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The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga
An epic story of a Bedouin family’s survival and legacy amid their changing world in the unforgiving Sahara Desert. Ahmed is a camel herder, as his father was before him and as his young son Abdullahi will be after him. The days of Ahmed and the other families in their nomadic freeg are ruled by the rhythms of changing seasons, the needs of his beloved camel herd, and the rich legends and stories that link his life to centuries of tradition. But Ahmed’s world is threatened—by the French colonizers just beyond the horizon, the urbanization of the modern world, and a drought more deadly than any his people have known. At first, Ahmed attempts to ignore these forces by concentrating on the ancient routines of herding life. But these routines are broken when a precious camel named Zarga goes missing. Saddling his trusted Laamesh, praying at the appointed hours, and singing the songs of his fathers for strength, Ahmed sets off to recover Zarga on a perilous journey that will bring him face to face with the best and the worst of humanity and test every facet of his Bedouin desert survival skills.
176 pages, Paperback
Published February 23, 2021
19 people are currently reading
503 people want to read
About the author
Mohamedou Ould Slahi
8 books121 followersMohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian citizen who has been imprisoned at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp since August 4, 2002. In 2005, he wrote the nonfiction book
Guantánamo Diary
, which was published 10 years later.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 24, 2022
This is essentially an endearing desert fairy tale, made ever more remarkable in that it was imagined while the author endured 15 torturous years in Guantanamo Bay which was the basis of his previous work Guantanamo Diary.
Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder in search of his prized camel Zarga, promised to his son Abdullah. Ahmed and his faithful camel Laamesh set off into the Sahara armed with the songs of his father. He will encounter poisonous snakes and barbaric nomads while navigating the unforgiving environment of the desert landscape. He is shored up by bedouin hospitality and the occasional tea and smoke. And while he attests to the absolute truth of his tale, sworn on the belly button of his only sister and the Sixty Holy Chapters, in the end he admits that a little pepper and salt never hurt any story. This was a tale well seasoned and easy to relish.
Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder in search of his prized camel Zarga, promised to his son Abdullah. Ahmed and his faithful camel Laamesh set off into the Sahara armed with the songs of his father. He will encounter poisonous snakes and barbaric nomads while navigating the unforgiving environment of the desert landscape. He is shored up by bedouin hospitality and the occasional tea and smoke. And while he attests to the absolute truth of his tale, sworn on the belly button of his only sister and the Sixty Holy Chapters, in the end he admits that a little pepper and salt never hurt any story. This was a tale well seasoned and easy to relish.
March 27, 2021
Those of you who follow my reviews will know that I tend to refrain from reviewing books that my brother, Larry, played a role in creating. I will make an exception in this case, since The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga is, in every way that matters, solely a product of the remarkable mind of Mohamedou Ould Slahi.
For those of you who don't know, Slahi survived 14 years of imprisonment, including several years of torture, at the hands of the U.S. military without ever being charged for a crime. He was finally released in 2016 to return home to Mauritania, but to this day, he is not allowed to travel outside his own country. Slahi told the horrifying story of his experiences at the U.S. Guantánamo Bay detention facility in the Guantánamo Diary, a story now represented on the big screen in the Golden-Globe winning film, The Mauritanian.
Given that history, it seems unfathomable that Slahi could author a story as fundamentally warm and loving as The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga. Yet fathom it we must, because author it he did.
Among many, many other things, this book represents something of an extended meditation on the wonders, dangers and lessons of a nomadic desert life. By bringing us deep inside the mind of Ahmed, a camel herder on a quest to retrieve a stray, Slahi provides a fascinating, philosophical and at times very humorous introduction to traditional Bedouin life. His weaving together of an essentially linear narrative with reflections on Islamic beliefs and practices, along with general, stream-of-consciousness daydreaming is unlike anything else I have ever read.
Without ever getting heavy-handed, Slahi removes the veil (so to speak) that shrouds Islam in mystery from the perspective of Western eyes. Like all cultural traditions, Islam is far from monolithic, and this story highlights the uniqueness of a particular West African brand of the religion in which, among other things, the faithful dream of the Hajj but take a "Who can be bothered?" attitude toward it in the end. After all, there are camels to tend, and so, so much desert between Mauritania and Mecca.
Ahmed's vast mind also offers us a subtly powerful, everyman's view of European colonialism. His interwoven feelings of resentment, annoyance, distrust, disgust, and at times grudging respect for his land's French authorities provide a better education than many academic treatises on post-colonization African history.
Full disclosure, I didn't absolutely love everything about this book. There is one particular passage, essentially the high-drama, action-packed part of the story, that does not resonate with me the way so much of the story does. There are a variety of reasons why I feel this way, some of them complicated. On the simplest level, the passage involved the introduction of "bad guys." I do not think the story needs that element. For me, the Sahara, with its infinite indifference to any human's survival or demise, provides all the menace that Ahmed's Odyssey requires to be intensely compelling. Then again, I am from a land where it's hard to travel 10 miles in a straight line without running into a fresh water source. I imagine that most Mauritanians would find a solitary desert struggle without human villains rather bland.
In any case, my feelings about that particular passage definitely do not diminish my overarching belief that Slahi has given the world an extraordinary gift in this book. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone seeking to broaden their understanding of the world, or just wishing to embark on an exotic adventure.
Fundamentally, Ahmed sees life as a game of rolling with the punches, and views with suspicion anyone who thinks they can control the outcome. Hence his aversion to wealth and deep trust of those who live humbly, trying their best to keep their teacups clean, a futile undertaking for tent dwellers. Above all, he is simply a man who loves his camels, and willingly risks his life to bring one home.
----
In addition to Guantánamo Diary and The Mauritanian, I would suggest a few other companion experiences for this book. If you have access to CuriosityStream, check out the Mauritania episode of On the Rails. It provides vibrant context for Ahmed's obsession with tea and the ritualistic Bedouin small talk that figures prominently in Ahmed and Zarga. You might also want to familiarize yourself with some West African geography before reading the book, especially the relative positions of Mauritania, Senegal, and Morocco, and the traditional realms of Wolof culture and the Berber language. As Ahmed reminds us, African national borders are essentially European-created fictions, drawn without regard to actual territorial boundaries. Lastly, I cannot recommend highly enough the incredible documentary short "My Brother's Keeper," published by The Guardian, here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-.... It depicts the surprisingly beautiful reunion of Slahi and one of the guards from his Guantánamo ordeal, with an astonishing twist.
Peace be to all.
For those of you who don't know, Slahi survived 14 years of imprisonment, including several years of torture, at the hands of the U.S. military without ever being charged for a crime. He was finally released in 2016 to return home to Mauritania, but to this day, he is not allowed to travel outside his own country. Slahi told the horrifying story of his experiences at the U.S. Guantánamo Bay detention facility in the Guantánamo Diary, a story now represented on the big screen in the Golden-Globe winning film, The Mauritanian.
Given that history, it seems unfathomable that Slahi could author a story as fundamentally warm and loving as The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga. Yet fathom it we must, because author it he did.
Among many, many other things, this book represents something of an extended meditation on the wonders, dangers and lessons of a nomadic desert life. By bringing us deep inside the mind of Ahmed, a camel herder on a quest to retrieve a stray, Slahi provides a fascinating, philosophical and at times very humorous introduction to traditional Bedouin life. His weaving together of an essentially linear narrative with reflections on Islamic beliefs and practices, along with general, stream-of-consciousness daydreaming is unlike anything else I have ever read.
Without ever getting heavy-handed, Slahi removes the veil (so to speak) that shrouds Islam in mystery from the perspective of Western eyes. Like all cultural traditions, Islam is far from monolithic, and this story highlights the uniqueness of a particular West African brand of the religion in which, among other things, the faithful dream of the Hajj but take a "Who can be bothered?" attitude toward it in the end. After all, there are camels to tend, and so, so much desert between Mauritania and Mecca.
Ahmed's vast mind also offers us a subtly powerful, everyman's view of European colonialism. His interwoven feelings of resentment, annoyance, distrust, disgust, and at times grudging respect for his land's French authorities provide a better education than many academic treatises on post-colonization African history.
Full disclosure, I didn't absolutely love everything about this book. There is one particular passage, essentially the high-drama, action-packed part of the story, that does not resonate with me the way so much of the story does. There are a variety of reasons why I feel this way, some of them complicated. On the simplest level, the passage involved the introduction of "bad guys." I do not think the story needs that element. For me, the Sahara, with its infinite indifference to any human's survival or demise, provides all the menace that Ahmed's Odyssey requires to be intensely compelling. Then again, I am from a land where it's hard to travel 10 miles in a straight line without running into a fresh water source. I imagine that most Mauritanians would find a solitary desert struggle without human villains rather bland.
In any case, my feelings about that particular passage definitely do not diminish my overarching belief that Slahi has given the world an extraordinary gift in this book. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone seeking to broaden their understanding of the world, or just wishing to embark on an exotic adventure.
Fundamentally, Ahmed sees life as a game of rolling with the punches, and views with suspicion anyone who thinks they can control the outcome. Hence his aversion to wealth and deep trust of those who live humbly, trying their best to keep their teacups clean, a futile undertaking for tent dwellers. Above all, he is simply a man who loves his camels, and willingly risks his life to bring one home.
----
In addition to Guantánamo Diary and The Mauritanian, I would suggest a few other companion experiences for this book. If you have access to CuriosityStream, check out the Mauritania episode of On the Rails. It provides vibrant context for Ahmed's obsession with tea and the ritualistic Bedouin small talk that figures prominently in Ahmed and Zarga. You might also want to familiarize yourself with some West African geography before reading the book, especially the relative positions of Mauritania, Senegal, and Morocco, and the traditional realms of Wolof culture and the Berber language. As Ahmed reminds us, African national borders are essentially European-created fictions, drawn without regard to actual territorial boundaries. Lastly, I cannot recommend highly enough the incredible documentary short "My Brother's Keeper," published by The Guardian, here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-.... It depicts the surprisingly beautiful reunion of Slahi and one of the guards from his Guantánamo ordeal, with an astonishing twist.
Peace be to all.
April 12, 2021
I first saw this book was coming out sometime last year and knew I hadn't read anything for Mauritania, and jumped at the chance. The author is the son of a Mauritian camel herder, but also the author of a memoir about his time held at Guantanamo Bay without being charged, until 2016 (Guantánamo Diary: Restored Edition.)
This tale feels more like a fable or parable. Ahmed goes after a missing camel that may have been stolen or just gotten lost. Along the way the reader learns a lot about Bedouin culture - the difference family groups, hospitality practices, how Islamic beliefs are wrapped into their traditions, and the ins and outs of camels. Ahmed talks about the camels by name so I got confused a few times, confusing camels with people.
Also in a weird pattern I've found in my 2021 reading - this is the third book I've read with random cannibalism. Not central to the story.
This book has connections to another book I've read recently - although I'm a different continent I felt some striking similarities between the difficulty of life in a hot desert to the Winter Pasture: One Woman's Journey with China's Kazakh Herders book with herding families in Kazakhstan. One of the threats to both ways of life is modernization of the world around them, whether that results in fewer people to trade with or climate change. Sometimes you really need that oasis in the desert.
I had a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss. It came out February 23, 2021.
This tale feels more like a fable or parable. Ahmed goes after a missing camel that may have been stolen or just gotten lost. Along the way the reader learns a lot about Bedouin culture - the difference family groups, hospitality practices, how Islamic beliefs are wrapped into their traditions, and the ins and outs of camels. Ahmed talks about the camels by name so I got confused a few times, confusing camels with people.
Also in a weird pattern I've found in my 2021 reading - this is the third book I've read with random cannibalism. Not central to the story.
This book has connections to another book I've read recently - although I'm a different continent I felt some striking similarities between the difficulty of life in a hot desert to the Winter Pasture: One Woman's Journey with China's Kazakh Herders book with herding families in Kazakhstan. One of the threats to both ways of life is modernization of the world around them, whether that results in fewer people to trade with or climate change. Sometimes you really need that oasis in the desert.
I had a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss. It came out February 23, 2021.
January 4, 2022
The most charming of saharan Bedouin tall-tale folklore. Spun like the best of oral stories told by a fire in the evening, this novel is tantalizing and almost impossible to put down.
Set sometime in the early 20th century (after the Great War), Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder, from a long line of honorable and righteous camel herders. When his son Abdallahi's favorite camel Zarga goes missing, Ahmed sets off across the Sahel in search of her, as every camel herder would do. In his travels, he encounters demon-possessed snakes, cannibals, jinn, and mirages (fata morgana), but also the always-welcoming tents of other nomads and the undying loyalty of the dignified camels who love & honor him as he loves & honors them. This story is chock-a-block full of the daily applied wisdom Ahmed received from his grandparents and parents, the teachings he committed to memory from the Quran and the Sunnah, the reserved stoicism of Bedouin culture, and the ancient mythology and folklore handed down through Bedouin history.
What a joy to read. And my deepest admiration to Mr. Slahi, for surviving Guantanamo and coming out the other side to write stories of love and hope. Thank you.
Set sometime in the early 20th century (after the Great War), Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder, from a long line of honorable and righteous camel herders. When his son Abdallahi's favorite camel Zarga goes missing, Ahmed sets off across the Sahel in search of her, as every camel herder would do. In his travels, he encounters demon-possessed snakes, cannibals, jinn, and mirages (fata morgana), but also the always-welcoming tents of other nomads and the undying loyalty of the dignified camels who love & honor him as he loves & honors them. This story is chock-a-block full of the daily applied wisdom Ahmed received from his grandparents and parents, the teachings he committed to memory from the Quran and the Sunnah, the reserved stoicism of Bedouin culture, and the ancient mythology and folklore handed down through Bedouin history.
What a joy to read. And my deepest admiration to Mr. Slahi, for surviving Guantanamo and coming out the other side to write stories of love and hope. Thank you.
June 2, 2025
wow i don't think i'll ever love a book about camels as much as i loved this one lol. i really enjoyed how slahi tackled the idea of oral storytelling throughout the book and despite the fact that it is a written text it really does read like a person recounting a story at a family gathering with its structure and its language. it's genuinely insane to think about the fact that he wrote this while he was still imprisoned in guantanamo bay. thinking about this book as a radical reclamation of the bedouin tradition of oral storytelling is only strengthened by thinking abt Slahi's own life but even reading it without that context I still think of the whole book as a way of reclaiming the "truth" as something that is relative and can change/evolve over time, specifically in relation to the way that colonial truth is constituted as never changing and "absolute". reading this with Said's understanding of how discourse is ultimately always shaped by colonial knowledge is also something i would like to go back and reread for. this book was really amazing though and i wish my class wasn't filled with a bunch of annoying white people so i could've actually gotten to discuss all of its complexities in an interesting way lmao.
October 28, 2025
“He was the story itself, the very story he had recounted a million times.”
November 22, 2021
A beautiful read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - from beginning to end. It was as though I was being taken on a journey - to a people, a place, far from my own but also reminding us of the beautiful basics of life - being in tune with nature - with the earth, with animals, being humble enough to know we're no better than the camels. Beautifully written - would recommend it highly. I highlighted too much text - an indication of how much there was I wanted to remember and take away with me. A book I'll carry with me for a long time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - from beginning to end. It was as though I was being taken on a journey - to a people, a place, far from my own but also reminding us of the beautiful basics of life - being in tune with nature - with the earth, with animals, being humble enough to know we're no better than the camels. Beautifully written - would recommend it highly. I highlighted too much text - an indication of how much there was I wanted to remember and take away with me. A book I'll carry with me for a long time.
August 4, 2024
Enchanting story made up of life lessons and spiritual guidance.
Made me appreciate the simplicity of life.
Good for the soul.
Made me appreciate the simplicity of life.
Good for the soul.
February 5, 2022
Enchanting, just like a good campfire story should be. Written so lovingly and simply, you can’t help but be drawn in by the story and lose yourself in the desert with Ahmed, even if you’re thousands of miles away in the snow.
Slahi has a deep knowledge of the Bedouin community from which he originates in Mauritania, which fills the book with poetry, prayers, tribal knowledge, and warnings passed down from Ahmed’s grandmother figure. For those who are familiar with the author’s other interviews and memoirs, you can see hints of his greater philosophy on life and personal near-death experiences woven into the life of Ahmed as he searches for Zarga. I enjoyed every moment of this small book and hope Mr Slahi will write another fiction soon.
Slahi has a deep knowledge of the Bedouin community from which he originates in Mauritania, which fills the book with poetry, prayers, tribal knowledge, and warnings passed down from Ahmed’s grandmother figure. For those who are familiar with the author’s other interviews and memoirs, you can see hints of his greater philosophy on life and personal near-death experiences woven into the life of Ahmed as he searches for Zarga. I enjoyed every moment of this small book and hope Mr Slahi will write another fiction soon.
June 12, 2022
Bedouin tales deserve wide audience. Do yourself a favor and read this one. As other reviewers have said, this nomadic story is told simply and lovingly. It's also full of life lessons and a joy to savor.
October 26, 2021
Very nice and easy read, takes you through a beautiful lives experience of a Bedouin and his search for something lost.
September 12, 2024
*Read for class* hell is a human construction
September 11, 2024
Really interesting first read for my new fav English class!!!
November 4, 2021
Mohamedou Ould Slahi writes The Actual True Story of Ahmed & Zarga, which follows a boy named Ahmed who is on the search for his lost camel, Zarga. Ahmed, a camel herder, has a strong connection to his camels, and when he notices one of them is missing, he goes on a trek to find her. Zarga isn’t just an ordinary camel, she is special because her grandmother showed immense respect to Ahmed’s grandfather when he passed away. Taking Laamesh, another camel, Ahmed travels through the Bedouin desert, encountering Messouda (an evil woman), a poisonous viper, friendly tribes, and not so friendly tribes. Right when he comes face to face with death, his life is saved by a group of men who take him back to their village. These men happen to be part of the same tribe that found Zarga, and he collects her and travels back to his home. Throughout the story, the themes of entrapment and freedom are shown, as Ahmed continues to fall into situations where he is trapped by something or someone. It started out with the poisonous snake, which bit him, forcing him to amputate his own finger. While the venom was inside him, he was trapped by the evil spirit. Not until he removed it by cutting off his finger was he free. Additionally, he came across a demon settlement near the Moroccan border, where a family of cannibals held him, as they planned to feast on him later. In this scenario, he had to physically escape by fighting the family and running away in order to secure his freedom. Another theme I observed in the novel was dreams. After Ahmed recounts a memory about his dead grandfather, he realizes that “he could never tell the difference between his childhood experiences and his dreams” (Slahi 148-9). Since there are so many instances where Ahmed has extravagant dreams in the book, this makes the reader wonder if those were simply dreams or actual events he experienced. They could also be a combination of the two: dreams based off of childhood experiences.
Throughout the novel, Ahmed shares a lot of beliefs he holds due to his upbringing, one being that “he should never show less respect for himself than he would for others, and he should never have secrets, because sooner or later they will show up on his face” (Slahi 42). These words of wisdom dispersed throughout the novel give insight into what Bedouins view as important in their society. After reading this book, I related it to Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, as they both depict the themes of being trapped. Whereas in this book it is the same character (Ahmed) getting trapped each time, in Homegoing, different characters across many generations are trapped. Additionally, I related it to Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions because in both, there are times where the characters view white colonizers as superior. In Nervous Conditions, Tambu thinks white people are better than her because they are more educated and wealthier. Since she wants to be wealthy like them, she does everything she can to get an education, even if it means abandoning her African culture. In The Actual True Story of Ahmed & Zarga, Ahmed states that he only tells the exact number of his camels to Allah, his tribesmen, and the French colonizers. This shows how highly they view the French, as they are on the same level as their God. I thought this book was an interesting read, and it definitely offered lots of insight on Bedouin culture, which I was only semi-familiar with. However, I felt like the plot was pretty slow, as it was just the story of him finding his lost camel. The events that happened throughout connected with the big themes of the book, but I felt like after I finished the book they didn’t mean much. For example, when Ahmed was captured by a family of cannibals, reading about his escape was very entertaining! When I read that, I understood the themes of entrapment and freedom that the author was trying to get across. However, once Ahmed reached home, the only contribution that event had was that it was a part of his famous story. I felt like the book was very predictable in the way that it ended: the boy comes back home safely and is viewed as a hero by everyone. His story is told to all his descendants. He is a hero. It seemed like I was reading a children’s short story rather than a developed novel. Despite the few critiques I had, I do recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Bedouin culture in Africa.
Throughout the novel, Ahmed shares a lot of beliefs he holds due to his upbringing, one being that “he should never show less respect for himself than he would for others, and he should never have secrets, because sooner or later they will show up on his face” (Slahi 42). These words of wisdom dispersed throughout the novel give insight into what Bedouins view as important in their society. After reading this book, I related it to Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, as they both depict the themes of being trapped. Whereas in this book it is the same character (Ahmed) getting trapped each time, in Homegoing, different characters across many generations are trapped. Additionally, I related it to Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions because in both, there are times where the characters view white colonizers as superior. In Nervous Conditions, Tambu thinks white people are better than her because they are more educated and wealthier. Since she wants to be wealthy like them, she does everything she can to get an education, even if it means abandoning her African culture. In The Actual True Story of Ahmed & Zarga, Ahmed states that he only tells the exact number of his camels to Allah, his tribesmen, and the French colonizers. This shows how highly they view the French, as they are on the same level as their God. I thought this book was an interesting read, and it definitely offered lots of insight on Bedouin culture, which I was only semi-familiar with. However, I felt like the plot was pretty slow, as it was just the story of him finding his lost camel. The events that happened throughout connected with the big themes of the book, but I felt like after I finished the book they didn’t mean much. For example, when Ahmed was captured by a family of cannibals, reading about his escape was very entertaining! When I read that, I understood the themes of entrapment and freedom that the author was trying to get across. However, once Ahmed reached home, the only contribution that event had was that it was a part of his famous story. I felt like the book was very predictable in the way that it ended: the boy comes back home safely and is viewed as a hero by everyone. His story is told to all his descendants. He is a hero. It seemed like I was reading a children’s short story rather than a developed novel. Despite the few critiques I had, I do recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Bedouin culture in Africa.
October 28, 2021
I probably would give this closer to a four star. There were several things I loved about this book.Ahmed’s love for his camel. He left home in search of his lost camel and encountered some dangerous situations. Meanwhile it was his camel he was traveling with while in search of his other camel that truly saved his life. When he nearly perished from lack of water he couldn’t consider killing his camel for food or water. Basically this story to me speaks of loyalty for family and his animals.
August 20, 2022
Beautiful story about a beduin and his lost camel. Poetical and imaginative, I don't want to sound biased, but my book has been signed and dedicated to me by Mohamedou.
August 21, 2022
"But Ahmed was impatient; he wanted his son to possess the wisdom of a forty-year-old, the age of maturity, when wisdom surpasses strength."
April 27, 2024
It’s a short book—150 pages or so—but somehow is tedious and slogging. The language is pseudo-antiquated and grating to parse through and the narrator uses a great many paragraphs to say absolutely nothing because he’s under the mistaken impression that this is somehow charming. The approach of the book was to write it in the most pedantic, costume-set, high-school-play manner possible, and ironically while the writer actually has authentic experiences he makes the book seem so inauthentic and performative through his incessant need to hammer the reader with THIS IS AUTHENTIC, THIS IS FOLK, LOOK HOW AUTHENTIC THIS IS! It’s like the book version of a Disney themepark ride, but somehow even worse because it was written by someone actually a part of this culture, so the end result is mystifying and cloying. An editor should have stepped in, because from the first page it was a rambling mess of buffoonery. And all of this is just regarding the style! The story could have been perfectly fine and enjoyable, but the writing choices sunk the ship before it even left port. The author wants to get through to you just how authentically Arab he is, and the way in which he does this produces a novel with a less insightful, empathetic, or authentic experience than Disney’s Aladdin could provide. I want to say it’s so stereotypical that it’s insulting and borderline racist, but the author himself is Arab. What do I even do with this?
Overall it’s just unpleasant, repetitive, and insufferable. They could have written an enjoyable story but the author was dead set on sticking to the worst stylistic choices he could have made, so the end result is shallow and obnoxious. The style is so cartoonish it should belong in only a children’s book. I want to read it, but I just can’t get past the style choices because you have to churn through a page’s worth of exclamation, winding rambles, and reveration of God before you find the one sentence hidden somewhere where something actually happens, a stylistic choice that hasn’t been seen since the 1500s. And it’s certainly not for children, because someone dies a gruesome death in the first chapter, so you get shell-shock from the discordance between the style and the content. It’s tone-deaf.
This is one of those books published based on who wrote it and not for the merits of the book itself.
Overall it’s just unpleasant, repetitive, and insufferable. They could have written an enjoyable story but the author was dead set on sticking to the worst stylistic choices he could have made, so the end result is shallow and obnoxious. The style is so cartoonish it should belong in only a children’s book. I want to read it, but I just can’t get past the style choices because you have to churn through a page’s worth of exclamation, winding rambles, and reveration of God before you find the one sentence hidden somewhere where something actually happens, a stylistic choice that hasn’t been seen since the 1500s. And it’s certainly not for children, because someone dies a gruesome death in the first chapter, so you get shell-shock from the discordance between the style and the content. It’s tone-deaf.
This is one of those books published based on who wrote it and not for the merits of the book itself.
January 26, 2023
This was my read the world selection for Mauritania.
Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder, just as his father was before him and his son Abdullahi will be after him. Ahmed has great love for his family, his camels and his tribe so when Zarga, one of his beloved young camels goes missing in the Sahara Desert, Ahmed sets off with his trusty camel Laamesh to find her and bring her back to the rest of her herd.
This is not an easy task though, as the landscape is very unforgiving and hostile with desert winds that cover tracks, little water and shelter, and sand dunes as far as the eye can see.
If you’ve ever dreamed about setting off on an adventure in the sand dunes of Mauritania (or anywhere for that matter) on a camel, this is most definitely your book! Even if you haven’t, you should still put this book to your to-read list, as it’s just so good, so interesting and so different to most other books you will generally read.
This story has so much information about Bedouin beliefs, customs and way of life it’s really quite fascinating. Even if that doesn’t take your fancy, surely interesting tidbits about camels will?! 🐪🐫
I do have to say the long detailed parts about Ahmed’s dreams got a bit tedious, but that aside I found this book informative, interesting and quite beautiful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
Ahmed is a Bedouin camel herder, just as his father was before him and his son Abdullahi will be after him. Ahmed has great love for his family, his camels and his tribe so when Zarga, one of his beloved young camels goes missing in the Sahara Desert, Ahmed sets off with his trusty camel Laamesh to find her and bring her back to the rest of her herd.
This is not an easy task though, as the landscape is very unforgiving and hostile with desert winds that cover tracks, little water and shelter, and sand dunes as far as the eye can see.
If you’ve ever dreamed about setting off on an adventure in the sand dunes of Mauritania (or anywhere for that matter) on a camel, this is most definitely your book! Even if you haven’t, you should still put this book to your to-read list, as it’s just so good, so interesting and so different to most other books you will generally read.
This story has so much information about Bedouin beliefs, customs and way of life it’s really quite fascinating. Even if that doesn’t take your fancy, surely interesting tidbits about camels will?! 🐪🐫
I do have to say the long detailed parts about Ahmed’s dreams got a bit tedious, but that aside I found this book informative, interesting and quite beautiful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
July 29, 2022
This was a simply written good story. I think if the novel was shorter or if it was longer, it would have been more successful. As it stands certain points almost felt boring in the detail they gave without emotional depth or artfully crafted descriptions. However the story itself is exciting and solid. Therefore, I think a shorter and more straightforward telling of the story would have worked better. As would a longer version, where the camels are anthropomorphised and given more space in the story. Despite this, I enjoyed the story.
May 9, 2024
Highly spiritual and shockingly gruesome. The spirituality grew on me by the end, but I tired of the dream sequences. Very different perspective and worldview from my own, glad I read it.
I did love this quote:
"Only foreigners respect grammar; if one speaks a language properly, it's conclusive proof that it isn't his mother tongue. Those who eat up the words and butcher the grammar are obviously the native speakers."
I did love this quote:
"Only foreigners respect grammar; if one speaks a language properly, it's conclusive proof that it isn't his mother tongue. Those who eat up the words and butcher the grammar are obviously the native speakers."
December 4, 2021
2.5
Interesting to see a culture I’m familiar with! But even though I do enjoy character based books with not much plot, this didn��t really go anywhere for me.
It was meant to show his significant relationship with his camel that he lost but I didn’t get that at all. Just thought he was desperate to find her and along the way, some significant things happen to him.
Interesting to see a culture I’m familiar with! But even though I do enjoy character based books with not much plot, this didn��t really go anywhere for me.
It was meant to show his significant relationship with his camel that he lost but I didn’t get that at all. Just thought he was desperate to find her and along the way, some significant things happen to him.
January 28, 2025
It took me a little while to get used to the writing style. I also wasn't very familiar with the culture of the Bedouin and the Islamic faith. I feel like I learned a lot and the story was interesting. I also learned more about camels from a herder's perspective than I ever thought I would. Overall, I think this is a book that deserves more attention.
October 9, 2023
This was so ... different, I am not even sure I can put it in magical realism. Be ready to be completely immersed in the beduin way of thinking where everything is a mix of magic, religion and culture.
June 21, 2023
It gives you a glimpse of another culture and life style. Dreamy setting.
October 30, 2023
What a beautiful read… heart warming. Funny (so many one liners), and just a wonderful tale. Even scary at times. Love to see my dear friend create such a captivating novel.
August 31, 2025
This simple story taught me a ton about Bedouin culture and values. One of the most recurring themes was that of courtesy to guests that was extended to the main character
November 23, 2025
3.5 stars
December 22, 2025
i could have done without the dream sequences, but it is impossible for me not to love all the camel content 🐪🐪🐪 ❤️
November 5, 2024
What a pure, heart-warming book!
Encapsulating the purest and best of human heart in its ~180 pages, The actual true story of Ahmed and Zarga will live in my heart as an exemplar of what it really means to live a life close to the land and rooted in faith (the correct kind of faith - positive, affirming, internal; not imposing, deprecating, self-important).
Ahmed, our unlikely hero, is a simple Bedouin herder, living in a corner of the Western Saharan desert in Mauritania. Ahmed lives a modest life – camels, family, the Bedouin community, the desert, and Islam being the only ingredients in the mix. The desert provides, the community supports, the camels anchor the community to the desert, teachings of Prophet Mohamed shape the community norms and provide the core of value system Ahmed lives by. One morning, Ahmed wakes up and finds one of his camels (who are allowed to freely roam and forage in the desert) missing. Camels are like children to a Bedouin, so of course, Ahmed decides to journey through the desert to find her. Ahmed saddles up his trusted steed Laamesh, and embarks on what he assumes to be a short journey. (As a side note, Ahmed captured my heart right in the beginning of the book when he talked about camels – about their free will, individuality, pure love, and the relationship of equals Bedouins have with their camels. He muses at some point in the book: “Why do so many people think they are better than camels?” I have asked myself this very same question about humans, in the context of dogs.)
As Ahmed journeys through the desert, what unveils is a beautiful world of the desert and the Bedouins who call it home. Things don’t go as planned, and Ahmed’s short journey, slowly but surely, turns into a long, deadly adventure.
The pace is slow. The beauty of this book is not in the story itself, but in the intimate look it provides into Bedouin life and culture. Reading this book, I had a pleasant glow in my heart the whole time. The radiance exuded from it felt like sweet, calming moonlight – not fierce or forceful, just soothingly present, pleasant, permeant.
It is remarkable that this story came from a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and a self-admitted former member of Al-Qaeda. I wonder if embracing and then discarding a fire-brand version of Islam allowed Mohamedou Ould Slahi to return to its core teaching of love in a very deep, personal manner - he presents this core so charmingly in the book. I hope the US government allows Slahi access to the manuscripts of the four books he presumably wrote in prison, because I will be reading everything this man has written/ ever will write.
Reading context: Reading the world choice for Mauritania
Read as: Original work in English
Book format: Physical book, borrowed from the Stanford libraries
Encapsulating the purest and best of human heart in its ~180 pages, The actual true story of Ahmed and Zarga will live in my heart as an exemplar of what it really means to live a life close to the land and rooted in faith (the correct kind of faith - positive, affirming, internal; not imposing, deprecating, self-important).
Ahmed, our unlikely hero, is a simple Bedouin herder, living in a corner of the Western Saharan desert in Mauritania. Ahmed lives a modest life – camels, family, the Bedouin community, the desert, and Islam being the only ingredients in the mix. The desert provides, the community supports, the camels anchor the community to the desert, teachings of Prophet Mohamed shape the community norms and provide the core of value system Ahmed lives by. One morning, Ahmed wakes up and finds one of his camels (who are allowed to freely roam and forage in the desert) missing. Camels are like children to a Bedouin, so of course, Ahmed decides to journey through the desert to find her. Ahmed saddles up his trusted steed Laamesh, and embarks on what he assumes to be a short journey. (As a side note, Ahmed captured my heart right in the beginning of the book when he talked about camels – about their free will, individuality, pure love, and the relationship of equals Bedouins have with their camels. He muses at some point in the book: “Why do so many people think they are better than camels?” I have asked myself this very same question about humans, in the context of dogs.)
As Ahmed journeys through the desert, what unveils is a beautiful world of the desert and the Bedouins who call it home. Things don’t go as planned, and Ahmed’s short journey, slowly but surely, turns into a long, deadly adventure.
The pace is slow. The beauty of this book is not in the story itself, but in the intimate look it provides into Bedouin life and culture. Reading this book, I had a pleasant glow in my heart the whole time. The radiance exuded from it felt like sweet, calming moonlight – not fierce or forceful, just soothingly present, pleasant, permeant.
It is remarkable that this story came from a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and a self-admitted former member of Al-Qaeda. I wonder if embracing and then discarding a fire-brand version of Islam allowed Mohamedou Ould Slahi to return to its core teaching of love in a very deep, personal manner - he presents this core so charmingly in the book. I hope the US government allows Slahi access to the manuscripts of the four books he presumably wrote in prison, because I will be reading everything this man has written/ ever will write.
Reading context: Reading the world choice for Mauritania
Read as: Original work in English
Book format: Physical book, borrowed from the Stanford libraries
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