(Ebook) Beyond Babylon (Oltre Babilonia) by Igiaba Scego, Aaron Robertson (translation), Jhumpa Lahiri (introduction) ISBN 9781931883849, 193188384X

(Ebook) Beyond Babylon (Oltre Babilonia) by Igiaba Scego, Aaron Robertson (translation), Jhumpa Lahiri (introduction) ISBN 9781931883849, 193188384X

PEN Translation Prize Finalist

Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award (BTBA)

Shortlisted for the 2020 National Translation Award in Prose (NTA)

Recipient of a prestigious 2018 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant

An epic spread across three nations, Beyond Babylon casts a probing, endlessly perceptive eye on the lasting effects of traumas both national & personal. Telling the engrossing lives of two half-sisters who meet coincidentally in Tunisia, their mothers, & the elusive father who ties all their stories together, Igiaba Scego's virtuosic novel spreads thickly over Argentina's horrific dirty war, the chaotic final years of Siad Barre's brutal dictatorship in Somalia—which ended in catastrophic civil war—and the modern-day excesses of Italy's right-wing politics.

United by the Italian government's attempts to establish authoritarian politics in Somalia, Argentina, & at home, Scego's kaleidoscopic plot investigates deep questions about our complicity in the governments that we often feel powerless to affect. In its myriad characters, locations, & languages redefine our sense of citizenship for a fast-changing world of migrants & demagogues, all anchored by five poignant individuals fighting to overcome memories of past violations. A masterwork equally as adept with the lives of nations as those of human beings, Beyond Babylon brings much-needed insight, compassion, & understanding to our turbulent world.

Igiaba Scego was born in Rome to a family of Somali ancestry. She holds a PhD in education on postcolonial subjects & has done extensive academic work in Italy & around the world. Her memoir La mia casa è dove sono won Italy’s prestigious Mondello Prize, while La linea del colore was awarded with Premio Napoli & Scego received the International Award Viareggio-Répaci in 2021. Her other novels include Oltre Babilonia (2008) & Adua (2015), both available in English.