Farewell Babylon - Softcover

Naim Kattan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0285638424 ISBN 13: 9780285638426

Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd, 2009

Synopsis

Naim Kattan returns to 1930's Baghdad, into an exotic world with its vibrant Jewish community, in a moving, evocative memoir. Jews had lived in Iraq for 25 centuries, but Kattan captures the changing of their world as an ancient culture collided with modern empires. In this captivating memoir a young boy discovers literature and freedom, women and love, and realises the conflicts of roots and exiles. It is a portrait of a lost age, when Kurds, Bedouins, Jews, Muslims and Christians lived side by side.

About this title

Review:

Kattan... brings a first-hand immediacy to his Baghdad memoir which marks it out as a minor masterpiece of the genre... Shot through with an artless ardour which lingers long in the reader s mind. --'Sunday Telegraph'

Iraq s most distinguished Jewish writer-in-exile... The plight of Jewry is recorded in Farewell, Babylon in spare, elegiac tones... A vital book. --'Sunday Times'

Naim Kattan... tells of the last years in Baghdad, when Jews awaited the possibility and the permits to leave Iraq... also gives a poignant account of a young man seeking insight into the mysteries and joys of life in an inhibitory society. --'The Independent'

About the Author:

Naim Kattan was born in Baghdad in 1928 and emigrated to Canada in 1954. He has published over 30 books, and has been awarded numerous international honours, including France's Legion d'Honneur.

About this edition

• Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0285638424
• ISBN 13: 9780285638426
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224