The Naked Don’t Fear the Water audiobook

Thank you GR friend Sujoya for recommending this novel. Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins posed as an Afghan so that he could accompany his translator, Omar, as Omar flees Afghanistan. Citizens fleeing war ravaged countries are becoming a global humanitarian issue. This is a timely novel in that innocent refugees are facing insurmountable difficulties finding a new country to call home.I chose to listen to the audio, narrated by Nick Nikon. I recommend the audio because the novel is a true story of a man’s journey. It’s akin to listening to your friend tell a harrowing story. Aikins endured the smuggler’s road to Europe while assisting Omar through the constantly changing political landscape. I became immersed in his story easily picturing every hazard and error. The story includes their life in the detention encampments in Greece. They escape, get caught, and start all over again. Smugglers are shady and unreliable. At times, this reads like a thriller. I highly recommend this novel.

Audiobook….read by Nick Nikon ….9 hours and 36 hoursUnforgettable —unbelievable— extraordinary — riveting storytelling! A Canadian reporter disguised himself as a refugee in order to accompany his Afghan a translator friend to Europe —Wow!!! Blows my mind still! It was distressing and fascinating to imagine all the details —so many risks involved- negotiating with smugglers and interacting with refugees —but this true story —frightening scary as hell - sad as can be - with the names changed for protection—was also poignant and gripping - I learned a lot. “Seek knowledge from the cradle to grave”. Ha…. But BE CAREFUL….. …do not try this journey yourself. Mathiew Aikins and his 60,000 pages of notes is one courageous guy.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for the hardcover ARC I won on Goodreads in exchange for a fair review. This book is 5-stars from the first word. Author Matthieu Aikins is clearly a journalist who’s able to fully deliver all of the sights and sounds and true essence of every scene. The plight of the Afghans is truly horrendous and the flight to freedom absolutely courageous. I love a great novel but there’s certainly something extra special about reading a true story you can’t get from a novel. The author risked so much knowing in advance his purpose of telling this true story so everyone else can know too about how brave these beautiful people are and how grateful we all should be for freedoms we so easily take for granted. Will never forget this story or it’s characters. Brilliant.

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this work courtesy of NetGalley)The premise of The Naked Don’t Fear the Water - a Canadian reporter disguising himself as a refugee in order to accompany his Afghani translator friend all the way to Europe - sounds like a succinct summary of a gripping novel. Although it’s very much a memoir of a true epic multi-country journey that Matthieu Aikins took, it definitely reads like a piece of well-crafted fiction at times. Aikins’ writing brought to life everything from nerve-wracking border crossings to the moments of much-needed hope with a spectacular vividness that made this work difficult to take a break from. Besides recounting his tale of walking in the shoes of millions of displaced persons, Aikins also imparts a great deal of information on the current refugee crisis. Along with the general challenges of being a refugee that the author personally experienced, he also covered numerous related topics including the former traditional idea of refugee based largely upon Cold War politics, and explanations of the various treaties that wealthy nations use with less-developed ones to essentially serve as buffer states to curtail migration by those forced from their homes by war, poverty and climate change. To be honest, the scale of this book’s hearty educational punch completely surprised me in the best way imaginable. Despite having read several books related to refugees in the current day, “The Naked Don’t Fear the Water” filled in several knowledge gaps that I wasn’t even aware that I had. Overall, I immensely appreciate Aikins’ willingness to undertake such a journey alongside his friend and sustain it through, despite all the exits that the author’s privilege gave him along the way. The end result, The Naked Don’t Fear the Water, is a work that’s not only enthralling and eye-opening, but incredibly relevant in a way that will most definitely not fade anytime in the foreseeable future.

“…our stories carry forward fragments of others…”There are some books that come into our lives and change the way we see the world around us. This is one such book.“The Naked Don’t Fear the Water” is the real life story of Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins as he accompanies his friend Omar (a pseudonym) along the smugglers road from Afghanistan to Europe to escape from war. Matthieu must disguised himself as an Afghan refugee to make the journey, and along the route across the Middle East and Europe the duo touch, and are touched by, so many lives and stories.This book was eye opening. Of course I know about the refugee crisis, but “The Naked Don’t Fear the Water” brings you directly into the harsh and unforgiving forefront of those forced to flee their countries and the political red tape that works to keep them trapped there. There is so much to their stories, and I’m appreciative of this book for letting me take a look into their lives.It made me really reflect upon my own privilege as a Canadian, to live in a country with one of the most powerful passports in the world. The act of mobility between borders has never been at the forefront of my concerns, until I read this book.Above all else, it shows that the refugees like Omar and his family are brave, they are determined, and they are all hopeful. They deserve the opportunity to have a safe life.I don’t normally give a star rating to non-fiction but I absolutely rate this one 4.5/5. Truly a must read.Thank you to Harper Collins and Matthieu Aikins for sending me a copy of this book. The best I’ve read this year by far.

W 2016 roku młody afgański kierowca i tłumacz, Omar postanowił uciec z rodzinnego Afganistanu i poszukać wolności w Europie. W tej niebezpiecznej podróży pomoga mu przyjaciel, kanadyjski dziennikarz Matthieu Aikins, autor tego poruszającego reportażu.Aikins zostawia swój kanadyjski paszport, a ponieważ ma afgańską urodę, wciela się w migranta, uchodźcę.Prosty plan okazuje się niebezpieczną i ryzykowną grą. Zdesperowani ludzie powierzają swoje życie przemytnikom, przestępcom, a ich ludzkim losem często rządzi przypadek.Zdjęcie małego chłopca leżącego z twarzą w piasku, obiegło cały świat wywołując silne emocje, Morze Śródziemne wyrzuca na plaże tysiące ciał mężczyzn, kobiet i dzieci.Kryzys migracyjny wzbudza kontrowersje, ale jakby to było, gdyby to nam przyszło szukać nowego bezpiecznego miejsca do życia. Jako Europejczycy czujemy się względnie wolni i bezpieczni, jednak wystarczy, że dramat rozgrywa się tuż obok nas i zaczynamy zdawać sobie sprawę, że ta wolność może w każdym momencie zostać nam odebrana, poczucie bezpieczeństwa maleje, niepewność narasta, niepokoi i przeraża.Obrazy z greckich obozów dla uchodźców to chyba najbardziej poruszające rozdziały tej książki.Z jednej strony współczujemy, z drugiej boimy się tego, co nieznane i tego, co przynoszą ludzie z innych lądów. Dramatyczne sytuacje wykorzystywane są przez organizacje terrorystyczne noszące śmierć, nas zamykają na tych, którym przyszło szukać wolności i lepszego życia w Europie."Nadzy nie boją się wody" to lektura dla tych, którzy chcą zrozumieć, mimo tego, że miejsce, ludzie i kultury, o których pisze Aikins są tak odległe, obce i często niezrozumiałe dla nas Europejczyków.Dziennikarski pamiętnik Aikinsa, napisany z empatią i głębokim zrozumieniem, wykorzystuje historię przyjaciela, aby przekazać historię tysięcy. Przyznam, że reportaż jest zdumiewająco szczegółowy, wstrząsający i trzymający w napięciu. Kolejne okno otwierające nas na mroczną stronę świata.Polecam.

rating: ★★★★/5The naked don’t fear the water, is a recall of the hardships and the story of immigrants. At its core it’s about love, pain and most of hope. I adored How each person in this biographical memoir is faced with their own unique set of challenges, yet they are somehow intertwined with one another. I couldn’t help but find myself impressed by the extensive information and research presented by the author throughout this novel. Furthermore, one of the many things that really stood out to me- was the ability of the writer to convey the story of Omar & other immigrants hardships without glorifying the violence, or depicts them in need of a “saviour” complex. I truly applaud Aikins for his execution of such a delicate situation. Additionally, I found it interesting to read about the dynamic between the different ethic refugees and how their treatment varied. Depending on where they originated from and how that accoladed to their ability to be faced with deportation or be given stay.The naked don’t fear the water; is devastating. There is no doubt about that. however, what it is also; is a reflection of people, and how many people share the same reality as Omar. From being in a war torn country, to being stranded at the border and everything else in between. Personally, I’m certain their is aspects of this that every person of colour can relate to. Particularly, how society views POC and especially those who are immigrants. Quotes I adored:“For the first time in my life I had an inkling to what the border meant to so many others: a wall between you and someone you loved”“But in truth, we can’t leave ourselves behind, we only get one story”“For what else is life’s journey but a search for our beloved?”“What to say? The single story cannot contain a whole life”Massive thank you to the lovely folks @fitz for an advance readers copy; you can find a copy of the naked don’t fear the water from today’s onwards!! I highly recommend it.

A beautifully written and moving story about a young Canadian journalist's journey helping his friend escape Afghanistan in 2016. This was an incredible story of friendship and the migrant/refugee experience and how that has changed in the last few years. The lengths refugees have to go to in order to their war torn countries is truly incredible and Matthieu Aikins not only documented his friend Omar's experience, but also posed as a migrant himself, travelling the underground routes to get back to safety. This was a really great listen and so eye-opening! Highly recommended!

I'm giving this 4-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. This was an amazing story/journey which gives a unique voice to the plight of Afghan refugees in recent years. Bulk of the focus is what happens with Afghan refugees who get to Turkey & then make it over the water to Greece--usually to the island of Lesbos. A nightmarish, scary, wrenching, sad, almost-hopeless set of stories lived out in the lives of millions of refugees along the Refugee Highway.