The Translator

(Paperback)

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Description

Sammar is a young Sudanese widow, working as an Arabic translator at a British university. Following the sudden death of her husband, and estranged from her young son, she drifts, grieving and isolated. Life takes a positive turn when she finds herself falling in love with Rae, a Scottish academic. To Sammar, he seems to come from another world and another culture, yet they are drawn to each other.

Reviews

'A story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written'

'A lyrical journey about exile, loss and love... poetry in motion'

'An exceptionally well-crafted and beautifully written novel'

'She pulls you into her world as she refracts British life, its smells and sounds, its advertisements and turns of phrase'

'A subtle investigation into the meaning of exile and home, doubt and fait, loss and love. Leila Aboulela's writing is always beautifully observed, her voice one of restrained lyricism: she is a writer of rare and original talent'

Author Bio

Leila Aboulela was born in 1964, grew up in Khartoum and moved to the UK in her twenties to study at the London School of Economics. In 1992, while living in Aberdeen with two young children and a husband working offshore, Leila found comfort through writing about her home city. She attended creative-writing workshops which helped to broaden her reading and introduced her to Scottish writers. Her last novel Minaret, published by Bloomsbury, was short-listed for the Orange Prize. Leila Aboulela now lives in Abu Dhabi and is currently working on her third novel.