you are continually called upon to judge and to determine points that before have not needed your consideration, and consequently you become alert, active, quick-sighted and keenly alive, as well to the rights of others as to what is due yourself."

"The Art of Wheeling: The rule for climbing universally recommended reads, 'Pay no attention to hills, ride them.'"

The contemporary threads of the book feature Frieda as she returns to London after a brief holiday. Circumstances bring Frieda together with a young immigrant from Yemen, Tayeb. She is drawn to his beautiful drawing and Arabic writing. Each with problems to resolve, they embark together on a search for answers to the identity of a mysterious woman who has just left Frieda the bulk of her estate. With beautiful prose, an adventurous tale begins to emerge as the two diverse threads ultimately come together linking Eva and Frieda in very dramatic ways.

[Jeannie Mancini · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an Amazon Vine reviewer I try not to read any other reviews before reading a book, as to not cloud my own reading experience or judgement. But, as I was approaching this novel's three quarter mark I just had to stop and check out the other reviews. I had gotten to the point where I was leaning towards calling it quits and tossing it in the pile to be taken the used bookstore for trade in credit. Although I give the author credit and two stars just for the story concept alone, which is a creative one, I felt the book was simply lacking in substance and story.

The story is told by two characters that switch from the present to the past. At the point where I had to throw in the towel, I still had not seen a connection linking the stories together. The novel moves at a snail's pace, moving so slow it almost doesn't move at all. I am not a reader who needs a lot of action or drama to keep my attention but this narrative was painfully boring. Joinson's character development is very lame, neither the couple in the now, or the three sisters in the past, had any depth to their personalities enough for the reader to either like them or dislike them. Their characters were flat and lifeless and I found myself simply not caring what happened to any of them.

In the present we have a young Yemeni man, basically homeless, who finds himself on the doorstep of a young woman who has recently inherited a house from a mysterious woman she never heard of. In the past we have three British sisters acting as missionaries in the Middle East in the 1800's, causing local unrest and trouble when their arrival is unwelcome. I found the unique personalities and actions of these three sisters highly unlikely for the era they lived in and for the places they visited.

The title of this novel is A Lady's Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar. Even though the key sister of the story that takes place in the past, (the actual narrator for that section of the book), is writing a cyclist's guide of her travels that she hopes will be published at their journey's end, I came across no cycling happening at all even after reading three quarters of the book. I guess it was not "all about the bike". Certainly with this novel, I did not get what I expected. It was poorly written, lacked a little meat to flavor the story, had lifeless characters one couldn't relate to, and to boot had so many grammatical errors and poor sentence structure that I ended up giving up telling myself that there were hundreds of other books in my stacks to get to instead of wasting anymore time on this one I was not enjoying. Sorry folks, I give any author credit for trying, but this was strongly lacking in the key ingredients that make a novel excellent.

[Kerry Hennigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

“A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar” sounded like just the kind of historical traveller’s tale I love. One of those magical “stranger in a strange land” adventures of an intrepid Edwardian woman venturing where foreigners aren’t welcomed and foreign women are seldom, if ever seen.

However, Suzanne Joinson’s novel turns out to be quite different from these expectations. Most of the historical action takes place while the narrator, her sister and their friend Millicent are under house arrest because of their missionary activities. Their journey along the Silk Road has brought them to Kashgar in Eastern Turkestan. It is 1923, and Evangeline English finds herself becoming a surrogate mother to a newborn girl child. It is because of the baby’s mother, and because of Millicent’s aggressive proselytising, that they are in their current predicament.

Meanwhile, in twenty-first century London, Frieda Blakeman encounters a homeless artist from Yemen outside the door of her flat. Shortly afterwards she discovers she has inherited the contents of the home of the late Irene Guy – apparently a relative of whom she knows nothing. Together she the Yemeni refugee, Tayeb, explore the contents of Irene Guy’s home, trying to find out who she is and how she is related to Frieda.

All this sounds intriguing, and it is, but it is a novel that lacks the necessary spark to make it really memorable. At times I found myself becoming impatient for something to happen, particularly to Evangeline and her companions, whose narrative is by far the most interesting part of the book.

But, I have to hand it to Ms Joinson – her novel, while not being what I expected, was also rather unpredictable in some of its revelations; always a nice surprise for the reader.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Not sure whether it was the TERRIBLE, ATROCIOUS, WHAT-THE-HELL-WERE-THEY-THINKING reader or the pretty much random plot that got to me worse. . . but listening to this book became an effort of will. I finished it this evening with a sigh of relief, decided to pan it (I had honestly been thinking quite hard about whether it was good and I had just lost patience or was being short-sighted), and then cracked up when reading the review below this one, which clearly agrees with me about the reader. So I'll start there:

Sussssannnnn Duerdannnnnnn. The readah. Has an affffffffffffffffected. Way of speakinggggggggggggggg. She is whispery and pretentious, over enunciating virtually everything--until she reads a man's voice in the modern part of the story and suddenly she is loud and emphatic. WEIRD. She should never be employed as a reader again. EVER. Check out a sample if you don't believe me. Luckily, this was a library download/mp3 book, so I am not stuck having wasted $20 or so.

The story: well, it seems like it was an attempt to ride the tide of "spunky ladies who break stereotypes" stories, blended with a "blending time periods" story. . . but it is odd, unfinished, and confusing. There seems to be a big theme of "hey! homosexuality!" and then a modern theme of unhappy love, unfinished business, bad parents, smoking, and birds. No joke: the heroine inherits an OWL. Does anything happen with it? Nope. It escapes, then returns, eats, hoots, nearly gets released, and then moves to the sea with the heroine. Do we know why it's there? Um. No. Oh, there's also a bad skin motif, and a mucous motif (no joke. Long descrip. of a bad mother coughing mucous onto her hand and not having anything to wipe it off with.).

So. Spare yourself. Don't listen to this.

[Ricki Treleaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This week I read A Lady Cyclists's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson. This is Joinson's first novel, and I will definitely read more of her books in the future. The book contains two stories that are about 100 years apart. First there is Evangeline, a young lady who accompanies her sister, Elizabeth, on a mission trip to Kashgar in Western China during the 1920s. Kashgar is one of the most remote cities in the world, so I thought the premise of a lady actually selling the idea for a lady cyclist's guide to Kashgar to a publisher as highly unlikely. Evangeline fools the mission board that she wants to travel to China as a missionary, but really she is only out to have an adventure with her sister while writing the guidebook.

Elizabeth and Evangeline's mission leader to is Millicent, a middle-aged missionary who is manipulative and twisted. I truly hated this character, and I found her a bit far-fetched. I wish Joinson had balanced this hateful character with a stronger missionary who was committed to serving the China Inland Mission and God because when I think of Chinese missionaries, I immediately think of one of my heroes, Lottie Moon. When the ladies first arrive, a young girl is giving birth right outside the gates of Kashgar. Millicent helps the girl deliver and hands the baby to Evangeline. The mother dies, and the three ladies are soon put under house arrest for murder. They are placed in a hotel run by a Mohammed and his family, and soon cultures and religions clash.

In present-day London, Frieda peeks out her door and finds a Middle-Eastern man sitting in the hallway outside her apartment. She gives him a blanket and pillow, and the next morning she finds lovely feathers and Arabic words that have been drawn on the hallway wall. Tayeb, the artist, befriends Frieda and helps her solve a mystery: An elderly aunt unknown to Frieda has left her belongings to Frieda. While clearing out the aunt's home, Frieda discovers a journal and a copy of A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar.

Both stories eventually come together as the identity of the mysterious aunt is revealed. As much as I hated Millicent, I think I preferred the story in the past because I was unsatisfied with Frieda and Tayeb's ending. I thought it was too ambiguous, and I would have appreciated more closure. I must say that my timing in reading this book couldn't have been better based on what has been happening in the Arab world this week. Eastern and Western philosophies, religions, and culture clash in this novel in both Evangeline and Frieda's worlds.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very impressed with Suzanne Joinson's debut novel. I was drawn to this book because looking at the cover I could not figure out how the lady in the beautiful purple dress was going to ride her bike in what looked like some pretty rugged terrain.

This dual storyline was very well done. My preference would have been for the entire book to be about Eva, but the author did a very good job of keeping present day Frieda in contention with Eva.

I did a comprehensive review of the map at the front of the book and I was expecting to do a lot of traveling throughout the story, but that was not the case. I had to look up several words in my dictionary. I doubt I will ever be using them in my conversations, however, I felt that I took away more from this book than just reading a wonderful story. I felt educated in matters that were foreign to me. I was reminded of what true adventure must feel like. Always on the cliff waiting to fall off or be pushed off.

This book does have a serious nature to it. Social conditions for women continue to change over time. I realized that money has always been helpful in times of great need. Monetary bribes seem to be the universal language wherever you go.

I was impressed with the lavish detail and vivid imagery presented by the author with respect to food and geography. I'm not sure about the authenticity of some of the food that was available to Eva and her traveling companions, but it did leave me with rich images that lingered long after I read the words on the pages.

I was a little disappointed with the final several chapters. I think it was the fact that I didn't want Eva's story to end, but I did want Freida's story to be over with. And to be honest, I really didn't even care about how the two woman were historically linked.

I look forward to reading Suzanne Joinson's next book.

P.S. If I was going to inherit property from somebody, I sure would have been a lot more excited than Freida was.

[Felice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another debut novel, another winner. It seems like 2012 has been a good year for first timers. What do you think? The latest in this series of good reads for me is A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson.


The action in A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar is set in 1923 and involves sisters Eva and Lizzie. They are on their way to do mission work in the Chinese governed, Muslim city of Kashgar. Lizzie despite her frailness is the zealot on this trip although she does have other passions. Eva, who has brought along her prized bicycle, is looking for adventure and a possible book contract for a travel guide. The third wheel on this journey is Millicent Frost. She is the expert, the one who is going to see them to Silk Road city of Kashgar.


There is also a contemporary side to the novel. Joinson has divided the action between the missionaries and the story of Frieda in present day London. ---Let’s take a full stop here for a moment. When have you ever read a novel that toggles between a historical setting and a contemporary one where the author manages to keep them both of equal interest? Does the word never come to mind? There must have been at least one or two books over the years that I have read that used that device and the Miss Modern Times part has been equal to the historical portion but I cannot for the life of me think of them.


Frieda is a professional expert on Islamic youth and little else. She is questioning her relationship with a married man, helping a homeless filmmaker get on his feet and inheriting things from some mysterious person she seems to have no connection with. Taybo is the homeless man. He is a refugee from Yemen whose visa has expired.


The locales, the period details and the politics in Lady Cyclist’s are all layered in with a casual simplicity that creeps up on you. No beating you over the head with research here. (Yipee!) The excellent characterizations in Lady Cyclist’s are successful fed by these details and the plot. Eva, Lizzie, Millicent and Frieda are all carefully drawn. Their very interesting quirks and their search for themselves all come about naturally but don’t assume that equates to a See Dick and Jane kind of obviousness. Joinson uses her talent to let you bring all of these particulars together and discover for yourself the depths of the idividuals and the relationships.


Can Frieda’s search for the reasons behind an unknown benefactor’s gift, the wonderfully interesting inventory of the inheritance, her relationship with Taybo and her everyday living problems really compete with the story of three white women who take off in 1923 searching for all different freedoms in an unstable country? The answer is a surprising yes. Hats off to Joinson for pulling that off! In The Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar she has married skillful writing with an emotionally and historically rich story about independence, abandonment and love.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author: Suzanne Joinson (pub date June 4) (n)
Title: A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar
Description: Eva and her sister are new missionaries to Kashgar, supervised by the nearly fanatical Millicent. Their very first act gets them put under house arrest and awaiting trial on murder charges. Meanwhile, Millicent’s not-so-subtle methods seem to be stirring up animosity among the natives. Running parallel to this story is the modern-day story of Frieda and her new friend Tayeb, an illegal immigrant. Frieda inherits the contents of a flat belonging to someone she has never heard of, and has a week to dispose of them before the housing authority comes in to clear things out.
Review source: ARC from netgalley
Plot: Both plots, the historical and the contemporary, kept my interest. Eva is writing The Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar; she has brought her bicycle with her on the missionary trip. Along with her pointers on cycling, she uses her notebook as a diary to record the events taking place in this country where they are nearly the only foreigners.
Characters: Both of the main female characters, Frieda and Eva, are well-drawn and likeable. The supporting characters are also interesting and believable.
Writing style: It can be tricky to write parallel stories; the author has to make each story interesting in its own right, and they have to move at about the same pace. From the beginning I was more interested in the historical portion of the novel, probably because it was so alien to my own experience. Aside from this bit of unevenness, though, I enjoyed the writing style.
Audience: I’d place this novel squarely between chick lit and literary fiction. I think both groups of readers would enjoy it; it would make a good book group read as well.
Wrap-up: The book’s running theme of religious belief and what it means to the individual as well as to the community was very well done and thought-provoking. I did find the ending to be not as strong as the rest of the book, though. 3.5/5*

[Helen Bookwoods · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has two timeframes/heroines. Frieda in present day London is a social researcher specialising in Islamic countries but this work leaves her feeling ambivalent. Unexpectedly, she is named as next of kin to an elderly women who has died, a woman she has never heard of. Meanwhile a hundred years or so earlier, Eva and her sister Lizzie embark, along with the domineering missionary, Millicent, on a trip to convert Muslims in Kashgar near Tajikistan (Eva is commissioned to write a book about her experiences, hence the 'Lady's Guide').

The part of the novel set in Kashgar is the strongest with wonderful descriptions of the physical and cultural environment. After she unsuccessfully tries to save the life of a young girl giving birth to a child at the side of the road Millicent is accused of the girl's murder . While the authorities slowly get around to charging her they are all placed under house arrest. Eva volunteers to look after the baby of the dead girl and her growing love for the child provides something to cling on to when all else startes to fall apart. The progressively tense and strange relationship between Millicent and the two sisters is made even more precarious because of riots and an unstable political situation. Eva's subsequent desperate attempt to escape is thrillingly described.

By contrast Frieda's relationship with illegal immigrant Tayeb, her piecing together of clues from the dead woman's belongings and her confrontation with her emotionally distant hippie mother, is not as enthralling, although Joinson's writing is always interesting. While there is a narrative device link between the two timeframes, I was at a loss to work out the point. I suppose the relationship between Frieda and Tayeb represents a positive reconciliation between the cultures compared to the gross cultural ignorance of the missionary approach of colonial times. This hopeful note acts as antidote to the more ambiguous resolution of the historical strand.

[Deborah aka Reading Mom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book through Goodreads First Reads.
I was not required to post a review.

The story-lines move alternately from 1923 with three main female characters who have traveled to the ancient Chinese Silk Road city of Kashgar to serve as missionaries, to modern-day London where we meet a young woman named Frieda who provides the second-story line . The blurb on the back of the advance copy states that A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar "is a major literary debut in the tradition of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--a wonderous richly conceived, irresistible debut novel that sweeps the reader away to a different world".

I have read both the mentioned novels and was enchanted by them, so I had high expectations for this book as well. I truly wish I could say that I enjoyed it, but I found it to be boring, disjointed, and just plain difficult to read and connect with. None of the characters, with the possible exception of Eva, seemed likable or sympathetic and while there was a tie-in between the historical and modern story-lines that connected the two, there was nothing that captured my attention or imagination with either of the stories. The book just felt awkward and depressing. I started to abandon the book entirely, but finished it out in an attempt to be fair.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this book but it was not at all what I was expecting from the title and the back cover.

I was expecting something quite light and this got dark pretty quickly both in the historical portion and the modern part of the book. There are so many things that are lightly touched on here, religion, sexuality, colonialism, honour killings, missionaries, etc...

Very little about any cycling, though she did cart the bicycle half way round the world :-)

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Chaitra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a disappointment. I got reeled in by the jacket blurb and the cover and thought that it would be a story about one woman with spunk that would be needed surely to write the Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar? Instead I got not one, but two overwhelmingly obnoxious and stupid lady protagonists. Do not be suckered! This isn't a guide, this isn't even an honest attempt at a guide. Let alone being a window into a strange land at a distant time, there's no real understanding in Joinson's Kashgari heroine of her own sister.

So the plot of her story goes like this: she hates dull dreary England, so when her sister catches the missionary bug, Eva follows her into China with the intention of writing a guide. There is even a publishing deal that she's secured for said guide. So far, so good. Except things begin to go wrong as soon as they get into Kashgar, and one of their number is held to a trial due to cultural misunderstanding. Their Mission drops them like a super hot potato (which I didn't think was actually done). Throughout their forced stay in Kashgar, we get these equations beaten over our head: Millicent (the lady on trial)=bad, Lizzie (Eva's sister)=stupid and lost and sleeping with Millicent, Mission=not helpful, Muslims=hate missionaries and Eva=stupid because she doesn't understand the previous equations even though she's the one doing the beating. And the central premise of the book=Misleading! Eva doesn't want to go anywhere - when they land in Kashgar she whines. Here? Do I really need to be in the desert? And then in rapid fashion in the last twenty pages or so of the book, she "travels" - that is to say, she runs with basically no other choice left to her. She's only happy once she comes to a place that she calls "unhygienic" but, it's got one European style house with two floors! and Switzerland-style mountains just half an hour away! This is truly a spectacular place to visit, people. A home away from home indeed. The funniest part is that once she gets back to England, this "guide" actually gets published.

Which makes Frieda, the present time heroine's story ridiculous and pointless. Anyhow, she is next of kin to someone who just died and she's given seven days by the state to sort out the dead lady's belongings. Tada! The dead lady is connected to the cyclist lady (obviously) and she's also connected to Frie except how is a mystery. Ingenious! This is obviously a pointless connection. Her totally useless storyline is further confused by an illegal immigrant character from Yemen for some reason. Why Yemen? The book gives us no clue. In a completely contrived sequence that involves luring an accidentally freed owl (no, seriously) back into its cage, Frieda and this guy Tayeb get together and then decide to putter around the dead old lady's apartment for lack of anything better to do. Tayeb is obviously handy with more than just the owl. He conveniently knows that the Leica they find is an early model because he was a filmmaker, he knows what looks like a printing press is a mimeograph because he worked in a printing press, he knows how to cook oxtail soup because, well, he worked in a restaurant and he sees Frieda kind of naked and the first thing he thinks of is to draw a tattoo on her back, because that's the most Arabic thing he does - draw animal calligraphy on walls. And he does the pointing and the recognizing of things within two seconds of being in the old house. The cooking takes the bulk of the time in the apartment - nine hours. He's also the responsible party who finds what seems to be the only photograph in the house available in the first two seconds. He finds this in the bible. What he was doing picking up the bible is anyone's guess - maybe his next profession will be to imitate a man of the cloth.

Honestly, that's about it. Joinson introduces several different cultures (she's not satisfied with one or two) and basically spits on all of them. Even the poor old ladies of the English suburbs are not spared. At least we can call her not racist. We get Frieda telling Tayeb that she just cannot put down Eva's notebook - it's so interesting! I couldn't put it down either, but that's because I need to return the book to the library today. We get some half-hearted family plot threads that are opened to give the characters some depth I think. They're not resolved, but the author basically makes us think that they're resolved in the last chapter where Frieda stands at the sea shore and apparently the foam washes away all the unresolved plot lines. Handy. I truly wanted to like this book, but all it gave me was a lot of material to criticize in a lengthy "review".

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was loving this book and would have given it 4 1/2 stars all the way up until the end. The story followed two women during two different time periods: Evangeline in the 1920's and Freida in present day. There was also a story arc on Tayeb, and that wove in seamlessly with Freida's story. I spent the first 3/4 of the novel trying to figure out how the two main stories would intersect and loved that. The first 3/4 of the novel had great details and imagery. Evangeline is a missionary in the early 1920's, and had traveled to Kashgar with her sister, Elizabeth, and another missionary woman, Millicent. Eva, as she's often called, was not there so much for the missionary work, rather was there to keep watch over her sister. Even though this story arc is only from Eva's point of view, I really got a sense of each of the characters, the bad and the good, and, in Millicent's case, the bad and the not so awful.

Freida's story is slightly less developed, but equally as interesting. She's a foreign correspondent in present-day London who can't seem to stay in one place. She's involved with a man she shouldn't be involved with and has no idea what to do next. When she comes back from somewhere in the middle east, she has a letter saying that an Irene Guy has passed away and she is listed as the next of kin and needs to empty out her apartment. She has no idea who this woman is or how they are related. She calls her father, who is equally stumped. She decides that she must contact her mother, who she hasn't seen since she was a child and is now living on a commune.

Enter Tayeb. He is an illegal immigrant from Yemen, who cannot go home again. He gets caught up in something unpleasant, and then is on the run so he is not deported. This is when his path intersects with Freida's.

The story between Freida and Tayeb is interesting. Together, they set out to figure out Freida's relation (if there even is one) to Irene.

Unfortunately, the book lost me at the end. I don't even know that it was the last 1/4 of the book, but rather the last two chapters that disappointed me. The end felt rushed, almost like the author couldn't exceed a certain page number. Maybe it's supposed to be left rather vague, but I wanted more details. There was a lot that was glossed over and a few questions left unanswered.

Once I found out who Irene was, I wanted to know more about her. I felt her character was essentially missing from the book.

I am so disappointed in the ending because I really did like this novel. Suzanne Joinson did a lot of research on early missionary work, and that fact is evident. I just wanted more.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is the 1920s and Evangeline English, her sister Lizzie, and their missionary leader, Millicent, have travelled to Turkestan with plans of converting the local Muslim population to Christianity. However, Evangeline has no real interest or intention in establishing a mission or in converting "the heathens". Rather, Evangeline has secret plans to write a travel guide based on what she sees and experiences in Kashgar.

It is also present day London, and Frieda is a modern-world professional stuck in an unproductive relationship with a selfish married man; and Tayeb is an "illegal" from Yemen who finds himself homeless and sleeping in the corridor outside Frieda's apartment. The two form an unlikely friendship and together they go about investigating the origins of a mysterious inheritance, of which Frieda has found herself unwillingly in possession.

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar is split between two periods, 1920s Turkestan and modern London, and is, ultimately, three stories in one: Evangeline, Frieda and Tayeb. Having said that, however, it was Evangeline's story that is the basis for the novel as a whole, and the one that I personally found the most interesting.

The manner in which the novel is written, with each individual component consistently interrupting the others, made it feel disjointed and the characters distant. It is assumed that the three central characters must be connected in some way, but this only starts to become clear after two thirds of the novel has been read. There are also too many random, insignificant ramblings, where the story veers off on tangents, more often than not right in the middle of a really interesting piece. I found this frustrating.

Overall, I found Evangeline's story to be the most interesting of the three; the events surrounding her time in Kashgar are the reason I kept reading until the end, and I would have been perfectly content had this novel been her story alone.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for book club. The book structure contains two parallel stories. The first set in 1923 is documented by way of a diary. Eva is a young single woman who follows her sister and another missionary leader to Kashgar in north east China, modern day Turkmenistan. Eva's belief is a pretense in order to escape her boring life back in England and she intends to write a travel book about the region. Her sister is devout but the pair under the guidance of the nefarious hard line Millicent are out of their depth. The book begins with the birth of a child by a roadside in the region. Millicent takes it upon herself to help the mother deliver the baby, despite her help the mother dies in child birth angering the natives who accuse the ladies of witch craft. The second story is set in modern day London, it follows Frieda also a young single woman making her way in the world. She comes across Tayeb an undocumented Yemeni film maker who is sleeping on her doorstep and graffiting the walls with Arabic calligraphy. Frieda is bequeathed the contents of flat by a mysterious benefactor.

Despite a promising start the story didn't make much of an impression on me. It has a similar structure to "the English Patient" the parallel story informing the present day, a diary used to tell the story etc., yet it wasn't exciting. The characters aren't developed enough. On the whole the gay characters are cast as sexual predators, there is one "good" gay character. The protagonist doesn't act she prevaricates despite being the sole charge in some critical situations. The author who works for the British council (I'm sure that didn't hurt when it came to finding a publisher) carried out a lot of research for this book but it's not in evidence. Page after page of tedious colonial stuffiness wore me down. The scene where one of the protagonists meets her mother is too convenient. It was readable but didn't set my imagination on fire.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suzanne Joinson’s split narrative novel is the kind of book you will indeed finish even though you will be constantly aware of the pitfalls of this narrative style with every chapter. My, that sounded pretentious, but how hard must it be to keep two narratives going and have them both be equally interesting? How hard can it be to find a modern story to compete with a 1920’s Englishwoman writing a guide for ladies who want to go bicycling for heaven’s sake through a remote Muslim area of western China?

Damn hard.

Joinson’s parallel story takes too long to ramp up. Modern-day Frieda forms an odd bond with a Yemeni man who stays in the flat she inherits from an unknown relative. Of the two women, Frieda is the hardest to connect with. Cyclist Eva makes her trip to Kashgar not only to write her Guide, but to accompany her sister who, aflame with religion, has hooked up with a rather frightening missionary. Frieda is an odd loner who is caught up in an affair with a married man. This relationship, meant to humanize her, is simply inexplicable.

What will keep you reading is wondering how these two stories are ever going to come together, but when they do it is rushed and not entirely believable. Joinson should have the confidence that her story would hold readers for a few more pages to wrap Eva and Frieda’s stories up as they deserve.

I read this novel through Netgalley, and I thank them for the opportunity!

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

It sounded like it might be an interesting read. I didn't much care for this book. She didn't really ride her bicycle for any reason, only spoke about it. The historical and modern plots had little to do with each other. Something is missing about it. It is an odd book.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two fascinating tales are told side by side in this vivid debut novel, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar. One is an incredible story of sisters, two young Englishwomen who aspire to become missionaries in remote southeastern Turkey in 1923. The alternate chapters tell the story of a young professional woman in present day London. Her parents were "free spirits," who we would have called hippies if they were in the USA, and she rebelled by seeking out traditional schooling and a career in research.

One of the sisters in the first tale, Elizabeth English, is committed to taking the gospel to the heathens in remote southeasternTurkey, but her sister Evangeline is just committed to getting out of England and not being left behind by her sister. She comes up with the excuse of writing the Guide as a ruse, and then, almost accidentally, meets a publisher who is willing to advance her money for her future manuscript, so she is more committed than ever to keeping a journal and attempting to write the book.

In the second tale Frieda Blakeman has just returned from a work-related trip to gather research for a paper on The Youth of the Islamic World as a part of her government job. She hopes to spend the evening with her lover, a married man, but he fails to come to her apartment. Oddly, a possibly homeless man has followed her home from the train station. She winds up offering him a pillow and a blanket, as he is intending to spend the night in the hallway in front of her door. When she checks the next morning, he is gone but the blanket is folded neatly with the pillow, and he has decorated her walls with beautiful drawings of birds. His name is Tayeb and she will meet him again.

Lizzie and Eva are traveling with Millicent, an older experienced female missionary who has a very strong personality and seems to wield an enormous influence on the impressionable Lizzie. As they approach the end of a very difficult journey through the desert, the women hear a woman wailing, who turns out to be a very young girl in the throes of child birth. Millicent determines that they must assist with the delivery, though they are not trained nurses or midwives. When the birth mother dies, the strangers on the road who have stopped to watch, accuse the women of killing the young mother and take steps to have the missionaries arrested. Thus begins their interaction with the people they ostensibly have come to save. Millicent offers the infant to anyone in the crowd who might be related to the child, but no one comes forward. She then assigns child care duties to Eva.

Back in present day London Frieda receives a perplexing letter from the government informing her that she has inherited the contents of a deceased woman's apartment since she is identified in their records as next of kin. Certain that this is a mistake, she calls her dad, who doesn't recognize the name. Frieda's mother had left the commune where the family lived when Frieda was 7, and her dad gave her information of her mom's last known whereabouts in case Frieda wanted to check with her.

The book follows both stories switching back and forth as they move toward the point where the seemingly disparate stories eventually merge. In the meantime we see how cultural differences and language barriers affect communication and community and how love and sacrifice intertwine to create a whole new story.

Quite the good read with lots to ponder when at last the tale has been told.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: First off the title attracted me, then secondly I was both interested in the location and time period as these are favourite topics of mine.

A very intriguing story that kept me hooked from start to finish. Told in two points of view. One the first hand account of the diary of Eva as she travels through 1920s China as a Christian missionary at a time when it is under major Muslim upheaval. Second, the third person narrative of a modern day English woman and Arab immigrant man who meet surreptitiously and together put their lives back on track. I found the historical element entirely gripping and engrossing. I always enjoy stories told through journal entries and found Joinson has used this device well; bringing the reader into not only the time period and the plot but also the geography of a land that no longer exists in today's world. I found her detail for description to be just the right amount to bring her world to life without getting bogged down in tedium. It is a hot, dry, thirsty world and was perfect for my time spent reading in the hot days of summer. I totally loved the characters in this part of the story as well, though not actually personally liking anyone except Eva, they were all very large as life personalities who brought a tale of religious riot to life.

On the other hand I found the modern day story somewhat lacking. Taking up much less space than the other story, less time is given to developing the characters and I never felt connected to either Frieda or Tayeb. Their story seemed somewhat rushed, their connection not quite coherent and honestly Freida's story could have been told to greater depths without the Tayeb connection. This could have allowed the author to concentrate more on the mother/daughter theme which runs through the book but got lost and wasn't fulfilled to any great satisfaction. Freida and Tayeb's story was a pleasant diversion though and while I wasn't happy with how it connected to the past, it did connect, and proved itself in the end. For fans of epistolary fiction and historical fiction that concentrates on society and character rather than events.

[Lauren Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar is a gem of a read! What a surprisingly absorbing story that lured me in from the very first chapter when an eleven year old girl is giving birth on the side of the road on the route to Kashgar in 1923. Lizzie and Eva are sisters, travelling as missionaries with their leader, Millicent. Eva takes the opportunity to cycle as they travel with the hope of writing a guide to cycling in the Middle East, she loves to cycle.

The story also switches to modern day London, Frieda’s life takes a different path when she arrives home from a work trip in the Middle East to find she has inherited the possessions of a woman named Irene Guy. Frieda also befriends an immigrant from Yemen who takes residence on her front doorstep and together they investigate the identity of Irene and how their lives are connected.

Back in 1923; Eva, Lizzie and Millicent are under house arrest in Kashgar due to allegations that they killed the 11 year old girl. The girl died during childbirth following the successful delivery of her baby by Millicent. Eva becomes attached to the baby and becomes her primary carer as the locals are resistant to embracing a baby associated with death. The themes around religion and cultural beliefs were really fascinating and in particular the reception of Christianity into a Muslim community was of interest. Many of the themes and the challenges faced by the characters were thought-provoking and emotionally charging.

It’s difficult to describe what exactly I loved about this book, I do think the author skilfully creates subtleties in characters that foster intrigue and instead of dumping information on the reader there’s space for the reader to make up their own mind about the characters and the issues raised. Highly recommended read!

[Blair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull. And confusing. I think I heard about this through Bas Bleu, but I don't really remember. I saw it on the library shelf and picked it up and now I'm mad that I wasted time on it. I read someone's synopsis that said it was a slow starter, so I was prepared for that. I feel like it never really started though. None of the characters were likable. At all. They weren't well-formed either, so I didn't necessarily dislike them, I just didn't care. I couldn't figure out what Lizzie's fascination with Millicent was - she was pregnant and then a lesbian? I also felt like the gay/lesbian thing was extraneous - it didn't add to the story at all. So, Millicent was taking advantage of a confused (epileptic/schizophrenic?) girl - why did it have to be a lesbian relationship if you aren't taking it anywhere? And how did that fit into the religiosity of Millicent? And why did the two men have to be gay? I'm also not sure what Evangeline's affair was supposed to accomplish, as that seemed to add nothing to the story at all. The links between the two narratives was also really poorly done - I felt like they never really joined up to give a clear, coherent message. I knew from about 1/3 of the way in that Frieda was somehow related to the baby, and I never figure things out. Was it supposed to be that apparent, or was the subtlety/mystery just really mishandled?

I forgot the worst part - Eva almost never rode the bicycle! There was no cycling in here. She dragged it around and there were a couple descriptions of her pushing it. Not sure where the title came from, but a misnomer to say the least.

I want to like this - I don't want to disparage a first novel that someone clearly worked very hard on. However, I really can't think of anything nice to say. I hope I forget this very soon. I'm pretty sure I will.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking forward to this one. Got it for free from Good Reads provided I write a review. Sounds good to me!

I finally had the time to read this novel. The cover of this edition really was attractive. All that cool blue made me think of the Mediterranean. Perhaps not such a good cover choice as the novel is set in London and Kashgar! But there is mention of a lake at one point.

Overall I found this a disappointing read. It's a split time and place novel, you really have to be a good writer to make that work. Not sure this did work. I never felt a connection between the times even though of course the people do link through in a vague way. For me I didn't feel the connection. Nothing like the Time Travellers Wife which performed this trick admirably.

I began to feel that I didn't know what was going on from one reading session to the next because of the switching and the tenuous connections (which only come in towards the end anyway). I didn't really care how they linked. The London story was vaguely interesting but fizzled out and the India story missed so much opportunity. I would not be surprised to hear that the author had never been to India. There was no evocation of the sights and smells and sounds. She tried, but it didn't work. In The Far Pavilions I literally felt as though I was there. That didn't happen with this book.

The relationships in the story fail to go anywhere and there is almost no point to the title of the book as there is precious little cycling done in it and nothing useful in the way of notes to write a guide with!

All in all, nicely worded and moderately interesting, but not a great read. I had to force myself not to put it aside for something more interesting instead.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful debut novel by a young writing quickly mastering her craft; this book champions her skills and I hope it reaches a large audience.
Through a surprise inheritance two different stories converge together with common themes of religious zeal, motherhood and infidelity.
Often told with wit; aided by a rich texture of research Suzanne Joinson demonstrates the art of story telling without trying to moralise or use too many words.
There is the sense of danger as we travel with Eva and by contrast the lack of direction Frieda even in trying to find out what she wants from life.
Complex characters abound in this book; there is a complete lack of stereotype and cliche; the novel gently throbs with companionship and a sense of time and place.
There is no compulsion to rush to the end; the beauty and magic is in the story that unfolds in a relaxed pace slowly bringing the central players to a common place, a shared belonging. This is interesting in itself but the most lasting themes are the strength and resilience to overcome. The desire to understand yourself in terms of place, family and blood. The need to belong and the power of writing/imagery.
History can be as dry as bones but in this author's hands it lives and has a real place in all our stories today.
This novel transports you to far away lands, educates you in former times and sweeps you along in imagery and its choice of words. It is a book worth reading and re-reading for it not only entertains but it leaves a big smile on your face.
If I hadn't felt obliged to review this book, having received an advance copy I would have missed this fine book altogether and my life would be poorer for that.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the stack from the library primarily because it's due back on Thursday thinking that I would read for 15 minutes or so. Best laid plans--I read this while I was cooking breakfast, I read it while eating breakfast, I read it in the garden, I read it all afternoon. I couldn't put it down. In her debut novel, Suzanne Joiner seamlessly weaves together two stories. In the first, set in 1923, three young English women find themselves under house arrest in Kashgar, Turkestan after being accused of murder. The three were missionaries, although to be fair, Evangeline English is accompanying her younger sister, Elizabeth, (riding a green BSA Lady Roadster) more for the adventure rather than out of concern for the saving of souls. Rounding out the trio is Millicent Frost who dominates Elizabeth and suspects that Evangeline is interested more in writing a book about their travels than proselytizing. The murder charge was the result of the three women trying to help a young girl they found lying by the side of the road giving birth. After her baby girl was born, the girl bled to death. In the second story, set in the present in London, Frieda Blakeman, befriends a young man from Yemen she discovers sleeping in the hallway outside of her apartment. Returning from a trip in the Middle East, Frieda also finds a letter informing her that she has been listed as next-of-kin to a recently deceased woman named Irene Guy. Frieda has never met anyone named Irene Guy and now she has a week to clean out Irene's apartment before the contents are sold for salvage. Slowly, by alternating how the two stories unfold, Joinson reveals the connections.

[Carrie Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

JOINSON, Suzanne. A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar. unabridged. 9 CDs. 10.5 Hours. Tantor Audio. 2012.

This is a review of the audiobook by Tantor of A Lady Cyclist's GUide to Kashgar: A Novel by Suzanne Joinson read by Susan Durden.

One wishes one had read the book first; and would suggest the same to anyone interested in this project. It is very rare one hears an audio book where the narrator has actually ruined the book, here though is a classic case.

The book plot is in fact two stories; one about missionaries going to Kashgar along Silk Road in 1923 facing societal discordance of values and Freida a woman in present day London and her inheritance from an unknown person, whom she is said to be the last living relative.The two plot lines intertwine at the end of the book.

The first third of this audiobook is painful to listen to as the narrator has developed a pausing technique that holds a count after every period. This seems deliberate as she is very able to read the characters when they are speaking with complex voice interpretations, however the narration portion of the book is in such a non-standard reading pattern, that it is really irritating.

I walked away from this audiobook two or three times, but actually was intrigued by where the characters were going and discovering the connection between them. At the ending though I found myself crying foul, it was an insipid end. After investing so much time with this painful listening experience I felt both the author Suzanne Joinson and the narrator Susan Durden had failed and let me the reader down..

Do not buy.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a lot of first novels, I think that this author has promise. This book had some good elements and strong writing style but also some major misses.
I love a good multigenerational interwoven family saga, and the families of this book are no exception. It isn't a completely unique storyline, but it works well here. The contemporary story involves a character who finds a journal from someone she doesn't know but to whom she might be related. The historical part of the story is actually the journal, made up of notes from a failed mission to Kashgar, a melting pot of Chinese and Muslim influence. I liked elements of both historical and present day stories, both having a well developed sense of place and helped the pace by moving back and forth.
Where I think that this book ultimately failed for me was with the characters. This isn't a hugely long book, so the lack of distinct characterization was even more disappointing because it seems like it could have been added. I had no real grip on either the historical or present day characters. Why do the historical sisters travel so far with such a sketchy leader? What are they running from? What are they running to? I never understood any of their motivations. Ditto the contemporary characters. Tayeb is on the run from his home country for drawing on the walls? Who is he really and what does he want? I don't understand him! And you get some sense about Freida that is based on her family's commune history but it still doesn't all click together. Everyone is wandering but you don't really know why, which makes for a frustrating read.