In its starred review, Booklist said, "What Larson brilliantly provides are the finer details of the effects on England as he focuses on the family and home of its dynamic, idiosyncratic, and indefatigable leader. . . . Larson's skill at integrating vast research and talent for capturing compelling human dramas culminate in an inspirational portrait of one of history's finest, most fearless leaders." 

 

 

Amnesty by Aravind Adiga. This provocative novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of   The White Tiger tells the story of one day in the life of a young illegal immigrant who must decide whether to report crucial information about a murder - thereby risking deportation. Danny - formerly Dhananjaya Rajaratnam - is an illegal immigrant in Sydney, Australia, denied refugee status after he fled from Sri Lanka. Working as a housecleaner, he's been trying for three years to create a new identity for himself. And it's going pretty well - with his girlfriend, his hidden accent, and highlights in his hair, he is as close as he has ever come to living a normal life.

But then one morning, Danny learns a female client of his has been murdered. A jacket was left at the scene, which belongs to another of his clients - a doctor with whom Danny knows the woman was having an affair. What to do, Danny? Come forward with his knowledge about the crime and risk being deported? Or say nothing, and let justice go undone? The doctor himself confronts Danny, bullying him to stay quiet - and invisible - which naturally adds to our hero's angst. Over the course of this day, balancing his dreams for the future and the unpredictable reality of living invisibly and undocumented, Danny wrestles with his conscience to decide if a person without rights still has responsibilities.  

 

This is a book that presents a challenging moral dilemma, but by creating a lead character who is an illegal immigrant, author Adiga has added consequence to the story. As Juan Gabriel Vasquez wrote in The New York Times Book Review, "With documentary precision, Adiga portrays the exploitation, risks, danger, paranoia, dreadful living conditions, and psychological stress faced by undocumented refugees."