No Friend but the Mountains: The True Story of an Illegally Imprisoned Refugee

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A chant, a cry from the heart, a lament, fuelled by a fierce urgency, written with the lyricism of a poet, the literary skills of a novelist, and the profound insights of an astute observer of human behaviour and the ruthless politics of a cruel and unjust imprisonment.' ARNOLD ZABLE Film based on Behrouz Boochani's story in the works". SBS News. 23 February 2020 . Retrieved 1 March 2020.

No Friend But The Mountains is a masterpiece of prisoner literature, up there with Solzhenitsyn and Levi (and no, I'm not going the Godwin's Law route, but I had visceral shivers reading some of the familiar conditions in that hellhole). Moreover, it is an instant Australian classic. Probably the most important book published here this century. The prose is stunning, the poetry sublime. It is dignified and courageous, honest and excoriating. And yes, it is heartbreaking. Boochani: "I love the book more than anything else I've produced from Manus. The collaboration was fantastic—I enjoyed it immensely. A deep learning experience ... a sweet victory." Tofighian describes in an article in The Conversation the process and the challenges brought about by translating such a work. Starting in December 2016, Boochani's words were first sent to consultant translator Moones Mansoubi, each chapter being one long text message of 9,000 to 17,000 words. Mansoubi would format them into PDFs, and send them to Tofighian, who then translated from Persian to English, consulting regularly with Boochani via WhatsApp along the way. Tofighian had weekly sessions with either Mansoubi or another Iranian researcher in Sydney, during which time Boochani continued to write the book while consulting his friends and literary confidants both in Australia and Iran. [8]In February 2020 it was announced that the book would be adapted to a feature film. A joint production between Hoodlum Entertainment, Sweetshop & Green, and Aurora Films, production was slated to commence mid-2021. [22] It is planned to do most of the shooting in Australia. [23] [24] Writer and producer Ákos Armont and producer Antony Waddington put forward the idea of an adaptation. Boochani said the new film should incorporate some of his previous work, and that of his fellow asylum seekers, as a part of Australian history. [25] Symphonic work [ edit ] Throughout No Friend but the Mountains, Boochani employs the concept of ‘kyriarchy’, a term taken from feminist theology to refer to a complex intersection of oppressions. The Kyriarchical System in Manus, he argues, pits the inmates against each other, ensuring their isolation and loneliness ‘until the prison’s Kyriarchal Logic triumphs with their collapse and demise.’ Imagine a community of four hundred people, neglected in a boiling hot filthy cage, still traumatised by the terrifying sound of waves ringing in their ears and the rotting boat fixed before their eyes. ––– Behrouz Boochani, (126)

Where have I come from? From the land of rivers, the land of waterfalls, the land of ancient chants, the land of mountains... Sweetshop & Green was founded last year as a joint venture between global TVC production company Sweetshop and Israeli producer Greenspan’s Green Productions with a remit to produce films and TV dramas for the international market. Winner of The Victorian Prize for Literature, and the Prize for Non-Fiction, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 Any review here is bound to be totally inadequate. How do you put a star rating on someone’s suffering? All I can do is try to give potential readers a general idea of what to expect from this book. Zhou, Naaman (24 February 2020). "Behrouz Boochani's book, No Friend But The Mountains, to be made into a film". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 March 2020.Zable, Arnold (2 February 2019). " 'We are part of Australian history': Behrouz Boochani, voice of exile". The Age. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019 . Retrieved 4 February 2019. Prison literature generally doesn’t dwell on the conventional judicial assessments. Instead of assessing the guilt or innocence of people behind bars, the genre focuses on the opposition between those imprisoned (whatever their crime) and those guarding them. In No Friend but the Mountains Boochani does not ask why inmates ended up on Manus: rather, he takes for granted their shared interest in freedom. Maysam’s resistance eventually falters and fails, with his dances ultimately unable to counter the brutalization of the camp. ‘As days go by in Manus Prison, even Maysam the Whore becomes more secluded and starts to deteriorate.’ Greenspan said: “Behrouz’s story is highly important and deeply moving. It is our goal to produce the film as an international co-production and share it with as many people around the world as possible.”

Contents derived from the Sydney , New South Wales ,: Pan Macmillan Australia, 2018 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details. Translator's Tale : A Window to the Mountains , Behrouz Boochani, Améry suggests that literature – or, more specifically, German literature – failed in Auschwitz partly because of its complicity with fascism. This is an argument compatible with the verdict famously delivered by George Steiner in Language and Silence (1967): Boochani has defied and defeated the best efforts of Australian governments to deny asylum seekers a face and a voice. And what a voice: poetic yet unsentimental, acerbic yet compassionate, sorrowful but never self-indulgent, reflective and considered even in anger and despair. ... It may well stand as one of the most important books published in Australia in two decades, the period of time during which our refugee policies have hardened into shape - and hardened our hearts in the process.' SATURDAY PAPER As Sarah Lazare has recently argued, the distinction between refugees and migrants, so central to Australian discussions, was Boochani chooses to present his account in a literary, poetic and idiosyncratic style. It’s a departure from the straightforward reporting of his journalism. The style is often feverish and sometimes frustrating when there are factual gaps – but any reader can resolve those gaps with some additional online research. Boochani more than succeeds in his aim to not just report the events but to convey the human experience and the depths of his personal torment. His narrative voice is bitter and angry (righteously so) and it is at times overwhelming to be inside his head.No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison is an autobiographical account of Behrouz Boochani's perilous journey to Christmas Island and his subsequent incarceration in an Australian government immigration detention facility on Manus Island.