Breath by Michael Symmons Roberts
In a country recovering from a brutal and divisive civil war, a young boy, Jamie, is knocked off his bike and dies in a city street. His father agrees to allow one of Jamie's lungs to be removed and flown over the border for a transplant. As the night unfolds and the plane travels across the war-ravaged country, we see the drama from three different perspectives: the father, grieving for the son he perhaps never knew well enough; the lung's recipient, an old man fighting for breath; and in the turbulent sky between them, the young pilot who is closest to Jamie - or at least to his breath, his spirit, his voice.
A bleakly powerful ending with a moving, finely contrived element of hope * Times Literary Supplement *
Beautifully spare, poetic prose..A haunting book * Metro *
A thoughtful reminder of the wounds of conflict, and the depths of its scars... a clever, innovative, unusual book which is both timeless and timely * Scotsman *
A well-paced narrative with carefully crafted twists...intensely visual descriptions... Inventive in its form and often profound in its poetry, Symmons Roberts' gripping story is a meditation on the difficulty of forgiveness in wartime * Sunday Telegraph *
Symmons Roberts is already a poet of note, and this...is discernibly a poet's book. Short and introspective, it stays in the mind and echoes * The Times *
Beautifully spare, poetic prose..A haunting book * Metro *
A thoughtful reminder of the wounds of conflict, and the depths of its scars... a clever, innovative, unusual book which is both timeless and timely * Scotsman *
A well-paced narrative with carefully crafted twists...intensely visual descriptions... Inventive in its form and often profound in its poetry, Symmons Roberts' gripping story is a meditation on the difficulty of forgiveness in wartime * Sunday Telegraph *
Symmons Roberts is already a poet of note, and this...is discernibly a poet's book. Short and introspective, it stays in the mind and echoes * The Times *
Michael Symmons Roberts is a poet and librettist. His eight books of poetry have received accolades including the Forward Prize, the Costa Poetry Award and the Whitbread Poetry Prize. His words for music have been performed in concert halls and opera houses around the world. He is also an award-winning broadcaster and radio dramatist. Born in Preston, Lancashire, he is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780099497233 |
| ISBN 10 | 0099497239 |
| Title | Breath |
| Author | Michael Symmons Roberts |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2009-03-05 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |