Driven by hunger, two disparate groups of Bedouin contest not just with each other but with the jerboas, the original desert rats, for the barley that all need to survive. Sacrifice, prejudice, love, stupidity, beauty and violence are brilliantly encapsulated in an absorbing story with a totally unexpected ending. And please don't be put off by the occasional use of animal 'voices' - in this book it really works.
