Book division successes 1993 - 1995

1995

The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope

Gina and Laurence have been the best of friends since they were teenagers. They have never been in love - just friends. When Gina's husband announces he is leaving her, she turns to Laurence for emotional support. But as Laurence gives comfort, his own marriage edges towards destruction.

1994

The Piano by Jane Campion and Kate Pullinger

Ada, together with her nine-year-old illegitimate daughter Flora, and her piano, leave Scotland to arrive in the remote bush of 19th-century New Zealand for a marriage arranged by her father. Although mute, she does not consider herself silent as her piano is the vehicle of her expression.

A Son of the Circus by John Irving

Born a Parsi in Bombay and educated in Vienna, Dr Farrokh Daruwalla is a Canadian citizen, an orthopaedic surgeon, living in Toronto. Periodically, he returns to India. Once 20 years ago, Dr Darwalla was the examining physician of two murder victims in Goa. Now, he is reacquainted with the murderer.

1993

A Spanish Lover by Joanna Trollope

Lizzie is married with four children, and worried about her twin sister Frances who is not. Her worry turns to panic when Frances announces that instead of going to her for Christmas, she is going to Spain on business. Other work by the author includes The Choir and A Passionate Man.

No Other Life by Brian Moore

Father Paul Michel, a Canadian missionary on the poor Caribbean island of Ganae, rescues a little local boy from abject poverty, and sets him on the road towards a dramatic and dangerous future as a revolutionary priest and, later, as the first democratically elected leader in a land of dictators.

Shadow over Babylon by David Mason

American intelligence experts uncover a plot by a British businessman and a government minister to assassinate Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

This novel follows three women in Toronto whose lives are badly affected by the mischief of their former university friend. When she dies they assume that their troubles are over, but then she reappears, apparently more malevolent than ever. Other works by the author include The Handmaid's Tale.