Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel

Monsieur Linh, traumatised by memories of his war-ravaged homeland, arrives as a stranger in a country whose language he can neither understand nor speak. With his son and daughter-in-law dead, he clutches his grandchild to his chest, vowing to keep her safe at all costs. The old man is bewildered and isolated in his adoptive country, but finds an unlikely friend in the portly chain-smoker Monsieur Bark. Recently widowed and equally alone, Monsieur Bark is keen to talk and Monsieur Linh, though he cannot understand, knows how to listen.

The two men share their sadness and longing for times past, and their sense of loneliness is somehow appeased. This is an exquisitely crafted little gem of a book, expressing with incredible subtlety the pain and torment of leaving a life behind and the joy and hope of making new connections. It calls to mind the writing of Siegfried Lenz and Le Thi Diem Thuy, employing judicious lexical restraint to create a moving and wonderful simple novella. Monsieur Linh and His Child is a portrait of friendship, endurance and the dialogues that can exist between cultures. Thank you, Maclehose, for putting out such a great little book. Highly recommended. [Rebecca Isherwood]