Harbor.Harbor Lorraine Adams Alfred A Knopf 201 E 50th St, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10022 ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 1400042332X, $23.95, 292 pp. A tale with three prongs: The escape from a life in a homeland that was so desperate, so horrifying that it made the lonely and dreadful prospect of becoming a stowaway look attractive. The frightening and solitary life of an alien in the USA. The terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. awareness of an illegal that he might be of interest to Federal agencies. In several flashbacks we are taken into the military experiences of Aziz in Algeria including the brutal killing of a woman, and his unending fear of being tortured himself by his own comrades and superiors as he watched others in the throes throe n. 1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain. 2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse. of agony agony, n severe pain or extreme suffering. agony 1. death struggle. 2. extreme suffering. . He trusts no one. "Now there was nothing Antar (the local warlord warlord, in modern Chinese history, autonomous regional military commander. In the political chaos following the death (1916) of republican China's first president and commander in chief, Yüan Shih-kai, central authority fell to the provincial military governors ) did not believe was his right. There were those among Antar's men who took to depravity the way birds take to air. They had imaginations bloated bloat·ed adj. 1. Much bigger than desired: a bloated bureaucracy; a bloated budget. 2. Medicine Swollen or distended beyond normal size by fluid or gaseous material. with ways to inflict suffering, and they saw the permutated hell of their nighttimes as an underground heaven they had never hoped to enter." (p157) This was the atmosphere that drove Aziz to escape his country. He manages to get back to his family and intends to leave the country but his inability to get the proper papers from his government forces him to take the risk of becoming a stowaway. He is dirty, hungry, cold and without the native language when he drags himself onshore on·shore adj. 1. Moving or directed toward the shore: an onshore wind. 2. Located on the shore: an onshore beacon; an onshore patrol. adv. in Boston. A stroke of good fortune brings him to the attention of an Egyptian whose Arabic tongue allows him to provide help. Aziz manages to get in touch with a friend, Rafik, from Algeria who he knows is living in Boston. Rafik is glad to hear from him and he invites him to live at his flat. He knows he must be careful when dealing with Rafik who is known to be untrustworthy but this relationship is the only one he feels comfortable with in Boston. Illegals come and go at Rafik's apartment. Aziz' lack of language skills and his unsettled background left him feeling isolated. He doesn't understand a lot of what is going on "Mostly, he had no one to discuss most things with, so their weight and importance were all too often equal. Anything could matter. Anything could be anything." (p65) He watches people closely in an attempt to better understand this place. He feels invisible but lucky because he is here and not in Algiers where terror is the order of the day. The federal agents have numerous meetings to determine if they have a case against Aziz and others who pass through Rafik's apartment in Boston. They decide to arrest them. Those arrested are people who fled the fear and intimidation of life in Algeria only to find themselves faced with anxiety and suspicion in the land they hoped would give them a chance of refuge. The story gives us a glimpse into the lives of these unfortunates and into the Federal agencies charged with their surveillance. |
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