Monique Roffey

April 1976: St Constance, a tiny Caribbean village on the the island of Black Conch. A fisherman sings to himself in his pirogue, waiting for a catch — but attracts a sea-dweller he doesn't expect. Aycayia, a beautiful young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid, has been swimming the Caribbean Sea for centuries. And she is entranced by this man David and his song. 

But her fascination is her undoing. She hears his boat's engine again and follows it, and finds herself at the mercy of American tourists, landed on the island for the annual fishing competition. After a fearsome bettle, she is pulled out of the sea and strung up on the dock as a trophy. It is David who rescues her, and gently wins her trust — as slowly, painfully, she starts to transform into a woman again. But transformations are not always permanent, and jealousy, like love, can have the force of a hurricane, and last much longer.

The Mermaid of Black Conch

When a flood destroys Gavin Weald's home, tearing apart his family and his way of life, he doesn't know how to continue. A year later, he returns to his rebuilt home and tries to start again, but when the new rainy season arrives, so do his daughter's nightmares about the torrents, and life there becomes unbearable. So father and daughter - and their dog - embark upon a voyage to make peace with the waters. Their journey will take them far from their Caribbean island home, into other unknown harbours andeventually across a massive ocean. They will sail through archipelagos, encounter the grandeur of the sea, meet with the challenges and surprises of the natural world. A miraculous future lies ahead of them, unknown territories await to be discovered. But it will take more than an ocean to put the memory of the flood behind them.

A Novel

Archipelago

An unforgettable love story, brimming with passion and politics, set over fifty years in Trinidad - a place at times enchanting, and at times highly dangerous . . . When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England as young newlyweds, they have with them just a couple of suitcases and Sabine's prized green bicycle. Their intention is to stay for not more then three years, but George falls in love with the island. Sabine, however, is ill at ease with the racial segregation and unrest in her new home, and takes solace in the freedom of her green bicycle. George and Sabine become more entangled in their life on the island - in all its passion and betrayals - and Sabine's bicycle takes her places she wouldn't otherwise go. One day George make a discovery that forces him to realise that extent of the secrets between them, and is seized by an urgent, desperate need to prove his love for her - with tragic consequences. 'Boundless in its understanding of the human spirit . . . will resonate with readers everywhere.' Olive Senior, poet, writer and Caribbean woman of letters 'Monique Roffey is a writer of verve, vibrancy and compassion . . . a joy to read.' Sarah Hall, author of The Electric Michelangelo, shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize '...... an intriguing portrait of a marriage that resonates long after the last page is turned...... ' Sunday Telegraph '...... and epic and strikingly original love story set in hot, steamy Trinidad,' Australian Women's Weekly

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

August Chalmin feels the weather like no-one else. A large, awkward recluse, with bright orange hair and sun-shy eyes, August hides himself away behind the counter of a Shepherd's Bush deli. One winter's day two things happen which change his life completely: his mother's ex-lover shambles back into his life, and he discovers a rash on his arm which looks like frost - a rash which is frost. As Cosmo raises questions about August's identity, August finds himself changing with the seasons, in a journey that takes him deep into his past, back to his roots and the reason he is the way he is.

Sun Dog

Passiontide

Roman

Die Meerjungfrau von Black Conch

The City of Silk is seething. The corrupt government has been ruling over the people too long and the city is becoming restless. Then one hot evening The Leader, a head of a group of rebels, gathers his followers and tells them: 'Today, we will be making history. For ourselves, and our fellow countrymen of Sans Amen.' And so a ragtag collection of men and boys take up arms and storm two of the most important buildings in the city: the house of power and the television studios. Together they will take back what is rightfully theirs. Caught up in the madness is Ashes. A bookish, learned man, he has been swept up by The Leader's powerful rhetoric. But now that words have turned to action he is not so sure anymore. And trapped inside the government building with the rebels is Aspasia. A proud woman, a mother of boys, she sees much of her sons in these boys with guns in their hands and power in their eyes.

House of Ashes

"London, midsummer. Jane and Bill meet Lilah in a bar. Jane makes an impulsive decision to invite Lilah back to their home - a error of judgment, for Lilah is a ruthless predator, the likes of which few encounter in a lifetime. Isolated and cursed, Jane and Bill are forced to fight for each other, and, in doing so, discover their covert desires."--Publisher's description.

The Tryst

Courttia Newland

Global Village

a memoir

With the kisses of his mouth

The Spellbinding Winner of the Costa Book of the Year As Read on BBC Radio 4

Mermaid of Black Conch

Sabine Harwood comes to Trinidad reluctantly as a naive newlywed with her husband George. They never intended to stay but George falls in love with the place. Their arrival coincides with the launch of the PNM, the new Trinidadian national party. The novel opens with a violent police beating. It is 2006 - George and Sabine are in their seventies and out of love, and Trinidad is beset by gang violence and teeters on the edge of dictatorship. The beating fuels Sabine's loathing of Trinidad and inspires George to set about winning back her affections. But he makes a discovery about a secret at the heart of their relationship - a discovery that leads him to try to make amends, with tragic consequences. Time shifts to the couple's arrival in 1956, when George and Sabine are young, beautiful and crazy in love, and Trinidad is an idyllic expat paradise, and the narrative traces the events that have shaped the couple's ultimate destiny and contemporary Trinidad.

Called "enchanting" by British "Elle, " this sensual debut novel of metamorphosis and discovery is from a young writer who is being hailed as one of Britain's most promising new talents.

August Frost

This enchanting tale of a cursed mythical creature and the lonely fisherman who falls in love with her is "a daring, mesmerizing novel…single-handedly bringing magic realism up-to-date" (Maggie O’Farrell, best-selling author of Hamnet). "Sentence by sensuous sentence, Roffey builds a verdant, complicated world that is a pleasure to live inside.... You might start to believe in the existence of mermaids.” —The New York Times In 1976, David is fishing off the island of Black Conch when he comes upon a creature he doesn’t expect: a mermaid by the name of Aycayia. Once a beautiful young woman, she was cursed by jealous wives to live in this form for the rest of her days. But after the mermaid is caught by American tourists, David rescues and hides her away in his home, finding that, once out of the water, she begins to transform back into a woman. Now David must work to win Aycayia's trust while she relearns what it is to be human, navigating not only her new body but also her relationship with others on the island—a difficult task after centuries of loneliness. As David and Aycayia grow to love each other, they juggle both the joys and the dangers of life on shore. But a lingering question remains: Will the former mermaid be able to escape her curse? Taking on many points of view, this mythical adventure tells the story of one woman’s return to land, her healing, and her survival.

A novel

Ambitious and contemporary, this groundbreaking collection offers new short fiction by exciting, fresh talents and established authors from around the world. Covering a myriad of topics—love, sex, death, war, crime, and the environment—each tale boasts a unique perspective and voice, with settings that move from India to New York to Cyberspace. With vibrant characters—including drug smugglers, call-center workers, and tourists—each of the 26 stories tackles personal and social issues in funny, poignant, and often dark ways.

Tell-tales 4

By the author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, a mesmerizing tale of a father and daughter’s sailing adventure from Trinidad to the Galapagos Islands, winner of the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and finalist for the 2014 Orion Book Award Monique Roffey, vibrant new voice in Caribbean fiction and author of the Costa Book of Year Award-winning The Mermaid of Black Conch and Orange Prize finalist The White Woman on the Green Bicycle, returns with Archipelago, a new novel that is a journey of redemption, healing, and hope in the wake of devastating loss. When a flood destroys Gavin Weald’s home in Trinidad and rips his family apart, life as he knows it will never be the same. A year later he returns to his house and tries to start over, but when the rainy season arrives, his daughter’s nightmares about the torrents make life there unbearable. So father and daughter—and their dog—embark upon a voyage to make peace with the waters. Their journey takes them far from their Caribbean island home, as they sail through archipelagos, encounter the grandeur of the sea, and meet with the challenges and surprises of the natural world.

A beautifully written, unforgettable novel of a troubled marriage, set against the lush landscape and political turmoil of Trinidad—by the award-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch Monique Roffey's Orange Prize-shortlisted novel is a gripping portrait of postcolonialism that stands among great works by Caribbean writers like Jamaica Kincaid and Andrea Levy. When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England, George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island, while Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill-at-ease. As they adapt to new circumstances, their marriage endures for better or worse, despite growing political unrest and racial tensions that affect their daily lives. But when George finds a cache of letters that Sabine has hidden from him, the discovery sets off a devastating series of consequences as other secrets begin to emerge.

Monique Roffey had found her soulmate. But then the love affair she had always longed for came to a sudden and heartbreaking end. Devastated, Monique felt that she could never love again. But as time went on, she began to ask questions. Does ruling out love have to mean ruling out sex? Can you have great sex without love? And, conversely, can a great love survive without sex? This is an eye-opening, inspiring story of one woman's quest to heal a broken heart and to find her own answers to some powerful and resonant questions. It takes her from the personal ads to a libertine's resort in the south of France to tantra workshops and beyond -- until she finds that she might just be able to love again, after all…

Monique Roffey

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