| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Having taken the momentous decision to learn to read and write when in his early 20s, Choukri joins a children's class at the local state school in Tangier. Here, he leads a life of desperate poverty. In order to survive, he does a bit of everything. When not at school, he hangs out in cafes, drinking and smoking kif (it's cheaper than cigarettes). On the days that he has a few coins in his pocket, he can afford a primitive doss-house, otherwise he sleeps in mosques or on the street. A wide range of "low-life" characters befriend him - the cafe habitues (some of whom are intellectuals and educated men) help him with his Arabic and widen his horizons; the local prostitutes take him home and provide a modicum of shelter and human warmth. On two occasions, he ends up in a mental hospital - the second time because he tries to kill a man who attempts to rape him. Another traumatic event is the long-drawn-out death of his mother, at which time Choukri returns to his village. This book is the second part of an autobiography of Mohamed Choukri, one of North Africa's most respected authors. Throughout his trials and vicissitudes, two things shine through - Choukri's determination to use literacy to rise above the cruel hand fate has dealt him, and his compassion for his fellow human beings who share this life of "the lowest of the low". Mohamed Choukri is the author of "For Bread Alone".
About the Author
Mohamed Choukri is one of North Africa's most controversial and widely read authors. This poignant autobiographical novel, which spans the 1960s and '70s (together with his previous novel, For Bread Alone), ranks among the best works of contemporary Arabic literature.Choukri died of cancer in 2003.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ed Emery, the translator of this book, has taken astonishing liberties with it, so much so that it is rather a rewriting than a translation. Whole chapters that appear in both the Arabic and the French are simply left out. And that is just the beginning. A very poor translation of what, in the original, is an important book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A very poor translation of an important book
7 Feb 1999
Format:Paperback
Ed Emery, the translator of this book, has taken astonishing liberties with it, so much so that it is rather a rewriting than a translation. Whole chapters that appear in both the Arabic and the French are simply left out. And that is just the beginning. A very poor translation of what, in the original, is an important book.
Correction
10 Aug 2010
Format:Paperback
The reviewer who says that Ed Emery is the translator of this book must be mistaken, or else Amazon is giving the wrong translator. I understand that Paul Bowles is the translator.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
