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greyemk's review
5.0
This is about fatherhood, secrets, commitments, and violence. It’s an incredibly emotional story of youth and brotherhood, of a father’s journey, and simultaneously a parable about country, violence, and selfhood. It’s about loss and grief and how humans keep living anyways, remembering.
I loved this. The plot - the attempt to answer the question “who is Saryas-i Subhdam” - kept momentum through the book, but the characters really shine. Muzafar is an excellent narrator, with dogged determination, the perspective of 21 years in prison, and an ability to notice the key traits in other and let them shine. Even the villains and the criminals get their say. He understands people.
Though horrible things happen here, it’s not a book about terror. It’s a book about hope and persistence and connection. About optimism.
Hope to see more of Ali’s work in English !
I loved this. The plot - the attempt to answer the question “who is Saryas-i Subhdam” - kept momentum through the book, but the characters really shine. Muzafar is an excellent narrator, with dogged determination, the perspective of 21 years in prison, and an ability to notice the key traits in other and let them shine. Even the villains and the criminals get their say. He understands people.
Though horrible things happen here, it’s not a book about terror. It’s a book about hope and persistence and connection. About optimism.
Hope to see more of Ali’s work in English !
mtomchek's review
5.0
"Life is a light, but it's in a closed box, and that box may be contained in many other boxes. Whenever you want life to show through, you must take it out of the dark and strip it of all its skins."
"Life is a bundle of happiness, which when opened is full of suffering."
"If you know your destination, you won't go astray - no matter how many times you get lost on the journey."
"People are delicate creatures."
A beautiful novel, originally written in Kurdish, about the tumultuous history of the Kurdish people in Iraq. This tale was not only a look into the heartbreaking history of Iraq, and the terror of civil unrest, but a philosophical view on life, its meaning, and navigating the difficulties of life.
We join Muzafar-i Subhdam, a Peshmerga soldier who was arrested during the war, as he is released from 21 years in prison, and venture through the desert, and lands of Iraq as he searches for his son, Saryas-i Subhdam. The story is intricate, symbolic, with Sufi undertones and magical realism. The heart aches, but so many lessons about the power of the pomegranate tree, and the acceptance of death.
So much exquisiteness in Iraqi writing, and I am curious to read more about the stories written by the people so moved by war in the Middle East.
"Life is a bundle of happiness, which when opened is full of suffering."
"If you know your destination, you won't go astray - no matter how many times you get lost on the journey."
"People are delicate creatures."
A beautiful novel, originally written in Kurdish, about the tumultuous history of the Kurdish people in Iraq. This tale was not only a look into the heartbreaking history of Iraq, and the terror of civil unrest, but a philosophical view on life, its meaning, and navigating the difficulties of life.
We join Muzafar-i Subhdam, a Peshmerga soldier who was arrested during the war, as he is released from 21 years in prison, and venture through the desert, and lands of Iraq as he searches for his son, Saryas-i Subhdam. The story is intricate, symbolic, with Sufi undertones and magical realism. The heart aches, but so many lessons about the power of the pomegranate tree, and the acceptance of death.
So much exquisiteness in Iraqi writing, and I am curious to read more about the stories written by the people so moved by war in the Middle East.
krammedshelf's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
hmorakabi's review against another edition
4.0
کتاب حکیمانه، زیبا و خوبی بود در سبک رئالیسم جادویی. با رئالیسم جادویی مهمل مارکز خیلی تفاوت می‌کرد. کتابی است که می‌شود باز خواندش. نویسنده‌ی آن منکوب زمانه شده و تنها حسرت‌هایش را در غالب این داستان واگویه میکند. گویی زمانه و جنگ و قدرت‌طلبی و فقر و… ماجرایی لامحیص و مکرر است که هر معترضی را به دریایی بی‌پایان یا بیابانی بی‌نهایت تبعید میکند.
zidaneabdollahi's review against another edition
5.0
بنظر من رسالت هر نویسنده ای در درجۀ اول نشان دادن واقعیت های جامعۀ خویش به جهانیان و کمک به جامعۀ خود با قلمش است؛ در درجۀ بعد باید به این توجه کند که چگونه با جهانیان ، درباب تفکراتش سخن گوید؛ بختیار علی بسیار خوب و شایسته توانسته این وظیفه را به انجام برساند؛ نگاهِ ضد جنگ بختیار علی به خوبی نشان دهندۀ خستگی ملت کرد از ظلم های متعدد خارجیست؛ در اوج داستان، بنظرم هر کردی چون من اشک امانش را بریده است؛ و این بنظر من شاهکار بختیار علی است؛ که توانسته کاری کند هم مردم خود کردستان زبان به تحسین این اثر بگشایند و هم آنکه توانسته با زبان رئالیسم جادویی توجه جهان را به ابری سیاه و ترسناک که بر این خاک سایه انداخته، جلب کند! اما تنها نگاه ضد جنگ این اثر شایستۀ تقدیر نیست، بلکه آنچه در کنار آن جلب توجه میکند نگاه رمانتیک و سرشار از احساس بختیار علی به مقولۀ عشق است! عشق محمد دل شیشه ای به دوخواهر، عشق مظفرصبحگاهی به فرزندش سریاس، عشق دوستانۀ بین سریاس و محمد دل شیشه ای ودیگر رفقایشان! این شیوۀ نگاه به عشق در کنار سخنانی که نویسنده در قالب شخصت اول داستان به ما عرضه میکند واقعا شایستۀ تقدیر از این اثر است.
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