The President's Gardens

February 15, 2018

Al-Ramli's novel tells the story of three men from a small Iraqi village who are caught up in their country's recent turbulent history. While from peasant backgrounds, the men are educated, thoughtful, and lifelong friends. Ibrahim, a firm believer in fate, is maimed while serving in the Gulf War; he eventually becomes a low-level functionary in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces and a silent witness to numberless atrocities. Abdullah, a foundling, is unsure of his parentage; he is captured while a soldier during the Iran-Iraq war, tortured and held for 20 years, but upon his release makes his way back to the village. The third friend, Tariq, is the most fortunate and also the most lusty and amoral; he becomes the village imam. Al-Ramli (Dates on My Fingers) is a skilled storyteller, weaving multiple compelling tales of powerlessness in the face of injustice and cruelty, yet the novel is told in a gentle voice, like that of a kindly uncle. VERDICT This powerful, sweeping novel, which was long-listed for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, called the "Arabic Booker," is highly recommended. It profoundly humanizes modern Mideast history for Western readers.--Reba Leiding, emeritus, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA

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May 1, 2018
Noted Iraqi author Al-Ramli's lauded tale of friendship, family, and love amidst the turbulent history of his country was published in Arabic in 2012. Now translated into English, this important work will reach a wider audience. In a village in 2006 at the beginning of Ramadan, nine severed heads are found in nine banana crates. One belonged to a favored son of the village, Ibrahim. Beginning with a memorable opening passage, Al-Ramli's novel recounts the long friendship between Ibrahim the Fated, Tariq the Befuddled, and Abdullah, nicknamed Kafka for his pessimism and admiration of that melancholic author. Their individual stories offer personal perspectives on the history of Iraq, which has been in a constant state of war or conflict since 1980, and surreal and brutal descriptions of war atrocities are conveyed. Family secrets offer another window onto the past as relatives struggle to find peace despite news of the dead and missing. Al-Ramli's poignant tale will endure as a standard in contemporary Middle Eastern literature.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)