Sing to Me
A Novel
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
After the fall of Troy, an eleven-year-old boy sets off for the razed city when his father and sister vanish into the war zone; this "gorgeously drawn" novel offers an intimate vision of the most storied war in history, as seen through the eyes of a child. (Laird Hunt)
His family farm and the surrounding community now emptied by war, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by a brooding yet brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of Troy. Some war stories transcend time and circumstance, and so it is with the resourceful and heartbroken Hani, who must employ every bit of intelligence, every scrap of ingenuity, and ultimately every ounce of his spirit and humor to withstand the forces of civilization’s collapse.
Hani is no ordinary boy, however, and a character unlike any you’ve ever met. His interior world is one of startling depth and complexity. His insights into life, lives, and history are breathtakingly fresh. And his hope for survival--not a given, and in fact, less than likely--will propel you to the startling conclusion of this brief, elegiac, and singular work.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Browner (Everything Happens Today) portrays the Trojan War from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy in this stirring novel. Hani is left alone in his home village, his brothers having joined the fighting in Troy followed by their father, who brought along Hani's younger sister, Arinna, in the wake of their mother's death. Believing himself destined to protect Arinna, Hani makes it his mission to bring her home. Despite having little sense of "where he's going or what hidden dangers lie in the way," he confidently sets out with his donkey. He eventually reaches Troy, where he glimpses remnants of the Greeks' Trojan Horse amid scores of dead bodies and toppled buildings. Hani's tragic quest takes a surprising turn, one that gives the boy hope after despair. Along the way, Browner brilliantly conveys the impact of war through its collateral consequences, such as the farms in Hani's village left barren without able-bodied men to tend them. The novel also playfully subverts Homer's heroic tropes; for instance, Hani puts a twist on the opening line of the Odyssey while calling out to the amphibians he plans to catch for food: "Sing to me now, you frogs who hold the shores of the pond!" It's a worthy counterpoint to the classic myths.
