Eve out of Her Ruins

Born in Mauritius, Ananda Devi is a novelist, short-story writer and poet. Translated into a dozen languages, she is considered a powerful voice in modern African writing in French and has won several prestigious literary awards. She lived for many years in London, where she obtained a PhD in social anthropology; and in Congo-Brazzaville. She currently lives in Ferney-Voltaire, in France.

'It is both a cliche and yet still necessary to note that young adult fiction would benefit from more work in translation; as well as being a simply gorgeous book in its own right, Eve Out of Her Ruins draws attention to how often the field is shaped by American culture and norms.' - Claire Hennessy, The Irish Times; 'A story which asks big questions about what happens when young people have no purpose or opportunities in life. Some harsh themes but an excellent read.' - The Scotsman, Best Reads for Teens This Summer; '... incredible, so poetic and visceral. Devi is a powerful and uncompromising writer but the moments of tenderness and humanity throughout made the lack of it all the more stark. I'm so glad it's been translated, we need more books like this on shelves!' - Deirdre Sullivan, author of Tangleweed and Brine; 'Told in a lyrical, haunting voice, this grief-riven tale about the underworld of Mauritius is harshly compelling.' - The Bookbag; 'Extraordinary, shifting between describing solid, often sordid details with vivid precision, and soaring into more abstract passages that echo the ebb and flow of the sea that "surges, escapes, shatters" on the island's shore.' - Deborah Smith, Guardian; 'The novel's voices are distinct, but they all flash with the hot mirages of adolescence-all four kids see with the hard certainty of desire things that are and aren't there... Devi's novel is of a piece with an important strand in postcolonial feminist writing that locates the central tragedy of survival in the necessity of repeated leave-takings, which are always acts of betrayal-betrayal of home, of history, of nation, of those who stayed....The challenges of getting Devi's tropical-guttural-teenage mood right are considerable, but Zuckerman's translation is confident and accomplished, capturing the marine clarity of the prose without losing any of its poetic heat.' - Anjuli Raza Kolb, Bookforum