A Tatuagem de Pássaro

by Dunya Mikhail, Beatriz Negreiros Gemignani (Translator)

"A tatuagem de pássaro", da autora iraquiana Dunya Mikhail, é um romance que narra a terrível e fascinante jornada de Helin, uma mulher iazidi que foi sequestrada e mantida em cativeiro como escrava sexual pelo Estado Islâmico, no norte do Iraque. Graças a ajuda de um apicultor, Abdullah, Helin consegue escapar das garras da organização e tem como desafio refazer a sua vida. É uma história sobre a perseguição cruel ao povo iazidi. Ao mesmo tempo, e com uma linguagem fortemente poética, o romance lança luz sobre a cultura e a tradição desse povo, sua imensa força e resiliência.

O livro foi finalista do International Prize for Arabic Fiction em 2021.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, War, Middle East, Cultural, Contemporary

282 pages, Kindle Edition

About the author

Dunya Mikhail is an Iraqi American poet and writer. She is the author of the poetry collections The War Works Hard, shortlisted for the International Griffon Poetry Prize, Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea (winner of the Arab American Book Award), The Iraqi Nights, winner of the Poetry Magazine Translation Award, and In Her Feminine Sign, chosen as one of the ten best poetry books of 2019 by The New York Public Library.

Her nonfiction book The Beekeeper was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her debut novel, The Bird Tattoo, was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Mikhail is a laureate of the UNESCO Sharja Prize for Arab Culture and has received the UN Human Rights Award for Freedom of Writing, as well as fellowships from the United States Artists, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

She currently teaches Arabic and poetry at Oakland University in Michigan.

Reviews

[فايز غازي Fayez Ghazi · Rating 2 out of 5]

- وشم الطائر لدنيا ميخائيل، محاولة روائية للإضاءة على المجازر التي ارتكبتها داعش بحق الأيزيدين والتي وصلت الى شبه إبادة جماعية لهذه المجموعة الغارقة في القدم، وهذه المجازز ليست الأولى ولن تكون الأخيرة طالما ان الكثير من الجماعات تعتبر انها تمتلك وكالات حصرية بتمثيل الله على الأرض وانها الناطقة الرسمية بإسمه.

- حاولت دنيا ميخائيل كتابة رواية تبيّن للقارئ طبيعة الأيزيدين المسالمة والرقيقة انكان من حيث طبيعة معيشتهم او تصرفاتهم او حتى لغة التواصل (الصفير) التي يستعملونها بالإضافة الى عزلتهم في جبل سنجار وطيبتهم بالتعاطي مع بعضهم ومع الآخرين من خلال قصة حب جمعت هيلين والياس وزواجهما لاحقًا، بالإضافة الى بعض المعتقدات الأيزيدية وأماكنهم المقدسة ونظامهم الطبقي (ولو بصورة عرضية)، وانطلقت بعدها لتروي عذابات الأيزيديات من اعتقال واغتصاب وتحويلهن الى جواري يبعن ويشترين وذلك بعد ان تم قتل رجالهن واسترقاقهم.

- لم يفت الكاتبة الإضاءة على عملية استرجاع الفتيات من داعش وعن المساعدة التي تلقوها من المهربين والأكراد والمسلمين، وإعادة تعميدهن وترك الأطفال الذين نتجوا عن عمليات الإغتصاب، وعمليات غسل الدماغ بالإضافة الى هجرة الأيزيدين الى دول الغرب بعض المجازر التي تعرضوا لها.

- بناءً على كل ما سبق، لا شكّ ان القضية مهمة جدًا وهي لا تعني الأيزيدين فقط بل كل مكونات هذا الشرق المتنوع الذي يجب ان يبقى متنوعًا لما في هذا التنوّع من الغنى والتراث والتاريخ.

- أمّا روائيًا فالرواية سطحية جدًا، ليس هناك ابتكار (ما عدا العنوان الممتاز)، اللغة مباشرة جدًا اقرب الى اللغة التوثيقية، الحوارات مفتعلة جدًا، الأحداث، تقريبًا، نعرفها كلها، الغوص النفسي وتشكيل شخصيات ثلاثية الأبعاد لم يكن موفقًا، السرد يعيبه البطئ والتكرار. لذلك كان العمل اقرب الى وثائقي منه الى رواية أدبية.

[Marilyn (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bird Tatoo by Dunnya Mikhail was based on actual events that occurred in Iraq during the years of 2000. The author, Dunnya Mikhail, used her position as a journalist when she was assigned to Iraq to gather and compile the necessary research to write this book. The Bird Tatoo was based on Dunnya Mikhail’s experience and on the interviews she conducted. It was an extremely hard book to wrap my head around. The atrocities that Daesh (ISIS) inflicted upon the Yazidi people was beyond horrific. I remember reading and hearing about this but never imagined how brutally these people were treated. I listened to the audiobook that brought these horrific images alive through the voice of the narrator, Vaneh Assadourian. Her accent was perfect and her performance was fantastic. The two main characters, Helen and Elias, were vividly drawn and well developed.

Helen had grown up in a very remote mountain village in Sinjar. It was located in the northern most part of Iraq. It was a village that was not affected by the changing times, politics or other influences. The people were kind, welcoming and generous. They grew much of their own food, cared for the sheep and other animals and often communicated special messages by sending a series of unique whistles. Each combination of whistles had its own meaning.

One day Helen was walking down the mountain as she often did. She spotted a bird held in captivity and automatically freed it. Just as she freed the bird, the trapper, Elias, appeared. Elias was angry at first because he was trying to get some extra money by selling the captured birds. Helen had a love for all animals and hated to see one harmed or taken into captivity. Her explanation to Elias for letting the bird go free was that perhaps Elias was preventing the bird from returning and caring for her young. That explanation touched Elias in a way he could not have predicted. He vowed never to capture another living thing. Elias was very taken by Helen. Since his wife had died he had not had feelings like this for any woman. Elias and Helen fell in love and married. Instead of getting traditional marriage rings, Elias and Helen got bird tattoos on their ring fingers. They soon started a family in Sinjar.

After Helen and Elias were married, Elias became a journalist and began working in Mosul. There had been rumors and stories about gangs and violence in Mosul. Helen was worried about Elias going to work but he assured her he would be fine. Helen was pregnant with their second child. Elias had had a son with his first wife and Helen and Elias had a second son together. Now she was pregnant again and due very soon. That night Elias did not come home. Helen went into labor and had a daughter. Time went on and Elias still did not come home. Helen decided to go into Mosul to look for Elias. She left her baby daughter with a friend and traveled to Mosul. When Helen got to the city she tried to go into the building where Elias worked. The city was now controlled by Daesh (ISIS). When Daesh discovered that Helen was Yazidi they brought her to an abandoned school. Inside were at least a hundred or more kidnapped women and girls. The women and girls were being held by guards all armed with guns. Soon all the women and girls were photographed. Their pictures were posted on the Islamic State website so they could be bought. The guards thought nothing of raping these women or causing them bodily harm. Helen soon found herself the property of a man. She was raped repeatedly and became a prisoner and slave servant to this man. While Helen was held captive and raped, her young sons were recruited by Daesh as were most men and boys. Daesh brainwashed them and preached Muslim values and that their loyalty should now lie with the good of the Islamic State. People were shot and villages and homes were destroyed. This was a time of great upheaval, coercion, destruction, loss and heartbreak. Would Helen be able to escape and find her way back to family and friends? Would Helen and Elias be reunited? What would the future of Iraq and the Yazidi people be?

The Bird Tattoo by Dunnya Mikhail was a difficult but important book to listen to. It vividly portrayed the take over, cruelty, rapes, disregard of women’s rights, respect and recognition, loss, horrors, brainwashing and tragedies that occurred in Iraq under ISIS. I admired Helen’s courage and resilience. She was strong and determined. The Bird Tattoo was very well written and captured my full attention from the start. My only criticism would be that there were too many characters and hard to keep them all straight. I am glad I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of The Bird Tattoo and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media LLC for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Bird Tattoo by Dunnya Mikhail through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ron Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Bird Tattoo” opens in 2014 with a scene that feels as shocking as anything Margaret Atwood imagines in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” But this isn’t dystopian speculation; it’s historical realism. A wife and mother named Helen finds herself held in a repurposed school with more than 100 other kidnapped girls and women. They’ve all been photographed and displayed on an Islamic State website. In the evenings, guards freely beat and rape these captives they regard as merchandise. Suicides are just the cost of doing business, like spoilage in a grocery store.

“If she had not seen it with her own eyes,” Mikhail writes, “Helen would never have believed a market for selling women existed.”

It’s impossible not to recoil from such a story. Mikhail describes a sophisticated organization in Mosul that has normalized rape and pedophilia for the benefit of terrorists. Cut off from their families and friends, women and girls are bought and traded, routinely abused, rented out and even returned for a refund if they prove unsatisfactory.

One of the many things I admire about this novel is the way Mikhail refuses to....

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to wrap my mind around such a horrific misogynist brutal society.
….sadly….it resonates with our own current democratic backsliding in the United States.

The bird song and bird tattoo are symbolic throughout—through love, understanding, and a stand for freedom possibilities.

[Marwa Abdullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

اقتباس:
" كيف يمكنها أن تتحمّل فقدان أحبائها، وعواطفها ثابتة وعميقة هكذا كجذور الأشجار؟ وماذا تفعل بالأسى وهو ليس غصن شجرة لتقتلعه؟ ما معنى أن تستعبدها ذاكرتها بعد أن تحررت ولم تعد عبدة لأحدهم؟"

رحلة أخرى مع الصحفية والكاتبة العراقية دنيا ميخائيل، رحلة مختلفة وإن دارت حول نفس موضوع الرحلة الأولى مع رواية/تحقيق "في سوق السبايا"، إلا أن الأسلوب هنا روائي ولا يحمل طابع التحقيق الصحفي.
رواية موجعة ومكتوبة بإتقان، عن "داعش" وجرائمهم في العراق، عن الأسيرات الإيزيديات لديهم..
عن وحشية بعض البشر.. عن الظلم والقهر والقتل والسبي وإستعباد الغير لا لشيء سوى لأنهم يختلف معهم في الدين..
ليست المرة الأولى التي أقرأ فيها عن معاناة الإيزيديين والمجازر التي تعرضوا لها، لكن كأنها مرة أولى حقا، نفس التعجّب والألم والوجع يصاحبونني طوال القراءة.

رواية لا تُنسى..

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

هي حكاية مؤلمة لحقيقة أكثر إيلاما: وحشية داعش تجاه الايزيدين و المذابح التي ارتكبت بحقهم .
هي حكاية هيلين و عائلتها التي تختزل كل الحكايا و كل الآلام فبعد الحياة الهانئة و البسيطة في مجتمع جبلي و زواج ناجح، صدمة الفقد و التهجير و الاغتصاب و التشرد لتكون قصتها و قصص النساء الايزيديات علامة على ان الانسان ذئب لأخيه الانسان.
كل مسارات الحكاية تنضح بالخوف و الترقب و في كل مرة ننتظر خيط النجاة و العودة لبطلتنا التي فقدت زوجها و صديقتها في أحداث مؤلمة تنتهي لله شمل الأسرة لتبدأ قصة جديدة في عالم جديد تحاول تضميد جروحها و جراح أبنائها و بناء حياة جديدة .
الرواية ذات بناء بسيط يغلب عليها الطابع التقريري خصوصا في وصف مراحل تهريب الأسيرات لكن العنوان و حتى الغلاف لعبا دورا كبيرا في شد انتباه القارئ و جعله مقبلا على العمل
في النهاية هذه الرواية هي شهادة حية لمأساة الايزيدين و تذكير بالواجب الإنساني.

[Michelle Curie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrifying how what some dystopian writers imagine actually exists in this novel set in northern Iraq in 2014.



The Bird Tattoo tells the story of Helen, a young Yazidi woman and Elias, the man and journalist she falls in love with. They start a family in a rural village and what appears peaceful is shattered when Elias suddenly goes missing. Helen embarks on a journey to find him again, which leads to captivity, enslavement and the big questions of whether she'll find happiness again.

Mikhail has an interesting background, which this novel is informed by. The Iraqi-American author, now based in the United States, worked as a liberal journalist for The Baghdad Observer in Iraq, but had to flee when dictatorship intensified and censorship increased in the 90s. What I assume was a difficult time certainly reflects on this story – we are thrown into a scene in which women are sold and traded and it's terrifying to realise that this is based on reality.

The historical parts of this interested me more than the actual plot. It's a shame really, but I wasn't able to quite get my grip on Helen's story. Told through flashbacks we begin to understand her situation and background as the story unfolds and Mikhail purposefully draws a stark contrast between the "former life" of Helen, protected and loved and her current situation, affected and destroyed by political forces cruel and wrong.

I enjoyed learning about how the circumstances in Iraq affected individuals. It's different to be told a narrative through a novel than watching the news and in some ways its more emotionally resonant, but there is something about Mikhail's writing style that wasn't quite for me – an awkwardness maybe, something that feels unwieldy almost. Maybe the flow of the words got lost in translation, but still this put distance between me as a reader and the characters. Nonetheless a subject matter definitely worth educating yourself about.

[Marwa Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

" كانوا يقولون بأن العالم كله ينفتح بين يديك لحظة فتحك الكتاب" 💙

رواية وشم الطائر هى رواية تحكي تاريخ مؤلم وحزين عن بيع النساء اليزيديات في العراق من قبل داعش، أنها رواية تسرد التاريخ وترسم تفاصيل المكان من خلال الشخصيات وما تعرضت له من عنف وقتل وسلعنة لأجساد النساء واغتصابهم، مع جوانب سردية تسرد قصة حب بتفاصيل من الفلكلور اليزيدي المدهش بعاداته وتقاليده وحكاياته.

ما يعجبني فى قراءة الأعمال الروائيه التاريخية أنها تصبح بحثاً لكل ما لا يتسع له التاريخ الرسمي ان يدونه من تجارب الإنسان وما حدث له وكيف لهذا الحدث التاريخي فى تغيير حياته وتكوين مأساته الإنسانية.
هذة الرواية ليست لكتابه ما حدث بل أنها صوت سردى لكتابه الجزء غير المكتوب والغير معروف فى التاريخ المدون فى الصياغات التعبيرية السائدة أو الخطابات المهيمنة.

هذة الرواية تحمل كم هائل من الحزن والألم لتترك ندوب فى الذاكرة.

إنها تانى تجربة لي فى القراءة عن الاقلية الأيزيديه وعن الظلم والاباده الواقع عليهم من داعش وخاصة النساء، روايه إعادة ليا مشاعر الحزن التى اصابتى فى قراءة كتاب #الفتاة_الأخيرة. قصص ومَآسِي النساء تهز مشاعري، كم يحزنّني هذا، لماذا حمل نصف الإنسانية حمولة بهذه الضخامة واللاانسانية والوحشيه ولماذا النصف الآخر يمارس كل هذا الظلم على النساء لماذا؟؟ 💔

"كيف يمكنها أن تتحمل فقدان أحبائها، وعواطفها ثابتة وعميقة هكذا کجذور الأشجار؟ وماذا تفعل بالأسى وهو ليس غصن شجرة لتقتلعه؟ ما معنى أن تستعبدها ذاكرتها بعد أن تحررت ولم تعد عبدة لأحدهم؟"

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The Bird Tattoo is a hard-hitting novel based on real events that took place in Iraq in the early 2000's when Yazidi women were taken captive by ISIS and sold as sex slaves. The author started as a journalist and did a lot of research for the book, which I think you can feel in the writing style which can feel a bit informational and distanced at times. It follows a couple of women, one of whom was married with a child when she was kidnapped and the novel opens with the horrors faced by these women in captivity. As a novel, I don't know that this is one of the better examples of Arabic literature I've read, but the topics covered are so important and little known that I still think this is well worth reading. I received an audio review copy of this book from Libro.FM, all opinions are my own.

[Ayman yassin · Rating 3 out of 5]

وهلين، هي ابنة قرية "حليقي" التي تسكن خريطة ميخائيل وجغرافية الرواية، ولا اسم لا على الخريطة الفعلية، كحال المئات من الأيزيديات اللواتي لم يكن لأسمائهن وزن لدى القابضين على أجسادهن، وأنفاسهن، ومستقبلهن، إن نجون من موت تربّص بالكثيرات، بل اصطاد بعضهن.

[علي أبو زين · Rating 3 out of 5]

إنَّ نجاح الرواية التوثيقيّة يكمُن كما أرى في البعد عن التعقيد والتعميق، والتعويض برسم الواقع بما فيه من مصاب جلل وأحداث، كما هو من غير سبر أغوار النفس البشرية أو البحث عن العمق في الشخصيات أو التفكير في جدوى أو معنى ما يحصل، ولا ينبغي للرواية إذا في هذه الحالة -إن كتبت جيدا- أن تُتّهم بأنها سطحية أو ساذجة، بل إنَّ البساطة هنا ميزة لا عيب.
ورواية الشاعرة دنيا ميخائيل أدّعي أنها يمكن حملها على الرواية التوثيقية من جهة، إذ تصف الموجود غير مطالبة بما هو أكثر، فمثلا تقول إن هيلين تعرضت لاغتصاب، هي توثّق الفعل الشنيع هنا، وليس من شأنها الحديث عمّا تركه هذا الفعل من أثر في نفسها،
ويمكن حملها على أنها رواية أنثروبولوجية لسكان الجبل وعاداتهم وطقوسهم من جهة ثانية..
وعليه فقد نجحت جدا من هذا المنطلق ووصلت بالفعل للقائمة القصيرة للبوكر العربية ٢٠٢١.
وعلى الرغم من بعض الهنات البسيطة فإن سلاسة الأسلوب، وتكسير الزمن الخطي، وتقاطع الزمان بالمكان، وجمال الوصف، وبساطة الحوار، وتسارع الأحداث، جعلت للسرد قيمته، وكأنني أقرا قصة حب بأسلوب صحفي في وقت سيطر عليه تنظيم إرهابي دمّر كلّ حيّ في طريقه.
مأساة الأيزيدين وأهل الموصل، من خلال هيلين وإلياس، قرية حليقي الجبلية، لغة الصفير، سوق السبايا، عبد الله والمحشش والتهريب، اللجوء، العرّافة ووشم الطائر، وغيرها من الأركان التي وقف العمل قائما عليها، ما جعلني معجبا إلى حد ما به وبوعي مبدعته، وبمقدرتها الفنّية في شدّي إليه. لذا فالعمل إضافةٌ للأعمال الأدبية العراقية المعاصرة وأنصح بقراءته..
التقييم: ٧.٥/١٠

[باسمة العنزي · Rating 2 out of 5]

نجمة للفكرة الجديدة (مأساة الايزيديين) حيث أنه العمل الأول روائيا عن فاجعة هذه الأقلية في العراق عام 2014 مع تنظيم داعش الارهابي، تفاصيل مؤلمة عن سوق السبايا ومحاولات النجاة والهروب من جحيم الأسر والترويع
نجمة ثانية للوصف الجميل لقرية (حليقي) الجبلية الخيالية، حيث العصافير والبراءة والعزلة، وعادات الايزيديين وتقاليدهم القديمة
الرواية كانت بحاجة لتحرير أدبي، للتخلص من الحشو والايقاع البطيء وفقدان البوصلة خاصة في نصفها الثاني
النهاية غير موفقة وجدتها مقحمة على العمل

[Khris Sellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an astounding work of historical fiction, and I believe the characters are inspired by real people who suffered when Daesh (ISIS) took control in Iraq. Horrific, unspeakable things were inflicted on innocent people simply trying to live their lives. Yet amid the darkness, the author captures so many moments of genuine beauty, woven seamlessly into the narrative.

[Nour Alaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

حاسسها قريبة جداً من كتابها "في سوق السبايا"
حتي شخصية عبدالله المهرب كانت شخصية رئيسية في الرواية
عابها بس الملل و التطويل اللي كان في بعض الفقرات
غير كده هي حلوة جداً و عجبتني

[أمين الحرشاني · Rating 2 out of 5]

أنهيت قراءة رواية وشم الطائر المرشحة للبوكر هذا العام.
لا يستحق الامر مجهودا كبيرا حتى تستنتج لا ضعف العمل و إنما تواضعه.
كعمل يصعد للقائمة القصيرة، هذا تقدير مبالغ فيه.
الحبكة بسيطة، محاور سرد كثيرة و اغلبها تنتهي نهايات ملفقة ومسقطة، اللغة بسيطة للغاية، الشخصيات وقع التعامل معها بسطحية دون الغوص اللازم في نفسياتها.
ما يحسب قليلا للرواية هما أمران : مشهد الافتتاح كان صادما وله وقعه على القارئ . والأمر الثاني هو لعب الكاتبة على ثنائية الدستوبيا/ اليوتوبيا والانتقال السلس بينهما في ثلث الرواية الأول وهي فكرة طريفة، لو واصلت فيها لخرجت الرواية بشكل أفضل. وفي هذا الصدد يبدو أنها نجحت في تصوير بيئة جبال الايزيديين شمال العراق بشكل رومانسي، خلاب وخاصة طهوري.
ولكنه لا يكفي لصنع عمل روائي يستحق الفوز بالبوكر .

[Jawaher Alkaabi]

الصفحات الأولى من الرواية كانت قوية جدا؛ نبدأ باكتشاف أن هيلين في سجن أو معتقل ما حيث تسحب منها، ومن بقية النساء، جميع حليهن ومجوهراتهن وحتى خواتم الزواج. ثم نُصدم في الصفحة الثانية فقط حين يُخبرها أعضاء التنظيم أن شخصا ما اشتراها عبر الانترنت كزوجة وعليها أن تذهب إليه الآن. ننتقل معها إلى بيت زوجها الجديد، ونتعرف على حياتها تحت تنظيم داعش الإرهابي في العراق حيث أخذت هيلين ضمن مجموعة كبيرة من النساء اليزيديات كسبايا يتاجر بهن كزوجات إذا كن أكبر من تسع سنوات، وعاملات خدمة إذا تجاوزن الخمسين.
نعود بالزمن إلى قريتها الهادئة الواقعة في الجبال في نهاية التسعينيات حيث تعيش بمعزل عن العالم وبلا تقنيات حديثة أبدا، ونتذكر معها قصة وقوعها في حب زوجها إلياس المدني.
لكن الرواية للأسف تأخذ طابعا سرديا مملا جدا بعد الفصول الأولى، وتبدو أقرب لشخص يحاول استرجاع أحداث رواية قرأها منذ زمن بعيد ونسي تفاصيلها؛ فالأحداث تمر سريعا دون أن نفهم كيف حدثت أحيانا، والشخصيات سطحية لا عمق لها، حتى الحوارات وقعت باهتة ومسرحية جدا.

لا شك أن القضية التي يناقشها الكتاب مهمة جدا، ولكنها أقل من المتوسط كرواية ولا أعرف كيف تم ترشيحها لجائزة كبيرة مثل جائزة البوكر العربية!

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The superpower we readers have is almost magical: Reading novels transports us to places, historical times, and cultures that are not our own, dropping us into the action in a very personal way. This novel does just that.

This is a novel about resilience and resistance in the face of horrific and sadistic evil. It's also a heartbreaking love story.

Written by Dunya Mikhail, this is the harrowing story of the terrorist group Daesh, which is also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), that seized political power in Iraq in 2014, destroying ordinary life, families, employment, education, and cultural mores as its citizens knew it. And it's all told through the eyes of Helen, a married woman with three children, including a newborn. Her husband Elias, a journalist, has been kidnapped as a political prisoner. The book opens when Helen and hundreds of other young women and girls have been kidnapped and are being held captive in a holding center where they are repeatedly raped before being sold as "wives" to Taliban officials—where the rapes continue under the auspices of "marriage." Helen is sold for the equivalent of $75. The married women's wedding rings are stolen, but Helen has no ring. Instead, she and her husband Elias got a tattoo on their left ring fingers of the qabaj bird, a special kind of bird common to Helen's mountain village that brought them together.

I am giving this novel four stars instead of five for two reasons: The writing, especially the dialogue, is a bit stilted and sometimes forced with sentences that feel blocky, almost as if the author is just trying to make a point rather than have the reader feel it. In addition, several times the plot veered off in a way that seemed to lose focus. A better editor could have fixed both writing problems.

This is an emotionally complex novel that is deeply unsettling, if not actually horrifying, but it's a story—gruesome as it may be—that needs to be told so we better understand and appreciate the trauma and sexual abuse that our Iraqi sisters have endured.

[Ricardo Martini Kato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nota: 3.4/5.0

Invadir um país e instaurar um novo governo democrático em nações do Oriente Médio mostrou-se uma verdadeira quimera com as ocupações do Iraque e do Afeganistão.
Assustado com o avanço do terrorismo no mundo, o Ocidente passou a acreditar que a simples presença militar seria suficiente para fazer florescer as instituições democráticas — um engano evidente.
Em “A tatuagem de pássaro”, revela-se uma faceta distante do olhar ocidental: um governo vacilante é rapidamente ejetado do poder, dando lugar a outro, ainda mais truculento, que impõe leis atrozes em nome da religião.
Conhecido como Daesh (ou Daich, como aparece no romance) no mundo islâmico, e chamado de Estado Islâmico no Ocidente, o grupo retratado simboliza o terror e a perseguição das minorias nas regiões da Síria enfraquecida e do Iraque recém-ocupado.
A partir da narrativa de Elias e de seu encontro com Helin, o livro adiciona uma camada profundamente humana aos impactos desse regime na vida das personagens — e na de todos que cruzam seus caminhos.
É uma leitura dura, mas essencial, por dar voz e visibilidade àqueles que costumam ser silenciados pela brutalidade da guerra e do fanatismo.

[تسنيم الحبيب · Rating 3 out of 5]

لطالما تساءلت عن ذلك التفاعل بين الحكاية و بين التقنيات الروائية ، و لطالما تتبعت علو أحدهما على الأخرى ، لكننا أحيانا ، نتواضع كثيرا أمام قسوة الواقع ، و نبدأ بالتنازل عن تلك النظرة الفوقية .. ربما .
ماذا تقول الصحافية العراقية دنيا ميخائيل في وشم الطائر ، ما تقوله و تسرده و" توثقه " على بساطة تقنياته أصعب من أن ينتقد عبر المسطرة النقدية . نحن أمام واقع مهول ، مفجع ، نتلمس تضاريسه المسننة مع كل قراءة .
نعم أعتقد أن الرواية كانت بحاجة لاشتغال أكبر على الأبعاد النفسية للشخصيات ، و حفر أكثر بالوقائع ..لكن .. هل تفرض أثقال الوقائع التي تعرضها الرواية تلك الخفة باللغة و السرد و الحوارات ؟

[Abra Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is difficult to read. The horrors of having terrorists take over your country and disrupting everything you know is terrible. The writing is spare: short sentences with little embellishments. I don't know if that's the intention of the author or because of the translation; however, it seems appropriate for the subject matter. It's stark. I felt that it's something that we should all read in order to fully understand what the people go through when anarchy takes over. I did feel that at the end there was hope as many of the people were "rescued" from the terrorist, though many did lose their lives. One line that sticks in my brain is that the difference between hope and despair is a very fine line. Beware that there are graphic descriptions of violence in this book that are hard to read.

[Mohamed ندا) · Rating 3 out of 5]

المراجعة قريبا...

[Shirley McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Three Villages

Wow! What a beautifully written book about tragedy and heartbreak. Usually I find books about these types of tragedies are all doom and gloom. This book was so very different. It was about love and family, hope and trust. It was about looking forward not back and finding the strength to go on when all is lost.

I loved the depiction of the beautiful village and the teachings when Elias and Helen meet each other and fall in love. It is a great romance story.

When tragedy hits the village people hard they don't give up. It was very sad when they were forced from their homes by the terrorists. First Elias goes missing, then Helen is captured by the terrorists. Helen escapes but her husband Elias is still missing.

My favorite part is when Linda tells Helen the story of the three villages. Having just lost my husband earlier in the year it was such a profound story and it really helped me see hope for moving on in the future and how I might achieve that. It meant so much to me I replayed that portion of the audio book several time.

I thought the narrator did a fantastic job it was easy to understand and pleasant to listen to.
I am so glad I read this story, it was one of the best stories I have read this year.

Thanks so much to Dunya Mikhail for writing this beautiful story, to Dreamscape Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for the privilege of listening to a copy of the audio book for my review.

[Bano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows a Yazidi woman during the ISIS invasion of Mosul. We get to experience her falling in love with her husband to being held captive and sold to different members of Daesh, to escaping and fleeing to Canada. I probably cried in all but three chapters of this book. Every person's love is so pure and the kindness the Kurds have for each other whether Yazidi, Muslim, or Christian throughout the book shows true religion. The fact that the book is based on real events that happened not even a decade ago truly is astonishing. The author also did a great job connecting all the characters. The last sentence of the book left me feeling how small the world truly is.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartbreaking story about the struggles of the Yazidi people of Iraq when they were driven from their homes by ISIS (Daesh) early in the 21st century. Boys and men were forcibly conscripted into the military; women and girls were kidnapped, raped, and sold; families and communities were destroyed, and many of those who fought against all these horrors were killed. This is a novel, but the events it describes are very real, based on the author's work as a journalist in Iraq, and her extensive interviews with Yazidi women, which is also documented in her earlier nonfiction work The Beekeeper: Rescuing the Stolen Women of Iraq. The Bird Tattoo is not an easy story to read, but it's one that needs to be told.

Thank you to the publisher at NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy of the audiobook, read by Vaneh Assadourian, in exchange for an objective review.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mikhail pulls no punches in this novel, based on her interviews with Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS. She opens with deliberately shocking scenes of a slave auction, before jumping back to show us protagonist Helen's love story. In both the romance-heavy and the later suspensful sections, the tone is almost that of melodrama, but of course, there is nothing exaggerated here. Another comparison would be holocaust fiction, which is apt as it suits in many ways what happened to Yazidi communities and people living in ISIS-controlled areas.
I found the book more successful as documentary storytelling than as fiction, but I suspect those with more of a liking for romantic plots might feel differently. I did very much appreciate the skill with which Mikhail evokes the world of the villages around Mosul, and the tight knit family dynamics of the Yazidi characters.

[Maryam M]

"The Bird Tattoo" by Dunya Mikhail tells the story of Helen, a Yazidi woman from Iraq, and her tumultuous journey of love, persecution, kidnapping, grief, and healing. This narrative may seem impossible but it is in fact historical realism, and provides a poignant depiction of the struggles faced by the Yazidi community. While the writing can be awkward at times, likely due to translation issues, the audiobook narrator does a good job of bringing the story to life. Overall, this is a powerful and moving account that I recommend for anyone interested in learning more about the Yazidi people and their history.

[Isabella Junqueira Castejon · Rating 4 out of 5]

a oportunidade de ler algo sob a perspectiva de um lado em que - culturalmente - não é comum, foi o que mais me fez gostar do livro. sempre ouvimos as histórias do Iraque e da guerra através do olhar ocidental e conhecer a história do povo iazidi através do olhar deles, foi muito enriquecedor. o contexto sócio-político do livro é o da dominação do Iraque pelo Daesh, como é chamado o autointitulado Estado Islâmico no Iraque, que tomou parte do país, autoproclamando um califado e promovendo um genocídio iazidi. o livro conta a história de Helin, uma
mulher sequestrada e mantida em cativeiro como escrava sexual pelo Daesh. a autora “vai e vem”, em dois tempos, primeiro quando Helin já está sendo comercializada como escrava e, depois, a história volta à época anterior à guerra, contando a história dela desde antes do terror acontecer. é um livro triste, mas também romântico, principalmente quando a autora narra a história do povo iazidi, descrevendo a sua cultura de força, união e delicadeza quando, até então, eram intocados pela guerra.

[Jéssica Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

''Tudo no universo está escrito em letras pequenas'', respondeu Abdullah, 'e as letras formam palavras cujo sentido o leva a qualquer lugar do mundo, enquanto você está sentado em seu lugar lendo''

Tinha uma expectativa muito grande pra esse livro, mas não gostei tanto quanto achei que gostaria. Talvez não esteja tanto na pegada de ler livros que retratem tanta violência contra mulheres ou a escrita não tenha me arrebatado como eu esperava. É um bom livro, mas não é sensacional. Muito muito muito triste.

[Tana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the ARC. The first chapter was rough (think war time and women being used) however after the first chapter, while there is some terrible war content, the story of Helen and her family is lovely. This is a modern book, which I think made it harder for me to read (to be reminded that these terrible things were happening to people/families in the 2000s). Overall a very good book about survival.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

ai que escrita cativante e que história!

Aqui observamos de perto um capítulo da vida de muitas mulheres com a ascensão do Estado Islâmico no Iraque, mas, da mesma forma como Linda fala a Helin "o que aconteceu com você de injusto e violento é só uma parte da sua vida, e não toda ela".

Vou levar em consideração o conselho da Linda para avaliar esse livro, que é cheio de tantas histórias lindas sobre os iazidis e o senso de comunidade tão bonito.