The Cry of Dry Bones
Jason Anscomb
(Cover Design by)
Description
The boy's name is Tesfahun.
Nestled in the vastness of Ethiopia, he lives among the Akara, an ancient tribe untouched by modern civilization. His people live an isolated life where revenge killings are common and life is ruled by superstitions where cursed babies are thrown into the river for the sake of the tribe. As friends are forced to avenge the tribe and children disappear in the night, Tesfahun begins to question the beliefs of his grief stricken mother and hardened father. After his initiation into manhood, Tesfahun discovers a dark secret that pushes him to flee across the Omo River and into the territory of his people's enemies. In this new harsh land, he crashes into his deepest fears and must decide if he will resist the violence around him or be consumed by it.
Based on current tribal practices, The Cry of Dry Bones is a mythic coming-of-age story that takes readers into the untouched regions of the Omo Valley to examine the meaning of belonging, identity, and sacrifice.
Product Details
| Publisher | N.T. McQueen |
| Publish Date | July 11, 2023 |
| Pages | 256 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780983054948 |
| Dimensions | 8.0 X 5.0 X 0.6 inches | 0.6 pounds |
Reviews
"Delivering excellent detail to create an alluring environment, McQueen's coming-of-age myth is as compelling as it is creative...Readers of myth and fantasy will find familiar patterns, but McQueen breaks the mold by using his knowledge of tribal practices. As an outsider to the Omo Valley region, McQueen displays reverence as an outsider writing about traditional practices and the experience of colonization."
The BookLife Prize
"The Cry of Dry Bones is a thought-provoking novel in a class of its own."
Reader's Favorite
"The best fictions are not simply an escape from our world; rather, the best fictions are escape into our world. A vivid continuous dream that forces us to look into our own belief systems as we explore an imaginary world that, on the surface, appears so different from ours. N. T. McQueen accomplishes this in the tale of Tesfahun in his novel The Cry of Dry Bones. Curses, whispers, rumors, and mysteries riddle the world of McQueen's novel in ways that give birth to a desire for a new mythology. The novel is haunted by one central quest: What is life without sacrifice? The novel brims with insights into the idea of sacrifice, the notion of the tribal community, and heroism. A timely novel from another time."
Doug Rice, author of Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel
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