"Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense
of are other people's lives, never your own."
As twelve-year-old Dhurgham As-Samarra’i waits at the mosque where his family was supposed to meet if separated during their attempt to flee Baghdad, he realizes that no one else is coming to meet him. Following Dhurgham, as he builds a new life for himself
with no homeland, family, or hope for the future, this searing and honest novel about separation, journey, and justice probes, questions, illuminates, and humanizes important moral and social issues.
The Marsh Birds
