The Pearl Diver

In 1948, a nineteen-year-old pearl diver's dreams of spending her life combing the waters of Japan's Inland Sea are shattered when she discovers she has leprosy. By law, she is exiled to an island leprosarium, where she is stripped of her dignity and instructed to forget her past. Her name is erased from her family records, and she is forced to select a new one. To the two thousand patients on the island of Nagashima, she becomes Miss Fuji. Although drugs arrest the course of Miss Fuji's disease, she cannot leave the colony. Instead, she becomes a caretaker to the other patients, and through the example of their courage, she gains insight into the deep wellspring of strength she will need to reclaim her freedom. Written with precision and eloquence,The Pearl Diveris a dazzling meditation on isolation and community, cruelty and compassion.

<p>JEFF TALARIGO grew up in the United States. After living in a Palestinian refugee camp in the early 1990s, he wrote several works of short fiction based on his experiences that appeared in literary journals. Since 1993, he has been living in Kokura, Japan, with his wife and son. He is at work on his second novel.</p>