The Book of Jonas
A Novel
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his debut novel, Dau chronicles the human cost of war with the alternating stories of Jonas, a teenager who loses his family in an American raid on an unnamed Muslim country; Christopher, a soldier involved in the attack and since MIA; and Rose, Christopher's mother, a woman dedicated to discovering what happened to her son. After the brutal attack on his village, an aid agency sends Jonas to live with a football-loving family in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he attends high school. After Jonas assaults another student, he begins seeing a court-ordered counselor specializing in PTSD. In time, Jonas reveals his connection to Christopher, claiming that without the soldier he "probably would not have survived," but evading other questions about the extent of their relationship. Short, sometimes contrived chapters moving between Jonas, Christopher, and Rose propel the novel quickly through time toward the truth about the attack. Intriguing characters reveal the effects of war on both victim and victimizer, and raise important questions about the emotional implications of modern warfare.
Customer Reviews
The Book if Jonas
Exceptionally well written and lyrical. I am not one to usually pick up a war based book but this one is unlike anything I have read before and the downplaying of the emotional interplay between the characters is very well executed. I would recommend it to anyone who loves reading one of those rare books that you remember long after you have read the final page.
Book of Jonas
This book was really well written. The level of fragmentation that war causes is evident. I enjoyed that aspect, but sometimes it was too much so, to repetitive....Quixote's windmills come to mind. I wish the ending had more meat.