(by Anne Miles) The Illegal by Lawrence Hill (author of The Book of Negroes) is as fast-paced as the sport its protagonist excels at. For Keita Ali, an elite marathon runner, racing becomes a metaphor for his life crisis as he competes against time to earn the money to ransom his sister Charity, a political prisoner.

Freedom State and Zantoroland are imaginary countries, islands in the Indian Ocean, both of which have had recent changes of leadership. Freedom State, colonized by whites, has a new conservative government that has vowed to deport all illegal immigrants. In Zantoroland, the majority of whose citizens are black, the president has been assassinated and replaced by a dictator. Keita’s father, a Zantoroland journalist seeking to expose the dictator’s crimes, has been murdered by the new regime. Keita and Charity are the next to be targeted. A corrupt promoter has brought Keita to Freedom State to compete in marathons. In danger of deportation after giving the slip to his promoter, Keita hides in Afric Town, a ghetto where most of Freedom State’s black minority lives. He surfaces only to compete in races and win prize money.

Characters include corrupt government officials and nasty thugs—but also many folks who help Keita. There’s John, a genius high school student making a documentary about Afric Town. Viola, a black, disabled lesbian reporter, wants to cover Keita’s story, while Ivernia, an elderly white woman, helps Keita while trying to keep herself from being forced into care. Lula, the unofficial “queen” of Afric Town, and madam of its brothel, is a more ambivalent character. Candace, an attractive policewoman/marathoner, becomes Keita’s love interest.

The plot reminds me of movies I have seen—plenty of action, narrow escapes, and a heart-stopping climax. It entertains at the same time it sheds light on present-day immigration issues in the non-imaginary western world.

The Illegal by Lawrence Hill

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 2015

ISBN 978-I-55468-383-3

Available in the Gibsons library