Chamed

This is a heart-breaking story about Chamad, a teenage girl who is born disabled, but thanks to a loving father she learns to talk as well as walk. As a teenager she meets a boy and falls in love and then, after years of hard struggling, the future looks bright and promising.
Then the disaster strikes, both her parents die in a traffic accident and she goes and lives with her uncle and aunt. Her aunt has once been the girlfriend of Chamad’s father and is still in love with him. Now, when show more the aunt has a child of her own, she hates Chamad and makes her life a living hell.
What happens next is for you to find out by reading the book. I’m giving it five stars because it is a real page-turner an impossible to put down and I’m looking forward to the next novel by Chamad. Hopefully she will find a better translator. show less

This book describes the ordeal of a young italian girl overcoming polio, the loss of parents she adores, abuse, rape and the horrors of violence in a mental institute. The story is based on real events and you cannot helped but be moved to admire the author for her bravery in the face of this adversity.

That said this is a very unsympathetic translation - which makes the book read like a letter from a school pen pal practicing their english. The literal translation detracts from what should show more otherwise be a very moving book.

The book is also very short - I read it in just a couple of hours - which seems to skip over some of the horrors. I'm not sure whether the author just couldn't articulate how she was feeling or whether it was too hard to write - but this ends up feeling rushed and rather trite.

I wouldn't recommend this - unless you can read italian - in which case I think it would be a very different book! show less

The memoir of a girl who is first orphaned, abused and then committed to a mental institution has the potential to be an inspiring tale of courage and endurance. However this book is done absolutely no favours by the frankly appalling translation and editing. The story jumps around and the plot is often confused. The poor English serves only to distance the reader from the subject matter. I personally felt very relieved to finish this book and will be studiously avoiding anything else by show more this author. show less

This short book by Chamed reads more like a diary than an actual memoir. Loosing her parents at a young age, physical and sexual abuse by those who take her aboard, and lastly ending up in a madhouse with awful conditions, before finally being able to return to a normal life, this is certainly a tragic story. Unfortunately the book as such has been utterly disappointing.
A horrible translation from Italian to English made the reading often quite weird, not because the translations would have show more been totally wrong, but due to the fact that I knew better and more appropriate words/expressions. Add the strange mix of POV, one moment through her own eyes and then the next moment through her parents', which didn't help much either.
I realize the book is Chamed's way of coming to terms with her childhood experiences, but just writing it all down in a personal diary might have been a better plan.
In short: A shocking story, yet an atrocious implementation! show less