Refugee Week 2011

Bedford Borough Libraries and Refugee Week Bedford would like to invite you over the next 12 months to select one of the books from the list for discussion at your book group. We would also love it if you sent us a review that we can post on our websites. Please send your reviews of the Refugee Week books to us at:

Bedford Central Library, Harpur Street, Bedford MK40 1PG for the attention of Sally Heard.
Or Email us your review here.

Or through our Virtual Library at http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vlib.sh

If you would like a hard copy of the list just call into your local library or contact Bedford Central Library on 01234 718178, or email Bedfordshire.Libraries@bedford.gov.uk to request one. These books are all available to borrow and the library would also love to have your feedback. We can forward your reviews to the library which they will also publish on their website.

 

 

Little Daughter
by Zoya Phan

A gripping and dramatic true story of a young Burmese girl growing up in
the jungle and forced to flee from the approaching Burmese army.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bite of the Mango
by Mariatu Kamara

'Bite of the Mango' tells the astonishing story of one girl's journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Country of Men
by Hisham Matar

 

In Tripoli, Libya, in the summer of 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman is shopping with his mother. His father is away on business, but Suleiman is sure he has just seen him, standing across the street. This novel is told from the point of view of a young boy growing up in a terrifying and bewildering world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluebird
by Vesna Maric

'Bluebird' is a funny, poignant memoir about the experience of being a Bosnian refugee in Britain. An abridged chapter won a Decibel Penguin Prize for non-fiction writing in 2007, and was included in the anthology of winners published later that year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brixton Beach
by Roma Tearne

Opening dramatically with the horrors of the 2005 London bombings, this is the profoundly moving story of a country on the brink of civil war and a child's struggle to come to terms with loss. A family saga based on the lives of three generations of Sri Lankans, stretching from the beaches of the Indian Ocean that inspire artist Alice Fonseka to imagined ones in Lambeth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Devil that Danced on the Water
by Aminatta Forna

This is an autobiographical account of a childhood encompassing racial intolerance in 1960s Scotland, the idyll and political upheaval of Sierra Leone as it attempts to embrace democracy, and a family tragedy with national/international repercussions.

 

 

 

Don’t miss these films ...

 

 

Persepolis

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji
dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.

 

 

Waltz with Bashir

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night the same number. The two men come to the conclusion that there is a connection between the dream and their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can no longer remember anything about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.

 

 

Babette’s Feast

Writer/director Gabriel Axel's Oscar-winning film is set in Nineteenth century Denmark. Babette (Stephane Audran), a chef and refugee from France's civil war, finds herself in a remote Danish hamlet working for two sisters who preside over the hamlet's inhabitants. The sisters were brought up under the strict regime of their devout father who preached salvation through self-denial and have kept his teachings going even after his death. But Babette's arrival is set to change the status quo when she cooks a sumptuous meal for the sisters and their guests.