The humanitarian angle is certainly important - this people, the Saharawi's of the Western Sahara, cannot send athletes to the Olympics because they do not have a state.
But more importantly, this is the kind of book, when you read it, that you will look back on from a year's worth of reading and say, yes, that was good - more than good. But don't believe me - read the reviews. They are not biased.
REVIEWS
'With vivid imagery of desperate village life and keen insight into multicultural influences, Leante’s rich, often poetic novel of romance and international politics evokes a sensuous yet savage period in this region’s tumultuous history.' Booklist, USA
'...set against one of those ongoing arenas of conflict that the media chooses to ignore - the struggle for independence of the Saharawi people of the Western Sahara first from the Spanish and later from Moroccan dominance...a necessary context to a painfully compelling story of love and loss.' Morning Star
2 comments:
but this book has been out way before this post and Leante has won the Premio Alfaguara in march 2007....
Yes, but the translation into English, published by us, has been overlooked totally by the literary press, despite the novel being selected by English Pen for its Writers in Translation programme, and despite the fact we brought Luis Leante to England for two events in London in September. That is the reality of publishing literary translation in the UK right now. The blog is one way we can help books get noticed.
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