BOOK OF JOAQUIM
Novel
It’s 1824 when the shipbuilder Joaquim, 27, and the young Leah, 17, bride to be in an arranged marriage in Portugal, meet and fall in love on the remote island of Fernando de Noronha. During one night on the beach, a magic star falls down from the sky into the ocean, mysteriously transferring its eternal life to the couple. Leah is taken to Lisbon, against her will. Joaquim, who soon becomes aware of the star effect, spends the next 188 years looking for her.
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From a Brazilian slave farm in the late 1850’s to the stirring streets of Lisbon in the turn of the century; from working with Marie Currie in Paris to Vienna’s most flourishing period; from World War I to the defeated Germany; from the Wall Street crash to the 60’s dictatorship in Brazil - Joaquim experiences it all. In Leah’s absence, he takes care of sad Berenice, falls in love with Anne Sophie, builds a toxic relationship with Luna, shares a life with Sara, and raises Nicolau as his own son. But never, even for a moment, does he stop looking for his real love, Leah.
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Almost two centuries later, in 2012, a miracle occurs. The couple finally meets back at their starting point, on the same island. The encounter makes them face all their missed hopes and present doubts. Can true love conquer all?
Published by Agir (Brazil), 2011.
BUYING OPTIONS:
"With chapters that mix the past and present, we are surrounded by a beautiful love story that overcomes the barriers of time and death."
"Not many authors manage to marry fiction with reality, and Laura Malin is an exception."
"Book of Joaquim is an engaging, striking and witty novel."
BOOK SIGNING: