The Light Remains - by Samantha Keller (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Against the backdrop of complicated, beautiful, tragic apartheid South Africa, an epic family saga plays out on a rural farm.

Along with their fair skin and blue eyes, Eve Hunter has inherited her parents' sorrow. When Eve's father is electrocuted building a barn on their dairy farm outside Johannesburg, the tragedy exposes the secret beneath the current of sadness that runs through her family. Eve turns to Jack, her closest friend and neighbor, for comfort, even as their mothers plan the wedding between Jack and Eve's older sister, Kate, in order to save the farm. Though Jack and Eve share a strong bond and romantic interest, Jack remains loyal to his own father's demands and to the commitments forged under the guise of duty... until the day Kate turns to Eve with a request that could shatter the family and Eve herself. Fiercely independent Eve learns that women aren't always able to choose the life they want, but she can make a choice between her own happiness and that of the person she loves most in the world.

About the Author

Samantha Keller grew up in South Africa, and after a decade in London, moved to Connecticut, where she completed her MFA at Fairfield University. The Light Remains is Sam's first novel, and it received an honorary mention by the Fairfield Book Prize. Sam's short fiction won the Anthony Grooms Prize and appeared in The Connecticut Literary Anthology, 2024. Her work has been a Narrative Story of the Week, a contest finalist in American Short Fiction's Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. Sam's first children's picture book, Are You An Alien?, illustrated by her mother, was published in the UK in 2025. Sam is a developmental editor and teaches creative writing. She still lives in Connecticut, US with her husband Grant and children Thomas and Chloe.