Silence Is My Mother Tongue

Last updated

Silence Is My Mother Tongue is a novel by Sulaiman Addonia, published October 25, 2018 by Graywolf Press. The book was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction [1] and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. [2] [3] It follows " two siblings attempting to find stability within the chaos of a [refugee] camp." [4]

Contents

Background

The concept of "silence" being a "mother tongue" comes from Addonia's experience as a child refugee. Addonia has discussed his relationship to language in his essay, "The Wound of Multilingualism: On Surrendering the Languages of Home," wherein he notes that he has been forced to forgo "the language of home" on numerous occasions. Though his native language is Tigryina, Addonia attempted to learn Amharic while in an Ethiopian refugee camp, but the language reminded him of his murdered father, and therefore, it "was a language of grief, of violence, of loss, of unattained longing." [5] He stepped out of it quickly and "returned to silence." [5] When he was enrolled in a Sudanese school, his connection to his native languages dwindled, and by the time he moved to Saudi Arabia, he was fluent in Arabic. [5] Upon arrival in England, Addonia began learning English, further disconnecting him from his history. Of the experience, Addonia has said

It was like taking a hammer to the home I had built in the Arabic language word by word, over many years in Sudan and Saudi Arabia. My increasing strength in English correlated negatively with my Arabic. The more I felt at home in English, the less Arabic felt like one. So much so that learning a new language was to acquire a new wound. Multilingualism meant multi-wounding. [5]

Although learning English allowed him to connect with others in his new location, it also meant he could no longer understand his family, another reminder of their separation. [5]

Reception

Silence Is My Mother Tongue received positive reviews from The Guardian , [6] Publishers Weekly , [7] Kirkus , [8] and The Colorado Review. [9]

Kirkus Reviews called the book "[a] memorable chronicle about 'the bitterness of exile' and the endurance of the spirit."

The book was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction [1] and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Choi</span> American novelist (born 1969)

Susan Choi is an American novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabih Alameddine</span> American painter and writer

Rabih Alameddine is an American painter and writer. His 2021 novel The Wrong End of the Telescope won the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bergen</span> Canadian writer

David Bergen is a Canadian novelist. He has published eleven novels and two collections of short stories since 1993 and is currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His 2005 novel The Time in Between won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and he was a finalist again in 2010 and 2020, making the long list in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percival Everett</span> American writer (born 1956)

Percival Everett is an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laila Lalami</span> Moroccan-American writer, and professor (born 1968)

Laila Lalami is a Moroccan-American novelist, essayist, and professor. After earning her licence ès lettres degree in Morocco, she received a fellowship to study in the United Kingdom (UK), where she earned an MA in linguistics.

Martin Hyatt is an American contemporary writer. Born in Louisiana, he later attended Goddard College, Eugene Lang College, and received an MFA in creative writing from The New School. Hyatt's fiction is usually set in the working-class American South. His work is characterized by its lyricism and realism. He has taught writing at a number of colleges and universities, including Hofstra University and Parsons School of Design. He has taught Creative Writing at School of Visual Arts, St. Francis College, and Southern New Hampshire University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Wolverton</span> American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor (born 1954)

Terry Wolverton is an American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor. Her book Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building, a memoir published in 2002 by City Lights Books, was named one of the "Best Books of 2002" by the Los Angeles Times, and was the winner of the 2003 Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her novel-in-poems Embers was a finalist for the PEN USA Litfest Poetry Award and the Lambda Literary Award.

Sulaiman S.M.Y. Addonia (born 1974, Omhajer, Eritrea) is an Eritrea-born British author who also works at a creative writing academy for refugees. He lived in refugee camps from the age of two years old until he received asylum in England in 1990.

Ashley Little is a Canadian author of both adult and young adult literature.

The Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on gay male themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the writer, women and heterosexual men may also be nominated for or win the award.

The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on lesbian themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the writer, men and heterosexual women may also be nominated for or win the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Ramadan</span> Syrian–Canadian novelist, public speaker, and LGBTQ-refugee activist

Ahmad Danny Ramadan is a Syrian–Canadian novelist, public speaker, and LGBTQ-refugee activist who was born in Damascus, Syria. Ramadan's work focuses on themes of immigration, identity, diaspora and belonging. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, won multiple awards. The Foghorn Echoes won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Maria Machado</span> American writer

Carmen Maria Machado is an American short story author, essayist, and critic best known for Her Body and Other Parties, a 2017 short story collection, and her memoir In the Dream House, which was published in 2019 and won the 2021 Folio Prize. Machado is frequently published in The New Yorker, Granta, Lightspeed Magazine, and other publications. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novelette. Her stories have been reprinted in Year's Best Weird Fiction, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, Best Horror of the Year,The New Voices of Fantasy, and Best Women's Erotica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Whitehead</span> Two spirit poet and novelist

Joshua Whitehead is a Canadian First Nations, two spirit poet and novelist.

<i>Shuggie Bain</i> 2020 novel by Douglas Stuart

Shuggie Bain is the debut novel by Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart, published in 2020. It tells the story of the youngest of three children, Shuggie, growing up with his alcoholic mother Agnes in 1980s post-industrial working-class Glasgow.

<i>Deposing Nathan</i> American fiction book published 2019

Deposing Nathan is a 2019 young adult fiction book by American author Zack Smedley.

<i>You Exist Too Much</i> 2020 novel by Zaina Arafat

You Exist Too Much is a debut novel by Zaina Arafat, published June 9, 2020 by Catapult. The book won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction in 2021.

The Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards books with bisexual content. The award can be separated into three categories: bisexual fiction, bisexual nonfiction, and bisexual poetry. Awards are granted based on literary merit and bisexual content, and therefore, the writer may be homo-, hetero-, or asexual.

The Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards books with transgender content. Awards are granted based on literary merit and transgender content, and therefore, the writer may be cisgender. The award can be separated into three categories: transgender fiction, transgender nonfiction, and transgender poetry, though early iterations of the award included categories for bisexual/transgender literature, transgender/genderqueer literature, and transgender literature.

The Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards LGBT-themed nonfiction books whose intended audience is "general readers, as opposed to those targeted primarily to scholarly audiences." Anthologies and memoirs are not included as they have their own categories.

References

  1. 1 2 Gentes, Brian (2021-03-15). "2021 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  2. 1 2 "Silence is My Mother Tongue". The Orwell Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. 1 2 Lambelet, Anne (2019-05-08). "Awards: Orwell Longlists". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  4. ↑ Cain, Sian (2018-11-21). "Murder, migration and mother love: the making of the novelist Sulaiman Addonia". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Addonia, Sulaiman (2020-09-08). "The Wound of Multilingualism: On Surrendering the Languages of Home". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. ↑ Housham, Jane (2018-12-14). "Silence Is My Mother Tongue by Sulaiman Addonia review – life in exile". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  7. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Silence Is My Mother Tongue by Sulaiman Addonia. Graywolf, $16 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-64445-033-8". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  8. ↑ "Silence Is My Mother Tongue". Kirkus Reviews. 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  9. ↑ Larson, Richard Scott. "Silence Is My Mother Tongue". Center for Literary Publishing. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.