Hinterland

Description

Two young boys cross a river in the middle of the night. The river is also a border, and their lives depend on this journey. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, Aryan and his little brother Kabir travel by truck, boat, train, bus and on foot across a Europe they desperately hope will offer them a future they can no longer wait for in Afghanistan. Kabul-Tehran-Istanbul-Athens-Rome-Paris-London - this is the route they cling to, the mantra they repeat in their prayers, and the only option they can see before them. Hinterland is the story of two ordinary brothers whose courageous gamble brings home the devastating human consequences of war.

Promotion info

An exquisite, unsettling novel about refugees and what it is to be underage, homeless and invisible in a foreign land

Reviews

Follow the desperate journey of two young boys across Europe. Hinterland holds a mirror to the refugee crisis; the horror, hope and ongoing struggle of thousands seeking safety and security. Harrowing and poetic, imbued with the optimism of youth, but for the faint of heart.

Caitlin, The Book Grocer

 

 A book that haunts and shames in equal measure Guardian This short but heart-wrenching book presents us with the tragic reality behind the words "refugee" and "asylum-seeker" and brings home the terrible human consequences of war. Caroline Brothers' stark, unsentimental novel is one everyone should read Daily Mail Intensely evocative ... Hinterland harrowingly exposes the hidden world of migrants ... The emotional as well as geographical borderlands are sensitively delineated in this visceral and moving debut Independent A forceful account of two prototypical lost boys as they hazard 'the great lottery' of a journey across Europe. Brothers has the seasoned journalist's eye for idiosyncratic detail and a sense for the riveting turnabouts that keep readers as off balance as her characters New York Times Book Review

Author description

Caroline Brothers was born in Australia. She has a Ph.D. in history from University College London and has worked as a foreign correspondent in Europe and Latin America, and as a journalist at the International New York Times. She is the author of War and Photography, and the novel Hinterland. She divides her time between London and Paris. carolinebrothers.com / @CaroBrothers