The Lovers - Tapa dura

'A stingingly acute portrait of grief, a moving meditation on love and a page-turning adventure.' Zoe Heller, author of The Believers

Twenty-eight years ago, Peter and Yvonne honeymooned in the beautiful coastal village of Datca, Turkey. Now Yvonne is a widow, her twin children grown. Hoping to immerse herself in memories of a happier time - as well as sand and sea - Yvonne returns to Datca. But her plans for a restorative week in Turkey are quickly complicated. Instead of comforting her, her memories begin to trouble her. Her vacation rental's landlord and his bold, intriguing wife - who share a curious marital arrangement - become constant uninvited visitors, in and out of the house. Overwhelmed by the past and unexpectedly dislocated, Yvonne clings to a newfound friendship with Ahmet, a local boy who makes his living as a shell collector. With Ahmet as her guide, Yvonne gains new insight into the lives of her own adult children, and she finally begins to enjoy the shimmering sea and relaxed pace of the Turkish coast. But a devastating accident upends her delicate peace and throws her life into chaos - and her sense of self into turmoil. With the crystalline voice and psychological nuance for which her work has been so celebrated, Vendela Vida has crafted another unforgettable heroine in a stunningly beautiful and mysterious landscape.