Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Giveaway: 22 Britannia Road


22 Britannia Road is a harrowing and gripping tale about the lengths a mother will go through to protect her child.
A wrenching story of WWII and its affect on families, 22 Britannia Road is most touching in its depiction of one couple’s desperate desire to create a home in the aftermath of war when neither can quite remember what home is. Echoing books like of Suite Française, 22 Britannia Road is sure to become a modern classic in its own right. Silvana has not seen her husband Janusz for six years, since the beginning of WWII when she boards a ship that will take her from Poland to England with their eight-year-old son Aurek. Asked for her occupation, “housekeeper or housewife?,”  Silvana first responds softly, “survivor,” and then settles for “housewife” reluctantly. Having spent much of the war hiding in the forest of Poland, Silvana and Aurek will face culture shock when they arrive in England.

Meanwhile, in small-town England, Janusz prepares for his wife and son’s arrival. He sets up a little house at 22 Britannia Road and starts a quaint English garden. An Englishman now, Janusz wants to forget the war, his memories of both his own bravery and his shameful cowardice. With the sweet albeit awkward reuniting, Silvana and Aurek enter their new life. But the six years apart have changed all of them. A lifetime without a father and a wild, almost feral existence in the woods of Poland has made Aurek suspicious of this man who expects him to sleep apart from his mother, and he begins to think of Janusz as “the enemy.” Janusz still has the letters from a love in France that he cannot forget. Silvana is skittish and struggles to play the role of proper English housewife, and the shattering secret she keeps—an act permissible in the midst of war but unthinkable during peacetime—stands between husband and wife. When the dashing father of Aurek’s only friend shows up and makes Silvana feel like a woman again for the first time since the war began, the charade of contented family on Britannia Road comes crashing down.

Amanda Hodgkinson was born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England and grew up in a small fishing village in East Anglia. She currently lives in an old stone farmhouse in the south-west of France with her husband, two daughters, some chickens and two cats. This is her first novel. It went on sale this week.Her publisher,

Pamela Dorman Books/Viking,  has kindly provided me a review copy - it's next in the queue- and I can tell you I am itching to get to this one.  It fits right in with several excellent  novels I'm reading set in World War II.  Amanda's website is fantastic and gives us a wonderful picture of who she is, how she came to write this story, and makes you just want to run to get a copy.Sonya Cheuse, the publicity manager for Viking/Penguin has generously made a copy available for a giveaway.  Believe me, this is one you're going to want to read.  So here are the rules for the giveaway:For each entry, please leave a separate comment.  BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL address in your comment.  NO EMAIL, No winner.

1.  Leave me a comment telling me something interesting you found on Amanda's website about the author.
2.  Leave another comment telling me something interesting you read on Amanda's news page on the web site.
3.  Be a follower of Tutu and tell me how you follow (GFC, RSS feed, etc.)
4.  Post this on your blog (sidebars OK) and leave me a link to the post.
5.  Come back sometime on May 19th or 20th and leave another comment for an extra entry.
6.  Deadline is May 21st - 11:59PM.  Drawing on Sunday May 22nd.
7.  US addressess only, no PO Boxes.

Good luck!!

30 comments:

  1. Thanks for the giveaway! I find it interesting that Amanda describes her parents as hippies; it sounds like she had a fun childhood.

    susanna dot pyatt at student dot rcsnc dot org

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  2. I'm a GFC follower (SusieBookworm).

    susanna dot pyatt at student dot rcsnc dot org

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  3. Final comment: I'm disappointed that Amanda's book tour doesn't get closer to my NC home than Florida. 22 Britannia Road looks like a book I'd like to hear more about.

    susanna dot pyatt at student dot rcsnc dot org

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  4. I thought it was interesting that she and her husband followed a dream by moving to a new country where they didn't know the language and renovating their new home there. Quite a lot to do!
    Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. 22 Britannia Rd was voted A Great Read by Australian Women's Weekly! Congrats!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  6. I am a GFC follower.
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. Amanda's parents owned a second-hand bookshop they opened sometime after Amanda turned 10. She had access to cartons of books that littered her home. She read everything she found and that's when she decided she wanted to be a writer.

    Amanda's childhood sounds wonderful in many ways. Her family by the water and it sounds like they spent a lot of time by the beach. She had 3 siblings and described her parents as an optimistic, young hippy couple!

    Ammanda's writing in th "About Amanda" and "News" sections of her website is engaging and humorous!

    Thank you for hosting a giveaway!
    Aimala127(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. In the News section, Amanda writes that she started writing her novel when she and her husband were renovating an old stone farmhouse in south west France!

    Aimala127(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. I'm a GFC follower of your blog!

    Aimala127(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. Amanda started to be interested in books at age 10 and her parents opened a second hand bookshop so there were always loads of books in the house. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  11. Her move to France and the renovations to her stone farmhouse consumed her while writing her novel. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. She grew up by the sea and went on many fishing trips, and saw how to mend nets. This background was as different as her present move to France. rojosho(at)Hotmail(dot)com

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  13. I enjoyed learning about her move and the lovely photo on the website. This book is so captivating and special. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  14. i was amused how amanda described her parents as 'hippies'

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  15. i enjoyed all of her photos on her site :)

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  16. email subscriber :)

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  17. She brings her satchel everywhere with her- thanks for the giveaway!

    Rachelhwallen@gmail.com

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  18. I find it interesting that she now lives in France.

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  19. Follower through GFC

    florida982002[at]yahoo.com

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  20. Amanda's parents owned a bookstore. When she was about ten, she would dig through boxes of books, and it was at that time she decided she wanted to be a writer.
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

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  21. When they moved to their home, they discovered an orchard full of fruit trees, rows of vines and even three beds of asparagus. They cut some asparagus shoots and cooked them later that day on the barbecue.
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

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  22. blog follower via GFC
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

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  23. Maybe it's shallow, but I love that Amanda carries a satchel on her travels. And that her husband bought her the fab bag. I want a leather satchel. And a husband.

    Amy // amyismyfriend at aol dot com

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  24. The book was chosen as Amazon's #1 Book spotlight.

    Amy // amyismyfriend at aol dot com

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  25. Hi Tina, I'm back for another entry. Can you tell I really want to read this one? :-)

    florida982002[at]yahoo.com

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  26. This is another entry for this wonderful giveaway which sounds extraordinary. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  27. This novel, the era, the story is during a period that interests me greatly. Great review and book. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  28. Your LT squib calling this book "excellent, excellent" convinced me, Tu. I want a chance to win!

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  29. Oh wait! I forgot to tell you that I follow you via Google Reader!

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  30. I remembered! I still think this sounds like a wonderful story, thanks for holding the giveaway!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

Welcome, thanks for stopping by. Now that you've heard our two cents, perhaps you have a few pennies to throw into the discussion. Due to a bunch more anonymous spam getting through, I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I try to respond to all comments posing a question, but may not always get to you right away.