Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Fiction & Related items
Weblink
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl …

THE PRISONER OF PARADISE

Romesh Gunesekera

RISONER OF PARADISE is a love story set in Mauritius in the 1820s, a country on the brink of massive change as rich, slave-owning planters deal with the impending abolition of slavery.

Lucy Gladwell, an orphaned young Englishwoman, has arrived on the island to live with her aunt and uncle who are part of the British administration. Lucy is dazzled by the beauty of her new exotic life, but also stifled by the restrictions and pointless duties that are deemed appropriate and necessary for a young lady. She meets Don Lambodar, interpreter to the prince of Ceylon, living in exile from his kingdom. Don is a mystery to Lucy his past steeped in shifting loyalties and enigmatic ambitions. The two are drawn to each other, even as the society around them starts to break apart. 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.

Romesh Gunesekera is the author of Reef, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Guardian Fiction Prize; The Sandglass, won 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: Monkfish Moon and a bilingual limited edition book O Colleccionador de Especiarias. He grew up in Sri Lanka and the Philippines and now lives in London.

Available products
Book Published 2023-10-11 by Bloomsbury
Book Published 2023-04-17 by Bloomsbury

Comments

‘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 mêlées and a host of fabulous flowers. Romesh Gunesekera's novel takes the bouquet of romantic clichés and throws it up, makes it soar and scatter, leaving its scent in the air. … a terrific read: pacey, political, moral, atmospheric and, yes, definitely romantic.’

‘Gunesekera’s mellifluous prose alone is worth the price of admission. His description here of a first kiss has surely never been bettered.’

‘Society, history, the permutations of race, racism, gender, religion, colonialism and slavery all jostle for attention in this novel ... Lucy, the compassionate outsider who challenges the island’s status quo, has the makings of a heroine.’

‘Romesh Gunesekera is a man who knows how to use an adjective… One of the real, multilayered delights of this novel is watching two hyper-romantics deal with burgeoning love and the demands of Victorian romance. Having set up this quite familiar tableau, Gunesekera sets about twisting it, playing with it, and subverting it with a great deal of wit and subtlety.’