A fascinating exploration of sibling rivalry and relationship intertwined within the grip of a thriller. A dual narrative, one from each sister, which almost made me feel I had two books instead of one. Interestingly, Lucinda‘s part is a third person narrative while Viviana’s is first person. But both narratives create an atmosphere of intrigue and tension.
Lucinda and Viviana are sisters. They don’t seem especially close but close enough for Lucinda to worry when her sister seems to go off grid. Her investigations lead her to discover that Viviana is a sex worker and her partner is another woman. Lucinda is relentless in her search for Vivi and the truth and she joins forces with Graziana, Vivi’s partner. The search takes them across Brazil. The story takes us through the past, showing how both sisters have grown into the people that they are when we get to the present of the novel. They’re both fascinating characters both driven but in their own individual ways.
The tension is palpable, and there is a nice cliffhanger twist at the end of part one. Part two sees a shift in writing style as Viviana takes over the narrative and the tension racks up in a veritable tour de force of dark threat and implied aggression. I cannot bear to offer any spoilers here, but it’s a great climax for the book.
I enjoyed the paradoxes and the dualities of the story – rich and poor, moral and immoral, sexuality, colour – all finally balanced within a vibrant narrative. The book is excellently, translated by Rahul Bery.
There is a sense of the political, understated, yet there, with a hefty helping of feminism, all fused within the thriller format which offers action of an unpredictable nature. And it wouldn’t be a thriller if it didn’t offer us some surprises and some twists.
My thanks to Pushkin Vertigo for a gifted copy and a place upon the blog tour.
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