Winner of the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize ´A breathtakingly assured collection of stories - powerful, moving, unsparingly honest. A tremendous debut.´William BoydThe Boat takes the reader on an unforgettable journey, far across the globe and deep into the lives of a handful of its citizens. Whether a hitman in Colombia, an aging New York painter, or a young girl stranded in the South China Sea, each of Le´s characters struggles, in the face of profound personal and historical pressures, to maintain control of their lives. Through their stories the world both opens out and rushes in. The Boat is a remarkable debut, full of humanity, showing again and again how we are all ultimately connected to each other.´The short story collection is constantly on the endangered list, but this stunning collection . . . shows that it is alive and in the best of health. Each story demands to be taken slowly and read more than once.´ New York Times