Tamarin - by Priya Hein (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Tamarin Bay, Mauritius, is a travel agent's paradise; a tropical ocean, fishermen unloading their daily catch, children building sandcastles, surfers riding giant waves. But just along the shoreline is the beach of La Preneuse, known as the taker of souls. The island is haunted with tragedy and the remnants of colonial rule. But it is also home, where Anita Ram longs to be following the collapse of her marriage. After enduring a shocking betrayal and the sexism and racism of a cold Britain in the early 21st century, she finds comfort in simple things; her mother's cooking, her childhood bedroom, and a handsome architect. Will these be enough for Anita to find happiness again, or will the ghosts of her past consume her?

Following the international success of her debut Riambel, Hein's heart wrenching new novel reveals the violence and beauty inherent in her native Mauritius.

Review Quotes

"Just beyond postcard-perfect Tamarin Bay in Mauritius, the beach of La Preneuse is known as the 'taker of souls', a ghostly signpost to the horrors of colonial rule. But it's also where island-born Anita Ram longs to be after her marriage ends. She returns from Britain to her mother's cooking and a new friendship in Priya Hein's vivid examination of love, generational trauma and how the impact of slavery still haunts Mauritian lives." --National Geographic

About the Author

Priya Hein is a Mauritian author whose first novel Riambel won the Prix Athéna 2023 and The Jean-Fanchette Prize 2021.She was nominated for the 2017 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, shortlisted for the Prix de l'Atelier Littéraire in 2021 and the Miles Morland Scholarship in 2023, and participated in the 2024 Iowa WP fall residency. Priya lives in Mauritius with her family.