Heralded as a masterpiece in its native Iceland, this playful but poignant novel is a biting attack on nationalism. A Jewish man named Leo escapes World War Two Germany with a lump of clay, which he and the woman who nurses him back to health shape into a baby, who grows up to have politically-charged adventures of his own A majestic, breathtaking novel by one of Iceland's greatest writers: 'an extraordinary and original writer' - AS Byatt
