Not since Jerzy Kosinski s *The Painted Bird* or Agota Kristof s Notebook Trilogy has there been such a harrowing novel about what it s like to be a young person in a war. That Chris Abani is able to find humanity, mercy, and even, yes, forgiveness, amid such devastation is something of a miracle. Rebecca Brown, author of *The End of Youth*"The moment you enter these pages, you step into a beautiful and terrifying dream. You are in the hands of a master, a literary shaman. Abani casts his spell so completelyso devastatinglyyou emerge cleansed, redeemed, and utterly haunted."Brad Kessler, author of *Birds in Fall*Part *Inferno*, part *Paradise Lost*, and part Sunjiata epic, *Song for Night* is the story of a West African boy soldier s lyrical, terrifying, yet beautiful journey through the nightmare landscape of a brutal war in search of his lost platoon. The reader is led by the voiceless protagonist who, as part of a land mine-clearing platoon, had his vocal chords cut, a move to keep these children from screaming when blown up, and thereby distracting the other minesweepers. The book is written in a ghostly voice, with each chapter headed by a line of the unique sign language these children invented. This book is unlike anything else ever written about an African war.**Chris Abani** is a Nigerian poet and novelist and the author of *The Virgin of Flames*, *Becoming Abigail* (a *New York Times* Editor s Choice), and *GraceLand* (a selection of the *Today Show* Book Club and winner of the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award). His other prizes include a PEN Freedom to Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He lives and teaches in California.Wörter : 32695