From the author of Book of the Little Axe, nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the critically acclaimed 'Til the Well Runs Dry, a riveting literary novel with the sharp edges of a thriller about the abuses of history and the costs of revenge, set between Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg, South Africa
Prudence Wright seems to have it all: a loving husband, Davis; a spacious home in Washington, D.C.; and the former glories of a successful career at McKinsey, which now enables her to dedicate her days to her autistic son, Roland. When she and Davis head out for dinner with one of Davis’s new colleagues on a stormy summer evening filled with startling and unwelcome interruptions, Prudence has little reason to think that certain details of her history might arise sometime between cocktails and the appetizer course.
Yet when Davis’s colleague turns out to be Matshediso, a man from Prudence’s past, she is transported back to the formative months she spent as a law student in South Africa in 1996. As an intern at a Johannesburg law firm, Prudence attended sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings that uncovered the many horrors and human rights abuses of the Apartheid state, and which fundamentally shaped her sense of righteousness and justice. Prudence experienced personal horrors in South Africa as well, long hidden and now at risk of coming to light. When Matshediso finally reveals the real reason behind his sudden reappearance, he will force Prudence to examine her most deeply held beliefs and to excavate inner reserves of resilience and strength.
Lauren Francis-Sharma’s previous two novels have established her as a deft chronicler of history and its intersections with flawed humans struggling to find peace in unjust circumstances. With keen insight and gripping tension, Casualties of Truth explosively mines questions of whether we are ever truly able to remove the stains of our past and how we may attempt to reconcile with unquestionable wrongs.
Genre: Historical
Prudence Wright seems to have it all: a loving husband, Davis; a spacious home in Washington, D.C.; and the former glories of a successful career at McKinsey, which now enables her to dedicate her days to her autistic son, Roland. When she and Davis head out for dinner with one of Davis’s new colleagues on a stormy summer evening filled with startling and unwelcome interruptions, Prudence has little reason to think that certain details of her history might arise sometime between cocktails and the appetizer course.
Yet when Davis’s colleague turns out to be Matshediso, a man from Prudence’s past, she is transported back to the formative months she spent as a law student in South Africa in 1996. As an intern at a Johannesburg law firm, Prudence attended sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings that uncovered the many horrors and human rights abuses of the Apartheid state, and which fundamentally shaped her sense of righteousness and justice. Prudence experienced personal horrors in South Africa as well, long hidden and now at risk of coming to light. When Matshediso finally reveals the real reason behind his sudden reappearance, he will force Prudence to examine her most deeply held beliefs and to excavate inner reserves of resilience and strength.
Lauren Francis-Sharma’s previous two novels have established her as a deft chronicler of history and its intersections with flawed humans struggling to find peace in unjust circumstances. With keen insight and gripping tension, Casualties of Truth explosively mines questions of whether we are ever truly able to remove the stains of our past and how we may attempt to reconcile with unquestionable wrongs.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"I could not put this down! Once again, Francis-Sharma's phenomenal prose delivers; here, with exquisite suspense in a revenge story chocked full of thorny characters. This is an unforgiving tale of cat-and-mouse begging us to confront just how far we'd go to take control in a society hell-bent on minimizing our pain. These pages set loose the raging, wicked what-ifs we keep deeply and shamefully hidden inside our basements." - Xochitl Gonzalez
"Casualties of Truth is a page-turner so engrossing that you never get distracted by the exceptional grace of its storytelling. Tense yet character-driven, Lauren Francis-Sharma has created a brilliant rumination on how we use the malleable clay of memory to sculpt our understanding of ourselves and the world." - Mat Johnson
"At once riveting, ferocious, and deeply unsettling, Casualties of Truth is a necessary read. Lauren Francis-Sharma is a magician of a writer who masterfully blends a page-turning murder mystery-thriller with a powerful exploration of the liminal space between resilience and violence, memory and history, and vengeance and justice. I loved this book." - Angie Kim
"With laser-sharp prose and a keen eye for psychology, Casualties of Truth gives us a story of vengeance, justice, and the mutations of memory . . . This is a world in which no one is perfect, no one is at peace, and nothing can truly be forgotten. As riveting as it is important." - Rebecca Makkai
"Like the jacaranda's fragrance and beauty, Casualties of Truth lures you in with exquisite writing and the delicate construction of fascinating characters. And then, like El Tunche, it devours you with truths about and insights into all the shades of humanity. Sheer brilliance." - Deon Meyer
"Casualties of Truth is an astonishing novel that simmers with the hot heat of decades of death, injustice, and vengeance. Lauren Francis-Sharma's characters are pitch perfect in their depth and her story is an unflinching study of the horrors of the South African Apartheid state. Brava!" - Wanda M Morris
"Clever, provocative, and deeply felt. Casualties of Truth takes a clear and unflinching look at a complex system of oppression and delivers a vividly told and unforgettable story." - Karin Slaughter
"Casualties of Truth is a page-turner so engrossing that you never get distracted by the exceptional grace of its storytelling. Tense yet character-driven, Lauren Francis-Sharma has created a brilliant rumination on how we use the malleable clay of memory to sculpt our understanding of ourselves and the world." - Mat Johnson
"At once riveting, ferocious, and deeply unsettling, Casualties of Truth is a necessary read. Lauren Francis-Sharma is a magician of a writer who masterfully blends a page-turning murder mystery-thriller with a powerful exploration of the liminal space between resilience and violence, memory and history, and vengeance and justice. I loved this book." - Angie Kim
"With laser-sharp prose and a keen eye for psychology, Casualties of Truth gives us a story of vengeance, justice, and the mutations of memory . . . This is a world in which no one is perfect, no one is at peace, and nothing can truly be forgotten. As riveting as it is important." - Rebecca Makkai
"Like the jacaranda's fragrance and beauty, Casualties of Truth lures you in with exquisite writing and the delicate construction of fascinating characters. And then, like El Tunche, it devours you with truths about and insights into all the shades of humanity. Sheer brilliance." - Deon Meyer
"Casualties of Truth is an astonishing novel that simmers with the hot heat of decades of death, injustice, and vengeance. Lauren Francis-Sharma's characters are pitch perfect in their depth and her story is an unflinching study of the horrors of the South African Apartheid state. Brava!" - Wanda M Morris
"Clever, provocative, and deeply felt. Casualties of Truth takes a clear and unflinching look at a complex system of oppression and delivers a vividly told and unforgettable story." - Karin Slaughter
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