Longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize.
Two venturesome women on a journey through the land of their fathers and mothers. A wrong turn. A bad decision.
They had no idea, when they arrived in Morocco, that their usual freedoms as young European women would not be available. So, when the spry Saleh presents himself as their guide and saviour, they embrace his offer. He extracts them from a tight space, only to lead them inexorably into an even tighter one: and from this far darker space there is no exit.
Their tale of confinement and escape is as old as the landscapes and cultures so vividly depicted in this story of where Europe and Africa come closest to meeting, even if they never quite touch.
'Echoes of Don Quixote and the Odyssey frame the journey of the young women Ilham and Thouraya in this latest from award-winning Dutch author Wieringa ? In this taut, psychologically powerful tale, longlisted for the 2019 International Booker Prize, Wieringa's masterly descriptions create a sense of foreboding. Wieringa excels at characterisation while raising serious questions surrounding identity and immigration in a deceptively brief work. Highly recommended.' STARRED REVIEW
