Ava Homa
Autor von Daughters of Smoke and Fire
Werke von Ava Homa
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Wissenswertes
- Geschlecht
- female
- Nationalität
- Canada
- Geburtsort
- Kurdistan, Iran
- Agent
- Chris Kepner
- Kurzbiographie
- Ava Xan Homa was born in East Kurdistan and educated in both Iran and Canada, she holds an MA in English Language and Literature from the University of Tehran and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. Ava was exiled in 2007 leaving her family and friends behind her in Kurdistan. She is among the few Kurdish female authors who write about the Kurdish community and history. In 2010 TSAR Publications published her debut collection of short stories, Echoes from the Other Land, which was nominated for 2011 Frank O’Conner International Short Story Prize and was chosen as one of ten People’s Choice finalists in the 2011 Readers’ Choice Award running concurrently with Giller Prize.
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As Kurds in western Iran, Leila and her family are an second-class citizens. Her father, who spent several years in jail, is now unemployable and self-medicates with drink, and her mother's income is barely enough for the family to live on. Leila and her younger brother Chia dream of higher education and the opportunity to better their lives, but on one fateful day Chia does not return home from class — like his father, he has been jailed for his political activism.
This debut novel is exceptionally well-written. I frequently marveled at the elegance of the prose, even more impressive in that Homa isn't writing in her native tongue. I'm rather ashamed to admit I had only a vague sense of Kurdish people as an oppressed minority in Iraq, nor did I realize that their traditional homeland is actually spread out over multiple nations, and that they are persecuted in all of them. In that sense, among others, this novel was eye-opening in a shocking but also admittedly welcome way. Heartbreaking but highly recommended, and an important voice.… (mehr)
This debut novel is exceptionally well-written. I frequently marveled at the elegance of the prose, even more impressive in that Homa isn't writing in her native tongue. I'm rather ashamed to admit I had only a vague sense of Kurdish people as an oppressed minority in Iraq, nor did I realize that their traditional homeland is actually spread out over multiple nations, and that they are persecuted in all of them. In that sense, among others, this novel was eye-opening in a shocking but also admittedly welcome way. Heartbreaking but highly recommended, and an important voice.… (mehr)
HEART WRENCHING is the best description for this book. Congratulations to Ava Homa. She is the first female Kurdish writer to have a book published in English. Set in Iran readers are brought into a Kurdish family. It is a novel that is far more than a story about a female who is caught in cultural misogyny. It is the story o the problems that the stateless Kurds face daily. Homa is talented. She’s created a novel with complex characters who are striving for a place in which to belong.
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This is the first novel published by a female Kurdish writer in English (her third language). Ava Homa was born and raised in Iranian Kurdistan before migrating to Canada. This is an important novel that draws attention to the plight of the Kurds and is inspired by the true story of revolutionary and political prisoner Farzad Kamangar. It was the winner of a silver Nautilus Award for fiction 2020 and shortlisted for the William Saroyan award. This is an important read in the wake of current protests about the death in custody of young Kurdish woman Mahsa (Jina) Amini, jailed for not wearing her headscarf correctly. Ava Homa has written articles about her death and the subsequent protests.
Kurdistan as a geocultural region dates back to ancient times. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire the Allies divided Kurdistan between the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria. Since then the Kurds have faced hardship and persecution, suppression of their language, and being jailed and tortured in great numbers as political prisoners.
This is the story of Leila, growing up in a tense and struggling home after her father is imprisoned then stripped of his right to work, deemed to be a rebel and enemy of the state of Iran. Leila is forced to negotiate the oppression of living as a female and being Kurdish in Iran, the disillusionment of her father and the narcissism of her mother. Every time she sets foot outside there is the risk of being captured by the Police of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Vice for not wearing her headscarf correctly or being virginity-tested for wearing makeup. As she says, “Women came in only two types: whores or dutiful slaves to their families. Good girls would not go to a park alone. Good girls would be content with having men breathe the fresh air on their behalf, take in all the oxygen one required to keep women at bay.”
As an adult her beloved brother Chia becomes progressively politically active until he disappears, imprisoned as a political prisoner. Her friend Shiler joins the Peshmerga guerillas (who played a key role during the Iraq War in the mission to capture Saddam Hussein, and in 2004 captured a key al-Qaeda figure leading to the killing of Osama bin Laden). Leila fights to try and save her brother. Eventually she escapes to Canada where she experiences a different form of racism and suspicion for being “other.”
“I think we Kurds have a long history of being talked down to. And then came the Islamic state, causing a lot of harm but making the rest of the world reevaluate its attitude toward us, seeing us as it’s shields, if not outright saviors. We no longer feel so neglected. There is respect out there, admiration for the Kurds fearlessness and their gender egalitarian, environmental, democratic values. In the 90s western media portrayed us as victims. Gassed and displaced and now we are presented as champions. From being labeled ‘terrorists’ for resisting the politics of annihilation, we are now the peacekeepers. I look forward to a time when we are not talked down to or talked up to. I want to be talked to.”
This is a powerful book that highlights the story of a poorly understood people, from around the 1970s to contemporary times, and pays homage to the 40 million stateless Kurds. The title reflects the horrifying statistic that Kurdish women have the highest rates in the world of suicide by self-immolation. The authors writes elsewhere about the contrasting images of Kurdish women: on one hand as leaders and rulers during the Ottoman Empire, fearless warriors and the unveiled women of the Middle East wearing colourful clothing. By contrast these same women are also the victims of great violence, honour killings, FGM and sadly self-immolation. Ava Homa works as a activist and campaigns for change within Iran, supporting suicide prevention programs. I found this a passionate, absorbing book. I even enjoyed the romantic side-story which had all of my favourite tropes, such as friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience. I would highly recommend this book. 4.5 stars.… (mehr)