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Book Review: Behrouz Boochani’s unsparing look at the brutality of Manus Island
It is a matter of wonder that Behrouz Boochani was able to write No Friend but the Mountains at all.
- Alex Reilly
- The Conversation
He did so while in Manus prison, using text messages in Farsi on smuggled mobile phones.
Egyptian and Australian academic Omid Tofighian worked closely with Boochani to translate the text into English.
In a detailed introduction to the book, Tofighian explains that Boochani’s writing contributes to a Kurdish literary tradition.
He describes his style as “horror surrealism”.
This is not how I experienced the book.
Although the imagery Boochani shares is horrific, and…