The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

A beautifully written, unforgettable novel of a troubled marriage, set against the lush landscape and political turmoil of Trinidad.

Monique Roffey's Orange Prize-shortlisted novel is a gripping portrait of postcolonialism that stands among great works by Caribbean writers like Jamaica Kincaid and Andrea Levy.

When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England, George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island, while Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill-at-ease. As they adapt to new circumstances, their marriage endures for better or worse, despite growing political unrest and racial tensions that affect their daily lives. But when George finds a cache of letters that Sabine has hidden from him, the discovery sets off a devastating series of consequences as other secrets begin to emerge.

"A newly independent Trinidad offers a rich backdrop for Roffey's evocative exploration of life in a tropical paradise rife with conflict. Sabine and George Harwood come to Trinidad from England with vastly different expectations: for Sabine, it is a blessedly limited three-year stint undertaken purely to advance her husband's career; for George it is an open-ended opportunity to break out of his dreary British life. The author depicts divergent worlds in a country with a long colonial history: the considerable wealth, luxuriant estates, and country clubs for the wealthy foreign-born, and the dilapidated shacks with no running water for the servant class. The island itself — seductive, mysterious, unpredictable — provides a challenging environment that exacerbates the tension between George and Sabine, and acts as incubator for the political unrest that brews when the young nation's new leader, Eric Williams, cannot come through on his many promises. With its unique structure — beginning with George's perspective in 2006, then switching to Sabine's unsent letters from their early days on the island — Roffey reveals how each experienced Trinidad so differently and offers a resonant account of how both Harwoods succumb to a place that is part paradise and part hell. (May)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Engaging....A firebomb of a book, revealing a slowly disintegrating marriage, a country betrayed and a searing racism that erupts in terrible violence....This is a stunning book, and its depiction of an aspect of Caribbean life is well worth contemplating." The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Roffey's explorations of longtime marriages, race, and the lingering effects of colonialism are insightful and often painful to read....The true main character in this novel is Trinidad itself: its people, its customs, and its contradictions." Nancy Pearl, National Public Radio

"Few novels capture the postcolonial culture with such searing honesty as this Caribbean story told through the alternating viewpoints of a white British couple over the last 50 years....The pitch-perfect voices capture the colonials' racism and sense of entitlement." Booklist

"A rich and highly engaging novel." The Guardian

"Roffey's evocation of Trinidad is extraordinarily vivid, the central relationship beautifully observed...deservedly short-listed for the Orange Prize." Kate Saunders, The Times (London)

"Heart-rending and thought-provoking, you will never again see the Caribbean as just another holiday destination." Elle

"Equal love and attention go into the marriage and the country at the heart of this Orange Prize short-listed novel....It's a book packed with meaty themes, from racism to corruption to passion and loyalty." The Sunday Telegraph

"Roffey's Orange Prize nominated book is a brilliant, brutal study of a marriage overcast by too much mutual compromise." The Independent

"A searing account of the bitter disappointment suffered by Trinidadians on securing their independence from British colonial rule and of the mixed feelings felt by a white couple who decide to stay on. An earthy, full-blooded piece of writing, steaming with West Indian heat." London Evening Standard

"[Roffey's] plot engages the reader through a gradual revelation of the past — slowly forming a melancholy whole." Financial Times

"Monique Roffey is a writer of verve, vibrancy and compassion, and her work is always a joy to read." Sarah Hall

Monique Roffey was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and educated in the United Kingdom. Her first novel, Sun Dog, garnered universal acclaim from critics and readers alike. She lives in London.