Roma Tearne has chosen an intriguing way of building her narrative of loss and love in this thoughtful and impassioned novel
Roma Tearne has chosen an intriguing way of building her narrative of loss and love: her two main characters tell their stories to Elizabeth, a barrister, whom they address both in words and thoughts. Thus the reader is privy, seamlessly, to their public and private accounts, which exert pressure on each other, gradually squeezing out the truth. Elizabeth is a nebulous figure, speaking few words as she diligently harvests the testimony that she hopes will help her client Ras, arrested for stealing a priceless painting. That Ras has an innate gift for art and a profound capacity to respond to colour and composition is telegraphed in his way of seeing the world. His circumstances have limited his achievements as an artist: he was orphaned in the civil war in Sri Lanka and then struggled to rebuild his life in London. Secondary characters slowly take on greater importance as a story of jealous love and still more tragic loss is galvanised by Ras's act of madness – or is it an inspired gesture of protest? A thoughtful and impassioned novel.
via Books: Fiction | guardian.co.uk
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