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Viajando con djinns
Yasin es un hijo de la globalización. Su padre es sudanés y su madre inglesa, está casado con una mujer escandinava y trabaja en la BBC entrevistando a escritores de todo el mundo. De la noche a la mañana, su mundo se derrumba cuando debe enfrentarse a la ruptura de su pequeña familia.
Entonces emprende con su hijo de siete años un viaje sin destino a través de Europa. Y con los kilómetros recupera los recuerdos sobre su infancia en Jartum, el integrismo islámico y la emigración... Una novela extraordinaria, llena de humor y ternura, sobre la aventura de vivir en el mundo actual.
Entonces emprende con su hijo de siete años un viaje sin destino a través de Europa. Y con los kilómetros recupera los recuerdos sobre su infancia en Jartum, el integrismo islámico y la emigración... Una novela extraordinaria, llena de humor y ternura, sobre la aventura de vivir en el mundo actual.
- GenresFictionSudanLiterature
409 pages, Paperback
First published July 28, 2003
6 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Jamal Mahjoub
23 books46 followersAka Parker Bilal
Jamal Mahjoub was born in London in 1960. After living in Liverpool for several years, the family moved to Sudan, his father’s home country. Mahjoub attended Comboni College, run by Italian priests. He subsequently received a grant from Atlantic College in , and continued his studies in geology at the university of Sheffield. While still a student he began publishing his literary texts in magazines. After several changes of location, northern Europe eventually became his home base – yet his African roots still play a central role in his books. They incorporate stories and history, science and superstition and at the same time discuss the living conditions in which people from different backgrounds live together or in close proximity with each other.
»In the Hour of Signs« (1996) tells the story of the British conquest of at the end of the 19th century. The book transforms both protagonists of the conflict, the Muslim leader Mohammed Ahmed, called Mahdi, and the English General Gordon into symbolic figures. The main characters are farmers, shepherds or simple soldiers, and the uprising is described from their perspective as country dwellers or representatives of the colonial power. Mahjoub’s historical novel »The Carrier« (1998) deals with one of the pivotal moments in European thought: the development of the telescope and the corresponding astronomical methods of calculation, which paved the way for the heliocentric view of the world and the separation of science and religion. Mahjoub described his motivation: »I was fascinated by the question of why such a significant change in thought as marked by the Renaissance in Europe, didn’t occur in the Islamic world.« The young scholar Rashid al-Kenzy, son of a Nubian slave and falsely accused of murder, is reprieved by the dey of Algiers on condition that Rashid procure him the optical device, of whose capabilities people tell the most wondrous tales – and thus Rashid sets out on a long journey. In 2006 Majoub published his novel »Nubian Indigo«, whose story is set during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. »The Drift Latitudes« (2007) has present-day London as its setting. A successful architect, daughter of an immigrant from Trinidad and a German father whom she can hardly remember, receives several letters from her half-sister in , which cause her to begin to deal with her background.
The author has been awarded the Prix d’Astrobale for the novel »Travelling with Djinns« (2003) and the Guardian/Heinemann African Short Story Prize. After spending many years in the Danish city of Aarhus, Mahjoub is now living in Barcelona.
Jamal Mahjoub was born in London in 1960. After living in Liverpool for several years, the family moved to Sudan, his father’s home country. Mahjoub attended Comboni College, run by Italian priests. He subsequently received a grant from Atlantic College in , and continued his studies in geology at the university of Sheffield. While still a student he began publishing his literary texts in magazines. After several changes of location, northern Europe eventually became his home base – yet his African roots still play a central role in his books. They incorporate stories and history, science and superstition and at the same time discuss the living conditions in which people from different backgrounds live together or in close proximity with each other.
»In the Hour of Signs« (1996) tells the story of the British conquest of at the end of the 19th century. The book transforms both protagonists of the conflict, the Muslim leader Mohammed Ahmed, called Mahdi, and the English General Gordon into symbolic figures. The main characters are farmers, shepherds or simple soldiers, and the uprising is described from their perspective as country dwellers or representatives of the colonial power. Mahjoub’s historical novel »The Carrier« (1998) deals with one of the pivotal moments in European thought: the development of the telescope and the corresponding astronomical methods of calculation, which paved the way for the heliocentric view of the world and the separation of science and religion. Mahjoub described his motivation: »I was fascinated by the question of why such a significant change in thought as marked by the Renaissance in Europe, didn’t occur in the Islamic world.« The young scholar Rashid al-Kenzy, son of a Nubian slave and falsely accused of murder, is reprieved by the dey of Algiers on condition that Rashid procure him the optical device, of whose capabilities people tell the most wondrous tales – and thus Rashid sets out on a long journey. In 2006 Majoub published his novel »Nubian Indigo«, whose story is set during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. »The Drift Latitudes« (2007) has present-day London as its setting. A successful architect, daughter of an immigrant from Trinidad and a German father whom she can hardly remember, receives several letters from her half-sister in , which cause her to begin to deal with her background.
The author has been awarded the Prix d’Astrobale for the novel »Travelling with Djinns« (2003) and the Guardian/Heinemann African Short Story Prize. After spending many years in the Danish city of Aarhus, Mahjoub is now living in Barcelona.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 4, 2011
The first thing that drew my attention to this novel was the title, what did the author mean by djinns? As you read furthur and come to understand Yasin's background (the narrator), you find that the title is as pronounced and described in Arabic Mythology, they are the good or evil spirits that haunt people. In his case, they are his memories and sorrows carried along through his 37 years in the back of his mind. I quote : " your troubles go with you wherever you travel as an imp-like creature .... like a djinn, so you never get away from your troubles no matter how far you go."
This is a lovely road novel describing a long trip shared by a father and his son across Europe, in which yasin (an arab-british) tries to give his child some valuable memories that could last a life time, knowing that soon they will part after he divorces his british wife.
A trip in which he discovers the true values of love and family, after a long struggle in todays multicultural world,in which he tries to find himself a sense of purpose, and at the end he understands that his son is the ultimate purpose.
I quote: "He who finds himself, looses his misery."
This is a lovely road novel describing a long trip shared by a father and his son across Europe, in which yasin (an arab-british) tries to give his child some valuable memories that could last a life time, knowing that soon they will part after he divorces his british wife.
A trip in which he discovers the true values of love and family, after a long struggle in todays multicultural world,in which he tries to find himself a sense of purpose, and at the end he understands that his son is the ultimate purpose.
I quote: "He who finds himself, looses his misery."
February 2, 2023
At around p. 80, I note down: "It's readable, but not anything truly special". By the end, I realize it's trying to be too many things at once. What is Mahjoub really trying to convey? The flow is just not there, and each time the mode shifts (from simple descriptions of how they get from A to B and what or who they encounter on the way, to existential meanderings, to flashbacks and heated conversations between family members) it becomes less credible. The chronology is also not crafted very well. Not to mention, the cover page really bothers me. Why does the boy not have big curls like they are described in the story? If I put a positive spin on it, I suppose the uncertainty in the themes and the missing flow mirrors the uncertainty of the main character: Why is he taking this road trip with his son? A case in point quote:
The real reason I can't call Ellen is because I am still not sure I can explain what I am doing, or why. I feel as though, after years of being lodged in a swollen river, unable to move, growing resigned to my own drowning, I have finally broken free. (81)
The real reason I can't call Ellen is because I am still not sure I can explain what I am doing, or why. I feel as though, after years of being lodged in a swollen river, unable to move, growing resigned to my own drowning, I have finally broken free. (81)
August 16, 2015
بغض النظر عن الخلاف الأيديولوجي والفكري، أعجبني أسلوب محجوب السردي، وذكاؤه في ابتكار المواقف الهزلية، واستحضاره فيما يبدو لتجربته الشخصية ولازدواجية هويته.
وهذا لا يمنع من رثائي لعبثيته، وربما عدميته.
وهذا لا يمنع من رثائي لعبثيته، وربما عدميته.
November 17, 2023
A wonderful, sentimental read as we accompany Yasin and his 7-year-old son Leo on their road trip from Denmark through Germany and France to Spain. The bonding between the two is magical. Interspersed are biographical vignettes about Sudanese born Yasin who moved to England to study journalism and while there met his wife Ellen, who has just announced her wish for a divorce, and is the instigator of the trip. These vignettes provide the background to the disintegrating relationship between Yasin and Ellen, and also allow us to understand Yasin more fully. The minor characters such as Haya, whom he meets in Paris at a bar, and who travels with them to Aix-en-Provence, and Dru, Ellen's good friend with whom he had an affair in London, as well as his father and grandmother are all delightful. It is surprising, however, that despite being brought up within a solid and loving family, his relationship with his younger brother and nouveau-riche sister are strained.
September 23, 2019
Loved it. Perfect blend of humour and devastation in my opinion; the writing style reminded me of Aravind Adiga. Especially in how the writing is accessible yet rich and multifaceted. As our protagonist journeys through Europe with his young son, he falls into nostalgia for his home country of Sudan and his sense of diaspora. Really interesting thoughts on place and belonging. Loved how Yasin sense of being lost within his identity paralleled the journey and his mobility in his car. It's a shame this author isn't more acclaimed! I think he's brilliant.
February 10, 2019
اغرتني كمية المديح عن الرواية..
لكن بؤس الترجمة بددت كل ما قيل..
لم اقرأ كتاباً بهذا السوء..ترجمة رديئة جدا وظلم اسعد الحسين(المترجم) الرواية..
وليته انه لم يترجمها من الاساس.
لا انصح بقراءة الرواية ابداً.
لكن بؤس الترجمة بددت كل ما قيل..
لم اقرأ كتاباً بهذا السوء..ترجمة رديئة جدا وظلم اسعد الحسين(المترجم) الرواية..
وليته انه لم يترجمها من الاساس.
لا انصح بقراءة الرواية ابداً.
December 27, 2024
ممتعة ، تلمسك على كل الأحوال في مكان غير مرئي
September 22, 2014
اعجبني استخدام الرحلة في الرواية للتعبير عن البحث عن الهويه. لكن الترجمه العربية سيئة مع وجود بعض الاخطاء المطبعيه. مستوى الرواية بشكل عام متوسط
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews