26a tells the story of the Hunter family, and especially the twins Bessi and Georgia. We follow them from childhood to adulthood, in Neasden and Nigeria, and through the different experiences of their lives. One of the impressive aspects of this novel (and there are many) is the way that Evans gives the reader such an impression of what it means to be a twin, not by characters telling us but by showing us the way the twins think and interact so that we can see and feel it for ourselves. But it would be wrong to give the impression that the focus is entirely on the twins.
The rest of the Hunter family all have their own character journeys which are extremely well handled. You might not like each member of the family all the time, but they are still compelling and real. All of the incidental characters in the novel also leave a strong imprint on the mind of the reader; even if their appearance is fleeting, such is Evans' skill with swift characterization. Each character is totally believable with their gentle warmth and personality and with the writer’s use of language and description form a brilliant image in your mind and a place in your heart.
26a is a tribute to the world of twins. "It's a very special, magical relationship and it's fascinating, even to me," Diana says. "Most people build armour to protect themselves from other people but when you're a twin, everything's stripped down. You know each other so intimately and you don't have that armour."
Diana Evans drew upon the idiosyncrasies of her own twin-hood to create Bessie and Georgia, who enter the book as a vision of "two furry creatures with petrified eyes, staring into the oncoming headlights". She explains that when they were young she and her twin sister were timid, sharing an idea of themselves as two furry little beings. The image still fits: the adult Diana has something of the timid creature about her, with her wide, nervous-looking eyes, soft voice and inclination to pull her clothes self-protectively around her small, compact frame.
For Bessie and Georgia, the world turns out to be a pretty frightening place and for Georgia especially, the journey into adulthood is difficult. When the young Georgia watches her pet hamster, 'Ham', die she realizes it is possible "to choose the time, to leave when you're ready", and we get our first glimpse of her dark final destination. It is Georgia, the shade to Bessie's light, who will later hang herself in what becomes an apparently inevitable act.
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