Bone China - Rilegato

'This beautifully written account of a family in freefall addresses the experiences of victims of war and immigration, while acknowledging the love that exists within the family.' WBQ,

‘Tearne's second novel also deftly reveals the corrosive effects of civil strife on private lives and the receptiveness of art, though in the more conventional, if highly readable, form of a family saga over four generations that turns midway into a migrants' tale. Probing loss and memory amid violence and displacement, her novels have affinities with Romesh Gunesekera's groundbreaking fiction.' The Guardian

Praise for ‘Mosquito’:

‘“Mosquito” plays with sensuous mixes of human bestiality and natural beauty... It is in this continuing agency of remembered love – presented as the colours, sounds and smells of art, in dialogue with beauty and horror – that the uplifting politics of this fine novel lies.’ Independent

‘Heart-rending... Readers of this powerful novel cannot fail to be moved ... but they will also realise that, as well as being a rebuke to indifference, the book is also about hope and survival.’ Christopher Ondaatje, Spectator

‘“Mosquito” lyrically captures a country drenched in both incomparable beauty and the stink of hatred.’ Guardian

‘Lovely, vividly described.’ The Times

‘Tearne brings her skills as a painter to her writing, creating some extraordinarily lovely portraits of Sri Lankan land and seascapes, a stunning backdrop to the changing horrors of the country’s 20-year civil war. Anyone who has visited, or has a passing interest in Sri Lanka, should read this beautiful novel.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘“Mosquito” is a complex, ambitious book from a writer with a real talent for language. We will be hearing a great deal about Ms. Tearne in the future.’ Lauren B. Davis, author of ‘The Stubborn Season’ and ‘The Radiant City’

More praise for ‘Mosquito’:

‘“Mosquito” is a beautifully moving, suspense-filled story about unlikely lovers that’s gripping from start to finish. Set in Sri Lanka, it tells of a bittersweet romance between a young artist and a writer, a relationship that slowly becomes entangled in the mess of the local civil war. Tearne’s ethereal descriptions of the Sri Lankan coastline and the powerful accounts of a country ripped apart by violence make for an emotional and exceptional novel.’ Easy Living Magazine

‘Beautiful and evocative... The true horror and unreason of terrorism as depicted here speak to our own worst fears and remind us that terrorism has been with us in many guises and many places for a much longer time than we tend to remember... Gripping and original.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘“Mosquito” shimmers with evocative prose but it also resonates with the darkness of men’s cruelty. This is not a thriller, but the tension is palpable. Don’t be surprised if the film rights are snapped up quickly.’ The Courier Mail (Australia)

‘There are some beautiful passages in “Mosquito”...These flashes of true beauty, along with an impressively sustained forward drive, are enough to make “Mosquito” an engaging and thought-provoking novel.’ Times Literary Supplement

Roma Tearne fled Sri Lanka at the age of ten, travelling to Britain where she has spent most of her life. She gained her Master’s degree at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, and was Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. She is currently the holder of an Arts and Humanities Research Council fellowship in the visual arts. Her first novel, “Mosquito”, was published in 2007. She lives and works in Oxford.