**A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR**Encountering the last leprosarium in Europe and remote villages in Mozambique, moving through Siberian settlements and Brazil's hinterlands, Outcast travels the margins of society and charts the history of a misunderstood disease. In doing so, it shines new light on the human condition, asking: does our sense of self always rely on the ostracisation of another?'Shocking, moving and sensitive.' TLS'Uplifting.' THE TIMES'Fascinating.' SPECTATOR'Remarkable.' LITERARY REVIEW'Gripping.' NATURE'Remarkable . . . grippingly and humanely recounted.'PHILIPPE SANDS'It is impossible not to be moved by the lives unfolding in these pages, impossible not to be left transformed and enlightened. 'LEILA ABOULELAWINNER OF THE 2023 RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD