Continuing our series for #RefugeeWeek2019, here are 3 recommended memoirs for teens and young adults.

Ruth recommends…

 

BLUEBIRD by Vesna Marcic (Granta Books, 2009)

The blurb: Vesna Maric left Bosnia the beginning of the war, at the age of sixteen, on a convoy of coaches carrying refugees to Penrith in the north of England. Bluebird is Vesna’s funny, vivid and immensely readable memoir of the experience, from the beginning of the war through to her eventual return to Bosnia years later. Unlike many books on Bosnia, and refugees in general, Bluebird is never self-pitying, never grave. It’s refreshing to read an account of these experiences filtered through the eyes of a teenager with attitude – written with brilliant comic timing and a great storytelling gift.

An excellent read for older teens (there’s some swearing and late-teen crazy behaviour!) Notable for the refreshing sense of humour throughout, perhaps especially funny for Brits who get to see how strange we seem to newcomers to these isles.

 

 

 

IN THE SEA THERE ARE CROCODILES: THE STORY OF ENAIATOLLAH AKBARI, by Fabio Geda, translated from Italian by Howard Curtis (David Fickling Books, 2011)

“I read somewhere that the decision to emigrate comes from a need to breathe. The hope of a better life is stronger than any other feeling. My mother decided it was better to know I was in danger far from her; but on the way to a different future, than to know I was in danger near her; but stuck in the same old fear.”

At the age of ten, Enaiatollah Akbari was left alone to fend for himself. This is the heartbreaking, unforgettable story of his journey from Afghanistan to Italy in an attempt to find a safe place to live.

Simply one of the best translations and best young adult books I’ve ever read, and many have agreed: it won the 2013 Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation. Note there are two editions: the adult version published by Vintage and a young adult version by David Fickling Books. One day we’ll have to run a review comparing the editions – is the difference just in cover and blurb, or was the book edited differently? If you’d like to write that piece please get in touch!)

I also love how BookTrust put it in their review: “This story charts the same story thousands of people undertake every day, Enaiatollah is one of the lucky ones. This important book will make you realise the ridiculous nature of nation states and boundaries and how lucky we are to be born in Europe.”

 

THERE MAY NOT BE ANYONE LEFT: AGATHA CHRISTIE … COME, I’LL TELL YOU HOW I LIVE, by Haitham Hussain (Ettijahat 2018; in Arabic, not yet published in English)

This is another *Translate This!* recommendation – there will be a few in the next few days for Refugee Week.

Hussain is Syrian refugee in the UK and his memoir is framed as a letter to fellow novelist Agatha Christie, who lived for a time in his hometown, Amoudah. She traveled throughout the region with her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, and wrote a memoir of her time there, Come Tell Me How You Live (1946).

In an extract translated by Ahmed Al Salah, published at ArabLit blog, Hussain reflects on happiness, and whether being grateful to have escaped a war zone really amounts to happiness.

I am happy when my daughters Heve and Roz ask me to read them stories before they sleep and say, “Love you, Dad” after each paragraph I read.

I am happy when I accompany them to the nearby beach to feed the seagulls. We take breadcrumbs and set off to play with the noisy gulls. They both start throwing breadcrumbs, seagulls swoop toward us, and they both run ahead before throwing themselves in my lap. It is there that I experience moments of peace and happiness. I feel delight and take a breath of fresh air.

I am happy when I finish writing a chapter of a book or novel, happy when I read a profound line in a book, happy when I sense the beautiful minute details here and there.

Moments of happiness are the commas in the language of life, punctuation that shapes the currents of the everyday, helping me finding a rhythm in a cycle of routine repetitions and indifference.

The most minute details of life give distinctive moments of happiness. These are some manifestations of real happiness for me. These are the little gains I manage to steal from the imagined sea of happiness in this bitter reality.

[Extract translated by Ahmed Al Saleh; published on ArabLit blog 2018]

The book is based on several interviews that the author Haitham Hussain, one of the beneficiaries of the third edition of the Laboratory of Arts programme, conducted with refugees. The book depicts many everyday details of refugee life in the United Kingdom and the dislocations between their current situation and their memories, as well as attempts to adapt and integrate.

In this biographical book, Hussain documents paradoxes of his journey to seek refuge for himself and his family. Throughout, he’s in communication with the English novelist Agatha Christie.

We would love to see this book published in English so please get in touch if you’d like to know more about it!