Waters Under Baghdad

by Zaid Brifkani

Faisal, a young Iraqi man from Baghdad, loses his family and home and flees his country in the aftermath of war. While stranded at the Belarus-Poland border during the infamous refugee crisis of 2019 along with thousands of other migrants, he meets Gulistan, an Iraqi woman who reminds him of his mother and who lost family members of her own.
So begins a multigenerational epic stretching back a hundred years of Iraq’s modern history, all viewed through the eyes of a single family, from the birth of a new Iraq amid the ashes of the Ottoman Empire to the collapse following the American invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
The eagerly anticipated follow-up to Brifkani’s debut novel The Mountains We Carry, Waters Under Baghdad is an intimate account of a family through both good times and bad, from the hopeful reign of King Faisal I, through revolutions and coups and ultimately civil war, a story that feels equally urgent and timeless.

Genres: Historical Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Omar Altalib]

This is a very captivating and easy to read story! I enjoyed how the book went back and forth in time. The sections on the refugees in Belarus reflected the reality of how much suffering the refugees go through. I highly recommend this book for teens, high school students, college students and all readers who are interested in history as well as those who are interested in the Middle East.

[Sara]

"Waters Under Baghdad" by Zaid Brifkani is a powerful and emotional page-turner novel that captures life in a war-torn city. The author explores themes of love, resilience, and the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of Baghdad during turbulent times. This captivating work is a reminder of the strength of the human spirit under challenging circumstances.

[Eshaal Armaghan]

such a heartbreaking yet impactful book. the author truly has a way with words. the book made me tear up so many times.

i felt so closely related to every character. whether i agreed with their views or not, i understood them. terrorists and victims alike.

this book made me rage at the corrupt leaders of iraq, slaves to the foreign powers and also at the foreign powers themselves, exploiting the country for its oil and oppressing its people in the process, stripping them of their human rights in the name of freeing them from a dictator but treating them a lot worse themselves. i hate how even so many years later, the invaders face no consequences for killing a MILLION innocent Iraqis after falsely accusing the government of possessing WMDs.

the story followed an Iraqi family through three generations, a family that wanted nothing to do with politics and never cared about sectarianism, but became victims to both nevertheless.

Each character had a story so devastating that i couldn't even imagine what kind of grief that entailed. So many good people died at the hands of the oppressive government of the corrupt leaders and foreign powers.

My heart broke for Sami. His story really made me question my judgement of suicide bombers. I wonder if most of them have suffered so much. (in no way do i support what they do, i hate it) And Faisal, who was innocent yet suffered so much at the hands of oppressive powers.

But most of all, I sobbed for the women. The innocent women who wanted nothing more than the safety of their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands. With each man that died at oppressive hands, hearts of so many related women were crushed. Three generations of mothers losing husbands and sons. Strong, resilient women.

I will never stop thinking about how the USA got away with taking so many innocent lives. I will never understand how they justify it to themselves, how they sleep at night. Do they really believe that they meant good for the people and wanted to liberate them? Is it that easy for themselves to convince themselves of so blatant a lie? Or do they simply not care?

I don't find it surprising that the world just sat back and watched the horrors unfold until over a million Iraqis were dead. It's happening today too, in a different country and way more inhumane.

I believe that an underlying message of this book is that no matter how hard a people are being oppressed by their government or how much we believe that they need help, it is not anyone's right to overthrow their government and set up one of their own in the name of freedom and liberation. it is the country's people's right to fight off their corrupt dictators, not the western governments' under the guise of "freedom", when truly it's the greed for the oil, let's be real.

Again, such an impactful book demonstrating how war affects the common people. highly recommended.

[Ginger Stephens]

Waters Under Baghdad by Zaid Brifkani is an amazing book. The story follows three generations of one family as they navigate the chaos in Iraq over many decades, including the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein. The book highlights what happens to good people when the forces of history march through their lives. This book is the best narrative that I have encountered about the power vacuum created by the Americans when they removed Saddam with no real understanding of Iraqi culture or people.

The book flows between life in Baghdad and life as a refugee stuck in no man's land on the border between Belarus and Poland. The story of Faisal as he is abused and starved in his quest for a better life is one that needs to be better understood by Europeans and Americans. Nobody wants to be a refugee, and this novel does a great job of highlighting the horrible situations that cause people to make desperate attempts to get to Europe or the U.S.

The story of Faisal's brother Sami highlights the trauma and anger that causes young men to join groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda. Of all the painful events in the book, Sami's story is the most tragic. He goes from being a typical hot-headed young man defending his family to a murderer willing to join a suicide squad. The situation that turns Sami into a killer is created by two of the most powerful forces in the world: poverty and greed. The part that made me cry is that all of this is based on real events.

I applaud Dr. Brifkani for writing such an important book. I hope those who read it will understand that valuable lessons that it can teach all of us.

[Selva]

This one takes a while to build momentum. Bite-size chapters. Nicely structured. Almost reads like a short story. Like his last novel, where Zaid excels is in creating emotionally-charged scenes.

Alternating between past and present, story provides an overview of a region that has seen/known considerable amounts of instability, pain, loss and suffering.

Zaid draws a number of parallels (distant past, near past and present) as it relates to wars, refugees, nations that hold power etc., and holds internal/external mirrors up often to reflect.

The very real human and physical costs of war are highlighted throughout with harsh and ugly truths cutting through the core.

Bringing the pandemic into the mix further binds and reminds us of not too long ago violations.

Considering these themes/subject matter, Waters Under Baghdad may be a harder read for some, especially given current events.

Not a story you hear often. Though fictional characters, they might as well be real, as they're the story of many. Characters stay with you.

Also, a reminder that in the face of immense violence, tragedy, trauma and darkness - the human spirit can move forward leading to resiliency, hope and happiness.

[اخضر اخضر]

كنت في رحلة عجيبة عبر ١٠٠ عام من تاريخ العراق الحديث

الغريب في الأمر أن هذه المرحلة كبيرة ومليئة بالاحداث أشعر أن هذه الأحداث لا بسعها زمان ومكان اشياء لا يمكن أن يتحملها او يستوعبها اي ناس في هذا العالم الا اذا كان عراقي

رحلة جميلة يكتبها طبيب عراقي رحلة يبحث فيها الإنسان العراقي عن هويته وسط فوضى كبيرة من الهويات الدينية والسياسية والاثنية والقومية

كل شخص في هذه القصة اعرفه هذا مثل عمي وتلك مثل صديقتي وهكذا وانا ايضا في القصة اي عراقي يقرأ هذه الرواية يجد نفسه واحباءه

بجد رحلة بائسة في زمن وحياة لم نختارها

أجمل ما في الرواية قدرة الكاتب ان يعيد الذاكرة بك عندما اقرا القصة وانا بنت هذا الزمان اسمع اغاني القادسية وتدوي في اذني صفارات الانذار في حرب ١٩٩١ والمس ملابسي لاعيد صورتي في التسعينات بملابس الحصار أكاد ارى صورة النهب والحرق في طريق عودتي من الفلوجة بعد سقوط بغداد والعودة للمنزل اسمع صوت جارتي التي استشهد ابنها في تفجير انتحاري اسمع واذكر كل شي

شكرا للمؤلف الذي قدم صورة نابضة بالحياة تذكر من عاشها وتعطي درس لمن يعيشها حتى لا يعيد الماساة

[Aryan]

Having read Zaid Brifkani’s first book previously I was very curious about this one: an absolute stunner.
This is written with great clarity and intensity of feeling. Zaid Brifkani has managed to describe the impact war and political instability has on the human body and mind.
I liked the two storylines at different times and places and the real connection between them. And yes: through reading this book you get to know enough about the modern history of Iraq.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and heartily recommend it.

[Zahra]

What an Amazing story!
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2023
I read Brifkani’s first novel and was waiting for this one to come out. He does not disappoint. This incredible novel takes you through multigenerational characters’ past and present struggles Highly recommend!

[Abdulrahman]

After delving into Dr. Zaid's first book “The Mountains We Carry”, I was captivated by his writing style and eagerly anticipated his second work 'Waters Under Baghdad' which proved to be an irresistible page-turner.

[Israاسراء]

I wholeheartedly recommend "Waters Under Baghdad" to all readers in search of a captivating and thought-provoking literary journey.

[Mahmud Brifkani]

This is an informative novel written Dr. Brifkani. It sheds light on the history of Iraq. Highly recommend it.

[Anni]

Informative read, but written in an overly simplified style, clearly for the western audience. Would have enjoyed more depth for the characters and stories