The Translator: A Memoir
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- ISBN13: 9780812979176
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
The young life of Daoud Hari–his friends call him David–has been one of bravery and mesmerizing adventure. The Translator is a suspenseful, upsetting, and deeply moving memoir of how one person has made a difference in the world, an on-the-ground account of one of the largest tales of our time: the brutal genocide under way in Darfur.
In 2003, Daoud Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, was among the hundreds of thousands of villagers attacked and driven from their homes by Sudanese-government-backed militia groups. Though Hari’s village was burned to the ground, his family tree decimated and dispersed, he himself escaped, eventually finding safety across the border. With his high school knowledge of languages, Hari offered his services as a translator and guide. In doing so, but, he had to return to the heart of darkness–and he has risked his life again and again to help ensure that the tale of his people is told while there is still time to save them.
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Daoud certainly has many one of a kind experiences to share. And it is highly vital that we Westerners see and hear tales like Daoud’s. This is a first-hand account of a courageous and noble man who risked his life to ensure that the world would hear about what is going on in Darfur.
I applaud Daoud for what he has done, especially the fantastic task he has accomplished in courageously helping out journalists and giving a voice to his people. He has a fantastic message and is an incredible individual. But when I compare this book with the likes of Ishmael Beah’s “A Long Way Gone”, I find this book missing. With all due respect, Dauod probably isn’t the greatest writer or storyteller. And it shows throughout this book. I do not regret reading this book, but by the same token I didn’t exactly find myself glued to its pages like I had initially anticipated. For a book on such an intriguing and compelling topic, I’m to some extent disappointed.
The best part of the book, by far, is the concise yet informative appendix: “A Darfur Primer”.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
I was looking for a moving memoir along the lines of “A Long Way Gone” but this certainly wasn’t it. I wanted specifics and detail about what was happening to the people of Darfur, and as a replacement for I got a broad overview of the leader’s life, which didn’t really convey the emotion I was expecting. This isn’t a very excellent book if you’re looking for a compelling memoir on the genocide in Darfur. Nothing against the leader who seems to be a wonderful human being, but his survival throughout the book depended mostly on Westerners, a luxury over 1 million refugees do not have. And although his experiences must have been dreadful, the feeling does not come through the pages. Half the book is about one month-long incident of torture and imprisonment in Sudan, but somehow even the horror never reaches the reader. It is appealing to note the lengths the US went to relief one American reporter, from military escorts to flying in Administrator Richardson and calls from Bono, but has done next to nothing for over a million people fleeing the terror. I can say the leader’s insights are refreshingly human and peace loving despite all he’s seen, but the book really doesn’t convey all he’s seen. The appendix has the best synopsis on the complex Darfur conflict I have ever read.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
The tale in the audio version of this book is powerful, but the voice seems compromised in two ways: first, and most jarringly, the narrator is an American man distressing an “African” accent. It pulled me out of the tale over and over again, with inconsistent and silly pronunciation. Why couldn’t they have establish a genuine African actor? Secondly, the voice of the text is usually clear and straightforward, but occasionally garnished by pretty phrases and flowery descriptions which seem to come straight from the two Western “as told to” authors. Dave Eggers set a high standard for making an authentic voice while retelling the tale of another Sudanese man, in his book What is the What?.
I’m sure I would have loved this book much more if I had read it in print, as a replacement for of as an audiobook.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
Nearly everyone has heard about the conflicts in the Darfur region of Sudan, the Janjaweed militias, the struggling peacekeeping and foreign aid efforts, and how the president of Sudan has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, but most westerners do not really know what is happening in Darfur or why. Daoud Hari’s book clarifies the issues in a moving and succinct manner.
The leader is a member of a Zaghawa family tree, and his childhood was spent in Darfur happily mingling with the local Arabs and sharing the Muslim faith, although from time to time there were disputes with the Arabs over land. The disputes became worse as climate change cut-rate the amount of available pasture, and since 2003 the Sudanese Army and Arab Janjaweed militias have been driving the ethnic Africans out of Darfur. When the leader’s village was sacked, he was displaced into Chad and became a translator for foreign reporters and aid organisations until he was captured.
The book captures the leader’s like for his people and his land, and it tells an extraordinary tale of courage, adventure and perseverance in the face of oppression and appalling cruelty. It does not make the killings in Darfur seem reasonable, but it does help to give them context, and leaves the reader with a strong sense of the injustice faced by the victims. The book has been edited well and is a pleasure to read.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
This was well a written and plain description of the horrors of the genocide in Darfur. Thoughtful and intense with emotion. I finished it several days ago and still reflect of some of the horrors he described. There is one intensely gripping scene of a father and his small girl who runs to him only to be stabbed. She continues to weep out to him as she is dying. There is another touching scene where he talks to some of the boys holding him captive. It is excellent to reflect about their lack of choices in life (and many others we condemn point blank lacking realizing the horror they grow up in). He describes how, through words he starts to massage some of the humanity back into their soul. Very touching and a excellent reminder that kindness, education and opportunity would do more to end the horrors of this world than all the armies. It might be nice if we listened more to men like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr as a replacement for of our eye for an eye mentality. Daoud is aboslutely incredible with the courage he shows not just shuttling journalists but staying when he could have left, knowing he would certainly face torture. Incredible.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5