Theft
Quotes from the Book
Respect yourself and others will come to respect you. That is true about all of us, but especially true about women. That is the meaning of honour.
37
They can lock you up, put you in chains, abuse all your small longings, but freedom is not something they can take away. When they have finished with you, they are still as far away from owning you as they were on the day you were born.
4
I'm afraid, you're right...though not only of them. We'll lose everything, including the way we live,' Hussein said. 'And these young people will lose even more. One day they'll make them spit on all that we know, and will make them recite their laws and their story of the world as if it were the holy word. When they come to write about us, what will they say? That we made slaves.
3
Everything is in turmoil. These Europeans are very determined, and as they fight over the prosperity of the earth they will crush all of us. You’d be a fool to think they’re here to do anything that is good. It isn’t trade they’re after, but the land itself. And everything in it … us.
2
They offered me freedom as a gift. She did. Who told her she had it to offer? I know the freedom you are talking about. I had that freedom the moment I was born. When these people say you belong to me, I own you, it is like the passing of the rain, or the setting of the sun at the end of the day.
2
Me ofrecieron la libertad como un regalo. Ella. ¿Quién le dijo que era su dueña para dármela? Sé de qué libertad estás hablando. Yo tuve esa libertad en el momento de nacer. Cuando esa gente dice me perteneces, yo soy tu dueño, es como el paso de la lluvia o la puesta del sol. Al día siguiente, el sol saldrá de nuevo les guste o no. Lo mismo pasa con la libertad. Pueden encerrarte, ponerte cadenas, denigrar todos tus pequeños anhelos, pero la libertad no es algo que puedan arrebatarte. Cuando han terminado contigo, todavía están tan lejos de poseerte como lo estaban el día en que naciste. ¿Me comprendes? Éste es el trabajo que me ha sido encomendado, ¿qué puede ofrecerme esa de ahí que sea más libre que esto?
The Germans were afraid of nothing.
About Abdulrazak Gurnah
More by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Theft
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About the book
十二岁离家时,优素福的小包袱里有两条短裤,一件长袍,一本经书。他还记得被妈妈拥抱时她那高耸而柔软的胸脯,被爸爸搂在怀里时他身上男人的汗味。十六岁时,“年轻人”这个词在优素福耳中听起来有高贵意味,几乎像被描述为身材高大——或者甚至是哲学家——一样好。 故事发生在百年前处于德国殖民阴影下的东非桑给巴尔——这片多种文明交融、多种宗教并存的古老土地。男孩优素福被父亲抵押给商人阿齐兹偿债,从此跟随商队行走异乡,亲历生存之难。他困惑于他成长仪式上的领路人阿齐兹的阴阳莫测;他好奇于被深锁在花园背后的疯女人的愁惨荒怪;他痴迷于旅途中那座火焰墙般的巍峨悬崖,它仿若天堂之门,令他天眼开启:是忍辱偷生,守着方寸店铺变成一个小掌柜,还是在残酷的世界中变得像铁一样结实,去找寻有花园和喷泉,更有自由与尊严的穷人的天堂? 《天堂》发表于1994年,是古尔纳的代表作之一。作者借少年未经世事、不加滤镜的视角,将一个男孩的成长故事嵌于社会动荡、历史变迁的大背景中,通过书写一代移民的前生,来“努力保存那种记忆,找回人们赖以生活,并以此认知自我的那些时刻与故事”。 特别收录古尔纳获奖演说未删节全译,一睹跨越两个大陆、多种文明交融下的成长与写作之秘密。
Book details
- First published
- 1994
- Author
- Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Genre
- Fiction
- Goodreads rating
- 3.59 (14k ratings) →
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