Barbara Sträuli
Biography
Dr. Barbara Sträuli was born in 1949 and studied English literature and ancient history in Zurich and BrynMawr (USA). Between 1977 and 1981 she learned Turkish and later Kurdish. From 1986 to 2010 she was a research assistant at the Ministry of Education in Zurich with a focus on migration from Turkey, multilingualism and promoting literacy. She completed a part-time second degree in Islamic Studies at the University of Bern.
Last Released
“It all ended with the blow of the sharp iron that fell on his head. The dreams were over. There was no hope left. The eyesight went out. Longings disperse.”
The murder of Azado, who comes from Syria and lives as a translator in Germany, forms the ending of the novel. He translates for refugees from his homeland and is thus confronted with a wide variety of fates that remind him of his own. He confides in his diary Azado's difficult childhood, his longing for his mother, who died giving birth to him, his first, unfulfilled love, and the fears and problems of refugees. Azado tries to find his way in his new home, but his job as a translator makes the whole thing tense. His past won't let him go. It is also symbolized by the prayer beads with 99 beads that he receives from his first love and that accompanies him throughout his life.
The murder of Azado, who comes from Syria and lives as a translator in Germany, forms the ending of the novel. He translates for refugees from his homeland and is thus confronted with a wide variety of fates that remind him of his own. He confides in his diary Azado's difficult childhood, his longing for his mother, who died giving birth to him, his first, unfulfilled love, and the fears and problems of refugees. Azado tries to find his way in his new home, but his job as a translator makes the whole thing tense. His past won't let him go. It is also symbolized by the prayer beads with 99 beads that he receives from his first love and that accompanies him throughout his life.
Translated from Kurdish by Barbara Sträuli
