The Bone Sparrow: Zana Fraillon

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Every once in a while I stumble on a book that totally takes me by surprise. One that I haven't heard anything about. A book that you had no idea would be so meaningful, impactful, wonderful, and life changing. One that rips out your heart, and in the process makes you a totally different person. 'The Bone Sparrow' is definitely one of those books. I had absolutely no idea what 'The Bone Sparrow' was about going in to it. Right before I started reading it, I read over the synopsis, so I had a vague idea that it was about a refuge. I was not at all prepared for the punch that 'The Bone Sparrow' gave me. But when I see that girl, my brain jumps to thinking about our guardian angel, and for a moment, a long moment, I get to thinking that maybe that girl is our guardian angel. Even though it seems kind of strange that a guardian angel would wear trousers with more holes all over than mine, even, and a shirt that is way too big, but maybe that's to hide the wings, which are a definite must for any guardian angel worth their salt.

it is a heartrending tale about how our stories make us, and also an angry polemic, vividly convincing in its detailed description of what it means for your home to be a tent in the dust behind a guarded fence.’ The Bone Sparrow revolves around the life of Subhi, a refugee born in an Australian permanent detention centre. Having never stepped foot outside of the fence, Subhi has no idea what life could be like. No matter if he has never known a life behind he fences, his world is bigger than the fences. When he meets Jimmie, a young girl from the Outside who needs someone to read her late mother's stories, he offers to help her. Subhi δεν ξέρει άλλη ζωή εκτός φυλακής μέχρι να γνωρίσει την Τζίμι, ένα Αυστραλό κορίτσι που ζει έξω από το στρατόπεδο. Σε μια ιστορία στέρησης, αγώνα και επιβίωσης, ένα άγγιγμα χιούμορ προστίθεται μέσω της πάπιας του Σαίξπηρ και αστεία που οι χαρακτήρες λένε ο ένας στον άλλο. Μια τραγική ιστορία, αφηγημένη με εμπειρία και ανθρωπιά.

But then, without even realising it had happened, I was COMPLETELY HOOKED and I sped through the rest of the book. This is so beautifully told while also being absolutely horrifying to read. Fraillon doesn't pull any punches about the way refugees are treated in Australian detention centres. The bone sparrow actually is a sparrow carved from bone that has been in Jimmie’s family for a very long time. It symbolizes hope, protection and courage. Jimmie is now the owner of this ‘bird’, but once she sees the conditions of the Centre she believes that Subhi needs it more.

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The Bone Sparrow was a captivating book about life in an Australia Immigration Detention Centre. A boy named Subhi is a refugee born in the Centre and all that his life consisted of was being behind fences. He has an imagination larger than himself. Life in the Centre is dull and boring and the one thing that keeps everyone from giving up is the memories and stories from the past. Subhi doesn’t have any other memories than the Centre so he needs other peoples, to realise what life was and what it could be. When he meets Jimmie a young girl from the Outside, desperately needing someone to read out her late mother’s stories, he offers.

These notes have been created to support students aged 12+ to explore the characters, storyline and issues in this book, including refugees, human rights abuses, courage, freedom and protest. Jimmie, she stays there, holding the book in one hand and the wire in the other. She keeps that wire up, letting the wind feel its way over my face, letting me taste the air on the other side. I don't know how long we stay like that. It feels like a long time. Like when I put my head under the water. Except this time I don't need to hold my breath. This time I can enjoy the breathing. Enjoy pulling that air deep inside of me. This time the birds don't need to worry." One of the marks of a great children's book, I think, is a voice that can speak across generations and to any age group. 'The Bone Sparrow', I hope, will certainly be a book that does just that, and it really deserves to be remembered and cherished for a long, long time. It's an important, powerful little story, one that takes the complicated mess of politics and bureaucratic arguing, and whittles it all down to the simple questions: 'why is it illegal for people to try and save their families? Why is it illegal to want to live?' Subhi houdt ook veel van verhalen, verhalen die zijn moeder vertelde en ook verhalen die hij met zijn vriendin Jimmie leest. ‘Maar ik heb geen herinneringen aan ergens anders, en alle dagen hier worden één grote brij. Ik heb hun verhalen nodig. Ik heb ze nodig om mijn eigen herinneringen te maken.’ Although Subhi is a fictional character, he represents the thousands of children and families denied refuge and placed within detention centres and incarcerated, his narrative instigating important conversations about human rights and the Australian refugee legislation. The conditions within the refugee compound are appalling. Inadequate basic necessities, dehumanised and often brutalised by government employed wardens. Their meagre possessions confiscated upon arrival. Mental and physical health deteriorate as families are segregated. Their voices left unheard.

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I really liked that both Jimmie and Subhi are trying to find out who they are by remembering people and stories from their families and the past. Zana Fraillon, an Australian author, has penned a heart breaking and thoroughly compelling tale about refugees in her latest book, The Bone Sparrow that is centered around a young refugee boy living his days with his mother and his elder sister in an Australian detention camp where he spends his days helping his orphan friend to smuggle and with an outsider to help her read the stories about her family history, all the while longing to meet his father across the ocean and to save his soul from such a wretched place. The Bone Sparrow is a captivating book. It brings light to a situation that is horrifying but true. It is traumatic, saddening, and heartbreaking to read the way these people were treated. This is a story that delves into a situation that is still occurring to this very day. Just because one doesn't see it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.