The Pukur: A Novel

When 12-year-old Sophie Shepherd is orphaned after a motor accident she is left scarred both physically and emotionally. Recovery is slow - first at hospital, and then living with her only blood relative, her aunt. Her nightmares torment her and Sophie is withdrawn and fragile. But rather than support her, a jealous and cruel uncle-in-law destroys her life all over again. Dumped in rural Bangladesh without warning, with an uncle she didn't even know existed, who she hates, and who doesn't want her there, Sophie has to come to terms with grief, loss, and a totally alien culture. Her Uncle Joshua can't abide the girl and won't entertain the idea of dealing with this head-strong teenage girl. Nothing is allowed to interrupt his beloved bachelorhood and peaceful tranquility, with which he has bound up and silenced his own hurts for a long time. The only one he allows into his trust is the beautiful Didi who serves him faithfully. Together, they start to find out how to accept one other and find a way through the troubles forced upon them. Sophie begins to find friends and allies in the strangest of circumstances and learns that first impressions can be wrong, very wrong. In the middle of all this, literally, is the pukur, sitting there ominously calling to Sophie, inexplicably bringing peace to her uncle while increasingly confronting Sophie with her demons. As her nightmares threaten to consume her from within, Sophie finds her fate is entirely entwined in the dark depths of the pukur.