This is my first book by this author and I was impressed at how she tackled such a difficult often ignored subject. The comfortable lives most of us live are not echoed by everyone. Emigrant workers sacrifice so much when they leave their homeland and many face unimaginable difficulties and dangers.
Petra is a working mother who lives in Cyprus. She lost her husband before her daughter was born and hires Nisha to help her look after the house and her child. Nisha has left her own daughter behind in an attempt to prove a better future for her by earning money to better her future. Petra finds it hard to connect with her daughter Aliki whereas Nisha has a natural mothering instinct and the two are inseparable.
Nisha falls in love with her neighbour Yiannis but they have to keep their relationship secret because maids are not allowed to have relationships. Yiannis has his own secrets as he is a poacher who hunts native songbirds which is illegal but profitable.
When Nisha vanishes one evening and with the local police unwilling to investigate her disappearance both Petra and Yiannis realise how important she was to them both. Petra begins to think of Nisha as a real person not just her maid. One who has her own life and story. Yiannis misses her terribly and his love for her is affirmed with her absence.
This story is set against the setting of divided Cyprus where domestic workers are struggling in a foreign country. The book explores the triumph of the human spirit and the strong love of a mother for her child. It also makes the reader think of the injustices of the modern world.
A powerful read which was thought provoking for me leaving me counting my own blessings.
Petra is a working mother who lives in Cyprus. She lost her husband before her daughter was born and hires Nisha to help her look after the house and her child. Nisha has left her own daughter behind in an attempt to prove a better future for her by earning money to better her future. Petra finds it hard to connect with her daughter Aliki whereas Nisha has a natural mothering instinct and the two are inseparable.
Nisha falls in love with her neighbour Yiannis but they have to keep their relationship secret because maids are not allowed to have relationships. Yiannis has his own secrets as he is a poacher who hunts native songbirds which is illegal but profitable.
When Nisha vanishes one evening and with the local police unwilling to investigate her disappearance both Petra and Yiannis realise how important she was to them both. Petra begins to think of Nisha as a real person not just her maid. One who has her own life and story. Yiannis misses her terribly and his love for her is affirmed with her absence.
This story is set against the setting of divided Cyprus where domestic workers are struggling in a foreign country. The book explores the triumph of the human spirit and the strong love of a mother for her child. It also makes the reader think of the injustices of the modern world.
A powerful read which was thought provoking for me leaving me counting my own blessings.