Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

by Amnesty International USA (Editor), Desmond Tutu (Foreword by), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Contribution by), Paulo Coelho (Contribution by), Joyce Carol Oates (Contribution by)

Overview

Bestselling authors bring together a thought-provoking collection of short stories, each inspired by one of thirty human rights adopted by the United Nations and promoted by Amnesty International.

Freedom is a mix of thoughtful, serious, funny, and thrilling stories that harness the power of literature to celebrate—and affirm—our shared humanity. Published in association with Amnesty International, an array of internationally acclaimed & award-winning writers remind us these fundamental freedoms – ratified in 1948 – are just as crucial to protect and uphold today as ever.
 
The United Nations took a moral stand against human rights crimes and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a proclamation of thirty rights that belong to us all, starting memorably with Article 1: “All human beings are born free and equal.” Amnesty International is one of several international organizations promoting UDHR. It is a world-leading grassroots human rights organization & a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people – no matter who they are or where they are.
 
Authors include: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kate Atkinson, Ishmael Beah, Paulo Coelho, Nadine Gordimer, Marina Lewycka, Henning Mankell, Yann Martel, Rohinton Minstry, David Mitchell, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307588838
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/04/2011
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.18(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Contributors:
 
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • Mohammed Naseehu Ali • Kate Allen • Gabriella Ambrosio • Kate Atkinson • Liana Badr • Ishmael Beah • Héctor Aguilar Camín • Amit Chaudhuri • Paulo Coelho • Vered Cohen-Barzilay • David Constantine • Ariel Dorfman • Helen Dunmore • Jon Fosse • Petina Gappah • Alan Garner • Nadine Gordimer • Juan Goytisolo • Patricia Grace • Richard Griffiths • Xiaolu Guo • Milton Hatoum • A. L. Kennedy • Olja Knezevic • Marina Lewycka • Henning Mankell • Yann Martel • James Meek • Rohinton Mistry • David Mitchell • Walter Mosley • Joyce Carol Oates • Alice Pung • Mahmoud Saeed • Ali Smith • Archbishop Desmond Tutu • Alexis Wright • Banana Yoshimoto

Read an Excerpt

FREEDOM
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Freedom"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Desmond Tutu.
Excerpted by permission of Crown/Archetype.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Foreword Archbishop Desmond Tutu Vii
Foreword Vered Cohen-Barzilay X
Introduction Larry Cox Xiii
Patricia Grace Busy Lines 1
A. L. Kennedy The Effects of Good Government on the City 7
James Meek The Kind of Neighbor You Used To Have 18
Marina Lewycka Business Philosophy 37
Mohammed Naseehu Ali The Long Ride Back Home 42
Gabriella Ambrosio Sticko 55
Joyce Carol Oates Tetanus 63
Walter Mosley The Trial 81
David Mitchell Character Development 107
Ariel Dorfman Innocent Passage 117
Amit Chaudhuri Aniruddha: The Latest Installment 146
Petina Gappah An Incident At Lunchtime 153
Milton Hatoum Torn 165
Ali Smith The Go-Between 172
David Constantine Asylum 178
Jon Fosse Homecoming 190
Kate Atkinson The War On Women 195
Banana Yoshimoto A Special Boy 212
Alexis Wright Be Careful About Playing With the Path of Least Resistance 217
Helen Dunmore Where I Keep My Faith 229
Héctor Aguilar Camín Comrade Vadillo 235
Paulo Coelho In The Prison of Repose 261
Mahmoud Saeed Warriors of the Sky 274
Richard Griffiths The Obvious Candidate 289
Juan Goytisolo Mr. President . . . 299
Yann Martel The Moon Above His Head 303
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Sola 310
Nadine Gordimer Amnesty 315
Xiaolu Guo An Internet Baby 324
Alice Pung The Shed 330
Ishmael Beah ABC Antidote 340
Alan Garner Gray Wolf, Prince Jack, and The Firebird 351
Liana Badr March of the Dinosaurs 362
Rohinton Mistry The Scream 371
Olja Knezevic The Classroom 383
Epilogue: Henning Mankell Sofia 396
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 399
Contributors 405

Editorial Reviews

Ranging from the surreal to the subtle, this sweeping anthology illustrates the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and features a contributor list that reads like a who's who of leading writers from across the globe, including David Mitchell, Joyce Carol Oates, Paulo Coelho, Mahmoud Saeed, Yann Martel, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In Kate Atkinson's "The War on Women," Britain passes a law requiring women to stay home and wear the burqa. A group of neighbors in a housing project takes justice into their own hands in Walter Mosley's "The Trial." The protagonist of James Meek's "The Kind of Neighbor You Used to Have" discovers how little risk his neighbors are willing to take to avert injustice. Banana Yoshimoto's "A Special Boy" delves into the effects of a mother's abandonment of her son. The narrator of Ali Smith's "The Go-Between" occupies the space between oppression and freedom--literally--as he attempts to move from Morocco into Spain. Vibrant and often chilling, these stories paint a rousing picture of the continuing battle to ensure basic human dignity. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

The stories here are impressive in scope and show that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights can apply to many aspects of the human experience. Valuable reading.”—Library Journal

"Vibrant and often chilling, these stories paint a rousing picture of the continuing battle to ensure basic human dignity."—Publishers Weekly

“A timely reminder of the need for basic human dignity, freedom, rights, and respect. Inspirational and a very good read.” —Big Issue
 
“Angry, moving, upsetting, inspiring . . . It’s not always subtle. But it’s very effective.” —Daily Mail
 
“Freedom is illuminating and impressive.” —Guardian
 
“This is an inspirational collection of stories. Each tale . . . uses the power of literature to outstanding effect.” —Good Book Guide

From the Publisher

Thirty-six authors ranging widely in nationality have contributed to this tribute to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With an introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu discussing literature as an expression of humanity and a moving epilog by Henning Mankell, this compilation includes stories inspired by each of the declaration's 30 articles. The writers, who include Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, David Mitchell, Ariel Dorfman, Banana Yoshimoto, Yann Martel, Paulo Coehlo, Nadine Gordimer, and Rohinton Mistry, among many others, interpret the articles as they consider culture, government, religion, law, gender, race, and media in relation to human rights. For instance, in "The Kind of Neighbor You Used To Have," James Meek writes effectively of a man detained without habeas corpus and confronted by a neighbor who himself has been taken in to custody to persuade the detainee to confess to his crime. Kate Atkinson's satirical and frightening "The War on Woman" focuses on an apolitical woman whose mundane existence is altered by an increasingly aggressive enforcement of a law against women. VERDICT The stories here are impressive in scope and show that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights can apply to many aspects of the human experience. Valuable reading.—Cristella Bond, Anderson P.L., IN

Library Journal