Moving to a different country is hard enough, but if you hardly speak the language the potential obstacles in your way become huge. Communication, making a living, and finding new friends are all infinitely more difficult when the basics are missing. Add to this the fact you cannot go back because you'd most likely be killed (or worse) if you did, and you have Luka Krachec's situation in this book. The man he ends up befriending (and eventually more) has not had an easy time of it either, and the struggle these two men faced individually and together had me glued to the pages. They are both underdogs (if for very different reasons) and seeing them unite forces to make a life for themselves was wonderful to watch. Written with sensitivity and a depth of understanding for their difficulties, this may be a story without "special effects" action, but the human interest, deeply emotional struggles, and sheer fascination with these super-nice guys was more than enough to hold my interest.

Luka Krachek has no choice but to leave his home country of Serbia and since he has a cousin in the US, he decides to give that a go. He has some usable skills as a scientist but his meager understanding of English is going to be an issue with almost any job. The shock when he arrives to find his cousin is dead almost derails him, but when he meets Petr at the funeral, things begin to look up. At the very least Peter speaks Serbian, and offers to teach Luka English.

Peter is an all-around nice guy who has spent his life feeling guilty for accidentally killing his father when he was six. I cannot even imagine having to deal with something like that, but Peter carried himself with as much dignity as possible, bearing his family's abuse with a patience born of desperation. He is the nicest man imaginable, determined to help others and make the world a better place. I kept thinking that he deserves better than the fate he's been dealt and was more than relived when things started moving in the right direction for him.

If you like stories about wonderful men who face less-than-wonderful situations, if you enjoy some angst and drama in your reading but aren't looking for major action, and if you're looking for a character-driven read that will most likely make you cry as often as it will make you smile, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. ( )