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Flying With Kites - Alan Reynolds
ISBN 978-1-906377-36-6 - Kindle Version
 

When you have lost everything, how far would you go? What would you do to protect your child?
 

The war in Kosovo has already been relegated to the history books but in his debut novel Alan Reynolds reminds us of the brutality and futility of this tragic conflict.
 

In a powerful and moving account, we follow the plight of Katya Gjikolli an English teacher who is forced to flee her native village with her baby son after her husband had been captured by Serb forces and believed killed.
 

Echoing actual events, we are transported through the unforgiving landscape of a Balkan winter, sharing the horror of her brief capture and subsequent escape.
 

The flight to a squalid refugee camp in Macedonia and subsequent evacuation to the UK are vividly portrayed and we share her anxiety as she is resettled with another refugee and her daughter in a tower block in Newcastle. The story follows the two women’s differing experiences and how they cope with acclimatising to the new culture.
 

We learn too about the local population and how they are also trying to survive and make the most of their lives which become inexorably intertwined with the refugees.

When you have lost everything... you have nothing to lose

Read it now on Kindle, click here
 

"...a captivating read. The book is almost two novels in one book with Katya's harrowing escape from a bleak war torn Kosovo being the first part and her coming to terms with a new life in a Newcastle housing estate the second...

...I could not put the book down. Believable characters such as, salt of the earth "Bigsy" together with his mates and the deplorable "knob head Trev" and his disgusting wife.

While reading I could see this being turned into a mini TV series with perhaps a younger Robson Green & Mark Benton playing the roles of the Geordie's and Suranne Jones playing Bigsy's wife Carol, it would work I am sure.

Watch out for the bitter sweet ending, i did not see that coming!"

- Graham Knight

"From the first page I was captured by the story, a young woman named Katya with a baby son fleeing her home country of Kosovo, the war was dangerous for its civilians, and she had to put up with hardship and brutal treatment from the Serb army. Rescued by a NATO patrol she's taken to a refugee camp where she feels safer but the anxiety is always in the back of her mind, not knowing what would happen to her and her child. As the story develops she ends up in Newcastle England on a council estate in a tower block where she finds some comfort and makes new friends and strikes up a relationship with one of the local lads. It is a moving story with some smiles along the way. It's a super book to read and I'm looking forward to the next book in the trilogy, a good book to take on holiday".

- John Knight

"...brilliant! It grips you from the start as it sets the scene in Kosovo. You follow Katya through her incredible escape and how she ends up on a council estate in Newcastle upon Tyne. Through her journey you meet interesting characters, it's the sort of book you can see as a great British film. How two different world's are thrown together. I am looking forward to reading the sequel!"

- Northern Jo

"...really powerful.  The ending was tragic and left me wanting to read the next book straight away so I feel a bit bereft at the moment! I have already spoken of the book to family and friends and my mum is now reading the paper copy... let me know when book 2 is published please?!"

- Vicki Spencer

"...gripping... stitching together the dire troubles of Kosovo in the nineties with some similarly disturbing events in the UK as a couple of refugees find their feet away from troubles. Or do they?

A dark start to the novel during the disturbing events of the former Yugoslav republic and the ethnic tensions develop into a tale of hope and new starts for two refugees. But all is not what it seems and events take a number of twists and turns as the author keeps us wondering where the novel is going next, and whether life really is better for the escapees away from the strife of their former homeland.

There is humour, drama and tension throughout to keep you engrossed in this novel. I particularly loved the level of detail as the refugees settle into their new surroundings.

I look forward to further instalments from this promising and entertaining author."

- Jonathon Oxley

"Alan Reynolds has a great ability to empathise with and get into the head of all his characters. I was totally involved with the plot and the characters from the first line from the horrors of the atrocities in Kosovo through to the very different world of the council estate in Newcastle. I love the cliff hanger at the end and cannot wait till the sequel."

- Lorraine Doron

Alan with his wife and daughter...

...with Sue Armstrong

...with Nigel Oddy, Olivia and Emaleigh

"I have just finished reading Flying with Kites by Alan Reynolds, it was a fantastic book, that I really enjoyed reading. It starts in Kosovo and finishes in Newcastle, the whole story follows a young woman and her child, with twists, sadness, happiness, but most of all humour. I would recommend anybody to give this book a go, you won’t regret it."

- Claire Greenwood

"This is a book packed full of highs and lows. Whilst the start grabs your attention immediately the middle keeps you turning the pages as it races towards what would appear to be its inevitable conclusion. The ending is guaranteed to have you turning the last page to search for the release date of Book 2!"
- Lorraine Jennings

"...excellent storytelling and lots of human interest in this hard to put down book. The characters are well written and completely absorbing..."
- Lyn Ross

"...one of those books you cannot put down… A poignant story about courageous women who fight for survival and adaptation to a new culture.  The new culture, being 100% Geordie adds humour to an emotionally gripping tale."

- Anna-Marie Dreyfus

"...currently reading Flying with Kites by Alan Reynolds - can't wait to get home to read more!"

- Keeley Edge

"I have just finished Flying with Kites by Alan Reynolds... it was a gripping tale both uplifting and tragic in equal parts. I am looking forward to reading the follow up!"

- Jan Brause

"...Brilliant! Can't wait to read the next one..."

- Sue Cadwallader

"...David is raving about Flying with Kites. He's half way thru & already sees it as potential for film like 'East is East'..."

- William and Victoria Restaurant - Harrogate / book club

"..I've just started reading Flying With Kites... I need to go to work but can't put it down! Highly recommend it..."
- Lorraine Jennings

...with Rachel Walmsley

"...an intriguing novel of communities in Kosovo and the North East of England with realistic characters that you can sympathise with and want to follow. I loved it from beginning to end and when I had to put it down I couldn't wait to get to back to it to see what was happening next. Bigsy was the hero for me and I look forward to meeting him again soon. I'm now eagerly awaiting Alan's next book..."
- Snow Leopard

"...I downloaded the sample of 'Flying with Kites', read it and just had to download the rest. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would put it in the category of 'couldn’t put it down'. You really have a talent, and I look forward to further offerings."

- Mike Walker

...with Clare Davidson

"...A real roller coaster of a ride. The plot twists and turns, following Katya's journey from war-torn Kosovo and her terrible ordeal there, to the underbelly of life in Newcastle. To anybody who has lived in the North of England this is a visceral, sometimes graphically written tale of a woman trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life in a new country."

- April Farrar

"Flying with Kites is an extremely riveting read - both for its depiction of the war in Kosovo and the personal anguish of the main character, but also for the warmth and the humour displayed when the story moves to the North East. Alan's style of writing is believable, your love for the characters is real and I can't wait to read the next instalment!"

- D Middleton

"I have to congratulate you for writing such an amazing book. I was gripped all the way through. The characters you invented were brilliant! All the nicknames were so real and you can imagine each and every one of them living on that kind of estate - salt of the earth folk ( well some of them ). Honestly, I got totally absorbed in the book and you can easily imagine yourself on Heathcote Estate."

- Lisa Morris

"...riveting from the first page to the last. Content has obviously been painstakingly researched where this reality then generates emotion and concern. Clever use of language translation and dialect is entertaining with humour completing the picture. Looking forward to the sequel." - CJG

Alan with Lynette...

(a big thanks to Lynette for organising the book signing and to all her colleagues at British Gas in Manchester who could not have made us more welcome)

"What a great book. It grips you from the very first couple of pages - which is all important. The way the book develops from the war in Kosovo, then on to a council estate in Newcastle upon Tyne is excellent... I couldn't put it down...Can't wait for the sequel"

- Lyn Wood

"...This book is an absolute fantastic read, where the characters make you want to be part of their community. It will make you gasp, sigh and laugh out loud as Alan Reynolds has the ability to make this happen all on one page, absolutely superb. I would highly recommend it with a definite five stars from me!

It's a story about Katya a refugee from Kosovo - who has to adapt to life in Newcastle, the locals make her welcome with her fellow refugee Edi, What they went through to get to there is soul destroying and actually makes you feel glad they live in a high rise in Newcastle in the end...AMAZING !’"

- Lynette Machin

...with Karen

"Flying With Kites' is an excellent and refreshing novel from Alan Reynolds. He has really done his homework on the war in the former Yugoslavia and the horrors of that conflict, as well as life on a run-down council estate in the north of England.

The opening chapters graphically set the scene for Katya Gjikolli, bent on her own and her son's survival in a world gone mad. Her husband may have been caught by the Serbs, maybe imprisoned, tortured, or even dead. Either way she has to get out to save herself and her son.

Through more trials she eventually escapes on a refugee flight bound for the UK. She finds herself being housed with another Kosovan refugee in a high-rise flat in a depressed area of Newcastle in the north of England. There she begins her new life, finding new friends, and a new love.

This is not only a novel about one woman's struggle to survive and build a new life for herself, this is also about the new friends she acquires who live on the edge of the law. There's Bigsy who minds the video store and does odd jobs on the side - strictly cash only and not a word to the Social. Chirpy and Wazza make up the colourful trio who aid Bigsy in delivering drugs to the clubs in Newcastle for Everton Sheedie, a dealer with roots in Brixton. Carol, who's Bigsy's wife and who metes out her `favours' to him on how well he behaves (and how much money he gives her to spend at the `Metro').

Polly in his own way provides the title of the novel. He's an art student with a talent for building and flying kites, as well as an eye for a good photograph ... and Katya. He soon takes Katya flying in more ways than one.

There is also Edi and her daughter, the other Kosovan refugees who Katya tries to integrate into their new environment. Katya, however, is unaware of just how Edi is integrating herself into the neighbourhood.

Other characters are peppered throughout the novel giving colour and depth and making this a very enjoyable read. It's tragedy and it's comedy. It's got sex. It's got violence. It's also got tenderness so well written that it can bring a tear to the eye. Whatever ... enjoy!"

- Geoff Newman

...with Jayne

...with Kaz

"The story begins with a shocking personal drama in war torn eastern Europe and concludes with equal pace on the estates of North East England. Reynold's characters are believable and well developed and he does not pull his punches as he explores the brutal realities of their lives. The pace throughout is well maintained and there are several well constructed plot twists. The style and trans-culture genre are similar to 'Last Resort', 'Yasmin' and 'Dirty Pretty Things'. A great novel..."

- Richard

...with Indra

   "Wow, stunning writing. You had me on the edge of my seat..."

  "Beautifully written in straightforward compelling prose, it really brings to life the horror of a ghastly, brutal conflict...'

   "Very polished writing and your characterisation is superb..."

...with Sophia

...with Heather

...with Alison

   "Powerful stuff, brilliantly written. I loved the style and the pace and the wonderful pathos of your writing..."

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