Casualties of Truth by Lauren Francis-Sharma New Paperback ARC Release 2/11/2025

Description: From the author of Book of the Little Axe, nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the critically acclaimed 'Til the Well Runs Dry, a riveting literary novel with the sharp edges of a thriller about the abuses of history and the costs of revenge, set between Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg, South AfricaPrudence Wright seems to have it all: a loving husband, Davis; a spacious home in Washington, D.C.; and the former glories of a successful career at McKinsey, which now enables her to dedicate her days to her autistic son, Roland. When she and Davis head out for dinner with one of Davis’s new colleagues on a stormy summer evening filled with startling and unwelcome interruptions, Prudence has little reason to think that certain details of her history might arise sometime between cocktails and the appetizer course.Yet when Davis’s colleague turns out to be Matshediso, a man from Prudence’s past, she is transported back to the formative months she spent as a law student in South Africa in 1996. As an intern at a Johannesburg law firm, Prudence attended sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings that uncovered the many horrors and human rights abuses of the Apartheid state, and which fundamentally shaped her sense of righteousness and justice. Prudence experienced personal horrors in South Africa as well, long hidden and now at risk of coming to light. When Matshediso finally reveals the real reason behind his sudden reappearance, he will force Prudence to examine her most deeply held beliefs and to excavate inner reserves of resilience and strength.Lauren Francis-Sharma’s previous two novels have established her as a deft chronicler of history and its intersections with flawed humans struggling to find peace in unjust circumstances. With keen insight and gripping tension, Casualties of Truth explosively mines questions of whether we are ever truly able to remove the stains of our past and how we may attempt to reconcile with unquestionable wrongs. ReviewPraise for Casualties of Truth:“I could not put this down! Once again, Francis-Sharma’s phenomenal prose delivers; here, with exquisite suspense in a revenge story chocked full of thorny characters. This is an unforgiving tale of cat-and-mouse begging us to confront just how far we’d go to take control in a society hell-bent on minimizing our pain. These pages set loose the raging, wicked what-ifs we keep deeply and shamefully hidden inside our basements.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last“Clever, provocative, and deeply felt. Casualties of Truth takes a clear and unflinching look at a complex system of oppression and delivers a vividly told and unforgettable story.”—Karin Slaughter, New York Times- and #1 internationally bestselling author“With laser-sharp prose and a keen eye for psychology, Casualties of Truth gives us a story of vengeance, justice, and the mutations of memory . . . This is a world in which no one is perfect, no one is at peace, and nothing can truly be forgotten. As riveting as it is important.”—Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You“Casualties of Truth is a page-turner so engrossing that you never get distracted by the exceptional grace of its storytelling. Tense yet character-driven, Lauren Francis-Sharma has created a brilliant rumination on how we use the malleable clay of memory to sculpt our understanding of ourselves and the world.”—Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Invisible Things“At once riveting, ferocious, and deeply unsettling, Casualties of Truth is a necessary read. Lauren Francis-Sharma is a magician of a writer who masterfully blends a page-turning murder mystery-thriller with a powerful exploration of the liminal space between resilience and violence, memory and history, and vengeance and justice. I loved this book.”—Angie Kim, New York Times-bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek“Casualties of Truth is an astonishing novel that simmers with the hot heat of decades of death, injustice, and vengeance. Lauren Francis-Sharma’s characters are pitch perfect in their depth and her story is an unflinching study of the horrors of the South African Apartheid state. Brava!”—Wanda M. Morris, award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets, Anywhere You Run, and What You Leave Behind“Like the jacaranda’s fragrance and beauty, Casualties of Truth lures you in with exquisite writing and the delicate construction of fascinating characters. And then, like El Tunche, it devours you with truths about and insights into all the shades of humanity. Sheer brilliance.”—Deon Meyer, internationally bestselling author of The Dark FloodPraise for Book of the Little Axe:Fiction nominee for the 2021 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award“Offers fascinating characters across the broad sweep of the American continent at a time of great tumult, warring colonial powers, the spread of slavery, and expansion West. This is a compelling saga of family bonds, ambitions, and desires, all subject to the vagaries of powerful historical forces.”—Booklist (starred review)“[A] satisfying and perceptive transnational family saga . . . In this masterly epic, the pleasure lies in piecing everything together.”—Publishers Weekly“A persuasively researched account so richly evocative of a relatively obscure corner of history as to make it seem almost phantasmagorical.”—Kirkus Reviews“Book of the Little Axe is epic in ambition and scope, a sweeping tale that illuminates pivotal historical periods in Trinidad and North America, and the links between them. This is also the story of a young man’s coming of age and a mother’s secrets and a family’s love in the face of violence. Lauren Francis-Sharma brings her characters and their tangled histories to life with tremendous precision and sensitivity. This is the work of a major voice, a brilliant talent.”—Laura van den Berg, award winning author of The Third Hotel“They say the past is a foreign country but forget to mention that it’s also wild. Book of the Little Axe reminds us. Ranging from Trinidad to the mountainous West, Lauren Francis-Sharma has woven an emotional, immediate, ambitious story of love and belonging. Rather than retell a story of first contact between native people and newcomers to the new world, Francis-Sharma has produced a deeply moving novel about the ways in which all of us have always been connected.”—David Treuer, author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee“Book of the Little Axe is an epic novel that recreates the hybrid history of Native and African peoples during the era of American exploration and expansion. Lauren Francis-Sharma’s care for her characters and skill with her subject shine through every page.”—Laila Lalami, author of The Other Americans“A shimmering epic that forges new paths into the old territory of the American West. Brilliant and unforgettable. Book of the Little Axe is an astonishing journey.”—Debra Magpie Earling, author of Perma Red“Lauren Francis-Sharma has written one of those thrilling novels—so valuable and welcome—that adds (or better say restores) another strand to our national narrative. We’re all the richer for Book of the Little Axe.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes“From her gripping first sentence, Lauren Francis-Sharma draws her reader into her intoxicating tale of intrigue, love, conflict, and power struggle at a pivotal time in the histories of Trinidad and the western United States. Her research is meticulous, her prose seductive, her characters mesmerizing. Book of the Little Axe shines a bright light on the little-known connections between the Caribbean and the United States. Readers will find it almost impossible to put this book down.”—Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero’s Daughter and Even in Paradise“Francis-Sharma’s prose shines in this epic and propulsive historical novel that is set in Trinidad and the American West, and follows the life of Rosa Rendón, who is talented, bright, and fierce.”—Millions, “Most Anticipated: the Great First-Half 2020 Book Preview”“I recommend this book every chance I get . . . The sheer scope of the story, the unforgettable characters and the gorgeous prose makes this a must-read . . . I absolutely loved it.”—Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, BustlePraise for ’Til the Well Runs Dry:Black Caucus of the American Library Association 2015 Honor Book in Fiction“As universally touching as it is original.”—New York Times“Lauren Francis-Sharma turns the family drama on its ear with this lush, elegant epic.”—Essence Magazine“A saga ripe with heartbreak and joy . . . Francis-Sharma delivers a rich and satisfying debut on the ties of family, love, and culture.”―Kirkus ReviewsAbout the AuthorLauren Francis-Sharma is the author of Book of the Little Axe, a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the critically acclaimed novel ’Til the Well Runs Dry. She was a MacDowell fellow and is the Assistant Director of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College. She resides near Washington, DC, with her family.

Price: 4.95 USD

Location: Portland, Oregon

End Time: 2024-11-28T18:28:59.000Z

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