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Donkey Heart Monkey Mind
The young Berber narrator of Donkey Heart Monkey Mind has to learn the kind of perseverance and ingenuity it takes to survive in 1980s Algeria, where his people are second-class citizens in a third world country.
His tale opens when police brutally beat him for participating in a protest march. Knowing that he must leave his own country or suffer this kind of treatment forever, he begins wandering Europe and northern Africa, desperately seeking some alternative. He tries his hand as a street vendor and a pickpocket, is mistaken for a drug smuggler and an Egyptian spy, and poses as a Jew to sneak into Israel and as a devout Muslim to escape notice in a prison cell in Egypt.
But he is eventually swept up in the wave of arrests following the “Black October” Algerian political riots of 1988. Drugged and shipped to a remote military prison, for months he is burned, brutalized, and held in solitary confinement. But in the end, his tale gives evidence that even in the most desperate circumstances sometimes hope is found, help is offered, and inspiration strikes.
His tale opens when police brutally beat him for participating in a protest march. Knowing that he must leave his own country or suffer this kind of treatment forever, he begins wandering Europe and northern Africa, desperately seeking some alternative. He tries his hand as a street vendor and a pickpocket, is mistaken for a drug smuggler and an Egyptian spy, and poses as a Jew to sneak into Israel and as a devout Muslim to escape notice in a prison cell in Egypt.
But he is eventually swept up in the wave of arrests following the “Black October” Algerian political riots of 1988. Drugged and shipped to a remote military prison, for months he is burned, brutalized, and held in solitary confinement. But in the end, his tale gives evidence that even in the most desperate circumstances sometimes hope is found, help is offered, and inspiration strikes.
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 28, 2012
Arabs are to my generation what Germans were to my grandparents generation: an ethnic group, regrettably lumped whole under the classification "bad guys," because of the misdeeds of some unscrupulous elements within their ranks. Unfortunately, this book does little to counterpoise that mind-set. In his autobiographic account, Djaffar Chetouane relates the tale of his restless 1980s young adulthood, as he pilfers, cheats and cons his way around North Africa, Europe, Israel, New York and Canada, in order to escape the boredom and restricted prospects he envisions for himself in his home country of Algeria. Justifying his actions with the self-serving "me first" ethos that he says is endemic to his people, he leads us through his illicit travels, his imprisonment and torture in a remote military prison and his escape into the Sahara desert, where he his granted providence beyond his due that ultimately saves his life, but also gives him the opportunity to swindle his way into the United States. Chetouane paints himself as a courageous and persevering hero. I'm not convinced. Heroism is for those who persevere and succeed WITHOUT resorting to fraud and crime. He's lucky I wasn't in charge of evaluating his citizenship application. I would have sent him home.
May 2, 2013
Commentaires et impressions sur ma lecture du Roman de Djaffar Chetouane : «Donkey Heart Monkey Mind ».
Quand on lit le roman « Donkey Heart Monkey Mind » de Djaffar Chetouane, juste après les premières pages, on a l’impression de lire Tom Sawyer de Mark Twain. Ce tom Sawyer des temps modernes est affamé de paix et assoiffé de liberté. On le retrouve aussi dans les aventures de Sindbad le marin, dans les voyages d’Ulysse, dans ceux de Marco Polo, dans les entreprises hasardeuses de l’explorateur René Caillé. Cet intrépide nouveau Léon l’Africain n’a jamais reculé devant le danger . Cet esprit d’errance et de vagabondage tel celui d’Ibn Batouta, on le retrouve aussi dans les pérégrinations de David Copperfield.
Notre Djaffar a écrit son livre, certes sans un plan général, mais en usant du tact bien inspiré. D’ailleurs en le lisant, on se rend compte vite de son don de narrateur omniscient. Ici, il l’a si bien démontré, si remarquablement manifesté, dignement et modestement porté à la perfection grâce à l’usage de la simplicité. Cependant, Il est vrai que, doit-on préciser dans cette attrayante biographie, « sous la fiction se cache quelque chose de la vie de l'auteur », son livre ressemble étonnamment à l’incroyable histoire « The Long Walk » de Slawomir Rawicz.
DJaffar, héros et narrateur, reste sans malice, confiant et naïf, bien qu'ayant souffert de la cruauté des adultes pendant son enfance et son adolescence. C'est un personnage honnête (malgré le fait qu’il s’est servi sans autorisation aucune dans diverses bourses de gens malheureux que le hasard et le destin ont mis sur son chemin, mais il n’a jamais cessé de demander pardon à travers ses pages) et sympathique, idéaliste et impulsif, mais il est loin d'être parfait, se montrant à l'occasion plutôt complètement incongru en prenant souvent des risques tellement inconsidérés que même quelque peu non pondéré qu’il a failli mettre en péril tout son projet pour ne pas dire simplement sa propre survie
Djaffar, cet adolescent n’a pas connu d’enfance de tout repos. Fils d’une famille nombreuse, souvent rebelle mais point méchant, après une scolarité tumultueuse dans laquelle il ne se reconnait pas et il ne se retrouve pas, a voulu comme un papillon, visiter le monde, aller de pays en pays, cherchant la terre promise ou il va jeter l’ancre. Il est comme ce papillon de printemps pour lequel le temps est limité, volant de fleurs en fleurs, voulant tout voir et tout gouter, voulant tout tenter, voulant tout connaître et tout essayer et expérimenter. Emerveillé par l’Europe et fasciné par l’Amérique, il a vécu une adolescence avec beaucoup d’effervescences, toujours en mouvement comme un électron dans le sillage de l’atome. Il fait preuve de beaucoup de courage et fait tout son possible pour se consoler de ses peines alors que lui-même parfois se sent totalement terrorisé, sombrant dans du pessimisme sans fond. Mais sa flamme renaît toujours de ses cendres tel le phénix, et on le retrouve redémarré et y aller de l’avant de plus belle vers l’avenir et souvent dans l’inconnu.
Ce sont là les aspects du personnage qui ont donné de lui une image convenue d'un garçon généreux, anti-conformiste, courageux et libre. Tout comme Tom Sawyer représente ainsi aux yeux du public un certain idéal de l'enfant américain par ses qualités d'intelligence et de cœur, Djaffar symbolise ce garçon kabyle que n’arrête nulle frontière ni ne décourage nul lendemain. En lisant son livre, quelqu’un pourra facilement comprendre ce qu’est le rêve américain car en un mot, à son tour, il vient de lancer le rêve Kabyle. Si à travers ses péripéties, Djaffar a perturbé le quotidien de pas mal de gens, son ambition, sa rébellion, son audace et même parfois son insouciance vis à vis de la bonne conduite ont fait qu’au bout de son voyage, il a réussi ce qu’il a entrepris, avec beaucoup de sacrifices mais avec beaucoup de ténacité et de persévérance : il a atteint la terre qu’il s’est promise : Les Etats Unis d’Amérique ou il rencontra paix, calme et sérénité, ou il est bien intégré.
Rabah TABTI, Maître Assistant en Linguistique Amazigh, Département de Langue et Culture Amazighs, Faculté des Lettres, Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi-Ouzou, Kabylie, Algérie.
Email : tabti_rabah@yahoo.fr
Quand on lit le roman « Donkey Heart Monkey Mind » de Djaffar Chetouane, juste après les premières pages, on a l’impression de lire Tom Sawyer de Mark Twain. Ce tom Sawyer des temps modernes est affamé de paix et assoiffé de liberté. On le retrouve aussi dans les aventures de Sindbad le marin, dans les voyages d’Ulysse, dans ceux de Marco Polo, dans les entreprises hasardeuses de l’explorateur René Caillé. Cet intrépide nouveau Léon l’Africain n’a jamais reculé devant le danger . Cet esprit d’errance et de vagabondage tel celui d’Ibn Batouta, on le retrouve aussi dans les pérégrinations de David Copperfield.
Notre Djaffar a écrit son livre, certes sans un plan général, mais en usant du tact bien inspiré. D’ailleurs en le lisant, on se rend compte vite de son don de narrateur omniscient. Ici, il l’a si bien démontré, si remarquablement manifesté, dignement et modestement porté à la perfection grâce à l’usage de la simplicité. Cependant, Il est vrai que, doit-on préciser dans cette attrayante biographie, « sous la fiction se cache quelque chose de la vie de l'auteur », son livre ressemble étonnamment à l’incroyable histoire « The Long Walk » de Slawomir Rawicz.
DJaffar, héros et narrateur, reste sans malice, confiant et naïf, bien qu'ayant souffert de la cruauté des adultes pendant son enfance et son adolescence. C'est un personnage honnête (malgré le fait qu’il s’est servi sans autorisation aucune dans diverses bourses de gens malheureux que le hasard et le destin ont mis sur son chemin, mais il n’a jamais cessé de demander pardon à travers ses pages) et sympathique, idéaliste et impulsif, mais il est loin d'être parfait, se montrant à l'occasion plutôt complètement incongru en prenant souvent des risques tellement inconsidérés que même quelque peu non pondéré qu’il a failli mettre en péril tout son projet pour ne pas dire simplement sa propre survie
Djaffar, cet adolescent n’a pas connu d’enfance de tout repos. Fils d’une famille nombreuse, souvent rebelle mais point méchant, après une scolarité tumultueuse dans laquelle il ne se reconnait pas et il ne se retrouve pas, a voulu comme un papillon, visiter le monde, aller de pays en pays, cherchant la terre promise ou il va jeter l’ancre. Il est comme ce papillon de printemps pour lequel le temps est limité, volant de fleurs en fleurs, voulant tout voir et tout gouter, voulant tout tenter, voulant tout connaître et tout essayer et expérimenter. Emerveillé par l’Europe et fasciné par l’Amérique, il a vécu une adolescence avec beaucoup d’effervescences, toujours en mouvement comme un électron dans le sillage de l’atome. Il fait preuve de beaucoup de courage et fait tout son possible pour se consoler de ses peines alors que lui-même parfois se sent totalement terrorisé, sombrant dans du pessimisme sans fond. Mais sa flamme renaît toujours de ses cendres tel le phénix, et on le retrouve redémarré et y aller de l’avant de plus belle vers l’avenir et souvent dans l’inconnu.
Ce sont là les aspects du personnage qui ont donné de lui une image convenue d'un garçon généreux, anti-conformiste, courageux et libre. Tout comme Tom Sawyer représente ainsi aux yeux du public un certain idéal de l'enfant américain par ses qualités d'intelligence et de cœur, Djaffar symbolise ce garçon kabyle que n’arrête nulle frontière ni ne décourage nul lendemain. En lisant son livre, quelqu’un pourra facilement comprendre ce qu’est le rêve américain car en un mot, à son tour, il vient de lancer le rêve Kabyle. Si à travers ses péripéties, Djaffar a perturbé le quotidien de pas mal de gens, son ambition, sa rébellion, son audace et même parfois son insouciance vis à vis de la bonne conduite ont fait qu’au bout de son voyage, il a réussi ce qu’il a entrepris, avec beaucoup de sacrifices mais avec beaucoup de ténacité et de persévérance : il a atteint la terre qu’il s’est promise : Les Etats Unis d’Amérique ou il rencontra paix, calme et sérénité, ou il est bien intégré.
Rabah TABTI, Maître Assistant en Linguistique Amazigh, Département de Langue et Culture Amazighs, Faculté des Lettres, Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi-Ouzou, Kabylie, Algérie.
Email : tabti_rabah@yahoo.fr
January 27, 2013
What a riveting story of adventure and survival! I had seen the author in my neighborhood for years. A couple of weeks ago he was selling his book down on Lakeshore, so I bought a copy and he autographed it. I just finished reading it in a couple of days. I couldn't put it down. It's a fascinating autobiographical novel about growing up as a Berber minority in Algeria, trying to escape the limited prospects there, traveling through four continents as an undocumented youth and surviving a brutal political imprisonment. I highly recommend this book. The narrator committed some unethical acts in his travels, but he also survived many mishaps and horrible brutality. He was lucky to survive and lucky to meet some very kind people in his travels.
March 25, 2011
This was the kind of book that you didnt want to end. It is such a beautiful story of the human condition and what one can survive. This story combines comedy and human drama with a historical and political background that is so poignant to what is going on today in North Africa and the Middle East. Everyone should read this book as each will take away a little something different.
January 4, 2013
While out with friends the author came up to us and asked a friend if she was under a certain age. He said he had a bet with a friend for a drink over it. After she answered and he won his bet my friend asked if she got the drink for being the reason he one. He said no & vanished then reappeared with a copy of his book as her reward.
The book is terrible but we got a good story out of it.
The book is terrible but we got a good story out of it.
January 14, 2014
I have bought this book from the author and paid via Paypal. Unfortunately I have never received the book. I have communicated with the author via email. He answered, at first, saying I should receive the book shortly but then just ignored my emails. It has been more than six months since I paid for the book and still have not received it.
March 18, 2013
I enjoyed this incredible tale of a young man from Algeria. The writing is well paced and his experiences are extrordinary. A note of caution there are parts of this book that have graphic descriptions of torture that are not for the faint hearted. Overall an inspiring story of indomitabe will.
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May 9, 2017We did a fundraiser for KPFA based on the book and had Djaffar, the author in for a live interview and managed to raise $1500. The book speaks for itself. You won't be able to put it down.
November 26, 2013
Surprising good!
July 31, 2014
Universal story of courage and survival, Djaffar's tale is not only a HUGE message of HOPE but it tells all the readers :
"Go and reach your dreams and beyond your dreams ! A bright sun waits for you there !"
Though going through hurdles and deprived from his freedom a number of times, beaten and tortured in his home country, the author finds hope in the love and the words of wisdom of his grandmother
"Why do you need television when you have a fire to look at ?"
Djaffar has a beautiful fire burning inside him and illuminating the people around.
Djaffar crosses 20 countries and searches for a new life out of the violence he is facing as a 'second-class citizen in a third world country'.
After incredible adventures and fighting for each of his days, he comes back to his family in 'Black October', 1988. After marches he is not taking part in, he is swept up in a massive wave of arrests, drugged and shipped to a remote military prison in the south of Sahara.
Burned, brutalized, held in solitary confinement and his memories washed, he escapes for his life and incredibly survives until he lands in Chicago, 39 days later !
Djaffar now is an American citizen, living in the USA for 25 years and a brilliant citizen of the earth.
I have met Djaffar : He now is a brilliant Mathematics teacher in California as well as an English Professor in Tizi-Ouzou University and an international Hope, inspiring and TED-X lecturer.
And Djaffar gives an incredible strength to his students, readers and listeners.
Donkey Heart Monkey Mind will give you this unique strength and great smiles !
I couldn't stop reading the book until the end. Read it in a night !
"Go and reach your dreams and beyond your dreams ! A bright sun waits for you there !"
Though going through hurdles and deprived from his freedom a number of times, beaten and tortured in his home country, the author finds hope in the love and the words of wisdom of his grandmother
"Why do you need television when you have a fire to look at ?"
Djaffar has a beautiful fire burning inside him and illuminating the people around.
Djaffar crosses 20 countries and searches for a new life out of the violence he is facing as a 'second-class citizen in a third world country'.
After incredible adventures and fighting for each of his days, he comes back to his family in 'Black October', 1988. After marches he is not taking part in, he is swept up in a massive wave of arrests, drugged and shipped to a remote military prison in the south of Sahara.
Burned, brutalized, held in solitary confinement and his memories washed, he escapes for his life and incredibly survives until he lands in Chicago, 39 days later !
Djaffar now is an American citizen, living in the USA for 25 years and a brilliant citizen of the earth.
I have met Djaffar : He now is a brilliant Mathematics teacher in California as well as an English Professor in Tizi-Ouzou University and an international Hope, inspiring and TED-X lecturer.
And Djaffar gives an incredible strength to his students, readers and listeners.
Donkey Heart Monkey Mind will give you this unique strength and great smiles !
I couldn't stop reading the book until the end. Read it in a night !
September 1, 2013
This book tells tale of young man whose dream is to escape the oppression, political upheavals, and poverty of Algeria. The main character Jafar is one that is hard not to fall in love with despite the fact he steals,cheats and lies. The young man endures the cruelty of his father growing up,racial adversities being a Berber, beatings from the government along with poverty in a country torn apart. It is a book that will make you thankful for living in a democratic society for sure but also gives hope to all who stick to thier dreams despite all odds.
April 26, 2014
A fascinating story of a young Algerian man of erber descent who gets caught up
in the oppressive regime in Algeria..he is imprisoned and tortured and has amazing escapes
to Europe on many life occasions before ultimately ending up in the US where he settles.
During his life he experiences both extreme cruelty and kindness,,it is the latter that he
channels in his life . While good read, I thought the author could have added to the tale
by integrating more history and politics in the book.
in the oppressive regime in Algeria..he is imprisoned and tortured and has amazing escapes
to Europe on many life occasions before ultimately ending up in the US where he settles.
During his life he experiences both extreme cruelty and kindness,,it is the latter that he
channels in his life . While good read, I thought the author could have added to the tale
by integrating more history and politics in the book.
February 15, 2015
Djaffar Chetouane is NOT who he says he is, and www.donkeyheartfraud.com is dedicated to exposing the narcissistic sociopath, pathological liar and serial thief DJAFFAR CHETOUANE, a lifetime COWARD, FRAUDSTER, SWINDLER, THIEF, EMBEZZLER, COPYRIGHT PIRATE and PROLIFIC LIAR who has stolen $250,000 from people in the United States.
An awful truth, Djaffar Chetouane has for sympathy and financial gain told people the LIE that his mother raped him, and swore this on his grandmother’s soul.
An awful truth, Djaffar Chetouane has for sympathy and financial gain told people the LIE that his mother raped him, and swore this on his grandmother’s soul.
March 20, 2012
The Algerian history was interesting, but I could not help but be put off by the constant hyphenation of words in the middle of the line. It was very distracting and disruptive to the flow.
July 28, 2012
sad and extraordinary story of a Berber who escaped a prison in Algeria and moved to the US. a 3.5. I kept wondering if it is true.
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February 25, 2016kindle 167 algeria
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews