Passage of Tears cleverly mixes many genres and forms of writing--spy novel, political thriller, diary (replete with childhood memories), travel notebook, legends, parables, incantations, and prayers. Djibril's reminiscences provide a sense of Djibouti's past and its people, while a satire of Muslim fundamentalism is unwittingly delivered through the other Djiboutian voice. Waberi's inventive parody is a lesson in tolerance, while his poetic observations reveal his love and concern for his homeland.
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The narrator Djibril's reminiscences provide a sense of Djibouti's past and its people, while a satire of Muslim fundamentalism is unwittingly delivered through another complementary Djiboutian voice.
"With Waberi, the juxtapositions--surprising, provocative, and original--form a good part of the thrill themselves."--Anderson Tepper "Words Without Borders " "If Waberi's books are any indication, the novel of ideas, long regarded with indifference if not suspicion, may be set for a renaissance. Waberi is unabashed and unusually adept in creating heart-wrenching stories that test general assumptions, politically correct and incorrect, about exile, tolerance, metissage, the hypocritical cynicism of postcolonial Western foreign policies and development, the pragmatic cynicism of aspiring political and religious factions in the developing world, and the ruthless machinery of a global economy."--Tess Lewis "Hudson Review " "Passage of Tears is a cerebral modern thriller (of sorts) that defies easy categorization.... Equally at ease in both First and Third Worlds (and all their trappings), Waberi manages the rare feat of handling and integrating Western intellectual and political thought as comfortably and convincingly as he does the ideologies and culture of the Horn of Africa (and that without overwhelming the actual fiction)." --M.A. Orthofer "Complete Review " "Waberi has concocted with his magical alchemy a tale that blends political thriller, legends, spy novel, and the diary of a man tailor-made for the know-it-all." --Monica Carter "Salonica World Lit "
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780857425317
Publisert
2018-03-29
Utgiver
Vendor
Seagull Books London Ltd
Høyde
197 mm
Bredde
121 mm
Dybde
18 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
224

Oversetter

Om bidragsyterne

The French-Djiboutian novelist, poet, and essayist Abdourahman A. Waberi is one of the leading francophone writers of his generation. His other books include The Land Without Shadow, Harvest of Skulls, and Rifts, Roads and Rails. Together or separately, David and Nicole Ball have published nine book-length translations, most recently Waberi's In the United States of Africa.