The Baghdad Eucharist by Sinan Antoon

The Baghdad Eucharist by Sinan Antoon

Youssef and Maha are distant relatives who find themselves living together in their native Baghdad, seeking shelter and solace from the increasing turmoil that surrounds them. While Youssef is old and has lived through many good years, Maha is young and has seen only sanctions and war. Her life has been shattered by the sectarian violence engulfing Iraq, a country she feels no longer belongs to her. As the chaos in the country inevitably seeps into their household, a rare argument between Maha and Youssef breaks out, as this fateful day takes an unexpected and calamitous turn. Set over 24 hours, The Baghdad Eucharist unravels through the lives of one Christian family; it speaks both to Iraq's peaceful past, as well as its tragic and painful present.

"[Antoon] faithfully reproduces the difficult conversations between an Iraqi Christian family housed in Baghdad while the daily scenes of carnage are painfully recounted"—The Guardian

"A beautiful text, a testimony of the time of mud and blood that besieges Iraq and the Arab East . . . in very moving language, this Iraqi novelist writes his country with the ink of pain."—Elias Khoury, author of Gate of the Sun

"A novel about Iraqi agony. Iraq's history is condensed and elegantly portrayed."—Al-Jazeera

"Shines a valuable light on conflict that has been triggered from wrongheaded political decisions"—The National

"[A] panoramic view of Iraq, its history, its iconography and its bitter present. . . Antoon is fast becoming not only the voice of disaffection of modern Iraq, but one of the most acclaimed authors of the Arab world."—Al-Ahram Weekly

"The first novel to broach the tragedy of Iraqi Christians. . . narrating Iraq's wounds in a beautiful language."—as-Safir

"Maia Tabet's skilled translation gives Anglophone readers access to a brutal yet beautiful novel which offers two striking takes on one city from members of an Iraqi Christian family. . . . The Baghdad Eucharist is a short read but one that lingers long in the mind . . . Antoon entrances with both his lavish set-pieces and tight thumbnail sketches. [He] has crafted a novel of rare brilliance which highlights the divisions within a family and their struggles within their city."—Malcolm Forbes, The National

Sinan Antoon is an award-winning poet, novelist, and translator. He was born in Iraq, and moved to the US in 1991 after the Gulf War. He received his PhD from Harvard University and is currently associate professor of Arabic literature at New York University. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Jadaliyya. Maia Tabet is a literary translator, journalist, and editor, who has translated prominent authors such as Elias Khoury. She was born in Beirut and is currently based in Baltimore in the US.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9789774168208
ISBN 10	9774168208
Title	The Baghdad Eucharist
Author	Sinan Antoon
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The American University in Cairo Press
Year published	2017-03-02
Number of pages	136
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.