Review: "Each of us sat in the centre of our own universe waitinng for out own sun to perish."
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
This lovely book deals with indecent brutality yet never stoops to sensationalism or pathos.  Three characters converge in search of a truth buried in The Citadel prison in Thai Binh in Vietnam.  All are effectively deeply by a notebook written in captivity by Ephraim Luther.  One of the three is a son of a fellow prisoner, hollowed by his own tragedy.  Accompanying one of the most feared interrigators, is his niece Sun who has recently learned he may be her father.The novel beautifully proposes the result if each of us were to be able to leave the citadels of our own minds and observe the soul of other men and women.  This construct can easily become maudlin and the temptation must always be to resolve terrifying differences neatly.  This author has resisted these traps and crafted a novel that makes me pause deeply.  The language is literate and used with elegance.  I recommend you read this unknown book and find a truly gifted writer.