THE TRANSLATOR, PART 1

"'Shooting people doesn't make you a man, Daoud,' he said. 'Doing the right thing for who you are makes you a man.' So he walked me back to town and I returned to school. I became interested in English because of a wonderful teacher, and I became lost in the classic books of England and America."
—page 17, The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari

In the interest of an honest review, full disclosure of my biases and prejudices is necessary.

First, the book was sent to me by Random House as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. Therefore, I received it for free.

Second, I believe that I was chosen for this particular book due to some of the books in my Library Thing catalog. Some of these books include:

*What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
The book is a fictionalized account of the stories told by Deng to Eggers of his life in wartorn Sudan. It is one of the most powerful memoirs that I have ever read. The fact that it is told through the words of another person does not diminish its impact.
[011207, 011507, 011907]

*A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
This is written by Beah's own hand. The book details his time as a boy soldier for rebel groups in Liberia. It is in many ways more disturbing due to Beah's recruitment to fight the war as a young teenager. It is amazing that he is able to overcome his drug use and the violence of warfare as a perpetrator of that very violence.
[052107]

*Landscapes of War: From Sarajevo to Chechnya by Juan Goytisolo
Landscapes of War is a collection of essays written for the Spanish daily newspaper El País. Especially relevant to the conversation surrounding The Translator are the seven essays on Algeria.
[050207]

*Poor People by William T. Vollmann
Poverty breeds the seeds of conflict and war. Most of the wars in postcolonial Africa concern resources. The group that controls resources wields power with the "West," the "First World." Those without starve. Vollmann examines many different causes and effects of poverty. Warfare is but one of many.
[042707, 043007]

*The Farther Shore by Matthew Eck
This war novel is experienced from the vantage of US soldiers caught "behind" enemy lines in a large city of an unnamed African country, but hinted at Mogadishu, Somalia. The novel is crisp and brutal, without being cinematic. The poverty, even though fictional, is palpable.
[011108]

Third, there are additional books that inform my conversation with The Translator. Some of these books include:

*We Wish To Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
Gourevitch presents the historical background of the Rwanda genocide, as well as the stories of slaughter from the killing fields. He visits the haunts of the dead and interviews survivors. His narrative is well-informed, relevant, and vital.

*An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World by William T. Vollmann
One of Vollmann's most important pieces of nonfiction explores the world of mujahadeen fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan in their war against the Soviet Army. Vollmann addresses his own political ignorance, while exploring the reasons that drive these fighters to defend their homeland.

Now that these pieces are in place, the conversation can begin...

[Part 2] [Part 3]