Letters from a Kurd

by Kae Bahar, Josie Bahar (Illustrator)

like new

417 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2015

Reviews

[Jon Anzalone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters from a Kurd is a remarkable book about a young Kurdish boy growing up in Kurdistan in Iraq in the 1980s. Confused by an indistinctiveness in his gender in a country and time with a very repressed sexual politics, young Marywan struggles to find his way through a society in conflict with his personal identity, Kurdish identity as it relates to Greater Kurdistan, and Kurdish identity as an oppressed Iraqi minority. Through escapism in his enjoyment of foreign films, notably those of Clint Eastwood, he tries to find some semblance of life and love. War is ongoing between Iran and Iraq, and regime paranoia strikes repeatedly and tragically as Marywan grows up.

This is an incredibly difficult and affecting book that will help you understand much about modern day Iraq and its troubles from the perspective of a normal human who becomes drawn into a pervasive conflict. It's a work of fiction that illuminates the many real horrors faced by a brave and resolute people over the years. This is the type of people's history that must be read and understood to have a meaningful perspective when talking or thinking critically about politics and how they affect humanity.

[Vichta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie najlepsza książka, jaką przeczytałam w tym roku.
Marywan, to chłopiec, dorastający w irackim Kirkuku. Jego ojciec, to radykalny muzułmanin, który zaplanował dla syna życie derwisza. Matka chciałaby mieć córkę, więc pod nieobecność męża przebiera syna w sukienki. Starszy brat, to nieodpowiedzialny obibok. Do tego dwóch ukochanych wujków i ciotka Papula, żona jednego z nich, poślubiona wbrew jej woli. Zbyt nowoczesna, żeby wpasować się w rodzinę.
Mary, jak każde dziecko na świecie, ma swoje zainteresowania. Uwielbia chodzić do kina, zna wszystkich aktorów, reżyserów, dialogi filmowe na pamięć. Pragnie zostać filmowcem. Ale w Iranie nie ma na to szans, bo samo posiadanie kamery można przypłacić życiem. Marzy więc o wyjeździe do Ameryki. Jego idolem jest Clint Eastwood - Gringo.
Mary ma też problemy. Największym z nich jest szkolny kolega, nazywany Kojakiem. Ojciec chłopaka należy do lokalnej elity, więc Kojak "umila" życie Marywana, jak tylko może.
Marzenia, problemy... Czas na tajemnice. Mary już dawno powinien być obrzezany, ale nie jest. Na dodatek znajomy ojca, który wykonuje takie zabiegi, odmawia wykonania usługi, twierdząc, że Mary jest... nijaki. Boygirl? Girlboy? Jest powód, dla którego tak twierdzi. Następne kilka lat zajmie chłopcu poszukiwanie własnej tożsamości i nie będzie to łatwa droga, szczególnie w kraju, gdzie temat jest tabu, a każda aktywność seksualna może skończyć się tragicznie.
Z braku możliwości podzielenia się z kimkolwiek swoimi troskami, Mary pisze listy do ukochanego Gringo. Opowiada w nich o najważniejszych sprawach i osobach, a potem zanosi je na pocztę, gdzie miły urzędnik obiecuje pomóc mu w dostarczeniu ich do Ameryki.
Mijają lata. Marywan dorasta i zdobywa przyjaciół. Zakochuje się w chrześcijance Aidzie. Wiele wskazuje na to, że w końcu jego życie zacznie toczyć się lepszym torem. Jednak katastrofy spadają na niego jedna za drugą i wydają się nie mieć końca. Mary podejrzewa, że wiele wspólnego ma z tym ojciec Kojaka. Ale jak to możliwe, skoro od kilku lat siedzi w irackim więzieniu?
Opowieść kończy się, kiedy Mary ma 17 lat. Tak młody, a przeżył już tak wiele. Tracił i zyskiwał. I znowu tracił...
Otrzymujemy bardzo wartościową opowieść o życiu przeciętnej kurdyjskiej rodziny w Iraku Saddama Hussajna. O życiu prostym i niebezpiecznym. O przyjaźniach i zdradach. W końcu wszystko okazuje się nie takie, jakie się wydawało. Ludzie, którym Mary ufał, zdradzili. Ci, którym nie ufał, okazali się być przyjaciółmi. Tajemnice, w tym największa z nich, dotycząca tytułowych listów, zostały wyjaśnione, ale czy Mary naprawdę tego chciał?
Mamy też opis koszmarnych wydarzeń z 1988 roku w Halabji, kiedy to reżim dokonał masowego uśmiercenia kilku tysięcy Kurdów bronią chemiczną. Następnych kilka tysięcy zostało kalekami.
Czy marzenia Marywana się spełniły? Czy dotarł do wymarzonej Ameryki? Jak potoczyły się losy jego rodziny i przyjaciół? Przeczytajcie sami.
Jeśli wydaje nam się, że nasze nastolatki mają trudne życie, to podsuńcie im tę opowieść. W Kurdystanie, jak w wielu innych miejscach na świecie, dzieci nie bawią się konsolą do gier. Noszą prawdziwą broń i zabijają naprawdę.

[Menelaos Petriti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from a friend of mine, who as well is very updated about the situation of the kurdish people and their fight for liberty and independence. I enjoyed reading it. It took me few days to reading because of the fluently writing. It was also very informative about some subjects unknown to me but the thing i liked the most was reading about the religion, in this case the Bektashi religion witch my family has practiced. But in the other hand it is so sad to read what the oppressed people of Kurdistan as other from other oppressed countries and kids in particular have to go through.

[Jasper Sendler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book about the Kurdish struggle for Kurdistan. But it’s also about coming of age, relationships, and Kurdish culture (a caveat that I am no expert on Kurdish culture). Beautifully written and the characters are intriguing. Couldn’t recommend it more.

[Annette Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional book and one I won't forget

[Sana Raoof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iam not a quick reader, but this book took me longer to read than most books I've read. usually when I read a book slowly it's because I'm not enjoying it as much as I should. but this one, took me way more time, because I didn't want it to end.
it was like a very entertaining reality show I was watching, a good reality show.
if you know Kurds and their story, then you will know how much they have suffered and still are suffering. they suffer because they want their freedom, they want a normal life! all our lives we had to have defend ourselves. people tend to decide for us what we are, " yeah you are from the Iraqi part so you must be Iraqi". No one understands that we feel being a kurd, we want to live as a Kurd. Mary explains this very well! Mary writes about the suffering of Kurdish people. about the simple dreams they have. About the confusion, about the broken dreams! He writes about how proud Kurdish people are!


it's a new favourite book. A book I'm definitely recommending to everyone! it's beautifully written. It will make you laugh, but mostly you feel for them, cry for them! it will leave you in confusion, a bit angered!
but mostly you will fall in love with the different good people in the book, their sad stories!
definitely the best book I've read this year!
it's now a tie with the thousand splendid suns! ❤

[Audrey Swindells · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly well written and informative book
By Edith Stephens on 13 June 2015

This review is about Letters from a Kurd by Kae Bahar.
I found this to be an amazing book written by someone who is a Kurd himself, has grown up in Kurdistan and really knows what he is writing about. When you want to know about a culture that is unknown to you, how better to find out than to learn from someone who has actually lived in that culture. In addition to his personal knowledge he is an excellent story teller and has conveyed this ability in the book he has written. Reading previously written reviews of this book elsewhere it is difficult to add anything because I agree with them all. It is definitely a page turner. Marywan's continuous trials and tribulations do break your heart at times but he has the spirit and determination of the Peshmerga soldiers of his nation. Thus the story is gripping because you feel bound to discover what happens to this brave and resourceful young person. I now await reviews in the national press because this book does warrant that.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never before read a book as captivating and memorable as “Letters from a Kurd” by Kae Bahar. The raw energy and passion in Kae’s writing is utterly enthralling, and brings the characters to life so vividly it is as though they are real. Through the struggles and joys of the young, tenacious protagonist, Marywan, Kae exposes the shocking reality of what life was like for minorities under Saddam Hussein’s regime. I was drawn into an ugly world of discrimination, violence, political corruption and degrading poverty, and yet I was compelled to turn the pages, waiting with baited breath to find out what happens to Marywan. “Letters from a Kurd” is not a melancholy story – it is one of friendship, the fight for freedom and of the hope found in the grit and vision of remarkable individuals. It is a moving, enlightening and humbling read, and through one boy’s journey you can learn about a society so different from our own, and gain an appreciation of the injustice that so many are forced to endure. I would urge anyone and everyone to read this important book.

[Steve Swindells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kae Bahar’s extraordinarily driven debut novel LETTERS from a KURD is an epic tale of star-crossed love and seething hatred, revenge and betrayal, hypocrisy and politics, power and violence, torture and death. Ultimately, it's about self-belief, bravery, truth, creativity and artistry struggling against the evil forces of tyranny and oppression and the power of love and friendship that purposefully pursues the means to an end that might vanquish it, set against a background of censorship and a passion for classic movies.
I truly believe LETTERS from a KURD will be a contender for prestigious literary prizes and will definitely make an awesome, major, film. And, if poetic justice really does exist, this potentially epic movie will end-up being directed by the real-life hero of the novel’s protagonist.
I wish you all the best with LETTERS from a KURD - I have every confidence that it will be a huge success. Stephen G Swindells (AKA Thom Topham).

[Jodie Urch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, eye opening read!!!

This book is a fantastic debut novel. It's the first book I have read for a while but once I had started I just couldn't put it down. It had me gripped. I felt I just needed to keep reading to find out what would happen to Mary. It was eye-opening, teaching me a lot about Kurdistan and its people. I would definitely recommend you read this book!!!

[Eleanor Hirst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeously written. This book should get so much more recognition for the issues it addresses, such as transgender issues. It's so unique in the way it's written and really gives light to the Kurd cause in the Middle East.