{"product_id":"saara-9781915568687","title":"Saara","description":"Mbarek Ould Beyrouk's greatly acclaimed novel \u003ci\u003eSaara\u003c\/i\u003e was the winner of the prestigious Prix Littéraire Les Afriques 2023. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story is told through three different narrators, Saara, an attractive young woman who is both unconventional, liberated and determined; the Sheikh, a young man who succeeds his father as the leader of a Sufi order striving to live exemplary lives in their oasis community and follow the path to salvation and the Beggar, befriended by Saara and who cares devotedly for his disabled mother and is the voice of the marginalised. It is their story and their lives are intertwined as the narrative embraces the whole gamut of life in Mauritania, with the conflict between city and desert life, tradition and modernity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSaara travels to the oasis to visit the dying mother she hasn't seen since childhood. She arrives too late, but is made to feel at home by the inhabitants. She feels drawn towards the young Sheikh who is also attracted to Saara. Against a backdrop of insecurity caused by the effects of climate change, both become involved in a fight with the town's mayor about plans to build a dam in the oasis. It is a fight they cannot win and changes the lives of everybody. The Beggar's revenge on the people who have abused him brings the novel to a dramatic conclusion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeyrouk, Mbarek Ould:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eMbarek Ould Beyrouk\u003c\/b\u003e (Beyrouk) was born in Atar, Mauritania, in 1957. A journalist, he founded the country's first ever independent newspaper, Mauritanie Demain, in 1988, and is a recognised champion of free speech. He was honoured for his media work in 2006 through an appointment to the Higher Authority for the Printed and Audiovisual Press in Mauritania, and he is currently an advisor to the President of the Republic. He has writen seven novels, two of which have been translated by Dedalus The Desert and the Drum and Saara.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMcGill, Rachael:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eRachael McGill\u003c\/b\u003e is a playwright for stage and radio, prose writer and translator of novels and plays from French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. Her short stories have been published in several anthologies and online. She has translated three books for Dedalus: \u003ci\u003eThe Desert and the Drum\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSaara\u003c\/i\u003e by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk and \u003ci\u003eCo-wives, Co-widows\u003c\/i\u003e by Adrienne Yabouza. Her translation of \u003ci\u003eThe Desert and the Drum\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for The Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.","brand":"Dedalus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51720828879122,"sku":"9781915568687","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_22f23ced-4203-4f57-a95a-9e70ddae652a.jpg?v=1762937774","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/saara-9781915568687","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}