Description
Book SynopsisThe debut novel by a British writer with nearly two decades of African experience – a compelling courtroom drama and a gritty, aromatic evocation of place, inspired by recent events.
Trade Review‘Few other writers could make a border dispute in the Hague have readers sitting on the edges of their chairs. And no other writer I know of is capable of making Africa seem just as accessibly screwed up as our own messy political back yards. BORDERLINES is beautifully written and tautly told. It helps to explain why refugees from the Horn are queuing for boats in Libya, and portrays the searing disappointment of fighting a liberation war for years only to be betrayed by your own side. That disappointment isn't African; it's universal.’ Lionel Shriver, author of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
‘I read Borderlines in a single sitting. Paula Shackleton is an anti-heroine for our times: clever, spiky, complex and flawed. Michela Wrong has gained a reputation as a fluid, perceptive writer of non-fiction – now she has added a twist of imagination to create a gripping novel.’ Lindsey Hilsum
‘A gripping debut thriller … like all good thrillers, the opening of Michela Wrong’s Borderlines reads like a climax … an ambitious, multi-layered mystery … In Wrong’s expert hands, the worlds that the novel travels through – government backrooms, refugee camps, the privileged world of expats in “hardship postings” – are sketched with a natural, attractive intimacy.’ Guardian
‘Fascinating’ Laura James, TLS
'Gripping and complex' New Statesman
‘In its Graham Greene-like exploration of human failings, Borderlines discourses brilliantly on the politics of cartography … A first-class legal thriller, written with narrative verve and a reporter’s eye for detail’ Financial Times
'Beautifully judged & elegantly written … delivers on every level … thoroughly recommend' Spectator
