A review by sometimes_iread
The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Two translated reads in a row and the difference in craft shows. Unlike The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi definitely pinged my translation radar because of the way it read. There’s just something about the way the sentences flow that made me wonder if this was a translation. Still, it was a decent effort and one of the better ones I’ve read.

It is a testament to Al Rawi’s skill that despite the translation, I was still wowed by her writing. The Baghdad Clock was so rich and full of heart that I certainly needed a while to digest it. Simplistically taken, the book is a coming-of-age story with a touch of magical realism. However, it tackles so many big themes, such as displacement, war, and place and space that the book becomes so much more. 

In a a neighbourhood in Baghdad, two girls meet in an air raid shelter during the Gulf War and become fast friends. They navigate growing up together, from childhood games to first loves, all while sanctions and other political forces loom. 

I’ve a huge weakness for stories with a strong community spirit (looking at you Reply 1988) and Al Rawi gives us that spirit in spades here. During the more idyllic years after the Gulf War, we see a strong community where everyone knows everyone and the neighbourhood children can roam the streets safely. However, that is threatened, as more and more families move away in a bid to escape the harsh life sanctions bring. This threw up the idea of space versus place, as the sense of the neighbourhood slowly eroded with each departure. Even when new households shifted in, the sense of place was irrevocably changed to the original occupants left behind. What really hammered home that idea for me, was the distilling of the place into a single book, where the meaning of the neighbourhood was captured with a clever pen and divorced completely from the space it used to inhabit. It certainly puts our local context in a new light for me, as we continue our march toward modernity and convenience no matter the cost. 

Another point that struck me about The Baghdad Clock is the use of magical realism. I’m quite a concrete person so magical realism tends to fly over my head. However, I didn’t mind the use of it here because it helped anchor me (most of the time) in the idea of the neighbourhood, as the girls know it, as transient. I guess it goes back to place and space, but at least I understood part of the point of the device so I’m not complaining. 

Al Rawi writes beautifully and she captures the essence of things well. It makes this a lovely read indeed, and I highly recommend it!

Diversity meter:

Strong female characters 

Iraqi characters