An Impossible Return, Caroline Laurent
An Impossible Return, Caroline Laurent
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
Club: $17.99

An Impossible Return
A Novel

Author: Caroline Laurent, Jeffrey Zuckerman

Narrator: Beresford Bennett

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/01/2022

Synopsis

Winner of the Prix Maison de la PresseAn epic love story set against a backdrop of injustice, devastating secrets, and the painful price of independence.It’s 1967 in the Chagos Archipelago—a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean—and life is peaceful and easy for hardworking Marie. Her fierce independence and love for her home are quickly apparent to Gabriel, the handsome and sophisticated Mauritian secretary to the archipelago’s administrator; it’s love at first sight. As these two lovers from neighboring islands welcome a new son, Joséphin, a bright future seems possible. But Gabriel is hiding a terrible secret. The Mauritian government is negotiating independence from Britain, and this deal with the devil will mean evacuating the Chagos, without warning or mercy—a betrayal that will put their love to the test.Inspired by a shocking travesty of justice, the repercussions of which still reverberate more than fifty years later, bestselling Franco-Mauritian author Caroline Laurent paints a shimmering portrait of island life, a sensual paradise lost, and a gorgeous star-crossed love against all odds.

About Caroline Laurent

Caroline Laurent is the bestselling Franco-Mauritian author of An Impossible Return, winner of the Prix Maison de la Presse 2020, Prix Louis-Guilloux 2020, and Prix du Salon du Livre du Mans 2020. She also cowrote, with Evelyne Pisier, Et soudain, la liberté (And Suddenly, Freedom), which won the Grand Prix des Lycéennes de ELLE.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Fran

At first I found it a little confusing to follow the book as I wasn't sure whose voice was telling the story, but after the first Chapter became really interested in the story. I was vaguely aware of the factual events that formed the novel but had no real idea of what happened in the late 60s to th......more

Goodreads review by Kerri

A moving story. I was moved reading this novel about the Atoll islands and how the British government mistreated its inhabitants. How the US was allowed to build a military base on one of them, kicking off the people living there.......more

Goodreads review by catherine haas

A moment of history shameful for Britain and America A painful novel. The things that great powers do to those without political clout. Beautifully written. A happening that has been pretty well hidden in history.......more

Quotes

“Franco-Mauritian writer Laurent, in her potent English-language debut, overlays a tragic love story onto a powerful account of historical injustice in the Chagos Archipelago…Thanks to Laurent’s devastating work, readers will, indeed, have their eyes and hearts opened.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Franco-Mauritian author Caroline Laurent has penned this historical fiction novel based on stories her Mauritian mother told, and [on] her extensive research. The narrative is written in the typical lyrical style of a French novel, which the translator has reproduced faithfully for readers’ enjoyment. Life on the islands is portrayed with intimate details of the inhabitants’ day-to-day existence, such that one can feel the pain of the indigenous peoples’ evacuation for reasons they don’t understand.” —Historical Novels Review“While Rivage de la colère is a novel about exile and impossible love, it is nevertheless about hope too. It is an ambitious and sweeping story written with sensitivity that renders a geopolitical and human tragedy through its credible and endearing characters.” —L’Orient Littéraire

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