By A.J. Griffiths-Jones

This is one of those rare books that is worth reading again, as there is great richness in the detail of the author’s prose and many beautiful moments to appreciate time after time.

The story begins in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 when World War II is on the cusp of being over. All it takes is a split second for an atomic bomb to drop, obliterating the city and all that teacher Hiroko Tanaka holds dear.

Standing on her terrace in the hills, wrapped in a kimono with three cranes embroidered across the back, the young woman experiences a moment of blindness before the full realisation of what has happened hits her.

With the outline of the three cranes burnt into her skin, Hiroko runs in search of the German man whom she loves, Konrad Weiss. There is no trace of the Japanese woman’s fiancé and all around are nothing but cinders. Alone and devastated in her grief, Hiroko gathers her thoughts and wonders how she can possibly endure the months ahead.

Determined to find Konrad’s family, Hiroko travels to Delhi, in India, where his half-sister Ilse and her British husband James Burton are living in relative comfort. The couple take Hiroko under their roof and share in her heartbreak as they learn of the events surrounding Konrad’s death, allowing Hiroko time to come to terms with her loss and adjust to life in a strange new country.

Grateful for the Burton’s hospitality and acceptance of her, the young woman resolves to learn Urdu and a willing teacher is found in Sajjad Ashraf, James’ clerk and translator. Despite disapproval from the hosts, Hiroko finds herself drawn into a meaningful friendship with Sajjad and eventually love begins to blossom.

Set in a time of turmoil, there is much political conflict and upheaval in India during this time, as a partition of the country sees Hindus and Muslims clashing while the new state of Pakistan is created.

Families flee for safety overnight and protests in the streets make life unstable for those caught up in the violent exchanges, including those in the expatriate community. Faced with a choice, Sajjad begs Hiroko to join him in Pakistan to create a new life, and it is in Karachi that their son Raza is born.

The intervening years are filled with drama, but the author handles them with great integrity, allowing the reader to fully grasp the impact that religious and political divides have on her characters. The task is one that she has achieved with immense sensitivity.

As Hiroko and Sajjad grow older, they find that Raza is strong-willed and fearless, involving himself in matters that his parents are unaware of, and putting all their lives at risk as he is swept up in the jihadist movement in Afghanistan.

It is during these events that Raza meets a CIA operative who turns out to be Harry Burton, the son of Ilse and James. Given their family ties and previous connection to his parents, Harry attempts to extract Raza from his extremist associations and offers him a lucrative career in the private intelligence sector.

It is through Harry that Hiroko learns of Ilse’s life. She has divorced James and moved to New York, and the two reconnect despite the decades that have passed. This final part of the story is deeply emotional and the bond between the women is quite remarkable, especially after Sajjad dies and Hiroko makes the decision to move to America to be close to Ilse in her old age.

There is a final relationship to consider, between Harry’s daughter Kim and the now elderly Hiroko, and as the dainty Japanese woman adjusts to life in a huge cosmopolitan city, the pair become inseparable.

There is a final twist in the form of an Afghan taxi driver, which causes dramatic events and a mind-blowing ending, ensuring the reader is gripped from the first to last page.

This is a tragic, moving, heartbreaking tale that you won’t be able to put down. The book will resonate with history lovers, romance readers and anyone who enjoys a saga. It’s a bumpy and unexpectedly breathtaking ride and fully deserves the recognition that it has received in literary circles.

Kamila Shamsie is an author capable of taking the most tragic and life-changing situations and moulding them into something wonderful. It’s a book to treasure and would make a superb gift for anyone who truly appreciates creative and emotional writing