Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #352242 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 212 pages

Sunday Express
"excellent and moving account"

Vogue: Rev'd Charlotte Sinclair.
`tense.'

The Financial Times
'...a fresh perspective on the terrible Burma campaign...it's a departure
from the norm, leavening the gruesome depictions of combat with jokes,
proverbs and stories...'

Customer Reviews

A hidden gem
This book was a complete surprise: funny, touching and eye-opening. I had never thought about the soldiers who were fighting outside of Europe during the Second World War, especially young boys who didn't realise what they were fighting for. This book gives them identities and big personalities. As you connect with each of the characters you realise that you don't want to leave them behind or for them to leave you. The battle scenes are so vivid and tense that you could be there with Ali Banana, Bloken, Sergeant Damisa and all the soldiers. I recommend this to everyone - it's not just a war novel - it is a story of life, death, laughter and, ultimately, tragedy. It will stay with you for a very long time.

Wonderful blend of the funny and the powerfully unsettling
This is a fantastic book, in part a coming-of-age story of the young Nigerian soldier, Ali Banana, but also a searing and unsettling look at political loyalities and personal friendships in the midst of absolute war. Ali Banana is hilarious in his boyish enthusiasm for 'King Joji', even when, at the end of novel, he's forced to question why he's even fighting for him. You could read this in a few hours and certainly come away the wiser...

Excellent
Fantastic book. I don't really need to add much to what others have written so I'll just say it again; fantastic.Buy it!