Memories of Eden: A Journey Through Jewish Baghdad |
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Violette Shamash
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Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
Editor: Mira Rocca
ISBN: 0955709504
Pub: Forum Books Ltd
Pub date: 2008-02-14
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 101323
Reader Reviews:
Baghdad: The dream before the nightmare (1/1 people found this helpful)
This is a beautiful story, and a desperately sad one too. Violette Shamash started her life in pretty idyllic circumstances, as a member of the Jewish community in Baghdad. You'll have to forgive me here, but I thought Iraq would have been pretty much top of the list for places you wouldn't expect to find a Jewish person. Turns out, though, that between the wars Violette and her family were among 200,000 Jewish people living in Baghdad.
It was a simple but delightful time.
And, guess what? The Jewish community and their Muslim neighbours got along together just fine. Mutual respect... Violette tells charming stories of an uncomplicated life where everything was great.
Until it wasn't.
Things changed, in a horrible way. Enough to make it vital that she, her husband and their children fled: first to India, then to Palestine, and finally to London.
I defy you to read this book without being profoundly moved. Iraq is a fragile and complex place today. How desperately sad, therefore, to learn from this book of its former harmony. How come it all went so wrong?
Today you can count the number of Iraqi Jewish people on the fingers of two hands. Please read this book, whose story must be more widely known.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Historical -> Social & Urban History
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Historical -> Countries & Regions -> Middle East
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Social & Economic History
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Hardcover