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The Book of Collateral Damage

By Sinan Antoon
Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The Book of Collateral Damage by Sinan Antoon, an Iraqi scholar named Nameer returns to Baghdad after the US invasion and becomes captivated by the work of an eccentric bookseller, Wadood. Wadood's ambitious project is to document everything destroyed during the conflict. The novel weaves their stories, exploring the themes of loss, memory, and the devastation of war.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you are intrigued by narratives that interweave personal grief with the broader tragedies of war, you might enjoy this book. It explores the impact of conflict on both individuals and culture, offering a profound reflection on loss, memory, and the resilience of the human spirit. Readers who appreciate a poignant blend of fiction and historical reflection will find this work particularly compelling.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
Sinan Antoon returns to the Iraq war in a poetic and provocative tribute to reclaiming memory.

Widely-celebrated author Sinan Antoon’s fourth and most sophisticated novel follows Nameer, a young Iraqi scholar earning his doctorate at Harvard, who is hired by filmmakers to help document the devastation of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

During the excursion, Nameer ventures to al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, famed for its bookshops, and encounters Wadood, an eccentric bookseller who is trying to catalogue everything destroyed by war, from objects, buildings, books and manuscripts, flora and fauna, to humans.

Entrusted with the catalogue and obsessed with Wadood’s project, Nameer finds life in New York movingly intertwined with fragments from his homeland’s past and its present—destroyed letters, verses, epigraphs, and anecdotes—in this stylistically ambitious panorama of the wreckage of war and the power of memory.

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Book of Collateral Damage by Sinan Antoon is praised for its inventive narrative and complex storytelling, melding an exploration of exile with the intricacies of memory and history. Celebrated as an exceptional work by a leading voice in Arab fiction, the novel intricately delves into the interconnectedness between a scholar's life in New York and his Iraqi heritage. The book has been noted for its challenging yet enthralling narrative, earning a spot on the long list for the 2020 Best Translated Book Award.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300251753

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 June 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Jonathan Wright

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 312

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters Sinan Antoon

About the Author

Sinan Antoon is a poet, novelist, and translator, and an associate professor at New York University. Born in Baghdad, he left Iraq after the Gulf War. He is the author of several books, including The Corpse Washer. Jonathan Wright is an award-winning translator of works by authors including Ahmed Saadawi, Saud Alsanousi, and Youssef Ziedan.

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