Feel the hopelessness and suffer the dehumanising bureaucracy as both migrants and those who work to provide support struggle for survival. Yet it is with great sensitivity and thought-provoking wry humour that we witness the multi-ethnic tumult that leads to so many lost souls living in our midst. This poignant novel shows the thin line between being protected and devastatingly vulnerable.
Despite the superficial differences of opinion and the game-playing with terminology, it was noticeable that both sides had a deep faith in buildings. And rightly so: every social ill can be remedied by the right building. Crime can be eradicated by prisons, illness by hospitals, the ravages of old age by nursing homes, youthful rebellion by school, poverty by social housing, and so on. Unfortunate issues really only arise when a person is placed in the wrong building, or when there isn’t enough space for them in the right building.
