Awards

• Winner of Amadou-Kourouma Prize 2016

Overview

FIRST MAURITANIAN NOVEL TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH. The Desert and the Drum is the first novel ever to be translated into English from Mauritania. It won the Ahmadou-Kourouma Prize in 2016. Everything changes for Rayhana when foreigners with strange machines arrive to mine for metal near her Bedouin camp. One of them is the enigmatic Yahya. Rayhana's association with him leads to her abandoning all she knows and fleeing alone to the city. When her tribe discover she's stolen their sacred drum they pursue her to exact their revenge. Though Rayhana has her own missing person to seek. The Desert and the Drum tells of Rayhana's rift with her family, the disturbing characters she encounters in the metropolis, her attempts to separate friend from foe and to find a place for herself amidst the contradictions of contemporary Mauritania. AUTHOR: Mbarek Ould Beyrouk (Beyrouk) was born in Atar, Mauritania, in 1957. A journalist, he founded the country's first ever independent newspaper, Mauritanie Demain, in 1988, and is a recognised champion of free speech. He was honoured for his media work in 2006 through an appointment to the Higher Authority for the Printed and Audiovisual Press in Mauritania, and he is currently an advisor to the Presidentof the Republic. He has written four books, including three novels: Et le ciel a oublie de pleuvoir (2006); Le Griot de l'emir, (2013) and Le Tambour des larmes, ( 2015).

Full Product Details

9781910213797

Table of Contents

Reviews

Much of the appeal of The Desert and the Drum is in the presentation of local color, Beyrouk presenting contemporary Mauritania, on its smallest and most isolated scale as well as on the bustling modern-metropolitan one, very nicely through Rayhana and her experiences. So much she experiences is almost beyond words- but that goes just as much for her emotional experiences and her wide-eyed fumbling efforts to express all this that is new and unknown to her make for an impressive narrative. --M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review The narrative bristles with interesting characters and essential questions. Also, through Rayhana's gaze, we can see the strangeness of our own contemporary urban lives afresh. --Marcia Lynx Qualey, Qantara Grounded in the traditions that drive it and yet brimming with observations that are true wherever you read them, the novel bears the hallmark of great literature, making one little corner of the world an everywhere in which all manner of people can meet. The Desert and the Drum is an exciting and compelling addition to the anglophone library. --Ann Morgan, A Year of Reading the World

Beyrouk contrasts the smallest, most isolated Mauritania with a bustling modern-metropolitan one. Rayhana's experiences are almost beyond words, and her wide-eyed, fumbling efforts to express all that is new to her make for an impressive narrative. --M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review Grounded in the traditions that drive it and yet brimming with observations that are true wherever you read them, the novel bears the hallmark of great literature, making one little corner of the world an everywhere in which everyone can meet...an exciting and compelling addition to the anglophone library. --Ann Morgan, A Year of Reading the World The narrative bristles with interesting characters and essential questions. Through Rayhana's gaze, we see the strangeness of our own contemporary urban lives afresh. --Marcia Lynx Qualey, Qantara

"""Beyrouk contrasts the smallest, most isolated Mauritania with a bustling modern-metropolitan one. Rayhana's experiences are almost beyond words, and her wide-eyed, fumbling efforts to express all that is new to her make for an impressive narrative. --M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review ""Grounded in the traditions that drive it and yet brimming with observations that are true wherever you read them, the novel bears the hallmark of great literature, making one little corner of the world an everywhere in which everyone can meet...an exciting and compelling addition to the anglophone library. --Ann Morgan, A Year of Reading the World ""The narrative bristles with interesting characters and essential questions. Through Rayhana's gaze, we see the strangeness of our own contemporary urban lives afresh. --Marcia Lynx Qualey, Qantara"

the narrative bristles with interesting characters and essential questions. Also, through Rayhana's gaze, we can see the strangeness of our own contemporary urban lives afresh. Marcia Lynx Qualey in Qantara Grounded in the traditions that drive it and yet brimming with observations that are true wherever you read them, the novel bears the hallmark of great literature, making one little corner of the world an everywhere in which all manner of people can meet. The Desert and the Drum is an exciting and compelling addition to the anglophone library. Ann Morgan in A Year of Reading the World Much of the appeal of The Desert and the Drum is in the presentation of local color, Beyrouk presenting contemporary Mauritania, on its smallest and most isolated scale as well as on the bustling modern-metropolitan one, very nicely through Rayhana and her experiences. So much she experiences is almost beyond words- but that goes just as much for her emotional experiences and her wide-eyed fumbling efforts to express all this that is new and unknown to her make for an impressive narrative. M.A.Orthofer in The Complete Review

The narrative bristles with interesting characters and essential questions. Through Rayhana's gaze, we see the strangeness of our own contemporary urban lives afresh. --Marcia Lynx Qualey, Qantara Grounded in the traditions that drive it and yet brimming with observations that are true wherever you read them, the novel bears the hallmark of great literature, making one little corner of the world an everywhere in which everyone can meet...an exciting and compelling addition to the anglophone library. --Ann Morgan, A Year of Reading the World Beyrouk contrasts the smallest, most isolated Mauritania with a bustling modern-metropolitan one. Rayhana's experiences are almost beyond words, and her wide-eyed, fumbling efforts to express all that is new to her make for an impressive narrative. --M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review

Author Information

Mbarek Ould Beyrouk (Beyrouk) was born in Atar, Mauritania, in 1957. A journalist, he founded the country's first ever independent newspaper, Mauritanie Demain, in 1988 and he is currently an advisor to the President of the Republic. He has written four books, including three novels: Et le ciel a oublie de pleuvoir (2006); Le Griot de l'emir, (2013) and The Desert and The Drum (Le Tambour des larmes, 2015). Rachael McGill is a playwright, novelist and translator. Her translations from French include many plays and one novel The Desert and The Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk. Her novel Fair Trade Heroin will be published by Dedalus in 2020.

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