Name: The American Granddaughter
ISBN: 9789992142721

Inaam Kachachi

At the beginning of America's occupation of Iraq, 15 years after leaving Baghdad, Zeina returns to her war-torn homeland as an interpreter for the US Army where she finds herself torn by conflicting allegiances. Her traditional grandmother, the only family member that Zeina believes she has in Iraq, disapproves of her granddaughter's involvement with the occupying forces. Whilst in Baghdad, Zeina meets two 'brothers' she knows nothing of. When she falls deeply in love with Muhaymin, a militant in the Al Mehdi Army, she begins to question all her values

The American Granddaughter

"We let ourselves be won over by this novel that describes with such faithfulness and emotion the tearing apart of a country and a woman forever caught between two shores." ‚ÄîLe Monde "Full of poetry and freshness‚Ä¶" ‚ÄîGuide de la rentree litteraire, Lire/Virgin WINNER OF FRANCE’S THE LAGARDERE PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE OF ARABIC FICTIONRAISES IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT IDENTITY, BELONGING, AND PATRIOTISM In her award-winning novel, Inaam Kachachi portrays the dual tragedy of her native land: America’s failure and the humiliation of Iraq. The American Granddaughter depicts the American occupation of Iraq through the eyes of a young Iraqi-American woman, who returns to her country as an interpreter for the US Army. Through the narrator’s conflicting emotions, we see the tragedy of a country which, having battled to emerge from dictatorship, then finds itself under foreign occupation. At the beginning of America’s occupation of Iraq, Zeina returns to her war-torn homeland as an interpreter for the US Army. Her formidable grandmother—the only family member that Zeina believes she has in Iraq—gravely disapproves of her granddaughter’s actions. Then Zeina meets Haider and Muhaymin, two “brothers” she knows nothing of, and falls deeply in love with Muhaymin, a militant in the Al Mehdi Army. These experiences force her to question all her values.

Easily the most poignant and intricate commentary on the inherent oxymoronic conflict of "Arab-American" identity I have ever read, getting into all the nuances of class and religion and race. It's a devastating read in the best way possible, and a grim warning for any Arab diaspora kid about the pervasiveness of western hegemony. This isn't theory though; it's a story about a young woman living in Detroit, her grandmother living in Baghdad, and tangentially the rest of her physically scattered family, who all have the curse of being alive in the first decade of the 21st century.

Side note, I'm not a huge fan of the English translation, this may be more enjoyable if read in the original Arabic (Al-Hafida al-Amreekeya).

Lukas

Easily the most poignant and intricate commentary on the inherent oxymoronic conflict of "Arab-American" identity I have ever read, getting into all the nuances of class and religion and race. It's a devastating read in the best way possible, and a grim warning for any Arab diaspora kid about the pervasiveness of western hegemony. This isn't theory though; it's a story about a young woman living in Detroit, her grandmother living in Baghdad, and tangentially the rest of her physically scattered family, who all have the curse of being alive in the first decade of the 21st century.

Side note, I'm not a huge fan of the English translation, this may be more enjoyable if read in the original Arabic (Al-Hafida al-Amreekeya).

The American Granddaughter

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