Red Birds

Author: Mohammed Hanif
Major Ellie is on a mission to drop a bomb on a small village in the desert when his plane crashes in the sand. He is wondering about, hungry and close to starving to death when he comes across a wounded dog. Little does he know that the dog is Mutt and Mutt belongs to Momo, a teenaged boy from the village he was supposed to bomb.
Momo is a headstrong young entrepeneur trying to make a few bob by starting small money-making schemes in the refugee camp where he is living. But his waking hours are plagued by the memory of his brother who left their family home to work and never came back. They haven’t heard from him since. And for some reason, a young lady has been sent to the camp to study the Young Muslim Mind.
Mohammed Hanif’s latest novel is a gem. As with his previous work, the language is incredibly smart and full of scarsm. Red Birds is, in a way, a criticism of the cruelty and senselessness of war and the impact it has on the lives of those it touches. Despite its irony and unapologetic delivery, it is an incredibly moving novel, masking the tragedy, pain and confusion caused by war with moments of comic relief.
Hanif is without a doubt a talented writer and one of the most interesting and thought-provoking storytellers around. Red Birds is yet more proof of that!
> Naomi Round