Off the easternmost coast of India lies the immense archipelago of tiny islands known as the Sundarbans. Life here is precarious, ruled by the unforgiving tides and the constant threat of attack by Bengal tigers. Into this place of vengeful beauty come two seekers from different worlds, whose lives collide with tragic consequences. The settlers of the remote Sundarbans believe that anyone without a pure heart who ventures into the watery island labyrinth will never return. With the arrival of two outsiders from the modern world, the delicate balance of small community life uneasily shifts. Piya Roy is a marine biologist, of Indian descent but stubbornly American, in search of a rare dolphin. Kanai Dutt is an urbane Delhi businessman, here to retrieve the journal of his uncle who died mysteriously in a local political uprising. When Piya hires an illiterate but proud local fisherman to guide her through the crocodile-infested backwaters, Kanai becomes her translator. From this moment, the tide begins to turn. A contemporary story of adventure and romance, identity and history, The Hungry Tide travels deep into one of the most fascinating regions on earth, where the treacherous forces of nature and human folly threaten to destroy a way of life.
Christiane Besse Books




Restless
- 325 pages
- 12 hours of reading
It is Paris 1939. Twenty-eight-year-old Eva Delctorskaya is at the funeral of her murdered younger brother when she notices a stranger standing among her family and friends. A patrician-looking Englishman with a secretive air and a persuasive manner, his name is Lucas Romer, and it turns out he has a mysterious connection to her brother. Romer recruits Eva and soon she is travelling to Scotland to be trained as a spy and work for his underground network. After a successful covert operation in Belgium, she is sent to New York City, where she is involved in manipulating the press in order to shift American public sentiment toward getting involved in WWII.
Brazzaville Beach
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
On Brazzaville Beach, on the edge of Africa, Hope Clearwater examines the complex circumstances that brought her there. Sifting the details for evidence of her own innocence or guilt, she tells her engrossing story with a blunt and beguiling honesty that not only intrigues and disturbs but is also completely enthralling.
Un Anglais sous les tropiques - Texte intégral
- 404 pages
- 15 hours of reading
Morgan Leafy, fonctionnaire en titre, se voit chargé d'une délicate mission funéraire. Son ambition croît alors démesurément, au point qu'il tente de séduire la fille de son supérieur hiérarchique. Mais la situation va échapper à son entendement. Tiraillé entre l'hypocrisie coloniale de son administration et les traditions parfois surprenantes des populations locales, le modeste fonctionnaire bascule dans l'horreur et l'absurde.