Disaster catapults three children into the care of their Caribbean grandparents,

before another relative, elusive and perhaps unstable, makes a conflicting claim

to guardianship. Balancing domestic calamity against her own compulsive

writing, Aria faces physical and psychological threats as a pandemic creeps up

on the world and the country moves into lockdown. By Such a Parting Light

offers a humorous and poignant tale of aging and of coming of age, and it takes

a mischievous approach to the multiple meanings of retirement.

A must for all readers of Caribbean and island literature - for readers with a

taste for realism that blends seamlessly into strains of the marvelous and gothic

- the novel's themes of loss and separation, love and resilience, are universally

appealing. The book personalizes local and international violence and terror by

bringing it all home to a small country in an international context of uncontained

infection and catastrophic politics. Turning an astonished eye on developed

nations from the frail shelter of a tiny island, the tale unveils alternative notions

of civilization and enlightenment.