Book Review by Serina Hartwell – The Go Between by Osman Yousefzada

Brutally honest, refreshing, raw, gritty funny and sad, all wrapped up into one. A childhood set in a history I recall, left me reminiscent of my own, whilst being reminded of much harsher times. Children were to be seen and not heard.                                     

I finished reading Osman Yousefzada’s autobiography yesterday; I only bought it on Monday night and almost finished it in one sitting. It’s the best biography I’ve read. Osman conveys such an honest and raw telling of a life story from a distant past, yet it was only yesterday when I think back. The well and the bucket quota was simply genius; I laughed myself to sleep as I bookmarked my page.

I am readying myself to meet this prolific man tomorrow, whose accomplishments, I can only awe at. Reading Osman’s accounts of the past described a life that I felt touched upon my own beginnings in some ways. I felt like I stood on the other side of the mirror. Growing up in a community where only streets away an Asian community resided, most of my friends were Asian. We didn’t care about racism, we left that to others. We just had fun and hung out as kids. The past Osman described made me re-visit other, more frowned upon moments too, on this unbridled venture, which left me laughing intensely at times and holding back tears at others. His recollections gave me a few answers from my own past about things that I’d wondered about.

He doesn’t know it, but I’m the person who is going to be his chaperone tomorrow, while he speaks of a life well lived and barriers overcome to my year 10s, who will pick their nose, and shuffle in their seat, and mess about, while their teacher’s back is turned, because something different has been arranged for a Friday afternoon. I’m the librarian.

When he described his desire to read, it took me back to my own visits to the school library and finding all the treasures the library had to offer. I am wondering if I should hide the books though. On the eve of his visit, I give his book 5 solid stars and know that shuffling aside, his message about where he came from and how he soared to the top will have an impact on the students, even if they don’t show it and they won’t.  

Serina Hartwell Author
The Hidden Saga

Trapped – Coming soon!

http://www.serinahartwell.com/

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