Goat Days

Benyamin

Jul 2012 · Penguin UK

About this eBook

Najeeb’s dearest wish is to work in the Gulf and earn enough money to send back home. He achieves his dream only to be propelled by a series of incidents, grim and absurd, into a slave-like existence herding goats in the middle of the Saudi desert. Memories of the lush, verdant landscape of his village and of his loving family haunt Najeeb whose only solace is the companionship of goats. In the end, the lonely young man contrives a hazardous scheme to escape his desert prison. Goat Days was published to acclaim in Malayalam and became a bestseller. One of the brilliant new talents of Malayalam literature, Benyamin’s wry and tender telling transforms this strange and bitter comedy of Najeeb’s life in the desert into a universal tale of loneliness and alienation.

Ratings and reviews

There is an Adage . " The proof is in the pudding" which means you can judge the quality of something after you have tried,used, experienced it. I don't think my mere words would do the justice with Najeeb's life. The way he carried himself all over those miserable years is not only extraordinary but it implicates how hard life could be. And our day to day life struggles are extremely dwarf to the problems which Najeeb really experienced. Must read.

I loved the book, especially after hearing there's a movie on it, I had to read the book first and i loved the way the intro was written, just making us curious to know what happened..... Although I knew most of the story from news interviews with the real Najeeb, the story gave me more insight as to what happened and I even teared up for Hakeem and Ibrahim. This book is a must read for the faint hearted who give up after facing the smallest obstacle.

This book is an immaculate reading experience. It is terrifically wonderful as a person is met with adversity. He is left out with no option to get out. The author brilliantly explains how the rise to the occasion is possible. The pace of the novel is pretty fast as the subject is one-dimensional and heart-filling. Kudos to the author.