An Impossible Return Audiobook By Caroline Laurent, Jeffrey Zuckerman - translator cover art

An Impossible Return

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

An Impossible Return

By: Caroline Laurent, Jeffrey Zuckerman - translator
Narrated by: Beresford Bennett
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Winner of the Prix Maison de la Presse

An epic love story set against a backdrop of injustice, devastating secrets, and the painful price of independence.

It’s 1967 in the Chagos Archipelago—a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean—and life is peaceful and easy for hardworking Marie. Her fierce independence and love for her home are quickly apparent to Gabriel, the handsome and sophisticated Mauritian secretary to the archipelago’s administrator; it’s love at first sight. As these two lovers from neighboring islands welcome a new son, Joséphin, a bright future seems possible. But Gabriel is hiding a terrible secret. The Mauritian government is negotiating independence from Britain, and this deal with the devil will mean evacuating the Chagos, without warning or mercy—a betrayal that will put their love to the test.

Inspired by a shocking travesty of justice, the repercussions of which still reverberate more than fifty years later, bestselling Franco-Mauritian author Caroline Laurent paints a shimmering portrait of island life, a sensual paradise lost, and a gorgeous star-crossed love against all odds.

©2020 Éditions Les Escales. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2022 by Jeffrey Zuckerman.
Coming of Age Fiction Historical Fiction Sagas Island
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Franco-Mauritian writer Laurent, in her potent English-language debut, overlays a tragic love story onto a powerful account of historical injustice in the Chagos Archipelago…Thanks to Laurent’s devastating work, readers will, indeed, have their eyes and hearts opened.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Franco-Mauritian author Caroline Laurent has penned this historical fiction novel based on stories her Mauritian mother told, and [on] her extensive research. The narrative is written in the typical lyrical style of a French novel, which the translator has reproduced faithfully for readers’ enjoyment. Life on the islands is portrayed with intimate details of the inhabitants’ day-to-day existence, such that one can feel the pain of the indigenous peoples’ evacuation for reasons they don’t understand.”Historical Novels Review

“While Rivage de la colère is a novel about exile and impossible love, it is nevertheless about hope too. It is an ambitious and sweeping story written with sensitivity that renders a geopolitical and human tragedy through its credible and endearing characters.”L’Orient Littéraire

What listeners say about An Impossible Return

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A story that must be told…

But couldn’t have been told better? Honestly, I believe in telling the truth of historical oppression, and I commend the author for doing so, but this book moves very slowly, and it’s hard to get into. The parts of highest interest tend to be over so quickly with such a long descriptive narrative in between I can’t recommend it as a great read, but I do recommend it as a historical lesson to everyone!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!