Narrative and Plot

A book with a smart narrative is always fun to read. A book that has chapters with a dog's - a Mutt's - perspective is even better. Red Birds shifts to each characters and their own worldview at the things happening around them. It gives us a glimpse of their world. A refugee camp, a Hangar and the vast desert with no hope left.

Red Birds has a grim plot if you dig beneath the surface. Yet, using the satirical narrative as cover, it touches on all the hard topics that is there about modern day wars and their after effects. However, it doesn't leave you in a state of anguish. It makes you think and the cringe comes later when you finish a chapter and put a bookmark. The ending is a refreshing meta, but has enough emotional turmoil to make you squirm.

Characters and Conflict


Red Birds is full of interesting characters. Some characters don't even have a proper name but they're distinct like Mother Dear, Father Dear, Lady Flowerbody and even the Doctor. However, the three major characters are Momo, his dog Mutt and Ellie. It is the story of how they had come to become who they are. And where they will go from here on. Needless to say, my favourite character is the Mutt. He seems the voice of reason and wise too, occasionally when he is not wallowing in self pity but in an endearing way. Momo is a boy who grew up beyond his age given his extraordinary circumstances. The jabs at aid workers, raining bombs and western invaders can make people uncomfortable. But hey, this is a satire and you have to read it with a pinch of salt.

The conflict is simple as mentioned in the synopsis. Momo's brother is missing and he wants to find him. Will he or not? However, in the quest to finding a lost brother, you unearth a lot more in the abandoned refugee camp and the life there. In the end, no war has brought anything good in this world and through all it's light sarcastic anecdotes, Red Birds delivers that message well and clear.



Conclusion


Red Birds is a must read for anyone who is an advocate of peace or otherwise. This is a story about the expendables. The unavoidable left overs of a war torn region. In the end, all one can ask is was it all worth it then?

Such an unusual book. At least I have never read anything like it. It certainly gives you a different perspective on how war affects different people. The novel has a diverse cast, including a dog, and the dog may actually be wiser than the human characters.

It's probably not a great sign when I started wondering how much I had to read at 42% of the book. Honestly, I learned more about this book just reading every other reader's reviews ranging from 2 to 5 stars.

Personally, I feel like a mixed box of last year's crayons. Pieces of this book worked for me while others didn't. My favorite narrator was Mutt the dog who really just seemed like he was more intelligent and I longed for the moment when he could break free of the humans around him. Usually I find novels with a satirical flavor quite enjoyable. Perhaps someday I will try and re-read this one.

Published 14/05/19
Goodreads Review 14/05/19

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an unusual read. Told in the alternating voices of American pilot Major Ellie, teenage refugee Momo, and Mutt the dog, it's less a plot driven novel than a meditation on war and its results. You can quibble about the idea that Ellie would be wandering about the desert (certainly in reality Momo would not be the person who rescues him) but that's the catalyst. Some of this is overwritten and a tad heavy handed but other bits are quite lovely. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For those looking for literary fiction and a different perspective.

The book intrigued me when I first requested this book, but I ended up enjoying this book so much more than I expected! The book was exciting, action-packed, and the characters are written and developed really well.

Gin, the protagonist loves to create computer programs to make her decisions for her to get rid of the stress of decision making. Without these problems, Gin puts all her focus and energy into school and getting into Harvard, where she can study to become a computer programmer. She has her last year of high school completely planned out to go to the college of her dreams, but everything changes when she runs into Felix, a popular boy who seems to hang out with crows.

My favorite part of the book was the characters. As I said before, the characters were all really well developed and fleshed out. I loved Gin and her smart outlook on life. She's really the kind of protagonist you can't help but root for. The plot of the book was also clearly well thought out. I felt like I was watching a movie, on the edge of my seat seeing all the drama unfold before my eyes.

The author writes using such beautiful, descriptive language and uses it to write characters you can't help but relate to and root for. Susan Cunningham is definitely a name to look out for!

Thank you Amberjack Publishing for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

A complex, satirical and engaging book. I liked how the author face a tragic and complex topic with irony and humour and how effective the satire is.
It's not always easy and sometimes it's a bit slow but it was a good read.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.

One would think this book is a bleak read, with it's refugee camps and situations. But instead it gives a satirical view about the entire situation. And Mutt! probably the reason why I give this a three star rating is because of Mutt.
A good effort by the author, and a good read, though it may not cater to most readers.

I requested this book based on the blurb, but failed to notice that it was billed as humor. I can enjoy a satire, but sometimes find it hard to find the voice. That was the case with this novel. I might try again after publication on audiobook (I found The Sellout impossible to read, but when I listened, the satirical voice was clear and I enjoyed it).

Red Birds was disappointing to me. It's a satire about America and a metaphor for the uselessness of war. I don't like satires very much, so I had a hard time connecting with this story. It's also confusing and has a weird pace. This one didn't work for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A difficult read. Nonetheless, the book beautifully captures the disturbed mannerisms of a war pilot lost in the middle of a desert. The backdrop adds to the frustration and Hanif has beautifully brought out the difficulties of war and the roles that some people have to play in the war.

I read this a little while ago and now sharing my review.....

Major Ellie is a US airman who has ejected from his plane into a desert in Afghanistan. As he only has four biscuits, some After Eight mints and little water, he has to find fresh water quickly.

He comes across Momo, a 15 year old boy,and his dog Mutt, they live in a refugee camp.

The first part of the is a desert survival and refugee tale is told from the different perspectives of Major Ellie, Momo and Mutt.

Ellie as he searches for water; Momo trying to find ways to survive and Mutt who is the most eloquent generally of all three.

Then it seemed to lose its way a little, with Momo’s family life and details of the war. By the end I was a little lost as things just get weird.

While I’m sure this is cleverly done, tying in the Red Birds that appear now and then, I didn’t really engage with the characters but I did feel it highlights the absolute futility of war. A clever well written book albeit weird at times.

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Although I found this novel clever, original and thought-provoking, it didn’t quite work for me, mainly because the author seems to be trying too hard and the result is a satire, which although pertinent is too heavy-handed with too didactic a tone. It’s the story of a US Air Force pilot (confusingly called Ellie, it took me a while to work it he was male) who crash lands near the very refugee camp he had been sent out to bomb. He is discovered in the desert by the teenage Momo, whose life isn’t going too well either since his brother Ali has gone missing in the now abandoned camp. In alternating chapters we hear from Ellie, Momo, Mutt the dog (I’m not a great fan of talking animals) and Ali and Momo’s grieving mother. As a critique of American policy in the Middle East, with its resulting destruction and chaos, Hanif eschews subtlety for laying it all on with a trowel. His observations are astute and incisive, to be sure, and often very funny, especially when describing the absurdity of the war. But in order to be effective as a satire, a novel has to have compelling characters and a compelling plot, and I found neither here. The narrative drive is diluted by frequent rants, and the ending is puzzling to say the least, an ending that seemed to me to negate the realistic polemic of the rest of the book. An interesting read, and one I would cautiously recommend, but ultimately rather a disappointing one.

When a US pilot, Ellie, crash lands near the refugee camp he was sent to bomb, he is stranded in the hot desert, starving and thirsty. He finds a wounded dog, Mutt, (who is a key character in the book) and eventually the dog and Ellie are 'rescued' by the teenage Momo. Written in alternating POVs between these 3 main characters, the chapters tell a mix of the past and present, the agony and despair of what is left behind when war stops and people are trying to regroup and move on with the weight of grief and a sense of hopelessness when the aide food has stopped falling from the sky months ago.

I loved the way this book started, we got a sense of each character and how they were rooted in their own belief of what was happening, who was to blame, the infidels, the stubborn Americans, even the French!..but I didn't like the way it ended at all. I was ok with the talking orphaned mutt in the middle east, even if he seemed very wise, educated and with a great grasp of the English language. But.<spoiler>Those ghosts. They never work for me. </spoiler>

Its a very funny, sharp witted read and I enjoyed Hanif's portrayal of the 'fugee' camp. I will be sourcing out more of his writing for my to-be-read stack.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I remember role of plane crashes in two of my favourite movies, #Cast away and #Wonder woman.
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This book also starts with a plane crash landing American soldier Ellie deep into the desert. He survives desert to reach refugee camp and an abandoned army hanger. There he meets momo ( a teen), mutt ( dog), old couple and a researcher.
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Story is funny, entertaining, witty, makes you giggle frequently and is narrated by different characters in each chapter ( that can be confusing).

Writing style is very interesting and metaphors on war and human behaviour are work of pure genius.
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Story starts to lag just after its first half and narations by mother and researcher are not as good as by Ellie, dog and Momo.
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Author depicts irony of an imposed war, life of refugees, brutality of desert, painful life of a mother and deep longing of an elder brother for his lost brother.
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Story revolves around humans longing to get back their loved ones from the hands of destiny. It is a hard satire on America's foreign policy.

.Dont get confused with cover; it is not some book of philosophy but entertaining novel.
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What does red birds mean, that you have to read in the book and find out.

My rating 4/5
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#netgalley#bloomsbury
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Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury for review ecopy for a honest review.