The Invisible Crowd - Ellen Wiles

One of the Guardian's Readers' Books of the Year

Long listed for Not the Booker Prize

Awarded the Victor Turner Prize in 2018

2nd March 1975

In Asmara, Eritrea, Yonas Kelati is born into a world of turmoil. At the same time, on the same day, Jude Munroe takes her first breath in London, England.

Thirty Years Later

Blacklisted in his war-ravaged country, Yonas has no option but to flee his home. After a terrible journey, he arrives on a bleak English coast.

By a twist of fate, Yonas' asylum case lands on Jude's desk. Opening the file, she finds a patchwork of witness statements from those who met Yonas along his journey: a lifetime the same length of hers, reduced to a few scraps of paper.

Soon, Jude will stand up in court and tell Yonas' story. How she tells it will change his life forever.

Fearless, uplifting and compelling, The Invisible Crowd is a powerful debut novel about loyalty, kindness - and the brief moments which define our lives.