Glorious Boy
A Novel
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4.6 • 7 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“An absolutely gorgeous historical novel . . . set against the backdrop of a tribe in the Andamans struggling with British rule . . . Just magnificent.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
One of Booklist’s Top Ten Historical Fiction Books of 2020
Glorious Boy is a tale of war and devotion, longing and loss, and the power of love to prevail. Set in India’s remote Andaman Islands before and during WWII, the story revolves around a mysteriously mute four-year-old who vanishes on the eve of the Japanese occupation. Little Ty’s parents, Shep and Claire, will go to any lengths to rescue him, but neither is prepared for the brutal and soul-changing odyssey that awaits them.
“A riveting amalgam of history, family epic, anticolonial/antiwar treatise, cultural crossroads, and more . . . a fascinating, irresistible marvel.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“The most memorable and original novel I’ve read in ages . . . evokes every side in a multi-cultural conversation with sympathy and rare understanding.” —Pico Iyer, author of Autumn Light
Shortlisted for the Staunch Book Prize
New York Post’s Best Books of the Week
Good Housekeeping’s 20 Best Books of 2020
Parade’s 30 Best Beach Reads of 2020
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Liu's tense, evocative WWII family drama (after Flash House) explores the wartime turmoil for British colonials and indigenous people on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. In 1936, Shep Durant, a British physician, and his American wife, Claire, a budding anthropologist, settle in the capital city of Port Blair, where Shep works as a civil surgeon. Claire, meanwhile, studies the islands' indigenous peoples and takes an interest in Naila, the precocious eight-year-old daughter of her servants. After the Durants's son, Ty, is born in 1937, they hire Naila as Ty's nanny. Naila and Ty form a close bond that helps Ty communicate. At four, he remains mute, but Naila can intuit his thoughts. As Japanese troops advance on the Andamans in early 1942, British residents are ordered to evacuate, and Claire is shattered to learn that Naila, because she's indigenous, is barred from accompanying them. Liu ratchets up the tension that culminates in Claire's risky return to the islands in February 1943. With nuanced descriptions of diverse characters, and a wrenching portrait of the well-meaning Durants' limited power, Liu upends the clich s of the white savior narrative. This sharp take on a lesser-known part of WWII history is worth a look.
