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The Translator (Aboulela novel)

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The Translator
First edition
AuthorLeila Aboulela
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGrove Press Black Cat imprint
Publication date
1999
Pages208

The Translator is Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela's first novel, published in 1999. It is a story about a young Muslim Sudanese widow living in Scotland without her son, and her blooming relationship with a secular Scottish Middle Eastern scholar. It focuses on issues of faith, cross-cultural romance, and the modernisation of Sudan.

Plot

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After losing her husband, Sammar, a young Sudanese widow living in Aberdeen, Scotland, struggles to cope. Desperate to go home to her family, she becomes increasingly depressed until she develops a closer friendship with Rae, the head of the department, where she works as an Arabic translator at the University of Aberdeen. The friendship soon progresses into a romance, but their love encounters cultural and religious barriers and the two have to compromise to make their relationship work.[1]

The novel takes place both in Khartoum and Aberdeen and was inspired partially by Aboulela's own experience moving between these two cities.[2] Aboulela refers to the novel and the main character Sammar as "a Muslim Jane Eyre".[2]

Reception

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Author J.M. Coetzee called the book "a story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written".[citation needed]

In reference to the importance of faith in the story, Riffat Yusuf of The Muslim News has called The Translator "The first halal novel written in English".[3]

References

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  1. ^ BookBrowse. "Summary and reviews of The Translator by Leila Aboulela". BookBrowse.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Leila Aboulela | the Translator - Inspiration | the Kindness of Enemies | Lyrics Alley | Minaret | Coloured Lights | Leila Aboulela".
  3. ^ "Leila Aboulela | the Translator - Reviews | the Kindness of Enemies | Lyrics Alley | Minaret | Coloured Lights | Leila Aboulela".