Red Birds

Weary. The darkly comic war satire titled, Red Birds, by Mohammed Hanif uses multiple narrators to move the story along quickly. Readers weary of our seeming never-ending wars may become even wearier after reading this novel. Major Ellie is an American bomber pilot who bailed out of his plane, parachuted to the desert where he is wandering and lost for eight days. His narration speaks to the foibles of American military intervention. Ellie is found by another narrator, the dog named Mutt, whose observations are the most cogent and philosophical in the novel. It is Mutt who gives us the title, as he observes the last blood drops of those killed in war turning into birds as they die. A teenage boy named Momo narrates the many personas he tries on from his refugee camp as he strives to become an entrepreneur, especially where he sees the most to gain: from warfare and refugee aid. Hanif’s prose is skewering, and those readers who can appreciate finely written satire are the readers most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Red Birds from amazon.com.