Shortlisted for The Betty Trask Prize
It is the winter of 1915 and Iraq has been engulfed by the First World
War. Hungry for independence from Ottoman rule, Ahmad leaves his
peaceful family life on the banks of the Tigris to join the British-led
revolt. Thousands of miles away, Welsh teenager Carwyn reluctantly
enlists and is sent, via Gallipoli and Egypt, to the Mesopotamia
campaign.
Carwyn's and Ahmad's paths cross, and their fates are bound together.
Both are forever changed, not only by their experience of war, but also
by the parallel discrimination and betrayal they face.
Ruqaya Izzidien's evocative debut novel is rich with the heartbreak and
passion that arise when personal loss and political zeal collide, and
offers a powerful retelling of the history of British intervention in
Iraq.