Far Away, I Land

This novel follows the lives of a young Hungarian girl named Erzsike during World War II; a Sri Lankan boy named Prema, who is abused by his father; and Robert Cross, a British soldier haunted by war memories. Over the course of the book%E2%80%94which in its structure is somewhat reminiscent of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas%E2%80%94the many story lines and lives eventually converge. While Alles-Crouch excels at description%E2%80%94those of the Sri Lankan setting are particularly well rendered%E2%80%94the novel's pacing is uneven and some of its characters are too broadly drawn. Readers will likely be less curious about how the stories connect and more interested in getting a richer portrayal of the main characters.