The Coral Heart

A shopkeeper’s journey

Coeur de Corail

Le voyage d’un boutiquier

Synopsis

En 1911, des immigrants chinois de culture hakka débarquent à l’île Maurice dans l’océan Indien. Parmi eux, un enfant. Il travaille pour son père qui est commerçant, et lui remet tout ce qu’il gagne, selon la tradition chinoise. Devenu jeune homme, il s’adapte au pays et développe son commerce. Il tombe amoureux d’une musulmane, et tous deux tenteront de faire tomber les barrières. Dès lors, sa confiance dans la culture et les traditions chinoises est mise à l’épreuve.

Pour écrire ce roman, l’auteure s’est inspirée des lettres retrouvées de son père. Une histoire qui se déroule avec pour fond historique, les périodes durant la déposition de l’empereur  chinois, la montée du communisme, l’invasion japonaise de la Chine et les deux Guerres mondiales.

Ce roman a été traduit de l’anglais par Robert Furlong et Peggy Lampotang,

édité par a Alain Gordon-Gentil,

et publié par Pamplemousses Editions, Île Maurice.

Synopsis

In 1911, impoverished Hakka Chinese immigrants arrive on the tropical island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Among the newcomers, a hungry child. The hard-working boy helps his father, a shopkeeper and surrenders his earnings to him according to Chinese tradition. While he serves the islanders, the young man ingeniously builds the business, negotiates his way through racial divisiveness, and falls in love. But his trust is the old system is put to test ... This work of fiction, inspired by the letters from the authors’s father, unfolds during the overthrow of the Chinese Emperor, the rise of communism, the Japanese invasion of China and the First and Second World Wars.

Praise for The Coral Heart

“A captivating, well-written novel by a talented writer.”

Pamela de St. Antoine, Washington Correspondent, Weekend newspaper

“Peggy Lampotang writes with power and sensitivity about love and loss

in a faraway time and place.”

Terry Fallis, Canadian author of The Best Laid Plans

“The tenacious pull of a distant culture, and the heartbreak of wars

that hover over an island that some think is safe due to its remoteness.

Peggy Lampotang weaves a tale whose fragility reflects its reality.

She sheds light on a segment of our past sometimes told by

historians, but never before touched by fiction and romance.

This novel is the story of a man’s fusion with a country.

The story of a man who becomes a landmark in our history.”

Alain Gordon-Gentil, Mauritian author

Where to buy The Coral Heart / Coeur de Corail