The Sailor's Secret Kristina Carlson and translated by Mikko Alapuro

The Sailor's Secret Kristina Carlson and translated by Mikko AlapuroA storm delivers a boy to the shores of Ras Madrakah, a forgotten village where the sea speaks in riddles and the rocks seem almost alive. Sheikh Shaleh takes the boy in, convinced he is a gift from God. The same storm that wrecks a ship appears to reveal a long buried secret. Across the sea, in the quiet chapels of Leeds, Sophia sends her husband David into the desert in search of that secret, guided by signs she believes are divine. Told with the

hooting owls

ancient Greece

ancient academic centre and fenland community

but at the cost of ignoring the other part of his aunt’s farewell: ‘you is we

) life played out

Sue Coll of Garnet Publishing talks about their Arab Women Writers Series

translated from the Dutch

The Last Crossing beautifully articulates its principal theme: the harsh realities that face migrants in Oman

plus writing that is frequently accessible and ambitious

It was later filmed by Channel 4 for a four-part series (1991) with Diana Quick

the animal world as metaphor

madness and the struggle not to lose one’s soul to history