Manel said:
"
Just like any of Salih's books, I couldn't put down this one either. Im not sure what made me feel so close to the characters, maybe being an immigrant child myself. Maybe because it sounded a lot like those ancestral stories my great-grandma would t
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“But I come from no country, from no city, no tribe. I am the son of the road, my country is the caravan, my life the most unexpected of voyages.”
― Leo Africanus
― Leo Africanus
“Lorsque l'esprit des hommes te paraîtra étroit, dis-toi que la terre de Dieu est vaste, et vastes Ses mains et Son coeur. N'hésite jamais à t'éloigner, au delà de toutes les mers, au-delà de toutes les frontières, de toutes les patries, de toutes les croyances”
― Leo Africanus
― Leo Africanus
“أدمنت احزاني
فصرت اخاف ان لا احزنا
I got addicted to my sorrows,
Until I have gotten scared of not being sorrowed.
وطعنت آلافا من المرات
حتى صار يوجعني بان لا اطعنا
And I was stabbed thousands of times,
Until it felt painful not to be stabbed.
ولعنت في كل اللغات
حتى صار يقلقني بان لا العنا
And I was cursed in all the languages,
Until I started being nervous of not being cursed.
ولقد تشابهت كل البلاد
فلا ارى نفسي هناك، ولا ارى نفسي هنا
And all the countries seemed the same,
That I don't see myself there, And I don't see myself here.”
―
فصرت اخاف ان لا احزنا
I got addicted to my sorrows,
Until I have gotten scared of not being sorrowed.
وطعنت آلافا من المرات
حتى صار يوجعني بان لا اطعنا
And I was stabbed thousands of times,
Until it felt painful not to be stabbed.
ولعنت في كل اللغات
حتى صار يقلقني بان لا العنا
And I was cursed in all the languages,
Until I started being nervous of not being cursed.
ولقد تشابهت كل البلاد
فلا ارى نفسي هناك، ولا ارى نفسي هنا
And all the countries seemed the same,
That I don't see myself there, And I don't see myself here.”
―
“Peut-être faudra-t-il que quelqu’un ose leur apprendre à regarder la défaite dans les yeux, ose leur expliquer que pour se relever il faut d’abord admettre qu’on est à terre. Peut-être faudra-t-il que quelqu’un leur dise la vérité un jour.”
― Leo Africanus
― Leo Africanus
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