Sustenance

"Nothing about that sun-washed July morning suggested to the cook at the Elsewhere Hotel that by evening, everyone there would think differently about their lives." *** In a small hotel on an island renowned for its hospitality and beauty, the Balinese staff and their Western guests are unexpectedly taken hostage. During the overnight siege, the hotel's cook is compelled by the crisis to provide spiritual and physical sustenance as best she can to the guests, staff, and their poorly-nourished captors. The event has a different impact on each and every person, but all will view life differently from this day forward. Reflecting on individuals' struggles to find meaning and love in the face of death, Sustenance is a compelling novel that reveals surprising ways in which people redeem themselves through fear and grief. A little like Chocolat meets Bel Canto, Sustenance is a riveting thriller filled with the allure of the exotic, combining the rich social ingredients of greed, love, food, beauty, ethics, and racism.