Comments | 50books_poc: 17. Mende Nazer

pauraque in 50books_poc

17. Mende Nazer - Slave: My True Story

Mar 21, 2011 14:59

Content warning: The book depicts rape, beatings, and female genital cutting, but they're not discussed in this post.This is the story of Mende Nazer, who was abducted from her home in Sudan in 1993 and sold into slavery. Throughout her teenage years she was forced to do domestic work for a wealthy family, before being sent to work for her "master ( Read more... )

(delicious), memoir, muslim, african, slavery

Comments 4

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pauraque March 21 2011, 23:00:25 UTC

Yes, and there was also a play about it called Slave: A Question of Freedom, the production of which Nazer had some part in.

sanguinity March 24 2011, 03:07:25 UTC

I, wait, what? What exactly is so special about their relationship that she couldn't have something of similar quality in a relationship with a translator?

pauraque March 24 2011, 04:39:23 UTC

Ha, yeah, see... While I was reading the book I had a weird feeling about it, which was only confirmed at the end when I read Lewis's note. See for yourself:

Mende only spoke basic English, having spent less than a year living as a free person in London. I spoke almost no Arabic, and my Nuba was almost nonexistent. At first, I considered the idea of working with an English-Arabic translator. But I knew that much of Mende's story was going to be deeply personal, difficult material to talk about. I knew that the key to her being able to tell me her story from the heart lay in the closeness that would develop bewteen the two of us. She would need to trust me with her most difficult, painful memories and fears. I knew that having a translator bewteen us would make that impossible.He initially came into the picture because he knew the Sudanese-British people who helped her escape, and they wanted him to report on her story (he's a journalist). But it's not explained why he was somehow the ONLY one who could help her write the book. He ( ... )

sanguinity March 24 2011, 04:47:02 UTC

I can see why he, once he had positioned himself as author/co-author, would see a third person in the room as a risk to the process, and potentially more of a risk than a benefit.

I just don't get why he thought it had to be him.

*sigh*

Actually, I can do all kinds of guessing about why he thought it should be him. Meh.

:: If she's comfortable with her name on the cover, then who am I not to consider it as being a book by her? ::

*nods*