A THOUSAND FLYING THINGS

A worker for a nongovernmental organization in war-torn South Sudan struggles to save a child from a terrible fate and reencounters an old romantic flame in Ramsperger’s novel.

Dianna Calloway spends nearly a decade in various countries in Africa working for Operation Ready to Read, a literacy program for impoverished children. In 1991, she’s stationed in rural South Sudan at a camp for displaced people that’s run by the imperious Daniel Biel, a commander in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and a tribal leader. He obviously resents her presence, and she strongly suspects he’s preparing the young boys for combat and only tolerates her because of the United Nations funds her program brings in. She befriends a young boy named Khalil—he seems no more than 7 years old—and wants to teach him to read, but Biel forbids it: “Stay away from that boy. He is mine.” Dianna hopes to rescue Khalil from the destiny of the other boys “starving for food but laden with pharmaceuticals” and preparing to die in tribal war. When she temporarily leaves to recover from a dangerous bout of malaria in Nairobi,she runs into Qasim el-Kafry, a Lebanese diplomat and a former lover whom she’s never gotten over. Ramsperger’s portrayal of the ravages of South Sudan is heartbreakingly vivid, resulting in a moving but unsentimental portrait of one nation’s anguish. Dianna is a compelling character as a pragmatic veteran of humanitarian work in Africa who still hopes for the best. Ramsperger’s prose style can be ponderous at times: “Khalil is not yet wounded. He is compassionate and kind. Khalil is not yet full of contempt. He is filled with love.” However, this is an exceedingly thoughtful reflection, overall—not only on the plight of South Sudan, but also of the struggles of those who try to help people in the depths of despair.

A quietly meditative and insightful novel.