Book Review: ‘Baghdad Noir’ tells haunting tales from a diverse city

‘Baghdad Noir’ tells haunting tales from a diverse city. (Shutterstock)
Updated 17 December 2018
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Book Review: ‘Baghdad Noir’ tells haunting tales from a diverse city

  • Akashic Books takes its award-winning noir anthology to Iraq in “Baghdad Noir"

CHICAGO:To close out 2018, Akashic Books takes its award-winning noir anthology to Iraq in “Baghdad Noir.” Written by Iraq’s most celebrated authors, and some non-Iraqis, and edited by the cofounder of the contemporary Arab literature magazine “Banipal,” Samuel Shimon, the book features 14 short stories that are as diverse as Iraq’s capital city.

While most of the stories were written following the 2003 US invasion, some were written prior to the war. Most tales touch upon the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein and the violent reign of the Baath Party, the politics that plunged the country into the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War, economic sanctions and the aftermath of it all. The authors take their readers on a journey through the streets of Baghdad, introducing them to affected families and their devastating circumstances.

In Shimon’s insightful introduction, he conveys the diverse history of Iraq, its varied landscape and people. Shimon writes that there is no “single national identity” — it is its ethnic diversity that makes Iraq unique and its capital city a hub for diverse story-telling.

Broken down into four sections, the book begins with Muhsin Al-Ramli and his tale of murder in an old Baghdad house, with a courtyard and eight rooms divided among its two stories. Qamar, the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood, has been killed and the residents are left to uncover the details of her death themselves.

Each author moves between the dark corners and shadowy thoughts of Baghdad and its residents. A sense of distrust, pessimism and gloom hangs over each tale. The stories move between families and strangers, between cafes and marketplaces, policemen and magicians, young soldiers and thugs and between sick patients and healthy minds driven mad by the never-ending devastation. With each author comes a twist in the tale that take place on either side of the Tigris River, from the Al-Qadisiya district to Al-Waziriya to the area of Bataween.

Including literary heavyweights such as Ahmed Saadawi, whose novel “Frankenstein in Baghdad” was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, “Baghdad Noir” offers a unique opportunity to explore the inventive genius of various authors and to read haunting stories set in a rich and diverse city.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World’ by Klass-Douwe B. Dijkstra

Updated 1 min 20 sec ago
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World’ by Klass-Douwe B. Dijkstra

Airily dancing over rivers and ponds, the thousands of colorful dragonfly and damselfly species that cohabit our planet may seem of little importance.

Few life-forms, however, convey the condition of the most limiting resource on land and life’s most bountiful environment as well as they can: While the adults are exceptional aerial hunters, their nymphs are all confined to freshwater.

“Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World” showcases their beauty and diversity while shedding light on how they evolved into the vital symbols of planetary health we celebrate today.


Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces 2025 lineup

Updated 12 November 2024
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Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces 2025 lineup

DUBAI: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature organizers announced the lineup of award-winning authors and speakers for its 2025 edition on Tuesday.
The annual literary event, set to take place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 3 at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, promises more than 150 events, including talks, panel discussions, and workshops, all under the theme “Where Stories Happen.”

Leading the list of authors is US-Indian writer and Stanford University professor Abraham Verghese, author of “The Covenant of Water,” which rose to fame when it was chosen for Oprah Winfrey’s book club.

Also included in the lineup are Nobel Prize laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, Emmy Award-winning journalist Hala Gorani, Palestinian chef and hotelier Fadi Kattan, and author and illustrator of the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series Jeff Kinney.

Closer to home, Saudi author Faisal J. Abbas will talk about his new book, “Anecdotes of an Arab Anglophile,” a witty and thoughtful take on what it is like being an Arab in London.

“With everything going on in the world, now more than ever, we need stories. We need human connection. We need to come together in the ‘sanctuary of dreams’ … which the festival offers,” Tamreez Inam, head of programming, told Arab News.

“The festival welcomes people who want to dream and imagine a world that celebrates our shared humanity and offers a place where people can tell their own stories, find themselves in other stories and connect at that very human level. And I think that’s why the 2025 festival is so important; it’s needed more than ever now,” she added.

Dania Droubi, the festival’s chief operating officer, revealed that the event will also host an international youth program.

“We have 150 university students from around the world coming to participate in our program, and they are going to be here in Dubai,” she said.

“They’re all students who speak Arabic and who study Arabic. They are going to be here to meet with another 150 from the UAE-based universities, and they’re here to attend and see the authors and the speakers … and just participate in these discussions, because the youth are the future.”


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life’ by Stephen J. Campbell

Updated 11 November 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life’ by Stephen J. Campbell

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand.

Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers, many of whom have filled in the gaps of what can be known of Leonardo’s life with claims to decode secrets, reveal mysteries of a vanished past, or discover lost masterpieces of spectacular value.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Clouds’ by Edward Graham

Updated 10 November 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Clouds’ by Edward Graham

The mystery of clouds has captivated scientists and artists alike.

This unique book shows you how to use the meteorological techniques of nephology to identify these elusive and transmutable shapes.

“Clouds” blends a lively and engaging narrative by one of today’s leading meteorologists with an essay on historic cloud art, and includes a wealth of breathtaking cloud studies by some of the greatest artists ever to look skyward.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Understanding the Digital World’

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Updated 09 November 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Understanding the Digital World’

  • Kernighan touches on fundamental ideas from computer science and some of the inherent limitations of computers, and new sections in the book explore Python programming, big data, and much more

Author: BRIAN W. KERNIGHAN

In this updated edition of “Understanding the Digital World,” Brian Kernighan explains how computer hardware, software, and networks work.

Topics include how computers are built and how they compute; what programming is; how the Internet and web operate; and how all of these affect security, privacy, property, and other important social, political, and economic issues.

Kernighan touches on fundamental ideas from computer science and some of the inherent limitations of computers, and new sections in the book explore Python programming, big data, and much more.