A lyrical and profoundly moving story of love, loss and civil war, set in Sri Lanka, London and Venice.

When author Theo Samarajeeva returns to his native Sri Lanka after his wife's death, he hopes to escape his gnawing loss amid the lush landscape of his increasingly war-torn country. But as he sinks into life in this beautiful, tortured land, he also finds himself slipping into friendship with an artistic young girl, Nulani, whose family is caught up in the growing turmoil. Soon friendship blossoms into love. Under the threat of civil war, their affair offers a glimmer of hope to a country on the brink of destruction...

But all too soon, the violence which has cast an ominous shadow over their love story explodes, tearing them apart. Betrayed, imprisoned and tortured, Theo is gradually stripped of everything he once held dear - his writing, his humanity and, eventually, his love. Broken by the belief her lover is dead, Nulani flees Sri Lanka to a cold and lonely life of exile. As the years pass and the country descends into a morass of violence and hatred, the tragedy of Theo and Nulani's failed love spreads like a poison among friends sickened by the face of civil war, and the lovers must struggle to recover some of what they have lost and to resurrect, from the wreckage of their lives, a fragile belief in the possibility of redemption.

Beautifully written, by turns heartbreaking and uplifting, `Mosquito' is a first novel of remarkable and compelling power.

About the Author

Roma Tearne fled Sri Lanka at the age of ten, travelling to Britain where she has spent most of her life. She gained her Master's degree at the Ruskin Shool of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, and was Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. She was recently awarded a fellowship in the visual arts by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of Great Britain. She lives and works in Oxford.

Reviews

'Heart-rending...Readers of this powerful novel cannot fail to be moved...but they will also realise that, as well as being a rebuke to indifference, the book is also about hope and survival.' Christopher Ondaatje, Spectator

'"Mosquito" plays with sensuous mixes of human bestiality and natural beauty...It is in this continuing agency of remembered love - presented as the colours, sounds and smells of art, in dialogue with beauty and horror - that the uplifting politics of this fine novel lies.' Independent

'"Mosquito" lyrically captures a country drenched in both incomparable beauty and the stink of hatred.' Guardian

'Lovely, vividly described.' The Times

'Tearne brings her skills as a painter to her writing, creating some extraordinarily lovely portraits of Sri Lankan land and seascapes, a stunning backdrop to the changing horrors of the country's 20-year civil war. Anyone who has visited, or has a passing interest in Sri Lanka, should read this beautiful novel.' Sunday Telegraph

'"Mosquito" is a complex, ambitious book from a writer with a real talent for language. We will be hearing a great deal about Ms. Tearne in the future.' Lauren B. Davis, author of 'The Stubborn Season' and 'The Radiant City'

Awards
Short-listed for Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2008 and Costa First Novel Award 2007.



Book Information
ISBN 9780007233663
Author Roma Tearne
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint William Collins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 240g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 20mm