Shanghai nights - Juan Mars

In impoverished post-civil war Barcelona, fourteen-year-old Daniel fills in time between school and starting work as a jeweller's apprentice by taking on the care of an elderly and eccentric sea captain, whose campaign against a suspected gas leak exposes him to the ridicule of his neighbours.

With little to enliven the grey atmosphere and dull routines of the battle-scarred city, Daniel becomes increasingly drawn to the beautiful and bed-ridden Susana, who spends her days dreaming of seeing her fugitive father, Kim, again. When a mysterious stranger arrives at the villa with magical tales of the Shanghai underworld and Kim's noble exploits there, both Daniel and Susana suppress their questions and willingly fall under his spell.

An intoxicating tale of the human spirit, Shanghai Nights is a compelling, illuminating novel about children that has a great deal to say about adulthood.