El botín

At just seventeen, Abbas's talent as a woodcarver catches the eye of Tipu Sultan, who recruits him to work at the palace and build a giant tiger automaton for her children. His fate, and that of the wooden tiger he helps create, will mirror the vicissitudes of nations and dynasties ravaged by war in India and Europe. Alongside the legendary French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze, Abbas hones his craft, learns French, and meets Jehanne, the daughter of a French expatriate. But when British forces attack and sack Mysore, his world crumbles: the automaton tiger is confiscated and taken to England as war booty. To prove its worth, Abbas must retrieve it from an estate in the English countryside where it is displayed as part of a collection of looted art. At once a heroic quest, a love story, a coming-of-age novel, and a vibrant heist tale, The Loot traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and sixty-five years. A dazzling, imaginative, and irresistible narrative feat, written by an author at the height of her powers.