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A review by fatima_zubair
The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi
4.0
This is quite a book! I hope I can gather my thoughts soon and pen them down for my review. Pray for me!
Final Thoughts
The Baghdad Clock is translated from Arabic to English by Luke Leafgren.
The book revolves around a certain neighborhood in the capital city of Baghdad and its residents and how they save their lives when war strike them by either emigrating to some farway place where it could not affect them or out of the country or choosing to go to war-raid shelters. How when people whom you grow up with, who are like your family or more than that, choose to leave that place because they don't know what mistakes they have made to be hit by missiles and leave nothing but sadness, broken hearts and beautiful memories in tow for those who are left behind, is basically the theme of this book.
.
"Do you really know what it means for a person to remain an exile till the end? That he abandons the mother tongue that has established its spiritual history within him. And that he spends the rest of his life contrary to the laws of this spirit. For that reason, exile is always an exile of the soul, an eternal distance between body and soul that rends a man’s being and throws him into the storm."
"There are people in the neighbourhood – indeed, in every place around the world – about whom forgetting means that we remember their absence, and this absence takes the place of their presence in our lives."
There is also a touch a magical realism, which is in my humble opinion is quite a clever achievement.
You know when you read a book and can't think of what to say or make of it because you don't know how to describe your feelings after reading such deep stuff? Same thing happened with me. I only know this that my heart broke a million times and became whole again because some perspectives were very hopeful but over all the idea of bombing and invading countries like Iraq and other poor countries like this is beyond me as they don't even have enough forces to defend themselves. What is the point of targeting such people when their only (involuntarily) fault is that they are ruled by dictators or they just exist?
"Why did I have to witness all this in a single lifetime? A war in my childhood, sanctions as a teenager, and a new war with advanced smart bombs when I have not yet reached twenty. How can a normal person tell their personal life story when they move from one war to another as they grow up?"
"What had Bush the Father wanted from my life? And what was it that Bush the Son sought from it? How would I tell these stories to my children in the future? How would their grandchildren believe that two presidents of a great nation had pursued my life with rockets?"
.
The thing I felt during my time of reading this book was just sadness. It was engulfing. Like I tried to cheer myself up but couldn't push past it. Because I knew the questions which were asked in this book were so right! Being from a country which is also a big target of drone and terrorist attacks, I could relate to the feeling only I am utterly grateful that we haven't yet stooped that low. I don't know what else to write or say.
.
I haven't read anything regarding Iraq before this and this first experience has just rattled me. Please read this. Especially if you think that bombing these states is not a big deal. We are all humans above anything else and if you have any humanity left in you than you would know what this book is all about!
Final Thoughts
The Baghdad Clock is translated from Arabic to English by Luke Leafgren.
The book revolves around a certain neighborhood in the capital city of Baghdad and its residents and how they save their lives when war strike them by either emigrating to some farway place where it could not affect them or out of the country or choosing to go to war-raid shelters. How when people whom you grow up with, who are like your family or more than that, choose to leave that place because they don't know what mistakes they have made to be hit by missiles and leave nothing but sadness, broken hearts and beautiful memories in tow for those who are left behind, is basically the theme of this book.
.
"Do you really know what it means for a person to remain an exile till the end? That he abandons the mother tongue that has established its spiritual history within him. And that he spends the rest of his life contrary to the laws of this spirit. For that reason, exile is always an exile of the soul, an eternal distance between body and soul that rends a man’s being and throws him into the storm."
"There are people in the neighbourhood – indeed, in every place around the world – about whom forgetting means that we remember their absence, and this absence takes the place of their presence in our lives."
There is also a touch a magical realism, which is in my humble opinion is quite a clever achievement.
You know when you read a book and can't think of what to say or make of it because you don't know how to describe your feelings after reading such deep stuff? Same thing happened with me. I only know this that my heart broke a million times and became whole again because some perspectives were very hopeful but over all the idea of bombing and invading countries like Iraq and other poor countries like this is beyond me as they don't even have enough forces to defend themselves. What is the point of targeting such people when their only (involuntarily) fault is that they are ruled by dictators or they just exist?
"Why did I have to witness all this in a single lifetime? A war in my childhood, sanctions as a teenager, and a new war with advanced smart bombs when I have not yet reached twenty. How can a normal person tell their personal life story when they move from one war to another as they grow up?"
"What had Bush the Father wanted from my life? And what was it that Bush the Son sought from it? How would I tell these stories to my children in the future? How would their grandchildren believe that two presidents of a great nation had pursued my life with rockets?"
.
The thing I felt during my time of reading this book was just sadness. It was engulfing. Like I tried to cheer myself up but couldn't push past it. Because I knew the questions which were asked in this book were so right! Being from a country which is also a big target of drone and terrorist attacks, I could relate to the feeling only I am utterly grateful that we haven't yet stooped that low. I don't know what else to write or say.
.
I haven't read anything regarding Iraq before this and this first experience has just rattled me. Please read this. Especially if you think that bombing these states is not a big deal. We are all humans above anything else and if you have any humanity left in you than you would know what this book is all about!