The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo

The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo

In 1948, a nineteen-year-old pearl diver's dreams of spending her life combing the waters of Japan's Inland Sea are shattered when she discovers she has leprosy. By law, she is exiled to an island leprosarium, where she is stripped of her dignity and instructed to forget her past. Her name is erased from her family records, and she is forced to select a new one. To the two thousand patients on the island of Nagashima, she becomes Miss Fuji.

Although drugs arrest the course of Miss Fuji's disease, she cannot leave the colony. Instead, she becomes a caretaker to the other patients, and through the example of their courage, she gains insight into the deep wellspring of strength she will need to reclaim her freedom. Written with precision and eloquence, The Pearl Diver is a dazzling meditation on isolation and community, cruelty and compassion.

JEFF TALARIGO won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Foundation Award for his widely acclaimed first novel, The Pearl Diver. After living in Japan for almost fourteen years, he, with his wife and son, moved back to the United States in 2006. He was awarded a fellowship at the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The Ginseng Hunter is his second novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781400034918
ISBN 10	1400034914
Title	The Pearl Diver
Author	Jeff Talarigo
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2005-04-12
Number of pages	256
Prizes	Winner of New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age.
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.