BOOK OF THE WEEK: THE LION SEEKER BY KENNETH BONERT

Toronto-based author Kenneth Bonert knew so much had already been written on shtetl (Yiddish for small town) life, he would have to do something very different if he tackled the subject. His debut novel, The Lion Seeker, succeeds brilliantly. This coming-of-age story revolves around Isaac Helger, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania living in prewar South Africa. As history marches towards the horrors of the Holocaust, Issac and his family face dark family secrets and impossible choices in a world defined by inequalities.