Unforgiven

by Jules Hardy

Sammy has an idyllic boyhood in Limassol with his glamorous, hippy parents and his sister. They live a sixties, louche lifestyle - Sammy's earliest memories are of visitors sleeping outside under the stars, smoking joints and getting drunk on rum and cocktails. Then, overnight, his life is changed by two tragedies that will remain intertwined in his mind for ever. He is forced to leave Limassol and is sent to an austere English boarding school. There Sammy meets Rajiv, a young, diligent scholar from the West Indies. The two form an unlikely friendship - Rajiv tempers the rebellious streak that the damaged Sammy has developed and, in years to come, that friendship will once more dramatically alter the course of Sammy's life as he is eventually forced to face the demons that have led him to his self imposed exile.

416 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2007

Reviews

[Kaj Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kind of good writer that you probably never heard about but that surprises with her more than decent prose. I like how she combines a naturalistic psychological portrait with complex social issues like home/belonging and racial identity. What I disliked is that there are too many minor characters that seem to be important or unimportant, but whose role within the overall story arc are either disappointing (Rajiv, Susannah) or forcibly stir the plot into a certain direction (Emma, Mr Westmore, Kouranis the Greek.

[Lara]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Shake the main character and his story. The descriptions of the islands were really good and I couldn't wait to find out what happened in Aspen, and hadn't seen that one coming! Beautifully written, and I'll look forward to reading this authors other books.