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The Prisoner of Paradise
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Description
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 decision
which could risk his precarious position.
Under the surface there is growing unease. For it is 1825: Britain has wrested power from France
and 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 the
bonded heart.
Product details
| Published | 02 Feb 2012 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 400 |
| ISBN | 9781408825662 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Dimensions | 216 x 135 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Gunesekera's lush descriptions make you see and smell the island and feel its hot, damp air on your skin
Spectator
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A terrific read: pacy, political, moral, atmospheric and yes, definitely romantic ...The film is waiting to be made. It's all there: an inverted but murky Pride and Prejudice, paradise spoilt, ill-fated lovers, rascals, imperial wickedness, the cunning of natives, plots and melees and a host of fabulous flowers ... Exquisite prose awakens all the senses
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Independent
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Gunesekera is strikingly adept at delineating the landscape of rootlessness ... [He] has a gentle, generous, deceptively light touch
Sunday Times
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Gunesekera's mellifluous prose alone is worth the price of admission. His description here of a first kiss has surely never been bettered
Daily Mail
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Gunesekera's storytelling is languorous, atmospheric, imagistic
Guardian
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Seriously and movingly, The Prisoner of Paradise contains a very modern message: a plea for the book. It has as much to say about writing as it has about love and colonial misery ... Here are the genuine answers, colourful, arresting, fresh and enormous as any opera
Todd McEwan, Glasgow Herald













