The Illegal Gardener by Sara Alexi
Driven by a need for some control in her life, Juliet sells up on impulse and buys a dilapidated farmhouse in a tiny Greek village, leaving her English life behind. The house is habitable by local standards, but the job of restoring the garden is too big. It requires strength. Juliet cannot bring it to life on her own. She reluctantly enlists casual labour. She has no desire to share her world with anyone. The boys have grown, and she has divorced her bullying husband. This is her time now. Aaman has travelled to Greece from Pakistan illegally. His task is to find work and raise money for the harvester his village desperately needs to deliver them out of poverty. Poverty that is sending the younger generation to the cities, dividing families, and slowly destroying his community. What he imagined would be a heroic journey in reality is fraught with danger and corruption. He finds himself in Greece and follows the work. As time passes, he loses his sense of self. He is now an immigrant worker, illegal, displaced, unwanted, with no value. Some days he does not have enough money to feed himself, let alone to return home to Pakistan. Juliet hires Aaman. Neither is entirely comfortable with their role. Juliet the Westerner, who has money and a valid passport, resents the intrusion even though she wants her garden cleared. Aaman needs the work and money but resents the humiliation. As the summer progresses, even though they are from vastly different backgrounds, cultures apart, they discover they have something in common. Pieces of their lives they have kept hidden even from themselves are exposed. They are each other's catalysts to facing their own ghosts.| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780992715007 |
| ISBN 10 | 0992715008 |
| Title | The Illegal Gardener |
| Author | Sara Alexi |
| Series | Greek Village Series |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Oneiro Press |
| Year published | 2012-07-15 |
| Number of pages | 306 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |