Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2023.a910290
Katherine Schoeffler
Reviewed by: My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's by Sandeep Jauhar Katherine Schoeffler SANDEEP JAUHAR My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2023. 258 pages. "NEW EXPERIENCES slipped through his fingers like grains of sand, never to be touched again." My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's is the poignant tale of a family devastated by an Alzheimer's diagnosis. The flaws, celebrations, and challenges of its impact are exposed. Sandeep Jauhar's memoir is moving, emotional, and so challenging at times that I was forced to take breaks before continuing. Jauhar sincerely and personally details the transformation of his father's and his family's life after the diagnosis, detailing the messy realities of such a diagnosis and what it entails for a family. He shares his father's story as so much more than merely a life altered by the disease process, instead celebrating the beauty of his father's humanity, persistence as an immigrant, and his dedication to research, service, and his family. As a practicing physician, Jauhar shares with us the history of the disease, the science behind its progression, the current neurological aging research, and the epidemiology of Alzheimer's in an engaging manner. As he details even the cognitive ability tests at the neurologist's office, he patiently explains to the reader in medical and nonmedical terminology to balance both the emotional aspects of a doctor's visit as well as the scientific aims of each exercise. He presents his experience in a way to allow readers to attempt to absorb as much information as possible about the case while getting to know a patient and their family closely and balancing the emotions that stem from being surrounded by both the great joys of healing and the devastating sufferings of medical disease. This was a difficult but engaging, educational, and inspiring book. Some chapters were challenging to get through, as the horrors of the diagnosis's progression are revealed in such a personal and emotional manner. Jauhar does a remarkable job of making each character human—exposing each gift and struggle of his family members. He never blames when sharing the most intimate arguments of his family through such a traumatic time, instead shifting the focus to the reality of human emotions, bioethical concerns, familial relations, and cultural expectations regarding healing. The story is impactful, personal even, as Jauhar transports us into his world and that of his father. Jauhar captures the precise power of medical literature to offer understanding of medicine as both an art and a science. This moving book instills empathy, understanding, and curiosity in its reader, and I could not recommend it more. For insight, compassion, and understanding, My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's impacts the reader, captures an incredible man's story beautifully and powerfully, and weaves a unique tale of a f
{"title":"My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's by Sandeep Jauhar (review)","authors":"Katherine Schoeffler","doi":"10.1353/wlt.2023.a910290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2023.a910290","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewed by: My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's by Sandeep Jauhar Katherine Schoeffler SANDEEP JAUHAR My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2023. 258 pages. \"NEW EXPERIENCES slipped through his fingers like grains of sand, never to be touched again.\" My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's is the poignant tale of a family devastated by an Alzheimer's diagnosis. The flaws, celebrations, and challenges of its impact are exposed. Sandeep Jauhar's memoir is moving, emotional, and so challenging at times that I was forced to take breaks before continuing. Jauhar sincerely and personally details the transformation of his father's and his family's life after the diagnosis, detailing the messy realities of such a diagnosis and what it entails for a family. He shares his father's story as so much more than merely a life altered by the disease process, instead celebrating the beauty of his father's humanity, persistence as an immigrant, and his dedication to research, service, and his family. As a practicing physician, Jauhar shares with us the history of the disease, the science behind its progression, the current neurological aging research, and the epidemiology of Alzheimer's in an engaging manner. As he details even the cognitive ability tests at the neurologist's office, he patiently explains to the reader in medical and nonmedical terminology to balance both the emotional aspects of a doctor's visit as well as the scientific aims of each exercise. He presents his experience in a way to allow readers to attempt to absorb as much information as possible about the case while getting to know a patient and their family closely and balancing the emotions that stem from being surrounded by both the great joys of healing and the devastating sufferings of medical disease. This was a difficult but engaging, educational, and inspiring book. Some chapters were challenging to get through, as the horrors of the diagnosis's progression are revealed in such a personal and emotional manner. Jauhar does a remarkable job of making each character human—exposing each gift and struggle of his family members. He never blames when sharing the most intimate arguments of his family through such a traumatic time, instead shifting the focus to the reality of human emotions, bioethical concerns, familial relations, and cultural expectations regarding healing. The story is impactful, personal even, as Jauhar transports us into his world and that of his father. Jauhar captures the precise power of medical literature to offer understanding of medicine as both an art and a science. This moving book instills empathy, understanding, and curiosity in its reader, and I could not recommend it more. For insight, compassion, and understanding, My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's impacts the reader, captures an incredible man's story beautifully and powerfully, and weaves a unique tale of a f","PeriodicalId":23833,"journal":{"name":"World Literature Today","volume":"151 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135161441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2023.a910250
Adnan Mahmutović
My Hajj Adnan Mahmutović (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Photos by Yousef Khanfar | www.yousefkhanfar.com The photos in Yousef Khanfar's Hajj project Humanity at Large, in cooperation with the United Nations, are impressionistic images that show human beings as islands within the waves of the great ocean of humanity, intertwined within the same fabric, stitched with fine threads of race, religion, color, and more. [End Page 10] The Puterbaugh series is a special feature sponsored by the WLT Puterbaugh Endowment. The tears, the rituals: a family goes on a journey and joins millions of strangers pouring into Mecca. In this moving essay, a writer evokes the beauty, movement, and emotion of the Hajj itself. In the beginning, there was the gravity of the call: And proclaim to the people the Hajj; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass (The Qur'an 22:27). We answered as a family. All five of us. We were pulled out of our Nordic home to complete the circle of faith. Like a boomerang that throws itself out only to return to itself. A homecoming. I'd been feeling so old for years and dreamt of being buried in Mecca like men and women from old tales. But Hajj wasn't going to be that kind of story. The story of Hajj begins with your last will and testament. I asked people on social media what they wanted me to leave them. I didn't say why. They took me for my regular joking self while I was burning with the desire to finish my life in that holy place. I sat with SonNo.1 watching Swedish woods and told him I had nothing to leave them. Whatever I possessed would be regulated by state laws. I hoped that my writing would someday be enough for a few Swedish fikas. I named the person I entrust with sorting my unpublished mess. I didn't say I hoped my legacy to them was this family Hajj. A memory of my love. I imagined them without me, and I was missing them already, and I cried. I cried on the plane from Stockholm when everyone was asleep or watching movies. Cried in Istanbul while waiting for the delayed flight to Medina. Cried when some of the passengers were not let onto the plane because of visa issues and again when they fixed them. Cried at the passport check. At the first sight of people streaming into the Prophet's Mosque. When I met friends I didn't know were there. On the bus to Mecca when our guides sang Bosnian Nasheed songs. At first sight of the Kaaba. During our first tawaf around the Kaaba and at that first Fajr prayer outside Masjid Al-Haram as both men and women formed rows in ways I'd never seen before. At the break of dawn. I didn't cry because life was hard and unjust or because of past traumas or self-pity. That was new. From the onslaught of weird tears to the rituals, you will always be unprepared for Hajj. The guides will serve you practicalities and leave you to figure out the narrative as you become a character in that story: a family goes on a journey and joins mil
{"title":"My Hajj","authors":"Adnan Mahmutović","doi":"10.1353/wlt.2023.a910250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2023.a910250","url":null,"abstract":"My Hajj Adnan Mahmutović (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Photos by Yousef Khanfar | www.yousefkhanfar.com The photos in Yousef Khanfar's Hajj project Humanity at Large, in cooperation with the United Nations, are impressionistic images that show human beings as islands within the waves of the great ocean of humanity, intertwined within the same fabric, stitched with fine threads of race, religion, color, and more. [End Page 10] The Puterbaugh series is a special feature sponsored by the WLT Puterbaugh Endowment. The tears, the rituals: a family goes on a journey and joins millions of strangers pouring into Mecca. In this moving essay, a writer evokes the beauty, movement, and emotion of the Hajj itself. In the beginning, there was the gravity of the call: And proclaim to the people the Hajj; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass (The Qur'an 22:27). We answered as a family. All five of us. We were pulled out of our Nordic home to complete the circle of faith. Like a boomerang that throws itself out only to return to itself. A homecoming. I'd been feeling so old for years and dreamt of being buried in Mecca like men and women from old tales. But Hajj wasn't going to be that kind of story. The story of Hajj begins with your last will and testament. I asked people on social media what they wanted me to leave them. I didn't say why. They took me for my regular joking self while I was burning with the desire to finish my life in that holy place. I sat with SonNo.1 watching Swedish woods and told him I had nothing to leave them. Whatever I possessed would be regulated by state laws. I hoped that my writing would someday be enough for a few Swedish fikas. I named the person I entrust with sorting my unpublished mess. I didn't say I hoped my legacy to them was this family Hajj. A memory of my love. I imagined them without me, and I was missing them already, and I cried. I cried on the plane from Stockholm when everyone was asleep or watching movies. Cried in Istanbul while waiting for the delayed flight to Medina. Cried when some of the passengers were not let onto the plane because of visa issues and again when they fixed them. Cried at the passport check. At the first sight of people streaming into the Prophet's Mosque. When I met friends I didn't know were there. On the bus to Mecca when our guides sang Bosnian Nasheed songs. At first sight of the Kaaba. During our first tawaf around the Kaaba and at that first Fajr prayer outside Masjid Al-Haram as both men and women formed rows in ways I'd never seen before. At the break of dawn. I didn't cry because life was hard and unjust or because of past traumas or self-pity. That was new. From the onslaught of weird tears to the rituals, you will always be unprepared for Hajj. The guides will serve you practicalities and leave you to figure out the narrative as you become a character in that story: a family goes on a journey and joins mil","PeriodicalId":23833,"journal":{"name":"World Literature Today","volume":"149 1-2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135161454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2023.a910281
Firdous Ahmad Mala
Reviewed by: Once upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart Firdous Ahmad Mala SARAH HART Once upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature New York. Flatiron Books. 2023. 304 pages. TO MANY, MATHEMATICS is quite separate from literature; however, that is very far from reality. Mathematics has remained an indispensable part of any ideal curriculum. Aficionados of literature have consistently demonstrated a profound appreciation for mathematics. For instance, Chaucer not only wrote The Canterbury Tales but also authored a treatise on the astrolabe. Plato insisted that only those with knowledge of geometry be allowed into his academy. Bertrand Russell, a Nobel laureate in literature, was also a highly accomplished mathematician. Wordsworth recognized mathematics as a distinct realm built on pure intellect, and John Locke considered mathematics a means to cultivate a habit of logical reasoning. Even renowned figures like the Persian poet Omar Khayyam and Lewis Carroll excelled in both mathematics and literature. Mathematics has always been an integral part of a well-rounded individual's cultural understanding. It also held a prominent place in Plato's quadrivium, encompassing arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. In her captivating book Once upon a Prime, Sarah Hart recounts her initial reluctance to delve into the pages of Moby-Dick. However, her curiosity was piqued when she discovered a reference to the cycloid within the novel. This prompted her to contemplate the profound connections between mathematics and literature. The impact of this experience on Hart's life was nothing short of transformative—she describes it as an epiphany that forever altered her perspective. Mathematics, with [End Page 66] its capacity to enrich and liberate the mind, holds such profound influence that even Blaise Pascal sought solace from the agony of a toothache by immersing himself in thoughts of the cycloid. Hart further highlights how luminaries like Tolstoy, Joyce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Michael Crichton seamlessly integrated mathematics into their literary works, granting mathematicians a notable and coveted presence within the pages of their masterpieces. It is worth noting that the interplay between mathematics and literature is not a recent phenomenon, as evidenced by Aristophanes' play The Birds, which debuted as early as 414 bce and showcased these intricate connections. The book commences by asserting that the connections between mathematics and poetry are not only profound but remarkably accessible. Subsequently, the author artfully unveils what is referred to as the "geometry of narrative," a visual methodology for organizing a story. One illustrative example is the concept of "Man in a Hole." By assigning the vertical axis (y-axis) to represent fortune and the horizontal axis (x-axis) to signify time, a rising curve denotes increasing fortune, whi
评论人:《一个素数的往昔:数学与文学的奇妙联系》作者:Sarah Hart Firdous Ahmad Mala Sarah Hart《一个素数的往昔:数学与文学的奇妙联系》纽约。熨斗出版社，2023。304页。对许多人来说，数学与文学是截然不同的;然而，这与现实相去甚远。数学一直是任何理想课程中不可或缺的一部分。文学爱好者一贯表现出对数学的深刻欣赏。例如，乔叟不仅写了《坎特伯雷故事集》，还写了一篇关于星盘的论文。柏拉图坚持只有懂几何的人才能进入他的学院。诺贝尔文学奖得主伯特兰·罗素也是一位颇有成就的数学家。华兹华斯认为数学是一个建立在纯智力基础上的独特领域，约翰·洛克认为数学是培养逻辑推理习惯的一种手段。即使是著名的人物，如波斯诗人奥马尔·海亚姆和刘易斯·卡罗尔在数学和文学方面都很出色。数学一直是一个全面发展的个人文化理解的一个组成部分。它在柏拉图的四重奏中也占有突出的地位，包括算术、音乐、几何和天文学。在莎拉·哈特那本引人入胜的书《黄金时代》中，她讲述了自己最初不愿深入研究《白鲸》的故事。然而，当她发现小说中提到摆线时，她的好奇心被激起了。这促使她思考数学与文学之间的深刻联系。这段经历对哈特的生活产生了翻天覆地的影响——她把它描述为一种顿悟，永远改变了她的观点。数学，以其丰富和解放思想的能力，有着如此深远的影响，甚至布莱兹·帕斯卡(Blaise Pascal)也通过沉浸在摆线线的思想中，从牙痛的痛苦中寻求安慰。哈特进一步强调了托尔斯泰、乔伊斯、阿瑟·柯南·道尔、奇曼达·恩戈齐·阿迪奇和迈克尔·克莱顿等杰出人物如何将数学无缝地融入他们的文学作品中，使数学家在他们的杰作中引人注目和令人垂涎的存在。值得注意的是，数学和文学之间的相互作用并不是最近才出现的现象，正如阿里斯托芬的戏剧《鸟》所证明的那样，它早在公元前414年就首次亮相，展示了这些复杂的联系。这本书一开始就断言数学和诗歌之间的联系不仅深刻，而且非常容易理解。随后，作者巧妙地揭示了所谓的“叙事几何”，一种组织故事的视觉方法。一个说明性的例子是“洞里的人”的概念。通过指定纵轴(y轴)代表财富，横轴(x轴)表示时间，上升曲线表示财富增加，下降曲线表示财富减少。通过这种方法，叙事可以映射到图表上，图表可以与故事联系起来。例如，小说《大卫·科波菲尔》正好对应于一个“洞里的人”图。作者通过展示“男孩遇到女孩”、“灰姑娘”和“变形记”等著名经典类型的图表来举例说明这一概念。哈特深入研究了一个吸引人的研讨会，该研讨会汇集了对数学有兴趣的作家和对文学有鉴赏力的数学家。她引用了1960年的一个著名事件，两个法国人偶然遇到了由这些人组成的一群人。这个集体开始探索各种文学形式的创新结构可能性，包括诗歌、小说和戏剧。他们努力的一个显著例子是乔治·佩雷克的法国小说《分化》。此外，欧内斯特·文森特·赖特的英文小说《加兹比》也走上了类似的道路。这些小说成功地完成了将字母e从叙事中排除的壮举，展示了这种非常规方法所产生的非凡可能性。莎拉·哈特(Sarah Hart)是英国历史最悠久的数学教授的第一位女性，在她非凡的处女作中，她展示了一系列精心设计的探索，突出了数学可以被利用来创造引人入胜的叙事的深刻方式。她深入研究了各个方面，比如在小说中使用数学隐喻，将数学原理融入神话领域，以及对……
{"title":"Once upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart (review)","authors":"Firdous Ahmad Mala","doi":"10.1353/wlt.2023.a910281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2023.a910281","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewed by: Once upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart Firdous Ahmad Mala SARAH HART Once upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature New York. Flatiron Books. 2023. 304 pages. TO MANY, MATHEMATICS is quite separate from literature; however, that is very far from reality. Mathematics has remained an indispensable part of any ideal curriculum. Aficionados of literature have consistently demonstrated a profound appreciation for mathematics. For instance, Chaucer not only wrote The Canterbury Tales but also authored a treatise on the astrolabe. Plato insisted that only those with knowledge of geometry be allowed into his academy. Bertrand Russell, a Nobel laureate in literature, was also a highly accomplished mathematician. Wordsworth recognized mathematics as a distinct realm built on pure intellect, and John Locke considered mathematics a means to cultivate a habit of logical reasoning. Even renowned figures like the Persian poet Omar Khayyam and Lewis Carroll excelled in both mathematics and literature. Mathematics has always been an integral part of a well-rounded individual's cultural understanding. It also held a prominent place in Plato's quadrivium, encompassing arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. In her captivating book Once upon a Prime, Sarah Hart recounts her initial reluctance to delve into the pages of Moby-Dick. However, her curiosity was piqued when she discovered a reference to the cycloid within the novel. This prompted her to contemplate the profound connections between mathematics and literature. The impact of this experience on Hart's life was nothing short of transformative—she describes it as an epiphany that forever altered her perspective. Mathematics, with [End Page 66] its capacity to enrich and liberate the mind, holds such profound influence that even Blaise Pascal sought solace from the agony of a toothache by immersing himself in thoughts of the cycloid. Hart further highlights how luminaries like Tolstoy, Joyce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Michael Crichton seamlessly integrated mathematics into their literary works, granting mathematicians a notable and coveted presence within the pages of their masterpieces. It is worth noting that the interplay between mathematics and literature is not a recent phenomenon, as evidenced by Aristophanes' play The Birds, which debuted as early as 414 bce and showcased these intricate connections. The book commences by asserting that the connections between mathematics and poetry are not only profound but remarkably accessible. Subsequently, the author artfully unveils what is referred to as the \"geometry of narrative,\" a visual methodology for organizing a story. One illustrative example is the concept of \"Man in a Hole.\" By assigning the vertical axis (y-axis) to represent fortune and the horizontal axis (x-axis) to signify time, a rising curve denotes increasing fortune, whi","PeriodicalId":23833,"journal":{"name":"World Literature Today","volume":"144 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135161193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2023.a910289
Rick Henry
Reviewed by: Black Foam by Haji Jabir Rick Henry HAJI JABIR Black Foam Trans. Sawad Hussain & Marcia Lynx Qualey. Seattle. Amazon Crossing. 2023. 224 pages. BLACK FOAM, LONGLISTED for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, is a painful cry for survival in a world where truth can be a death sentence. Informed by his own experiences, Haji Jabir, an Eritrean novelist now living in Israel, presents a cry special to refugees but more specifically bound to individuals and their immediate contexts. As his character moves from Eritrea to Israel, Jabir presents a variation on the theme: survival depends on the story one tells, a story created for different contexts and audiences, whether they be lovers, strangers, a graduate student conducting research on refugees, or a store owner who helps him navigate the international Neve Sha'anan quarter in Tel Aviv. Each encounter offers its own dramatic undertones. The novel's deepest drama comes from self as the audience for one's story, and the need to lie to oneself about oneself to survive. The novel opens in Eritrea under a repressive regime. Conscripted against his will, Dawit finds himself on the other side of the political line from his true love. So begin his lies. His response is to leave. He survives the border crossing into Ethiopia and the first prize, acceptance into the reception center in Endabaguna for placement into one of the refugee camps. The threats change with the move, with the Ethiopian government at war with the Tigray People's Liberation Front and its ongoing raids on the camps, and the government targeting Eritreans fleeing north to Sudan. Hunger, random threats of violence, and betrayals are everywhere present as Dawit runs. The bigger prize is becoming one of a small percentage of those who escape north and out of Ethiopia. For Dawit, this means through Sudan and Egypt to a camp in Tel Aviv. Each transition requires his telling different versions of his story. Among the complications for Dawit is that Israel has, in the recent past, closed its borders to sub-Saharan Africans. The complications faced by Eritreans in particular are fraught with a further set of difficulties and the official status of "refugee." The goal for refugees in Tel Aviv is to be processed and moved on to countries such as Holland or Australia or Canada. Israel doesn't want to identify Eritreans as "refugees." With Dawit in Endabaguna, Jabir makes the case for survival being the result of telling an interesting story. A European interviews refugees and assigns them their futures. The consensus among refugees is that certain types of stories "work," thereby reducing them to a successful stereotype, no matter how different their circumstances. Part of Dawit's conflict is existential. As Dawit comes to the European's question, "And how did your mother die?", he decides to tell something closer [End Page 73] to the truth. He declares himself a "Free Gadli," which is roughly translated to the European as a c
{"title":"Black Foam by Haji Jabir (review)","authors":"Rick Henry","doi":"10.1353/wlt.2023.a910289","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2023.a910289","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewed by: Black Foam by Haji Jabir Rick Henry HAJI JABIR Black Foam Trans. Sawad Hussain & Marcia Lynx Qualey. Seattle. Amazon Crossing. 2023. 224 pages. BLACK FOAM, LONGLISTED for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, is a painful cry for survival in a world where truth can be a death sentence. Informed by his own experiences, Haji Jabir, an Eritrean novelist now living in Israel, presents a cry special to refugees but more specifically bound to individuals and their immediate contexts. As his character moves from Eritrea to Israel, Jabir presents a variation on the theme: survival depends on the story one tells, a story created for different contexts and audiences, whether they be lovers, strangers, a graduate student conducting research on refugees, or a store owner who helps him navigate the international Neve Sha'anan quarter in Tel Aviv. Each encounter offers its own dramatic undertones. The novel's deepest drama comes from self as the audience for one's story, and the need to lie to oneself about oneself to survive. The novel opens in Eritrea under a repressive regime. Conscripted against his will, Dawit finds himself on the other side of the political line from his true love. So begin his lies. His response is to leave. He survives the border crossing into Ethiopia and the first prize, acceptance into the reception center in Endabaguna for placement into one of the refugee camps. The threats change with the move, with the Ethiopian government at war with the Tigray People's Liberation Front and its ongoing raids on the camps, and the government targeting Eritreans fleeing north to Sudan. Hunger, random threats of violence, and betrayals are everywhere present as Dawit runs. The bigger prize is becoming one of a small percentage of those who escape north and out of Ethiopia. For Dawit, this means through Sudan and Egypt to a camp in Tel Aviv. Each transition requires his telling different versions of his story. Among the complications for Dawit is that Israel has, in the recent past, closed its borders to sub-Saharan Africans. The complications faced by Eritreans in particular are fraught with a further set of difficulties and the official status of \"refugee.\" The goal for refugees in Tel Aviv is to be processed and moved on to countries such as Holland or Australia or Canada. Israel doesn't want to identify Eritreans as \"refugees.\" With Dawit in Endabaguna, Jabir makes the case for survival being the result of telling an interesting story. A European interviews refugees and assigns them their futures. The consensus among refugees is that certain types of stories \"work,\" thereby reducing them to a successful stereotype, no matter how different their circumstances. Part of Dawit's conflict is existential. As Dawit comes to the European's question, \"And how did your mother die?\", he decides to tell something closer [End Page 73] to the truth. He declares himself a \"Free Gadli,\" which is roughly translated to the European as a c","PeriodicalId":23833,"journal":{"name":"World Literature Today","volume":"143 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135161198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2023.a910264
Darlington Chibueze Anuonye, Chigozie Obioma
Writing, the Gambler's ArtA Conversation with Chigozie Obioma Darlington Chibueze Anuonye (bio) and Chigozie Obioma (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Photo by UNL Photography Darlington Chibueze Anuonye: In 2015, at the age of twenty-eight, you published The Fishermen to global acclaim, and it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize that year (WLT, Nov. 2015, 63). That was the second year in which the Booker, since its first award in 1969, extended beyond the UK, the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland, and Zimbabwe. By emerging as a finalist in such an international competition, you achieved a solid literary success that resonated with many struggling young African writers who saw in both your youth and your gift a testament to the validity of their dreams. When An Orchestra of Minorities emerged as a finalist for the Booker Prize in 2019, you became one of the few African authors to be shortlisted more than once for the prize. What are the impacts of the Booker recognition on your career? Chigozie Obioma: Thank you for your kind words. I think you know by now that writing is not easy: it is art, and therefore a gamble. No one ever sets out knowing how their work will be received. You can have a hunch that something positive can happen, but you must simply face the work and make sure you realize your artistic vision beyond all else. Now, let me emphasize the term "artistic vision." This is simply the wholistic portrait, a kind of unwritten map, you have in your mind concerning said work and what you want to achieve with it. In my own experience, that map/vision is always so grand it can be sometimes overpowering. So, my work when in the field of writing is actually all about trying to meet the vision as faithfully as possible. Most of the time, if I achieve 50 percent of the initial vision, the work is a success to me. But the ideal is 60 to 70 percent. I don't believe it is possible to achieve the vision at full scale for any project ever. Perhaps, at some point I might try this, but I'm also wary of overexerting myself. So, what am I saying here? I think what appeals to people in my work—if anything appeals—is a sense that I have tried to grapple with something big and significant, even if just significant to me and my people, as is the case of Odinani in An Orchestra of Minorities. In essence, I think this is perhaps why both novels have gained recognition from the Booker Prize and other prizes around the world. Of course, the prize changes lives. I don't believe anyone would be reading me today if not for the Booker. Even a longlist, due to massive coverage, brings you so many readers, let alone a shortlisting. So, I've [End Page 44] been very lucky and very grateful, which was why I agreed without hesitation to judge the prize since it has done so much for me and my career as a writer. Anuonye: You told Amanda Curtin that you wrote The Fishermen as a tribute to the love growing between two of your older brothers who did not ge
{"title":"Writing, the Gambler's Art: A Conversation with Chigozie Obioma","authors":"Darlington Chibueze Anuonye, Chigozie Obioma","doi":"10.1353/wlt.2023.a910264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2023.a910264","url":null,"abstract":"Writing, the Gambler's ArtA Conversation with Chigozie Obioma Darlington Chibueze Anuonye (bio) and Chigozie Obioma (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Photo by UNL Photography Darlington Chibueze Anuonye: In 2015, at the age of twenty-eight, you published The Fishermen to global acclaim, and it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize that year (WLT, Nov. 2015, 63). That was the second year in which the Booker, since its first award in 1969, extended beyond the UK, the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland, and Zimbabwe. By emerging as a finalist in such an international competition, you achieved a solid literary success that resonated with many struggling young African writers who saw in both your youth and your gift a testament to the validity of their dreams. When An Orchestra of Minorities emerged as a finalist for the Booker Prize in 2019, you became one of the few African authors to be shortlisted more than once for the prize. What are the impacts of the Booker recognition on your career? Chigozie Obioma: Thank you for your kind words. I think you know by now that writing is not easy: it is art, and therefore a gamble. No one ever sets out knowing how their work will be received. You can have a hunch that something positive can happen, but you must simply face the work and make sure you realize your artistic vision beyond all else. Now, let me emphasize the term \"artistic vision.\" This is simply the wholistic portrait, a kind of unwritten map, you have in your mind concerning said work and what you want to achieve with it. In my own experience, that map/vision is always so grand it can be sometimes overpowering. So, my work when in the field of writing is actually all about trying to meet the vision as faithfully as possible. Most of the time, if I achieve 50 percent of the initial vision, the work is a success to me. But the ideal is 60 to 70 percent. I don't believe it is possible to achieve the vision at full scale for any project ever. Perhaps, at some point I might try this, but I'm also wary of overexerting myself. So, what am I saying here? I think what appeals to people in my work—if anything appeals—is a sense that I have tried to grapple with something big and significant, even if just significant to me and my people, as is the case of Odinani in An Orchestra of Minorities. In essence, I think this is perhaps why both novels have gained recognition from the Booker Prize and other prizes around the world. Of course, the prize changes lives. I don't believe anyone would be reading me today if not for the Booker. Even a longlist, due to massive coverage, brings you so many readers, let alone a shortlisting. So, I've [End Page 44] been very lucky and very grateful, which was why I agreed without hesitation to judge the prize since it has done so much for me and my career as a writer. Anuonye: You told Amanda Curtin that you wrote The Fishermen as a tribute to the love growing between two of your older brothers who did not ge","PeriodicalId":23833,"journal":{"name":"World Literature Today","volume":"143 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135160989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：