Around the World in 80 Books discussion
IRAQ: A Sky So Close
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As You Read - What are you thinking about A Sky So Close?
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Cait
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Sep 13, 2017 06:18AM
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Fortunately in my case, NYPL had an electronic copy available on Overdrive.
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I'm about 60% through so far and I'm loving it. It's not a page-turner (for me at least), but the imagery is *so* beautiful. The book really gives a sense of place, and in addition to the descriptions of everyday activities I really love the time that's spent on dance, art and the craft of naming flavors, especially in juxtaposition to war (as well as acts of everyday violence, like the animal deaths that the author goes out of her way to describe in detail). I love how time is spent describing even the most minute details, and it is done so expertly.
I finished and here are some initial thoughts, beyond what I've already said:* I thought it was interesting the (unnamed) narrator refers to her father as "you."
* Great exploration of the difficulties of being raised by two parents with different cultural backgrounds. Also, I started out really disliking the mother (who seems as well to be at the root of many of the narrator's problems, such as gaining weight because she was told she has to be careful what she eats) yet she really seemed to grow as a character by the end of the book.
* I found it interesting that she did not once mention Saddam by name, even as she described the many effects of the Iran-Iraq war and Gulf War on everyday Iraqis. Seems different than the perspective I got as an American, which has focused a lot on the person at the root of many of these problems.
* Why did the narrator decide to leave her lover to go with her mother, especially given how her mother treated her early on? I thought this was very interesting, also the discussion of love as sometimes opportunistic, and different (more rushed) in times of warfare.
* The description of how the Iraqis adapted to war time, especially how they would keep their mouths open (you'll know what I mean if you've gotten to that point) really stood out to me.
* The less than flattering description of American soldiers during the Gulf War was also interesting.
* There wasn't so much plot, it was basically the random life events of a girl and covered a lot of ground, but at the same time I think (to me at least) it worked whereas other books I've read that tackle so many issues can feel unfocused.
* I think the book gave me a much better picture to the lead-up to the Iraq War, and I can't even imagine what it was like for people who already suffered through these events to have to go through everything else that has occurred (and is still ongoing) in more recent history.
Okay just a couple more things, sorry! First, I was thinking more about the lack of mention of Saddam. Do you really think that's how the Iraqis experienced the Iran-Iraq war, as an anonymous war, or is it more that the author wanted to avoid explicit politics in the book and skewed the account a bit (after all, Saddam was still in power when it was published)?Also, there are some interesting reviews on Amazon that I recommend checking out. One reviewer was actually stationed at Zafraniya during the Iraq War! There was also a comment that I found interesting, about how neither the mother nor father had relatives mentioned and perhaps the author was intentionally trying to create a sense of post-colonial isolation by making this choice. Not ever giving the narrator's name seems to me to also contribute to this isolated feeling that pervaded the book. What do you think?
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Obviously I’m not finished yet, but I also found it interesting the way she’s addressing her father as “you” - I think it adds a little bit of drama/dread to an otherwise childlike story (although full disclosure I just finished reading The Price of Salt, which had a very suspenseful tone, so that might be influencing it).
I was also thinking that this book is going to be pretty stellar about explaining some everyday life things - I don’t know if that was her writing or the translator’s additions, but they spend a lot of time explaining words, habits, and customs - good choice for our book club!
I’m going to head off for more reading now that you’ve inspired me!
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Re: What you said about the mother - I also started out disliking her, definitely, and grew to like her more as the story continued. The process started early on when I started thinking about why the whole book is narrated *to* the father, and the narrator has an unquestioning love of him versus her mother, when I thought he was at least as problematic as she was - although the disdain of culture (and therefore her daughter and husband) is some reeeeaaaal bad parenting, her dad was simply never there, and when he was (with the exception of the Friday training when she got older), all he did was show disdain for the mother and her culture, and in a lot of ways women in general. Honestly this book made me think a lot about being torn between two cultures, but also the interaction between white supremacy (mom) and patriarchy (dad) and how layered those issues are, and how intertwined those issues are with families - all families, although it's probably not as hyper-visible in most families as it is in this one.
Re: No mention of Saddam - I kept this in mind as I was reading, and it is interesting. I suspect your point about it simply not being safe to do so is spot on - I think publishing this book in general is super brave and risky, without even naming names. I think that the no naming of names also adds to the isolation you mention elsewhere. Reading Persepolis or Reading Lolita in Tehran, you constantly have the Imam set up as the cause of the problems, and in Reading Lolita in Tehran she references that although the Imam and the Regime is certainly responsible for many, many travesties, blaming the Regime for everything also takes away some of their freedom and self-determination, in the same way the Regime takes away their freedom and self-determination. I found myself thinking about while I read this book, because without a cause - a regime, an instigator for the war, or anything like that - it seems as though the characters in the book are even more isolated. There's a subtext that they know the military communiques aren't accurate, but there's never any proof, there's never an enemy (even Iran isn't cast as an enemy), there's just terrible things that seem to happen for arbitrary reasons - and because of that arbitrariness there's no thread of resistance the way there was in the other books. Anyway, that was a long meander, but it was something I thought about.
Things that stood out to me:
The talk about the ban on contraception and the discounted marriages was interesting to me, particularly because I wandered down a wikipedia rabbit hole a few months ago about the history of condoms and learned that this is super typical of countries at war, especially authoritarian regimes. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany both also banned contraception to try to force increased birth rates.
In particular a line toward the end struck me - when she was talking about the environmental crisis and the international dismay about the plight of the birds. Please don't get me wrong, I hate oil spills and love birds and think we should save them, but I hate when we (mostly meaning Westerners) can only have sympathy and emotions for animals while so many humans are being murdered - I saw a similar reaction early this year floating around Facebook where a bunch of Americans were outraged at animals being abandoned in a Syrian zoo. Commenters basically said they felt more pity for animals than Syrian people, because the 'animals didn't choose this'. That whole subtext was lurking, especially when she says "In the end, the experts agree, they can only clean up the area with a military operation. They have to use explosives to blow up the pumping stations that connect the oil wells to the coast." (p 207) Just like the only solution to an invasion of Kuwait (and the destruction and loss of life for ordinary people that followed) was an invasion of Iraq (and the destruction and loss of life for ordinary people that followed).
If you want to continue discussing I would love to hit your other points, I'm so disappointed in myself I finished this one so late!
Great discussion! I also had a hard time getting into this initially, but once I got through the first 50 pages or so I turned a corner. I agree with Claire, the writing is *really* beautiful, especially towards the end as she leaves Iraq and writes about it from afar. I appreciated how "normal" the narrator was. I think her accessible tone makes her story easier to access for readers (like me) who may not have direct experience with the things she's experienced. I think it also shows how much we take our own peace and stability for granted. There are millions of people worldwide for whom bombs and chaos and battles ARE normal, and life goes on and they live as they can. To me, this was the point of the political remove. Why bother making a big deal out of it? They can't stop a war on their own and the amount of chaos it would take to overthrow someone like Saddam wasn't worth it, so just they just lived their lives as best they could until we intervened. It's hard for us to understand from our perspective in the U.S., but this really was everyday life for them - they weren't having deep philosophical conversations all the time, they were buying tea and raising children and going to school and work. I think there's something powerful in that, watching her reclaim her space to just be a person rather than some overpoliticized member of a stereotyped society who has no value unless she's inherently political.
I saw the father figure (I also noted the difference in the words she used for him, it was very interesting) as the father, of course, but also a metaphor for Iraqi culture at large. She never explicitly mentions Islam to my memory, so I think her father's more old-fashioned or authoritarian moments represent the conflict she has with her society (and I'm sure by extension Islam) - the tradition is beautiful, she's nostalgic for it, it means a lot to her (especially because on the outside, as many mixed race people are, she will be coded with that "other" and not as often with the white/British half of her heritage), she identifies with it - but to another extent she knows another world is possible, wants them to do better, and knows that the issues are so ingrained that love isn't enough to fix them on her own. And I think that honestly applies to the mother too, as a metaphor - she is able to flee to safety in Britain, but at what cost? The privilege and ignorance she finds there is malignant and life isn't emotionally that much better for her than it was back in Iraq. I saw her mother's illness as a reflection of this - the cancer being white privilege and colonization and the effects it has on the rest of the world.
Overall, I think this did a beautiful job of being honest and discerning but also accessible and lyrical. It really humanizes the people of Iraq and shows how much has been lost now, 20 years after this book came out. I'm definitely happy with this as our last book club choice this year!
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About what you said about her life in England being 'malignant' - that's really interesting. Especially since, on the surface at least, her mother's initial mastectomy took care of things (whether that was true below the surface, doubtful), but the modern medicine made her sick immediately and until the end of her life. I was wondering as I read the account of her mother's illness if those were real experimental drugs that were referenced (medical librarian), which is a whole different rabbit hole to run down. I mostly read her life in England as a 'life sucks everywhere' thing (that probably says more about my mood as I was reading than anything else) - but I appreciated throughout the book, and in particular in the last section, how ordinary (crappy and otherwise) events marched alongside international news events. I think that writers often write stories (and readers expect stories) that act as though a big event grinds everything to a halt. But stories like this (and others we've read), where things continue painfully on, and you have to deal with passive aggressive notes from your neighbors and unplanned pregnancies and shopping and stuffy hospitals all while the world is burning and your mother is dying, can be even more powerful (and accessible, like you said.)
I hadn't thought about the dancing but I think you're right! It was a really interesting addition to the story. And I completely agree with your comments about the painful grind. I think the best art, whether it's books or paintings or comedy or theater or what have you, always manages to capture something true about the real world in it. What I loved about this book is that it took internationally renowned events and shrunk them back into life size so that the effects of what happened became tangible and meaningful again, and not so huge and abstract. The more we chat about it the more I really like this book!
These are all really interesting points, thank you both for the further comments! I also think it's interesting how we all had such different reactions to this book (e.g. the ratings range from 3-5 stars).
