The year of the runaways

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Sweeping between India and England, and between childhood and the present day, Sunjeev Sahota's unforgettable novel about illegal immigrants is – as with Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance – a story of dignity in the face of adversity and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. 'The Grapes of Wrath for the 21st century' – Washington PostThe Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance. Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in desperate search of a new life.

Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar; and Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the chaotic Randeep.

Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town: a clever, devout woman whose cupboards are full of her husband's clothes, in case the immigration men surprise her with a call. 'A brilliant and beautiful novel' – author of Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie, Guardian