“How the characters in this story are interconnected is a marvel of storytelling.” — JOHN IRVINGFate, circumstance, and the symbolism of sight collide in this modern gothic novel.On a hot June day in 1965, two six-year-old boys, Gareth and Jack, compete to see who can climb higher up a tree. When Jack falls and loses his eye on a thorn bush, the accident sets off a series of events that will bind the boys together for the rest of their lives. When the best friends meet albino twins Clara and Blanca, a shared fate unfolds. With Gareth and Jack’s help, the twins are able to reclaim their lives and leave their nightmarish past behind them. From the shores of Lake Ontario to the hustle of Berlin, from the art of oculary to punk opera, this is a story of dark secrets, suppressed desires, forgiveness, and love.
"e;How the characters in this story are interconnected is a marvel of storytelling."e; - JOHN IRVINGFate, circumstance, and the symbolism of sight collide in this modern gothic novel.On a hot June day in 1965, two six-year-old boys, Gareth and Jack, compete to see who can climb higher up a tree. When Jack falls and loses his eye on a thorn bush, the accident sets off a series of events that will bind the boys together for the rest of their lives. When the best friends meet albino twins Clara and Blanca, a shared fate unfolds. With Gareth and Jack's help, the twins are able to reclaim their lives and leave their nightmarish past behind them. From the shores of Lake Ontario to the hustle of Berlin, from the art of oculary to punk opera, this is a story of dark secrets, suppressed desires, forgiveness, and love.
Hidden clues in a mysterious opera manuscript suggest the whereabouts of a long-disappeared opera singer.What do a champagne socialist opera director, an albino diva, a one-eyed journalist, a professor of economics, and two elderly Hungarian cancan dancers with ties to the French Resistance have in common? They are all searching for Clara.In 1992 opera singer Clara vanishes from an airport in Cape Town. Eight years later, her husband, Gareth, declares her dead in absentia. But when an anonymous opera manuscript — The True Abduction of Helen — arrives at a struggling punk opera company in Berlin, it seems to hold cryptic clues to Clara’s fate.As unlikely allies unite to uncover the mystery, they must confront a difficult question: If they find Clara, how will it change their fragile lives? More importantly, how can they put her story on the stage?The Lost Queen is a gripping tale of love lost, hope renewed, and the search for truth that will leave you questioning what it means to be truly found.