I wanted to join this challenge last year, but I discovered it WAY too late, so I’m joining this year instead! Go check out Bethany’s Orbis Terrarum challenge – she has set up a separate blog for it, which is just gorgeous.
I don’t have a list yet, but I have plenty of TBR’s that fit the bill, so I’m super excited.
Title: Slave: My True Story
Author: Mende Nazar and Damien Lewis
Published: April 26, 2005
# of Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-1586483180
My Rating: 5/5
At age twelve, Mende Nazar lost her childhood. It began one horrific night in 1993, when Arab raiders swept through her Nuba village, setting fire to the village huts and murdering the adults. The raiders rounded up thirty-one young children, including Mende, who was eventually sold to a wealthy Arab family in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum. So began Mende’s seven dark years of enslavement. Normally, Mende’s story never would have come to light, but when she was sent to work for another master – a diplomat working in London – she made a dramatic break for freedom.
Published to critical acclaim for the honesty and clarity of its prose, Slave is a story almost beyond belief. It depicts the strength and dignity of the Nuba tribe. It recounts the savage cruelty of the secret, modern-day trade in slaves. Most of all, it is “a profound meditation on the human ability to survive under virtually any circumstances.” (Publisher’s Weekly)
Wow. This book is amazing. I mean, really, there’s just no way I can do it justice in a review. What Nazar struggled through while she was enslaved is unbelievable – it’s difficult to grasp the fact that this occured in the mid to late 1990′s, in “civilized” society – the capital city of Sudan as well as London, England. The book shocked me. Nazar’s ability to tell her story, to do so with such openness as she did, is amazing to me.
I truly don’t have much else to say other than – Slave is absolutely a must-read. I can’t emphasize that enough. What a powerful, inspiring story. I’m so glad I picked this book up and I truly believe you should too.
Another review: Natasha at Maw Books Blog
