The Optician of Lampedusa

Author: Emma Jane Kirby

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The heartbreaking true story of an ordinary man whose life is changed forever by one of the greatest human tragedies of our time

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Summary

The heartbreaking true story of an ordinary man whose life is changed forever by one of the greatest human tragedies of our time

Description

The heartbreaking true story of an ordinary man whose life is changed forever by one of the greatest human tragedies of our timeI can hardly begin to describe to you what I saw as our boat approached the source of that terrible noise. I hardly want to. You won't understand because you weren't there. You can't understand. You see, I thought I'd heard seagulls screeching. Seagulls fighting over a lucky catch. Birds. Just birds.The Optician of Lampedusa lives a quiet life with his wife on a remote Mediterranean island. He has seen the headlines about shipwrecked migrants, noticed the reception centre, even crossed paths with the occasional lost soul. Yet it is only when, one sunny October morning, a relaxing boat trip with friends unexpectedly turns into a heartbreaking rescue mission, that he truly comes face to face with the human tragedy unfolding on his doorstep - and on all of our doorsteps.

About the Author

Emma-Jane Kirby is a broadcast journalist who has reported extensively on international affairs, from Brussels to Afghanistan. She won the Bayeux-Calvados Award for War Correspondents for her report 'The Optician of Lampedusa', on which this book is based.

Back Cover

'The raw and emotional account of an optician whose family fishing trip suddenly placed him amid the human tragedy of hundreds of drowning migrants is a story that needed to be told' Fiona Wilson, The Times 'An important book ... I cried all the way through' Tracy Chevalier 'An ambitious and important book that goes far beyond the voyeurism of 24-hour news to identify something timeless and troubling ... Emma Jane Kirby challenges us to do more than cry' Peter Stanford, Observer 'A true story that brings a fresh perspective to events that are often hard to visualise' Melissa Lawford, Financial Times 'A book that can be devoured as if it were a novel, but in which everything is true' Le Parisien