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It is hard to imagine life in a brutal dictatorship during a period from 1980 to 2006 which included a 10 yr war with iran, invasion of Kuwait & subsequent destruction of infrastructure and sanctions b4 invasion by US forces in 03. This book brings it to life thru the lives of 3 friends. This description of brutality of war and life in Iraq is at times difficult reading but based on real stories told to the author. A troubling but well told book.

Friday night phew and with everyone out i can sneak watching the end of a fascinating bbc4 documentary on muriel spark before carrying on with this interesting read. The opening chapter is one of the most disturbing ive read and then the writer introduces us to the lives and relationships of 3 Iraqi men in a turbulent time of war and dictatorship from 1980 to 2006. Im looking forward to carrying on. Happy friday reading everyone ☺

"In a land without bananas...". What a great first line! I have high hopes for this one already!

First published in 2013 and long listed for the I.P.A.F. (the Arabic Booker) Muhsin Al-Ramli's literary novel (translated from Arabic by Luke Leafgren) is a dreamy, sorrowful lament on Iraq's tragic history as seen through the prism of male friendship as it's battered by the demands of village tradition, war and male rivalry but there's a lack of strong female characters and the abrupt ending was too open-ended for my taste.