Salina: The Three Exiles

Salina's youngest son must tell her story of violence and suffering, vengeance, and passion, which was exiled three times. He must face up and tell the tale of her ordeals, including her rape, in detail to gain admittance to the cemetery. This short novel explores a narrative space where time flows to rhythmic rituals, fate blurs to legend, and secrets become myth.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2021
Publisher: Europa Editions (UK) Ltd

A timeless tale that straddles the realms of foundational tale and myth, unfolds when Salina meets her demise. It is left to her youngest son to recount her story, a narrative that encompasses violence, suffering, vengeance, and passion. Exiled three times, Salina's journey begins as an abandoned newborn left outside a village by a mysterious horseman. Despite being taken in and raised by a clan that viewed her as a stranger and an enemy to be defeated, she never knew the warmth of love. Instead, revenge became her driving force, fueling her every action. As a mother of three children born from strife, Salina yearned for a sense of belonging and love, but it remained elusive. However, her quest for vengeance remained her sole purpose in life. To gain admittance to the cemetery, a place of peace at last, Salina's son must confront the harrowing details of her ordeals, particularly her rape. He is compelled to give voice to the hardships that had fed into Salina's rage for years, unleashing the full extent of her anguish. Set in an ancestral world, Laurent Gaudé's short novel delves into a realm where time flows harmoniously with rhythmic rituals, where fate intertwines with legend, and secrets transform into myth. Through this captivating narrative, Gaudé invites readers to explore a space where the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, where the past and the present converge, and where the secrets of the universe are revealed.

Weight: 152g
Dimension: 135 x 208 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781787702868