Sensing the confusion and dread of all refugees
From such a frightening and courageous beginning, this short novel moves at a gentle but assured pace, unfurling relentless little frenzies of joy and upset, rendering scenes and characters with a complexity belied by the smoothness of its prose.
Monsieur Linh, having lost everything and everyone close to him, flees his own war-torn country and seeks asylum in the west to raise his infant granddaughter, his only reason for living. Unable to communicate in anything but his own language, assimilation comes slowly. He is settled in a refugee centre, tends to his child and breaks the monotony by venturing out into his new city for long walks.
