Scego
2019 Longlist

Adua

Translated from the Italian by Jamie Richards
artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

Adua, an immigrant from Somalia to Italy, has lived in Rome for nearly forty years. She came seeking freedom from a strict father and an oppressive regime, but her dreams of becoming a film star ended in shame. Now that the civil war in Somalia is over, her homeland beckons. Yet Adua has a husband who needs her, a young man, also an immigrant, who braved a dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea. When her father, who worked as an interpreter for Mussolini’s fascist regime, dies, Adua inherits the family home. She must decide whether to make the journey back to reclaim her material inheritance, but also how to take charge of her own story and build a future.

 

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Igiaba
Scego

Igiaba Scego is an Italian novelist and journalist. She was born in Rome in 1974 to Somali parents who took refuge in Italy following a coup d’état in their native country, where her father served as foreign minister.

Igiaba Scego is an Italian novelist and journalist. She was born in Rome in 1974 to Somali parents who took refuge in Italy following a coup d’état in their native country, where her father served as foreign minister.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Jamie
Richards

Jamie Richards is a full-time literary translator from Italian, with occasional forays into Spanish, Greek, and German. Born and raised in suburban Los Angeles, she earned her BA in English from Scripps College, with a semester’s study at Temple University, Rome, and went on to complete an MFA in literary translation at the University of Iowa and a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Oregon.

Jamie Richards is a full-time literary translator from Italian, with occasional forays into Spanish, Greek, and German. Born and raised in suburban Los Angeles, she earned her BA in English from Scripps College, with a semester’s study at Temple University, Rome, and went on to complete an MFA in literary translation at the University of Iowa and a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Oregon.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
01/01/2015
Country
Italy
Original Language
Italian
Author
Publisher
New Vessel Press
Translator
Jamie Richards
Translation
Translated from the Italian by Jamie Richards

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