Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq

by Farnaz Fassihi

Book Overview

Since 2003, Iraq's bloody legacy has been well-documented by journalists, historians, politicians, and others confounded by how Americans were seduced into the war. Yet almost no one has spoken at... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586484753
• ISBN13: 9781586484750
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Courageous Reporter. Excellent Book.

The daily life in Iraq as described by Farnaz Fassihi should surprise no one. It surely won't surprise to those who are disposed to reading a book like this. I think it would be a surprise to those who only experience the Iraq War through cable TV news, if they would read it. The overwhelming TV reporting on Iraq has been sound bites on the US troops, individual heroic efforts, sports, smiling people with purple fingers and the effectiveness of "the surge". If there are stories about the total loss suffered by people Amal al-Khudeiry or how people like Fatin cope after a twin sister has been "gunned down" they are drowned out by the frequency of the "experts" who talk about winning, tactics, strategies and politics. We've read about high profile kidnappings but has there been a story about a middle class family who sold everything only to have a dead body returned to them? Has there been a personal follow up story on a released Abu Ghraib inmate? I read in this book and elsewhere that there have been two million refugees, but do not recall one TV media story on any refugee in these past 5 or so years. The Wall Street Journal has Farnaz Fassihi who faced enormous risks and Daniel Pearl who did not return. They did their part and Fassihi praises her company. On p. 208 another picture emerges. Her editors ask how can she call Iraq a "disaster" with the US election at hand. They tell her she would "validate" the "critics". This is Orwellian logic. A 5 car auto wreck can be called a "disaster", but the destruction of total neighborhoods cannot because there is an election at hand. This, for me crystallized the state of our media. It has great technology, courageous reporters and access to support (security, translation, etc.) but its self censorship distorts its accuracy. As long as accurate reporting is considered "validating" "critics" the public will never get a straight story.

Rebuilding Lives in Iraq

In her book, Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq, Farnaz Fassihi presents a heart-wrenching portrait of the Iraqi people as they come to terms with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the rebuilding of their war-torn country. Drawing on her experiences as a Wall Street Journal senior correspondent living in Iraq, Fassihi portrays a compelling story of the struggles of the regular citizens and their families. At first they cheer the Americans for tumbling a brutal dictator, but then weep in despair as the free life they dreamed about becomes a nightmare. This book is not a discourse on military tactics and political blunders, but readers need to know that many of the Iraqi people interviewed relate disturbing stories with heavy overtones of anti-Americanism and criticism of the President, and at times, Fassihi finds herself voicing her agreement. Descriptions and conversations, framed by the author's own pain and compassion, focus on the lives of people she has befriended. Many are affected by the overthrow, occupation and subsequent collapse of an Iraqi society that blames not only the two major ruling religious sects (Sunni and Shi'ite), but also the foreign occupiers. In Fassihi's words, "Sometimes I find myself wanting to cry while I'm interviewing people and other times I feel detached, like a machine recording misery and death." During all this turmoil, Fassihi finds love with a fellow correspondent in this war-torn land. When they are on separate assignments, she is tormented by fears of separation. Her family begs her to come home and give up her position as head of the Baghdad bureau of the Wall Street Journal, but she is drawn in by the plight of the Iraqi people and was even accused of being addicted to the job's constant threats of bombings, shootings and bloodshed. She is persecuted as a woman, shunned for being American, but loved because of her compassion for the people. Under threats of kidnapping, murder, torture, Farnaz attempts to take care of her workers and friends while dodging bullets and car bombs. The Iraqi people dedicate their lives to regaining their dignity, preserving their art and culture, sustaining their religious beliefs and most of all hoping that some day they will indeed see an ordinary day. Their homes are bombed and searched while loved ones are forcefully detained and spirited away at the slightest rumor. Those detained often don't return, leaving families desparate to know their fate. If they do return, months later, the tales of torture, persecution and deprivations are horrendous. Fassihi's employee, Munaf, sums up their daily lives with the comment, "We are like animals in the wild. We eat, sleep and try not to get killed each day." This powerful account of life in Iraq helps us understand why stability has been so elusive to the people of a beleaguered country. The details are rich, the story well written, and throughout the book, the true voices of the Iraqi people are h

Iraq's war misery understood

Farnaz's account of events are heart breaking. I have been following the incredible sad story of Iraq before the war started. No news of the war over the years have brought the sadness and misery of the war home so clearly. Farnaze's understanding of the culture, traditions and religion particularly makes her account of the events easier to understand. The fundamental factors which the war architects have so badly overlooked and foolishly underestimated and as foolishly they continue the rhetoric's for an even worst war with Iran.

Just when you thought...

...you knew everything about the shameful war in Iraq, along comes this beautiful book about the war's impact on ordinary citizens. We are fortunate in the US that we have never seen occupiers. Not so in Iraq, and this book makes us realize just how we are perceived. The Bush administration, in all its customary arrogance, thinks that we are 'heroes'. Just read this book to realize just how wrong they were, as usual.

DO NOT MISS Waiting for An Ordinary Day

Everyone should read this book for a beautifully written--vivid and nuanced--account of the situation in Iraq. It will break your heart, but it's essential reading for thinking Americans.