An exceptional debut novel about a
young Muslim war orphan whose family is killed in a military operation
gone wrong, and the American soldier to whom his fate, and survival, is
bound.
Jonas is fifteen when his family is killed during an errant U.S. military operation in an unnamed Muslim country. With the help of an international relief organization, he is sent to America, where he struggles to assimilate-foster family, school, a first love. Eventually, he tells a court-mandated counselor and therapist about a U.S. soldier, Christopher Henderson, responsible for saving his life on the tragic night in question. Christopher's mother, Rose, has dedicated her life to finding out what really happened to her son, who disappeared after the raid in which Jonas' village was destroyed. When Jonas meets Rose, a shocking and painful secret gradually surfaces from the past, and builds to a shattering conclusion that haunts long after the final page. Told in spare, evocative prose, The Book of Jonas is about memory, about the terrible choices made during war, and about what happens when foreign disaster appears at our own doorstep. It is a rare and virtuosic novel from an exciting new writer to watch.
Read Dau's interview with himself via thenervousbreakdown.com HERE
Cathy says:
"This powerful novel of a boy who finds himself a refugee living in Pennsylvania following the destruction of his village by American forces is moving and insightful on many levels. One layer reveals a glimpse at the trauma of an orphaned teenager struggling to deal with violence, horror and an unspeakable secret. Another gives us a sense of the fear and anger and chaos that can overtake otherwise well meaning people. And then we see the way lives fall apart and are slowly rebuilt for families of fallen soldiers. Sympathetic and heartbreaking, The Book of Jonas opened my eyes and grabbed my heart."
Jonas is fifteen when his family is killed during an errant U.S. military operation in an unnamed Muslim country. With the help of an international relief organization, he is sent to America, where he struggles to assimilate-foster family, school, a first love. Eventually, he tells a court-mandated counselor and therapist about a U.S. soldier, Christopher Henderson, responsible for saving his life on the tragic night in question. Christopher's mother, Rose, has dedicated her life to finding out what really happened to her son, who disappeared after the raid in which Jonas' village was destroyed. When Jonas meets Rose, a shocking and painful secret gradually surfaces from the past, and builds to a shattering conclusion that haunts long after the final page. Told in spare, evocative prose, The Book of Jonas is about memory, about the terrible choices made during war, and about what happens when foreign disaster appears at our own doorstep. It is a rare and virtuosic novel from an exciting new writer to watch.
Read Dau's interview with himself via thenervousbreakdown.com HERE
"This powerful novel of a boy who finds himself a refugee living in Pennsylvania following the destruction of his village by American forces is moving and insightful on many levels. One layer reveals a glimpse at the trauma of an orphaned teenager struggling to deal with violence, horror and an unspeakable secret. Another gives us a sense of the fear and anger and chaos that can overtake otherwise well meaning people. And then we see the way lives fall apart and are slowly rebuilt for families of fallen soldiers. Sympathetic and heartbreaking, The Book of Jonas opened my eyes and grabbed my heart."
No comments:
Post a Comment