Farewell, Babylon: Coming of Age in Jewish Baghdad - Softcover

Naim Kattan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1567923364 ISBN 13: 9781567923360

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2007

Synopsis

In Farewell, Babylon, Naim Kattan takes readers into the heart of exotic mid-19th-century Baghdad's then-teeming Jewish community. Jews had lived in Iraq for 25 centuries, long before the time of Christ or Muhammad, but anti-Semitism and nationalism were on the rise. In this beautifully written memoir, a young boy comes of age and describes his discoveries -- of work, literature, patriotism, the joys of lazy Sundays swimming in the Tigris. He also talks eloquently of his greatest discovery: women and love. This is a story of roots and exile, of thirst for life and life's experiences. But more than that it is a tribute to a lost world, an ancient Eastern city in which Iraq's Kurds, Bedouins, Sunnis, Shiites, Chaldeans, Catholics, and Jews all lived together in a rough, rewarding sort of harmony.

About this title

About the Author

Naim Kattan has lived in Montreal since 1954. He has written more than thirty books of poetry, essays and fiction, which have been translated into many different languages. He has received many honors including the France-Canada Prize and France's prestigious Legion d'Honneur.

Edition details

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1567923364
• ISBN 13: 9781567923360
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 199