The Refugee Ocean | Pauls Toutonghi

This was a recent selection from Maya in our book group and I really loved it. It has one of my favorite story structures--two stories/characters that don't seem to be connected, coming together at the end in a wonderful way. Pauls is a professor at Lewis & Clark College and this is his debut novel. I'd say he hit it out of the park. Music is a theme that holds the whole story together, along with the experiences of refugees. To be honest, I'm not sure that the title pays off the story, but that's just nit-picking. It's a powerful story that I really enjoyed. I'm not sure I would have discovered it on my own, but I hope it gets more exposure.