Two Blankets, Three Sheets
Rodaan Al Galidi$14.44
$16.99
Based on the author's true story, this is the account of Iraqi refugee Samir, who spends nine years in an asylum center in the Netherlands.
"Two Blankets, Three Sheets does for the beleaguered political asylum seeker stuck in legal limbo what Joseph Heller's Catch-22 did for the hapless soldier trapped in a military at war...Translated from the Dutch into nimble and conversational English by Jonathan Reeder...it is a tale for and of our time."--Rayyan Al-Shawaf, Los Angeles Review of Books Amsterdam Airport, 1998. Samir Karim steps off a plane from Vietnam, flushes his fake passport down the toilet, and requests asylum. Fleeing Iraq to avoid conscription into Saddam Hussein's army, he has spent seven years anonymously wandering through Asia. Now, safely in the heart of Europe, he is sent to an asylum center and assigned a bed in a shared dorm--where he will spend the next nine years. As he navigates his way around the absurdities of Dutch bureaucracy, Samir tries his best to get along with his 500 new housemates. Told with compassion and a unique sense of humor, this is an inspiring tale of survival, a close-up view of the hidden world of refugees and human smugglers, and a sobering reflection of our times.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: World Editions
Published: 01/07/2020
ISBN: 9781642860450
Pages: 356
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.10d
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2019
Shelf Awareness 01/10/2020
"Two Blankets, Three Sheets does for the beleaguered political asylum seeker stuck in legal limbo what Joseph Heller's Catch-22 did for the hapless soldier trapped in a military at war...Translated from the Dutch into nimble and conversational English by Jonathan Reeder...it is a tale for and of our time."--Rayyan Al-Shawaf, Los Angeles Review of Books Amsterdam Airport, 1998. Samir Karim steps off a plane from Vietnam, flushes his fake passport down the toilet, and requests asylum. Fleeing Iraq to avoid conscription into Saddam Hussein's army, he has spent seven years anonymously wandering through Asia. Now, safely in the heart of Europe, he is sent to an asylum center and assigned a bed in a shared dorm--where he will spend the next nine years. As he navigates his way around the absurdities of Dutch bureaucracy, Samir tries his best to get along with his 500 new housemates. Told with compassion and a unique sense of humor, this is an inspiring tale of survival, a close-up view of the hidden world of refugees and human smugglers, and a sobering reflection of our times.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: World Editions
Published: 01/07/2020
ISBN: 9781642860450
Pages: 356
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.10d
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2019
Shelf Awareness 01/10/2020