Guantanamo (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781933368542)

At the beginning of the Afghan war, young Rashid, born in Hamburg to an Indian father and a German mother, travels to India to claim an inheritance. There, he befriends a young Afghan and continues his journey to Peshawar, where he ends up in the middle of an anti-American demonstration. He is arrested, handed over to the Americans, and taken to the notorious Guantanamo.

What ensues is a remarkable literary experiment, a novel based on meticulous research. In six scenes, it describes Rashid's life at the camp. Sensitive yet utterly unsentimental, the novel explores the existential consequences of isolation, suppression, and uncertainty -- paralyzing fear, psychotic delusions, manic identification with fellow prisoners, and ultimately, resignation. Written with fierce moral clarity and a remarkable economy of expression, Guantanamo functions as both a political statement and a fascinating examination of the prisoner/jailer relationship.

Author: Dorothea Dieckmann
ISBN-10: 1933368543
ISBN-13: 9781933368542
Publisher: Soft Skull
Language: English
Published: 08/01/2007
Pages: 160
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.32lbs
Size: 7.93h x 5.28w x 0.44d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/25/2007 pg. 31
Booklist 09/01/2007 pg. 54
New Yorker (The) 01/07/2008 pg. 77