Awards

• Short-listed for Betty Trask Prize.

Overview

It is the winter of 1915 and Iraq has been engulfed by the First World War. Hungry for independence from Ottoman rule, Ahmad leaves his peaceful family life on the banks of the Tigris to join the British-led revolt. Thousands of miles away, Welsh teenager Carwyn reluctantly enlists and is sent, via Gallipoli and Egypt, to the Mesopotamia campaign. Carwyn's and Ahmad's paths cross, and their fates are bound together. Both are forever changed, not only by their experience of war, but also by the parallel discrimination and betrayal they face. Ruqaya Izzidien's evocative debut novel is rich with the heartbreak and passion that arise when personal loss and political zeal collide, and offers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in Iraq.

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9789774168802

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Reviews

Offers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in Iraq. * Cambrian News * “A novel defined by love and moral conviction. . . Izzidien’s great triumph is to illustrate how nuanced and knotty history can be” * The National * There is a nuanced complexity in the characters, family dynamics, historical context, and sense of time and geographical location . . . . a beautifully rendered panoramic study of some of World War I’s secondary theaters of war. * Media Diversified *

Offers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in Iraq. * Cambrian News * A novel defined by love and moral conviction. . . Izzidien's great triumph is to illustrate how nuanced and knotty history can be * The National * There is a nuanced complexity in the characters, family dynamics, historical context, and sense of time and geographical location . . . . a beautifully rendered panoramic study of some of World War I's secondary theaters of war. * Media Diversified *

Author Information

Ruqaya Izzidien is an Iraqi-Welsh freelance journalist and writer currently based in Morocco. Since graduating from Durham University she has also lived and worked in Cairo and the Gaza Strip.

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