The American Granddaughter

Type the text hereHighlights Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) 2009 One of the most exciting new voices in Arabic literature The American Granddaughter eloquently reveals an Iraqi American’s painful inner struggle against a backdrop of the pointless atrocities of war Fifteen years after emigrating from Baghdad to America, Zeina returns to her war-torn homeland as an interpreter for the US Army and finds herself tormented by conflicting allegiances. Her traditional grandmother, the only family member Zeina believes she has in Iraq, disapproves of her granddaughter’s involvement with the occupying forces. Whilst in Baghdad, Zeina meets two ‘brothers’ she knows nothing of. When she falls deeply in love with one of them, a militant in the Mahdi Army, she herself begins to question her values. Inaam Kachachi Born in Baghdad, Inaam Kachachi now lives in France. She writes for several Arabic newspapers and has previously published two non-fiction books in addition to her debut novel Sawaqi al-Quloob (Streams of Hearts, 2005).