The Corpse Washer (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

There is not a lot of literature from Iraq in English translation. I am not even sure where I heard about this author - was there a NYRofBks piece on him maybe?Antoon, now of NY and NYU, is a novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, and film maker. He is also a translator, and translated his own work here himself. That given, I wish he had used the more literal translation of the original title for the English edition, "The Pomegranate Alone".A coming of age story, and also a story of Iraq at constant war.While the narration is not a straight ahead cronology of the main character's life, the skipping about works well.It is a story simply told, without being simplistic.While reading this I was thinking that I doubted if this was openly sold in many Muslim countries, and the reviews on Goodreads by Muslim men further that notion (their "reviews" are mostly that it is a horrible novel because there is sex in it, and a "non-believer" is performing those sacred rites of the washing of the deceased).Very educational to a Westerner, and helpful to read of life (mostly at war) in Iraq from an Iraq POV. And I now have other Antoon books on my list to read.

This book just let me travel to the streets of Baghdad, Iraq in the shoes of a young Iraqi man while revealing to me the complexity of the life there both on pre and post Saddam regime.This is a story of young Jawad who belongs to an Iraqi Shii'te family in Baghdad where they are known to be a "corpse washer" in their neighbourhood. His father and his father before him and eventually, no matter how he disliked the job, will soon to be his fate where undesiarable circumstances forced it upon his throat.The book will introduced you to the complexity of the lives of the denizens of Iraq particulary in Baghdad and shows you how they try to endure it by trying to live their normal lives. You can even compare the plight of the Iraqis during the regime of Saddam and after the US occupation where as the main character states that they thought that the oppression under Saddam regime hit the rock bottom and rebound back to the path of ease but to their dismay it went to sink further to the deep dark abyss where its end is uncertain.The reason I bought this book was to remind myself that there are people who are in worst condition than we are in this trying times. Thousands and thousands of us became internally displaced due to fighting that occured between the government and the terrorists who hostaged our beloved city and adding to our anxiety and fears is the recently declared martial law in the region where we are usually looked at as a suspect. Now this book somehow shows me that there are still millions of things to be grateful for as our condition right now is a far-cry and incomparable to the plight of Iraqis where tortures and killings was and still up to this day the order of the day.

Kafka-esque. A wonderful book, self-translated over four years from Arabic by the author. This short novel through its fierce and powerful prose brings us the experiences of Jawad, the younger son of a Shiite corpse washer, whose Baghdadi environment changes from one that began for him as moderate, fairly secular into a backward free-fall into sectarian violence, civil war and terrorism. The story offers a counterpoint to the American experience of the Iraq invasion, through Jawad, a corpse washer's son, whose dream of studying sculpture in Europe was thwarted by the occupation and subsequent civil unrest.Jawad is compelled through his internal and external struggle to take over his father's business, one he feels he has neither the stamina nor the spiritual depth to execute properly. Yet, his commitment to his family after the untimely death of his father as well as the collapsed Iraqi economy propels him into four years of corpse washing service, rife with self-doubt, disappointment of delayed personal goals, and concern for safety. He experiences war through the dead he prepares for eternal reward. Each story effects him profoundly, and the horror of each death assaults him through his dreams. The pomegranate tree behind the shop provides the sole outlet for his grief and frustration, and he sits and speaks to it often. Art and duty keep him tenacius; the dead pick away at his soul.The story's title in Arabic is "The Pomegranate Tree." Understandably, it was changed for the English translation so as not to be mistaken for chick-lit, but I wish the author had kept the original title. The pomegranate tree symbolizes Jawad in that death provides the necessities for life (the tree, water to live and grow; Jawad, the livelihood that provides the income towards his family's survival), and those left behind can continue to thrive and be beautiful simply because we are alive.Read this. It will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

The Corpse Washer submerges the reader under the weight of the wars of the Middle East, into a Baghdad that has been broken and shattered by conflicts, where people's lives have been turned up-side-down, where one of the few people whose daily life must go on as usual is the corpse washer, because the corpses keep coming. And the corpse washer's son, who only wants to be an artist, a sculptor, is drawn into the role he has never wanted.Through the eyes and nightmares of the corpse washer's son, the reader sees the destruction, the hopelessness, the death. Well- written and structured, grippingly told, the story is compelling, horrifying, and unforgettable. A necessary read, but certainly not a hopeful or uplifting one.

This book is incredible. It tells the story of a young man born into a family of Shi’a corpse washers and shrouders. With independence of mind and great courage, he resists this path in order to pursue his dreams of becoming a sculptor. However, the tragedies that befall both him and his country have other plans for his life. . A moving, insightful, artistic and beautiful book. Thank you Sinan Antoon for sharing your talent with the world. To write something so heartbreakingly beautiful, and threaded with what could be historical account and political analysis in its own right, was a massive achievement of which I hope you’re very proud.

really good read.

Had to read this for a university course. Time well spent.

This is a compelling novel about a young man’s repeated struggle to escape from the cycle of wars in Iraq and the burden of his inherited profession. A fantastic read.

Great read, really enjoyed this book! Definitely recommend reading this!