Red Birds
May 2019 · Grove Press
Ebook
304
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
This “splendidly satirical novel” by the award-winning Pakistani author “beautifully captures the absurdity and folly of war and its ineluctable impact” (Booklist, starred review).
An American pilot crash lands in the desert and finds himself on the outskirts of the very camp he was supposed to bomb. After days spent wandering and hallucinating from dehydration, Major Ellie is rescued by one of the camp’s residents, a teenager named Momo, whose money-making schemes are failing while his family falls apart. His older brother left for his first day of work at an American base and never returned; his parents are at each other’s throats; his dog is having a very bad day; and a well-meaning aid worker has shown up wanting to research him for her book on the Teenage Muslim Mind.
To escape the madness, Momo sets out to search for his brother, and hopes his new Western acquaintances might be able to help find him. But as the truth of Ali’s whereabouts begin to unfold, the effects of American “aid” on this war-torn country are revealed to be increasingly pernicious. In Red Birds, acclaimed author Mohammed Hanif reveals critical truths about the state of the world with his trademark wit and keen eye for absurdity.
An American pilot crash lands in the desert and finds himself on the outskirts of the very camp he was supposed to bomb. After days spent wandering and hallucinating from dehydration, Major Ellie is rescued by one of the camp’s residents, a teenager named Momo, whose money-making schemes are failing while his family falls apart. His older brother left for his first day of work at an American base and never returned; his parents are at each other’s throats; his dog is having a very bad day; and a well-meaning aid worker has shown up wanting to research him for her book on the Teenage Muslim Mind.
To escape the madness, Momo sets out to search for his brother, and hopes his new Western acquaintances might be able to help find him. But as the truth of Ali’s whereabouts begin to unfold, the effects of American “aid” on this war-torn country are revealed to be increasingly pernicious. In Red Birds, acclaimed author Mohammed Hanif reveals critical truths about the state of the world with his trademark wit and keen eye for absurdity.
About the author
Mohammed Hanif was born in Pakistan. After leaving the Pakistan Air Force Academy to pursue a career in journalism, he worked for Newsline, India Today, and The Washington Post. He has written plays for the stage and screen, including a critically acclaimed BBC drama and the feature film The Long Night. Hanif is a graduate of University of East Anglia's creative writing programme. He is currently head of BBC's Urdu Service and lives in London.David Bendena is an actor and a musician based in the Midwest. His theatre experience over the past twenty years has taken him to stages throughout Chicago, Kansas City, and Michigan. He is very proud to be a member of the Actors Equity Association and to be a Resident Artist with the Purple Rose Theatre Company.
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