Raj is oblivious to the Second World War being fought beyond his tiny exotic island. His mother is his sole company while his father works as a prison guard, so the boy thinks only of making friends. One day, from the far-away world, a ship brings to the island Jewish exiles who have been refused entry to Israel. Raj meets David, a recently orphaned boy of his own age from Prague, who becomes the friend that he has longed for. Raj takes it upon himself to help David to escape, even as he has determined to escape the vicious brutality of his own father. As they flee through sub-tropical forests and devastating storms, the boys battle hunger and malaria - and forge a friendship only death could destroy. Nathacha Appanah's The Last Brother is an unforgettable fable, a poetic and infinitely moving novel which sheds light on an unexplored byway of 20th-century history. It is a tale so poignant, so original, so beautifully written, that it is sure to become a classic of literature about childhood.