Im Rücken ein Leopard: Wie Afrika mein Leben veränderte

by Jean-Christophe Rufin, Anne L. Braun (Übersetzer)

Er war Arzt im Krankenhaus, Pionier in Sachen Humanitäre Hilfe, Goncourt-Preisträger und ist jetzt Botschafter in Senegal. Jean-Christophe Rufin, Autor von Thrillern und historischen Romanen hat eine neues Abenteuer geschrieben, das Abenteuer seines Lebens. Rufin erzählt sehr poetisch und berührend über seine Kindheit, von seinem Großvater, der im Konzentrationslager Buchenwald nur deshalb überlebte, weil er Arzt war. Rufin erzählt, wie er durch diesen Einfluss überhaupt erst Mediziner geworden ist und wie die Medizin nicht nur zu seiner Leidenschaft, sondern zu einer Haltung wurde. Ein ergreifender, sehr persönlicher Bericht eines großen Homme de science et de lettres, eines Menschenfreundes im alten Sinn.

Genres: Nonfiction, France, French Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jean-Christophe Rufin is a French doctor and novelist. He is the president of Action Against Hunger and one of the founders of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without borders). He was Ambassador of France in Senegal from 2007 to June 2010.

Rufin was born in Bourges, Cher in 1952. An only child, he was raised by his grandparents, because his father had left the family and his mother worked in Paris. His grandfather, a doctor and member of the French Resistance during World War II, had been imprisoned for two years at Buchenwald.

In 1977, after medical school, Rufin went to Tunisia as a volunteer doctor. He led his first humanitarian mission in Eritrea,where he met Azeb, who became his second wife.

A graduate of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Political Sciences) in 1986, he became advisor to the Secretary of State for Human Rights and published his first book, Le Piège humanitaire (The Humanitarian Trap), an essay on the political stakes of humanitarian action.

As a doctor, he has led numerous missions in eastern Africa and Latin America. He is former vice-president of Médecins Sans Frontières and former president of the non-governmental organization Action Against Hunger.

Reviews

[Jonathan Jung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un Rufin reste un Rufin. Passages très intéressants et bons mots savoureux. Même si j'ai parfois été un peu agacé par la fausse modestie de certains passages de cette autobiographie.

[awesomatik.de · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books that found me and not vice-versa. I didn't know the author, I didn't know the content but I saw it on a shelf of a publisher I work for and the cover immediatly appealed to me. They gave it to me as a gift and I couldn't put it down after I once started it.

It's the autobiography of Jean-Christophe Rufin. A man of many talents. A doctor, former vice-president of MSF (Médecins sans frontières/Doctors without Borders) a political adviser, a respected author (Prix Goncourt 2001), an ambassador but most of all a true humanist.

First of all it's beautifully written. Rufin uses a lot of metaphors and his story has a great rhythm, which for me is one of the most important attributes a good book should have. Rufin discusses so many different topics and still the writing flows effortlessy from one to the other and keeps the reader glued to the book.

The main passions of the author are the medical science, the humanitarian work, politics, travelling and writing(as a novelist). I found the german subtitle "how africa changed my life" very misleading because there is absolutely no evidence for that in the book.
The original "chronicles of a nomad doctor" is far more accurate.

Rufin made an impressive career which took a lot of very hard work, dedication and passion. Still he trusts on his fortune and writes his story almost like a fairy tale and with a lot of humor, as if all the great job opportunities were brought to him on a silver plate.
He is a sharp analyst and shares his interesting insights on a lot of different topics with the reader. Always looking through a philantropic lense.

I can only recommend this complex and passionate book to everyone who wants to broaden his horizon. It's truly a good and quick read (Funny how his fictional storys have hundreds of pages and the story of his rich life is told in 284 pages).

[Natali Maciková · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autor sa na cca 250 stranách pokúša zachytiť svoj život. A presne tam je jadro problému: kniha je skôr súborom pocitov a filozofických úvah o živote. Všetko kĺže len po povrchu - načrtne a hneď odbehne k ďalšej udalosti. Napriek tomu, že kniha má podnázov Zápisky lekára nomáda, nečakajte žiadne lekárske historky. Ak túžite vedieť viac o živote Lekárov bez hraníc, siahnite radšej po nejakej inej knihe. Tomáš Šebek bude určite výborná voľba.

[Anni Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What begins as a sort of medical journal in this memoire, continues with a fascinating account of the author's exeperience as an active member of Doctors Without Borders and then of his successes and disappointments as an author. In his book, Jean-Christophe Rufin provides a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be a doctor, humanist, and global citizen. Spending his childhood and youth mainly with his grandparents, it was Rufin's grandfather whose influence set him on a medical path. As he recounts the years he worked in Africa, he reveals vivid memories of the humanitarian missions and provides insights into the complexities of humanitarian work. All this is intertwined with his strong desire to write, though for many years, he has no ideas what exactly to write, what genre to concentrate on, his yearning is to tell a story.
Throughout all the descriptions of his travels and observations, he mentions his first wife and his son just once, they do not appear again. But some time later, he mentions a new wife and two daughters, both of whom have no further mention in the account. I wondered about that, but it became obvious that the type of life he was leading was not exactly beneficial to establishing a family.
Overall, this is a powerful memoire, and its honesty has left a lasting impression on me. Rufin's development as a doctor, humanitarian and author was not always a smooth process, it was his determination that helped him achieve his aims.

[Peter Longfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not know JC Ruffin (left France too long ago). I was captivated from start to finish by the beautiful, smooth and natural language, poetic and refined without being elitist or pedantic. The author is refreshingly honest, and his views on the medical practice art (which is different to medical science and technology) has been an eye opener for me.

[Diana (el_dorado_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'est un livre parfait pour tous ceux qui cherchent le but de leur vie depuis la perspective de quelqu'un qui a vécu et fait tout pour accomplir ces rêves. Magnifique, drôle et intelligent.

[Pierre Prisset · Rating 2 out of 5]

30 ans d’histoire d’un médecin biographie d’un homme plus humoriste que scientifique

[Nekimajdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Édifiant! Très bien écrit, troublant et décourageant pour les naïfs dont je fais partie. A lire !

[Adriana Cerna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pro humanitárce povinná četba

[Anne-Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.C. Rufin nous livre son auto-biographie relatée comme une épopée à travers différentes époques, différentes contrées, et différentes aspirations. RUfin, tantôt médecin, tantôt humanitaire, tantôt homme politique, reste malgré la diversité de ses missions, dans une optique profondément humaniste.
Et cet humanisme, on ne la constate pas uniquement en raison de ces missions, mais aussi et surtout dans la sincérité qu'il nous transmet par le style de son écriture.
J'ai pris un énorme plaisir à découvrir la vie de cet homme que je ne connaissais pas et dont le style d'écriture m'a enchantée. Il en ressort de la douceur, de la profondeur et une grande beauté d'âme auxquels j'ai été très sensible.

[Anissa Belkhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

La première partie, que j'ai beaucoup aimée, retrace ses études de médecine. Quand on est passé (ou qu'on est en train de passer) par là, même si c'était il y a 30/40 ans on y trouve plein de clins d'oeil, de petites anecdotes qui nous font sourire tellement c'est tout à fait ça, encore aujourd'hui.
Dans la deuxième partie, évoque ses débuts à médecins sans frontières et ses années consacrées à l'humanitaire. J'ai moins accroché.
La troisième partie nous fait découvrir comment il est arrivé dans le monde de la littérature et j'ai trouvé ça plutôt intéressant.
Bref, pour moi c'est un bon livre, mais je ne suis pas sûre que ça intéresserait tout le monde !!!

[Pauline Frs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livre autobiographique de cet écrivain médecin humanitaire et diplomate, toute en modestie et finesse, à l'image de son auteur. Très inspirant, très émouvant, il rend hommage aux hasards, aux rencontres et à l'audace qui ont tissé la vie de J-C Rufin, et se lit comme un roman.

[M Luthinos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libre magnifiquement écrit, qui me ramène à la beauté de la langue française après multiples récits en anglais. Ruin nous parle de sa vie, de son parcours mais soulève aussi des réflexions intéressantes sur la médecine, l'humanitaire et l'écriture.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Itinéraire d'un médecin au parcours peu commun...un auteur qui nous surprend toujours en nous proposant à chaque oeuvre un thème et un style différent !

[Adeline PERAUDEAU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belle autobiographie d'un homme à l'intelligence certaine.

[Muriel Carlier · Rating 4 out of 5]

vraiment tres intéressant

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rufin o sobě píše hezky obrazně a skromně, ale informačně toho text bohužel moc nenese. Nejvíc jsem si užil první cca třetinu, kde vypraví historky ze studia medicíny. Zbytek vyprávění z angažmá v MSF, ACF a vládě, u kterých by mě moc zajímaly detaily, jdou ale hodně po povrchu. Jsem ale rád, že jsem se dozvěděl aspoň něco o začátcích MSF a rozporu, po kterém z organizace odešel jeden ze zakladatelů Bernard Kouchner.

[Nathalie Proulx]

Aucunement intéressant, j'ai abandonné après quelques chapîtres