Brother of the Wind

by Manuel Lourenzo González, Jonathan Dunne (Translator)

The eleventh title in the series Galician Wave devoted to the best of Galician young adult fiction in English.
Khaled is an Iraqi boy, a member of the Koblai tribe, growing up in the village of Qhissa Hanni in the mountains of north Iraq. He has left school to look after his family’s flock of sheep, but his father and the local schoolteacher think he has the makings of a writer, so they give him a notebook in which he records his aspirations, events in the village, the life of his family, his wish to own a horse which he will call ‘Ahu al-Rih’ or ‘Brother of the Wind’, his secret engagement to the mayor’s daughter, Amrah, so secret that even she doesn’t know about it, the time when he and a friend go frog hunting and slip a couple of frogs into the midwife’s bag, causing havoc when the midwife is due to assist in the birth of Ilaisha’s son… The book is presented as a series of letters which Khaled writes to the son of a European archaeologist, Dr Meira, nicknamed ‘Al-Galego’, who has taken up residence in the village in order to pursue his archaeological studies and because he has grown fond of the Iraqi way of life. But the invasion of the country in 2003 by the United States and its allies casts a heavy shadow over this remote village and its inhabitants, who struggle to come to terms with the issues that are at stake and who will have to draw on all their reserves of courage and strength if they are to survive. The war will bring tragedy to the village and will force Khaled to undertake a journey he has never imagined before, to the heart of the country’s capital, Baghdad. This is a journey of principle, of courage over fear, of faith and friendship, of self-sacrifice, that will change Khaled’s expectations forever.

180 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2003

Reviews

[Meduss142 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otra de las novedades que tengo en mi biblio: Irmán do ventó, de M. Lourenzo González.

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Esta es la historia de Khaled, un chico ir aquí con familia, amigos, un amor... Pero todo cambia con la llegada de la guerra a Iraq. La destrucción de la ilusión y de sus sueños... Pero Khaled va a luchar para proteger lo poco que me queda de lo que le fue arrebatado.
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Es una anécdota bastante curiosa la que tengo con esta historia, puesto que yo leí antes otra que se llama Flor de area que sería la historia contada desde la perspectiva de su amor, Amrah.

Ambas son muy buenas!!!
Podríamos decir que la historia es como un diario personal de los personajes: sus sentimientos, sus sueños pero también sus frustraciones y desdichas provocadas por la destrucción de su hogar.

Siempre tuve mucha ilusión en contactar con este autor... A ver si me animo ahora!

[Jonathan Dunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishingly good YA fiction title that sadly passed under the radar about a boy growing up in an Iraqi village at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. We see how this invasion impacts on his life. The story is full of drama, humour and tenderness, wonderful ingredients. There is a sequel: “Flower of Sand”.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

- "Amigo? Inimigo? Que debemos ser ti e mais eu? O que somos ou o que queren que sexamos?"

[Maryam Vazquez Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonita historia que demuestra una vez más los horrores de la guerra y que querer es poder, tierna y dura.