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rachelno's review against another edition
Putting it down for now. Not holding my attention.
thebiblioblend's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.5
bremaura's review
4.0
Mortada Gzar takes us on an adventure from war-torn Iraq to rainy Seattle. As the tale unfolds, we are given access to the author's past. It is not safe to be a homosexual male in Iraq and as he leaves his childhood behind, Mortada discovers just dangerous it is.
I loved the glimpse of Iraq from a native perspective; the culture, the history, the religion, the day-to-day workings. What an interesting time and place for Mortada to have grown into the man he will become.
Present-day, Mortada has immigrated to Seattle in search of Morise, the American soldier he fell in love with during the war. Surrounded by an interesting cast of characters and a city that is its own character, this book was an enjoyable read.
I loved the glimpse of Iraq from a native perspective; the culture, the history, the religion, the day-to-day workings. What an interesting time and place for Mortada to have grown into the man he will become.
Present-day, Mortada has immigrated to Seattle in search of Morise, the American soldier he fell in love with during the war. Surrounded by an interesting cast of characters and a city that is its own character, this book was an enjoyable read.
branwynnemay's review against another edition
4.0
I’m happy I didn’t put this down. I wanted to throughout the first half, some of the characters and plot points feeling unclear. I couldn’t tell if there was a lot lost in translation, if the story had been distorted somehow, if the Iraqi culture was that hard for me to vibe with, or if I just wasn’t connecting, plain and simple.
By the end, I had learned a lot about the horrors that he and so many people experienced and understood that this book was meant to unfold a lot like life does- people do inexplicable things, act in puzzling ways, and if we are patient through the discomfort of not understanding, we just might be rewarded with someone’s precious story.
By the end, I had learned a lot about the horrors that he and so many people experienced and understood that this book was meant to unfold a lot like life does- people do inexplicable things, act in puzzling ways, and if we are patient through the discomfort of not understanding, we just might be rewarded with someone’s precious story.
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this memoir more than I did. It's a really powerful narrative and it has some incredibly stunning moments. But for the first 2/3 of the book I felt myself slogging through; I couldn't connect through the haze of the language and the distance the Gzar manifested between himself in the book and the other characters. This a fine read but ultimately I don't think I get this one. Others may find it easier to connect just on person preferences in writing style.
lacunaboo's review against another edition
1.0
As indicated by the 1 star, I did not like this book. Other reviewers have hazarded a guess that something gets missed in translation, and maybe that's the case, but to me it seemed like the author's writing style was just too pretentious for my tastes. It's a memoir, but nothing he describes sounds like anything I've seen or heard in real life - not the way people act, the things they say, etc etc. For instance, no way do I believe that he was not ready to talk to his housemates, so instead spoke out loud to relate his history to a dog, a cup, a shoe, or the tip of his nose. Nor do I believe he never noticed a dog in the house where he lived even though he could recall the spot on its face. The translation may have been an issue, too, because there were scenes where I literally just did could not comprehend what was going on (like a bunch of grunting and the sound of sirens from behind a closed door while he is being introduced to a new acquaintance).
I gave 2 stars instead of 1 because this book did at least give me a glimpse of what it was like to live in Iraq during the American occupation. (Although, if I was already familiar with life in Iraq during that time period and then read this book, maybe I would be just as confused by it as I was by his writing of life in the U.S.)
I applaud the author for putting his story out here like this, but I'm afraid his style of writing was just a major turn off for me personally.
I gave 2 stars instead of 1 because this book did at least give me a glimpse of what it was like to live in Iraq during the American occupation. (Although, if I was already familiar with life in Iraq during that time period and then read this book, maybe I would be just as confused by it as I was by his writing of life in the U.S.)
I applaud the author for putting his story out here like this, but I'm afraid his style of writing was just a major turn off for me personally.