Saturday 19 March 2022

BLOG TOUR: The Bones of Barry Knight - Emma Musty


A child with a love of wizards and an ageing rock star share their fate with a disparate collection of visitors when their paths collide in a remote refugee camp.

Years later they find a way to tell their stories.

A tale of grief and resilience against the odds, The Bones of Barry Knight asks how we can better care for one another on a global scale.
 

What did I think?

When I got goosebumps reading the prologue of The Bones of Barry Knight, I knew that this was going to be a special book...and I was not wrong.  Part of the book is set in a refugee camp in an unknown location, so it feels even more poignant as we see people fleeing their homes in Ukraine.

Told from several different perspectives, it took me a little while to get to know the characters but once I did, I will never forget them.  The innocence of Saleema and the pain of Sol's grief ensured that they worked their way into my heart, and headliner Barry felt larger than life as he was brought to life through Emma Musty's beautiful writing.

The way that the stories interweave is sublime; I started off reading individual stories but with every chapter the edges became more and more blurred as everything was brought together at the end.  And, what an ending!  I really should have seen it coming but I was so invested in the story that I was completely shocked and surprised.

I can't review this book without mentioning the wonderful (and not so wonderful) displays of humanity.  It's so moving to read about people starving in a refugee camp but they'd give their last grain of rice to another person in need.  Contrast that with the unscrupulous people skulking in the background trying to profit off other people's misfortune.  It's heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure but so distressing to read about people trying to survive in such situations.

Poignant, devastating and honest, The Bones of Barry Knight is a completely breathtaking novel and I'll not forget it in a hurry.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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