The Boy Who Saw the Colour of Air

By (author): Abdo Wazen

Translated by: Nouha Homad

Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited. At thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write. Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind. At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious and cultural differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities.

AUTHOR

Abdo Wazen

Abdo Wazen est un poète et critique libanais, né en 1957. Il a été rédacteur en chef des pages culturelles du journal Al-Hayat. Il a remporté le prix de journalisme culturel du Dubai Press Club en 2005, et le prix de littérature pour enfants Sheikh Zayyed en 2012 pour son roman Le jeune homme qui a vu la couleur de l’air (2011). Il a publié une dizaine de recueils de poésie et de romans, ainsi que des ouvrages de critique et des traductions. Sa poésie a été traduite en plusieurs langues, dont l’anglais, le français, l’allemand, le portugais et l’espagnol. Son roman Open Heart a été publié en français sous le titre À Coeur Ouvert (2016).


AUTHOR

Nouha Homad

Nouha Homad has had a career as university professor teaching English and comparative literature, and French and Spanish language and literature. She is a writer, editor, certified freelance translator and artist. Syrian by birth and parentage, Homad grew up in Paris, Madrid, Rome, Cairo, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, and Damascus absorbing languages and cultural experiences along the way. She has since lived in Beirut, Amman, Washington DC, Tripoli, Aberystwyth and London, and Montreal among other places, and this has continued to enrich and influence her cosmopolitan vision. She lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


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Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited. At thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write. Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind. At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious and cultural differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities.

Reader Reviews

Details

Dimensions:

96 Pages
5.5in * 8.5in * 1in
1lb

Published:

September 15, 2022

Country of Publication:

CA

Publisher:

Bookland Press

ISBN:

9781772311808

Book Subjects:

JUVENILE FICTION / Disabilities

Featured In:

YA Fiction

Language:

eng

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