My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
by Ariel Sabar
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ariel SabarEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-21
ISBN: 1565124901
Number of pages: 325
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Book Reviews of My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
Book Review: Touching, family story
Summary: 5 Stars
The author, Ariel Sabah, is the son of a Kurdish Jewish immigrant to the United States, and this is the story of family and his heritage.
A Jewish community had existed in Iraq for many centuries, speaking a form of Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus). This Jewish community existed harmoniously with their Iraqi neighbours, as they had done for centuries, but remained largely illiterate and isolated from the outside world. We meet the author's grandparents and learn the story of their marriage and the tale of their lost daughter Rifka. In the face of rising racism and intolerance, the Jews being to leave Iraq, fleeing to the fledgling state of Israel. More than 120,000 Jews left Iraq, making it one of the largest, and least known, diasporas in history.
The Kurdish Jews are considered backwards, rural and superstitious by the recent European immigrants to Israel. Yona, the author's father, however, is determined to better himself and works hard to obtain a university education. It is here that his interest in his native tongue, Aramaic is sparked, and he begins his lifelong career, working to document the language. He becomes an internationally acclaimed professor at UCLA, but his son, the author, is embarassed as a teenager by what he sees as his immigrant ways.
As the author begins to raise his own family, he becomes interested in his own family's past and begins to research their history. The result is this fascinating and captivating tale. Father and son return to Iraq and Zahko and tensions between them are eased. But the author becomes obsessed with the tale of his father's lost sister and this obsession, which his father refuses to shares, begins to drive a wedge between the newly enhanced relationship between father and son.
This was one book I found so hard to put down. The tale of the Kurdish Jews is largely unknown in history and this book serves to highlight a largely hitherto untold part of history. It is told with a personal touch, and it is heart touching to read about the author's story of discovery, both of his heritage and of himself. This is a powerful story and is bound to resonate with every reader.
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