The Braid
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- 5,99 €
Publisher Description
Three women. Three countries. One unforgettable journey. The Braid is a vibrant and singular reminder of what connects us all – across borders, across languages, across cultures.
‘A beautifully written novel of determination, bravery, and hope. You will remember Smita, Giulia, and Sarah long after you’ve read their stories.’ – AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird
In India, Smita is an untouchable. She dreams of giving her young daughter an education and will go to any length to make that happen, including leaving behind all she knows in search of a better future.
In Sicily, Giulia works in her father’s wig workshop, the last of its kind in Palermo. When her father is the victim of a serious accident, she discovers that her family’s livelihood is at stake.
In Canada, Sarah is a twice-divorced mother of three children and a successful lawyer whose identity is wrapped up in her work. Just as she expects the promotion she’s been working her entire career for, she learns she has breast cancer.
'Laetitia Colombani is master at the art of storytelling.' – Le Monde
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Colombani's arresting debut follows three women facing extreme challenges in three different parts of the world. Smita, near 30 years old, lives in contemporary India, where she's of the untouchable caste, forced to clean the excrement from neighbors' latrines. In a parallel story, 20-year-old Giulia is in Sicily, and although she loves working with her father in his wig shop, the world of traditional goods is beginning to crumble. Lastly, 40-year-old Sarah is a lawyer in Montreal, and her obsessive work habits drive her body to a debilitating illness that she tries to conceal from the firm where she has become the first female partner. Suspense builds for each of these women as they struggle to make decisions in the face of their harsh realities. Intriguing strands connect the three: Smita's only offering to her god can be the magnificent hair shorn from her own and her daughter's head, young Giulia must expand the family business to an international market, and Sarah needs an exquisite wig when cancer takes her hair. A sense of urgency to learn how the stories will be resolved drives the fast-paced narrative. Each character's intimate perspective elucidates the courage that exists in every woman's life, regardless of age, culture, or station.
