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Description

One night Jose hears gunfire from the deserted theatre next door to his bakery. He races to the theatre's uppermost gallery, and there beneath him on a spotlit stage lies the wounded body of Nelio, a street urchin renowned for living on his wits. Gasping, the wounded boy asks to be taken to the roof to breathe the beautiful air fresh off the Indian Ocean. On that theatre roof, his life ebbing away, Nelio begins to tell Jose his extraordinary story...Henning Mankell's Chronicler of the Winds is a dazzling new venture from the master of crime; a beautifully told fable of the African continent.

Reviews

"A hypnotic, mystical tale of street children... Ultimately, this is a wonderful book about the importance of stories, its own sheer quality providing its best argument" -- John Harding Daily Mail "Nelio's story is unfurled with pace and drama... Mankell writes eloquently of the realities of poverty and violence without becoming sugary or didactic...an expert craftsman" Observer "A wonderful, lyrical fable...beautiful...it is hard to leave Nelio at the end" Vogue "This is a deeply affecting read, one of those rare novels whose taste lingers for days afterwards" -- Barry Didcock Sunday Herald "An elegant story about storytelling" -- Tristan Quinn Literary Review