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No Friend but the Mountains

Writing from Manus Prison

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No Friend but the Mountains

By: Behrouz Boochani, Omid Tofighian - translator
Narrated by: Geoffrey Robertson, Isobelle Carmody, Mathilda Imlah, Omid Tofighian, Richard Flanagan, Sarah Dale, Thomas Keneally, Yumi Stynes, Janet Galbraith, Benjamin Law
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About this listen

WINNER OF THE ABIA AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

In 2013, Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani was illegally detained on Manus Island. This book is the result. Laboriously tapped out on a mobile phone and translated from the Farsi. It is a voice of witness, an act of survival. A lyric firsthand account. A cry of resistance. A vivid portrait through five years of incarceration and exile.

At the time of recording, Behrouz was still being held on Manus Island. Normally the author is given the opportunity to read his own words but because he was not able to participate, a chorus of advocates have come together to speak not so much for Behrouz but with him.

Narrated by Richard Flanagan, Mathilda Imlah, Geoffrey Robertson, Janet Galbraith, Thomas Keneally, Sarah Dale, Yumi Stynes, Isobelle Carmody, Benjamin Law and Omid Tofighian.

Where have I come from? From the land of rivers, the land of waterfalls, the land of ancient chants, the land of mountains....
People would run to the mountains to escape the warplanes and found asylum within their chestnut forests....
Do Kurds have any friends other than the mountains?

Winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize for Literature and the Prize for Non-Fiction 2019
Winner of the NSW Premier's Award 2019
Winner of the Abia General Fiction Book of the Year 2019
Winner of the National Biography Award 2019
Inaugural Winner of the Behrouz Boochani Award for Services to Anthropology
Finalist for the Terzani Prize 2020
Longlisted for the Colin Roderick Literary Award 2019

©2019 Behrouz Boochani (P)2019 Macmillan Australia Audio Emigration & Immigration Freedom & Security Letters & Correspondence Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Politics & Government Refugee Studies Social Sciences Specific Demographics Human Rights Scary Thought-Provoking Inspiring Middle East

Critic Reviews

'Our government jailed his body, but his soul remained that of a free man.' RICHARD FLANAGAN

'The most important Australian book published in 2018.' ROBERT MANNE

'A powerful account ... made me feel ashamed and outraged. Behrouz's writing is lyrical and poetic, though the horrors he describes are unspeakable' SOFIE LAGUNA

'A poetic, yet harrowing read, and every Australian household should have a copy.' MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE

'Bears lucid, poetic and devastating witness to the insane barbarity enacted in our name.' MICHELLE DE KRETSER

All stars
Most relevant  
Overwhelmed and ashamed of being Australian in the horrific way we treat people who are forcwd to flee their own beloved country.
There, but for the Grace of God, go I

Overwhelming

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This story is a devastating example of inhumane leaders in Australian government. Things can change in a democratic nation. This is too much to bear, unnecessary damage to people without power.

Excellent work!

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Loved that it was read by advocates and supporters this added to the power of the story.

Powerful

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This is a well-known book in Australia, and the winner of some major awards, even though its author remains trapped on Manus Island, or Manus Prison as he calls it. I was most impressed by the book, though wondered how much I missed or misunderstood, from my total ignorance of Kurdish or Farsi literary traditions. However, I did not appreciate the many readers enlisted to read it. This is very much an autobiographical work, and therefore best heard by a reader doing a good acting job, ie 'becoming' Behrouz Boochani for the listener. To have several readers, as this audio book does, takes away from that possibility. Inevitably some readers are better than others - indeed I found a couple of them quite poor, with voices best kept well away from a microphone. With the 'celebrity' readers, Richard Flanagan, Geoffrey Robertson, Tom Keneally and Ben Law, it was hard to think beyond these well-known voices and personalities.
I could not stand the very frequent use of the invented word 'kyrarchial' - not invented by Boochani, I realize, but used by him often. I thought it was 'hierachical' mispronounced, at first, and indeed that word might have been used most of the time. It is not easy to adjust to such a specialist term like 'kyrarchial', and introduces the impression that this is an academic work. That impression is heightened by the long introduction and afterword by the (no doubt excellent) translator. Both of these seemed to me to urge us to read the book in certain ways, not to form our own impressions of the book unaided.

Too many cooks

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The writing of this book is a monumental achievement and I’m glad to say the content of the book surpasses expectations. It is a philosophical and introspective book. One that reflects deeply on the experience and treatment of asylum seekers. It provides a perspective rarely provided by mainstream media.

It is a challenging and thought provoking listen. One that conjures an internal conflict between protecting Australian borders and preventing loss of life at sea vs our obligation and duty to look after those who seek refuge in our bountiful country.

At times I felt ashamed and horrified of our governments treatment of asylum seekers in offshore processing And terrible condition these individuals had to endure.

I am grateful to all those including the courage of this author to bring this book into reality.

Whether you are right, centre or left of politics it is worth broadening your horizon by listening to this book.

My only problem with this book is not the content but the production value. I wish as others have highlighted a single professional narrator was used. Don’t let this hold you back it is worth the listen. Just fast forward the first chapter.

Incredible, confronting, introspective, provocativ

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the beauty of writing within such an abhorrent excuse of a prison system - persecuting refugees. the journey of survival, the endurance of human beings. To be able to rise above the torture blows me away. The psychology underlying the vision of this book is inspirational. Thank for voice.

the truth behind the facade

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A captivating listen , this book is a real insight into the Australian oppression of refugees. It lays bare what people in power can do to people who are struggling to find a better life. It uses a very clever technique of having various narrators.

Heart rendering. A must listen.

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A wonderful piece of writing. It's humanity radiates from each word. Disturbing and profound.

every Australian should read this

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Wow. What an incredible story. Thank you Behrouz for giving us an insight into the experiences of so many.

A must read!!

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I hung on every word. Highly confronting for me as a first generation Australian.My own grandparents were asylum seekers yet I have been blissfully unaware of the hardships asylum seekers continue to endure. This book will challenge your comfort zone and change your perspective on these matters.

Eye opener

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.