A Watermelon A Fish And A Bible

Young London novelist Christy Lefteri's debut is an impressive achievement.

Set during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and centered around the disputed town of Kyrenia, it follows its characters through the eight days of the invasion, the choices they are forced to make and losses they must undergo. There is Koki, the red-headed young woman in Kyrenia whose origin has always been subject to dispute and rumour; Adem, a Turkish soldier who finds himself invading a land he loves; Richard, an ageing veteran in the dank London of the 70s who watches the invasion unfold with a horror mixed with nostalgia for the Cyprus he was once posted to; and a whole colourful cast of village characters, old women, drunkards, soldiers, fishermen, gossips - vividly-drawn people who react to events with heroism or cowardice or fatalism.

Written with a sustained and elemental lyricism, A Watermelon, A Fish and A Bible is not just an efficient tearjerker (although it is that, too), but a vivid recollection of a lost way of life and the tragedies of war, separation, love and exile.