Aminatta Forna
Aminatta Forna
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Aminatta Forna is a renowned Scottish-Sierra Leonean novelist, journalist, and academic.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born on December 20, 1964, in London, England. Current status: alive.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Forna holds dual nationality of Scotland and Sierra Leone. Her professional pursuits include novelist, journalist, and academic.
Early Life and Background
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Aminatta Forna was born to a Scottish mother and a Sierra Leonean father in London. Her family's cultural background significantly influenced her writing and perspective on the world. Forna spent part of her childhood in England and later moved to Nigeria, where she attended boarding school. This diverse upbringing instilled in her a deep appreciation for different cultures and experiences.
Major Accomplishments
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Forna has achieved numerous accolades throughout her career:
Winner of the 2007 Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa Region) for her novel "The Hammats al-Rashid"
Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her novel "The Houdini Girl"
Shortlisted for the 2013 Oxfam Novib Literary Festival with her novel "Ancestor Stones"Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Aminatta Forna's notable works include:
_Hammats al-Rashid_ (2006): a historical novel set in 19th-century Iraq, exploring themes of love, politics, and identity.
_The Houdini Girl_ (2010): a critically acclaimed novel that delves into the complexities of human relationships and personal freedom.
_Ancestor Stones_ (2006) and _Happiness_ (2018): novels that explore themes of love, family, and identity through multiple narrative voices.
Impact and Legacy
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Forna's writing has made a significant impact on the literary world. Her unique blend of cultural perspectives and lyrical prose has captivated readers worldwide. Her works have been translated into numerous languages, showcasing her global appeal.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Aminatta Forna is widely quoted and remembered for her insightful observations on human relationships, personal freedom, and the complexities of cultural identity. Her writing often explores the interplay between love, politics, and identity, offering a unique perspective that resonates with readers from diverse backgrounds.
Quotes by Aminatta Forna
Aminatta Forna's insights on:
Adrian hears the echo of his own thoughts of earlier in the day, only differently stated. The silent lie.
Courage is not what it took to survive. Quite the opposite! You had to be a coward to survive.
Love is a gamble, the stake is the human heart. The lover holds his or her cards close, lays them out one at a time and watches each move of the other player. To whom do you go first? This is the ‘tell’ of love. When a thing happens, be it good or bad, when you pick up the telephone or push through a crowd, who is it you most want to reach?
Hitler, Pol Pot. Funny, isn’t it? How it only seems to be evil people who think they can change the world? I wonder why that is.’ And Kai had responded, ‘Because they’re mad.’ She had dug a sharp elbow into his ribs. Then she shook her head. ‘But they do, don’t they? They do change the world.
He seemed to remember a sense of fearlessness as a child, for lacking the knowledge of death, he supposed, for still believing bad things happened only to other people. How long you held on to that particular belief depended on where you were born.
I learned about women – how we are made into the women we’ve become, how we shape ourselves, how we shape each other.
I get a very vague idea and - perhaps because I once was a journalist, or perhaps because that's what made me want to be a journalist - I go off and explore it for a bit, rather than mapping out a plot and then filling in the research.