The star of this novel is Ondaatje's writing. There is a beautiful, dream like quality to this story, which seems to have two parts. The protagonist is a boy named Nathaniel with mysterious parents who abruptly leave him and his sister in the care of a strangers. It's a memorable opening line:

"In 1945, our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals."

The first part of the novel shows us Nathaniel and his sister Rachel learning to cope without their parents, and their relationships with men they know as The Moth and The Darter. These two teenagers navigate coming of age, while getting a glimpse of a hidden layer of post war society. The second part portrays Nathaniel as an adult, struggling to have a relationship with the woman who left him for so long and trying to crack the mystery of what it all meant.

Warlight is fascinating, and I recommend it.