From the best-selling author of The Piano Tuner, a stunning new novel about a young girl’s journey through a vast, unnamed country in search of her brother. Raised in a remote village on the edge of a sugarcane plantation, fourteen-year-old Isabel was born with the gift and curse of “seeing farther.” When drought and war grip the backlands, her brother Isaias joins a great exodus to a teeming city in the south. Soon Isabel must follow, forsaking the only home she’s ever known, her sole consolation the thought of being with her brother again. But when she arrives, she discovers that Isaias has disappeared. Weeks and then months pass, until one day, armed only with her unshakable hope, she descends into the chaos of the city to find him. old with astonishing empathy, and strikingly visual, the story of Isabel’s quest–her dignity and determination, her deeply spiritual world–is a universal tale about the bonds of family and a sister’s love for her brother, about journeys and longing, survival and true heroism.
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"This seems to be my week to read about poverty. This man captures life from a girl's viewpoint better than most men. The personal female aspects he is unable to visualize apparently, but the story is rich and real. "
— Pat (4 out of 5 stars)
" I wish there was a little bit more of a coherent plot with an ending that wasn't so anticlimactic, but the writing was absolutely beautiful. "
— Stephanie, 5/3/2011" Daniel Mason is the most talented young writer of our time. "
— Matthew, 3/23/2011" It held a pale light to The Piano Tuner, but was fascinating (if depressing) in its own right. "
— Bethany, 3/13/2011" I very, very rarely don't finish a book. I got about halve way and just gave up. The writing style wasn't bad, but the story wasn't that interested, slow paced, and dark. "
— Amrit, 6/21/2010" Another beautifully written novel by Daniel Mason, though I admit I did like The Piano Tuner just a tad bit more. "
— Mary, 5/6/2010" Not the knockout that was The Piano Tuner, but Mason still tells a tantalizing tale. His hide-the-ball style kept me guessing to the very last page. "
— Joe, 5/1/2010" Couldn't get thru this one. Sad, slow....just didn't catch me. "
— Madrona310, 3/27/2010" I liked his book Piano Tuner much more. This was dry and depressing. Still well written though. "
— Meghan, 1/14/2010" A melancholy tale whose story is all too familiar through out the world. "
— Tiah, 12/8/2009Daniel Mason is a physician and the author of several novel, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages and adapted for opera and theater. He was named the 2020 winner of the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. He is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, where he teaches courses in the humanities and medicine.
Michael Kramer is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner, a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, and recipient of a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award. He is also an actor and director in the Washington, DC, area, where he is active in the area’s theater scene and has appeared in productions at the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, and Theater J.