Blue Daughter of the Red Sea: A Memoir - Hardcover

Birabiro, Meti

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0299195708 ISBN 13: 9780299195700

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004

Synopsis

    Born into a life of constant financial, physical, and moral threat, Meti Birabiro takes refuge in literature and the fantastic. Blue Daughter of the Red Sea is Birabiro’s poetic account of the harsh reality of her young life spread across three continents. Her voice is a fresh mélange of child and adult perspectives, at once brutally honest and wise beyond her years. Through her journey from Ethiopia to Italy and finally to the United States, we encounter Birabiro’s relatives, friends, and enemies—relationships so intense that these people become her vampires, devils, angels, and saints. These characterizations always lead her back to the truth, helping her to decipher what is fair and good, to understand what she must cherish and what she must rage against.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Terrace Books, a trade imprint of the University of Wisconsin Press

From the Back Cover:

"This is a world of violence, turmoil, strife. . . . I was completely taken by the plight of [Birabiro's] characters, the life she represents of this part of the world so few of us know anything about. The impact it made on me as a reader is a devastating one. It's a reminder that people will rise against all odds to survive and prevail."--Marjorie Agosin, author of At the Threshold of Memories: New and Selected Poems

"When I began to read this memoir, I could not put it down. There is an intensity of experience, a poignancy in the voice of the child-narrator that tells her own harrowing story of poverty and marginality. But at the same time, there is a lyrical tone to her writing. She is able to capture beauty amidst the horrors. And also, she is able to continue becoming human in a dehumanized world."--Virgil Suarez, author of Guide to the Blue Tongue

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0299195708
• ISBN 13: 9780299195700
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 191