Farzana Doctor Wins Rainbow Award

This novel is a love story, ultimately a sad one. A Quebec politician serves two terms during the Mulroney era before being defeated, and with his wife's prompting, seeks to find new direction and purpose. He ends up in Africa, where he goes missing. Alternating between the wife's viewpoint in Canada, and the husband's viewpoint in the hours leading up to his disappearance, Soderstrom leads us to an unexpected culmination. I hadn't expected the "why" behind the title, the ending adding another layer of depth to a fine book.

Read more about The Violets of Usambara at the Cormorant Books website.