Inhoudsopgave:
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Set on a Caribbean island in the grip of colonialism, this novel is âmasterful . . . simply wonderful . . . [an] exquisite retelling of The Tempestâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). When Peter Gardnerâs ruthless medical genius leads him to experiment on his unwitting patientsâoften at the expense of their livesâhe flees England, seeking an environ where his experiments might continue without scrutiny. He arrives with his three-year-old-daughter, Virginia, in Chacachacare, an isolated island off the coast of Trinidad, in the early 1960s. Gardner considers the locals to be nothing more than savages. He assumes ownership of the home of a servant boy named Carlos, seeing in him a suitable subject for his amoral medical work. Nonetheless, he educates the boy alongside Virginia. As Virginia and Carlos come of age together, they form a covert relationship that violates the outdated mores of colonial rule. When Gardner unveils the pairâs relationship and accuses Carlos of a monstrous act, the investigation into the truth is left up to a curt, stonehearted British inspector, whose inquiries bring to light a horrendous secret. At turns epic and intimate, Prospero's Daughter, from American Book Award winner Elizabeth Nunez, uses Shakespeareâs play as a template to address questions of race, class, and power, in the story of an unlikely bond between a boy and a girl of disparate backgrounds on a verdant Caribbean island during the height of tensions between the native population and British colonists. âGripping and richly imagined . . . a master at pacing and plotting . . . an entirely new story that is inspired by Shakespeare, but not beholden to him.â âThe New York Times Book Review âAbsorbing . . . [Nunez] writes novels that resound with thunder and fury.â âEssence âA story about the transformative power of love . . . Readers are sure to enjoy the journey.â âBlack Issues Book Review (Novel of the Year) |
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