This book is about an intense, but too brief friendship between two small boys - one Mauritian, the other a European Jew - who don't even share a common language. 60 years on, a failing Raj looks back over the events of that troubled time, and you will find yourself raging against the iniquities piled upon both boys, while admiring their courage. A harsh story, but the beauty of the writing raises it to an altogether higher plane.
