Review: My Father's RifleEditorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsWell-done but dispiriting memoir of growing up in Iraq during the 1960s and '70s, when Kurdish aspirations for independence were increasingly suppressed. Now a filmmaker living in Paris, Saleem memorably depicts the close family ties and the comfort of Kurdish culture. His story also grimly reminds us of the Kurds' long-time persecution by Turks, Iranians, and, most recently, Saddam Hussein. Perhaps understandably, considering how badly they have been treated, the Kurds too have contemplated violent solutions to their problem. Saleem's father, who kept a rifle on hand, supported General Barzani, a Kurdish military leader who led a group of armed guerrillas into the mountains in hopes of establishing an independent state. His older brother, 18-year-old Dilovan, joined them, and later, when the Baathist party took over Iraq and bombed their village, adolescent Saleem also wanted to work for the cause of independence. At one point the family fled to the mountains to fight with Kurdish troops, but the resistance was forcibly quashed. After a dreary spell in a refugee camp, they decided to return to their native village of Aqra. Under Saddam's leadership in the late 1970s, Iraqis increased their efforts to eliminate the Kurds. In measured prose, Saleem recalls soldiers arriving in their village and setting up barracks, where they were rumored to torture Kurds. Baathist teachers took over the schools, and Iraqi doctors would not help his sick niece, who eventually died. His education was cut short: instruction at school was only in Arabic, a language he did not know, and opportunities for further study were denied to Kurds. Saleem knew there was no way he could go to film school. Increasingly he began to accept that exile might be his only option, though even that would not be easy, since Kurds were denied passports. Timely—and most depressing. User reviewsReview: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Ava Homa - GoodreadsI loved it. Subtle and deep with so many historical, social and geopolitical references. I could not put it down and found the reading experience a rewarding, insightful and delightful one. I now want to watch all of his movies. Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - barbka21 - GoodreadsPoetic. Slices of harsh Kurdish history. Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Ron - GoodreadsThis short memoir, with its simply told and clearly translated story, tells of a boyhood in Kurdistan, a nation of people divided between four countries: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. The struggle ... Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Amenah K. - GoodreadsI enjoyed the book, but I was looking for more depth. Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Brendan - GoodreadsThere's no arguing that Hiner Saleem, a filmmaker living in Paris and writing in French, is a wonderful storyteller. In the 99 pages of his new memoir, My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in Kurdistan, he ... Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Osho - GoodreadsIraq (Kurdistan) Reviewers aren't clear whether this is fiction or memoir. It appears to be best treated as "fictionalized memoir." Azad Selim is a young boy in Iraqi Kurdistan. As the Baathist regime ... Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - Shawn Sinclair - GoodreadsThis is the first hand account of a young Kurdish boy growing up in Northern Iraq. The book really informed me of the love the Kurdish people took in their art, poetry, and beautiful landscape, and ... Read full review Review: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in KurdistanUser Review - peter - GoodreadsA refugee from Kurdistan, now a filmmaker in Paris, recalls his childhood in northern Iraq, before and during the rise of Saddam and the Baath butchers. The narrator, like everyone else, is intent on ... Read full review Review: My Father's RifleUser Review - Reed Business Information.Using a child's unsparing, detailed eye, this boyhood chronicle of life in embattled 1960s and '70s Kurdistan portrays a time of soaring nationalist pride, family tragedy and government betrayal. With ... Read full review | User ratings| 5 stars | | | 4 stars | | | 3 stars | | | 2 stars | | | 1 star | |
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