Chronicler of the Winds - by Henning Mankell (Paperback)

About the Book

On the rooftop of a theater in an African port, Nelio, a ten-year-old boy--a leader of street kids, rumored to be a healer and a prophet and possessed of a strangely ancient wisdom--tells his unforgettable story over the course of nine nights.

Book Synopsis

A haunting and powerful story about war-torn Africa, a mystical orphan boy, and the power of narrative to give a chaotic world order.

In the hot African night a single gunshot cracks the silence. José Antonio traces the sound to the stage of the local theatre company, where he finds Nelio, the young prophetical leader of the city's street kids, crumpled in blood. Nelio refuses to be taken to the hospital but instead tells Jose his life's story: how bandits raided his village, his daring escape, and his struggle to survive on the streets. José is irrevocably changed. He becomes the Chronicler of the Winds, revealing Nelios's magical tale to all who will listen.

Review Quotes

"Mankell [is] a master storyteller."
--The San Francisco Chronicle

"Admirable. . . . [Mankell is] a writer in search of metaphor and meaning. . . . [Which] makes for an elusively compelling narrative voice."
--The Boston Globe

"Uplifting. . . . Chronicler of the Winds seems to widen his repertory, switching between the nightmarish, the dream-like and the grittily realistic. . . . Mankell evokes a saintliness among those whose brief lives have been tempered by genocide, exploitation and hardship."
--The New York Times

"Cinematic and theatrical . . . structured by gorgeous moments of text that transcend the page and become vivid images seared onto the imagination."
--Yale Daily News

About the Author

Internationally acclaimed author Henning Mankell has written nine Kurt Wallander mysteries. The books have been published in thirty-three countries and consistently top the bestseller lists in Europe, receiving major literary prizes (including the UK's Golden Dagger for Sidetracked) and generating numerous international film and television adaptations. He has also published many other novels for children, teens, and adults. In addition, he is one of Sweden's most popular dramatists.

Born in 1948, Mankell grew up in the Swedish village Sveg. He now divides his time between Sweden and Maputo, Mozambique, where he works as a director at Teatro Avenida. He has spent many years in Africa, where a number of his novels are set.