This is an old and wicked island An island of Phoenicians and merchants of bloodsuckers and fraudsExpelled from her convent school for kicking the prioress and abandoned by her father when her mother dies rebellious teenager Matia is sent to live with her domineering grandmother on the island of Mallorca In the hot oppressive stillness of an adolescent summer she learns to scheme with her cousin Borja and finds herself increasingly drawn to the strange outsider Manuel But civil war has come to Spain and it will teach Matia about the adult world in ways she could not foreseeThis powerful lyrical comingofage novel depicts Mallorca as an enchanted island a lost Eden and a Never Land combined where ancient hatreds and presentday passions collidebrilliant devastating every character is remarkable and captivating The Times Literary Supplementa feverish dramatic brew the style is intoxicating it offers a unique view of a part of Spain usually overlooked by literature The Irish Times
