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About the Author
Nurudin Farah is the author of nine novels, including From a Crooked Rib, Links and his Blood in the Sun trilogy: Maps, Gifts, and Secrets. His novels have been translated into seventeen languages and have won numerous awards. Farah was named the 1998 laureate of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, "widely regarded as the most prestigious international literary award after the Nobel" (The New York Times). Born in Baidoa, Somalia, he now lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with his wife and their children.
From Publishers Weekly
Maps and Gifts (see below) are the first two volumes in Farah's second trilogy, Blood in the Sun (after the acclaimed, three-volume Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship), but they stand as prequels to the previously published, award-winning third volume, Secrets (1998). This pair of works by Farah, a chronicler of modern Africa's sociopolitical turbulence and growth who has lived in exile from his native Somalia since 1974, are being released in hardcover in the U.S. for the first time, though they have been available abroad for several years. Of the two novels, Maps is the richer in concept and execution, beautifully worked in the dense, intricate prose for which Farah is known. Askar, orphaned as a child, is rescued from his dead mother's side and raised in a small village by Misra, an older woman who develops a mysterious, protective bond with him. Even when he moves to the capital to live with his prosperous Uncle Hilaal, Askar's origins continue to preoccupy him, and he grows into a serious, introspective youth fixed on the urgent question of his identity. Hilaal, the cook and nurturer in his city home, is able to provide some answers for his baffled nephew on the subjects of African tradition, Somalian manhood and selflessness. Employing a poetic, imaginative style, Farah skillfully juxtaposes Askar's emotional turmoil and the struggles of his beloved Somalia under siege, as the characters try to understand why blood must be shed for territorial gain. In the end, Askar must choose between avenging his soldier father's death by joining the army, or pursuing his academic studies, but the choice is taken out of his hands by powerful external forces. (Aug.)
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Maps
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1987
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
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Condition: Very Good. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 4166758-6
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Maps
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # T06C-04354
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Maps
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394563255I4N00
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Maps
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394563255I3N00
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Maps
Published by
Pantheon Books, 1987
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. First Edition. New York. 1987. September 1987. Pantheon Books. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Slightly Worn Dustjacket. 0394563255. 247 pages. hardcover. Jacket photograph by Mike Yamashita. keywords: Africa Somalia Literature World Literature. DESCRIPTION - In this novel, Farah tells the story of the orphan Askar. Before he is born, Askar has lost his father to the bloody war dividing Somalia and Ethiopia, and his mother dies giving birth to him. It is only thanks to Misra, a kindhearted woman who discovers him next to his mother's corpse and takes him into her home, that he survives. But Askar is a true child of his times, and as he matures he begins to feel suffocated by life in Misra's small village. As a young adolescent seeking perspective on both his country and himself, Askar goes to live with his cosmopolitan aunt and uncle in the capital, Mogadiscio. 'It is a turbulent and dangerous time in Mogadiscio, as Somalis struggle to re-create a national identity that has been destroyed by the upheavals of modernity and the betrayals of their never-ending civil war. Each day is punctuated by renewed outbreaks of violence. Askar throws himself into radical political activity that continually challenges the murky boundaries of his own being just as each 'revolution' redefines Somalia's own borders. In the turmoil of coming events, as allegations of murder and treason are leveled at Misra, those personal and political boundaries will be challenged with a ferocity Askar had never imagined. inventory #3429 Very Good in Slightly Worn Dustjacket. Seller Inventory # z3429
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Maps
Seller: Singing Saw Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Like New. First American Edition. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. Fine and unread in a Near Fine dust jacket. A bright, clean copy. Seller Inventory # 131131823
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Maps
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1986
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Great Books&Cafe @ The Williamsford Mill, Williamsford, ON, Canada
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First American Edition. 246 pp. Price clipped dustjacket shows light edgewear else in excellent condition. ".one man's coming of age in the turmoil of modern Africa.". Seller Inventory # 006324
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Maps
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 1986
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First American edition. Foxing on the top page edge else near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some fading and rubbing. The first novel in the *Blood in the Sun* trilogy. Seller Inventory # 603827
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Maps
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 1987
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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First Edition
Seller: Jeff Hirsch Books, ABAA, Wadsworth, IL, U.S.A.
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Dust Jacket Condition: dj. First Edition. First U.S. edition, first printing. Hardcover. 246 pages. A novel by this acclaimed Somali writer. A clean and tight very near fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 183416
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Maps
Published by
Pantheon Books, 1986
ISBN 10: 0394563255
ISBN 13: 9780394563251
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First Edition
Seller: The Old Sage Bookshop, Prescott, AZ, U.S.A.
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Hard Cover with Dustjacket. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First American Edition. Hardcover with dustjacket : fine / fine. Jacket in new mylar protector. FAE. Size: 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Book. Seller Inventory # 129786