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The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Oct. 23rd, 2016 11:19 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
The knife worked at the bone.
Twisting, curving and smoothing. And when the bird emerged, knowing and strong, the hand placed a coin deep into its core.
“May you forever bring us luck and protection, and may you carry our souls to freedom.”
Subhi is a refugee. Born in an immigration centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. The night sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and birds tell their stories. The most vivid story of all is in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy impatient girl who appears one night from the other side of the words. Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold – but not until each of them has been braver than ever before.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Zana Fraillon’s middle-grade novel (shortlisted for the 2016 Guardian Children’s Fiction Award) combines the harsh realities of life in a refugee camp with a magical realist fable to worthy if mixed effect. Fraillon has researched refugee camps and I completely believed in the depiction of a private sector operated camp that cuts corners and serves bad food and reduces services in the name of economy, supported by the general hostility towards refugees and migrants and the urban myths about the things they get given for free. I also believed in the anger and despair of the camp inhabitants, and Eli’s storyline – as he tries to draw attention to their plight – is particularly good. Unfortunately I didn’t believe in Subhi or Jimmie or their reactions to their lives, especially Subhi’s belief in the night ocean (which was too childish for me) and Jimmie’s behaviour seemed driven by the needs of the plot more than anything else and the magical realist elements, for me, jarred with the overall tone of the piece, making me wonder who the book was aimed at. The imagery and emotional descriptions are good and I can see why this is being nominated for awards but ultimately although this didn’t hang together for me I would read Fraillon’s other work.
THE BONE SPARROW was released in the United Kingdom on 14th July 2016. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Twisting, curving and smoothing. And when the bird emerged, knowing and strong, the hand placed a coin deep into its core.
“May you forever bring us luck and protection, and may you carry our souls to freedom.”
Subhi is a refugee. Born in an immigration centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. The night sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and birds tell their stories. The most vivid story of all is in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy impatient girl who appears one night from the other side of the words. Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold – but not until each of them has been braver than ever before.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Zana Fraillon’s middle-grade novel (shortlisted for the 2016 Guardian Children’s Fiction Award) combines the harsh realities of life in a refugee camp with a magical realist fable to worthy if mixed effect. Fraillon has researched refugee camps and I completely believed in the depiction of a private sector operated camp that cuts corners and serves bad food and reduces services in the name of economy, supported by the general hostility towards refugees and migrants and the urban myths about the things they get given for free. I also believed in the anger and despair of the camp inhabitants, and Eli’s storyline – as he tries to draw attention to their plight – is particularly good. Unfortunately I didn’t believe in Subhi or Jimmie or their reactions to their lives, especially Subhi’s belief in the night ocean (which was too childish for me) and Jimmie’s behaviour seemed driven by the needs of the plot more than anything else and the magical realist elements, for me, jarred with the overall tone of the piece, making me wonder who the book was aimed at. The imagery and emotional descriptions are good and I can see why this is being nominated for awards but ultimately although this didn’t hang together for me I would read Fraillon’s other work.
THE BONE SPARROW was released in the United Kingdom on 14th July 2016. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
