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  • The Bay

Saraband

The Bay

by Julia Rampen.

  • £9.99
  • Available
  • Paperback published on 07/11/2023
  • Page count: 288 pages
  • ISBN: 9781913393762
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Quick take

Winner of the NorthBound Book Award.

Synopsis

A tender and poignant debut of the redemptive power of unexpected friendship. In an old-fashioned fishing community on Morecambe Bay, change is imperceptibly slow. Treacherous tides sweep the quicksands, claiming everything in their path.

As a boy, Arthur had followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footprints, learning to read the currents and shifting sands. Now retired and widowed, though, he feels invisible, redundant. His daughter wants him in a retirement home.

No one listens to his rants about the newcomers striking out nightly onto the bay for cockles, seemingly oblivious to the danger. When Arthur’s path crosses Suling’s, both are running out of options. Barely yet an adult, Suling’s hopes for a better life have given way to fear: she’s without papers or money, speaks no English, and chased by ruthless debt collectors.

Her only next step is to trust the old man. Combining warmth and suspense and recalling a true incident, The Bay tells a tender story about loneliness, confronting prejudice, and the comfort of friendship, however unlikely—as well as exposing one of the most pressing social ills of our age.  

About the author

Julia Rampen is a journalist and writer with a long track record of working with refugees and undocumented migrants. Julia has worked for The New Statesman, the Mirror and the Liverpool Echo, has contributed to the Guardian, BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 5 Live, and is co-founder of the Syrian storytelling platform Qisetna: Talking Syria.

Her novel, The Bay, won the 2022 NorthBound Book Award and was written in consultation with those who investigated the tragedy at the time and told the survivors’ stories.

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Saraband is an award-winning independent publisher of outstanding fiction, absorbing nature writing, pressing environmental issues and compelling memoir.

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