Burridge Unbound [Paperback]

After surviving a terrifying ordeal at the hands of terrorists in the South Pacific island of Santa Irene, Bill Burridge returns home to Ottawa and casts himself single-mindedly into building a human-rights organization to stand watch over the world’s most troubled areas. Yet, plagued by memories of his incarceration and by the strain of his disintegrating marriage, he is a man struggling to hold his life together. When a democratic revolution stands Santa Irene on a knife-edge between chaos and healing, Burridge reluctantly agrees to serve on a Truth Commission there to investigate past atrocities. Taut, intelligent, and written in the compelling, often sardonic voice of Bill Burridge, Cumyn’s gripping novel immerses us in a shadowy world of betrayals and shifting loyalties, and reveals the intricate, rejuvenating bonds of human relationships. Bill Burridge’s voice is infectious, his story a remarkable one as the novel builds to its climactic final scenes.“Burridge Unbound is a story about the fragility of life, life pushed to the edge. It is a brilliant depiction of a man at a precarious crossroads. The novel is breathtaking, almost impossible to put down. Alan Cumyn is a writer of remarkable talent.”
–Alistair MacLeod

“Though it charges forward like a thriller, Burridge Unbound also unfolds like a prayer.…If you were dazzled by the film The Year of Living Dangerously, you will admire Cumyn’s finesse at steering you out of Burridge’s domestic drama and into a jungle of intrigue.”
–National Post

“An exceptional achievement.…All I can think of is how chillingly real the core of Mr. Cumyn’s story is.…
–Ottawa Citizen

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