A portrait of a Russian officer, bought from a crooked Lebanese art dealer, causes mysterious events and strange men come calling; a cat, tortured in pre-Revolutionary France, returns to wreak revenge; a German soldier deserts to see his mother in a devastated Germany with surprising consequences; an exotic birdcage seems possessed of strange powers to its new owner...just four synopses of ten remarkable stories heralding a remarkable debut. Joannah Yacoub writes with verve, considerable insight and a wonderful range of vocabulary. Sophisticated and profoundly moving, here is a new writer of startling virtuosity.