Tea at the Grand Tazi - Softcover

A brilliantly authentic, well-crafted tale of naivety, betrayal and personal resolution, set against the colourful backdrop of bustling souks, Moroccan sunsets and dust-filled streets... An engrossing read. * Polly Courtney * How's this for an opening sentence? 'Following completion of the act of love, many men had disappointed Maia by conducting their own battle in the war against Venus.' The tone is dark, threatening even, and (I mean this as a compliment) intellectual. Eat Pray Love it ain't. This story is much darker and certainly more shocking. It's the dark underbelly of those holiday narratives... The narrative style is also extraordinary: Singer mainly uses a deeply interior point of view, with sparse visual details, and studded with some remarkably well written dialogue. * Jenny Wren and Bella Wilfer * There is a clear structure here and a good sense of atmosphere, and an even clearer intent to explore issues. What is created most strongly for me is the heat, the confusion and the seedy nature of both surroundings and tourists. This is more ambitious than merely a travel novel though, for it attempts to tackle some complex interwoven issues. Singer uses the clash of cultures to create more than a mystery, and in fact more than a novel of growing up.' * The Bookbag *

Maia is leaving London to paint in the bright sunlight and exotic setting of Morocco. Working as an assistant to a once famous Historian, she is lured in by her new surroundings, promising excitement and, more importantly, freedom. In the final days of a North African summer, a sense of boredom and unease pervades the city. Maia is drawn unwillingly into the ways in which the clientele of the renowned Grand Tazi pass their increasingly long, hot evenings. As the intense heat wears down her resistance, Maia succumbs to vice. The light that she once sought becomes eclipsed by shadowy dealings. Can Maia take back control of her new life and, if so, does she even want to?