He Drown She in the Sea — Shani Mootoo

“A classic Romeo and Juliet love story” spanning decades from the World War II Caribbean to modern-day Vancouver (The Washington Post Book World).
 
At the dawn of the Second World War on the island of Guanagaspar, Harry, the son of a widowed maid, and Rose, the daughter of his mother's well-to-do employer, are inseparable as children. Blissfully unaware, they form a connection that knows nothing of race or class hierarchies defining their society. Then one night, after American troops occupy Guanagaspar, their deep friendship is exposed and severed. When Harry and Rose meet again in Canada years later, the gulf separating them is not so apparent. As a passion long repressed is rekindled, Rose takes it upon herself to reroute their destinies.
 
A “transcendent tale of souls wounded by circumstance and rehabilitated by love” (Booklist, starred review), He Drown She in the Sea is a lyrical, sensuous, and suspenseful story about the origins of desire and the sacrifice and euphoria that come with defying the life one is born into. With a “narrative pacing verg[ing] on genius . . . The worlds revealed are lush and brilliant. The journey is delightful” (Edmonton Journal).