Thirsty River

by Rodaan Al Galidi

A family's destiny is intimately tied to the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein in this novel, the first about the U.S. war to be written by an Iraqi. The story follows four generations of the Bird family, who live on the banks of the Thirsty River in southern Iraq. The birth of each of the Bird children coincides with regime change in Baghdad, but the family is safely removed from the seat of power until the day Saddam Hussein's officials seize a plot of land where their sheep graze. Protest causes all the adult men in the family to disappear, and the matriarch of the family, Simahen, spends her days outside the Party office in the hope of finding her husband and sons. The grandchildren are also eventually drawn into peril by events both humorous and Joesr is employed to paint murals of Saddam, a job in which one errant brush stroke could lead to death?and his artistic talents turn to bomb-making after the fall of Saddam; meanwhile, young Djazil is unaccounted for until he is recognized by his family in one of the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib.

323 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Al Galidi (eigenlijk Rodhan Al Khalidi) is een schrijver van Irakese afkomst. Hij is geboren in 1971, maar zijn precieze geboortedatum is onbekend, omdat zulke gegevens niet geregistreerd worden en verjaardagen niet gevierd worden in zijn streek van herkomst.

Al Galidi studeerde in Irak af als bouwkundig ingenieur. Na zijn studie vluchtte hij uit Irak om de dienstplicht te ontwijken; zes jaar later, in 1998, kwam hij in Nederland terecht, waar hij asiel aanvroeg. Het asiel werd hem geweigerd en hij is uitgeprocedeerd. Lessen Nederlands mocht hij bijgevolg niet bijwonen. Daarom leerde Al Galidi zich de Nederlandse taal en begon te schrijven. In Vlaanderen wordt hij als schrijver erkend en ontvangt hij een werkbeurs. In 2007 kon Al Galidi genieten van het generaal pardon in Nederland. In 2011 zakte hij voor zijn inburgeringscursus waardoor de IND het recht heeft om zijn verblijfsvergunning te ontnemen.

Onder de naam Rodaan Al Galidi zet hij zijn schrijverschap voort.

ENGLISH

Al Galidi (actually Rodhan Al Khalidi) is a writer of Iraqi origin. He was born in 1971, but his exact date of birth is unknown, because such data is not registered and birthdays are not celebrated in his region of origin.

Al Galidi graduated in Iraq as an architectural engineer. After his studies he fled from Iraq to avoid conscription; six years later, in 1998, he ended up in the Netherlands, where he applied for asylum. The asylum was refused. Therefor he was not allowed to attend Dutch lessons. That is why Al Galidi learned himself the Dutch language and started to write. He is recognized as a writer in Flanders and receives a scholarship. In 2007, Al Galidi was able to enjoy the general pardon in the Netherlands. In 2011 he failed his integration course, which gave the IND the right to withdraw his residence permit.

He continues his writing under the name Rodaan Al Galidi.

(bron: wikipedia.nl)

Rodaan Al Galidi is an award-winning author of poetry and novels for adults. The Three Princes of Serendip is his first book for children. He lives in the Netherlands.

Reviews

[Bontle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cut this book some slack because I wonder if some aspects were lost in translation, but wow, it was really weird... and not enjoyable at all. The writing is completely lacking any emotions and the jokes were delivered badly. The storyline was... I don't even have the words. Peculiar maybe? Man, there was a lot going on.

I feel so strongly disappointed specifically because of the boasting reviews on the cover (and by people who read the Dutch version). "Everything, from the local people to Saddam Hussein, is given a poetic sheen in this novel" - Trouw, Netherlands. Gurl where??? All the characters were introduced and behaved plainly. "A gruesomely satirical family epic" - Banipal. I found the satire to be so so VERY dry and confusingly unnecessary.

Again, I want to emphasize that the translater may be one to blame here. Those reviews are from the Netherlands, so I am nearly 100% sure that the original Dutch version is as good as these critics say. But my experience wasn't that great.

[Ans Hamelink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leve de vakantie, tijd om te lezen: Rodaan Al Galidi, Dorstige Rivier (2008). Mijn man had het uit mijn boekenkast meegenomen en ik heb het in een paar dagen opnieuw gelezen. En wat een prachtig boek is het: een familie-epos dat ons meevoert naar het hart van Irak.

[Jolieg G · Rating 4 out of 5]

264 pagina,s 2008
Met dit boek ontving hij de steun van de Nederlandse Stichting Fonds voor de Letteren.

"Voor de slachtoffers die geen daders zijn geworden".

Het boek heeft 15 hoofdstukken.

Had wel wat moeite met alle namen ...
De "dorstige" rivier komt in veel hoofdstukken voor...
Om te zoeken naar voedsel... om te wassen .. als plek om te denken...
Indringend door de gruwelijkheden die gebeurd zijn...
Eerst het bewind onder Saddam.. daarna de Amerikanen die komen.

Geen boek wat je vlot leest... maar "boeit" tot het einde.

[Marjanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author does remind me a bit of Marquez, but I didn't like it as much as One Hundred Years of Solitude. I liked some of the insight into Iraq, but there was a lot that made me cringe. Definitely not for sensitive readers.

[Harry Rutherford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novel set over several generations of a family in Iraq from before Saddam came to power up to after the American invasion. I enjoyed it.