“A Thousand Flying Things” by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger is the compelling journey of Dianna Calloway, an American humanitarian worker, as she embarks on an incredible adventure. This novel delves into the complex relationship between Dianna, a white Christian woman, and Qasim, a Lebanese Muslim man, against the backdrop of war, politics, and the struggles an American Christian woman faces in a foreign land. Ramsperger’s writing style is reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver’s. She expertly interweaves real-life events into a captivating narrative that showcases a resilient and empowering female protagonist.

Ramsperger described Dianna Calloway as an “ungentrified woman from the poverty-pocked American South.” She moved around a lot when she was a child because her father was in the service. Now, she was serving humanity differently than her father – she had left the States and taken on a job in war-torn 1991 Southern Sudan, a country that has experienced conflict, usually civil war, since the late 1950s. Her goal in Sudan was to make some positive change in the lives of the Sudanese. She quickly realized the futility of her work but hoped she could save some children. She was teaching very young boys who were also being trained to be soldiers for the tribal leader Biel, who has no qualms about using child soldiers in his quest for power. This deeply saddens Dianna, and she hopes she can save a few of the very young boys from becoming cannon fodder. She becomes attached to a very young boy named Khalil, who is around 7 or 8 years old and is already being taught how to be a soldier…