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La ecuación de la vida (13/20 nº 657)
La ecuación de la vida es una novela de pérdida y reencuentro a través de experiencias al límite en lugares nunca sospechados, lejos, muy lejos de cualquier zona de confort. Hundido anímicamente en su cómoda casa de Frankfurt, Kurt Kraussman se ve embarcado por su amigo Hans en un viaje en velero rumbo a las islas Comoras, en el océano Índico, en relación con una misión humanitaria. Sin embargo, la travesía se verá bruscamente interrumpida y derivada hacia una aventura marcada por las penurias, el miedo, la violencia y situaciones al filo de la vida y la muerte, en medio de las cuales, en el lugar más inesperado, se abrirá una rendija de luz que acabará triunfando.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
58 people are currently reading
1584 people want to read
About the author
Yasmina Khadra
62 books1,840 followersYasmina Khadra (Arabic: ياسمينة خضراء, literally "green jasmine") is the pen name of the Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul.
Moulessehoul, an officer in the Algerian army, adopted a woman's pseudonym to avoid military censorship. Despite the publication of many successful novels in Algeria, Moulessehoul only revealed his true identity in 2001 after leaving the army and going into exile and seclusion in France. Anonymity was the only way for him to survive and avoid censorship during the Algerian Civil War.
In 2004, Newsweek acclaimed him as "one of the rare writers capable of giving a meaning to the violence in Algeria today."
His novel The Swallows of Kabul, set in Afghanistan under the Taliban, was shortlisted for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. L'Attentat won the Prix des libraires in 2006, a prize chosen by about five thousand bookstores in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada.
Khadra pledges for becoming acquainted with the view of the others. In an interview with the German radio SWR1 in 2006, he said “The West interprets the world as he likes it. He develops certain theories that fit into its world outlook, but do not always represent the reality. Being a Muslim, I suggest a new perspective on Afghanistan, on the religious fanaticism and the, how I call it - religiopathy. My novel, the The Swallows of Kabul, gives the readers in the West a chance to understand the core of a problem that he usually only touches on the surface. Because the fanaticism is a threat for all, I contribute to the understanding of the causes and backgrounds. Perhaps then it will be possible to find a way to bring it under control.”
Moulessehoul, an officer in the Algerian army, adopted a woman's pseudonym to avoid military censorship. Despite the publication of many successful novels in Algeria, Moulessehoul only revealed his true identity in 2001 after leaving the army and going into exile and seclusion in France. Anonymity was the only way for him to survive and avoid censorship during the Algerian Civil War.
In 2004, Newsweek acclaimed him as "one of the rare writers capable of giving a meaning to the violence in Algeria today."
His novel The Swallows of Kabul, set in Afghanistan under the Taliban, was shortlisted for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. L'Attentat won the Prix des libraires in 2006, a prize chosen by about five thousand bookstores in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada.
Khadra pledges for becoming acquainted with the view of the others. In an interview with the German radio SWR1 in 2006, he said “The West interprets the world as he likes it. He develops certain theories that fit into its world outlook, but do not always represent the reality. Being a Muslim, I suggest a new perspective on Afghanistan, on the religious fanaticism and the, how I call it - religiopathy. My novel, the The Swallows of Kabul, gives the readers in the West a chance to understand the core of a problem that he usually only touches on the surface. Because the fanaticism is a threat for all, I contribute to the understanding of the causes and backgrounds. Perhaps then it will be possible to find a way to bring it under control.”
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August 14, 2019
Η «εξίσωση» θανάτου είναι μια προκλητική σκέψη για ανατροπές, ενδοσκοπικές αναμετρήσεις με τους δαίμονες της συνείδησης και ουσία στο νόημα της ζωής που τελικά είναι τόσο φωτεινά μονόπλευρο όσο και χαοτικά σκοτεινό.
Είναι η Αφρική, που κάθε νύχτα πεθαίνει και κάθε μέρα ανασταίνεται.
Είναι οι άνθρωποι, που θέλουν να ζήσουν χωρίς όνειρα,ελπίδες και σχέδια για το μέλλον.
Είναι οι λαοί, που λιμοκτονούν και λιώνουν απο ασθένειες και αλύτρωτες πληγές, απο αυτές που κατασκευάζουν ανθρωπιά, συμπόνοια, αδελφοσύνη, πίστη, αλληλεγγύη και μια
σχεδόν παρανοϊκή αισιοδοξία πως η ευδαιμονία ειναι ενα μεταδοτικό χαμόγελο, ένα ξεροκόμματο που μοιράζεται σε πολλούς πεινασμένους, βρόμικο νερό που ξεπλένει όλα τα βλεδυρά και τα απάνθρωπα και ενώνει σώματα και ψυχές.
Ολα μαύρα, ουσιαστικά και μεταφορικά,
όλα αρχέγονα, μυστικιστικά, γεννήματα της φύσης που μπορεί να δώσει ζωή και θάνατο σε κάθε πλάσμα που φιλοξενεί.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο κυριαρχεί η επίδραση της βίας και της εγκατάλειψης, της παραίτησης και της στέρησης ανθρώπινης συμπεριφοράς σε μια πολυπλοκότητα που εξισώνει άγριους πολεμιστές και πνευματικούς φιλοσόφους.
Η δυσλειτουργική σχέση μεταξύ Αφρικανών και Ευρωπαίων με μια βαθύτερη σκέψη, μια πιο ανθρωπιστική ματιά μετατρέπεται αυτομάτως σε ευπάθεια ζωής και ισορροπία υπαρξιακής αναγκαιότητας.
Σύμπνοια μυαλού και ψυχής. Ανάκαμψη πνευματική μέσα απο τρομερούς εφιάλτες και σωματική κακουχία. Καθολική καταστροφή της ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας και εσωτερική μεταμόρφωση.
Οι όμηροι των πειρατών της Σομαλίας πέθαναν ως πολιτισμένοι σε κάποιο αποπνικτικό, ζοφερό, άθλιο και αποκρουστικό μπουντρούμι στα βάθη της ξεχασμένης απο το θεό Αφρικής.
Μα αναστήθηκαν, σε μια κόλαση επίγεια,
που γεννούσε τον παράδεισο μέσα απο τραγικά χάδια, πεινασμένα χαμόγελα, αρρωστημένα κορμιά συντροφιάς, πηχτή, λιωμένη, αγάπη και μεταδοτικούς ιούς του έρωτα.
Όταν σε ξεδιψάει η ξηρασία και σε δροσίζει η έρημος, λίγο πριν πεθάνεις απο τις φρικαλέες δοκιμασίες που υπομένεις, τότε, ανακαλύπτεις μια βαθύτερη αλήθεια.
Αυτό που μας κάνει ανθρώπους δεν είναι εύκολο να καθοριστεί και σε αυτό το βιβλίο αντηχούν δυνατά η ζωή και ο θάνατος.
😈✔️
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
Είναι η Αφρική, που κάθε νύχτα πεθαίνει και κάθε μέρα ανασταίνεται.
Είναι οι άνθρωποι, που θέλουν να ζήσουν χωρίς όνειρα,ελπίδες και σχέδια για το μέλλον.
Είναι οι λαοί, που λιμοκτονούν και λιώνουν απο ασθένειες και αλύτρωτες πληγές, απο αυτές που κατασκευάζουν ανθρωπιά, συμπόνοια, αδελφοσύνη, πίστη, αλληλεγγύη και μια
σχεδόν παρανοϊκή αισιοδοξία πως η ευδαιμονία ειναι ενα μεταδοτικό χαμόγελο, ένα ξεροκόμματο που μοιράζεται σε πολλούς πεινασμένους, βρόμικο νερό που ξεπλένει όλα τα βλεδυρά και τα απάνθρωπα και ενώνει σώματα και ψυχές.
Ολα μαύρα, ουσιαστικά και μεταφορικά,
όλα αρχέγονα, μυστικιστικά, γεννήματα της φύσης που μπορεί να δώσει ζωή και θάνατο σε κάθε πλάσμα που φιλοξενεί.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο κυριαρχεί η επίδραση της βίας και της εγκατάλειψης, της παραίτησης και της στέρησης ανθρώπινης συμπεριφοράς σε μια πολυπλοκότητα που εξισώνει άγριους πολεμιστές και πνευματικούς φιλοσόφους.
Η δυσλειτουργική σχέση μεταξύ Αφρικανών και Ευρωπαίων με μια βαθύτερη σκέψη, μια πιο ανθρωπιστική ματιά μετατρέπεται αυτομάτως σε ευπάθεια ζωής και ισορροπία υπαρξιακής αναγκαιότητας.
Σύμπνοια μυαλού και ψυχής. Ανάκαμψη πνευματική μέσα απο τρομερούς εφιάλτες και σωματική κακουχία. Καθολική καταστροφή της ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας και εσωτερική μεταμόρφωση.
Οι όμηροι των πειρατών της Σομαλίας πέθαναν ως πολιτισμένοι σε κάποιο αποπνικτικό, ζοφερό, άθλιο και αποκρουστικό μπουντρούμι στα βάθη της ξεχασμένης απο το θεό Αφρικής.
Μα αναστήθηκαν, σε μια κόλαση επίγεια,
που γεννούσε τον παράδεισο μέσα απο τραγικά χάδια, πεινασμένα χαμόγελα, αρρωστημένα κορμιά συντροφιάς, πηχτή, λιωμένη, αγάπη και μεταδοτικούς ιούς του έρωτα.
Όταν σε ξεδιψάει η ξηρασία και σε δροσίζει η έρημος, λίγο πριν πεθάνεις απο τις φρικαλέες δοκιμασίες που υπομένεις, τότε, ανακαλύπτεις μια βαθύτερη αλήθεια.
Αυτό που μας κάνει ανθρώπους δεν είναι εύκολο να καθοριστεί και σε αυτό το βιβλίο αντηχούν δυνατά η ζωή και ο θάνατος.
😈✔️
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
October 28, 2025
Una lectura que me ha resultado difícil por varios motivos.
Aunque la prosa de Khadra tiene un tono oral y sentencioso que puede atraer a ciertos lectores, en mi caso ha generado una distancia emocional desde las primeras páginas.
El mayor problema, sin embargo, ha sido la falta de credibilidad narrativa y psicológica: las decisiones del protagonista ante situaciones límite no resultan verosímiles, y los giros de la trama, previsibles y mal justificados, se acumulan sin que haya una verdadera evolución interna. El personaje principal no cambia, y eso vuelve todo más plano de lo que debería.
El cierre, además, opta por una resolución demasiado fácil y edulcorada, que contradice el tono que la novela parecía querer construir.
Tras leer algunas reseñas críticas, entendí que Khadra apuesta por tramas que funcionan como fábulas simbólicas más que como relatos realistas. Si entras en ese juego, quizá no importe tanto la coherencia psicológica o la construcción pausada. Pero yo esperaba una historia íntima, honesta, donde el dolor tuviera densidad emocional… y no la encontré.
📖 Crítica breve en stories de @__entre.libros_ 📚
Aunque la prosa de Khadra tiene un tono oral y sentencioso que puede atraer a ciertos lectores, en mi caso ha generado una distancia emocional desde las primeras páginas.
El mayor problema, sin embargo, ha sido la falta de credibilidad narrativa y psicológica: las decisiones del protagonista ante situaciones límite no resultan verosímiles, y los giros de la trama, previsibles y mal justificados, se acumulan sin que haya una verdadera evolución interna. El personaje principal no cambia, y eso vuelve todo más plano de lo que debería.
El cierre, además, opta por una resolución demasiado fácil y edulcorada, que contradice el tono que la novela parecía querer construir.
Tras leer algunas reseñas críticas, entendí que Khadra apuesta por tramas que funcionan como fábulas simbólicas más que como relatos realistas. Si entras en ese juego, quizá no importe tanto la coherencia psicológica o la construcción pausada. Pero yo esperaba una historia íntima, honesta, donde el dolor tuviera densidad emocional… y no la encontré.
📖 Crítica breve en stories de @__entre.libros_ 📚
April 6, 2017
Here’s a story that could have been worked into a terrific novel in the hands of a writer with a trifle of self-restraint. Unfortunately, Yasmina Khadra, reputedly one of Africa’s greatest writers, displays none of that. Every one of his characters, from a German physician to a passel of Somali or Sudanese pirates, speaks like an Oxford philosophy don — and somehow they all understand one another perfectly without any indication that they could possibly speak any language in common. Khadra’s characters are not people but mouthpieces for his philosophical and political views, which tend to be tedious.
The novel’s protagonist, Kurt Krausmann, comes upon the dead body of his beloved wife soon after the tale opens. She clearly committed suicide. (This is not a murder mystery.) The good doctor, a general practitioner in Frankfurt, goes into an emotional tailspin. His best friend, Hans Makkenroth, one of Germany’s wealthiest and best-known industrialists, presses Krausmann to join him on a long ocean voyage on his yacht. Weeks underway, as Krausmann begins to recover his senses, Somali or Sudanese pirates (it’s never clear which) attack the ship in the Gulf of Aden and drag Krausmann and Makkenroth off to the Somali coast. There the group sets out on an overland journey westward for nearly 2,000 miles through Ethiopia and Sudan to the godforsaken reaches of Darfur, meeting violent and tragic circumstances along the way. The journey, while eventful, serves primarily as a setting for the principal characters — two of the pirates as well as Krausmann and Makkenroth — to pontificate about the meaning of life and about Africa and its relation to the West. While their sentiments are well expressed — remember, I compared these characters to Oxford philosophy dons — they strike me as dated and overwrought.
Think I’m exaggerating? Here’s a sample: “It is true that we are insignificant. But in this perfect body which age breaks down as the seasons pass and which the smallest germ can lay low, there is a magical territory where it is possible for us to take our lives back. It is in this hidden place that our true strength lies; in other words, our faith in what we believe to be good for us . . .” and that’s just the beginning of the soliloquy. Have you EVER heard anyone actually say anything like that?
By the way, Yasmina Khadra is not a woman as his pen name suggests but a former Algerian army officer named Mohammed Moulessehoul who adopted his wife’s name to avoid military censorship.
Africa has made worthy contributions to world literature through the work of an abundance of world-class writers: Chinua Achebe, Nadine Gordimer, Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, Wole Soyinka, NoViolet Bulawayo, and Alan Paton, among many others. Yasmina Khadra doesn’t measure up to them.
The novel’s protagonist, Kurt Krausmann, comes upon the dead body of his beloved wife soon after the tale opens. She clearly committed suicide. (This is not a murder mystery.) The good doctor, a general practitioner in Frankfurt, goes into an emotional tailspin. His best friend, Hans Makkenroth, one of Germany’s wealthiest and best-known industrialists, presses Krausmann to join him on a long ocean voyage on his yacht. Weeks underway, as Krausmann begins to recover his senses, Somali or Sudanese pirates (it’s never clear which) attack the ship in the Gulf of Aden and drag Krausmann and Makkenroth off to the Somali coast. There the group sets out on an overland journey westward for nearly 2,000 miles through Ethiopia and Sudan to the godforsaken reaches of Darfur, meeting violent and tragic circumstances along the way. The journey, while eventful, serves primarily as a setting for the principal characters — two of the pirates as well as Krausmann and Makkenroth — to pontificate about the meaning of life and about Africa and its relation to the West. While their sentiments are well expressed — remember, I compared these characters to Oxford philosophy dons — they strike me as dated and overwrought.
Think I’m exaggerating? Here’s a sample: “It is true that we are insignificant. But in this perfect body which age breaks down as the seasons pass and which the smallest germ can lay low, there is a magical territory where it is possible for us to take our lives back. It is in this hidden place that our true strength lies; in other words, our faith in what we believe to be good for us . . .” and that’s just the beginning of the soliloquy. Have you EVER heard anyone actually say anything like that?
By the way, Yasmina Khadra is not a woman as his pen name suggests but a former Algerian army officer named Mohammed Moulessehoul who adopted his wife’s name to avoid military censorship.
Africa has made worthy contributions to world literature through the work of an abundance of world-class writers: Chinua Achebe, Nadine Gordimer, Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, Wole Soyinka, NoViolet Bulawayo, and Alan Paton, among many others. Yasmina Khadra doesn’t measure up to them.
December 23, 2020
Βιβλίο που δίσταζα να το διαβάσω λόγω της σχετικά χαμηλής βαθμολογίας του, αλλά επειδή διαδραματίζεται στην αγαπημένη μου Αφρική έκανα το βήμα και τελικά δεν το μετάνιωσα καθόλου.
Μετά την αυτοκτονία της γυναίκας του, ο δόκτωρ Κουρτ Κράουσμαν δέχεται την πρόσκληση ενός φίλου να πάει με το ιστιοφόρο του ως τις Κομόρες. Μετά από επίθεση από πειρατές, ο Κουρτ και ο φίλος του πιάνονται όμηροι και το ταξίδι μετατρέπεται σε εφιάλτη.
Οι δοκιμασίες που θα περάσει, τα πράγματα που θα δει και οι εμπειρίες που θα βιώσει, κάνουν τον Δρ. Κράουσμαν να επαναξιολογήσει τις "αξίες" του δυτικού τρόπου ζωής και να επαναπροσδιορίσει τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό!
Ένα βιβλίο, που μέσα από τη μαυρίλα του (κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά) καταλήγει σε ύμνο στην ίδια τη ζωή και σε κάνει τουλάχιστον να σκεφτείς, αν όχι να επαναξιολογήσεις, τις αξίες του (δυτικού) τρόπου ζωής μας.
Africa ❤️
Μετά την αυτοκτονία της γυναίκας του, ο δόκτωρ Κουρτ Κράουσμαν δέχεται την πρόσκληση ενός φίλου να πάει με το ιστιοφόρο του ως τις Κομόρες. Μετά από επίθεση από πειρατές, ο Κουρτ και ο φίλος του πιάνονται όμηροι και το ταξίδι μετατρέπεται σε εφιάλτη.
Οι δοκιμασίες που θα περάσει, τα πράγματα που θα δει και οι εμπειρίες που θα βιώσει, κάνουν τον Δρ. Κράουσμαν να επαναξιολογήσει τις "αξίες" του δυτικού τρόπου ζωής και να επαναπροσδιορίσει τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό!
Ένα βιβλίο, που μέσα από τη μαυρίλα του (κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά) καταλήγει σε ύμνο στην ίδια τη ζωή και σε κάνει τουλάχιστον να σκεφτείς, αν όχι να επαναξιολογήσεις, τις αξίες του (δυτικού) τρόπου ζωής μας.
Africa ❤️
August 4, 2016
This is a hard book to review. On the one hand, it has an engrossing plot which sweeps you in and draws you into a totally different world right away, forcing you to think about your own life circumstances and good fortune, which we almost always take for granted. On the other hand, it isn't perfect, and is somewhat preachy in its philosophies and politics. Also, it is sometimes truly difficult to read about how harrowing and horrifying human life can be in the third world. There are shocking scenes in this novel which I found difficult to read through. The characters are sometimes over the top, representing ideas and stands instead of being real people. Still, it is an important book, and pretty enjoyable all in all. I recommend it with all its faults.
February 21, 2020
"These people were an education. They laughed at their disappointments as if at an unsuccessful farce. I envied them, envied the maturity they had gained from so much suffering and so many nightmarish ordeals, their philosophical distance which allowed them to rise above traumas and disasters, and their sense of humour that seemed to proudly defy an unjust and treacherous fate, the mechanism of which they had somehow deciphered."
This book is a horrific tribute of love and understanding to the long suffering people and lands of Africa. The plot serves as a backdrop for the lengthy philosophical observations and introspective declarations about life in Africa. The focal person of which are various characters, both white and black devotees of Africa.
Racism, Captivity, Protest of the violated and power of the violence are the undercurrents of the narrative:
"I’m teaching this bastard about Africa. He needs to know that things have changed.’ He grabbed me by the throat, squeezed hard and said, ‘No one race is superior to any other. Since prehistoric times, it’s always been the balance of power that decides who’s master and who’s slave. Today, the power’s on my side. And even if to you I’m nothing but a stupid nigger...I’m the one who calls the shots. Knowledge, social rank and skin colour don’t
mean a thing when you’ve got a gun shoved in your face. You thought you were God’s gift? I’m going to prove to you that you’re nothing but a little runt like the rest of us, Your university qualifications and your white man’s arrogance don’t matter
in a place where a simple bullet’s enough to do away with all your privileges. So you were born in the West, were you? You’re lucky. Now you’re going to be reborn in Africa and you’ll understand what that means.....You have nobody to blame but yourselves. When a fly is trapped in a web, it can’t blame the spider. That’s how life is.
The world has always functioned like that, since the dawn of time. Actually, since the dawn of time, it’s always been night. The dawn of humanity isn’t quite ready to rise yet …..When nothing is certain, when right and wrong have cancelled one another out, fear becomes the most exaggerated form of surrender...The South Pole is only the North Pole lying flat on its back, and the West is only the East on the other side of the street. And do you know why, Monsieur Krausmann? Because there are no more shades of grey. And when there are no more shades of grey, anybody can rationalise anything, even the worst atrocity.....
A Sisyphean world abandoned to the cowardice of men and the ravages of epidemics, a world of torture and violence, where contingents of the living dead wandered from place to place through a thousand torments, hope crucified on their foreheads and their shoulders collapsing beneath the weight of a nameless curse."
Understanding followed by forgiveness and redemption, the sheer power of human heart, resilience and love are the focal point of this argumentative process :
‘Africa isn’t something to be seen, Monsieur Krausmann,
it’s to be felt, experienced, smelt.’
An African knows that life is his
most precious possession. Sorrow, joy, illness are simply part of a person’s education. An African takes things as they come without granting them more credit than they deserve. And although he may be convinced that miracles exist, he doesn’t demand them. He’s self-sufficient,
His wisdom cushions his disappointments.....His heart is his kingdom. Nobody in the world knows better than him how to share and forgive. If I had to give generosity a face, it would be the face of an African. If I had to give brotherhood a sound, it would be
that of an African laugh....Africa is more than the sum of its famines, wars and epidemics.’
‘This continent is a holy land, Kurt. I don’t know how to say it. The people are … I can’t find the word......They carry a kind of allegory inside them, or rather a truth that’s beyond me. And it comes home to me with such strength that it makes me shiver. There’s a biblical inspiration in these people. Something that strengthens my faith, even though I don’t exactly know what it is.’
Had these survivors forgotten the misfortunes that had befallen them or had they discovered an antidote?
In Africa I saw people who were nothing but skin and bone, who had nothing to eat and nothing to expect, and who fought for every second of life. People who’d had their lands stolen from them, people who were persecuted, reduced to the level of their own beasts of burden, chased from their squalid villages and wandering among bandits and disease, and yet, just imagine: poor and helpless as they were, they didn’t give up one scrap of their wretched existence.
from what ashes they had been reborn. They had an astonishing ability to downplay adversity. Their strength lay in their mindset, a unique, ancient mindset forged in the very magma of this good old earth of men. A mindset that had come into being with the first cry of life and would survive hard times and the downward spiral of the modern world with undimmed vigour. Deep inside these people, there resided an enduring flame that brightened and revived them every time the darkness tried to overwhelm them.....
the desert is not finite but virgin, that its dust is pure and its mirages stimulating, that where love sows, the harvest is limitless because everything is possible when heart and mind combine."
"men are the worst and the best of what nature has created; some die for an ideal, others for nothing; some perish from their own generosity, others from their own ingratitude; they tear each other apart for the same reasons, each in his own camp, and the irony of fate presides over that terrible drama, finally reconciling, in the same foul-smelling pit, the enlightened and the unenlightened, the virtuous and the depraved, the martyr and the executioner, all delivered to everlasting death like Siamese twins in their mother’s womb.
Since time began, suspicious of anything that doesn’t make him suffer, man has been chasing after his own shadow and looking
elsewhere for what he already has within reach, convinced that no redemption is possible without martyrdom, that any mishap is a mark of failure, when his greatest strength is his ability to bounce back … Man, that prodigy failing to make the most of his chances and fascinated by his own vanities, constantly torn between what he thinks he is and what he would like to be, forgetting that the healthiest way of existing is quite simply to remain oneself."
The book ends with the only logical conclusion there is to the story and I think all "privileged" natives of the earth must for once read this shocking yet beautiful account of Africa in all her Magnificence and splendour.
‘Why are you sad?’ the marabout had asked me. ‘You shouldn’t be. Only the dead are sad because they can’t get up again......Only someone who knows where he’s going can find a way out.'
"Live every morning as if it’s the first
Let the past deal with its own misdeeds.
Live every evening as if it’s the last
Tomorrow will bring what tomorrow needs."
This book is a horrific tribute of love and understanding to the long suffering people and lands of Africa. The plot serves as a backdrop for the lengthy philosophical observations and introspective declarations about life in Africa. The focal person of which are various characters, both white and black devotees of Africa.
Racism, Captivity, Protest of the violated and power of the violence are the undercurrents of the narrative:
"I’m teaching this bastard about Africa. He needs to know that things have changed.’ He grabbed me by the throat, squeezed hard and said, ‘No one race is superior to any other. Since prehistoric times, it’s always been the balance of power that decides who’s master and who’s slave. Today, the power’s on my side. And even if to you I’m nothing but a stupid nigger...I’m the one who calls the shots. Knowledge, social rank and skin colour don’t
mean a thing when you’ve got a gun shoved in your face. You thought you were God’s gift? I’m going to prove to you that you’re nothing but a little runt like the rest of us, Your university qualifications and your white man’s arrogance don’t matter
in a place where a simple bullet’s enough to do away with all your privileges. So you were born in the West, were you? You’re lucky. Now you’re going to be reborn in Africa and you’ll understand what that means.....You have nobody to blame but yourselves. When a fly is trapped in a web, it can’t blame the spider. That’s how life is.
The world has always functioned like that, since the dawn of time. Actually, since the dawn of time, it’s always been night. The dawn of humanity isn’t quite ready to rise yet …..When nothing is certain, when right and wrong have cancelled one another out, fear becomes the most exaggerated form of surrender...The South Pole is only the North Pole lying flat on its back, and the West is only the East on the other side of the street. And do you know why, Monsieur Krausmann? Because there are no more shades of grey. And when there are no more shades of grey, anybody can rationalise anything, even the worst atrocity.....
A Sisyphean world abandoned to the cowardice of men and the ravages of epidemics, a world of torture and violence, where contingents of the living dead wandered from place to place through a thousand torments, hope crucified on their foreheads and their shoulders collapsing beneath the weight of a nameless curse."
Understanding followed by forgiveness and redemption, the sheer power of human heart, resilience and love are the focal point of this argumentative process :
‘Africa isn’t something to be seen, Monsieur Krausmann,
it’s to be felt, experienced, smelt.’
An African knows that life is his
most precious possession. Sorrow, joy, illness are simply part of a person’s education. An African takes things as they come without granting them more credit than they deserve. And although he may be convinced that miracles exist, he doesn’t demand them. He’s self-sufficient,
His wisdom cushions his disappointments.....His heart is his kingdom. Nobody in the world knows better than him how to share and forgive. If I had to give generosity a face, it would be the face of an African. If I had to give brotherhood a sound, it would be
that of an African laugh....Africa is more than the sum of its famines, wars and epidemics.’
‘This continent is a holy land, Kurt. I don’t know how to say it. The people are … I can’t find the word......They carry a kind of allegory inside them, or rather a truth that’s beyond me. And it comes home to me with such strength that it makes me shiver. There’s a biblical inspiration in these people. Something that strengthens my faith, even though I don’t exactly know what it is.’
Had these survivors forgotten the misfortunes that had befallen them or had they discovered an antidote?
In Africa I saw people who were nothing but skin and bone, who had nothing to eat and nothing to expect, and who fought for every second of life. People who’d had their lands stolen from them, people who were persecuted, reduced to the level of their own beasts of burden, chased from their squalid villages and wandering among bandits and disease, and yet, just imagine: poor and helpless as they were, they didn’t give up one scrap of their wretched existence.
from what ashes they had been reborn. They had an astonishing ability to downplay adversity. Their strength lay in their mindset, a unique, ancient mindset forged in the very magma of this good old earth of men. A mindset that had come into being with the first cry of life and would survive hard times and the downward spiral of the modern world with undimmed vigour. Deep inside these people, there resided an enduring flame that brightened and revived them every time the darkness tried to overwhelm them.....
the desert is not finite but virgin, that its dust is pure and its mirages stimulating, that where love sows, the harvest is limitless because everything is possible when heart and mind combine."
"men are the worst and the best of what nature has created; some die for an ideal, others for nothing; some perish from their own generosity, others from their own ingratitude; they tear each other apart for the same reasons, each in his own camp, and the irony of fate presides over that terrible drama, finally reconciling, in the same foul-smelling pit, the enlightened and the unenlightened, the virtuous and the depraved, the martyr and the executioner, all delivered to everlasting death like Siamese twins in their mother’s womb.
Since time began, suspicious of anything that doesn’t make him suffer, man has been chasing after his own shadow and looking
elsewhere for what he already has within reach, convinced that no redemption is possible without martyrdom, that any mishap is a mark of failure, when his greatest strength is his ability to bounce back … Man, that prodigy failing to make the most of his chances and fascinated by his own vanities, constantly torn between what he thinks he is and what he would like to be, forgetting that the healthiest way of existing is quite simply to remain oneself."
The book ends with the only logical conclusion there is to the story and I think all "privileged" natives of the earth must for once read this shocking yet beautiful account of Africa in all her Magnificence and splendour.
‘Why are you sad?’ the marabout had asked me. ‘You shouldn’t be. Only the dead are sad because they can’t get up again......Only someone who knows where he’s going can find a way out.'
"Live every morning as if it’s the first
Let the past deal with its own misdeeds.
Live every evening as if it’s the last
Tomorrow will bring what tomorrow needs."
July 25, 2017
Yasmina Khadra é um poeta, um filósofo. Tem o Dom de transformar simples palavras em pura magia, que me revolvem as emoções, e me levam a questionar o verdadeiro sentido da vida.
"A vida é uma sucessão de ambiguidades e de bravatas. Aprendemos todos os dias, e todos os dias apagamos a ardósia para um novo exercício. Na realidade, não há uma verdade irrefutável, só há certezas. Quando uma se revela infundada, forjamos outra e aferrolhamos-nos nela contra ventos e marés. A sobrevivência é um náufrago cuja salvação repousa na obstinação e não na providência."
Numa escrita poética e sublime - onde até o aterrar de um avião nos comove - Khadra cria uma obra grandiosa, na qual vivem personagens verdadeiramente inesquecíveis.
Kurt Krausmann é vitima de uma tragédia familiar que não compreende, e numa fuga à dor empreende uma viagem com um amigo. São raptados por piratas e levados para o Darfur, onde reina a bestialidade humana.
Joma - a besta, o poeta…uma personagem inesquecível pela sua crueldade, mas também pela sua sensibilidade e humanidade. Incoerente? Não! "Quando um mosquito se deixa apanhar numa teia, não pode querer mal à aranha.".
Hans - o homem rico mas generoso, fascinado por horizontes longínquos e que percorre mundo para ajudar os povos mais miseráveis.
Bruno - o francês, africano no coração, que mesmo no limite do desespero não deixa morrer a alegria de viver e a fé no ser humano.
Jessica - o símbolo da “evolução" do homem, da nossa sociedade, em que à mais leve contrariedade esquecemos o mais importante de tudo: a benção que é a nossa própria vida…
Os voluntários da Cruz Vermelha - os heróis, se nesta vida os houver…- a generosidade, a paixão daqueles cujos sonhos e ambições são a dedicação aos que nada têm…
África, os Africanos - a personagem principal. "Estas pessoas não possuem nada; chegaram ao fim, os seus amanhãs assemelham-se a campos de minas (…) Sabem que o que sofreram na véspera os espera a pé firme no dia seguinte, (…) que onde os homens exercem sevícias os deuses se abstêm de intervir; sabem tantas coisas e agem como se não fosse nada, recusando o facto consumado e procurando, para além do Bem e do Mal, uma ilusão à qual se apeguem, pouco importando se é feita de cinzas ou de fumo."
De uma forma generosa, Khadra oferece-nos a esperança de que há sempre um amanhã e cada dia é um milagre... Porque estás triste? Não devias. Só os mortos estão tristes porque não podem levantar-se…"
No final fiquei alegre por me libertar de tanta tristeza, e triste por me despedir de tanta beleza…
Não me lembro de um só livro me ensinar tanto…
"Vive cada manhã como se fosse a primeira
E deixa ao passado os remorsos e as más acções,
Vive cada noite como se fosse a última
Porque ninguém sabe de que será feito o amanhã."
"A vida é uma sucessão de ambiguidades e de bravatas. Aprendemos todos os dias, e todos os dias apagamos a ardósia para um novo exercício. Na realidade, não há uma verdade irrefutável, só há certezas. Quando uma se revela infundada, forjamos outra e aferrolhamos-nos nela contra ventos e marés. A sobrevivência é um náufrago cuja salvação repousa na obstinação e não na providência."
Numa escrita poética e sublime - onde até o aterrar de um avião nos comove - Khadra cria uma obra grandiosa, na qual vivem personagens verdadeiramente inesquecíveis.
Kurt Krausmann é vitima de uma tragédia familiar que não compreende, e numa fuga à dor empreende uma viagem com um amigo. São raptados por piratas e levados para o Darfur, onde reina a bestialidade humana.
Joma - a besta, o poeta…uma personagem inesquecível pela sua crueldade, mas também pela sua sensibilidade e humanidade. Incoerente? Não! "Quando um mosquito se deixa apanhar numa teia, não pode querer mal à aranha.".
Hans - o homem rico mas generoso, fascinado por horizontes longínquos e que percorre mundo para ajudar os povos mais miseráveis.
Bruno - o francês, africano no coração, que mesmo no limite do desespero não deixa morrer a alegria de viver e a fé no ser humano.
Jessica - o símbolo da “evolução" do homem, da nossa sociedade, em que à mais leve contrariedade esquecemos o mais importante de tudo: a benção que é a nossa própria vida…
Os voluntários da Cruz Vermelha - os heróis, se nesta vida os houver…- a generosidade, a paixão daqueles cujos sonhos e ambições são a dedicação aos que nada têm…
África, os Africanos - a personagem principal. "Estas pessoas não possuem nada; chegaram ao fim, os seus amanhãs assemelham-se a campos de minas (…) Sabem que o que sofreram na véspera os espera a pé firme no dia seguinte, (…) que onde os homens exercem sevícias os deuses se abstêm de intervir; sabem tantas coisas e agem como se não fosse nada, recusando o facto consumado e procurando, para além do Bem e do Mal, uma ilusão à qual se apeguem, pouco importando se é feita de cinzas ou de fumo."
De uma forma generosa, Khadra oferece-nos a esperança de que há sempre um amanhã e cada dia é um milagre... Porque estás triste? Não devias. Só os mortos estão tristes porque não podem levantar-se…"
No final fiquei alegre por me libertar de tanta tristeza, e triste por me despedir de tanta beleza…
Não me lembro de um só livro me ensinar tanto…
"Vive cada manhã como se fosse a primeira
E deixa ao passado os remorsos e as más acções,
Vive cada noite como se fosse a última
Porque ninguém sabe de que será feito o amanhã."
February 14, 2016
Kurt Krausmann, devastated by a recent bereavement, is persuaded to join his friend Hans Makkeroth on a humanitarian mission to Africa. En route their boat is hijacked and they are taken hostage. Their captivity in harsh, inhumane conditions, plus the meeting with a fellow hostage Bruno, who staunchly continues to defend his aggressors’ behaviour in the context of African colonialism allows the author to explore many important issues, but unfortunately he really doesn’t manage to do so very effectively at all. My main problem with this book is the voices. Everyone speaks in eloquent sentences, even the African thugs. Now it may be, of course, that I am wrong and that some thugs are eloquent and articulate, but it seems unlikely. Khadra does indeed make one of them a poet but his actions belie any sense of humanity and education that being a poet usually implies. So the characters merely mouth Khadra’s own ideas and thoughts presumably in Khadra’s own voice and simply do not reflect the reality on the ground. And then Khadra’s own language is so high-flown and clichéd I could hardly bear to read it. Land of Morpheus, profile of a goddess, eyes shining like jewels or like “two rubies wrapped in velvet”, and even comparisons that don’t make sense – “his bulging, joyful eyes rolled like white-hot marbles”. And then there are the lists – every time a character walks into a room Khadra feels impelled to list all the contents…..”hard-cover encyclopaedias, numbered files in chronological order” and so on. What does that add to the narrative? Except superfluous words. There’s a good story lurking behind the bad style, and with some ruthless editing that story could have emerged. But as it stands the book has a lot wrong with it, which is a shame as the subject matter is relevant and topical and deserves a better treatment. By chance I’ve just read Clair Ni Chonghaile’s Fractured which sings while this one is mired in its own verbosity.
March 30, 2013
Je ne comprends pas le succès de Yasmina Khadra. Tant "L'attentat" que "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit" m'avaient fait bailler d'ennui. Chacun de ses livres est pourtant un best-seller. Le dernier en date n'a pas fait exception.
Je l'ai lu moins par plaisir que par obligation : ce n'est pas tous les jours qu'un roman grand public a l'Afrique pour décor.
Et j'ai été mortellement déçu par cette histoire sans queue ni tête d'un médecin allemand (pourquoi diable allemand ?) parti se remettre du suicide de sa femme en acheminant en voilier des médicaments vers les Comores (depuis quand envoie-t-on des médicaments aux Comores, qui plus est en voilier !). Au large de la Somalie, son bateau est arraisonné par des pirates. Otage, il est conduit ... au Darfour (imagine-t-on des terroristes de l'ETA se réfugier au Danemark ?) où il rencontre une jolie infirmière (espagnole) qui lui redonnera le gout de vivre.
On se croirait dans un roman Harlequin mâtiné de Jules Verne et lardé de réflexions philosophiques à la Paolo Coelho. La plume de Yasmina Khadra est pachydermique, laissant suspecter dans l'usage répété d'adjectifs compliqués le désir secret de l'auteur de "faire style" ("Il réside au tréfonds de ces êtres, une flamme immarcescible qui les éclaire et les ravive chaque fois que les ténèbres tentent de les dissoudre")
J'aurais pourtant dû me méfier d'une quatrième de couverture qui annonce "un voyage saisissant de réalisme qui nous transporte de la Somalie au Soudan dans une Afrique orientale tour à tour sauvage, irrationnelle, sage, fière, digne et infiniment courageuse".
Je l'ai lu moins par plaisir que par obligation : ce n'est pas tous les jours qu'un roman grand public a l'Afrique pour décor.
Et j'ai été mortellement déçu par cette histoire sans queue ni tête d'un médecin allemand (pourquoi diable allemand ?) parti se remettre du suicide de sa femme en acheminant en voilier des médicaments vers les Comores (depuis quand envoie-t-on des médicaments aux Comores, qui plus est en voilier !). Au large de la Somalie, son bateau est arraisonné par des pirates. Otage, il est conduit ... au Darfour (imagine-t-on des terroristes de l'ETA se réfugier au Danemark ?) où il rencontre une jolie infirmière (espagnole) qui lui redonnera le gout de vivre.
On se croirait dans un roman Harlequin mâtiné de Jules Verne et lardé de réflexions philosophiques à la Paolo Coelho. La plume de Yasmina Khadra est pachydermique, laissant suspecter dans l'usage répété d'adjectifs compliqués le désir secret de l'auteur de "faire style" ("Il réside au tréfonds de ces êtres, une flamme immarcescible qui les éclaire et les ravive chaque fois que les ténèbres tentent de les dissoudre")
J'aurais pourtant dû me méfier d'une quatrième de couverture qui annonce "un voyage saisissant de réalisme qui nous transporte de la Somalie au Soudan dans une Afrique orientale tour à tour sauvage, irrationnelle, sage, fière, digne et infiniment courageuse".
February 26, 2015
It's disturbing, compelling, likely to provoke much debate and makes me look forward to reading his next book.
Kurt Krausmann, a doctor living in Frankfurt, Germany met a beautiful woman while in Paris, both were there for work purposes, attending different conferences in the same hotel, seemingly wedded to their careers, they found each other and if we are to believe the doctor narrator, 10 years of contentedness followed.
Moments from the past now arrive unbidden, a mocking assurance as his illusion of bliss is permanently scarred the evening he arrives home to discover the loving (though recently tormented by he knows not what) Jessica, has committed suicide.
The doctor’s ritualistic, clinical, predictable life is turned upside down and he experiences extremes of emotion, the like of which he would normally only ever encounter in the detached manner he has of observing patients, those symptoms he has so often downplayed in others threaten to overwhelm him.
His friend Hans Mekkenroth, a wealthy philanthropist throws him a lifeline, suggesting he travel with him on one of his regular humanitarian missions, they will sail across the seas in his yacht to deliver supplies to the Comoros Isles.
Hans lost his wife Paula some years before and though there isn’t a day when he doesn’t miss her, he appreciates that life doesn’t stop, he has found meaning in using his wealth to try and alleviate the suffering of others (while enjoying the element of adventure), whether it is the poor of Africa or the 1st world problems of his companion the Doctor, Kurt.
Kurt is about to discover a version of suffering and misery worse than he came with, when they are hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of the night and taken hostage. Transported inland, they are initially held in a cave, while their captors decide what to do with them and teach them a lesson or two in the meantime.
The men are moved and lose all sense of where they actually are, as they try to understand who is in charge and what is going on around them. When they meet fellow hostage Bruno, a Frenchman who has been living a nomadic existence in Africa for 40 years, they begin to understand the varying potential prices on their heads and fear for their survival. Despite his captivity, Bruno the ‘born again African’ Frenchman, refuses to let go of his love for Africa, countering every negative situation with an alternative view.
The hostage experience awakens a once dormant, now seething rage in the Doctor, an equivalent madness that has been roused for some time in his captors, as they trade insults, tirades of hatred and contempt revealing how similar they all are, despite their intent to exert superiority and dominance, each striving to rise above the other. They have worn their societal labels, been perceived, and practised as a Poet(the African) and a Doctor(the Westerner) yet in this unforgiving environment, they are reduced to their despicable worst, seeing the other as their nemesis, representing the worst of those stereotypes, they reduce each other to in their respective forms of bigotry, showing themselves equally capable of the worst man can do, given the circumstances.
It is a compelling story that provokes as many questions as it answers, that at times risks falling into the stereotypical traps it seeks to avert. The Doctor had no desire to travel to the African continent, he is there by accident, thus he represents the perspective of those who come by their views through media and external cultural perspectives and his violent experience would seem only to strengthen those views, though they are challenged by some of his later encounters.
Without giving the plot away, I conclude he learns little from his experience, he reverts to his former self, seeks a form of escape from his reality, another version of the life he had before. Perhaps this is what Khadra is getting at, whether it's a hostage experience, a safari trip or medical relief, that Westerners remain unchanged by their experience? Certainly tourism is rarely a life changing activity, but living in another country for more than 40 years might be.
We were puzzled by the suicide of the Doctor's wife and though a reason is proffered, there is little introspection on his part to understand his role in it. Did his subsequent journey transform his character in any way? His reaction on his return and unwillingness to explore it, suggest not.
On the reverse side of this equation, we witness the horror of hostage taking and the keeping of prisoners in horrid conditions, the anger and violence of men, the arid landscape, civilian brutalities, villagers on the run and a refugee camp. They a significant contrast to the part of Africa I have been in recently through Wangari Maathai’s autobiography, Unbowed, One Woman's Story, she inhabited a woman’s world in the beginning and then through education, the Kenyan elite. Her story does more to dispel the myths and stereotypes than anything else I have read so far. She may have been an exceptional woman, but I have no doubt there are many more like her, who could teach us a lot more about the Frenchman Bruno’s favourite and frequent quote:
My complete review here at Word by Word.
Kurt Krausmann, a doctor living in Frankfurt, Germany met a beautiful woman while in Paris, both were there for work purposes, attending different conferences in the same hotel, seemingly wedded to their careers, they found each other and if we are to believe the doctor narrator, 10 years of contentedness followed.
Moments from the past now arrive unbidden, a mocking assurance as his illusion of bliss is permanently scarred the evening he arrives home to discover the loving (though recently tormented by he knows not what) Jessica, has committed suicide.
The doctor’s ritualistic, clinical, predictable life is turned upside down and he experiences extremes of emotion, the like of which he would normally only ever encounter in the detached manner he has of observing patients, those symptoms he has so often downplayed in others threaten to overwhelm him.
His friend Hans Mekkenroth, a wealthy philanthropist throws him a lifeline, suggesting he travel with him on one of his regular humanitarian missions, they will sail across the seas in his yacht to deliver supplies to the Comoros Isles.
Hans lost his wife Paula some years before and though there isn’t a day when he doesn’t miss her, he appreciates that life doesn’t stop, he has found meaning in using his wealth to try and alleviate the suffering of others (while enjoying the element of adventure), whether it is the poor of Africa or the 1st world problems of his companion the Doctor, Kurt.
Kurt is about to discover a version of suffering and misery worse than he came with, when they are hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of the night and taken hostage. Transported inland, they are initially held in a cave, while their captors decide what to do with them and teach them a lesson or two in the meantime.
The men are moved and lose all sense of where they actually are, as they try to understand who is in charge and what is going on around them. When they meet fellow hostage Bruno, a Frenchman who has been living a nomadic existence in Africa for 40 years, they begin to understand the varying potential prices on their heads and fear for their survival. Despite his captivity, Bruno the ‘born again African’ Frenchman, refuses to let go of his love for Africa, countering every negative situation with an alternative view.
The hostage experience awakens a once dormant, now seething rage in the Doctor, an equivalent madness that has been roused for some time in his captors, as they trade insults, tirades of hatred and contempt revealing how similar they all are, despite their intent to exert superiority and dominance, each striving to rise above the other. They have worn their societal labels, been perceived, and practised as a Poet(the African) and a Doctor(the Westerner) yet in this unforgiving environment, they are reduced to their despicable worst, seeing the other as their nemesis, representing the worst of those stereotypes, they reduce each other to in their respective forms of bigotry, showing themselves equally capable of the worst man can do, given the circumstances.
It is a compelling story that provokes as many questions as it answers, that at times risks falling into the stereotypical traps it seeks to avert. The Doctor had no desire to travel to the African continent, he is there by accident, thus he represents the perspective of those who come by their views through media and external cultural perspectives and his violent experience would seem only to strengthen those views, though they are challenged by some of his later encounters.
Without giving the plot away, I conclude he learns little from his experience, he reverts to his former self, seeks a form of escape from his reality, another version of the life he had before. Perhaps this is what Khadra is getting at, whether it's a hostage experience, a safari trip or medical relief, that Westerners remain unchanged by their experience? Certainly tourism is rarely a life changing activity, but living in another country for more than 40 years might be.
We were puzzled by the suicide of the Doctor's wife and though a reason is proffered, there is little introspection on his part to understand his role in it. Did his subsequent journey transform his character in any way? His reaction on his return and unwillingness to explore it, suggest not.
On the reverse side of this equation, we witness the horror of hostage taking and the keeping of prisoners in horrid conditions, the anger and violence of men, the arid landscape, civilian brutalities, villagers on the run and a refugee camp. They a significant contrast to the part of Africa I have been in recently through Wangari Maathai’s autobiography, Unbowed, One Woman's Story, she inhabited a woman’s world in the beginning and then through education, the Kenyan elite. Her story does more to dispel the myths and stereotypes than anything else I have read so far. She may have been an exceptional woman, but I have no doubt there are many more like her, who could teach us a lot more about the Frenchman Bruno’s favourite and frequent quote:
‘That’s Africa, Monsieur Krausmann!’
My complete review here at Word by Word.
December 20, 2025
Peu importe l’histoire racontée, la plume de Yasmina Khadra reste excellente pour décrire le drame des actes de piraterie en mer Rouge.
Ce roman se termine sur un bel hommage au désert africain, et peut-être même au désert tout court… Quoi qu’on y vive comme souffrances ou comme malheurs, on y retourne de plein gré dès qu’on le peut.
4 ⭐️
Ce roman se termine sur un bel hommage au désert africain, et peut-être même au désert tout court… Quoi qu’on y vive comme souffrances ou comme malheurs, on y retourne de plein gré dès qu’on le peut.
4 ⭐️
February 25, 2016
It was a solid 4 star read, a tale about a german doctor who's wife commits suicide and in bid to escape the tragedy goes on a trip with his friend to deliver aid to missions in Africa. Off the coast of Sudan their boat gets hijacked by pirates and they get taken and tortured in order to receive ransom for their return.
What I enjoyed(enjoyed is a strange word given the context) about the story was the way the main characters grief over his wife was dealt with and how he copes with the abuse he suffers at the hands of his kidnappers. How he comes to terms with everything that happens to him and in a way shows how everyone everywhere has to pick themselves up after tragedy or atrocities and continue living.
What I enjoyed(enjoyed is a strange word given the context) about the story was the way the main characters grief over his wife was dealt with and how he copes with the abuse he suffers at the hands of his kidnappers. How he comes to terms with everything that happens to him and in a way shows how everyone everywhere has to pick themselves up after tragedy or atrocities and continue living.
August 24, 2022
Καλό αλλά θα μπορούσαν να λείπουν οι μεγαλοστομίες του συγγραφέα-ξεχειλώνουν τη πλοκή
September 10, 2011
Livre inégal: quelques incohérences, mais une formidable réflexion sur la vie, en tout cas qui me touche en ce moment.
"Vis chaque matin comme s'il était le premier
Et laisse au passé ses remords et méfaits
Vis chaque soir comme s'il était le dernier
Car nul ne sait de quoi demain sera fait."
"Vis chaque matin comme s'il était le premier
Et laisse au passé ses remords et méfaits
Vis chaque soir comme s'il était le dernier
Car nul ne sait de quoi demain sera fait."
July 30, 2015
Opinião no Blog: https://atocadonunca.wordpress.com/20...
March 22, 2021
Το βιβλίο ξεκινάει με την αυτοκτονία της γυναίκας του και εκεί που λες τι χειρότερο μπορεί να συμβεί,βρίσκεται όμηρος στην Αφρική! "Η Αφρική δεν είναι κάτι που το βλέπει κανείς αλλά που το νιώθει,το οσμίζεται" και "η φιλία μας σμιλεύτηκε με πόνο και δεν πρόκειται ποτέ να διαλυθει" είναι σημεία που με έκαναν και δάκρυσα και το τέλος..για χάρη ενός ανθρώπου να θέλεις να γυρίσεις πίσω "έρχομαι" όσοι το έχουν διαβάσει καταλαβαίνουν όσα έγραψα,όσοι δεν το διάβασαν θεωρώ ότι πρέπει να το αναζητήσουν!
January 22, 2023
Yasmina Khadra is always a delight to read, even though he deals with some of the most horrific topics around. This book was not an exception. I didn't like the main character - I thought he was up himself, self involved, and casually racist. However Khadra made me turn page after page trying to see what happened.
It's a story of loss, kidnapping, and reconciliation both within oneself and with an entire continent.
It's a story of loss, kidnapping, and reconciliation both within oneself and with an entire continent.
May 8, 2024
Vraiment incroyable je l'ai fini en quelques heures tellement c'était intéressant. C'est super bien écrit et on a l'impression d'être dans le livre tellement les pensées des personnages sont détaillées et tout. Je recommande à 100%
December 28, 2012
Yasmina Khadra é, para mim, a grande revelação de 2012.
Embora já tivesse ouvido falar de alguns dos seus romances, sobretudo as “Andorinhas de Cabul”, confesso que pouco interesse me havia despertado os livros deste autor argelino, até que me deparei com a obra “O que o Dia Deve à Noite” e fiquei rendido à sua escrita sublime e, principalmente, à sua capacidade de enlevo que apenas os Grandes Escritores, aqueles que nasceram com o Dom da escrita, possuem.
Cada Dia é Um Milagre (no original “L'équation africaine”), é o seu mais recente romance e tem a mão do génio, o enlevo que nos embala por uma narrativa belíssima, mas igualmente crua e nua que mostra a essência do Continente africano, a violência do quotidiano que o mestre Yasmina vai pincelando numa tela que os nossos olhos vão apreciando com horror, hipnotizados pela magia que cada palavra encerra.
E o principal personagem é mesmo África.
A África de Yasmina Khadra que nos entra alma dentro ávida de ser ouvida, é como um grito lancinante de sonhos perdidos, projectos inacabados, de contrastes infames, um futuro adiado cujos responsáveis são aqueles que juraram governar em nome do povo mas que fecham os olhos e até contribuem no selvático despojo diário a que a gente simples, rude do povo está sujeita sem poder reagir, sem qualquer tipo de defesa do que aquelas ajudas humanitárias que diariamente assistimos pela televisão no conforto do nosso lar. Uma África onde a vida humana vale tanto como um grão de areia de qualquer deserto inóspito.
E é isso que Yasmina nos mostra de uma forma quase surrealista.
Tudo se inicia com um suicídio que eu considero a própria contra-metáfora do que a partir daí se vai desenrolar. Mais à frente, o autor cogita sobre o assunto e refere, como é possível, alguém que tudo tem, um bom marido, dinheiro na conta bancária, saúde, amigos e família, suicidar-se por uma questão supérflua?
Kurt Krausmann vê-se num turbilhão de emoções e desgostos. Sem saber bem o que fazer da sua vida, resolve aceitar o convite do seu amigo de longa data, o milionário e benfeitor Hans, numa viagem humanitária às Comores.
No entanto e já em águas internacionais, o veleiro é atacado por piratas e inicia-se aí um trajecto feito de humilhações e violência, mas igualmente um trajecto de descoberta de uma África completamente desconhecida, mas também um processo de autodescoberta que irá mudar para sempre a vida de Kurt.
Embora seja África o centro do livro, todo o livro acaba por ser também uma intensa reflexão sobre a natureza humana e a forma como o local e as circunstâncias moldam essa natureza, a forma impressionante como o ser humano se adapta a qualquer condição. Ou seja, sobressai que cada ser humano só é diferente entre si pelo seu passado que lhe moldou as características, pelo meio onde vive e o que observa. Por outro lado, o livro é também um hino à vida e à importância que pequenas coisas, que não damos valor, podem ter na nossa vida e o quão importante se tornam quando não as temos. Isso sente-se de uma forma muito violenta aquando do suicídio que marca o início do livro e que se vai sentindo ao longo de toda a obra.
São estes os dois principais pilares da obra que o autor nunca deixa cair.
No entanto, em contraposto, o autor também desenvolve uma mensagem de esperança, não só para África, como também para o género humano que, no fundo, sabe ser generoso, sabe perdoar e fazer o bem ao seu semelhante. Há um personagem que é a síntese desse paradigma e, mesmo sendo apresentado aos nossos olhos como o monstro que exemplifica a violência em África, acaba por se tornar, ele próprio, o exemplo da moldagem humana segundo as circunstâncias.
Um livro fascinante que me comoveu pelos seus contrastes e pela forma como me fez meditar no bem e no mal, no supérfluo e no essencial, na alegria e riqueza de estar vivo e de saúde num local aprazível que me fornece estabilidade e condições para viver com dignidade.
Mais uma obra belíssima e envolvente de um escritor que muito aprecio.
Embora já tivesse ouvido falar de alguns dos seus romances, sobretudo as “Andorinhas de Cabul”, confesso que pouco interesse me havia despertado os livros deste autor argelino, até que me deparei com a obra “O que o Dia Deve à Noite” e fiquei rendido à sua escrita sublime e, principalmente, à sua capacidade de enlevo que apenas os Grandes Escritores, aqueles que nasceram com o Dom da escrita, possuem.
Cada Dia é Um Milagre (no original “L'équation africaine”), é o seu mais recente romance e tem a mão do génio, o enlevo que nos embala por uma narrativa belíssima, mas igualmente crua e nua que mostra a essência do Continente africano, a violência do quotidiano que o mestre Yasmina vai pincelando numa tela que os nossos olhos vão apreciando com horror, hipnotizados pela magia que cada palavra encerra.
E o principal personagem é mesmo África.
A África de Yasmina Khadra que nos entra alma dentro ávida de ser ouvida, é como um grito lancinante de sonhos perdidos, projectos inacabados, de contrastes infames, um futuro adiado cujos responsáveis são aqueles que juraram governar em nome do povo mas que fecham os olhos e até contribuem no selvático despojo diário a que a gente simples, rude do povo está sujeita sem poder reagir, sem qualquer tipo de defesa do que aquelas ajudas humanitárias que diariamente assistimos pela televisão no conforto do nosso lar. Uma África onde a vida humana vale tanto como um grão de areia de qualquer deserto inóspito.
E é isso que Yasmina nos mostra de uma forma quase surrealista.
Tudo se inicia com um suicídio que eu considero a própria contra-metáfora do que a partir daí se vai desenrolar. Mais à frente, o autor cogita sobre o assunto e refere, como é possível, alguém que tudo tem, um bom marido, dinheiro na conta bancária, saúde, amigos e família, suicidar-se por uma questão supérflua?
Kurt Krausmann vê-se num turbilhão de emoções e desgostos. Sem saber bem o que fazer da sua vida, resolve aceitar o convite do seu amigo de longa data, o milionário e benfeitor Hans, numa viagem humanitária às Comores.
No entanto e já em águas internacionais, o veleiro é atacado por piratas e inicia-se aí um trajecto feito de humilhações e violência, mas igualmente um trajecto de descoberta de uma África completamente desconhecida, mas também um processo de autodescoberta que irá mudar para sempre a vida de Kurt.
Embora seja África o centro do livro, todo o livro acaba por ser também uma intensa reflexão sobre a natureza humana e a forma como o local e as circunstâncias moldam essa natureza, a forma impressionante como o ser humano se adapta a qualquer condição. Ou seja, sobressai que cada ser humano só é diferente entre si pelo seu passado que lhe moldou as características, pelo meio onde vive e o que observa. Por outro lado, o livro é também um hino à vida e à importância que pequenas coisas, que não damos valor, podem ter na nossa vida e o quão importante se tornam quando não as temos. Isso sente-se de uma forma muito violenta aquando do suicídio que marca o início do livro e que se vai sentindo ao longo de toda a obra.
São estes os dois principais pilares da obra que o autor nunca deixa cair.
No entanto, em contraposto, o autor também desenvolve uma mensagem de esperança, não só para África, como também para o género humano que, no fundo, sabe ser generoso, sabe perdoar e fazer o bem ao seu semelhante. Há um personagem que é a síntese desse paradigma e, mesmo sendo apresentado aos nossos olhos como o monstro que exemplifica a violência em África, acaba por se tornar, ele próprio, o exemplo da moldagem humana segundo as circunstâncias.
Um livro fascinante que me comoveu pelos seus contrastes e pela forma como me fez meditar no bem e no mal, no supérfluo e no essencial, na alegria e riqueza de estar vivo e de saúde num local aprazível que me fornece estabilidade e condições para viver com dignidade.
Mais uma obra belíssima e envolvente de um escritor que muito aprecio.
September 5, 2012
Mon impression initiale (négative) concernant ce livre n'a fait que se renforcer au fil de ma lecture tout en diminuant, même si cela peut paraître paradoxal.
J'adore généralement les écrits de Khadra, et je ne suis pas de ceux qui ne jurent que par son Quatuor algérien. J'ai énormément aimé des oeuvres plus récentes comme "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit", par exemple. Même "L'Olympe des infortunes" qui (arrêtez-moi si je me trompe) n'a pas été très bien reçu a trouvé grâce à mes yeux.
Mais je considère que beaucoup de choses sonnent faux dans "L'équation africaine". La 1e partie du livre (divisé en 3 parties)m'a particulièrement déplu. Notamment les dialogues, que j'ai trouvés plats et forcés. J'ai eu le sentiment que l'écriture ne faisait qu'effleurer la surface des choses, qu'elle expliquait (trop longuement d'ailleurs) les choses au lieu de les montrer ou de simplement les suggérer. Je ne suis pas entrée dans la peau de Kurt, le personnage principal. Si Khadra reste à mes yeux une grande plume, je trouve que son style s'essouffle ici. Trop de facilités, de phrases pas aussi ciselées que ce à quoi l'auteur nous avait habitués.
Le reste du livre souffre à mon sens des mêmes défauts. Beaucoup de verbiage qui se veut introspection mais ne dépasse pas le stade des vérités générales un peu vaseuses. Du coup, il en ressort un manque d'authenticité, de fraîcheur, alors que, pour moi, Khadra avait jusque-là été un maître en la matière. Il savait insuffler énormément de profondeur à ses personnages, il les rendait vraiment palpables, vrais.
Cela étant dit, plus l'histoire progressait, plus je me suis laissée prendre à ses filets, je l'avoue. Je dresse un tableau très sombre de ce livre, et ma note peut sembler très dure, mais attention : "L'équation africaine" n'en reste pas moins un ouvrage d'honnête facture qui, je n'en doute pas, a la faculté d'émouvoir, de choquer, d'enseigner quelque chose etc.
Mais étant donné la nature dramatique de l'intrigue, les sujets durs qui sont abordés, j'espérais plus de flamboyance; je m'attendais à un chef-d'oeuvre digne de Khadra et à la hauteur des enjeux cruciaux qu'il évoque.
J'adore généralement les écrits de Khadra, et je ne suis pas de ceux qui ne jurent que par son Quatuor algérien. J'ai énormément aimé des oeuvres plus récentes comme "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit", par exemple. Même "L'Olympe des infortunes" qui (arrêtez-moi si je me trompe) n'a pas été très bien reçu a trouvé grâce à mes yeux.
Mais je considère que beaucoup de choses sonnent faux dans "L'équation africaine". La 1e partie du livre (divisé en 3 parties)m'a particulièrement déplu. Notamment les dialogues, que j'ai trouvés plats et forcés. J'ai eu le sentiment que l'écriture ne faisait qu'effleurer la surface des choses, qu'elle expliquait (trop longuement d'ailleurs) les choses au lieu de les montrer ou de simplement les suggérer. Je ne suis pas entrée dans la peau de Kurt, le personnage principal. Si Khadra reste à mes yeux une grande plume, je trouve que son style s'essouffle ici. Trop de facilités, de phrases pas aussi ciselées que ce à quoi l'auteur nous avait habitués.
Le reste du livre souffre à mon sens des mêmes défauts. Beaucoup de verbiage qui se veut introspection mais ne dépasse pas le stade des vérités générales un peu vaseuses. Du coup, il en ressort un manque d'authenticité, de fraîcheur, alors que, pour moi, Khadra avait jusque-là été un maître en la matière. Il savait insuffler énormément de profondeur à ses personnages, il les rendait vraiment palpables, vrais.
Cela étant dit, plus l'histoire progressait, plus je me suis laissée prendre à ses filets, je l'avoue. Je dresse un tableau très sombre de ce livre, et ma note peut sembler très dure, mais attention : "L'équation africaine" n'en reste pas moins un ouvrage d'honnête facture qui, je n'en doute pas, a la faculté d'émouvoir, de choquer, d'enseigner quelque chose etc.
Mais étant donné la nature dramatique de l'intrigue, les sujets durs qui sont abordés, j'espérais plus de flamboyance; je m'attendais à un chef-d'oeuvre digne de Khadra et à la hauteur des enjeux cruciaux qu'il évoque.
December 21, 2021
Comment revenir à la normal après un deuil cruel, un choc culturel, le serment d’Hypocrate bafoué, un assassinat sans justification! Se nourrir de haine pour pouvoir survivre!
Il est dit qu’il faut revisiter l’Afrique plusieurs fois pour ne pas être une gourde!
Cette terre Sainte qu’il faut vivre pour mieux la ressentir! Une invitation à nous éclairer que parfois le luxe est notre propre déchéance où comprendre qu’il y a pas d’enfer sur terre, juste des démons!
C’est entre Djibouti & Somalie que Kurt un médecin généraliste veuf de quelques semaines & son ami Hans bienfaiteur humanitaire quitte Frankfurt pour l’Afrique et se font enlever par la bande de Moussa qui est dirigé pas Joma, un tyran sans scrupule du jugement dernier! Malgré l’aide d’un Blackmoon le sou fifre de Joma, c���est une descente tout droit aux enfers où ils apprennent que c’est l’étranger qui est reconnu comme un sauvage dans une terre d’accueil!
De ce périple ils rencontreront Bruno un Français établi sur les terres depuis bientôt 40ans et que malgré les conditions il y a pas mieux comme paradis sur terre que la Mère de toutes les nations!
Kurt devra apprendre à conjuguer avec le temps et comprendre que le regret est un état d’âme, et le remord est un cas de conscience. Et que parfois le silence est le plus cruel support de la panique!
🧕🏾🧕🏾🧕🏾🧕🏾/5
Auteur/// Yasmina Khadra
Nombre de page ///349
Genre/// Drame
Il est dit qu’il faut revisiter l’Afrique plusieurs fois pour ne pas être une gourde!
Cette terre Sainte qu’il faut vivre pour mieux la ressentir! Une invitation à nous éclairer que parfois le luxe est notre propre déchéance où comprendre qu’il y a pas d’enfer sur terre, juste des démons!
C’est entre Djibouti & Somalie que Kurt un médecin généraliste veuf de quelques semaines & son ami Hans bienfaiteur humanitaire quitte Frankfurt pour l’Afrique et se font enlever par la bande de Moussa qui est dirigé pas Joma, un tyran sans scrupule du jugement dernier! Malgré l’aide d’un Blackmoon le sou fifre de Joma, c���est une descente tout droit aux enfers où ils apprennent que c’est l’étranger qui est reconnu comme un sauvage dans une terre d’accueil!
De ce périple ils rencontreront Bruno un Français établi sur les terres depuis bientôt 40ans et que malgré les conditions il y a pas mieux comme paradis sur terre que la Mère de toutes les nations!
Kurt devra apprendre à conjuguer avec le temps et comprendre que le regret est un état d’âme, et le remord est un cas de conscience. Et que parfois le silence est le plus cruel support de la panique!
🧕🏾🧕🏾🧕🏾🧕🏾/5
Auteur/// Yasmina Khadra
Nombre de page ///349
Genre/// Drame
December 7, 2015
It’s been a long time since I was last so disappointed in a book. I really, really disliked this one.
To begin with, the writing is not at all gripping. The entire story is told in first-person past-tense, which makes it sound like a bad memoir rather than a thrilling tale.
The characters – all of them – are exceedingly flat. I felt zero attachment to any of them. They weren’t even interesting. In fact, they were all horribly stereotypical. This book is an exercise in stereotypes.
The book is strewn with the kind of African stereotypes so many Africans are desperately trying to destroy. It paints Africans with one brush, and consistently addresses Africa as a single country. Khadra being North African himself is no excuse for perpetuating inaccuracies of this continent and its countries.
Usually I can find enough good in a book to make a nice “compliment sandwich” but I really couldn’t find anything good in this one, so I’ll just stop here.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To begin with, the writing is not at all gripping. The entire story is told in first-person past-tense, which makes it sound like a bad memoir rather than a thrilling tale.
The characters – all of them – are exceedingly flat. I felt zero attachment to any of them. They weren’t even interesting. In fact, they were all horribly stereotypical. This book is an exercise in stereotypes.
The book is strewn with the kind of African stereotypes so many Africans are desperately trying to destroy. It paints Africans with one brush, and consistently addresses Africa as a single country. Khadra being North African himself is no excuse for perpetuating inaccuracies of this continent and its countries.
Usually I can find enough good in a book to make a nice “compliment sandwich” but I really couldn’t find anything good in this one, so I’ll just stop here.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2020
Autour d'une prise d'otage en Somalie, une histoire dramatique se naît pour dévoiler l'âme de l'Afrique.
Une histoire qui oscille entre suspens et aventure; et se finit par à un passage de l'existence ordinaire à la vie.
Une histoire qui oscille entre suspens et aventure; et se finit par à un passage de l'existence ordinaire à la vie.
May 13, 2025
Επιτέλους βιβλίο με διαφορετική θεματολογία από τα συνηθισμένα. Από τη μία η αιχμαλωσία του πρωταγωνιστή σε κάποιο σημείο της Αφρικής, οι κακουχίες και η απελπισία του που περιγράφονται πολύ παραστατικά και από την άλλη οι ανθρώπινες σχέσεις που αναπτύσσονται σε αυτές τις εξαιρετικά δύσκολες συνθήκες επιβίωσης, με απορρόφησαν πλήρως.
Το ευχαριστήθηκα πολύ το βιβλίο, το χάρηκα. Πολύ ωραία έμπνευση, καλογραμμένο , γρήγορο, ενίοτε βαθιά συναισθηματικό, σίγουρα έχει γερές δόσεις αλήθειας μέσα.
https://kiallovivlio.blogspot.com/
Το ευχαριστήθηκα πολύ το βιβλίο, το χάρηκα. Πολύ ωραία έμπνευση, καλογραμμένο , γρήγορο, ενίοτε βαθιά συναισθηματικό, σίγουρα έχει γερές δόσεις αλήθειας μέσα.
https://kiallovivlio.blogspot.com/
November 1, 2022
Experiências de perda, violência, dor, luto, desorientação. Final totalmente previsível (e uma desilusão) mas uma grande viagem pelo carácter humano.
January 2, 2013
Autour d'un phénomène dramatique - les prises d'otages récurrentes au large de la Somalie -, Yasmina Khadra, au sommet de son art, construit un roman éblouissant, qui mêle suspense, récit d'aventures et histoire d'amour enfiévrée.
Médecin à Francfort, Kurt Krausmann mène une existence ordinaire, limitée à ses allers-retours entre son cabinet de consultation et son appartement bourgeois. Jusqu'au drame familial qui va le précipiter dans le désespoir. Afin de l'aider à surmonter son chagrin, son meilleur ami, Hans, un riche homme d'affaires versé dans l'humanitaire, lui propose de l'emmener sur son voilier jusque dans les Comores, pour les besoins d'une bonne cause. Au large des côtes somaliennes, leur bateau est assailli par des pirates. Kurt et Hans sont enlevés puis transférés dans un campement clandestin. Dans leur geôle improvisée, se trouve déjà Bruno, un otage français que tout le monde semble avoir oublié, et qui tente péniblement de concilier sa passion pour le continent africain avec l'angoisse de sa captivité. Une détention à l'issue incertaine, des conditions de vie innommables, une promiscuité dangereuse avec des mercenaires sans pitié, c'est le début d'une descente aux enfers dont personne ne sortira indemne. Mais parce que le drame est propice aux revirements de situation, c'est aussi pour Kurt le début d'une grande histoire d'amour.
En nous offrant ce voyage saisissant de réalisme, qui nous transporte, de la Somalie au Soudan, dans une Afrique orientale aux multiples contradictions - tour à tour effrayante, irrationnelle, sage, fière, digne et infiniment courageuse -, Yasmina Khadra confirme une fois encore son immense talent de narrateur. Construit et mené de main de maître, ce roman décrit la lente et irréversible transformation d'un Européen, dont les yeux vont, peu à peu, s'ouvrir à la réalité d'un monde jusqu'alors inconnu de lui. Un hymne à la grandeur d'un continent livré aux pires calamités.
Médecin à Francfort, Kurt Krausmann mène une existence ordinaire, limitée à ses allers-retours entre son cabinet de consultation et son appartement bourgeois. Jusqu'au drame familial qui va le précipiter dans le désespoir. Afin de l'aider à surmonter son chagrin, son meilleur ami, Hans, un riche homme d'affaires versé dans l'humanitaire, lui propose de l'emmener sur son voilier jusque dans les Comores, pour les besoins d'une bonne cause. Au large des côtes somaliennes, leur bateau est assailli par des pirates. Kurt et Hans sont enlevés puis transférés dans un campement clandestin. Dans leur geôle improvisée, se trouve déjà Bruno, un otage français que tout le monde semble avoir oublié, et qui tente péniblement de concilier sa passion pour le continent africain avec l'angoisse de sa captivité. Une détention à l'issue incertaine, des conditions de vie innommables, une promiscuité dangereuse avec des mercenaires sans pitié, c'est le début d'une descente aux enfers dont personne ne sortira indemne. Mais parce que le drame est propice aux revirements de situation, c'est aussi pour Kurt le début d'une grande histoire d'amour.
En nous offrant ce voyage saisissant de réalisme, qui nous transporte, de la Somalie au Soudan, dans une Afrique orientale aux multiples contradictions - tour à tour effrayante, irrationnelle, sage, fière, digne et infiniment courageuse -, Yasmina Khadra confirme une fois encore son immense talent de narrateur. Construit et mené de main de maître, ce roman décrit la lente et irréversible transformation d'un Européen, dont les yeux vont, peu à peu, s'ouvrir à la réalité d'un monde jusqu'alors inconnu de lui. Un hymne à la grandeur d'un continent livré aux pires calamités.
September 3, 2012
Esta é uma história que tem como pano de fundo o drama.
Kurt (personagem principal) acaba por perder a sua esposa (por suicídio). Seu amigo Hans na tentativa de o ajudar, convence-o a partir no veleiro com ele. O que acontece é que depois ambos são sequestrados e Hans o seu amigo, é assassinado.
Este livro temos por um lado duas visões que não são mais do que duas escolhas, ou por outras palavras, duas opções. A primeira prende-se com o desistir da vida, em vez de lutar e arregaçar as mangas. A segunda assenta na persistência, no viver a vida encarando cada dia como um milagre - daí o titulo "Cada dia é um milagre".
As duas personagens que me tocaram neste livro foram Hans e Kurt pelo facto de assentarem a sua perspectiva de vida na segunda opção: "Porque estás triste? .... Não devias. Só os mortos estão tristes porque não podem levantar-se."
Toda a acção assim como as cenas são muito bem conseguidas. Permitindo ao leitor viajar também por África e viver intensamente esta história.
Presenteio-vos com as frases que me tocaram neste livro: " Vive cada manhã como se fosse a primeira/ E deixa ao passado os remorsos e as más acções,/ Vive cada noite como se fosse a última/ Porque ninguém sabe de que será feito o amanhã"
Recomendo este magnifico livro :)
Kurt (personagem principal) acaba por perder a sua esposa (por suicídio). Seu amigo Hans na tentativa de o ajudar, convence-o a partir no veleiro com ele. O que acontece é que depois ambos são sequestrados e Hans o seu amigo, é assassinado.
Este livro temos por um lado duas visões que não são mais do que duas escolhas, ou por outras palavras, duas opções. A primeira prende-se com o desistir da vida, em vez de lutar e arregaçar as mangas. A segunda assenta na persistência, no viver a vida encarando cada dia como um milagre - daí o titulo "Cada dia é um milagre".
As duas personagens que me tocaram neste livro foram Hans e Kurt pelo facto de assentarem a sua perspectiva de vida na segunda opção: "Porque estás triste? .... Não devias. Só os mortos estão tristes porque não podem levantar-se."
Toda a acção assim como as cenas são muito bem conseguidas. Permitindo ao leitor viajar também por África e viver intensamente esta história.
Presenteio-vos com as frases que me tocaram neste livro: " Vive cada manhã como se fosse a primeira/ E deixa ao passado os remorsos e as más acções,/ Vive cada noite como se fosse a última/ Porque ninguém sabe de que será feito o amanhã"
Recomendo este magnifico livro :)
December 20, 2015
Another good book by Yasmina Khadra, this time we don't dwell with Muslims but with African pirates and kidnappers. The story of Kurt doesn't take a long span of time but it's so dense that it seems a bigger book than 300 pages more or less. The complications of a marriage life, the need to help, the delusion of knowing our spouse so well to remain astonish when something incredible happens. All this topics and more in this novel that gives a lot of food for thoughts.
Un altro bel libro di Yasmina Khadra, ma stavolta non abbiamo a che fare con i mussulmani, quanto piuttosto con i pirati somali, guerriglieri e rapitori. La storia di questo libro non prende tanto tempo ma é cosí densa che non sembra di aver letto solo 300 pagine (piú o meno). Le complicazioni della vita matrimoniale, il bisogno di aiutare chi ne ha bisogno, l'illusione di conoscere il nostro coniuge cosí bene che quando succede l'incredibile non riusciamo ad accettarlo. Tutti questi argomenti e molti di piú in questo libro che offre veramente molti spunti di riflessione.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND GALLIC BOOK FOR THE PREVIEW!
Un altro bel libro di Yasmina Khadra, ma stavolta non abbiamo a che fare con i mussulmani, quanto piuttosto con i pirati somali, guerriglieri e rapitori. La storia di questo libro non prende tanto tempo ma é cosí densa che non sembra di aver letto solo 300 pagine (piú o meno). Le complicazioni della vita matrimoniale, il bisogno di aiutare chi ne ha bisogno, l'illusione di conoscere il nostro coniuge cosí bene che quando succede l'incredibile non riusciamo ad accettarlo. Tutti questi argomenti e molti di piú in questo libro che offre veramente molti spunti di riflessione.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND GALLIC BOOK FOR THE PREVIEW!
August 13, 2017
L'Africa ad uso e consumo degli occidentali?
Mi ha stupito il pensiero che l'autore di questo romanzo sia arabo, perché l'Africa descritta nella rocambolesca avventura di Kurt, medico tedesco rimasto vedovo e preso in ostaggio in Darfur, pare proprio vista da un occidentale -in effetti è coerente con il punto di vista del protagonista, ma è una narrazione povera di contenuti. C'è un miscuglio di elementi che piacciono tanto alla cronaca: il sequestro di bianchi, i pirati in acque internazionali, il mercato degli ostaggi, i saccheggi e la fame nelle profondità dei villaggi africani. Manca però del collante, un qualcosa in più che renda credibile Kurt che non sembra farsi toccare da nulla e alla fine supera tutto magicamente: il rapimento, le violenze, il lutto della moglie, e se ne torna dritto in Sudan tra le braccia di una dottoressa della Croce Rossa. L'intero romanzo mi ha dato un'impressione di superficialità, credo che l'autore abbia scritto di molto meglio e di essere partita dall'opera sbagliata.
*scrivevo questo nel 2015. Successivamente di Khadra ho letto "L'attentato" e ho capito che avevo ragione ad aspettarmi molto più di questo romanzo da lui!
Mi ha stupito il pensiero che l'autore di questo romanzo sia arabo, perché l'Africa descritta nella rocambolesca avventura di Kurt, medico tedesco rimasto vedovo e preso in ostaggio in Darfur, pare proprio vista da un occidentale -in effetti è coerente con il punto di vista del protagonista, ma è una narrazione povera di contenuti. C'è un miscuglio di elementi che piacciono tanto alla cronaca: il sequestro di bianchi, i pirati in acque internazionali, il mercato degli ostaggi, i saccheggi e la fame nelle profondità dei villaggi africani. Manca però del collante, un qualcosa in più che renda credibile Kurt che non sembra farsi toccare da nulla e alla fine supera tutto magicamente: il rapimento, le violenze, il lutto della moglie, e se ne torna dritto in Sudan tra le braccia di una dottoressa della Croce Rossa. L'intero romanzo mi ha dato un'impressione di superficialità, credo che l'autore abbia scritto di molto meglio e di essere partita dall'opera sbagliata.
*scrivevo questo nel 2015. Successivamente di Khadra ho letto "L'attentato" e ho capito che avevo ragione ad aspettarmi molto più di questo romanzo da lui!
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