Hassan Ghedi Santur's is a Somalia-Canadian novelist and journalist. His most recent novel is the acclaimed The Youth of God. Finalist for Canada Reads, 2020 Finalist for the Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award for Excellence in African Writing, 2019 The Youth of God tells the story of Nuur, a sensitive and academically gifted seventeen-year-old boy growing up in Toronto's Somali neighbourhood, as he negotiates perilously between the calling of his faith and his intellectual ambitions. Trying to influence him are a radical Muslim imam and a book-loving, dedicated teacher who shares his background. In its telling, this novel reveals the alienated lives of Somali youth in an environment riddled with crime and unemployment, while still in the grip of bitter memories of a home left behind. This intensely moving novel is also a powerful allegory of the struggle for the soul of Islam in modern times.
Hassan emigrated from Somalia to Canada at age thirteen. He has a BA in English Literature, an MFA from York University and an MA in journalism from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He has worked as a radio journalist for CBC Radio. In 2010 he published his debut novel Something Remains, and Maps of Exile, an exploration of the plight of African migrants in Europe. He is currently working on his third novel, Other Worlds, Other Lives.
You can follow Hassan on Twitter (@hgsantur) and at his author website https://www.mawenzihouse.com/product/the-youth-of-god/.
No comments:
Post a Comment