The first novel from Madagascar ever to be translated into English,
Naivo's magisterial Beyond the Rice Fields delves into the upheavals
of the nation's past as it confronted Christianity and modernity,
through the twin narratives of a slave and his master's daughter.
Fara and her father's slave, Tsito, have been close since her father
bought the boy after his forest village was destroyed. Now in Sahasoa,
amongst the cattle and rice fields, everything is new for Tsito, and
Fara at last has a companion. But as Tsito looks forward to the bright
promise of freedom and Fara, backward to a dark, long-denied family
history, a rift opens between them just as British Christian
missionaries and French industrialists arrive and violence erupts across
the country. Love and innocence fall away, and Tsito and Fara's world
becomes enveloped by tyranny, superstition, and fear.
With captivating lyricism, propulsive urgency, and two unforgettable
characters at the story's core, Naivo unflinchingly delves into the
brutal history of nineteenth-century Madagascar. Beyond the Rice
Fields is a tour de force that has much to teach us about human bondage
and the stories we tell to face--and hide from--ourselves, each other,
our pasts, and our destinies.
