"Bindi" (Little, Brown), by Paul Matthew Maisano
Any parent would be proud of Birendra, the 8-year-old boy who is the central character of "Bindi," the debut novel of Paul Matthew Maisano.
Born in India, Birendra is bright, sweet and thoughtful, despite fateful events that take his family from him. He is so kind and good in the face of adversity, however, that his story, despite interesting twists, is often too saccharine.
Birendra's story, set mainly in 1993, shifts among three locales — the coastal Indian town of Verlaka where he was born and becomes an orphan, west London where his married aunt lives and well-to-do Hollywood where his adoptive mother resides. All are rendered by Maisano with convincing and informative cultural and descriptive touches.
The narrative also is built on troubling events, including the deaths of parents and the breakup of families and relationships. One of the main characters — Birendra's Aunt Nayana, the twin sister of his mother — is drawn with depth and complexity. An academic achiever in west London, she moves from an adulterous affair to the verge of an emotional breakdown.
All of this helps give dramatic substance to the story of an orphaned boy on a journey around the globe. But too many scenes move slowly with simplistic events and dialogue; they seem written for readers about Birendra's age.
These include scenes with Madeline, the rich, self-absorbed single woman from Hollywood who adopts Birendra on a sudden impulse, and her brother, Edward, a much-needed adult male figure in the boy's new life in America.
A novel about an orphaned boy on an uncertain trip across continents has much to recommend it. But this boy is smart and kind at the start, in the middle and at the end of the book. This is good for Birendra, but not the novel.
Online:
https://www.paulmatthewmaisano.com/
JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
The Houthis said they shot down the Reaper with a surface-to-air missile, part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.
The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country's Saada province.
Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan after it was hit: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
The footage included several close-ups on parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding with known parts made by the company.
Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting Thursday's shootdown — in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.
The drone shootdown comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.
Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last week.
A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the U.S. and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
