Over Seas of Memory - Paperback

by Michaël Ferrier (Author), Martin Munro (Translator), Patrick Chamoiseau (Foreword by)

Based loosely on the author's life, this novel recounts the narrator's journey following the footsteps of his Mauritius-born grandfather, Maxime, who abruptly boarded a boat bound for Madagascar in 1922 and never returned. Michaël Ferrier tells a tale of discovery as well as the elusive, colorful story of Maxime's life in Madagascar, which included a stint as an acrobat in a traveling circus and, later, as a diver and artist on marine expeditions. Maxime's story is one of adventure but also romance. He falls in love with a refined young Pauline Nuñes, Ferrier's grandmother, whose well-to-do family of Indian merchants owns a hotel famous for playing the latest music--including American jazz--and throwing popular dances and parties. Over Seas of Memory weaves these personal stories with the island's history, including its period as a Vichy-governed territory at the center of what was termed "Project Madagascar," the Nazi plan to relocate Europe's Jewish population to the island.

Author Biography

Michaël Ferrier is a professor of French at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan, and director of the Research Group Figures de l'Etranger. He is an essayist and the award-winning author of several novels in French. Martin Munro is Winthrop-King professor of French and Francophone studies and director of the Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies at Florida State University. Patrick Chamoiseau is an award-winning author from Martinique. Many of his books have been translated into English, including School Days (Nebraska, 1997) and Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows (Nebraska, 2003).