num_pages: 183
description: On Mount Gurugu overlooking the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the North African coast desperate migrants gather before attempting to scale the city's walls and gain asylum on European soil. Inspired by firsthand accounts Juan Toms vila Laurel has written an urgent novel by turns funny and sad bringing a distinctly African perspective to a major issue of our time.Juan Toms vila Laurel was born in 1966 in Equatorial Guinea. The Gurugu Pledge is his second novel and follows his 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize-shortlisted debut By Night The Mountain Burns which was based on his memories of growing up on the remote island of Annobn. He made headlines in 2011 by embarking on a hunger strike in an anti-government protest. He now lives exiled in Barcelona.Jethro Soutar translates from Spanish and Portuguese. He has translated Argentinian and Brazilian crime novels written two nonfiction books of his own and recently co-edited The Football Crnicas a collection of football writing from Latin America. He divides his time between London and Lisbon.
language: English
title: The Gurugu Pledge
publisher: And Other Stories