Over Seas of Memory

Based loosely on the authors life, this novel recounts the narrators journey following the footsteps of his Mauritius-born grandfather, Maxime, who abruptly boarded a boat bound for Madagascar in 1922 and never returned. Michal Ferrier tells a tale of discovery as well as the elusive, colorful story of Maximes life in Madagascar, which included a stint as an acrobat in a traveling circus and, later, as a diver and artist on marine expeditions. Maximes story is one of adventure but also romance. He falls in love with a refined young Pauline Nues, Ferriers grandmother, whose well-to-do family of Indian merchants owns a hotel famous for playing the latest musicincluding American jazzand throwing popular dances and parties. Over Seas of Memory weaves these personal stories with the islands history, including its period as a Vichy-governed territory at the center of what was termed Project Madagascar, the Nazi plan to relocate Europes Jewish population to the island. As Ferrier interlaces his familys intimate story with the larger story of colonialisms lasting and complicated impactincluding the racial and ethnic divisions it fomentedhe engages with critical issues in contemporary France concerning national and cultural identity.