How do you imagine the future when your story traps you in the past?

Harare, 2000. Gabrielle is a newly-qualified lawyer, fighting for justice for a young girl. Ben is an urbane and charismatic junior diplomat, attached to Harare with the American embassy. With high-level pressure on Gabrielle to drop her case, and Robert Mugabe's youth wing terrorising his political opponents as he tightens his grip on power, they begin a tentative love affair. But when they fall victim to a shocking attack, their lives splinter across continents and their stories diverge, forcing Gabrielle on a painful journey towards self-realisation.

Irene Sabatini, Winner of the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers, navigates Zimbabwe's unfolding political crises, showing how the dehumanising effects of political violence can shape and remake a life. An Act of Defiance is a sweeping political drama about a young woman's fight for love and agency in troubled times.

About the Author

Irene Sabatini spent her childhood in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. After attending the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, she moved to Colombia, where she worked as a teacher. She has a master's degree in child development from the Institute of Education at University College London.

Irene is the author of two previous novels; her debut novel, The Boy Next Door, won the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers. She divides her time between New York, Geneva and Bulawayo.

Reviews

'An Act of Defiance by Irene Sabatini'

'Although there were moments when I was reading this deeply-disturbing story when I almost couldn't bear to feel exposed to any more descriptions of trauma, violence and terror, the compelling nature of Irene Sabatini's writing meant that I very quickly felt emotionally engaged with the characters, especially Gabrielle.'

https://nbmagazine.co.uk/an-act-of-defiance-by-irene-sabatini/

-- Linda Hepworth * NB Magazine *

'Ahistorical fantasies: Hope arising from brutality in Tsitsi Dangarembga's This Mournable Body and Irene Sabatini's Act of Defiance.'

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/dangarembga-sabatini-mournable-body-act-of-defiance-review-kate-webb/

-- Kate Webb * The TLS *

'An Act of Defiance by Irene Sabatini: The power of hope'

'Irene Sabatini's novel humanises a story which many of us will have seen played out on our TV screens, in this case the descent of Zimbabwe into ruination and madness under Robert Mugabe, beginning in 2000.'

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2020/03/an-act-of-defiance-by-irene-sabatini-the-power-of-hope/

-- Susan Osborne * A Life in Books *

'BOOK REVIEW: An Act of Defiance by Irene Sabatini'

'Sabatini unflinchingly examines and lays out the serious consequences of the proverbial 'Big Man Politics' and the deeply incrusted corruption and abuses of power within governments such as Zimbabwe's.'

http://literandra.com/book-review-an-act-of-defiance-by-irene-sabatini/

-- Alessandra Bassey * Literandra *


Awards
Winner of Orange Award for New Writers 2010.



Book Information
ISBN 9781911648048
Author Irene Sabatini
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint The Indigo Press
Publisher The Indigo Press
Weight(grams) 324g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 24mm