When her five year old son told the class that his mother was Chinese, it was time to explain that she was a Greek child, from an exiled family, born in Romania, who learnt Greek, Romanian, and Hungarian; who escaped to Holland and acquired Dutch; who moved to London, learnt English; and then married a New Zealander. This charming memoir shows us a different Romania to the one we have known. It reminds us that childhood is a country of its own, and, indeed, poses the question, and challenges our thinking, about what nationality really means. Most importantly, 'The Perpetual Foreigner' is a rewarding read.