In the Orchard, the Swallows
In the foothills of a mountain range in northern Pakistan is a beautiful orchard. Swallows wheel and dive silently over the branches, and the scent of jasmine threads through the air. Pomegranates hang heavy, their skins darkening to a deep crimson. Neglected now, the trees are beginning to grow...
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In the foothills of a mountain range in northern Pakistan is a beautiful orchard. Swallows wheel and dive silently over the branches, and the scent of jasmine threads through the air. Pomegranates hang heavy, their skins darkening to a deep crimson. Neglected now, the trees are beginning to grow wild, their fruit left to spoil on the branches. Many miles away, a frail young man is flung out of prison gates. Looking up, scanning the horizon for swallows in flight, he stumbles and collapses in the roadside dust. His ravaged body tells the story of fifteen years of brutality. Just one image has held and sustained him through the dark times - the thought of the young girl who had left him dumbstruck with wonder all those years ago, whose eyes were lit up with life. A tale of tenderness in the face of great and corrupt power, "In The Orchard, The Swallows" is a heartbreaking novel written in prose of exquisite stillness and beauty.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780571279272 (0571279279)
Publish date: January 1st 2012
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Pages no: 160
Edition language: English
Brief and tragic story of a life shattered by brutality. The imagery is fresh and poignant in the unnamed protagonist's extended letter to the object of his fatal teenage passion; simplicity gives the work poetic force, like a really good pop song.For me the best aspect of the book is the kindness s...
Abandoned. I am obviously a fan of poetic novels, so I was eager to read this when reviews cited its poetic style and how psychologically resonant the interior life, musings, and grief of the narrator were rendered. I found the latter to be the book's strength; however, I could no longer read after ...