| Ugandan Mary Tendo worked for many years in the white middle-class Henman household in London, cleaning for Vanessa and looking after her only child, Justin. More than ten years after Mary has left, Justin now twenty-two is too depressed to get out of bed. To his mothers surprise, he asks for Mary. When Mary responds to Vanessas cry for help and returns from Uganda to look after Justin, the balance of power in the house shifts dramatically. Both womens lives change irrevocably as tensions build towards a climax on a snowbound motorway. Beautifully observed, intelligent and moving a carefully wrapped surprise that gets better and better with the unravelling. The Scotsman A moving, funny, engrossing book. The Observer Gee satirises the liberal conscience of the chattering classes with uncomfortable perception in this hugely enjoyable novel her portrayal of Britains new underclass of immigrant workers is presented with her trademark stinging clarity. Metro Maggie Gee is a superb and pitiless analyser of middleclass angst. Elegant, humorous and surprising, this is a classy performance. The Times Its amazing how many details, characters, stories within stories, Maggie Gees unquenchable exuberance crams into this comparatively short book. The Spectator An intelligent and satisfying read. The Sunday Times A masterful study in Africa/UK relations which manages to be supremely uncomfortable without being cynical, and clever without being calculating. Big Issue The Flood was chillingly predictive. My Cleaner is a calmer, happier novel. Yet a gnawing tragedy lies in the shadows, all the more poignant for the deftness with which its brushed aside. The Independent |
