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Farewell Babylon

Coming of Age in Jewish Baghdad

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About this listen

 A classic memoir about growing up in Baghdad in the 1940s, by a grand old man of Canadian letters.

Here is the exotic world of one of the East's ancient cities, where Naim Kattan was born into the heart of its then teeming Jewish community. In this evocative memoir, a young boy comes of age, discovering work, literature, patriotism, racism - and women and love. Farewell, Babylon is a story of roots and anguished exile, of thirst for life and life's experiences. Above all it is a memoir of a lost world, a magical city in which Iraq's Kurds, Bedouins, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in a rough sort of harmony.

©2005 Raincoast Books (P)2008 Audible, Inc. Art & Literature Authors Jewish World Literature

Critic reviews

"A fine portrait of a particular place and time that is no more." (Library Journal)
"In all respects, a most moving and haunting work." (Montreal Star)
All stars
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A very expressive account of a young Jewish Iraqi boy growing up in Baghdad during the time when there were political turbulences that were disturbing the lives of ordinary Iraqis and their communities. However, that serves as more of a backdrop for most of the story - much of it is focused on the thoughts and emotions of a boy growing up in a less privileged part of society and how he perceives the traditions and customs of the communities he is surrounded by.

The narration was a bit jarring at times. As an Arabic (Iraqi) speaker, it is awkward to listen to Iraqi words being mispronounced. However, as I have little knowledge of the subtleties of the Jewish Iraqi dialect, it could be that they are pronounced as intended.

A revealing perspective

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