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Winner of the Queensland Literary Awards 2012 - Non-Fiction
Book Description
The True Story of Ali Al Jenabi, the 'Oskar Schlindler of Asia. At once a non-fiction thriller and a moral maze, this is one man's epic story of trying to find a safe place in the world.
When Ali Al Jenabi flees Saddam Hussein's torture chambers, he is forced to leave his family behind in Iraq. What follows is an incredible international odyssey through the shadow world of fake passports, crowded camps and illegal border crossings, living every day with excruciating uncertainty about what the next will bring.
Through betrayal, triumph, misfortune – even romance and heartbreak – Ali is sustained by his fierce love of freedom and family. Continually pushed to the limits of his endurance, eventually he must confront what he has been forced to become.
With enormous power and insight, The People Smuggler tells a story of daily heroism, bringing to life the forces that drive so many people to put their lives in unscrupulous hands. It is an utterly gripping portrait of a man cut loose from the protections of civilisation, attempting to retain his dignity and humanity while taking whatever path he can out of an impossible position.
'An engrossing account of a figure seen by some as saviour and others as criminal. A significant book.' Thomas Keneally
About the Author
Robin de Crespigny has spent three years working with Ali Al Jenabi to write his story. She is a film maker and lives in Sydney. This is her first book.
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 3 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
100%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
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REVIEWS
Reviewed by 3 customers
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Comments about The People Smuggler:
Not only is The People Smuggler very well written, it contains some really relevant and interesting facts about Ali's travails. It displays both insight and empathy into Ali's inner turmoils and personal growth over the years. Its value is to humanise his role as a people smuggler, which most of us had hitherto demonised.
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Comments about The People Smuggler:
I purchased the book having heard the author speak about it at a meeting. I found it informative, particularly in the political environment we currently live in regarding people smuggling. The book provided a deeper and broader understanding of life for these people and I intend to pass the book to others for them to gain a better understanding as well. Very much worth the read.
Service and delivery comments:
The service was excellent ... pricing excellent. Book arrived promptly in good condition. Thank you
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Comments about The People Smuggler:
A brilliant book - it is a must read for all Australian's.
Displaying reviews 1-3
I started reading The People Smuggler without realising the full extent of the brutality and intimidation of Saddam's Iraq, despite the constant coverage in the media. Ali's story gave a human voice to the evils and fears that so many boat refugees constantly endure as commonplace. His tenacity to survive and help others despite constant physical and mental torture, the loss of his family and friends and numerous betrayals from trusted colleagues is nothing short of a miracle.
I challenge anyone to read this book and not be moved by Ali's struggles to live a decent, human life.
Jessica Robbins, Administrative Assistant, Penguin Australia
It might seem a strange response to such a brutal and harrowing story, but I was immediately immersed in The People Smuggler. It's a gripping, involving, immediate story, and once you start reading you feel utterly compelled to go on. It is, of course, important for the world – and Australia in particular – to intimately understand the plight of people like Ali, but it's also a cinematic and well-told story. It humanises, in the most brutal way, a distant political issue, and I hope that we're able to publish it with the fanfare it deserves, as I think it has the potential to shift our national conversation.
Cate Blake, Associate Editor, Penguin Australia
I found Ali's story deeply affecting. The sheer misery of his family's experience in Iraq and his depiction of the gruelling conditions at Abu Ghraib make such a mockery of the trite political jingoism around border protection. I haven't felt personally challenged by a book in this way since The Tall Man.
Jo Baker, Senior Key Account Manager, Penguin Australia
The People Smuggler is a simply written but incredibly powerful true story of a boy growing into a young man in Saddam Hussein's brutal Iraq.
Ali Al Janabi grows up with a father who hates Saddam so much that regardless of how badly brutalised he is by soldiers, he continues to yell 'Saddam is a bastard' Ali, his father and his brother Ahmad spend time in the same jail where soldiers understand that hearing other members of your family being tortured is the greatest torture of all. The family is hungry, humiliated and desperate to leave Iraq. The People Smuggler gives the terms 'people smuggler' and 'refugee' a complexity we no longer see in the media. Robin de Crespigny's language is spare and beautiful and The People Smuggler demands a compassionate response as she shows the moral dilemmas faced by Ali Al Janabi and his family.
Louise Ryan, General Sales Manager, Penguin Australia
The Kite Runner meets Tall Man. An extraordinary personal story that's also a lively history of a war zone, coupled with a tale of state malice that will make you want to surrender your citizenship.
Meredith Rose, Senior Literary Editor, Penguin Australia
Other Reviews
'An engrossing account of a figure seen by some as saviour and others as criminal. A significant book.' - Thomas Keneally
ISBN: 9780670076550
ISBN-10: 0670076554
Audience:
General
For Ages: 11 - 19 years old
For Grades: 7 - 9
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 336
Published: 26th April 2012
Dimensions (cm): 23.0 x 15.5
Weight (kg): 23.0
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