Philippe Claudel

"The Dog Islands are a small, isolated cluster of islands in the Mediterranean - so called because together, when viewed from above, they form the shape of a dog, twisting and baring its teeth against a brilliant blue sea. One of the only inhabited islands (the one that takes the place of one of the dog's teeth) is dominated by a gently smoking volcano, fringed by black volcanic beaches and under the iron rule of the heads of community who are loath...

Juliette Fontaine is an ex-doctor who is a frail and haunted woman. She is a shell of her former self. She has just been released from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her young son. Now she is in on the "outside" with no where to go. She ends up living with her loving but estranged younger sister Léa. Together the two sisters embark on a painful but redemptive journey to bring Juliette back from life's darkest edge. A shell-shocked Juliette...