MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
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Courage in adversity
MARY CONWAY recommends a compelling and complex story of one Iraqi family, held together by their Jewish heritage
Or Yehuda memorial, in Tel Aviv, dedicated to the 9 Jews executed – altgether 14 were executed in public for alleged spiying for Israel including three Muslims and two Christians in Baghdad in 1969
[Avi1111/CC]
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
Um-Kamal
By Fawzi Ibrahim
KFI Publishing £11.99
IRAQ, throughout history, has been a source of wonder: the cradle of civilisation, the inspiration for the Garden of Eden while, in recent times, a stain on the collective conscience of the thinking West.
But what is it really like to live there?
Fawzi Ibrahim’s debut novel is a unique insight. Starting in 1948 and seen from this century, it brings us the compelling and complex story of one Iraqi family, held together by their Jewish origin and the steadfast, unwavering strength of a mother so purposeful that she pits her simple family loyalty against a military-controlled, hostile, anti-Jewish state.
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Groups are urging the US government to secure the 16-year old’s release as his mental and physical health decline dramatically after nine months inside Ofer prison, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER