Reviews

The Watermelon Boys by Ruqaya Izzidien

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wchereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad

5.0

The present is an arrogant time in which to live, always has been. Humans of the present look back at their people, land, and history, and whisper to themselves with glee, We are not them. But we were always them. We are our history; we are the crimes of our ancestors. And we wait, mouths agape, to hear tales of hope, as though good could triumph in such a world.

I always learned in school that "World War I lasted four years". No one ever talked about how the Brits and the French were dividing up stolen lands between them even after promising locals that they would get independence after "helping them fight off the Turks" and how the Brits were violently oppressing and bombing indigenous populations, from the city of Baghdad to Palestine, WAY past 1918. The "World War I" that consists of white on white crimes ended in 1918, perhaps. And that's all whites care about most of the time. But the violence enacted by the colonizers never ended.

History would tell of a war, fought honorably and equally by the civilized against the savage. The savage would be lucky if he were mentioned at all. It would skip the parts where the air forces shot at unarmed women and children, of entire villages burned in displays of power, or - worse still - it wouldn't skip it, and nobody would notice anyway.

The story was written in a sort of third person omniscient POV that reads as if I was listening to a friend or some storytellers. Even the most heartbreaking things were told in an unhurried and removed manner that does not hit any less hard. I am not sure if there was a specific reason to this choice of narration, but at various point I definitely felt like putting a hand up to the storyteller or friend in my imagination and telling them to please stop hurting me with words; stabbing me with a knife would hurt less.

The author wrote in the Author's Note section:

On a personal level, The Watermelon Boys reclaims the dominant narrative of the British Occupation of Iraq, which was largely written by the colonizer.

There were a number of families and characters in the story and sometimes I lost track of who's who (if you are not in the habit of taking notes on characters, I would definitely recommend doing it for this book). What connects them is, to put it simply, how they have been all oppressed and failed by the Power That Be (the Ottoman govt too but mainly the Brits) in one way or another.

This has been an eye-opening read. The video I saw recommending this book (unfortunately I can't find it anymore) said that even though the story took place in present day Iraq, what was done to Iraq was very similar to what happened to Palestine. I can only imagine how much worse it became for the Palestinians once the Zionists waltzed in en masse plus the even more violent crackdown from the Brits Mandate on the revolution in the late 1930s that caused 10% of Palestine's adult male population to be either killed, jailed or exiled.

The Brits might have fallen off but the US Empire gleefully took on the mantle. But greater Empires have fallen. We the people will not rest until all of us are free, and that include Palestine and the oppressed and colonized all over the world.

pearlbookish's review against another edition

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I really tried to get into this story but it wasn’t connecting.

andrew61's review against another edition

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5.0

The postscript to this novel is a quote from 2003 in which a commander in the the fourth infantry division says " You have to understand the Arab mind. The only thing they understand is force-force, pride and saving face". The opening sentence of the book tells us that 'the present is an arrogant time in which to live, always has been '. Those two quotes define the importance of this historical novel, and remind me as a reader why fiction has such power to allow us to reflect upon the impact upon individuals and societies of oppression and colonialism and how the tentacles of cruel action and history resound today, thus invading forces in2003 carried the colonial history in their backpacks and the consequent resentment.
The book opens with Ahmad, an Iraqi soldier returned from fighting with the Turkish forces in 1915 in the fight for that country as a main battle in ww1. Disillusioned by war, his own behaviour, and the treatment of both jewish and Armenian neighbours he sees the turks as oppressors and returns to the fight with the British ,leaving at home his teenage sons, wife and yng daughter.
In 1910 we also meet carwyn a boy in a welsh village who sees the English troops march into repress striking miners with brutal force but in 1916 is drafted into the army at the instigation of his cruel stepfather and finds himself via gallipoli in the middle east.
The book then explores through Ahmad and his family the experience of war in Iraq and the British repressive colonial regime which carves up the country betraying promises of independence with terrible violence upon civilians including bombing of villages, setting fire to homes and killing without cause the people seeking to escape the yoke of rule by an outside power who see the Arab as nothing more than savages.
This book is incredibly readable with characters drawn with whom as a reader I was able to empathise and in whose fate I was completely absorbed.
Whilst I'm sure the prose style may at times not be to every readers taste I couldn't put this down and just for the sheer brilliance of allowing me to glimpse an important part of history I have moved this from 4 to 5* enjoying the passion of the writing.
I put the book down knowing more about a period of history unknown to me beforehand, able to reflect on the impact of colonialism and how history still has an impact today and lessons are never learnt.
I can't wait to read more from this author.

anjali's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Set during the First World War, this debut book reclaims the narrative of the British intervention in Iraq. Ruqaya Izzidien tells the story of colonial rule in the country through the people who fought the fight and suffered its consequences.

We meet children growing up during the conflict and trying to make sense of their role in it. We meet old friends who can’t look at each other because of how they handled the war. We meet the women of this story, brilliantly written in all their different capabilities, ambitions, and also limitations. We meet people who see their country change shape while their life, as always, keeps moving.

It’s an old story, a similar history most of us are familiar with. But like most stories, it’s made meaningful by the people in this book, each of them unique in perceiving and reacting to this chapter in their history.

iced_mochas's review against another edition

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4.0

Set between Iraq and Wales, The Watermelon Boys is a novel that explores man's quest for purpose and self-determination when the drivers of war are dead set against you. Its central male protagonists share a journey of overwhelming guilt and loss, while tender stories of love sit only on the outskirts of the story.
Ruqaya Izzidien's re-imagining of Baghdad and life on the Tigris are beautifully evocative, while scenes of violence are described in painful detail - something I didn't expect when I started this accessible read.
In re-opening this early twentieth century chapter in Iraq's history, through the lens of the occupied and colonised, Ruqaya has achieved a rare feat. Her thoroughly researched settings and characters sit among a new but growing body of English language literature on Iraq. Her portrayal of Mesopotamia's various ethnic and social groups is crucial in understanding modern-day Iraq beyond simplistic headlines, not to mention Britain's early role in destabilising the country.
For me, Carwyn's character was the most convincing, and I found myself wanting to know more about the contradictions within his struggle. I didnt get to know Dabriya's inner workings enough, as well as some of the other characters, maybe because of the third person narration or the switch in locations. Amittedly, too, the heavy focus on and descriptions of the battlefield may not be to everyone's taste. It needed a little left unsaid. But the story culminates into a dramatic final passage that will leave you stunned.