North to Paradise: A Memoir

This book could have been an incredible read. The author is obviously resourceful, resilient and compassionate. He seems like a really wonderful man who has been through some awful experiences.I don’t know if the issue is more with the translation than the author’s own words or whether it reads the same regardless but it felt like a list of things that had happened without any kind of exploration. It sounds almost like the author is completely detached from the experience when you read it which made it hard to properly get into for me.

This is from the perspective of a child migrant. Makes you realise the hardships he went through and danger he was put in. It gives another side to the migrant crisis and why it happens..The writer has had s positive outcome which so nearly might not have happened if he had not me. His new family.and have the care and support off them. His new project gives the best gift available to children an education. Hopefully this will stop some children embarka dangerous journey. However should the people traffickers not be paying the price of exploitation of vulnerable people?

I have no view one way or the other on the immigration issue, so my take on this book is purely as an autobiographical literary piece and from this perspective it is terrific.The journey is literal and metaphorical, as one would expect in the circumstances, and powerfully done. It is also extremely well written and very skilfully done from a technical angle.It is full of intelligence, warmth and, on occasion, humour in extremely difficult situations.As I said, a terrific book.

North to Paradise is an amazing tale of courage and tragedy, Ousman Umar tells of the harrowing journey he endured immigrating to Spain from Ghana. “When we started out, there were forty-six of us. Only six survived,” he writes. It’s a journey that took him 5 years, he was 12 years old when he left his village, he undertook the journey because he wanted to live like a white person because he was told that ‘whites lived very far away, that they lived like gods, and they were all pilots, engineers, doctors . . . I wanted that to be me, I wanted to be white,’ he decided.‘Looking back on my childhood, I can see these lofty ideas about white people and Europe seem absurd because of course talent, intelligence, and strength have no color. But these attitudes didn’t take shape overnight: they are the product of centuries of enslavement, exploitation, colonialism, and what ultimately amounts to a white-supremacist marketing campaign to convince Black people to undervalue their own worth.’He’s was very naive in his perceptions of the paradise he envisaged ‘We didn’t even know that immigration is considered a problem in Europe. We were under the naïve impression that we would be welcomed with open arms.’Despite all the obstacles and disappointments he faced Ousman finally made it to his paradise, which turned out to be Barcelona. His story is an inspiring testament to humanity. It exposes the world to what it is, there is exploitation and unspeakable cruelty, but there is also incredible kindness too. It is a truly inspiring story. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and whatever your views on immigration you should read it, it may change your perception, it will definitely open your eyes.

This was a truly inspiring and motivating book and long journey. Ousman has been through a bell of a lot from his home in Ghana through the Sahara desert and Libya to his now home of Barcelona. I'm so glad he made it and it made me think a lot. I've had my troubles in life but they pale in comparison to ousmans life. Just to think he was so fortunate in his arduous journey where many bad things can happen and actually did happen. From the sands of the Sahara to the choppy seas in a dinghy one thing that ousman has in abundance is resilience. He will never quit or lie down he will fight for life. This is truly admirable as he must of had moments where he thought I'm now exhausted leave me in peace! It's a truly inspiring book and who knows where the next chapter in the author's life will take him. We do live in an uncertain world, a dangerous world too at times but I feel ousman is well equipped to withstand the battle. My problems seem so small to the author. There is a saying that life is what you make it! To me this is so true. The obstacles put in the author's way were so tough to deal with. Nobody should have these experiences. But unfortunately they do everyday. Everyday migrants put their lives on the line to seek a better life and world. It is so easy to reject this notion with a smattering of arrogance and ignorance but put yourself in their shoes. To walk one mile in ousman or any other migrants shoes is a mile of hell. I applaud this book to the rafters. For all its sadness ,like losing his great friend musa, witnessing such horrors and seeing such hatred and ignorance,greed and exploitation, ousman has come out the other side. I for one would welcome him to my home for a cup of tea his journey has been more interesting than mine, yet I see he would smile and be curious of my life too! His character and personality shine through the book from beginning to end. More books please ousman!

This was a fast-paced book which worked very well with the style of the story. I really enjoyed it and was thoroughly engrossed throughout

Written in a wonderfully simplistic style I found this book a good insight into the perilous journey migrants have to take to get to the brights lights and better life that they often hear about from traffickers and their agents. There is no doubt in my mind this phenomenon is encouraged by the beneficiaries of this movement and I applaud the author for recognising this and setting up an NGO to help counter this senseless situation and help to save many lives like his who undertake this journey ever year.

Quite short and ‘simple’ while informing the reader of what others go through.