We don't often get a picture of life in North Korea and this haunting book takes us inside a country that is both repressive and cruel, yet some of its occupants manage to retain their humanity. Pak Jun Do grows up in a work camp for orphans where he believes that the influential manager of the camp is his father. He becomes a tunnel soldier trained in the art of zero light combat and thus is chosen to become a professional kidnapper for the state. The book tells of his shifting work within the country at the beck and call of its leaders, always with the chance of execution or imprisonment hanging over him. His love interest is the country's legendary actress, Sun Moon. Her picture is tattooed on his chest even though he has never met her or even seen one of her movies. The writing is poetic, the twists are engrossing and the story is unforgettable.

Ten year old Vaclav, the son of Russian immigrants now living in Brooklyn, loves magic and also loves Lena, his magician's assistant. The two of them plan their great magic show-- to take place at Coney Island. Knowing that his parents want more for his life, they scheme as to how to make their props and costumes in secret. The immigrant experience of language mishaps, the pursuit of the American Dream, and the challenges in integrating the new and the old are told with humor and grace. At first I had a hard time with the sentence structure which consists of a combined language of Russian and English but as the book moved on that , too, became a dear part of the story. Despite her fears of what her son is doing behind closed doors, Vaclav's mother falls in love with Lena, a neglected child living precariously with an aunt who doesn't want her. Raisa's love is rendered sweetly by such gestures as her nightly hand holding with Lena as she walks her home each night from her visits to the family. When she discovers the truth of Lena's life she is forced to act, and Lena disappears from their life. The story continues years into the future when Vaclav has turned seventeen, pining for his Lena even when being kissed by his girlfriend. Lena does return, still wanting magic but this time the magic is the truth of her life and Vaclav comes through.

This deeply moving novel is hard to read, yet hard to put down. It tells the story of two young boys, Raj and David, who meet unexpectedly in Mauritius during WWII and secretly become friends. The story is told by Raj, now in his 70′s, as he looks back on their time together during a little known part of World War II history when European and Jewish detainees were exiled from Palestine by the British to the island of Mauritius. Here they were imprisoned as they awaited the war’s end. Raj is a resident of Mauritius, living in poverty and having little knowledge of the outside world. David is one of the imprisoned exiles. The story is full of grief and love while describing so well the naivety and hope of young children. Natacha Appanah, a French-Mauritian of Indian origin, was born in Mauritius. This book is a translation from French.