The Translator

Leila Aboulela

From Shelf: The 2000 Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist

Sammar is a young Sudanese widow, working as an Arabic translator at a British university. Estranged from her son, she drifts, grieving and isolated. Life takes a positive turn when she finds herself falling in love with Rae, a Scottish academic. To Sammar, he seems to come from another world and another culture, yet they are drawn to each other.

The Translator is a story about love, both human and divine.

Sammar is a young Sudanese widow, working as an Arabic translator at a British university. Following the sudden death of her husband and estrangement from her young son, she drifts - grieving and isolated. Life takes a positive turn when she finds herself falling in love with Rae, a Scottish academic. To Sammar, he seems to come from another world and another culture, yet they are drawn to each other.

'Aboulela is a wonderfully poetic writer ... It is a pleasure to read a novel so full of feeling and yet so serene' - The Guardian