By the author of The Mermaid of Black Conch and Passiontide , a mesmerizing tale of a father and daughter’s sailing adventure from Trinidad to the Galapagos Islands, winner of the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and finalist for the 2014 Orion Book Award Monique Roffey, vibrant new voice in Caribbean fiction and author of the Costa Book of Year Award-winning The Mermaid of Black Conch and Orange Prize finalist The White Woman on the Green Bicycle , returns with Archipelago , a new novel that is a journey of redemption, healing, and hope in the wake of devastating loss. When a flood destroys Gavin Weald’s home in Trinidad and rips his family apart, life as he knows it will never be the same. A year later he returns to his house and tries to start over, but when the rainy season arrives, his daughter’s nightmares about the torrents make life there unbearable. So father and daughter—and their dog—embark upon a voyage to make peace with the waters. Their journey takes them far from their Caribbean island home, as they sail through archipelagos, encounter the grandeur of the sea, and meet with the challenges and surprises of the natural world. Roffey follows her acclaimed The White Woman on the Green Bicycle (2011) with this stunning adventure story. A year after a flood destroys Gavin Weald’s small house in Trinidad and sweeps away his infant son, his wife has retreated deep into her grief, and his six-year-old daughter, Océan, still has nightmares. Gavin decides to drop out for a while. So he quits his job, settles his “sleeping wife” with her mother, takes Océan, and embarks on a journey he’s long dreamed of to the Galápagos Islands. Accompanied by the beloved family dog, father and daughter board Gavin’s old 28-foot sloop and head across the Caribbean and through the archipelago of Los Roques to Bonaire, Aruba, and eventually the Galápagos. After countless adventures, Gavin feels recharged, and Océan, too, is blossoming and gaining an acute awareness of the natural world. But their odyssey has its drawbacks, and an injury suffered by Océan, the loss of an old friend, and the many miles and days spent alone at sea begin to take their toll. After nearly four months, the travelers return, concluding this poignant, beautifully rendered saga of one family’s struggle to survive a tragic loss. --Deborah Donovan “The challenge the author sets up is a big one: How to show that this ruined family could ever recover. And Ms. Roffey, who won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for this novel, gracefully delivers on this front. Every wonder our sailors encounter — an octopus, a giant tortoise — brings a sense of believable peace.” —The New York Times   “ Archipelago is the kind of tale that once you start reading it you can’t bear to see it end. With sweeping emotion, extraordinary characters and the utter unpredictability of the sea, Roffey creates a timeless story featuring Gavin Weald, his daughter Océan, and their faithful dog Suzy, who travel by boat from their home in Trinidad to the Galápagos Islands. Father and daughter experience both adventure and heartbreak, and ultimately return to their homeland irreparably changed.” — The Minneapolis Star Tribune   “Like The Odyssey , Archipelago is ultimately a journey toward home.” —The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   “Written in a style as fluid as water, Roffey’s narrative weaves a perfect description of land and seascapes and explores the value of friendship and various types of love. . . . As heart-grabbing and memorable as her other books, e.g., The White Woman on the Green Bicycle , this new work will have readers cheering for Gavin, Ocean, and Claire. An excellent choice for book groups.” — Library Journal (starred review)   “Roffey’s stirring novel is one to place on the shelf next to Moby Dick and other notable seafaring stories. . . . Roffey ( The White Woman on the Green Bicycle ) is a masterful writer whose words are subsumed in the pictures they paint and the tales they spin.” — Publishers Weekly   “This is a love of a writer; read her.” —Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal   “[A] stunning adventure story and coming-of-age tale. . . . [A] poignant, beautifully rendered saga of one family’s struggle to survive a tragic loss.” —Booklist   “Appealingly warmhearted; readers will empathize with the endearing characters and want them to have a happy ending.” —Kirkus Reviews   “An adventure blazing with a lust for life. . . . Monique Roffey has established herself as a fearless writer with her choices of subject and her visceral style. . . . Archipelago travels to new, intoxicating latitudes. . . . Roffey excels equally at the hands-on descriptions of yachting, the intricacies of island navigation, the beauty and terror of the sea, and the inner life of her rudderless protagonist. The girl is captured with pitch-perfect empathy. . . . [A] big-hearted Moby-Dick story for our times.” —Kapka Kassabova, The Guardi