The Last Kestrel

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

'Disturbing and heartfelt' THE TIMES

'A moving, compassionate and impressive first-novel which fans of The Kite Runner will love' DAILY MAIL

Two strong women. Two cultures. One unifying cause: survival.

Ellen Thomas, experienced war correspondent, returns to Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand Province on assignment, keen to find the murderer of her friend and translator, Jalil. In her search for justice in a land ravaged by death and destruction, she uncovers disturbing truths.

Hasina, forced by tradition into the role of wife and mother, lives in a village which is taken by British Forces. Her only son, Aref, is part of a network of underground fighters and she is determined to protect him, whatever the cost.

Ellen and Hasina are thrown together - one fighting for survival, the other searching for truth - with devastating consequences for them both.

The Last Kestrel is a deeply moving and lyrical story of disparate lives - innocent and not-so-innocent - caught up in the horrors of war. It is a book which will resonate with fans of The Kite Runner and The Bookseller of Kabul.

----------------

'This book is moving and disturbing. Both sides are given honest portrayals, and the characters are very real. It will change the way you read headlines' BOOKLIST

'McGivering's prose is infused with the gritty realism of combat horrors and buoyed by the suspended moments of humanity one finds in war' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'Jill McGivering has produced a deeply compassionate and thoughtful novel, written with the humanity that is a trademark of her reporting' FERGAL KEANE

'A novel to move you and bring a better understanding about what is happening in Afghanistan...Beautifully written' WOMAN'S DAY

'With an impeccable BBC pedigree, Jill McGivering is better placed than most other writers to give difficult stories about the realities of war-torn Afghanistan authenticity and immediacy' YORKSHIRE POST

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In BBC journalist McGivering's fiction debut, veteran war correspondent Ellen Thomas returns to battle-ravaged Afghanistan to cover the conflict and investigate the recent violent death of her translator, Jalil. Ellen guiltily recalls the last conversation she had with Jalil; favoring neutrality over personal involvement, she declined to give Jalil a loan that could have helped him leave his fractured country. But now she promises his family that she will investigate his murder, though the facts may prove too explosive to reveal. Meanwhile, embedded with British soldiers, Ellen discovers a 40-something Afghan woman named Hasina, wounded in an airstrike but alive beneath the rubble of her home. Wary of her rescuers and taken to camp for treatment, Hasina is frantic to find her son, severely injured and hiding in a Russian-built underground bunker network after his own attempted suicide bombing. The unrelenting landscape is rendered as a character that everyone struggles against, particularly when trying to move within the claustrophobic tunnels and caves; "Jagged ridges of mountains rising, sharp with shadows and the contours of vast bite marks gouged out of the earth." McGivering's prose is infused with the gritty realism of combat horrors and buoyed by the suspended moments of humanity one finds in war. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

McGivering's first novel attempts to show both sides of the war in Afghanistan, using her experiences as a senior correspondent for the BBC. Her fictional counterpart, Ellen Thomas, joins a British troop heading for the troubled Helmand Province. Her purpose is twofold: to report back the progress of the war and find out who killed her friend and translator, Jalil. In a nearby village, Hasina, an Afghan woman, worries about her son, Aref, who has joined the underground fighters. When the fight comes to Hasina's village, it nearly kills her, but brings these strong women together as unlikely allies. As Ellen gets closer to the answers she seeks, she finds the lines between enemy and friend blurred, and the people she thought she knew are not what they seem. Hasina learns a similar truth and finds the courage to do something about it. This book is moving and disturbing. Both sides are given honest portrayals, and the characters are very real. It will change the way you read the headlines.--Dickie, Elizabeth Copyright 2010 Booklist