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Miss Webster and Chrif
Hardcover with jacket. First edition, first printing. Minor marks on the leading board edges. The spine is very slightly cocked. Pages are clean; text is clear. CM
Hardcover
First published May 7, 2007
About the author
Patricia Duncker
25 books90 followersPatricia Duncker attended school in England and, after a period spent working in Germany, she read English at Newnham College, Cambridge.
She studied for a D.Phil. in English and German Romanticism at St Hugh's College, Oxford.
From 1993-2002, she taught Literature at the University of Aberystwyth, and from 2002-2006, has been Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, teaching the MA in Prose Fiction.
In January 2007, she moved to the University of Manchester where she is Professor of Modern Literature.
She studied for a D.Phil. in English and German Romanticism at St Hugh's College, Oxford.
From 1993-2002, she taught Literature at the University of Aberystwyth, and from 2002-2006, has been Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, teaching the MA in Prose Fiction.
In January 2007, she moved to the University of Manchester where she is Professor of Modern Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 28, 2017
A weird and unusual book. Of a stubborn old lady and a spinster pushing seventy , a former teacher of French, Elisabeth Webster, coming to a complete standstill one day. It's not a heart attack, and they can't seem to find the cause, but she is very sick. When recovering she takes a trip on advice of her doctor, to North Africa and meets a family there, in a trip of turbulent events. One day soon after, Cherif is knocking on her door, the son of the family. He ends up staying in her house, taking up studies in England. She takes him in, takes care of him and in the process starts enjoying life again. But is it all what it seems?....
The desert appeared to change shape and volume in the sharpening shadows. The dunes rose up, humpbacked, like gigantic dolphins negotiating an unearthly element, their backs flexed and supple, rippling with shadows. The hamada opened out like a nomad's veil, huge, spreading, indigo. She saw the half moon unfold, yellow and vast, lightening their road. The void increased dramatically in size as the darkness above and below stretched out into infinity, like an immense black hand. The temperature plunged. She retrieved her shawl from her basket and peered out into the fabulous, luminous dark....She was in the hands of her guide, who was himself unknown, a figure from fairy tale. But the risks now represented no terrors for her. She sat back in the chariot seat of her dark taxi and gazed out, content, at this miraculous and inexplicable world. Abdou drove the dark horses faster, faster. She asked no more questions. She had learned how to trust him...
It's a story with ups & downs, I do feel a bit of editing was needed to sharpen the story. Caused me to loose interest at some points in the story. It does have its strong points though, which makes this story fascinating. It connects to actual things happened in the world and specifically in North Africa, US and the Middle East. Let's say 3.4 for now, more review to follow as usual. What drew me in especially were the beautiful descriptions of the desert landscape, the heat, the mystic circumstances...And there were funny bits as well. Elisabeth Webster is a feisty woman!
The desert appeared to change shape and volume in the sharpening shadows. The dunes rose up, humpbacked, like gigantic dolphins negotiating an unearthly element, their backs flexed and supple, rippling with shadows. The hamada opened out like a nomad's veil, huge, spreading, indigo. She saw the half moon unfold, yellow and vast, lightening their road. The void increased dramatically in size as the darkness above and below stretched out into infinity, like an immense black hand. The temperature plunged. She retrieved her shawl from her basket and peered out into the fabulous, luminous dark....She was in the hands of her guide, who was himself unknown, a figure from fairy tale. But the risks now represented no terrors for her. She sat back in the chariot seat of her dark taxi and gazed out, content, at this miraculous and inexplicable world. Abdou drove the dark horses faster, faster. She asked no more questions. She had learned how to trust him...
It's a story with ups & downs, I do feel a bit of editing was needed to sharpen the story. Caused me to loose interest at some points in the story. It does have its strong points though, which makes this story fascinating. It connects to actual things happened in the world and specifically in North Africa, US and the Middle East. Let's say 3.4 for now, more review to follow as usual. What drew me in especially were the beautiful descriptions of the desert landscape, the heat, the mystic circumstances...And there were funny bits as well. Elisabeth Webster is a feisty woman!
September 13, 2016
A genuinely original mixture of social comedy and mystery, this book is one of the most enjoyable I have read this year. My only previous experience of Duncker was reading her debut novel Hallucinating Foucault many years ago, although I don't remember it well, I know that I found it clever and funny.
This book's unlikely heroine is Miss Webster, a 69 year old retired French teacher who almost dies when she collapses at home in her rural English village. After a trip to Morocco "prescribed" by her doctor, a young Arab man turns up on her doorstep claiming to be the son of the Moroccan hotel keeper, and she invites him to lodge with her while studying at a local university. This unlikely pairing allows Duncker to explore some richly comic territory and the prejudice and paranoia of British society after 9/11, but also to demonstrate that forgotten older people can have hidden reserves of character and adventurousness. The resolution is genuinely surprising and intricately plotted. Highly recommended.
This book's unlikely heroine is Miss Webster, a 69 year old retired French teacher who almost dies when she collapses at home in her rural English village. After a trip to Morocco "prescribed" by her doctor, a young Arab man turns up on her doorstep claiming to be the son of the Moroccan hotel keeper, and she invites him to lodge with her while studying at a local university. This unlikely pairing allows Duncker to explore some richly comic territory and the prejudice and paranoia of British society after 9/11, but also to demonstrate that forgotten older people can have hidden reserves of character and adventurousness. The resolution is genuinely surprising and intricately plotted. Highly recommended.
September 21, 2016
"She had never built any close friendships with anyone; she was self-sufficient and suspicious. Other people either asked you for money or made you listen to their life stories. She had no idea which was worse". But life will prove Mrs. Webster wrong. A really enjoyable reading about human nature, choices, social and cultural differences and above all, the power to be kind.
February 11, 2024
An enjoyable story in a similar vein to A Man Called Ove.
August 29, 2014
Why isn’t Patricia Duncker better known? Her work is daring, original, expertly crafted and diverse. Clearly a post-9/11 novel, Miss Webster and Chérif avoids the sensationalism typical of the genre, yet thoughtfully takes on not just racial/cultural prejudice but ageism. A book with a heroine pushing 70 was never going to be a bestseller. Duncker’s commitment to working through serious, controversial ideas is commendable. And she has a wicked sense of fun.
This is the third novel of hers I’ve read, and all three differ impressively in themes, style and narrative strategy. What links them is fierce intelligence fused with wild improbability, exotic settings, unconventional characters and a mystery hinging on an old-fashioned plot twist. But the first two I read, especially Hallucinating Foucault, approach art.
A more prosaic project, Miss Webster and Chérif comes closest to realism. However, its characters sometimes border on types, they’re so extreme: Miss Webster’s feisty defence of her spinsterish independence, Chérif as an ideal of youthful male beauty. And now and then the narrator intrudes at the expense of immediacy. Here, third-person point of view can feel too convenient. Though we mostly get Miss Webster’s perspective, the imposing if fair-minded narrator sometimes momentarily jumps into other characters’ heads.
Further quirks include not naming the featured North African country or Miss Webster’s mysterious illness; while late in the novel a passage of lit crit – needlessly spelling out Duncker’s theme – dwells on a bestseller so widely known, she might as well have omitted its title. Still, even when her devices or digressions don’t quite work, she’s hugely diverting. Such a vibrant and interesting writer deserves a broader, warmer readership.
This is the third novel of hers I’ve read, and all three differ impressively in themes, style and narrative strategy. What links them is fierce intelligence fused with wild improbability, exotic settings, unconventional characters and a mystery hinging on an old-fashioned plot twist. But the first two I read, especially Hallucinating Foucault, approach art.
A more prosaic project, Miss Webster and Chérif comes closest to realism. However, its characters sometimes border on types, they’re so extreme: Miss Webster’s feisty defence of her spinsterish independence, Chérif as an ideal of youthful male beauty. And now and then the narrator intrudes at the expense of immediacy. Here, third-person point of view can feel too convenient. Though we mostly get Miss Webster’s perspective, the imposing if fair-minded narrator sometimes momentarily jumps into other characters’ heads.
Further quirks include not naming the featured North African country or Miss Webster’s mysterious illness; while late in the novel a passage of lit crit – needlessly spelling out Duncker’s theme – dwells on a bestseller so widely known, she might as well have omitted its title. Still, even when her devices or digressions don’t quite work, she’s hugely diverting. Such a vibrant and interesting writer deserves a broader, warmer readership.
June 15, 2015
What life in the characters! How happy I was towards the end when I knew what would happen and it was just right. Yes, the characters may not be the most interesting and likeable, but I love how Duncker got everything out of them. I don't have to like people to like the story. I enjoyed my journey with the protagonist and liked the places I was taken, physical places and imaginatory levels of emotion. Duncker really built the whole story up just right and from afar it looks like an English mansion with an African garden.
April 20, 2017
A book I have read with mixed emotions. Sometimes it was boring, sometimes it was funny. A story with a lot of ups and downs but in the end I was so far down that the ups could not get me up again.
May 5, 2020
It was lovely to read about the growing friendship between the two main characters but on a whole the story was rather dull
October 31, 2015
I definitely liked this book but only a bit. I liked some of Miss Webster's character, Cherif's character, the politics, the theme of the book. When I say this I mean that the kernel of everything was fine, it's just that Duncker wasn't able to edit herself and the book ended up overwritten.
Ok, examples here, and they are not going to be specific. Miss Webster is a bitter spinster. God knows why since she basically chose to live exactly as she lived. She is very comfortable, educated, has a lovely home, etc. But she becomes ill - possibly because all that sourness got turned inside-out - and then she has to start again and she does so by taking a trip to North Africa.
Here she becomes caught up, completely unconsciously, with the local people, and before she knows it she's got a young Arab boarder who changes her life by making her more broad minded. She's still a nasty, but she is a softer nasty.
Well, all that's fine, but the book becomes more and more descriptive and long-winded as a result. Duncker's initial delightful descriptions of the desert, the English countryside, Cherif himself, build and build into long passages all about the weather, Cherif's beauty, Miss Webster's indomitable, bossiness. Miss W is constantly described as "striding" about, and it's pointed out over and over again that she has no trouble being rudely forthright. And the politics (written around the time 9/11 happened), became a moralistic tale of them A-rabs against us English/Westerners. I get the feeling Duncker was trying to make the point that we are all human, we should all be less judgemental, but I got sick of it. I was particularly tired of the sermon vs the fact Miss Webster was judgement personified. It seemed a strange way of making the point that we need to be accepting and less susceptible to the media.
In the end it was a matter of skipping through the layers and getting to the pith.
If only a good editor had told Duncker that she could cut 70 pages. It might have ended up a novella, but a much better read.
Ok, examples here, and they are not going to be specific. Miss Webster is a bitter spinster. God knows why since she basically chose to live exactly as she lived. She is very comfortable, educated, has a lovely home, etc. But she becomes ill - possibly because all that sourness got turned inside-out - and then she has to start again and she does so by taking a trip to North Africa.
Here she becomes caught up, completely unconsciously, with the local people, and before she knows it she's got a young Arab boarder who changes her life by making her more broad minded. She's still a nasty, but she is a softer nasty.
Well, all that's fine, but the book becomes more and more descriptive and long-winded as a result. Duncker's initial delightful descriptions of the desert, the English countryside, Cherif himself, build and build into long passages all about the weather, Cherif's beauty, Miss Webster's indomitable, bossiness. Miss W is constantly described as "striding" about, and it's pointed out over and over again that she has no trouble being rudely forthright. And the politics (written around the time 9/11 happened), became a moralistic tale of them A-rabs against us English/Westerners. I get the feeling Duncker was trying to make the point that we are all human, we should all be less judgemental, but I got sick of it. I was particularly tired of the sermon vs the fact Miss Webster was judgement personified. It seemed a strange way of making the point that we need to be accepting and less susceptible to the media.
In the end it was a matter of skipping through the layers and getting to the pith.
If only a good editor had told Duncker that she could cut 70 pages. It might have ended up a novella, but a much better read.
January 15, 2011
This was a cracking read, very glad that I eventually managed to get hold of it. I'd previously read one other book by her, which was well -written but very wierd and hard to like in a way - The Deadly Space Between. I moved my copy on years ago and who knows where it is now. This book is much easier to like.
It's about Miss Webster, an old retired battle axe, who is such a great character. A real spirited old lady, and a good model for growing old - you don't have to be a feeble minded vegetable. Anyway, one day she has some kind of a breakdown, and to get over it, she goes away for a bit to somewhere completely different, Morroco. Shortly after she comes back, a young Morroco, Cherif - the son of the woman working at the hotel Miss Webster stayed at - turns up on her doorstep one day...
And so begins the story. The friendships and the characters themselves are really what makes this a great read, as well as their observations out onto the world. The only criticism I have, is that randomly towards the end there is a page rant on why a book - actually a real book, Perfume (which I loved) - is crap. Miss Webster has been reading it and doesn't like it. Earlier she's ranted about the opera Carmen, but that's a case of getting involved in the plot and saying what she thinks about the characters. The rant on Perfume is about the fact that it was really popular when it came out and how she expects this to be undeserving, and then critisms of the writing and the plot. And because it's a real book, you can't help but wonder if this is sour grapes on the author's part for some really random reason, and as she has issues with this book herself, she's decided to vent them through Miss Webster. And I found that bit petty and mean. If you're writing a book review, diary, blog or whatever, fine, but to through it into a fiction book like that - hmmm.
It's about Miss Webster, an old retired battle axe, who is such a great character. A real spirited old lady, and a good model for growing old - you don't have to be a feeble minded vegetable. Anyway, one day she has some kind of a breakdown, and to get over it, she goes away for a bit to somewhere completely different, Morroco. Shortly after she comes back, a young Morroco, Cherif - the son of the woman working at the hotel Miss Webster stayed at - turns up on her doorstep one day...
And so begins the story. The friendships and the characters themselves are really what makes this a great read, as well as their observations out onto the world. The only criticism I have, is that randomly towards the end there is a page rant on why a book - actually a real book, Perfume (which I loved) - is crap. Miss Webster has been reading it and doesn't like it. Earlier she's ranted about the opera Carmen, but that's a case of getting involved in the plot and saying what she thinks about the characters. The rant on Perfume is about the fact that it was really popular when it came out and how she expects this to be undeserving, and then critisms of the writing and the plot. And because it's a real book, you can't help but wonder if this is sour grapes on the author's part for some really random reason, and as she has issues with this book herself, she's decided to vent them through Miss Webster. And I found that bit petty and mean. If you're writing a book review, diary, blog or whatever, fine, but to through it into a fiction book like that - hmmm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2018
Miss Elizabeth Webster is an irascible, misanthropic 69 year-old, qualities that, if she possessed a shred of vanity, she would be proud to own. Forced into unwelcome retirement from her French teaching job, she prefers solitude to company. She has never married. A sudden health scare forces her to re-assess her situation, and practically ordered by her physician to travel to a French-speaking country to recuperate (France is forbidden). Thus Miss Webster finds herself in a very comfortable hotel in the desert of North Africa, slowly absorbing the daily rhythms and rituals of desert life, and becoming almost-friends with the hotel's owner, a feisty, independent woman, Saida who has a son but no husband.
Several days after her return to England, Miss Webster is shocked to open her door late one night to a complete stranger; a beautiful young man of Arab appearance who says he is Cherif, Saida's son. With initial trepidation, she allows him in, and soon, impulsively asks him to stay. Impeccably mannered and courteous, he becomes the focus of Miss Webster's life. As the novel is set during the American invasion of Iraq, Cherif's presence causes suspicion and distrust within the small village. After a vicious attack on Cherif and Miss Webster, she decides that he must visit his home, the catalyst for a devastating betrayal. This is a good read about a woman whose blinkered vision of life must be challenged.
Several days after her return to England, Miss Webster is shocked to open her door late one night to a complete stranger; a beautiful young man of Arab appearance who says he is Cherif, Saida's son. With initial trepidation, she allows him in, and soon, impulsively asks him to stay. Impeccably mannered and courteous, he becomes the focus of Miss Webster's life. As the novel is set during the American invasion of Iraq, Cherif's presence causes suspicion and distrust within the small village. After a vicious attack on Cherif and Miss Webster, she decides that he must visit his home, the catalyst for a devastating betrayal. This is a good read about a woman whose blinkered vision of life must be challenged.
May 25, 2008
Elizabeth Webster the protagonist of this novel is a retired, single and extremely dogmatic lady. She is afflicted by an unknown illness which is a life changing experience for her. Many months later after recovering and travelling to North Africa for a holiday an unknown young man unexpectedly becomes part of life. Elizabeth and the young man Cherif are well portrayed characters and the story of this unlikely friendship is both sad and funny. However I felt this compassionate tale was somewhat stilted in parts with potential for much more development, had the author chosen to do so.
June 26, 2017
This is a book with its heart in the right place, but it doesn't work. The main characters and the relationship between them are simply not credible. The use of real historical events interwoven with unreal ones in unnamed countries is confusing. The only interesting character is Dr Broadhurst and according to an afterword he is the only character who isn't fictional! Then why does he describe himself as "the messenger" - is he supposed to represent something superhuman? If magical realism is afoot, it should state its purpose more clearly.
October 1, 2010
A cantankerous old ex teacher has a breakdown of sorts and is advised to go work it off in a North African country where she ventures into the desert and befriends the woman who runs the hotel. Once recovered and back in England she receives a knock on the door and there stands the son who is enrolled for the university near her. It is a story about friendship, prejudice, trust and liberation and I really enjoyed it.
May 8, 2010
Another fabulous book! I fell in love with Miss Webster so completely, partly just because she is a wonderful character, and partly as she reminded me a little of a friend!
The story was great too, just enough of a twist to not be predictable, but enough clues so you feel clever enough to get it too, the balance was perfect!
Highly recommended!
The story was great too, just enough of a twist to not be predictable, but enough clues so you feel clever enough to get it too, the balance was perfect!
Highly recommended!
June 9, 2011
This is an unknown gem of a book. Miss Webster is a reluctant global citizen who shows more awareness and understanding of other cultures than you expect when you first meet her as a cantankerous retired French teacher. Unexpectedly, this book covers much of the same ground as The Other Hand (aka Little Bee) without being as tragic or harrowing.
September 11, 2012
A retired school teacher becomes suddenly very ill and is advised by her doctor to travel. This leads to an unlikely friendship. The story is set not long after 9/11 and the author is not afraid to touch on the prejudices prevalent at that time. I found Miss Webster to be a bit like Agatha Raisin in that she has many qualities you find yourself disliking but you are on her side nevertheless.
June 2, 2015
This book was a lovely, easy read. It was relaxing and didn't require any real effort from the reader.
The character Miss Webster is built up beautifully and you can't help but like her.
Although parts of the plot were suspenseful I found the ending a bit of an anti-climax. That said, a bigger reveal would have been quite out of place in this quaint book.
The character Miss Webster is built up beautifully and you can't help but like her.
Although parts of the plot were suspenseful I found the ending a bit of an anti-climax. That said, a bigger reveal would have been quite out of place in this quaint book.
August 23, 2018
Very light, interesting and refreshing book to read. I recommend reading this after some overloaded or deep plot book. There are many things that this book has in common with thousands other books in the world; cultural clashes, love, friendship, cultural diversity, 9/11, etc. Still, the author was able to express all of these things in a very original way.
March 28, 2016
The standard, ' stranger arrives and changes things for the better', story. Nothing new here, the ending was abrupt and some things not quite explained, the doctor for example. And my bugbear, English people do not use the word 'gotten'.
March 28, 2015
I liked this book. I loved the way that Miss Webster related to Cherif and the way he treated her. It was such a beautiful relationship to read between two people with different nationalities and ages. It was a good read and made one think.
June 2, 2011
This book is what one calls 'a good read'. Duncker's style is unimpeachable. Strangely, the book is not compromised by the fact that its plot is predictable.
July 7, 2012
A gentle read in the style of Alexander McCall Smith, about a crotchety old lady and a young black student who comes to England to study.
April 14, 2015
I enjoyed most of the book and Duncker's narrative in general, but there was something missing at the end for me to be perfect.
October 1, 2023
I loved the tongue in cheek humour through this cantankerous retired French teacher.
August 22, 2019
One of the few novels I return to to re-read. It has flaws, yes, but it is a delight to read-- an imperfect joy.
September 14, 2020
loved it!
August 1, 2025
3.5 stars rounded down.
It took me ages to get into this one, partly by my being in a bit of a reading slump at the time, partly because I just wasn't getting along with the writing style. This came recommended by a friend though, with the message to stick with it, so I did and I'm glad I did because I did eventually warm into the storyline.
Miss Webster is an interesting character, there are some unlikeable parts of her personality but at the same time I did strangely like her - she seems like the kind of interesting person that I would love to have a conversation with - and I enjoyed following her travels in North Africa.
It took me ages to get into this one, partly by my being in a bit of a reading slump at the time, partly because I just wasn't getting along with the writing style. This came recommended by a friend though, with the message to stick with it, so I did and I'm glad I did because I did eventually warm into the storyline.
Miss Webster is an interesting character, there are some unlikeable parts of her personality but at the same time I did strangely like her - she seems like the kind of interesting person that I would love to have a conversation with - and I enjoyed following her travels in North Africa.
February 15, 2023
I liked the book, way to much extra verbiage though there were times the descriptions went on for ever. Miss Webster was a colorful character, an older lady stuck in her wats and very brusque in her manner. The doctor sending her on a trip to Africa to clear her mind and restore her health was a bold move. Taking in a complete stranger late at night way out of character for her. Cherif is a delightful character. I was totally unprepared for the ending, but a very good one.
December 15, 2022
On one level this is the story of an old lady who, after falling ill, takes on a student lodger from an unspecified North African country.
On another level this is a social commentary on loneliness, racism, Islamophobia and misogyny.
It is in turns both tear jerking and heart warming. Miss Webster might be one of my favourite characters I’ve met this year.
On another level this is a social commentary on loneliness, racism, Islamophobia and misogyny.
It is in turns both tear jerking and heart warming. Miss Webster might be one of my favourite characters I’ve met this year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews