Browsing by Author "Soutter, Di"

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    A matter of trust
    (2005) Soutter, Di
    This novel is entirely the work of the author's imagination. Set in South Africa in the '70s, it is the story of an illicit relationship between skinny, misfit Tina and her teacher Nick, whose eyes have the tuck-shop moms wanting to come and hither, and not necessarily in that order. Their mutual attraction is discovered and they run away from Cape Town, hitching a ride aboard a yacht headed for Rio. Oliver, the irreverent, voluptuary captain, also becomes smitten with Tina. It emerges that she's only twelve, Nick is twenty-four, and Oliver is in his fifties. Once they are in international waters, Nick's mistrust of Oliver grows ever deeper, but Tina is convinced there's no threat, revelling in the attention and in the thrill of breaking boundaries. Oliver urges Tina to experiment, to defy convention, while Nick tries to protect her and to avoid being killed. It is Oliver who gets maimed and apparently dies; Nick is charged with abduction and murder, and Tina wrestles with demons that come close to destroying her. The case against Nick is ultimately dropped and he disappears so as to give Tina a chance at being a normal kid, promising to return when she turns eighteen, and not knowing that Oliver is still alive and is manipulating Tina. When Nick reappears five years later, he's hurt by her hostility. He tries to woo this new, pugnacious Tina whom he says has confused hard with strong.