Daoud Hari's Memoir: The Translator

Patricia Kimball: This man is so utterly loveable and admirable and the book is lovely. It's beautifully written and very entertaining but heavy, and there are many interesting insights into the man's sterling character and wise outlook. The author also includes an appendix with more historical/geopolitical detail.

United States on Jun 13, 2023

Nae: The ending felt rushed but other than that, this memoir was a very seat of your pants ride through the genocide in Darfur.

United States on Jan 23, 2021

MimoMimo: Es una compra genial, el libro parece nuevo y llego 10 días antes de su fecha estimada.

Spain on Nov 09, 2018

Mark H.: A wrenching read that delivers a rare and vivid glimpse into genocidal horrors that are difficult to imagine. Ultimately it’s instructive on human nature and its capacity for both saintly good and despicable evil. Dramas in the final one-third of the book are truly riveting.

I enjoyed the simple writing style, flavored with diction and phraseology that betrays authorship by a non-native English speaker. The editors preserved that style very nicely. It adds some additional distinction and authenticity to this work. Having traveled Africa extensively, the style and cadence was very familiar to my ear.

I do wish the publisher Random House saw fit to include photos and a map.

United States on Feb 07, 2018

Amazon Customer: Very powerful account - heartbreaking but a good read - the worst is the troubles in Darfur/Sudan are not resolved

Canada on Oct 09, 2016

PC: I bought this book as a present having already read and enjoyed it. Inspiring true story.

United Kingdom on Mar 11, 2016

A. Enns: Amazing!!!!

Canada on Nov 25, 2015

VerbRiver: This book of murders begins with: "I know most people want others to have good lives and ... will do what they can to steer the world back toward kindness."

Daoud Hari writes of small birds falling dead from his robes, "their hearts broken by this noise" of gunfire. He describes a woman newly hanging in a tree and a child alone waving at him from a killing field. He writes of Sudan atrocities, of cascading death in Darfur and of small blooms of life surviving. To have survived at all is a surprise. To have surprised with dignity and hope is miraculous.

The Translator tells of cruelty, tells it again and again in clear, simple language. Just as there is unfathomable madness infecting the killers in this story, there is nearly equal bewilderment at the grace of this humble soul able to tell it.

It will hurt you to read it. And the ache will be greater still after reading the Appendix that reprints the universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1948. Mr. Hari's book tells of endless violations of virtually all the 30 Articles of the Declaration in the last ten years. I'm sad I read The Translator but thankful, as well. It is a...

United States on Jun 19, 2013

LJLee: This was well a written and vivid description of the horrors of the genocide in Darfur. Thoughtful and intense with emotion. I finished it several days ago and still think of some of the horrors he described. There is one intensely gripping scene of a father and his little girl who runs to him only to be stabbed. She continues to cry out to him as she is dying. There is another touching scene where he talks to some of the boys holding him captive. It is good to think about their lack of choices in life (and many others we condemn point blank without realizing the horror they grow up in). He describes how, through words he starts to massage some of the humanity back into their soul. Very touching and a good reminder that kindness, education and opportunity would do more to end the horrors of this world than all the armies. It might be nice if we listened more to men like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr instead of our eye for an eye mentality. Daoud is aboslutely amazing with the courage he shows not just shuttling journalists but staying when he could have left, knowing he would certainly face torture. Amazing.

United States on Jun 01, 2010

白河夜舟: Darは「土地」...

Japan on Jul 12, 2008