Book Description (taken from Amazon UK):
One night before putting him to bed, Enaiatollah’s mother tells him three things: don’t use drugs, don’t use weapons, don’t steal. The next day he wakes up to find she isn’t there. They have fled their village in Ghazni to seek safety outside Afghanistan but his mother has decided to return home to her younger children. Ten-year-old Enaiatollah is left alone in Pakistan to fend for himself.
In a book that takes a true story and shapes it into a beautiful piece of fiction, Italian novelist Fabio Geda describes Enaiatollah’s remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim political asylum aged fifteen. His ordeal took him through Iran, Turkey and Greece, working on building sites in order to pay people-traffickers, and enduring the physical misery of dangerous border crossings squeezed into the false bottoms of lorries or trekking across inhospitable mountains. A series of almost implausible strokes of fortune enabled him to get to Turin, find help from an Italian family and meet Fabio Geda, with whom he became friends.
The result of their friendship is this unique book in which Enaiatollah’s engaging, moving voice is brilliantly captured by Geda’s subtle and simple storytelling. In Geda’s hands, Enaiatollah’s journey becomes a universal story of stoicism in the face of fear, and the search for a place where life is livable.
I mentioned in my event report for the RHCB Blogger Brunch that we had been shown two different covers for In the Sea there are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda as the book is being released aimed towards both the adult and young adult market. Some of us were quite surprised to discover which cover was being aimed at the different age groups. As you can see from the covers above you have the brightly covered more cartoon styled cover and then the photographic image of the little boy. I expected the first cover to the the YA version and the second to be aimed at adults so I was surprised to discover it was the other way around.
Now I actually really like both covers - I love the colours of the adult version and that is a book that would definitely catch my eye in a book shop and the chances are I'd end up buying it after reading the book description. Having said that I think that the second cover is probably my favorite of the two, the young boy in the photo has such soulful eyes and it makes me want to reach into the picture to give him a hug. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to walk out of the shop without picking up that copy!
Both versions of In the Sea there are Crocodiles are being released in hardback in the UK on the 7th July 2011 and I can't wait to see the finished covers in the shops. I think the story sounds amazing so I'm really looking forward to reading this one.
Which cover is your favorite? Were you surprised to find out which cover was aimed at adults and which was aimed at young adults?
I thought that the cover with the boy was the book for adults and the other one for young adults. Weird. I like both covers. But the one that I would get if I ever considered to buy the book is the first one. It really gets my attention. The colours, the boy/girl standing alone looking at the sea and the tail. :) I really like that one.
ReplyDeleteI like both covers but I think the one with the boy draws me to the story more. This book sounds really interesting. I'll have to check it out when its released. Do you know when it will be released in the states?
ReplyDelete@ Nina - I felt the same about the covers & was surprised when I found out which was the YA one. I do really like both covers, it's hard to choose a favorite!
ReplyDelete@ Sondrae Bennett - It's definitely the boys eyes that draw me in most & I'm really looking forward to reading this one. I've not seen a US release date but you could try checking Amazon, I hope you don't have to wait too long for it!