The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
liekeparnassia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
4.5
tana02's review against another edition
slow-paced
Not worth reading. The first part was written as a story, to hook you in. The rest is just one man, who is voiced by a dozen different men and women, complaining about his life. Dramatising everything from waiting in a line to sweating. And often in strange, graphic, unnecessary detail.Ā
namakurhea's review against another edition
4.0
"No Friend but the Mountains" by Behrouz Boochani. Winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature and the Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction. The book is an autobiography of Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish-Iranian journalist who sought asylum in Australia only to be held in Manus Island Detention Centre in Papua New Guinea from 2013 until its closure in 2017. The whole entire book was written on a mobile phone (using WhatsApp) and smuggled out of Manus island as thousands of PDF files.
Article 1 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
In the case of Manus Island Detention Center, refugees are prisoners. On what grounds? Well, no one knows. The system is designed to erase the human faces of these brothers and sisters. To highlight the gap between us vs them. The farther and deeper the gap, the stronger the system becomes. What is scary is system can become the norm. And once it is the norm, how can we say we are human?
It is definitely a thought provoking read... Though the events happened in Australia, refugee crisis is also something that is happening in Indonesia, USA, Germany, all over the world. As conflicts and warfare brew, many humans are displaced and forced to flee tonother countries. Where do we stand as a nation? Def not an easy book to read but one that has an important message.
*UPDATE* As of July 2020, Behrouz Boochani has been granted refugee status in New Zealand.
Article 1 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
In the case of Manus Island Detention Center, refugees are prisoners. On what grounds? Well, no one knows. The system is designed to erase the human faces of these brothers and sisters. To highlight the gap between us vs them. The farther and deeper the gap, the stronger the system becomes. What is scary is system can become the norm. And once it is the norm, how can we say we are human?
It is definitely a thought provoking read... Though the events happened in Australia, refugee crisis is also something that is happening in Indonesia, USA, Germany, all over the world. As conflicts and warfare brew, many humans are displaced and forced to flee tonother countries. Where do we stand as a nation? Def not an easy book to read but one that has an important message.
*UPDATE* As of July 2020, Behrouz Boochani has been granted refugee status in New Zealand.
nerdyrev's review against another edition
5.0
While reading this book, I began to get the same feelings I did when reading Night by Elie Wiesel. The thing to keep in mind is this is not recalling WWII, but recalling within the last few years and he is a refugee seeking sanctuary, but is locked on an island like a prisoner. He used texts and wattpad to write this. As of this review, he is still imprisoned. It is truly horrific.
leilalasirena's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
This is my āA Little Lifeā.
vickysimpson's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written and profoundly heartbreaking, at times poetic and philosophical. An incisive look into the horrors of how those seeking refuge are treated on Manus Island. Highly recommend.
jcarrcatzel's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book at the height of tensions regarding medical evacuation, a bill tossed around parliament. Guided by some loose obligation to be 'in the know' about developments, I skimmed news articles and expressed sighs of dismay and grief with the rest of my Aussie student friends. But reading No Friend But the Mountains placed me right there, on Manus, behind the barbed wire and towering coconut trees. Boochani's writing replaced what has become a convoluted mess of political commentary and opinion pieces, of slacktivist re-posting and sharing, of messages lost in left-wing circles - with clarity, with the most important story of all - the human experience. Boochani's accounts of near-death experiences, claustrophobia of prison, terror of blood shed from slitting of wrists, hopeless frustration fuelled by the rigidity of the bureaucracy, manifested in endless queues and denied claims pervade throughout. The inhumanities inflicted upon, not to mention shame and humiliation prisoners are burdened with - are unfathomable. A must-read for anyone who simply reads the headlines or half-heartedly signs petitions, perhaps it will propel you to join an advocacy group or write letters to MPs. There is always more to be done.
lwc's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a really beautiful book, but can't help but wonder where the women are?
tevreads's review against another edition
5.0
āThe right to have rights.ā
When I first read this line by Hannah Arendt, it so aptly defined my views of asylum seekers and their plight. To me, a grasp of simple human decency would surely afford rights to those escaping horrible conditions. A basic understanding of economic principles and empathy refutes the loaded rhetoric and false pretences surrounding the politics of āstopping the boats.ā
_________
Behrouz Boochaniās retelling of his own story, writing from Manus Prison, is powerful. A well-educated man and journalist by trade, Boochani writes with cutting prose. If No Friend but the Mountains was a work of fiction, it would still be celebrated for its gripping narrative, so eloquently constructed, eliciting moments of grandeur and deep sorrow.
_________
Unfortunately, Boochaniās story is real, it is so visceral and raw that in parts itās simply too hard to read without turning away and contemplating how innocent people can be treated in such a way. To be Australian and read Boochaniās writing makes me embarrassed to be associated with such governmental policies, and with people that support them.
_________
Pleading ignorance to the knowledge that asylum seekers are herded to an island in cages and treated like cattle is horrifying. No Friends but the Mountains is an exceptional book, its message demands reading and should be mandatory for all.
When I first read this line by Hannah Arendt, it so aptly defined my views of asylum seekers and their plight. To me, a grasp of simple human decency would surely afford rights to those escaping horrible conditions. A basic understanding of economic principles and empathy refutes the loaded rhetoric and false pretences surrounding the politics of āstopping the boats.ā
_________
Behrouz Boochaniās retelling of his own story, writing from Manus Prison, is powerful. A well-educated man and journalist by trade, Boochani writes with cutting prose. If No Friend but the Mountains was a work of fiction, it would still be celebrated for its gripping narrative, so eloquently constructed, eliciting moments of grandeur and deep sorrow.
_________
Unfortunately, Boochaniās story is real, it is so visceral and raw that in parts itās simply too hard to read without turning away and contemplating how innocent people can be treated in such a way. To be Australian and read Boochaniās writing makes me embarrassed to be associated with such governmental policies, and with people that support them.
_________
Pleading ignorance to the knowledge that asylum seekers are herded to an island in cages and treated like cattle is horrifying. No Friends but the Mountains is an exceptional book, its message demands reading and should be mandatory for all.