Monsieur Linh and His Child

Traumatized by memories of his war-ravaged country, and with his son and daughter-in-law dead, Monsieur Linh travels to a foreign land to bring the child in his arms to safety. The other refugees in the detention centre are unsure how to help the old man; his caseworkers are compassionate, but overworked. Monsieur Linh struggles beneath the weight of his sorrow, and becomes increasingly bewildered and isolated in this unfamiliar, fast-moving town. And then he encounters Monsieur Bark. They do not speak each other's language, but Monsieur Bark is sympathetic to the foreigner's need to care for the child. Recently widowed and equally alone, he is eager to talk, and Monsieur Linh knows how to listen. The two men share their solitude, and find friendship in an unlikely dialogue between two very different cultures. Monsieur Linh and His Child is a remarkable novel with an extraordinary twist, a subtle portrait of friendship and a dialogue between two cultures.

Philippe Claudel is a novelist, film director and university lecturer. He wrote and directed the film I've Loved You So Long, which won the 2008 BAFTA for Best Film Not in English. He is also the author of Grey Souls and Brodeck's Report, winner of the 2010 Independent Prize for Fiction. Euan Cameron's translations include works by Julien Green, Simone de Beauvoir and Paul Morand, and a biography of Irene Nemirovsky, author of Suite Francaise.