The Last Illusion by Porochista Khakpour

The Last Illusion

Porochista Khakpour

Zal is born an albino in Iran and his horrified mother hides him in a birdcage. He stays there for ten years until he is found by behavioural scientist, Tony Hendricks, who takes him to New York where Zal begins a long journey to join the human race. This is a curious book, based on a famous Persian tale. You will find yourself rooting for Zal as he struggles to fit in, a very square peg in a world of round holes.

Extract
He was interested in children like himself: children who were different, children who were raised without parents, children who never quite got to be children, children who had made it. At first that was all. Then a story appeared in the newspaper: a girl in a remote part of Appalachia had been raised by horses.
Parallels
  • The Drum Tower by Farnoosh Moshiri
  • Layla and Majnun by Nizami