Out of Mesopotamia

Out of Mesopotamia
Author	Salar Abdoh
Language	English
Subject	War
Genre	Fiction
Publisher	Akashic Books
Publication date	September 1, 2020
Media type	Print, e-book
Pages	240
ISBN	978-1-6177586-0-7

Out of Mesopotamia is a novel book written by Salar Abdoh and published in 2020.^[1] The books is narrated by Saleh, a middle-aged Iranian journalist who moonlights as a writer for one of Iran's most popular TV shows but cannot keep himself away from the front lines in neighboring Iraq and Syria. There, the fight against the Islamic State is a proxy war, an existential battle, a declaration of faith, and, for some, a passing weekend affair.^[2]

It is Abdoh's second book for Akashic.^[3]

The book was reviewed by the New York Times^[4] and was one of eleven book recommendations from September 17, 2020.^[5]

References

^ Archer, Michael (December 15, 2020). "Operators of Art and War: Salar Abdoh Interviewed by Michael Archer". BOMB.
^ "Description". Akashic Books.
^ "Salar Abdoh". Akashic Books.
^ Ackerman, Elliot (September 1, 2020). "Torn Between War and Art, a Journalist Chooses Both". The New York Times Book Review.
^ "11 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. September 17, 2020. Abdoh's powerful novel follows an Iranian war reporter who is torn between his wearying job on the front lines and a civilian existence that he finds increasingly alienating. The book is as much a reflection on memory and art as it is a war story, and Abdoh's writing captures beautifully the absurdity of both the battlefield and modern life. "For many Americans, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become abstractions, separated from our lives by geographic as well as psychic boundaries," Elliot Ackerman writes in his review. "Abdoh collapses these boundaries, presenting a disjointed reality in which war and everyday life are inextricably entwined."

External links

On Contact Interview with the Author

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[1] Archer, Michael (December 15, 2020). "Operators of Art and War: Salar Abdoh Interviewed by Michael Archer". BOMB.

[2] "Description". Akashic Books.

[3] "Salar Abdoh". Akashic Books.

[4] Ackerman, Elliot (September 1, 2020). "Torn Between War and Art, a Journalist Chooses Both". The New York Times Book Review.

[5] "11 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. September 17, 2020. Abdoh's powerful novel follows an Iranian war reporter who is torn between his wearying job on the front lines and a civilian existence that he finds increasingly alienating. The book is as much a reflection on memory and art as it is a war story, and Abdoh's writing captures beautifully the absurdity of both the battlefield and modern life. "For many Americans, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become abstractions, separated from our lives by geographic as well as psychic boundaries," Elliot Ackerman writes in his review. "Abdoh collapses these boundaries, presenting a disjointed reality in which war and everyday life are inextricably entwined."

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