The Translator

The TranslatorAmerican 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

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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Grove Press, Black Cat
Published: 10/01/2006
ISBN: 9780802170262
Pages: 203
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 8.28h x 5.54w x 0.52d

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 06/15/2006 pg. 46
Publishers Weekly 06/05/2006 pg. 28
Library Journal 07/01/2006 pg. 61
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2006 pg. 735
Booklist 09/01/2006 pg. 51