Slave: My True Story [Hardcover]

Damien Lewis (Author), Mende Nazer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 6, 2004

A shocking true story of contemporary slavery: Mende Nazer, snatched from her tribal village in Africa as a young girl, survives slavery in Sudan and London before making a courageous escape to freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born into the Karko tribe in the Nuba mountains of northern Sudan, Nazer has written a straightforward, harrowing memoir that's a sobering reminder that slavery still needs to be stamped out. The first, substantial section of the book concentrates on Nazer's idyllic childhood, made all the more poignant for the misery readers know is to come. Nazer is presented as intelligent and headstrong, and her people as peaceful, generous and kind. In 1994, around age 12 (the Nuba do not keep birth records), Nazer was snatched by Arab raiders, raped and shipped to the nation's capital, Khartoum, where she was installed as a maid for a wealthy suburban family. (For readers expecting her fate to include a grimy factory or barren field, the domesticity of her prison comes as a shock.) To Nazer, the modern landscape of Khartoum could not possibly have been more alien; after all, she had never seen even a spoon, a mirror or a sink, much less a telephone or television set. Nazer's urbane tormentors-mostly the pampered housewife-beat her frequently and dehumanized her in dozens of ways. They were affluent, petty and calculatedly cruel, all in the name of "keeping up appearances." The contrast between Nazer's pleasant but "primitive" early life and the horrors she experienced in Khartoum could hardly be more stark; it's an object lesson in the sometimes dehumanizing power of progress and creature comforts. After seven years, Nazer was sent to work in the U.K., where she contacted other Sudanese and eventually escaped to freedom. Her book is a profound meditation on the human ability to survive virtually any circumstances.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The shock of this title is that it refers to what is happening right now, in Sudan, Africa, and also in the West. Ten years ago, when Mende Nazer was about 12 years old, she was captured in an Arab raid on her remote Nuba village, and, with about 30 other black Muslim children, she was sold into slavery. For eight years, she toiled as a domestic worker for a wealthy family in Khartoum, beaten and abused by her vicious owners, who then sent her to work for a relative in London, an important Sudanese diplomat. With only broken English and no friends, she remained locked up and isolated until finally she managed to escape and tell her story. And it doesn't end there: the U.K. refused her asylum ("Slavery is not persecution"). Now in 2003, the British government has given in to the global pressure of human-rights groups and allowed her to stay. Journalist Lewis helped her escape, and he spent months interviewing her. He tells her story in a clear, compelling, first-person narrative that conveys her young voice with powerful authenticity. Her memories of childhood in her Nuba village are idyllic (except for her brutal circumcision, described in graphic detail). But the core of the book is her daily labor and abuse as a house slave. The details are unforgettable, capturing both the innocence of the child and the world-weariness of one who has endured the worst. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586482122
• ISBN-13: 978-1586482121
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > History > Africa > Sudan

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Erases the Reader's Sense of Denial That Slavery Lives May 13, 2004

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

You may think you don't need to read this book . . . but you really do.

In the back pages of better newspapers and at forums of those looking into human rights abuses, tales of slavery in Africa are told. When you read or hear those stories, it's hard to fathom . . . almost in the same way that tales of Africans brutally uprooted from their families in the 1700s and 1800s to be brought to the United States are hard to fathom. Somehow that sense of psychological distance keeps a person from being as outraged as by exploitation of children in factories in the third world to make athletic shoes that well for $150. If you read Slave, your sense of distance will be removed. And your outrage will be enormous. I hope you will read this book . . . and find ways to help solve the problem it describes.

Slave is the autobiography of Ms. Mende Nazer, a black Moslem from Sudan. She grew up in a typical rural village where cattle and farming provide the livelihood, much as they have done for hundreds of years. Her tribe had only recently stopped using ceremonial scarring to "enhance" the beauty of the men and women. The tribe still practiced witchcraft along with the Moslem religion. Female circumcism is still practiced there (another important subject for human rights supporters).

At around age 12 (for her people keep no track of birth dates), her village was attacked by Arab raiders who slaughtered many people and took away the young people between ages 8 and 12. In the process, the raiders sexually abused the captives before taking them to be sold. After being resold, Ms. Nazer found herself on the way to Khartoum where she was bought to be a domestic slave for a wealthy Arab family.

The abuse continued in the home. Ms. Nazer was treated with contempt and beaten for any reason that the woman in the household chose to employ. One of the beatings was so bad that it was life-threatening. She was denied the ability to practice her religion (which requires prayers five times a day) despite the fact that it was the same religion as her owners follow. She worked from dawn until the week hours of the morning, with no time off. Ms. Nazer feared for her life if she did not follow orders, and was really too young and inexperienced to know what else to do.

At that point, the owners' relatives in London arranged to have Ms. Nazer shipped there to serve as a slave for that family . . . doing the same kind of work for a family of five. Although she was not beaten in the same way, she was worked even harder here. Finally, she was able to spend some time on her own, met a Sudanese man and got help in escaping (while taking out the trash).

At that point, it became very difficult for Ms. Nazer to obtain asylum in the U.K. Officials there felt they could send her back to the Sudan and all would be well. But, there are a few complications. The slavers who took her originally seemed to have some relationship to the army in Sudan. The U.K. family included the press attaché to the Sudanese embassy. So Ms. Nazer's story is an embarrassing one for the Sudanese government, which says that it opposes slavery.

After a storm of protest in the UK and on the Continent, Ms. Nazer received asylum. But although she can talk with those she knows in Sudan, she cannot visit them without grave personal danger.

Ms. Nazer is an intelligent woman who is skilled in languages. She was at the top of her local school before she was abducted. In the process, she developed some skill in speaking Arabic which probably made her ordeal somewhat easier. But she didn't know any English, which made the UK escape all the harder. The book's material reflects her nuanced observations about her life, her captors, her owners and those who befriended her. Mr. Damien Lewis, who was a journalistic witness to her escape, has done a fine job of helping her turn the recollections into first-rate prose.

So how much do slaves go for in Sudan? According to Mr. Lewis, the going rate is about $150. How cheap is our respect for human life and dignity?

I hope that we can all find ways to help eradicate this horrible practice . . . and aid those who have been victimized by it. Taking square aim at making the Sudanese government reform itself sounds like a perfect place to begin. Where can we hold the next protest?

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A struggle to freedom May 15, 2004

By Chelsea Fontes

Format:Hardcover

When I bought `Slave' I just thought it would be a fun read that I could put down and pick up anytime, but it ended up only taking a few hours because of the intensity of it and the none-stop action. It's about Mende Nazer, her life as a slave, and her struggle to freedom. Reading about slavery and the abuse that came with it horrified me to the point I couldn't put the book down until finding out whether she gains her freedom or not, and for that matter, even lives or not Mende spent most of her life as a slave and even now still hasn't fully adapted to a world of freedom, although it's only been a few years.

As Mende struggles through every day life, which is basically chores and beatings: mental, physical and sexual, she always finds something to bring her back to a good, peaceful place. Whether it be thinking about her Nuba tribe, which was her home for only about 12 years, and village stories, or even the masters kids which are the only people who treat her nicely and equally. In fact, they are the only people who even recognize her as a walking, talking human. As she talked about her life I realize that other slaves had/have an even worse life than she. Mende had a big advantage over many of the other slaves because she could speak some English already and was older so she had more good memories to hang on to.

While reading this I thought of all the times I got mad over doing laundry or getting hurt in a fall, but this was nothing compared to Mendes world. When first getting her period she didn't know what was happening and had no-one to help and guide her on this important new stage in life. And when a little boy tripped her and she fell, dropping some glasses on the way, she wasn't scolded like many of us would be; she was beaten and put to blame. There are so many slaves in the world today but many people just pass it by or are oblivious to it and even those who do know don't educate others. . Until reading this book I could honestly say I would be in the category of `oblivious people,' but now I understand much more about slaves and there lives from getting captured to brutal beatings from there "masters."

`Slave' gives a voice to all those who had none and were being held captive. It is an up-to-date account of a girl who lost her freedom and her strain to get it back. It opens your eyes to the world of slaves, slave trade, and the authenticity of it all. `Slave' is an eye-opening book that you won't be able to put down.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The kind of book that too rarely comes around February 1, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I purchased this book on a Saturday & began reading it around 11pm. By 6am Sunday morning, I was finished. This is an amazing story that will not only captivate your mind, but also clench your heart. As an avid reader of non-fiction books, this is the type of book that keeps my interest at peak!
Told exceptionally well, allowing the reader to develop a vivid mental picture of Mende's experiences. While it does touch on some unbelievable rituals & horrendous violations that continue today; the author maintains dignity and is vague where necessary.
I believe this book is appropriate for those over 12 & have recommended it to everybody I talk to. Buy it, read it, pass it on.