In the Sea There Are Crocodiles
Summary
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In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda
Recommended by PEN One night before putting him to bed, Enaiatollah's mother tells him three things: don't use drugs, don't use weapons, don't steal. The next day he wakes up to find she isn't there. They have fled their village in Ghazni to seek safety outside Afghanistan but his mother has decided to return home to her younger children. Ten-year-old Enaiatollah is left alone in Pakistan to fend for himself. In a book based on a true story, Italian novelist Fabio Geda describes Enaiatollah's remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim political asylum. His ordeal took him through Iran, Turkey and Greece, working on building sites in order to pay people-traffickers, and enduring the physical misery of border crossings squeezed into the false bottoms of lorries or trekking across inhospitable mountains. A series of almost implausible strokes of fortune enabled him to get to Turin, where he found help from an Italian family and met Fabio Geda. The result of their friendship is this unique book in which Enaiatollah's engaging, moving voice is brilliantly captured by Geda's subtle storytelling. In Geda's hands, Enaiatollah's journey becomes a universal story of stoicism in the face of fear, and the search for a place where life is liveable.
The personal stories of refugees and their life-or-death battles are usually lost in between the lines of news reportsIn direct and undecorated prose, Fabio Geda beautifully delivers the human experience of Enaiatollah, a ten-year-old Afghani boy, whose will for survival is more than remarkable. In the Sea There Are Crocodiles will make you laugh and cry, and it will also make you a better person. Everyone should read this book * Marina Nemat, author of 'Prisoner of Tehran' *
If Fabio Geda's first-person rendition of Enaiatollah Akbadi's story were entirely fictional, it would more than stand-up as a page-turner that makes you care about its hero from the outset and willingly accompany him on his often perilous journey from Afghanistan to Italy. That it is based on reality makes it more than just a compelling adventure story. For here is a frank, revealing and clear-eyed testament of the experiences faced by a young asylum-seeker in the contemporary world -- Diane Samuels * Guardian *
A moving and eye-opening account, chronicle of hardships no child should have to endure * The Sunday Times *
Geda's voice combines the plucky survivor's determination of his charge with moments of pathos - soaked poignancy and others of joyful laughter... It's sobering and heart lifting to see the stoical determination and achievement of someone who makes out world look like paradise. This little gem, beautifully and unobtrusively translated, will raise tears of sorrow and joy * Independent *
A beautifully written and moving book * Choice *
If Fabio Geda's first-person rendition of Enaiatollah Akbadi's story were entirely fictional, it would more than stand-up as a page-turner that makes you care about its hero from the outset and willingly accompany him on his often perilous journey from Afghanistan to Italy. That it is based on reality makes it more than just a compelling adventure story. For here is a frank, revealing and clear-eyed testament of the experiences faced by a young asylum-seeker in the contemporary world -- Diane Samuels * Guardian *
A moving and eye-opening account, chronicle of hardships no child should have to endure * The Sunday Times *
Geda's voice combines the plucky survivor's determination of his charge with moments of pathos - soaked poignancy and others of joyful laughter... It's sobering and heart lifting to see the stoical determination and achievement of someone who makes out world look like paradise. This little gem, beautifully and unobtrusively translated, will raise tears of sorrow and joy * Independent *
A beautifully written and moving book * Choice *
Born in Turin in 1972, Fabio Geda is an Italian novelist who works with children in difficulties. He writes for several Italian magazines and newspapers, and teaches creative writing at the Italian school of storytelling, Scuola Holden, in Turin. This is his first book to be translated into English.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781846554766 |
| ISBN 10 | 1846554764 |
| Title | In the Sea There Are Crocodiles |
| Author | Fabio Geda |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2011-07-07 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |