Echoes from the Oasis

by A.R. Tirant

In early 1900 on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles, women were confined to specific roles and expectations, and custom and traditions prevailed with reverence. But, 16 year old Anna, being passionate, nature-loving and rebellious, wanted more out of life. She had different desires and bigger dreams... The book tells the emotional and dramatic story of Anna’s younger years. Forbidden love brought joy and meaning to her life, but it was quickly followed by a dreadful smallpox epidemic that brought tragedy to Mahe’s Victoria hospital where Anna worked. Would she survived the ordeal ? Louis agonised and prayed... fate did lend a hand, and after months of separations they were finally reunited. Surely all will now be fine for them ? Meanwhile in the background, the threatening atmosphere of a dark and closely guarded secret – witchcraft practices – has the islanders of this close-knit Catholic community shivering in fear, but it is the arson, murder and rape rearing its ugly heads that were more frightening. Suddenly, in a dramatic twist of fate, Anna’s life was turned perilously upside down... Will she be able to overcome that new drama and survived the First World War at the same time ?

Genres: Seychelles, Africa, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Romance

375 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Rosie Tirant-Longhurst, aka A.R. Tirant, was born in the Seychelles in November 1958, the daughter of a policeman and the eldest in a family of four brothers and four sisters. She grew up on the northern coast of Mahe island, in the tiny seaside village of Beau-Vallon. Her working life started in 1975 as a nurse at Mahe's Victoria Hospital, followed thereafter by a career in the Hotel Industry. She emigrated to England in 1995 and now lives in West Sussex with her husband. She has two grown-up sons and a granddaughter.

Rosie wasn't born with a pen in her hand, far from it. Life growing up was hard and strict. The home comforts we all now take for granted were but a dream for the young girl whose days were divided between household chores, cooking, cleaning and looking after her young siblings. Water for all the household use had to be carried from a stream, with one hand holding a pail on her head, and the other keeping a second pail from spilling.

Education only happened because it was the one way of getting some rest during the daytime, even if the chores still had to be done by the light of a coconut oil lamp. They were difficult times... times when she would lean against the pillar of the outdoor kitchen waiting for dinner to cook in the large black pots, staring at the tropical skies and marvelling at the diamond beauty of the scattering of stars above, and all the while wishing for a different life...

'Echoes from the Oasis' is her debut novel which will be followed by other titles in the same series.

For author interviews,features and events please visit :
www.seychelleshistoricalnovels.com
Email : a.r.tirant@gmail.com

Reviews

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a split decision book. I read it for my Around the World challenge for The Seychelle Islands. The sense of place I look for in these reads is there, as is a lot of Seychelle history. But the writing and plot left a lot to be desired. The novel is written in the third person which led to a disconnected experience with the characters. At times the narrative felt more like reading an expository paper. The first half of the book was more interesting than the last. The final third was excrutiatingly laborious as virtually every character was lamenting their culpability in a critical event in the plot. My word, the number of times each main character bemoaned how their grave sins led to the events. Over and over and over. And the ending? Horrible. It ends with a cliffhanger and a promise of a sequel - 13 years later, nada.

But the novel does expose the lasting impact of colonialization - perhaps not intentionally, though, as the author seems to have a very romantacized view of her homeland.

[Mikal Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts:

Rosie (the author) tells a beautifully historic, charming, and heartwrenching tale that takes place in her native Seychelles.

The research, descriptions, character development, and just overall beautiful writing make Echoes from the Oasis a keeper on my shelf. <3

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Around-the-world #191: Seychelles 🇸🇨.
A sugar-pie of a novel. If you like tacky romance set on a tropical island, go for it, but for me it was all too sentimental. One after the other superficial character falls in love, while contemplating what it is to be a good Catholic. The (lengthy) descriptions of Seychelles nature, food and contemporary (i.e. Early 20th century) society make the book come alive, though. However, the story is too thin to carry the sheer amount of words the author needs.

[Catherine Townsend-Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to admit that I was a wee bit late getting this review done. And getting to her new novel. But if I had known how Fabulous it was before I read this “magical journey of words,” I would not have waited so long!

It’s a well written Historical Romance you won’t soon forget. Here is a little more about Rosie, yes, … I get to call her that, LOL … as she has become a good friend. I will tell you one thing about her? This woman is everywhere!
She has done a fine job in promoting her new novel where she had been born and raised, which in opinion, is one of the most beautiful places on earth, The Seychelles Islands.

Not only has Rosie written a beautiful fiction romance, she also shares many of the traditions, ways, and cultures of this beautiful part of the world. And the about a young woman, Anna who blossoms when she finds love. Even one of Rosie’s written characters has my first name, Catherine. Now that made me feel special. But I’m pretty confident that was well planned in her book before we had ever met. I also have to warn you about this read, when you start reading Rosie’s book, be prepared to have a few late nights as I did. One night I didn’t turn out my reading lamp until almost 2 am. Now that’s a great read! I was so drenched into this storyline, the well written historical sites tells me the author did some research. But then again, when your born and raised where your storyline takes place, it is the past historical background Rosie really shines. She has a wonderful writing style I enjoyed as well.

That’s why I gave this beautiful read a 5 Stars! It truly is worth your time to purchase and read.
Just a great well written novel ...

[Theresa Needham fehse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free book for honest review. juliesbookreview.blogspot.com

Echoes from the Oasis is a historical fiction novel set in the Republic of Seychelles in the early 1900s. For those of you who are not familiar with the country (I must admit I had no geographical knowledge of the area until reading this book), the Republic of Seychelles is 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, more than 1,000 east of Southeast Africa. The climate is tropical and the inhabitants are descendants of British and French colonists and African slaves.

The author herself was born in the Seychelles in the 1950s. She crafts an intriguing story of her home country, weaving in the gorgeous scenery and the customs and beliefs of the inhabitants. The story begins with Anna, a teenage girl who breaks social custom and becomes a nurse. Anna meets a young man, Louis, who is a member of the wealthy Du Barre family. Anna and Louis fall in love – even consummating their love -- which is considered taboo in the strict Catholic society on the island. The couple plans to marry but a shipwreck and other complications wrench the them apart. Do Anna and Louis ever find each other again?

I enjoyed this historical romance, particularly the fact that the plotline was really unique. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about new locations and accurate depictions of historical eras.

Siobhan
Five stars

[Ani Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sensual and emotional novel. It is well-written and descriptive. Although I have not been on that island by reading the book I can imagine how it looks and feels to be there.
As to the story - it will definitely make you feel the things the heroine has felt.
Recommend!

[Rhoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my read the world selection for Seychelles

Set in 1912 right before the First World War, Anna is 16 years old living on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles. Anna is a passionate, nature loving young girl who is set on being a nurse and working. When she falls in love with the son of her parents’ employer, she believes that life couldn’t get any better.

However in their strict Catholic society, roles, customs and beliefs must be upheld and with war on the horizon, life takes a bleak turn.

This book provides a lot of information and context about the Seychelles islands which is something that I wanted to take from this reading challenge that I set out on back in 2019! So while I would say that this book was just ok, it certainly delivered in terms of being educational on custom, landscape, food and its people.

Otherwise, the execution of the story itself was a bit lacking. The writing was overly sentimental and melodramatic with a competitiveness around how Catholic one could be (sooo not up my alley) and the last third of the story seeing a number of the characters blaming themselves for a tragedy that took place which became all very histrionic. Not to mention that the ending was quite bizarre and hinted at there being a sequel….however it’s been 10 years since this was published and there isn’t one yet 🤷🏻‍♀️
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Serena]

An easy read and the cultural detail in this book is fascinating and really valuable. The list of traditional foods mentioned throughout is very long, as is (and this is my particular favourite) the list of types of trees: takamaka, albizia, bodanmyen, bwa gadyak, zanmalak, patatran, bwa dir, lantigonn, latanyen, coco and bilenbi. The spirit of the Seychelles really comes through, I like the Mother Nature piece. The supernatural elements are also nicely done I think.

I would say that generally I've seen much better and more exciting character development - it's quite dissatisfying to have a too-perfect, beautiful, popular main character and her perfect, kind, partner that she easily just gets. Also the language is a little too flowery. If these points were sharpened I think it would really have made the novel a different reading experience, but I do appreciate the amount of research and also love for the Seychelles that has gone into this.

[Michele Benson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seychelles. Long, stilted language. Young girl rebels against marriage, becomes a nurse, gets pregnant and practically dies of guilt. Lots of Catholicism, voodoo and a personified Mother Nature. If the ending had been better I would have given it 3 stars.

[Jenn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there was another book after this one. It leaves too many things unresolved.

[Laurence Ward]

In reading A. R. Tirant’s Echoes from the Oasis, one learns something of the history of Seychelles. The author’s love for the natural beauty of the islands is also evident.

[Jacqueline Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently finished reading this author's initial offering into this exceedingly competitive world of communicating her love of places, people and ideas via an historical format......I was so pleased to have Echoes From the Oasis meet all of my expectations. With a resounding homage to Mother Nature, Ms. Tirant's beloved characters and the unfolding of their lives on this beautiful island setting of the Seychelles was so vividly brought to life via strong, colorful descriptive writing and the smooth interjection of historical facts. If you are a fan of island life, nature's pure beauty, history, strong and identifiable characters and, beautiful writing that flows and ebbs and combines such heartfelt detail and Love.......I highly recommend 'Echoes From the Oasis' to you.