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A carregar... A Girl Called Eelpor Ali Zamir
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Anguille is a 17-year-old girl who leaves her rock on the archipelago of Comoros to lose herself at sea. She drifts between two states of mind and between two islands 'in a hollow maze', evoking her memories so as to forget nothing and so as to delay the inevitable outcome. Confronted with the pressing immediacy of imminent death, Anguille recounts the story of her whole life in one long, sustained breath, in a series of brief couplets. But what Anguille recounts, in an assured voice which heralds a shipwreck, is also something other than her life - something much deeper below the ground, or rather the sea, which has to do with the species and what is immemorial. It is the story of a fight for survival in which everyone becomes a predator. A story told in a single sentence, A Girl Called Eel is a memorial, a reckoning, and a powerful narrative imbued with a prevailing sense of urgency. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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 Google Books — A carregar...GénerosSistema Decimal de Melvil (DDC)843Literature French French fictionClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos EUA (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia: (3.25)
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“life isn’t always a sweet-tasting fruit…most of the time it’s bitter-sweet, it’s acidic, salty and sugary all at once, tasting this mish-mash is what living is all about,”
A Girl Called Eel is a highly unusual book, written by Comorian author Ali Zamir in a single sentence in a stream of consciousness style. It was the Winner of the Prix Senghor 2016 and other awards and has been translated from French. It is set mainly in Mutsamubi on Ndzwani (Anjouan) island.
For those, like me, who don’t know too much about The Comoros, it is an island country in Southeastern Africa which became independent from France in 1975. It is made up of three major islands and many smaller islands, including the volcanic Comoro islands, except Mayotte which remains an overseas department of France. The majority religion is Sunni Islam. Most of the people are ethnically Comorian, which is a mixture of Malagasy, Bantu and Arab. Traditionally, women on Ndzwani wear red and white patterned garments called shiromani, as described in the story. The Comoros is a relatively poor country with over half of the population involved in agriculture, predominantly production of spices.
The book is the story of a 17 year old girl, Anguille, who calls herself Eel. She is lost at sea, close to death, and recalls the memories of her life. She tells her story as the daughter of a fisherman and describes life in The Comoros. I found the first fifth of the book difficult to engage with, in part due to the unusual style, but as I went on I became captured by Eel’s story and her comments on life and culture. She goes on philosophical tangents with comments such as, “her soul had departed her body, it wasn’t hers to keep in the first place, our soul is like an invisible lamp that’s lent to us for a short time while we play our part on this stage.” She describes her father’s rantings and ravings, who comes out with gems like, “do a donkey a favour and all you get by way of gratitude is farts,” her awkward relationship with her sister Rattler, and the way her life turns upside down when she meets handsome fisherman Voracious. This was an interesting, worthwhile read that I’m glad I chose.
Mutsamudu. Toplist. (