Romance and sanctions in ʹ90s Iraq
Now available in English translation, Shahad al-Rawiʹs bestselling debut novel The Baghdad Clock offers a strikingly direct portrayal of life in Iraq in the nineteen nineties, combining magical-realist elements with the advantage of hindsight. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
Shahad al-Rawiʹs The Baghdad Clock was a bestseller in Arabic even before it was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), one of the regionʹs top literary prizes. Al-Rawiʹs debut novel was published in 2016 and quickly became a big seller in Iraq and the UAE, where al-Rawi now lives.