In the fall of 2003, Annia Ciezadlo spent her honeymoon in Baghdad. Over the next six years, while living in Baghdad and Beirut, she broke bread with Shiites and Sunnis, warlords and refugees, matriarchs and mullahs. DAY OF HONEY is her memoir of love, conflict, and the hunger for food and friendship—a communion that feeds the soul as much as the body in times of war. As an American journalist married to a Lebanese man, she had an insider’s view of these turbulent years and she takes us inside the everyday life of two cities at war.
Living and reporting from occupied Baghdad, Ciezadlo longs for normal married life. She finds it in Beirut, her husband’s hometown, a city slowly recovering from years of civil war. But as the young couple settles into their new home, and begins to discover the pleasures of food and family, the bloodshed they escaped in Iraq spreads to Lebanon and reawakens the terrible specter of sectarian violence. In lucid, fiercely intelligent prose, Ciezadlo uses food and the rituals of eating to illuminate a vibrant Middle East that most Americans never see.
We get to know people like Roaa, a determined young Kurdish woman who dreams of exploring the world, only to see her life under occupation become confined to the kitchen; Abu Rifaat, a Baghdad book lover who spends his days eavesdropping in the ancient city’s legendary cafés; Salama al-Khafaji, a soft-spoken dentist who eludes assassins to become Iraq’s most popular female politician; and Umm Hassane, Ciezadlo’s sardonic Lebanese mother-in-law, who teaches her to cook rare family recipes—which are included in an appendix of Middle Eastern comfort food.
From secret Baghdad book clubs to the oldest recipes in the world, Ciezadlo takes us inside the modern Middle East at a historic moment when hope and fear collide. As bombs destroy her new family’s ancestral home, and militias invade her Beirut neighborhood, Ciezadlo illuminates the human cost of war with an extraordinary ability to anchor the rhythms of daily life in a larger political and historical context. DAY OF HONEY is a brave and compassionate portrait of civilian life during wartime—a moving testament to the power of love and generosity to transcend the misery of violence.
About the Author
Annia Ciezadlo was a special correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor in Baghdad and The New Republic in Beirut. She has written about culture, politics, and the Middle East for The Nation, Saveur, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New York Observer, and Lebanon’s Daily Star. Her article about cooking with Iraqi refugees in Beirut was included in Best Food Writing 2009. Ciezadlo lives with her husband in New York.
My Take on the Book
This was an emotional book that touches the soul. In only the first few pages I was hooked. There was a true interplay between the characters that was great to read about and to engage with. There is a great balance in this story of both plot, story, characters and so much more. The story makes you think deeply which for me is a mark of some of the best stories that I have read. One of the things that I loved about the book was that you can tell how much the author researched to make this story even stronger. You will be amazed and intrigued as you read this and you will find yourself being brought in further and further as you read the story. I highly encourage you to read this story!
All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment