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Leila Aboulela
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The Translator Kindle Edition

by Leila Aboulela (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 223 ratings
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A New York Times Notable Book: “Aboulela’s lovely, brief story encompasses worlds of melancholy and gulfs between cultures” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
 
American readers were introduced to the award-winning Sudanese author Leila Aboulela with Minaret, a delicate tale of a privileged young African Muslim woman adjusting to her new life as a maid in London. Now, for the first time in North America, we step back to her extraordinarily assured debut about a widowed Muslim mother living in Aberdeen who falls in love with a Scottish secular academic.
 
Sammar is a Sudanese widow working as an Arabic translator at a Scottish university. Since the sudden death of her husband, her young son has gone to live with family in Khartoum, leaving Sammar alone in cold, gray Aberdeen, grieving and isolated. But when she begins to translate for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, the two develop a deep friendship that awakens in Sammar all the longing for life she has repressed. As Rae and Sammar fall in love, she knows they will have to address his lack of faith in all that Sammar holds sacred. An exquisitely crafted meditation on love, both human and divine, The Translator is ultimately the story of one woman’s courage to stay true to her beliefs, herself, and her newfound love.
 
“A story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written.” —J. M. Coetzee
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  1. Print length
    212 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Black Cat
  5. Publication date
    December 1, 2007
  6. File size
    4779 KB
  7. Page Flip
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From the Publisher

RIVER SPIRIT BIRD SUMMONS ELSEWHERE, HOME THE KINDNESS OF ENEMIES LYRICS ALLEY
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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4.3 out of 5 stars
154
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“Rich and moving… captivating.”—Kirkus “Elegant.”—Washington Post “There is so much quiet brilliance.”—Guardian “A versatile prose stylist.” —New York Times “A novel as thoughtful as it is evocative.” —The Boston Globe

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sammar, a young Sudanese widow, is working as a translator in a Scottish university when love blossoms between herself and her Scottish supervisor, Rae Isles, a scholar of the Middle East and of Third World politics. A religious Muslim who covers her hair, Sammar has left her young son in Khartoum to be raised by her aunt and quells her loneliness by throwing herself into her job translating terrorist documents for kindly divorcé Rae. The two signal their growing love for one another with sympathy (and chastity). On the eve of her trip to Khartoum to see her son and bring him back with her, she confronts Rae, desperate to know if he will accept Islam—since a relationship to her is impossible without marriage, and that marriage is impossible without his conversion. His hesitation reveals the cultural gulf between them, and Sammar is pierced to the quick. Though The Translator is Aboulela's second novel to be released in the U.S., it is the Sudanese-British author's first, published in the U.K. in 1999. (Her third, Minaret, appeared here last year.) With authentic detail and insight into both cultures, Aboulela painstakingly constructs a truly transformative denouement. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Aboulela's debut novel, the second to be published in the U.S., touches on themes of culture shock, religious fervor, loneliness, loss, and love, each illuminated by her lyrical yet understated writing style, and her uncanny ability to capture a fleeting moment with photographic precision. Sammar, a young Sudanese widow, leaves her 4-year-old son with her aunt and returns to Scotland, where her husband died, and where she works as an Arabic translator. She begins translating for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, and their work relationship gradually becomes a tentatively romantic one. But Aboulela has left subtle but frequent hints of how important Sammar's faith is to her--prayer bringing her "something deeper than happiness"--so it comes as no surprise that Rae's inability to profess his faith in her religion, in which he is so intellectually engaged, causes her to flee. Aboulela's perceptive description of Sammar's aching loss of both Rae and her profession leaves an indelible impression, as does the conclusion of this beautifully crafted novel. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008V461JQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Cat; 1st edition (December 1, 2007)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2007
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4779 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 223 ratings

About the author

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Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela

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Leila Aboulela was born in Cairo, grew up in Khartoum and moved in her mid-twenties to Aberdeen. She is the author of five novels, Bird Summons, The Translator, a New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year, The Kindness of Enemies, Minaret and Lyrics Alley, Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards. Leila was the first winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing and her latest story collection, Elsewhere, Home won the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award. Leila’s work has been translated into fifteen languages and she was long-listed three times for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her plays The Insider, The Mystic Life and others were broadcast on BBC Radio and her fiction included in publications such as Freeman’s, Granta and Harper’s Magazine.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
223 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jenny Knight
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely stranger in a cold, strange land
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2008
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The Translator is one of the best novels I've ever read. Leila Aboulela is a beautiful, honest writer who gave me a hundred precious, wise, funny insights into Islam, Sudanese family life and Western culture as viewed by a non-Westerner. It's not just the character of Sammar, whose goodness is striking but not perfect, or the character of Rae, whose opinions made me love him. Her novel had the ring of authenticity and believability, not an easy feat anyway, but especially in the current geopolitical climate, nor among Muslims who wish to show only flawless personifications of Islam. And yet she managed to write a "halal" novel in English. It is a blessing for English speakers who seek to understand Islam through a Muslim's eyes. I also can recommend Ms. Aboulela's collection of short stories, Coloured Lights, and her second novel, Minaret. Inside are all wonderful, genuine examples of Islam and the West meeting, circling each other warily, touching, and being surprised by what they find.
12 people found this helpful
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vivek
4.0 out of 5 stars Islam and life
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2015
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Loved it. Humanity prevails and love surpasses religion. Beautiful journey from Aberdeen to Khartoum.

The story of true people living a different life which means something to them, so we cannot compare but immerse in their happiness
2 people found this helpful
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Masked Reviewer
3.0 out of 5 stars Deepining the Divide
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011
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Let e start by saying that Leila Aboulela's prose is just stunningly beautiful. Her characters were portrayed thoughtfully and with great detail. However, I had a real problem getting past the way atheists/agnostics and Christianity are dealt with in this novel. At one point Sammar fears the man she is falling in love with may be an atheist and denies that this could be possible because he is "not empty inside." This is a narrow, bigoted view of non-believers and it made me sad to read it. May non-believers are wonderful, loving, morally-grounded people (far more so than many who claim religion.) Christianity is described as a sad religion that focuses on owing something to someone for redemption. Christians don't see their religion this way. If these had been Sammar's views and they had been dealt with in a thoughtful and critical manner I would have been more accepting of them, but I felt like they were the author's views being put into the voices of the characters. Literature like this is not going to reach non-Muslims who are curious about Islam. It alienates them. I finished the novel because of the beautiful prose, but I was disappointed in the ending. The moral of the story seems to be Sudan=Good, Scotland=Bad, Islam=Good, All Other Religions (or a lack of religion)= Bad. The book presented an extremely narrow world-view and lacked complexity. I hope some of Aboulela's other works express more complex and balanced ideas. Her prose is so beautiful that I intend to attempt more of her work. I hope I won't be disappointed.
16 people found this helpful
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Judith Jagoda
5.0 out of 5 stars Translate the language of love.
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2019
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This story rings true to everyday problems of mixed marriages. Couples wanting the love of their lives and yet reluctant because of religious beliefs or skin Color or family background. This. Couple struggled but found a happy ending many people do this but many don’t find a solution and so they part and pine forever even if they marry someone more the same as they they never forget the unrequited true love.
I think this book will appeal to women of any age. It’s a sad but inspirational story. I truly enjoyed it.
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Deanna J. Marquart
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2007
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Although I found the story compelling and easy to stay involved in, I couldn't fully identify with Sammar's commitment to Islam nor with Rae's ultimate decision to become a practicing and faithful Muslim. That could be "my poverty," to borrow a phrase from Edward Albee, in the sense of my own unwillingness to live a life of "faith." Still, I appreciated this opportunity to see how a Muslim woman would interpret her life choices and play them out ... what she might think, what she might say. All of that I found extremely interesting. And I found Aboulela an effective writer. Even if not always in total command of English, it's impressive that she apparently wrote this book in English.
2 people found this helpful
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Witold
4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2014
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This is a very beautifully written novel. There is something in the rhythm of the prose and choice of words that makes it a truly outstanding work. It is obvious that Ms. Aboulela is a very gifted writer. The story has some flaws, but ultimately one can argue that the sole goal was to portray a state of mind of a religious person in love with a "non-believer". The other side of the story ("his" story) is not very clear and, for an expert on Islam, he really has very little to say throughout the entire novel. I imagined a novel with a strong intellectual angle (one of the main character is a professor!). Another possibility was an "immigrant story".
Instead, I found irresistibly beautiful lyricism. What I especially liked was that Aboulela knows how to communicate beyond words. She writes about dignity, forgiveness, patience, trust, or hope without specifically naming them.
4 people found this helpful
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Rose
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book *and* great transaction.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2022
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Prompt delivery; item was in great condition. I definitely recommend this seller to anyone!
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susan hoefner
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting insight
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014
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Quite astounding that people are so tied up with tradition and ritual.
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Top reviews from other countries

Friederike Knabe
5.0 out of 5 stars "Deeper than hapiness...?"
Reviewed in Canada on June 15, 2015
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Aberdeen, Scotland and Khartoum, Sudan, cities more dissimilar than one could imagine, form the backdrop to this finely crafted, tender cross-cultural love story. They are intimately connected through the main character, Sammar, as she experiences the stark contrasts of culture, history and climate. Yet, she remains very much attached to both places. Leila Aboulela builds on her own experience to create the very personal associations between place and character. The author's brief, yet rich, novel is not only a delicate and moving love story, seen primarily from the heroine's perspective, it also touches, in a more general sense, on general human emotions such as longing and belonging, tradition and change, loss, faith and personal growth.

Sammar, a young Sudanese widow, works with Scotsman Rae Isles, a recognized Islamic scholar, at the university in Aberdeen: she as a translator of Arabic, while he is the primary beneficiary of her work. Having returned from Khartoum where she had left her small son in the care of family, she hopes to free herself from the traditional constraints imposed on her there. Here, however, she has to come to terms not only with the bleak surroundings of a wet and grey winter, but with loneliness and memories of happier times. The author sensitively captures Sammar's state of mind: as a devout Muslim, she is sustained by her faith, her prayers providing a quiet rhythm for daily life. At the same time there is her growing attraction for Rae, his serious kindness, his extensive knowledge and "otherness". Her feelings are returned, yet remain unspoken until Sammar is about to leave on a home visit to bring back her son. The encounter does not turn out as Sammar would have hoped. Back in Khartoum, her "other" life, absorbed in her extended family, is conveyed with a similar intimate familiarity and social awareness. Will they or won't they... ever get together again? The essential question for any love story is touchingly revealed by Aboulela, totally in tune with her characters and the wider cultural contexts, yet completely unpredictable until the end.

"The Translator", Aboulela's first novel, was originally published in England in 1999; the author won in 2000 the initial Caine Prize for African Writing, also referred to as the "African Booker". Reading the novel today, post 9/11 and with the ongoing crisis in Darfur regularly in the news, the novel strikes my as one of a more innocent time past, an excellent example that deals with a level of human intimacy and innocence, of cross-cultural understanding that is more complex to find today.
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful
Reviewed in Italy on June 28, 2016
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A really great story of love and religion. Islamic culture is described and showed from another and interesting perspective. I loved it
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A Holden
4.0 out of 5 stars A natural voice
Reviewed in France on May 23, 2016
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A Muslim woman from Khartoum transplanted to Aberdeen describes culture shock in a compelling and natural voice. Refreshing and moreish.
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Mari Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it! A love story - not a sex story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2011
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I loved ths book - after reading Leila Abulela's other two novels, Mineret and Lyrics Alley, I was thrilled to find this one (her first actually) and enjoyed it immensely.

What marks this novel out is that as Aboulela is modest, and true to her faith's teachings, she doesn't have access to skimming over the depths and the uncertainties of a relationship which becomes one of "love" by using the route of sexual desire, sexual gropings, sexual relations and then - boom - something deeper. She must tread the path of describing the growth of intimacy of the mind, the soul, the intellect, even though the body might long to leap forwards towards the physical relationship. It is refreshing to read her work.

The young woman protagonist, Muslim by faith and upbringing, alone in an alien country, is lonely and isolated. Although a widow and a mother, she is inwardly very young. Her inner life is almost like that of a student in an alien city, and her reasoning and experiences in some way mirror the feelings and reasonings of any young person living alone. She thinks it through. She experiences the quickening of her heart as the phone rings, the anxieties of Does he see me as I see him?

The guy is older, "exeperienced" and Western.

The end may seem a bit cloyingly sweet, but the lovers reach it after much soul searching, after denying themselves the pleasure they seek in the other person, after treading a road of learning about themselves, their deepest raison d'etre They must both ask themselves, without consulting the other, do I believe in anything beyond what I want? Are my needs selfish? Can I live without this person, if it is demanded of me? Should I? Would that be better for them?).

That is a satisfying novel. A journey made, a road travelled. Too many contemporary novels short change the reader by holding a mirror to the life of demanding desires given in to, and the consequencies, driven home by the inevitable cynicism . I wish Aboulela every success in the future, and more novels for us to read.
6 people found this helpful
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CR-Ryan
4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2019
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An intriguing look into a religion and culture I know little about. Also an easy read. I would say it is occasionally hard to identify with the main character but I feel that may be the point.
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