The Gurugu Pledge

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Praise for By Night the Mountain Burns A delightfully candid, deceptively sober narrative voice Helen Oyeyemi, author of What is Not Yours is Not Yours A poignant novel by one of Equatorial Guinea s most celebrated authors fascinating Publishers Weekly Survival, hope and despair wrestle in this surprising work by Equatorial Guinea s leading author Financial TimesOn Mount Gurugu, overlooking the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the North African coast, desperate migrants gather before attempting to scale the city s walls and gain asylum on European soil Inspired by firsthand accounts, Juan Tom s vila Laurel has written an urgent novel, by turns funny and sad, bringing a distinctly African perspective to a major issue of our time.Juan Tom s vila Laurel was born in 1966 in Equatorial Guinea The Gurugu Pledge is his second novel, and follows his 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlisted debut By Night The Mountain Burns, which was based on his memories of growing up on the remote island of Annob n He made headlines in 2011 by embarking on a hunger strike, in an anti government protest He now lives exiled in Barcelona.Jethro Soutar translates from Spanish and Portuguese He has translated Argentinian and Brazilian crime novels, written two nonfiction books of his own, and recently co edited The Football Cr nicas, a collection of football writing from Latin America He divides his time between London and Lisbon. Free Download eBook The Gurugu Pledge author Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel – kino-fada.fr A review copy was sent to me from Disclaimer Magazine in association with And Other Stories The original review was posted hereThe Review Authors that write novels about their own personal experience insert a new level of emotion and power into their writing Juan Laurel immigrated to Spain in protest against the government in Equatorial Guinea Just like the men in this book, he fled his mother country in search of asylum His is another story against the backdrop of many who have wished forA review copy was sent to me from Disclaimer Magazine in association with And Other Stories The original review was posted hereThe Review Authors ... The story of a continent emptying itself in order to go to another one has to be told, and it has to be told where it s happening. Juan Tom s vila Laurel is the first author from Equatorial Guinea that I have read, and thanks are due to the wonderful And Other Stories and to the translator, Jethro Soutar, for bringing his works into English His previous novel By Night the Mountain Burns, from the same publisher and translator, was shortlisted for the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and The story of a continent emptying itself in order to go to another one has to be told, and it has to be told where it s happening. Juan Tom s vila Laurel is the first author from Equatorial Guinea that I have read, and thanks are due to the wonderful And Other Stories and to the translator, Jethro Soutar, for bringing his works into English His previous novel By Night the Mountain Burns, from the same publisher and translator, was shortlisted for the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and it will be interesting to see if this one figures in the 2018 awards.Gurugu Pledge is set in the residence , a community of several hundred migrants from d...I loved this book The story is told on pieces, and obliquely, but forms a whole, though some pieces have to be written in by the reader This is a story about people arriving at a fence they cannot cross to lands that do not want them The same lands that came to Afirca and so broke their homes that these people were set adrift.The attempted migrations of Africans north to Europe is not some organized attempt to remake Europe, it is a wave of individual choices creating ad hoc groups, floatin I loved this book The story is told on pieces, and obliquely, but forms a whole, though some pieces have to be written in by the reader This is a story about people arriving at a fence they cannot cross to lands that do not want them The same lands that came to Afirca and so broke their homes that these people were set adrift.The attempted migrations of Africans north to Europe is not some organized attempt to remake Europe, it is a wave of individua...I am not sure this is a novel as claimed on the front, it s short and doesn t have a conventional story But it was so interesting to read about the refugee crisis from an African POV, it s a hard story to read Some of it reads like a folk tale and some is pure horror full of triggers for violence and rape So be war...Review of the Gurugu Pledge by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel, translated by Jethro SoutarThis novel is set on the migrant camp on Mount Gurugu in northern Morocco overlooking the Spanish enclave Melilla There are various characters in it and the novel revolves about their life before they came to the camp and also life in the camp Stories told include the superstitious one about a young girl who transforms in the blink of an eye to an elderly lady or the story of the former strongman of idi amin who Review of the Gurugu Pledge by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel, translated by Jethro SoutarThis novel is set on the migrant camp on Mount Gurugu in northern Morocco overlooking the Spanish enclave Melilla There are various characters in it and the novel revolves about their life before they came to the camp and also life in the camp Stories told include the superstitious one about a young girl who transforms in the blink of an eye to an elderly lady or the story of the former strongman of idi amin who turns up in a person s home town with his plundered millions or those of a couple of troublemaker.Between these, the camp members also have football tournament though the football isn t particularly good It issomething to pass time between teams representing their respective nations A lot of the dialogue is very good and humourous particularly the slagging between representatives of two teams Though there is also sombreness to the novel particularly the final section and Avila la...On the Gurugu mountain in Morocco next to the border with the small Spanish enclave of Melilla, people from all over Africa hide in caves and tents in a makeshift camp, waiting to make their attempt on the border wall that could get them to European soil To pass the time, the people on Gurugu mountain tell stories about where they...I wanted to like this bookthan I actually did The premises is so interesting, with African migrants living together close to the Spanish enclave of Melilla It is relevant, and I do not doubt it is a very accurate depiction of life of these migrants, especially because t...110 Equatorial Guinea This book is about a group of African migrants reuniting just about the Spanish enclave of Medilla in Morocco The narrative feels very accurate and real you can tell the author knows what he s talking about However,...DNF about 50%Nothing particularly wrong with the book, hence my rating, just not something that s really catching my attention really which is a real shame considering this is my first book from Equatorial Guinea.Around the World challenge Equatorial Guinea This book is hard to get at times and lacks a real plot structure, but it s the first one I read about the current refugee crisis It wasof a recollection of moments and felt very real Clearly the author knows what he s talking about.

The Gurugu Pledge
  • English
  • 15 June 2017
  • Paperback
  • 183 pages
  • 1908276940
  • Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
  • The Gurugu Pledge