The Last Brother - Hardcover

'Many readers will enjoy this lushly beautiful child's-eye tale of resistance to injustice simply as a universal fable of two boys thrown together in friendship and solidarity against a savage adult world ... sumptuous translation' --Independent.

'There aren't many publishers' lists about which I can say this, but I've never read a MacLehose Press book that I thought less than brilliant. And The Last Brother is no exception ... Not many writers can marry a really strong child's eye' --Daniel Hahn.

'Nathacha Appanah has created a notable study of guilt and redemption through love, pure and absolute... Appanah has delved into the soul of a suffering old man and exposed a sensitive, moving narrative which is at once disturbing, yet celebratory of man's resilience in the face of terror. Geoffrey Strachan's translation bears witness to a powerfully lyrical and poetic work of literature that encourages reflection on the frailty of man in the face of recurring holocausts, a work that staggers in its power to move the most cynical reader' --Irish Examiner.

'A beautiful novel' --Margot Dijkgraaf, NRC Handelsblad.

'A disturbing and extraordinarily sensitive story around the tragic Odyssey of Jewish refugees' --Le Monde. --Reviews.

'There aren't many publishers' lists about which I can say this, but I've never read a MacLehose Press book that I thought less than brilliant. And The Last Brother is no exception ... Not many writers can marry a really strong child's eye' --Daniel Hahn.

'Natacha Appanah has created a notable study of guilt and redemption through love, pure and absolute... Appanah has delved into the soul of a suffering old man and exposed a sensitive, moving narrative which is at once disturbing, yet celebratory of man's resilience in the face of terror. Geoffrey Strachan's translation bears witness to a powerfully lyrical and poetic work of literature that encourages reflection on the frailty of man in the face of recurring holocausts, a work that staggers in its power to move the most cynical reader' --Irish Examiner.

Raj is oblivious to the Second World War begin fought beyond his tiny exotic island. His mother is his sole company while his father works as a prison guard, so the boy thinks only of making friends.
One day, from the far-away world, a ship brings to the island Jewish exiles who have been refused entry to Israel. David, a recently orphaned boy of his own age, becomes the friend that he has longed for, and Raj takes it upon himself to help David escape from the prison. As they flee through sub-tropical forests and devastating storms, the boys battle hunger and malaria - and forge a friendship only death could destroy.