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Het vliegende tapijt
Een Engelse journaliste van Libanese afkomst reist in 2003 naar Bagdad om reportages te maken over het effect van de oorlog op de burgerbevolking en trekt zich het lot aan van een zwaargewond klein Irakees weesmeisje en haar babyzusje.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
About the author
Hala Jaber
10 books10 followersHala Jaber is a Lebanese-British journalist. She was born in West Africa and currently writes for The Sunday Times. Jaber was awarded the Amnesty International Journalist of the Year Award in 2003. She won Foreign Correspondent of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2005 and 2006 for her coverage of the Iraq War. She co-won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for her work in Iraq in 2007.
Her first book, Hezbollah: Born With a Vengeance, was published in 1997. The book describes the rise and the political agenda of Hezbollah against the background of Lebanese history from 1970 to 1997. Her second book, The Flying Carpet to Baghdad: One Woman's Fight for Two Orphans of War, was published in 2009. The book chronicles her efforts to help two girls during the Iraq War.
Hala Jaber is married to award-winning news photographer Steve Bent
Her first book, Hezbollah: Born With a Vengeance, was published in 1997. The book describes the rise and the political agenda of Hezbollah against the background of Lebanese history from 1970 to 1997. Her second book, The Flying Carpet to Baghdad: One Woman's Fight for Two Orphans of War, was published in 2009. The book chronicles her efforts to help two girls during the Iraq War.
Hala Jaber is married to award-winning news photographer Steve Bent
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
August 23, 2009
Written by a Muslim woman of Beirut, a journalist for the Sunday Times of London, married to a blond Brit photographer. Her empathy for the families of war torn Iraq are heartbreaking. I have admiration for her as a journalist, putting herself in danger again and again. But wonder how she could have held a 3 month old baby, considered it to be hers, and then ignored it for 6 years? The explanation of dealing with the guilt and grief of loosing the 3 year old sister after only six months was not enough to excuse that.
I have adopted and could recommend it to that circle of friends.
I have adopted and could recommend it to that circle of friends.
January 2, 2017
self indulgent - came across as playing with children#s lives for her own needs
March 5, 2017
Hala Jaber è una giornalista, ma soprattutto una donna che si sente vuota per non aver mai avuto figli.
"La bambina sul tappeto volante" è la testimonianza vera e tangibile di una giornalista, una donna che ha vissuto e vive da vicino la tragedia dell'Iraq, la guerra irachena che continua a dilaniare molte famiglie.
Proprio i membri, le uniche sopravvissute, ovvero due bambine i cui nomi sono Zahra e Hawra, saranno il fulcro del suo viaggio e della sua missione. Una missione che diventa sinonimo di vita, di speranza, di supporto e sostegno verso gli altri.
Quella di Hala Jaber è la battaglia di chi ha fatto del giornalismo un obiettivo, venendo incontro a persone in difficoltà, ma anche di chi, dopo molte battaglie, riesce finalmente ad accettare il suo destino.
"La bambina sul tappeto volante" è la testimonianza vera e tangibile di una giornalista, una donna che ha vissuto e vive da vicino la tragedia dell'Iraq, la guerra irachena che continua a dilaniare molte famiglie.
Proprio i membri, le uniche sopravvissute, ovvero due bambine i cui nomi sono Zahra e Hawra, saranno il fulcro del suo viaggio e della sua missione. Una missione che diventa sinonimo di vita, di speranza, di supporto e sostegno verso gli altri.
Quella di Hala Jaber è la battaglia di chi ha fatto del giornalismo un obiettivo, venendo incontro a persone in difficoltà, ma anche di chi, dopo molte battaglie, riesce finalmente ad accettare il suo destino.
October 5, 2021
“As a lebanese and a Muslim, i knew tha Arab perspective. As of the wife of an englishman and the employee of a London Paper, i understood the western way thinking of thinking. I was in the privileged position of being able to straddle two worlds and explain one to the other. So it was no surprise to be asked a few months later if i would report on the anticiapted invasion of Iraq. It was only to be expected that i would be speeding across the desert toward thronging Baghdad, several weeks before the bombardment was likely to start. What no one least of all myself could have predicted was that however hard i tried to bury myself in the new role of action girl foreign correspondent, something within me would resurface in Baghdad - my maternal insticts disarmingly intact.
- Hala Jaber, The flying carpet of small miracles
.
.
This book is advertised as a woman’s fight to save 2 orphans but i believed this book offered us more than that. We discovered the author’s personal life before this very quest and how she navigated back and forth into Iraq during its war in the year 2003. We learned more on her background as a lebanese muslim that has been educated abroad and eventually, built her reputable career as a reporter in the western world. She got married to her photographer whom she always went together on the article/story assignment. Her father was concerned that inter marriage and married someone who is not a lebanese or arab might caused the problem later especially when their value is different as one is an Arab and another one is European. Once married, she craved to be a mother and decided to embark into the journey only to be denied from it. So many visit to fertility clinics, so many series of tests, so many of medicines and injections - but to no avail none of it worked. She was depressed, her career is not doing well at that time and her relatives / friends around her has been a constant reminder that her marriage was a failure because she could not become a mother. Then, she surrendered to the fate that she was not meant to be a mother. That, maybe God has other plans for her. She reconciled with the fact that motherhood does not necessarily she have to give birth to be a mother as she ventured into Iraq to chase the story during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. This war led her to Zahra and Hawra, a bomb explosion victim by The US troops. Ultimately, this a memoir of Hala Jaber herself with a detailed account of what she has been going through in order to try to save these 2 girls. The memoir is fast paced and Hala Jaber’s writing truly demonstrated her credibility as an award winning reporter. Her account on Iraq War is such an eye opening and heart wrenching given that how her description really brought us readers to see the ultimate price of war - Death of innocent lives. Broken promises by these foreign correspondents and neighboring countries, families tore apart by multiple series of insurgency and bombardment, grievous heart as most of the iraqis mourned the loss of their loved ones in this war - All is captured well in this book. Overall, I would highly recommend this book although i was a bit uncomfortable with how in the beginning Hala started to search for the right picture for fund raising event. It didnt sit well with me as how her superior insisted that certain characters of the victims (orphans specifically) that they were looking for will be suitable to be featured in their agenda. I still deemed this book is an important read.
- Hala Jaber, The flying carpet of small miracles
.
.
This book is advertised as a woman’s fight to save 2 orphans but i believed this book offered us more than that. We discovered the author’s personal life before this very quest and how she navigated back and forth into Iraq during its war in the year 2003. We learned more on her background as a lebanese muslim that has been educated abroad and eventually, built her reputable career as a reporter in the western world. She got married to her photographer whom she always went together on the article/story assignment. Her father was concerned that inter marriage and married someone who is not a lebanese or arab might caused the problem later especially when their value is different as one is an Arab and another one is European. Once married, she craved to be a mother and decided to embark into the journey only to be denied from it. So many visit to fertility clinics, so many series of tests, so many of medicines and injections - but to no avail none of it worked. She was depressed, her career is not doing well at that time and her relatives / friends around her has been a constant reminder that her marriage was a failure because she could not become a mother. Then, she surrendered to the fate that she was not meant to be a mother. That, maybe God has other plans for her. She reconciled with the fact that motherhood does not necessarily she have to give birth to be a mother as she ventured into Iraq to chase the story during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. This war led her to Zahra and Hawra, a bomb explosion victim by The US troops. Ultimately, this a memoir of Hala Jaber herself with a detailed account of what she has been going through in order to try to save these 2 girls. The memoir is fast paced and Hala Jaber’s writing truly demonstrated her credibility as an award winning reporter. Her account on Iraq War is such an eye opening and heart wrenching given that how her description really brought us readers to see the ultimate price of war - Death of innocent lives. Broken promises by these foreign correspondents and neighboring countries, families tore apart by multiple series of insurgency and bombardment, grievous heart as most of the iraqis mourned the loss of their loved ones in this war - All is captured well in this book. Overall, I would highly recommend this book although i was a bit uncomfortable with how in the beginning Hala started to search for the right picture for fund raising event. It didnt sit well with me as how her superior insisted that certain characters of the victims (orphans specifically) that they were looking for will be suitable to be featured in their agenda. I still deemed this book is an important read.
May 10, 2011
This book wasn't on my "to-read" list, but I saw it on the shelf at the library a few weeks ago and it ended up coming home with me. I have a heart for adoption and absolutely love hearing/reading adoption stories so I thought this would be another uplifting, inspirational, "happily ever after" kind of read. It wasn't. Yes, this is the story of Hala Jaber's attempt to rescue two orphans from war-torn Iraq, but more than that it's an insider's look at the harsh reality of war and the effects of war on women, children and the elderly.
I was absolutely captivated by the first nine chapters. They broke my heart, they challenged my conservative/Republican perspective on war and they inspired me to dig deeper and do some research of my own to find out if the atrocities Hala Jaber writes about are a fair representation of what took place. Unfortunately, I found the story a little dry from chapter ten on. As I read about the bond between Hala, Grandmother and Hawra I couldn't help but feel that there was a piece of the puzzle missing. I found some of the later chapters to be a little repetitive and at times a little melodramatic. I found some of Hala's musings on her maternal affections for Hawra a little hard to believe ... not that I doubt her love for the little girl, but I just think it was poorly explained. I was also put off by the very strong anti-American bias present throughout the book (Hala Jaber even admits to it in chapter seventeen).
That said, this book is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. Anyone who is interested in politics, the war in Iraq, life in the Middle East post-9/11, American foreign policy, etc should read it. Anyone who loves children should read it, too.
I was absolutely captivated by the first nine chapters. They broke my heart, they challenged my conservative/Republican perspective on war and they inspired me to dig deeper and do some research of my own to find out if the atrocities Hala Jaber writes about are a fair representation of what took place. Unfortunately, I found the story a little dry from chapter ten on. As I read about the bond between Hala, Grandmother and Hawra I couldn't help but feel that there was a piece of the puzzle missing. I found some of the later chapters to be a little repetitive and at times a little melodramatic. I found some of Hala's musings on her maternal affections for Hawra a little hard to believe ... not that I doubt her love for the little girl, but I just think it was poorly explained. I was also put off by the very strong anti-American bias present throughout the book (Hala Jaber even admits to it in chapter seventeen).
That said, this book is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. Anyone who is interested in politics, the war in Iraq, life in the Middle East post-9/11, American foreign policy, etc should read it. Anyone who loves children should read it, too.
July 15, 2009
It was interesting to read about the Iraq war from a different perspective (that of an Arab woman and wife to a British man). It is difficult to read about all the civilian casualties, especially the children. My problem with the book is that I never really liked Hala -- I felt she was very self-absorbed, even though she tried to tell you she wasn't. So it was hard to get in to the book and "root" for her, because I didn't particularly like her.
August 27, 2009
Self centered. I wonder what mothers out there think about it. How this woman could claim to ever have maternal feelings is beyond me. The writing isn't even particularly good.
October 11, 2009
this journalist author seemed a bit self absorbed to me, made me wonder if taking on children was the right thing to do. fairly good read.
February 28, 2010
--informative in some respects but annoying It was mistitled--and not a woman's fight to save two orphans at all.
January 3, 2011
I saw this book in the biography section on my way out of another trip to the library. I grabbed it on a whim, recognizing the Arabic name of the author, and feeling in the mood to read about the Middle East. I expected it to be a fun read, but not something that would change my life or the way I see the world. On the contrary, this book, which I read in 24 hours, opened my eyes again. Jaber is a talented writer to say the least, it is easy to see how she won all the awards she did. Through that, I loved watching her change as the book progressed. She began with a lot of selfishness in her outlook, and I was frustrated with her for that. But as the years passed I watched her grow into a truly selfless, loving, beautiful woman who would do anything for Zahra and Hawra, even if it was not what she would wanted or what seemed best from her initial, visceral perspective. The viewpoints expressed by all the different characters were wonderful too, I felt that I truly walked in the shoes of Iraqi parents, foreign correspondents, and military doctors, respecting each viewpoint even more at the end of the book than I did at the beginning. This is an excellent book to show the phases of the human heart, themes of love as a universal force, and championing the ideas of self-sacrifice and true love. I highly recommend this book.
May 31, 2010
So here's the thing. This is a good book to read, but it's not a great book. I loved the perspective of a Muslim straddling the line between the West and the East and the story was certainly compelling. It was the first book I read that showed the underbelly of the war in Iraq and what the American forces are actually doing to the civilians on the ground, as well as how the sectarian violence is creating havoc to people, not governments.
However, I expected much more of the prose. For a journalist, I expected brilliant writing and instead I thought it was disjointed and not that great. For this reason I was disappointed. But, it was a quick read and I would suggest it to anyone wanting an "insider's" perspective that neither pro- nor anti-American.
However, I expected much more of the prose. For a journalist, I expected brilliant writing and instead I thought it was disjointed and not that great. For this reason I was disappointed. But, it was a quick read and I would suggest it to anyone wanting an "insider's" perspective that neither pro- nor anti-American.
April 16, 2010
I enjoyed this book. It's a non-fiction account of Hala Jaber who was a journalist that worked with her husband in Iraq. It tells of her disappiontment in not having children of her own and becoming attached to 2 little girls who lost their immediate family to a suicide bomber. It goes on to tell of her inner conflict of whether it would be good to adopt the girls or let them stay with what family they have left.
April 27, 2016
very interesting read so far.
quite heartbreaking.
finished this 26th April. further thoughts to follow...
quite heartbreaking.
finished this 26th April. further thoughts to follow...
October 21, 2017
A story of an infertile female set in the war zones of Iraq. For someone who has read on what accompanies war this might be a bit of a bore. But otherwise, the author brings out a story of loss, coping and acceptance. It was also a quick and easy read.
June 12, 2010
I learned about this book through a CBC radio interview with the author, and was eager to read it. I wasn't disappointed.
Jaber is a (British) Lebanese journalist, married to an Englishman, who works for The Sunday Times as a foreign correspondent. Together with her husband, she went to Bagdad to cover the war in Iraq. The book is about her experiences there, with the focus on two sisters, Zahra, three years, and Hawra, a baby, at the time when a missile killed their parents and five siblings. Zahra was badly burned, though Hawra was unharmed. Deeply moved by the plight of the little ones, Jaber was eager to adopt them, as she was unable to have children of her own. The book covers the following five years, as Jaber struggles to help the children and the grandmother who looks after them.
The book has many interesting themes:
- the devestation caused by war on innocent civilians (something not covered in any depth by our media)
- the heartache of women who are unable to concieve a child of their own (Jaber is very open about this)
- the dilemma of what's best for Hawra. (Should she be removed from her grandmother and her country in order to be given a western education, and all the possibilites that would open to her for a bright future?)
- the courage of journalists and photographers who place themselves repeatedly in danger, in order to cover conflict zones
- the humanity of those who fight to saves others, regardless of their own safety.
This is a deeply personal book. Jaber captures the reader's interest and emotional involvement, from the very first lines to the very last. At least she had mine!
Jaber is a (British) Lebanese journalist, married to an Englishman, who works for The Sunday Times as a foreign correspondent. Together with her husband, she went to Bagdad to cover the war in Iraq. The book is about her experiences there, with the focus on two sisters, Zahra, three years, and Hawra, a baby, at the time when a missile killed their parents and five siblings. Zahra was badly burned, though Hawra was unharmed. Deeply moved by the plight of the little ones, Jaber was eager to adopt them, as she was unable to have children of her own. The book covers the following five years, as Jaber struggles to help the children and the grandmother who looks after them.
The book has many interesting themes:
- the devestation caused by war on innocent civilians (something not covered in any depth by our media)
- the heartache of women who are unable to concieve a child of their own (Jaber is very open about this)
- the dilemma of what's best for Hawra. (Should she be removed from her grandmother and her country in order to be given a western education, and all the possibilites that would open to her for a bright future?)
- the courage of journalists and photographers who place themselves repeatedly in danger, in order to cover conflict zones
- the humanity of those who fight to saves others, regardless of their own safety.
This is a deeply personal book. Jaber captures the reader's interest and emotional involvement, from the very first lines to the very last. At least she had mine!
March 28, 2021
Several years ago I read "Salam Pax" - the book version of a blog - written by an Iraqi man about the realities of living in Baghad as it was waiting to be, and then being, bombed. It was a horrific, and at time even witty, account of the human cost of war. This book is another excellent account of the price war extracts from civilians written by somewhere who was there.
Jaber's descriptions of the destruction to life, property and country are surprisingly neutral and all the more effective for that. What the average Baghdadi - who didn't have her protection and privileges as a Western journalist - suffered doesn't bear thinking about. Except that Jaber makes us face it.
She writes of pregnant women crowding hospitals in the weeks and days before the bombing, wanting to have their babies induced to avoid the risk of going into labour later when the electricity is out or a bridge or the hospital bombed. She writes of children with horrific injuries and of whole families destroyed in an instant. At one point she describes how the palms trees that lined the road from the airport to Bagdad have been cut down by the Americans because of the risk of snipers and bombers who hid behind them. She understands why they did it but mourns the trees that have been flourishing despite being neglected for so many, many years. They needed nurturing she notes, not destruction; just like the Iraqi people.
Despite this I didn't warm to Jaber herself. I'm not sure the story of her infertility meshed with the bigger story of war.
Overall however, an excellent book, smoothly written despite the difficult and emotive subject.
Jaber's descriptions of the destruction to life, property and country are surprisingly neutral and all the more effective for that. What the average Baghdadi - who didn't have her protection and privileges as a Western journalist - suffered doesn't bear thinking about. Except that Jaber makes us face it.
She writes of pregnant women crowding hospitals in the weeks and days before the bombing, wanting to have their babies induced to avoid the risk of going into labour later when the electricity is out or a bridge or the hospital bombed. She writes of children with horrific injuries and of whole families destroyed in an instant. At one point she describes how the palms trees that lined the road from the airport to Bagdad have been cut down by the Americans because of the risk of snipers and bombers who hid behind them. She understands why they did it but mourns the trees that have been flourishing despite being neglected for so many, many years. They needed nurturing she notes, not destruction; just like the Iraqi people.
Despite this I didn't warm to Jaber herself. I'm not sure the story of her infertility meshed with the bigger story of war.
Overall however, an excellent book, smoothly written despite the difficult and emotive subject.
May 19, 2010
Hala Jaber is a journalist, born of Lebanese parents and married to an Englishman she was working for an English newspaper during the Iraq war. Being Muslim, but living in Britian, Hala could empathise with both sides of the war, but it was her longing to become a mother that spurred on her involvement with two children.
Hala travelled an extremely hard and often very emotional personal journey during this time and it is honestly portrayed in this book. There are passages in the book that left me very close to tears as describes the horror of seeing so many injured, orphaned children. The innocent victims of a war that they understood nothing about.
Although Hala was no stranger to reporting from war-torn countries, she is a respected and award winning journalist, this assignment became incredibly hard and personal for her. Discovering the two badly injured, newly orphaned children whilst struggling to cope with the death of friends and colleagues and continuing to file her reports with her editor.
I'm sure many of us remember the reports of Ali, the small Iraqi boy who lost both his arms during the conflict and was airlifted to Britain for treatment. He was featured heavily on British television at the time. In the book, Hala brings the reader up to date with Ali's story as she meets him a few years later.
This is a deeply moving, well written book that really brings home the hidden cost of war.
Hala travelled an extremely hard and often very emotional personal journey during this time and it is honestly portrayed in this book. There are passages in the book that left me very close to tears as describes the horror of seeing so many injured, orphaned children. The innocent victims of a war that they understood nothing about.
Although Hala was no stranger to reporting from war-torn countries, she is a respected and award winning journalist, this assignment became incredibly hard and personal for her. Discovering the two badly injured, newly orphaned children whilst struggling to cope with the death of friends and colleagues and continuing to file her reports with her editor.
I'm sure many of us remember the reports of Ali, the small Iraqi boy who lost both his arms during the conflict and was airlifted to Britain for treatment. He was featured heavily on British television at the time. In the book, Hala brings the reader up to date with Ali's story as she meets him a few years later.
This is a deeply moving, well written book that really brings home the hidden cost of war.
February 22, 2011
The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles is such an enchanting and captivating story. The writing was so vivid that I felt as though I was Hala and experiencing what she was. I could see the devastation the bombs had created, could see the injured and burned children and heard their cries of pain as though I was standing next to them. War is never a good solution and its ramifications are not limited to the area being targeted but instead have far reaching repercussions.
The children in this story have lost and suffered more in their short lives than most of us will ever have experienced in our entire lifetime! The resilience of the families is unbelievable.
The story follows Hala, a Muslim woman who is a British journalist covering stories in war torn Iraq. Hala ultimately makes a promise to two sisters to help them after being injured in the war but finds she isn’t able to keep one of those promises and then must face the grandmother she also promised. The trauma that this causes her is surreal and affects her life in ways she didn’t expect. Hala must come to terms with her broken promise to the sisters’, the grandmother, and also for the lack of something within herself she has wanted for years but was unable to achieve.
This was a powerful, potent, completely unforgettable, and hauntingly good memoir!
The children in this story have lost and suffered more in their short lives than most of us will ever have experienced in our entire lifetime! The resilience of the families is unbelievable.
The story follows Hala, a Muslim woman who is a British journalist covering stories in war torn Iraq. Hala ultimately makes a promise to two sisters to help them after being injured in the war but finds she isn’t able to keep one of those promises and then must face the grandmother she also promised. The trauma that this causes her is surreal and affects her life in ways she didn’t expect. Hala must come to terms with her broken promise to the sisters’, the grandmother, and also for the lack of something within herself she has wanted for years but was unable to achieve.
This was a powerful, potent, completely unforgettable, and hauntingly good memoir!
June 7, 2010
The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans is about a woman and her husban (hala jaber) who are both reporters in Iraq. Hala can not consive a child and she really wants to. When she finds a little girl who is very very badly hurt after a bomding she sets out to help the little girl find her family and recover from the expirenacts. along the way she learns that life can only be lived once and that you have to love it to the fullest.
i reallt thought that The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans was a touching book it was really hard to read. not in the sencs that it was a hard levle but the level of sadness was really hard to understand. i thought that the book was really easy to conetct to. when Hala was in iraq looking at the dameg that had been done to the capitel and the sadness she felt for all the people that liivd and still do in the war zone in Iraq. i really thought that i felt the same way about the children that had lost ther parents to the American tropps that didnt understant how much harm they were inflictine into the country.
i gave this book 5 stars because i thought it was really strong and a really strong and moving book.
i reallt thought that The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans was a touching book it was really hard to read. not in the sencs that it was a hard levle but the level of sadness was really hard to understand. i thought that the book was really easy to conetct to. when Hala was in iraq looking at the dameg that had been done to the capitel and the sadness she felt for all the people that liivd and still do in the war zone in Iraq. i really thought that i felt the same way about the children that had lost ther parents to the American tropps that didnt understant how much harm they were inflictine into the country.
i gave this book 5 stars because i thought it was really strong and a really strong and moving book.
May 30, 2010
I finished this this afternoon, I want to say it was a really good book, but not, as it's so sad!
I think here in England, it's all too easy to forget about the effects on civilians caught in a war that's so far away! We hear about it on the news, and we all get sad when another soldier is killed in the conflict, but it's all too easy to not think about the innocents that are getting caught in the crossfire! Out of sight out of mind, I guess!
Hala's tale brings it all into close focus in such a heartbreaking and personal way that you realise just what the Iraqis have suffered during the conflicts! There were several times I was literally in tears at the sadness of it all, and the futility!
The bravery Hala shows, putting herself in such danger, to make people aware of the atrocities being done to the innocent people who just happen to live in a country that was ruled by an evil dictator was inspirational, and seeing her change and grow as a person through the course of the book has left me with the deepest respect for her, and those like her, who work tirelessly to help those affected!
The stories of the people Hala writes about will remain with me for a long time, and I shall think of the Iraq war in a different way from now onwards!
I think here in England, it's all too easy to forget about the effects on civilians caught in a war that's so far away! We hear about it on the news, and we all get sad when another soldier is killed in the conflict, but it's all too easy to not think about the innocents that are getting caught in the crossfire! Out of sight out of mind, I guess!
Hala's tale brings it all into close focus in such a heartbreaking and personal way that you realise just what the Iraqis have suffered during the conflicts! There were several times I was literally in tears at the sadness of it all, and the futility!
The bravery Hala shows, putting herself in such danger, to make people aware of the atrocities being done to the innocent people who just happen to live in a country that was ruled by an evil dictator was inspirational, and seeing her change and grow as a person through the course of the book has left me with the deepest respect for her, and those like her, who work tirelessly to help those affected!
The stories of the people Hala writes about will remain with me for a long time, and I shall think of the Iraq war in a different way from now onwards!
February 3, 2014
The author of this memoir is a Lebanese-British journalist, married to a British man, who works as a foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times in Baghdad during the Iraq war. Her reporting focuses on the impact of the war on the everyday people of Iraq, especially the women and children, and as a Muslim women, she straddles two worlds and has access to the people in a way that many Westerners do not. Her book paints a horrific picture of war, with a special focus on two little girls, Zahra and Hawra, who lose their parents and five siblings to a missile strike in 2003. Zahra, age 3, is badly injured, while Hawra, an infant, is unharmed. The author, who has struggled through years of infertility, immediately feels a connection to these two little girls, and much of the book centers on her fight to protect and help them and her desire to adopt them as her own. It’s an eye-opening book. The author is clearly a very brave women and a good journalist. She also comes across as a bit self-centered, especially in her attitude toward Zahra and Hawra, and not all of her decisions made sense to me. Nonetheless, she is a powerful writer, and this is an important book for anyone who wants a greater understanding of the Iraq war and its impact on the Iraqi people.
January 15, 2011
Someone on Facebook mentioned this book she could not put down, and I immediately went and got the Kindle edition and also found this story engrossing. Jaber is a Lebanese-British correspondent reporting for London's Sunday Times. The book tells the very personal story about the attempt to save a two children, orphaned when their car was bombed in an American attack on Baghdad. Three-year-old Zahra was burned over most of her body and in dire need of sophisticated emergency attention, while her baby sister, Hawra, tossed from a car window, survived unscathed. The rest of their family of seven were killed.
In her search to find a photogenic child to raise awareness of the plight of civilians during the attack, Jaber became very involved in the lives and the outcome for these two little girls.
In telling her story, she gives a picture of what is really going on in Iraq and, again, makes me wonder just what in the hell we are doing in that country!
This is a beautifully written book, which is short enough to be read in one or two sittings...and trust me, you won't want to put it down.
In her search to find a photogenic child to raise awareness of the plight of civilians during the attack, Jaber became very involved in the lives and the outcome for these two little girls.
In telling her story, she gives a picture of what is really going on in Iraq and, again, makes me wonder just what in the hell we are doing in that country!
This is a beautifully written book, which is short enough to be read in one or two sittings...and trust me, you won't want to put it down.
April 17, 2012
This is a story of the 2003 Iraq invasion and its aftermath, with a focus on the shatteringly human face of "collateral damage." As a Lebanese reporter married to a British photographer, Hala Jaber is well positioned to give us a nuanced view of the events in Iraq.
The book weaves together the story of the many Iraqis she interviewed with her own story of infertility. I only gave it four stars because I'm not sure how well the two stories really go together.
Despite having a somewhat happy ending, Jaber's story is quite a downer. Still, I appreciated her perspective and the vivid and very human picture she paints of Iraq.
This is actually the first book I've read about the Iraq War, which happened while I was on a Mormon mission, and therefore virtually isolated from any outside news. I still feel like I have a sort of 20-month historical wrinkle in my memory. I remember coming home and feeling like Rip Van Winkle. 2001-2003 was quite a time period to miss.
Does anyone have any recommendations for something to read to get me up to speed on the invasion of Iraq, the Patriot Act, and whatever else happened between October 10, 2001 and June 9, 2003?
The book weaves together the story of the many Iraqis she interviewed with her own story of infertility. I only gave it four stars because I'm not sure how well the two stories really go together.
Despite having a somewhat happy ending, Jaber's story is quite a downer. Still, I appreciated her perspective and the vivid and very human picture she paints of Iraq.
This is actually the first book I've read about the Iraq War, which happened while I was on a Mormon mission, and therefore virtually isolated from any outside news. I still feel like I have a sort of 20-month historical wrinkle in my memory. I remember coming home and feeling like Rip Van Winkle. 2001-2003 was quite a time period to miss.
Does anyone have any recommendations for something to read to get me up to speed on the invasion of Iraq, the Patriot Act, and whatever else happened between October 10, 2001 and June 9, 2003?
March 19, 2013
Autobiographical novel about Hala Jaber, a War Journalist, originally from Beirut but resident and married in England, posted in Irak who deals with the impossibility of bearing children.
Her life changes when she meets Zahra, a three year-old child who has been badly burned by a bomb which has left her parentless along with her baby sister Hawra.
Hala lets these sisters drive her feelings and she embarks on a journey with no return.
I thought the novel engaging in the sense that you could connect as a woman with Hala's need to become a mother and at the same time, understand her response to children ravaged by war who are left with no one in the world.
But at the same time, I couldn't help but feeling a bit critical about the recollection of war, as it's told by a journalist who works for an English newspaper, which used terrible stories of damaged children to engage more readers (to rise funds BUT who, of course, also bought more newspapers...).
So let me have the benefit of the doubt about the whole recollection.
Her life changes when she meets Zahra, a three year-old child who has been badly burned by a bomb which has left her parentless along with her baby sister Hawra.
Hala lets these sisters drive her feelings and she embarks on a journey with no return.
I thought the novel engaging in the sense that you could connect as a woman with Hala's need to become a mother and at the same time, understand her response to children ravaged by war who are left with no one in the world.
But at the same time, I couldn't help but feeling a bit critical about the recollection of war, as it's told by a journalist who works for an English newspaper, which used terrible stories of damaged children to engage more readers (to rise funds BUT who, of course, also bought more newspapers...).
So let me have the benefit of the doubt about the whole recollection.
January 6, 2011
The jacket says, "a heartrending story." My heart was rended. It is a very touching, beautiful story that kept me in tears for much of it. A lot of sad things happen in the book, and personally, I try to avoid books that are depressing. To be fair, not a lot of feelgood stories come out of Iraq. And depressing isn't the right word, because depressing sounds defeatist, and the book does have something inspirational to offer about surviving and loving even when surrounded by much evil, death, and seeming senselessness. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is because I had a hard time relating to the author's struggle with whether she wanted to adopt. But if I say more, I will give too much away.
May 30, 2010
A bit suspenseful as you wonder if she will indeed save the two orphans; it keeps you going until the end. I am in awe of journalists who risk their lives to report to the world; so brave, so strong. Sad, sad, sad...in America you hear about the soldiers killed in war and of their families which is devastating, but to hear the other side, of innocent civilians being killed in their homes, families being torn apart, children left orphans...living in America makes it hard to imagine what war on our own soil would be like. This book offers some perspective.
January 31, 2011
Loved this story of a woman falling in love with orphaned children in a far off land. Jaber couldn't have children of her own and when as a foreign correspondent in Irag during the war she tracks the stories of children who lost their civilian parents from American bombings. This really opened my eyes to the personal tragedies that people suffer as a result of our military actions. I know we have to protect our nation and try to save people of other countries from oppressive regimes, but there is always a cost. And that is the big questions, in Irag was the cost too high?
June 22, 2016
Hala Jaber's book is an important read. It shows us from her journalist's eyes the horrific atrocities committed by war on innocent Iraqi civilians especially the children. There are some flaws like the writer's self pity - but since it is a true story she is being honest about her own emotions. I felt that the ending left one piece of the puzzle unsolved but that omission perhaps emphasizes that for the victims/survivors of war atrocities there are thousands of unsolved puzzles about their loved ones' fates.
May 14, 2009
! It is rare for a war correspondent to be so open about things they have seen and felt.I rate this book very highly and recommend to all concerned with the misery and devastation that war brings with it to ordinary people.The book is a powerful reminder of this and delivers a heart wrenching story of war,grief,love and hope.Anyone concerned about humanity should read this book.It gives an ample portion of food for thought!
July 14, 2010
Read this with a box of tissues handy. Jaber takes you right into the heart of the American war with Iraq. You are in Baghdad. You can hear the bombs, see the fire. You rush through streets crazy with sirens, smoke, and rubble. You go through the hospitals and see the maimed children, the grieving parents. You hear the heartbreak of Iraq crying through the pages, and you hear the additional heartbreak of the author as she witnesses it and grieves her own losses.
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