In the Sea there are Crocodiles - Softcover

Geda, Fabio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849920982 ISBN 13: 9781849920988

Publisher: David Fickling Books, 2012

Synopsis

One night before putting him to bed, Enaiatollah's mother tells him three things: don't use drugs or weapons, don't cheat, don't steal. The next day he wakes up to find she isn't there. Ten-year-old Enaiatollah is left alone at the border of Pakistan to fend for himself. In a book that takes a true story and shapes it into a beautiful piece of fiction, Italian novelist Fabio Geda describes Enaiatollah's remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim political asylum aged fifteen. His ordeal took him through Iran, Turkey and Greece, working on building sites in order to pay people-traffickers, and enduring the physical misery of dangerous border crossings squeezed into the false bottoms of lorries or trekking across inhospitable mountains. A series of almost implausible strokes of fortune enabled him to get to Turin, find help from an Italian family and meet Fabio Geda, with whom he became friends. The result of their friendship is this unique book in which Enaiatollah's engaging, moving voice is brilliantly captured by Geda's subtly simple storytelling. In Geda's hands, Enaiatollah's journey becomes a universal story of stoicism in the face of fear, and the search for a place where life is liveable.

About this title

About the Author

Born in Turin in 1972, Fabio Geda is an Italian novelist who works with children in difficulties. He writes for several Italian magazines and newspapers, and teaches creative writing in the most famous Italian school of storytelling (Scuola Holden, in Turin). This is his first book to be translated into English.

From the Back Cover

One night, on the dangerous Pakistan border, Enaiatollah's mother tells him there are three things he must never do: use drugs or weapons, cheat, or steal.

When the ten-year-old Afghan boy wakes alone the next morning, he realises that she was saying goodbye - and that it is now up to him to find a place of safety.

So begins a five-year-long journey laced with unspeakable horror, but also moments of laughter and friendship. Life-changing and unforgettable, this is a universal tale of courage and hope in the face of fear.

'Frank, revealing and clear-eyed' Guardian

'Sorrowful and evocative . . . sobering and uplifting' Independent

'Extraordinary' The Bookseller

Edition details

• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849920982
• ISBN 13: 9781849920988
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224