An interesting discussion.

This was a book group choice for my Kutub book group - a group that discusses books available in both Arabic and English. Although the majority had read this book in English (translation), there was a distinct difference in the perception of the book between the two cultural backgrounds.

Zeina is a young woman of Iraqi parents, who left her country of birth at the age of twelve, to make a new home in America. Her father had been a radio presenter and the regime had taken him in for questioning and beaten him up. Her mother never really recovered from leaving her country behind and Zeina's Grandmother was left in Iraq, alone but for her faithful servant, Tawoos and her family.
After America invaded Iraq, there was a sudden need for Arabic speakers to act as interpreters for the army. It was a well paid job and Zeina felt she could help both America and Iraq by taking on a postion.

What follows is basically an analysis of Zeina's mental turmoil as she struggles between the beliefs of the Americans and the reality that she is surrounded by. Zeina's Grandmother is very resentful of her American soldier's uniform and feeels that her Granddaughter has sold herself out to the enemy. As the situation worsens and soldiers are being targetted, Zeina starts to learn the reality of war.

In the midst of all this, Zeina meets Tawoos's son, Muhaymen. He is referred to as her 'milk brother' as his mother had breast fed Zeina when her own mother was sick with typhiod. Zeina is smitten by him and the fly leaf for the book leads us to believe that this is going to be a heated romance, but this is a deceptive sales pitch and is not really what the book is about.

The discussion within the group highlighted certain different perceptions. Many of the Arabic redaers felt the Grandmother was sad, where we had interpreted her reaction as anger against Zeina. They could understand her behaviour, where we thought she should be more receptive to Zeina.
Similarly the relationship between Zeina and Muhaymen; we felt it lacked depth and was somewhat pointless, the Arabic readers pointed out that in Arabic literature there is much less spoken and much more assumed when writing of affairs of the heart; much is said just by a flick of the eye.
We were all in agreement that the central theme of the book was Zeina's struggle between her two identities, her love for two countries and the right or wrongness of the invasion.

I have given 3 1/2 stars, reflecting my level of enjoyment as I read it. It seemed a bit 'thin', lacking depth in the characters, but it was worth reading for the questions that it raised and the interesting perspectives on the war in Iraq. ( )