The first Anthology of its kind in the West, Contemporary Iraqi Fiction gathers work from sixteen Iraqi writers, all translated from Arabic into English.
Mustafa provides biographical sketches for the writers and an enlightening introduction, chronicling the evolution of Iraqi literature..
Themes range from childhood and family to war, political oppression, and interfaith relationships.
Muhammad Khodayyir\'s surrealist portraits of his home city, Basra, in an excerpt from Basriyyatha and the magical realism of Mayselun Hadi\'s Calendars both offer powerful expressions of the absurdity of everyday life.
Many of the selections mirror these grim realities, forcing the writers to open up new narrative terrains and experiment with traditional forms.
While each voice is distinct, they are united in writing about a homeland that has suffered under repression, censorship, war, and occupation.
Shedding a bright light on the rich diversity Iraqi experience, Shakir Mustafa has included selections by Iraqi women, Iraqi Jews now living in Israel, and Christians and Muslims living both in Iraq and abroad.
The first Anthology of its kind in the West, Contemporary Iraqi Fiction gathers work from sixteen Iraqi writers, all translated from Arabic into English
