num_pages: 344
description: In an airport in the Dominican Republic, two searchers are drawn together by a suggestive smile and a shared sense of longing. Michelle is a young American with holes in her past and a need to wander so strong that she walks in her sleep. Tollomi is a native of the West Indies, thoroughly Americanized by education and in search of his truer self. Haunted by elusive secrets of the past, they forge an intense connection that allows them to comprehend each other's secrets while remaining blind to their own. For Tollomi, the route to salvation lies in his deep involvement in Dominican politics; for Michelle, it is the rebuilding of a family home, long abandoned, which she hopes will hold the key to her lost memories. Michelle's blindly obsessive drive to complete construction and Tollomi's passionate love affair with a young Dominican man whose brother is involved in a growing revolutionary movement, pulls both into the vortex of volatile tensions between Dominicans and Americans surrounding increasing tourism and a national election, setting in motion an explosive series of events both heartbreaking and transcendent. In this remarkable debut novel, Sarah Pemberton Strong's poetically simple language enhances a story of emotional dislocation, cultural identity, and the powerful forces of memory and desire.Marketing National Village Voice Literary Supplement, Bookforum, Rain Taxi, Ruminator Review, The Advocate, Out, BombAdvance Reader CopiesMedia campaign to mainstream and alternative pressesNew England and Mid Atlantic author appearacnces including Boston, Amherst and New York.
language: English
title: Burning the Sea: A Novel
titlecomplete: Burning the Sea: A Novel
ratings_count: 31
publisher: Alyson Books