Song For Night

About the Book

Even with the knowledge that there are some sins too big for even God to forgive, every night my sky is still full of stars; a wonderful song for night.

Trained as a human mine detector, a boy soldier in West Africa witnesses and takes part in unspeakable brutality. At 12 his vocal cords are cut to prevent him from screaming and giving away his platoon’s presence, should he be blown up.

Awaking after an explosion to find that he’s lost his platoon, he traces his steps back through abandoned villages and rotting corpses – and through his own memories – in search of his comrades.

Song for Night is a lyrical, poignant journey through the nightmarish landscape of brutal war.

About the Author

Chris Abani is a Nigerian poet and novelist and winner of the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, as well as a PEN Freedom to Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He lives and teaches in California.

Reviews

'A daring blend of horror and beauty'
The Observer

‘Chris Abani writes like an angel. If you want to get at the molten heart of contemporary fiction, Abani is the starting point.’
Dave Eggers

‘Song for Night contains, at once, an extraordinary ferocity and a vulnerable beauty all its own.’
New York Times

‘A devastating portrait of a boy holding onto the shreds of his innocence during a war that deliberately, remorselessly works to yank it away.’
Los Angeles Times

‘An impressive and fast-paced barrage of description and observation of war narrated with such dry and lucid precision that it brings to mind Babel, Hemingway, McCarthy.’
Esquire