The Zigzag Kid
by David Grossman
A hijacked train whisks an imaginative young boy on an unforgettable adventure, in which he makes discoveries about his own family's past and a wild woman who rescued his Israeli policeman father from a vat of chocolate. 'An affecting tale of the triumph of hope over desperate circumstances ... Napoleon's upbeat, colloquial style is extremely readable and the relationship between ZigZag and Singer is treated with as much depth of perception and sensitivity as that of John Steinbeck's Lenny and George. Against a backdrop of the dregs of American society and the impotence of social welfare ZigZag is a modern day Of Mice and Men' -The Times