By LIZ GRIFFITHS [email protected]
After spending 30 years holidaying in the Algarve with his family, author and artist Am Afifi was inspired to set his latest novel, There is a Tide, in a fictional Algarve fishing village called Santola.
Born in Cairo but now living in Holcombe in Devon with his family, Am Afifi has worked as a freelance journalist, sculptor and has written four novels.
“There is a Tide is set in a background of village life where the Santolan traditionalists are at daggers drawn with their neighbours who are eagerly selling land to developers to build hotels, discos and a golf course,” said Am Afifi.
The novel’s main character, Alexandre Rodrigues, is a young man who is torn between his grandfather’s traditional teachings and the lure of materialism and unrequited love he experiences at his summer job at the local fair.
There is a Tide also explores the Portuguese history which he has accumulated from 30 years of research.
“On my first visit to the Algarve, I couldn’t find any books that answered the many questions I and my family wanted answering, so I started researching and slowly discovered the soul of the Portuguese people through their legends, history, poetry and music,” said Am Afifi.
“I firstly wrote short stories which were meant to impart this information to my children, while the novel does that on a more panoramic style for all my readers to share and enjoy through strong characterisation that will leave them feeling they know Alexandre and the Rodrigues family, as well as the dozen of expats and tourists who populate the pages.”
There is a Tide, priced at 10 euros is available at the Griffin Bookshop in Almancil and on Amazon.
To find out more information about Am Afifi and his work, please visit www.fiction-faction.com which is available in English.
