Beautifully written and taking us into an exotic land Karen Connellys debutnovel <strong>The Lizard Cage</strong> is a celebration of the resilience of the huma... » 

Beautifully written and taking us into an exotic land Karen Connellys debutnovel The Lizard Cage is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. Teza once electrified the people of Burma with his protest songs against thedictatorship. Arrested by the Burmese secret police in the days of massprotest he is seven years into a twentyyear sentence in solitary confinement.Cut off from his family and contact with other prisoners he applies his acuteintelligence Buddhist patience and humor to find meaning in the interminabledays and searches for news in every being and object that is grudginglyallowed into his cell. Despite his isolation Teza has a profound influence onthe people around him. His very existence challenges the brutal authority ofthe jailers and his steadfast spirit inspires radical change. Even when Tezascriminal server tries to compromise the singer for his own gain Teza befriendshim and risks falling into the trap of forbidden conversation food and themost dangerous contraband of all paper and pen. Yet it is through Tezasrelationship with Little Brother a twelveyearold orphan whos grown upinside the walls that we ultimately come to understand the importance of hopeand human connection in the midst of injustice and violence. Teza and the boyare prisoners of different orders only one of them dreams of escape and onlyone of them will achieve ittheir extraordinary friendship frees both of themin utterly surprising ways. «