Sweet Dates in Basra

Kathmiya Mahmoud grows up in the marshes north of Basra. As a teen, instead of being married off as expected, she is sent by her alcoholic father to Basra as a maid to bring money into the family. In additional to the culture shock of life in the city, Kathmiya is tortured by family secrets: why does her father not love her like her older sister, Fatimah; why does no one want to see her married; what are the items left to her mother and her by the American missionaries for whom her mother used to work? In her loneliness, Kathimiya turns to friendship with a young Jewish boy, despite the death sentence it would mean if anyone discovered their relationship. Shafiq has grown up with a seamless Iraqi-Jewish identity, but that identity is challenged throughout his adolesence by WWII, one brother's Zionism, another brother's Communism, and the collapse of Iraqi society as Britian becomes an enemy. The story is a page-turner, but what I found even more appealing was the deft way in which the author created complex characters. Although Kathimiya and Shafiq are caught in a familiar forbidden-love situation, the characters themselves are far from stereotypical, with compex personalities and unexpected facets. Even minor characters are well-drawn and interesting.

This book is an all out great story. It has love, peace and a portrait of a world unknown to many. The author draws on her rich family history and comes up with a story more powerful than The Kite Runner. It is a page turner! Great story-telling with a fine novelistic touch.

This was a captivating story that I couldn't put down. Set in Iraq in the 1940s, it conjures an era not often written about: the intrusion of Hitler's ideology into Iraq. Set against this larger backdrop is the deep, abiding friendship of two neighboring families, one Jewish, one Muslim. Their sons, Shafiq and Omar, grow up calling one another "brother." This is a touching look at how friendship and love can overcome prejudice and strict societal rules, to varying degrees. In addition to the friendship between Shafiq and Omar, it also explores Shafiq's forbidden feelings for a Marsh Arab maid. Themes of religious division (and unity of those of different religions) as well as the role of honor in Middle East culture, are explored honestly and with good historical detail. The plot was fascinating, although there were some twists that could be seen coming, and the writing lush and descriptive. A very good read.

This story starts off a little rocky with a barrage of characters introduced (a family tree would have helped) and the political events of the time are merely hinted at so that it's a little difficult to get oriented. Once you have the characters in place, though, what plays out is a beautiful, and sometimes terrible, tale about a culture in which violating societal norms can cost you dearly, and not only you; your actions can hurt and even ruin those you love the most. At its core are a problematic love story and, peripherally, the situation of Iraqi Jews at the middle of the 20th century. The two families at the forefront, one Jewish, the other Muslim, are bound together not only by their adjoining courtyards, but by their neighborly love for one another. The fact that they have different religions matters little - they both take from each other's cultures and give of their own. It's the love for family that binds them together, regardless of any political and worldly agenda. Jiji has loosely based her story around her father's experiences and it shows - there is an authenticity to her characters and place that is difficult to fake. A few times she looks like she will be coming close to being sentimental, but she pulls back just in time and is true to her characters without the story becoming implausible. The depiction of cultural norms, the emphasis on honor (to the point of death), the conniving and bickering, along with the smells and sounds of the shuk, the war, and the Farhud are all skillfully woven together to tell a tale about love and friendship that rises above religion, culture or political perspective.