Year is '42

Nella Bielski was born in the Ukraine and lives in Paris. She writes in French and is the author of several novels including Oranges for the Son of Alexander Levy and After Arkadia. She has also written for the cinema, Isabella, and for the theatre, A Question of Geography, which was staged by the RSC. John Berger was born in London in 1926. His many books include the Booker-Prize-winning novel G, and Ways of Seeing. He has also translated the poetry of Aime Cesaire and Nella Bielski's Oranges for the Son of Alexander Levy with Lisa Appignanesi. He lives in France. Lisa Appignanesi's latest novel is The Memory Man, and her non-fiction includes the acclaimed memoir Losing the Dead. Her most recent translations include My Forbidden Face and Ma Yah's The Diary of a Chinese Schoolgirl. A former university lecturer and Deputy Director of the ICA, Lisa Appignanesi is Vice President of English Pen and a Chevalier de L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She lives in London.

'A dense, elusive, wholly original and moving novel' John le Carre 'Nella Bielski writes out of the experience of obstruction, exile and betrayal (both personal and political), but the tone is hopeful and humane' Hermione Lee 'A rare combination of affection for everything, of acceptance and intelligence' Hilary Bailey 'Exquisite' Observer