The Strange Scent of Saffron (49) (Essential Translations Series)

"This novel revisits, among other things, the years when HIV began to take its toll. It combines Milena's crisp writing, with serious and significant subjects and themes, which results in a text that is striking, mature and resonant. The themes explored in the novel, such as consent, the real cost of freedom, and the conflicting emotions that can fill our lives and our relationships; are very topical, even though the action takes place in the eighties, a period during which HIV was consuming lives at lightning speed. The novel provides a complex portrayal of Canada's young generation, and helps bring to light the passions, insecurities, and aspirations of our youth."-- Provided by publisher Lower Saint-Lawrence, summer 1988. Looking to escape the violent grip of her uncle and twin brother, Nil heads for Le Bic with a half-tamed fox in tow. There, the tough young woman meets Jacob, an HIV-positive restaurant owner mixed up in illegal saffron trafficking. Meanwhile in India, Amar is about to take part in his first harvest of the red gold while his sister Alaka tries to conceal the embarrassment of her first period. The Strange Scent of Saffron is a raw, gut-wrenching novel about the lack and gradual attainment of empowerment, partly through a sensorially-rich connection with the world.