The book follows two characters from childhood. One Parfait in war torn Burundi the other Augusta a twin growing up in a stifling middle class home. Both experience loss. The characters are well written and totally likeable. The themes of loss and being out of place are explored. Augusta’s poor bewildered parents are particularly realistic, trying to cope in a world that is increasingly alien to them. At one point they make Augusta squirm with embarrassment as they try negotiate the mine field of her graduation. As she wryly notes she starts to cut into her mothers sentences the way her mother does with her grandmother. Later wishing she had been kinder. As a mother and a daughter it touched a nerve. The story ends with forgiveness and hope. A great read.