For the last couple of years I've been trying to read more books that feature people and places abroad, and I picked this book out blindly to represent Liberia.

I am glad I stumbled upon it because is one of the best books I've ever read.

The prose is lovely and artistic but still makes for a smooth read, and is full of the kind of deep insights into our shared humanity that makes you feel a little more human having read them.

If you're going to read this book, allow yourself time to get into it. Don't try and speedread skim over it like it's a quick paperback you picked up at the airport. Let yourself really fall into the stories of Gbessa, June Dey, Norman, and the mysteriously omnipresent narrator, and savor them. You'll be glad you did.