It's difficult to read this book but it should be essential reading for every Australian. The way Australia has (and still is) treating legitimate refugees is something we should all be ashamed of and protesting about. Behrouz's writing style is unusual and poetic. His descriptions of the Australian staff are blunt and insightful. You can't 'enjoy' this book but you must read it.

Good

An interesting book which conveys the sorry story of a Refugee. Worthy of note is the analysis of the prison system where the writer uses the French Philosopher Foucault's work to compare the systems. This approach was quite relevant and new. Academics could build on this theme, and decision makers should articulate from this viewpoint what is happening in these detention centers.

This book is a telling indictment of the inhumanity inflicted by our representatives in Parliament on the innocent victims of the wars in which they have involved us at the behest of the USA. The only "crime" these refugees have committed is to try to jump the queue and gain refuge in Australia, yet they are illegally imprisoned in privately-run (so the government can distance itself from the abuses take routinely take place) concentration camps with no air-conditioning, crowded conditions, limited food, unsanitary hygiene and toilet facilities, denied mental and physical stimulation and contact with the outside world, given inadequate medical care, subjected to beatings, and incarcerated for five or more years without any indication that their applications for refugee status are being processed at all, or what the future holds for them. And all this in the name of a country which is a signatory to the UN declarations on the rights of refugees. The chronicling of Boochani's experiences is riveting reading, told dispassionately, but it made this reader wonder if the intention of the Australian government is to turn people into terrorists by telling them "we will decide who enters our country" after devastating their country without asking their permission to go there.

A haunting but beautiful story about the horrors faced by people fleeing persecution and seeking refuge. Written by Behrouz Boochani, who continues to be held in detention on Manus Island.