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Sweetness in the Belly Audiobook
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(3.01) - 3,253 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
WINNER OF THE TRILLIUM AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE GILLER PRIZE
Set in Emperor Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia and the racially charged world of Thatcher’s London, Sweetness in the Belly is a richly detailed portrayal of one woman’s search for love and belonging. Lilly, born to British parents, eventually finds herself living as a devout, young, white Muslim woman in the ancient walled city of Harar in the years leading up to the deposition of the emperor. She is drawn to an idealistic young doctor, Aziz, but their love has only just begun to fulfil its promise when the convulsions of a new order wrench them apart, sending Lilly to an England she has never seen, and Aziz into the darkness of a radical revolution. Camilla Gibb brings to life characters facing extraordinary hardship and loss with the unblinking honesty and emotional generosity that have made her one of Canada’s most exciting literary talents.
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"I was engrossed by the storytelling and totally enjoyed this book. It is well-written and I found it such a surprise that the intimate voice comes from a London-born Torontonian. The story is told by Lilly, a white Muslim nurse, whose life journey takes her from Morocco to Ethiopia to London. The unfolding of her story is well-timed and seamless in its transitions. Lilly is educated by a Sufi in reading and interpreting the Qur'an, and the strength of her faith is less driven by idelogical religion than by the search for the path to God. This is a love story at many levels."
— Kathy (5 out of 5 stars)
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One of Amazon.ca's Best Books of 2005 National Bestseller Winner of the Trillium Book Award A Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of 2005
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Sweetness in the Belly is a timely and compelling novel of ideas which explores the ethics of cultural identity in a multicultural era. . . . [It] is a sophisticated, ambitious and deeply affecting novel which is devastatingly relevant to our contemporary world.
— 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury citation -
Gibb’s Africa is finely crafted, as is her delicate rendering of the complexities of Ethiopian society. . . . The book rings true.
— Time Magazine -
This complex tale about exile, romance and human rights combines the authority of Gibb’s scholarship on social anthropology with the lushness of her fictional vision.
— Elle Canada -
Ambitious . . . vivid and rich in detail, politically relevant and eminently readable.
— The Globe and Mail -
This is a rarity, a novel that transforms expectations. A hugely ambitious work executed with deceptive ease, it is an unbelievably odd tale, yet utterly convincing, able to transport us behind closed borders and back again. . . . The back-and-forth structure succeeds brilliantly . . . With Sweetness in the Belly, you know something other than lived experience is at work, and that something is a roving mind, a questing heart. Watching them land like butterflies on raw truth is a marvellous sight to behold.
— The Gazette (Montreal) -
A marvellous, highly absorbing read bound to strike up conversations at award time.
— Ottawa Citizen -
Full of life and keen observation of women and how they rise above the terrible things that can happen to them, how they form communities, how they find strength to begin again. This may be Lilly’s story, but behind her stands the larger story of her Muslim friends. They are what make the novel so extraordinary, so rich.
— National Post -
Camilla Gibb’s integration of history and fiction in Sweetness and the Belly is superb. . . . Gibb’s crowning achievement is a knack for creating believable historical characters. Characters whose credibility is anchored by the convincing commonplace of their lives.
— Winnipeg Free Press -
A wonderful feat of imagination and empathy. I had to suppress bitter feelings of literary envy, even as I couldn't stop devouring it.
— Louis de Bernières -
Sweetness in the Belly is a deeply imagined immersion into the lives of people for whom war, poverty, marginalization and exile are the commonplace trials. Gibb’ s understanding of this world seems almost uncanny but it is her compassion for her characters that impressed me the most. Here is a novel that challenges and disturbs as it enlightens and uplifts. A really exceptional achievement.
— Barbara Gowdy -
“With Sweetness in the Belly, Camilla Gibb offers persuasive testimony about her ambition as a novelist. . . . This novel is impressive for its geographic and thematic broadness alone. Gibb makes it that much more remarkable with the careful attention she gives to the psychology of belonging.
— The Vancouver Sun
Awards
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Nominated for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 2006
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Nominated for Scotiabank Giller Prize
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Winner of Trillium Book Award, 2006
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Nominated for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 2006
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Nominated for Scotiabank Giller Prize
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Winner of Trillium Book Award, 2006
Sweetness in the Belly Listener Reviews
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" I didn't find this storyline gripping and the two settings of London and Harar in Ethiopia didn't always work well for me however I enjoyed reading this book. I was interested to learn more about Ethiopia, Ethiopians and Muslims. "
— Jane, 2/6/2014 -
" I thought the character was very convincing and her experience and story seemed true to me. "
— Kay, 2/3/2014 -
" An interesting book with some insight into the Muslim religion. "
— Lili, 1/30/2014 -
" Enjoyable read. Interesting story. Hard to put down. "
— Sasha, 1/27/2014 -
" Good book. Started off a little slow for me, but then really started going. Set in South Africa. "
— Patrick, 1/27/2014 -
" This is such a great book. I read it on the plane ride over to Thailand and it only took me two days to finish. It is sad but tells of a white woman, who is muslim and fluent in arabic, living in Ethiopia in the 1970s during a corrupt regime. Highly recommend it! "
— Erin, 1/27/2014 -
" Members of my book club adored it, I though it was okay. It is good fiction with a lot of cultural and historical perspective. "
— Jodelle, 1/19/2014 -
" Lilly, a white Muslim nurse, lives amongst fellow Ethiopian refugees while she searches for her missing lover. Flashbacks to her life in Ethiopia describe life leading up to the deposition of the emperor. Good book. "
— Colleen, 1/17/2014 -
" Intense descriptions of loss and longing. I really liked the depictions of friendship, community faith and love. "
— Diana, 1/3/2014 -
" I learned quite a bit about the Muslim culture. "
— Jean, 12/5/2013 -
" Liked the construction; not sure the main character is totally credible; very interesting setting. "
— Anne, 11/28/2013 -
" One of my all time fave books! Loved it - it was exactly the kind of book I like to read... "
— Wendy, 11/25/2013 -
" This didn't really keep me interested despite being a quick read. The ending was too "wrapped up" and some of the characters seemed very flat to me. The cultural descriptions of Ethiopia were fascinating, but not enought to make this a stellar read. "
— Mindy, 11/24/2013 -
" Surprisingly refreshing and captivating. "
— Kate, 10/28/2013 -
" I read this book as part of a class I took at Hollins, and really loved it. It's a beautiful story about a people and place that is rarely written about. Pick it up; you won't be sorry. "
— Denae, 6/26/2013 -
" January 2008 Book Club Selection by Kiri "
— Michelle, 5/12/2013 -
" Read this novel for no other reason than to be "whooshed" away by the stunning language and phrases the author evokes through the characters and their lives. If you happen to come away with a deeper awareness of Ethiopian history and culture, as well as Islamic and Muslim traditions--that's a plus. "
— Judy, 3/8/2013 -
" Very intense read. Beautifully written. "
— Morag, 2/18/2013 -
" Very abrupt ending, but an enjoyable book that shed some light on Islam in Northern Africa. I am intrigued to learn more about what happened in Ethiopia in the 70s politically after this read...I am very ignorant about that subject. "
— Samantha, 1/21/2013 -
" fantastic - thanks jennie for allowing me to borrow it! "
— Brianne, 12/14/2012 -
" Well, I can say more than hundred times, I was so angry at Lily. I wanted to shake her up and tell her to stop believe in a dream and something which is not real at all and look around to see the real world .... "
— Tahereh, 10/6/2012 -
" Loved this book and will read more of this author. I can no longer remember the story ... just that I loved it. "
— Hilary, 4/29/2012 -
" I seem to give most of my books a four but this was one I really enjoyed as it is fiction but gave me more insight into a country and group of people I know little about. Strong women characters. "
— Paulapenkala, 6/18/2011 -
" Best book I've read this year so far. I read the Beauty of Humanity Movement before and liked it so I decided to try reading another one of Camilla Gibb's books. Good call!<br/><br/>I totally understood Lilly and I loved the way her story was presented.<br/><br/>-Phil "
— Phil, 6/11/2011 -
" I loved this book. It was interesting to see the cultural differences between what Liily saw and what other people saw. "
— April, 5/26/2011 -
" Beautifully written. Camilla Gibb intimately portrays the lives of her characters with nuance and warmth. "
— Melinda, 5/14/2011 -
" Loved this book. I listened to it and I was transfixed by the detail of the time and place. It didn't matter that the storyline was difficult to conceive as really having had occured; it seemed to flow so naturally that it was believable. I learned lots about the Muslim faith and its followers. "
— Pam, 4/5/2011 -
" I really loved this book. After I finished this book I kept thinking about it and wanted to talk about it. Too bad I wasn't on goodreads then. I read it on a whim and boy was I ever glad I did. Highly recommend. "
— Sarah, 3/21/2011 -
" Beautiful writing and story, and I learned some history and culture along the way. "
— Natalie, 2/14/2011 -
" fantastic - thanks jennie for allowing me to borrow it! "
— Brianne, 2/1/2011 -
" What an amazing novel. Vivid descriptions and heartache. Now I very much want to travel to these amazing lands! "
— Lyne, 2/1/2011
About Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb was born in London and grew up in Toronto. She has a PhD in social anthropology from
Oxford, for which she conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia. Her novels, Mouthing the Words, winner of the City
of Toronto Book Award in 2000, and The
Petty Details of So-and-So’s Life have been published in eighteen countries
and translated into fourteen languages, receiving rave reviews all around the
world. She is one of twenty-one writers on the Orange Futures List—a list of
young writers to watch, compiled by the jury of the prestigious Orange Prize. She
serves as vice president of PEN Canada and is currently writer-in-residence at
the University of Toronto.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.