The Baghdad Eucharist
Sinan Antoon author Maia Tabet translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:The American University in Cairo Press
Published:2nd Mar '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
An intimate and remarkably human novel of modern Iraq by an acclaimed Arab-American author, shortlisted for the Arabic Booker
Youssef and Maha are distant relatives who find themselves living together in their native Baghdad, seeking shelter and solace from the increasing turmoil that surrounds them. While Youssef is old and has lived through many good years, Maha is young and has seen only sanctions and war. Her life has been shattered by the sectarian violence engulfing Iraq, a country she feels no longer belongs to her. As the chaos in the country inevitably seeps into their household, a rare argument between Maha and Youssef breaks out, as this fateful day takes an unexpected and calamitous turn. Set over 24 hours, The Baghdad Eucharist unravels through the lives of one Christian family; it speaks both to Iraq's peaceful past, as well as its tragic and painful present.
"[Antoon] faithfully reproduces the difficult conversations between an Iraqi Christian family housed in Baghdad while the daily scenes of carnage are painfully recounted."—The Guardian
"A beautiful text, a testimony of the time of mud and blood that besieges Iraq and the Arab East . . . in very moving language, this Iraqi novelist writes his country with the ink of pain."—Elias Khoury, author of Gate of the Sun
"A novel about Iraqi agony. Iraq's history is condensed and elegantly portrayed."—Al-Jazeera
"Shines a valuable light on conflict that has been triggered from wrongheaded political decisions"—The National
"[A] panoramic view of Iraq, its history, its iconography and its bitter present. . . Antoon is fast becoming not only the voice of disaffection of modern Iraq, but one of the most acclaimed authors of the Arab world."—Al-Ahram Weekly
"The first novel to broach the tragedy of Iraqi Christians. . . narrating Iraq's wounds in a beautiful language."—as-Safir
"Maia Tabet's skilled translation gives Anglophone readers access to a brutal yet beautiful novel which offers two striking takes on one city from members of an Iraqi Christian family. . . . The Baghdad Eucharist is a short read but one that lingers long in the mind . . . Antoon entrances with both his lavish set-pieces and tight thumbnail sketches. [He] has crafted a novel of rare brilliance which highlights the divisions within a family and their struggles within their city."—Malcolm Forbes, The National
ISBN: 9789774168208
Dimensions: 205mm x 130mm x 13mm
Weight: 134g
136 pages