Description
Four women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island - the electrifying new novel from the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch.
'Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it' SARAH WINMAN
'Beautiful and important' SAFIYA SINCLAIR
Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri's carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.
As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There's Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, a pink-haired, straight-talking local activist. Gigi, the 'notorious' founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago.
In a community in which women's voices are often silenced and violence against them is overlooked time after time, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out - and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courage...
'Roffey's world-building power is evident on every page'
GUARDIAN
'Will keep you reading all hours... unforgettable'
GLAMOUR
'A vital novel... Fiery, funny and ferociously feminist'
DIANA EVANS
'The spirit of carnival itself is in the writing... Electrifying'
JASON ALLEN-PAISANT
'Monique Roffey is a trailblazer of Caribbean literature'
BREANNE MC IVOR
READERS LOVE PASSIONTIDE
'This was fantastic... five stars'
'Exhilarating... it's a blast, with sharp, smart humour'
'A powerful book... really moving'
'Filled with anger, unity and love'
'What an amazing book this is... This story will stay with me for a very long time'
'Moving and gripping'
'A must-read'
'I loved this book'
About the Author
Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and lives in London. She is the author of seven novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. Her other highly acclaimed books include Archipelago, which won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and House of Ashes. In addition to her work as an environmental activist, she is a professor of contemporary fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Reviews
Passiontide is a bold rallying cry of a novel. Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it -- SARAH WINMAN, author of Still Life
Beautiful and important... Passiontide is a resounding testament to the rebellious spirit and bravery of Caribbean women. This is an urgent and deeply necessary novel about women reclaiming their own power and future in the face of gender-based violence. Monique Roffey has written a firebrand womanist text, a battle cry, a rousing vision of change for a better, possible world. By the end of this book, I was ready to join the revolution -- SAFIYA SINCLAIR, author of How to Say Babylon
A tour de force Caribbean novel of female revolution that will keep you reading all hours... Roffey weaves a tale that is both deeply personal and universally resonant... A compelling and unforgettable read * Glamour, Best Books of June *
Roffey's world-building power is evident on every page... Passiontide fulfils its mission as a state-of-the-island novel that highlights the scale of violence against women and the power of protest...
it dramatises a full-throated campaign for change
Powerful and devastating * Stylist *
Book Information
ISBN 9781787303980
Author Monique Roffey
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint Harvill Secker
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 450g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 153mm * 27mm