Don’t Go, Ramanya

Leaming’s intriguing and fast-paced debut follows the actions of three men during the 1999 Myanmar Embassy siege in Bangkok by Burmese rebels. They are a monk named Ramanya, an English priest named Father Bob, and an American teacher named Michael, something they admit “sounds like the beginning of a horrible joke.” All three have left troubled lives behind to start anew in Bangkok. Right before the embassy is taken, Ramanya learns that the family he thought he lost in Burma could still be alive, and sets off to find out. Father Bob and Michael join his journey in order to escape their own problems. With the help of friends and those they meet along the way, the trio hurries to cross the border into Myanmar before it is closed. Filled with excellent descriptions (“a mist filled valley, white clouds clinging to the forest walls like cotton candy”), this thoughtful tale keeps the pages turning. Leaming effectively steps back from the turmoil of a terrorist attack and reminds readers of individual lives as they exist during and after disruption. (BookLife)