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No Friend but the Mountains cover art

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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Publisher's Summary

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

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)

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What listeners say about No Friend but the Mountains

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

First-rate story, third-rate narration

I wanted to love this book. The story is timely and urgent, and ought to be on high school English curriculums and bestseller lists. Unfortunately, the audiobook narration was shared by several different people, who are mostly writers rather than gifted actors or narrators. It was difficult to fully immerse myself in the author's intimate story as every chapter was told by someone else, in wildly unpredictable styles that ranged from amused theatrics to monotone speedreading. This was frustrating, disappointing, and destroyed the story-telling magic for me. I wish the publisher would re-release this audiobook with only one narrator - preferably someone who makes a living from performing, rather than writing, words - so that this moving, unique and hopefully soon-to-be classic, memoir can have the treatment it deserves.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Too many cooks

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.

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible, confronting, introspective, provocativ

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.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful

Everyone Australian should read this to know just what we are capable of. Our collective shame is on display for the world in this book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating story.

I just can say WOW. Amazing work and real life story. I was trying to imagine myself in characters described in the book and yet its tough life. We are all behind you guys. One more step to freedom. Keep up the good work.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant & powerful, a must-read

A masterpiece, maybe the most important book I’ve read. Every Australian should read this book and discover the truth about our Government. The narrators were fantastic, they made the story come alive.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Average

Some parts of the book were very poetic and beautiful.
There were a lot of unanswered questions— like the refugees line up to use the phone but then this book was written on a mobile phone and sent via WhatsApp messages. Doesn’t go into a lot of detail about his life before he sought refugee status. A bit of slog. Some of the performances were average while others were good.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Over-hyped whining

I wanted to empathise & be moved by this account, but instead found myself inclined the other way. It is relentless anger at being denied what was taken for granted; being welcomed with open arms by Australia as an illegal immigrant. Yes, Manus was run with a terrible lack of recreational materials & facilities. A lack of access to the outside world. But how could it be expected that the continuing numbers of illegal immigrants could all be welcomed straight in to Australia? A small acknowledgement of his rescue from drowning by the navy, and of his being fed & sheltered at Manus, would have helped me swallow the rest of his anger. Instead I'm abandoning it mid-way.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book but needs one single narrator.

I wish I hard read the hard copy of this book, the multiple narrators really ruined it for me to be honest.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written, tragic story of survival.

I have never been so moved by the way a book is written. The subject matter is heartbreaking & will remain one of Australians most disgraceful and shameful acts. The poetic narrative is overwhelming and inspiring at the same time.
The audiobook version is exceptionally read & expressed.

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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.