Summary
When Lucy Gladwell arrives in Mauritius from England to live with her aunt and uncle in their grand plantation house, her mind is full of the poems of Keats and tales of romance . She is nonetheless unprepared for the beauty, fecundity and otherness of this island paradise between Africa and India, where she is to be waited on hand and foot by servants and free to let her thoughts drift on the sea breeze.If only they did not drift to such problematic subjects as the restrictions of colonial society, or the bigoted outbursts of her uncle, or the disquieting attractions of Don Lambodar, a young translator from Ceylon, himself entangled in thoughts of iniquity and desire and facing a decisionwhich could risk his precarious position.Under the surface there is growing unease. For it is 1825: Britain has wrested power from Franceand is shipping convict labour across the Indian Ocean. The age of slavery is coming to its messy end. Word is lapping against the shores of the island - of revolts in Europe and the Americas, and of a charismatic new Indian leader who will shine the light of liberty.For Lucy, for Don, for everyone on the island, a devastating storm is coming...In this bold novel of intimate passions and colliding destinies, Romesh Gunesekera weaves together the story of two young lovers in search of freedom, and the eloquence of thebonded heart.
Romesh Gunesekera is the author of four novels: Reef , which was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Guardian Fiction Prize, The Sandglass , winner of the inaugural BBC Asia Award, Heaven's Edge , shortlisted for a Commonwealth Writers Prize and a New York Times Notable Book, and The Match . He has also written two collections of short stories: his acclaimed debut Monkfish Moon anda bilingual limited edition book O Colleccionador de Especiarias . He grew up in Sri Lankaand the Philippines and now lives in London. He first visited Mauritius in 1998 where he discovered the beginnings of this novel.
