Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad

by Alia Mamdouh

Book Overview

Seen through the eyes of a strong-willed and perceptive young girl, Naphtalene beautifully captures the atmosphere of Baghdad in the 1940s and 1950s. Through her rich and lyrical descriptions, Alia... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558614931
• ISBN13: 9781558614932
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Feminist Press
• Length: 214 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Memoir of a Baghdad childhood . . .

Published in another edition as "Mothballs," this is a coming of age story set in Baghdad during the 1950s. The author reveals the experience of growing up female in impressionistic vignettes, sometimes soaring into sequences of magical realism. She opens a window for western readers into a Muslim world where women band together in their often sequestered lives, surviving in an alien patriarchy that both limits and emboldens them. Huda, the young girl at the center of this story, is not easily intimidated by the circumstances of her world, growing up female, her mother dying of tuberculosis and her father a police officer whose moods swing wildly between sentimentality and violence, taking a second wife and deserting his family, sending his first wife away and leaving sister, son and daughter in the care of his mother. Huda's younger brother Adil, a sensitive soul, is lovingly drawn, and her young aunt waits for a proposal of marriage that comes from a man who also, it turns out, is given to desertion. There are portraits of Huda's friends, including a lame girl and a boy who wins her heart, only to be drawn into perilous political unrest. The most memorable scene for me is her reunion with her father, an officer at the prison in Karbala, and then his coming undone as others are promoted before him. You get a sense of the mystery of men, who are driven in this culture by social forces that both elevate them above women and destroy them. Vivid in its descriptions of scenes and people, the book represents an attempt to capture memories, fixing them in the naphtalene (mothballs) of the title, as time and circumstances move on, changing everything forever.

Memoir of a Baghdad childhood . . .

This is a story of growing up female in Baghdad during the 1950s. The author, a magazine editor and novelist, reveals the experience of her girlhood years in impressionistic vignettes, sometimes soaring into sequences of magical realism. She opens a window for western readers into a Muslim world where women band together in their often sequestered lives, surviving in an alien patriarchy that both limits and emboldens them. Huda, the young girl at the center of this memoir, is not easily intimidated by the circumstances of her world, growing up female, her mother dying of tuberculosis and her father a police officer whose moods swing wildly between sentimentality and violence, taking a second wife and deserting his family, leaving wife, sister, son and daughter in the care of his mother. Huda's younger brother Adil, a sensitive soul, is lovingly drawn, and her young aunt waits for a proposal of marriage that comes from a man who also, it turns out, is given to desertion. There are portraits of Huda's friends, including a lame girl and a boy who wins her heart, only to be drawn into perilous political action. The most memorable scene for me is her reunion with her father, an officer at the prison in Karbala, and then his coming undone as others are promoted before him. You get a sense of the mystery of men, who are driven in this culture by social forces that both elevate them above women and destroy them. Vivid in its descriptions of scenes and people, the book represents an attempt to capture memories, fixing them in camphor (the mothballs of the title), as time and circumstances move on, changing everything forever.

Naphtalene by Alia Mamdouh

The writing (in translation) is beautiful. There's no clearly defined plot. We share the experiences and memories of Huda, a strong-minded young girl growing up in Baghdad in the 1950s. We experience the smells and sounds with Huda, the smells of food and cigarettes, and the sweat and comfort of her grandmother's hugs. The beginnings of protest are hinted at as one man of the neighborhood is taken away to prison for handing out subversive leaflets. We read of the tragedies of Huda's family, and their stories are told in a mystical way. It's a beautiful book.