An Impossible Return

A Novel

De: Caroline Laurent, Jeffrey Zuckerman - translator

Narrado por: Beresford Bennett

Winner of the Prix Maison de la Presse

An 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.

©2020 Éditions Les Escales. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2022 by Jeffrey Zuckerman.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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

Another injustice committed by Britian and America that I was completely unaware of.

I liked the very human depictions of the characters and the development of the characters over time. I liked the descriptions of the Chagos Islands and what life was like there before the forced removal of the Chagosians. I enjoyed learning about the Seychelles. I really enjoyed learning about new cultures. I actually like learning about the crimes and injustices committed around the world to poor and marginalized people.

A story that must be told…

But couldn’t have been told better? Honestly, I believe in telling the truth of historical oppression, and I commend the author for doing so, but this book moves very slowly, and it’s hard to get into. The parts of highest interest tend to be over so quickly with such a long descriptive narrative in between I can’t recommend it as a great read, but I do recommend it as a historical lesson to everyone!

Interesting but stilted reading

Interesting history rarely told. However the story telling has more of a reporting feel so I found I didn’t become as invested in the characters