Ras and Alex are two very different men whose lives collide one summer in Italy.
We hear first the reflective, anguished introspective Ras, who fled Sri Lanka as a child following his mother’s violent death. His troubled relationship with his daughter infuses everything about him, and he is in turmoil not knowing how to respond to the horrors in his homeland. Then Alex, successful and arrogant, describes his desire for another man's wife and his frustration in a life where everything effortlessly falls into place. The narrative structure results in a slow plot development while we are treated to an exploration of the power of art, and a perceptive, intense presentation of love, obsession, loss, sorrow and grief. This is a book to savour, with much to provoke lively book group discussions.
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