Story Description:
Blue Rider Press|March 20, 2012|Hardcover|ISBN:
978-0-399-15845-2
An exceptional debut novel about a young Muslim was
orphan whose family is killed in a military operation gone wrong, and the
American solider 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. solider, 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
longer 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 rare and virtuosic novel
from an exciting new writer to watch.
My Review:
Fifteen-year-old, Younis, who changes his name to,
Jonas, has lost his family when they are killed during an errant U.S. military
operation in an unnamed Middle Eastern country.
He is sent to America through an international relief organization. Younis changes his name on the airplane
during his flight to America. When the
flight attendant hands out landing cards, he borrows a pen and writes the name,
Jonas. He plans to tell anyone that asks
that the name, Jonas, is a direct translation of his old name although he knows
that is not quite true. Other than his
name, his only worldly possessions are fifty dollars in cash and a small duffel
bag of clothing – not much for a fifteen-year-old to start a new life with in a
new country.
The Book of
Jonas is a compelling novel that describes the human cost of
war and the long-lasting effects on the human mind. Adjusting to his new life in America proves
more difficult than Jonas originally thought.
Mandated to see a therapist, Jonas begins to explore what happened. He eventually turns to alcohol in order to
cope. The book is written as if it were
a funeral mass with chapter titles: Processional, Remembrance, Communion, Confession,
etc. It was an interesting way to read a
story and I didn’t expect the ending at all.
For a debut novel this will be a big hit.
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