{"product_id":"two-besides-by-alan-bennett-9780571365869","title":"Two Besides","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Given the opportunity to revisit the characters from \u003ci\u003eTalking Heads\u003c\/i\u003e, I've added a couple more, both of them ordinary women whom life takes by surprise. They just about end up on top and go on, but without quite knowing how. Still, they're in good company, and at least they've made it into print.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlan Bennett's twelve \u003ci\u003eTalking Heads\u003c\/i\u003e are acknowledged masterworks by one of our most highly acclaimed writers. Some thirty years after the original six, Bennett has written \u003ci\u003eTwo Besides\u003c\/i\u003e, a pair of monologues. Each, in its way, is a devastating portrait of grief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eAn Ordinary Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, a mother suffers the inevitable consequences when she makes life intolerable for herself and her family by falling for her own flesh and blood. Meanwhile, \u003ci\u003eThe Shrine\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story behind a makeshift roadside shrine, introducing us to Lorna, bearing witness in her high-vis jacket, the bereft partner of a dedicated biker with a surprising private life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe two new \u003ci\u003eTalking Heads\u003c\/i\u003e were recorded for the BBC during the exceptional circumstances of the coronavirus lockdown in the spring of 2020, directed by Nicholas Hytner and performed by Sarah Lancashire and Monica Dolan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book contains a substantial preface by Nicholas Hytner and an introduction to each monologue by Alan Bennett.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47601003364588,"sku":"9780571365869","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/f2af2f715144872d8ef461826aaee525.jpg?v=1778036811","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/two-besides-by-alan-bennett-9780571365869","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}